Lisa R. Howeler's Blog, page 59

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot for November 9

Hello everyone! Welcome to a new Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, the post where you can share your posts from the previous week, or even before, and get some new eyes on them. You can also connect with other bloggers so I really encourage you to click on and comment on the other blog posts.

I am a co-host for this feature with Marsha in the Middle and Melynda from Scratch Made Food For Hungry People but we are looking for a couple more hosts, so please let me know in the comments if you are interested and I’ll put you in touch with Marsha.

How was your week this week?

Mine has been mostly filled with housework, homeschooling, writing blog posts, and editing the second book in my cozy mystery series. I am so excited for those who read the first book to read book two in the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries! It comes out December 5 and is called Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage. The first book is Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing.

One blog post I worked on this week was about our trip last week to a reptile zoo. I know there are soooo many people who love snakes and lizards (ha!) so here are a few photos from our visit:

Let’s get on to what post was our most clicked last week. It was:

Flowers on a Friday by Deb’s Corner

Here are three of my favorite posts this week:

Fall Field Trip Outfit Shopped From My Closet by Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes With Skin on by The Copper Table

Somethings Can Only Be Learned by A New Lens

Now it is your turn to leave a link to one of your blog posts from this week! Have fun and keep it family-friendly! Then visit some other bloggers and find new friends.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enterhttps://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

Comfy, Cozy Cinema: Tea with the Dames

For October and November, Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I will be watching cozy or comfy movies, and some of them will have a little mystery, creepiness, or adventure added in. You can find out about the other movies we watched by searching Comfy, Cozy Cinema in my search bar at the right.

This one was a different one this week because it was a documentary about four British actresses who are legends in theater, movies, and television. All four of them have been named “dames” by the British monarchy. This is the female equivalent of being dubbed a knight.

The documentary is a series of sit-down interviews with Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Joan Plowright, and Dame Eileen Atkins.

The documentary was made in 2018 and all the women were in their 80s. They are now in or nearing their 90s but all four are still alive.

All four women have been friends for probably 40 years or more.

If you haven’t heard of one or the other of these women, I’ll detail below some examples of what they’ve been in. Most would be familiar with Judi Dench and Maggie Smith at least.

I watched this documentary a few years ago and found it enchanting, hilarious, touching, and inspiring. I made my husband watch it with me and now I’ve made Erin watch it with me too.

The entire documentary consists of the women at Joan’s cottage where she used to live with actor Laurence Olivier, simply telling stories about their careers and families and the time they spent together as friends.

All four actresses have worked in theater, the small screen and big screen.

They all started in theater and hearing their early stories about those days was very interesting to me, even though I’ve never been interested in participating in it myself.

Judi Dench is well known for her work on British sitcoms (As Time Goes By and A Fine Romance. She stared in A Fine Romance with her future husband Michael Williams) but more prominently an entire line of movies from the Bond movies where she played M, to Shakespeare in Love where she played a queen. She also played queen in Mrs. Brown.

Her list of movies also includes Chocolat, Philomenia, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and … well, there are tons of them. (A link to her work: )

Maggie Smith is most well known recently for Downton Abbey and Harry Potter. She played the Dowager Countess Violet Crowly in Downton Abbey and Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter. (a link to her work: )

Eileen has been in a ton of films and television as well, Paddington 2, Wicked Little Letters, The Crown, The Archers, Beautiful Creatures, etc., etc. (A link to her work: )

Joan’s film list includes The Spiderwick Chronicles, Mrs. Palfrey at the Clairmont, Dennis the Menace, and 101 Dalmatians among so many others. (Here is a link to her work: )

The documentary is pretty laid-back and easygoing. There are some great quotes from all four women about acting and life in general. They bounce off each other in hilarious exchanges between the women and the interviewer and the crew helping with filming. There is footage from their past films and plays woven throughout.

This is not a rated G film with Judi dropping a couple of f-bombs during the filming, especially in regard to a question about growing older.

Maggie is so funny because she seems unable to use the word “child” throughout. She refers to the son of Joan and Laurence (they call him Larry)’as “a small person.” Like when she tells a story about him she says, “When Richard was a small person…”

The story she tells is hilarious too. She once overhead Laurence Olivier begging his young son to tell him if he had thrown the key to his liquor cabinet down the dumb waiter.

“Richard, tell Daddy where the key is. Daddy needs his num-nums.”

Maggie laughs and says, “The idea that a great actor was reduced to using the word num-nums.”

I also really giggled at the conversation about how they each became dames.

Judi became one first and called Maggie when she became one and said, “Don’t worry…you can still swear.

“You can swear more actually,” Judi says with a laugh.

“You just do it privately,” Maggie snickers and speaks with a very posh accent.

Joan was a lady before she was a dame because she married Sir Laurence Olivier, Maggie points out.

“Well, darling, it is quite difficult to have two titles,” Joan replies. “People don’t know which one to use.”

“You’ll have to grapple with it, Joan,” Maggie smith says while the other women laugh.

There are also some very profound quotes from the women mixed in with the laughs.

At one point Judi is asked how people face the fear associated with acting.

“Fear is petrol,” she states in a matter-of-fact tone. “Fear is the petrol. It generates such an energy. Fear. Being frightened. If you can somehow channel it, it can be a help.”

I really love this documentary because it is a wonderful reminder of what women can do when they cast aside societal expectations and just go for their dreams.

These women had a passion for acting. They wanted success and went for it and didn’t let anything stop them. In a day and age where women had to fight for every crumb, they won the whole loaf and then showed other women how to do the same thing.

As I told Erin, I just love watching these women talk about their past but also teared up when they showed all the roles they have played. I mean these women were pioneers for women who were told they couldn’t play certain roles and couldn’t be mothers and wives AND successful in their careers at the same time.

Not only did they defy expectations but they completely exceeded them. I mean Judi Dench was literally in Shakespeare in Love for eight minutes and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She is 88 years old and two weeks ago she recited a Shakespeare soliloquy from memory on the Graham Norton Show:

I found the documentary for free (with commercials) on Tubi but you can also rent it off various streaming services.

If you want to read Erin’s impressions of the documentary visit her blog: https://crackercrumblife.com/2023/11/09/comfy-cozy-cinema-tea-with-the-dames/

We are taking a break from the Comfy, Cozy Cinema for Thanksgiving but will be back next week for The Fishermen’s Friends and then on November 30 with a bit of Jane –Sense and Sensibility.

I’m not sure what we have on tap for December but stay tuned. If Erin and I don’t do a joint Cozy Christmas cinema together, I’m sure she and I with both be watching our favorites and sharing about them on our blogs.

A visit to Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland in Allenwood, Pa.

Last week I was able to pull off a surprise for Little Miss who is a huge fan of reptiles, especially snakes.

She watches a show called Snake Discovery on YouTube a lot and learns all about snakes, their habits, the different ones, etc.

Two years ago she was bit by a non-venomous snake and fainted from the excitement of it all. As she fainted she fell into the kitchen table at my parents and we had to take her to the hospital by ambulance. I thought that after that she wouldn’t like snakes anymore but, on the contrary, she was even more fascinated.

She has no qualms telling an adult, by the way, that a snake is not poisonous or non-poisonous, they are venomous or non-venomous.

When I found out the county library – the only library in the county was sponsoring a trip to a reptile zoo I used to hear wasn’t a very good one but had improved, I signed up immediately. I managed to keep it a surprise despite talking about the logistics of getting there with The Husband in front of her more than once. She thought I had a doctor’s appointment and that’s why we were driving so far but when we pulled up and she read the sign she yelled out, “Yes!”

The Husband was working that day so I took The Boy with us. I thought he would have fun too and it meant a day off from his trade school so he was all for it (even though he doesn’t hate school).

Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland is named after a Clyde Peeling, a native of Muncy, Pa. As far as I can tell online he is still alive. The zoo was first opened in the 1960s but has grown over the years.

Little Miss was overwhelmed when we walked into the zoo. There were so many exhibits with snakes, geckos, lizards, turtles, and alligators she could barely contain her excitement. She ran from exhibit to exhibit, her eyes wide while she told me about them without even reading the signs on their exhibit. She probably could have told a few of the staff members some things about their charges that they didn’t even know.

When you first walk in there is an open exhibit with alligators. They don’t look real. They don’t even move. They seem to be completely bored with life. I was convinced the place was a scam and their alligators were real wax figures. The next time we came by, though, one of them had moved and his eyes were a little more closed and The Boy insisted he had seen it move. They also had an albino alligator who he said he saw move even more.

From there you enter a gallery of turtles, snakes, tree frogs, toads, lizards, and geckos. They are behind glass, of course. We briefly viewed the gallery on the way in and then headed for the small amphitheater where a young man with a very Irish accent talked to the children about the various reptiles he held up. He held up a small crocodile, a lizard, and a python. Little Miss was very disappointed that she couldn’t hold them. She thought it was interesting that she could touch the crocodile on the head on her way out but she really wanted to hold it or the snake.

After the presentation finished, the group moved on to the parakeet tent which is a type of greenhouse completely full of parakeets and a few cockatiels. The zoo sells seed sticks for $3 and visitors can hold the sticks out and the birds will land and eat the seeds. The birds will also sometimes land on the visitors as well, but mainly they like to stay in the trees, along the edges of the tent structure or they like to drop the ground and chew at shoelaces.

I was completely in panic mode in the parakeet tent, not because I don’t like parakeets (I owned two when I was a child), but because I was petrified that I might step on one, killing it and traumatizing a bunch of preschoolers (since most of those who attended with the library group were of that age group). They even have a sign as you walk into the facility, warning you to watch for the birds on the ground.

I ended up backed up against the wall by the staff member while The Boy and Little Miss walked through the greenhouse – or at least part of it. The Boy was wearing steel-toed boots and I think he was also petrified he might kill one.

Two of the birds really looked like the birds I had growing up and I felt nostalgic for Perky, the one who lived longer. He used to sit in a cage in our kitchen and Mom would talk to him while I was at school. We said “Perky bird” to him so often that he actually started to call out “Perky bird! Perky bird.”

Unfortunately, he passed away when we left him with a friend of mine when we went to North Carolina for Christmas one year. My friend had birds herself and we don’t know if Perky was overwhelmed with all the bigger and louder birds around him or what happened. I felt so guilty for leaving him and my friend felt guilty that he died on her watch. We’d had him for several years so I guess it was only a matter of time. We didn’t try another bird after that. I don’t think my heart could have handled it.

Once we left the parakeet area, we headed back to the exhibits so Little Miss could get a closer look at the various snakes and lizards.

In one exhibit there were four turtles and an iguana and at one point the iguana really took an interest in Little Miss and kept watching her intently through the glass. I don’t know what it was about her that fascinated him but I think he would have gone right home with her.

She and the boy were fascinated with the Komodo Dragon and we were all fascinated with the Aldabra tortoises housed in the same building as the dragon. The building was empty of other people when we got there so we just sat and watched the tortoises for several minutes and it was the most relaxed I had felt all day. If we ever go back there I think I’ll just go there first and watch them while everyone else explores the rest of the zoo.

We also had fun watching a trio of garter snakes who were curious enough to come up to the exhibit glass and check us out while we watched them. I’m not sure why we paused by their exhibit in the first place since we see so many of them in our yard in the spring or summer, but I’m glad we did because they were so entertaining.

In the courtyard outside in the back of the facility, there was a dinosaur display with animatronic dinosaurs, which we enjoyed seeing and interacting with. In that same area, they had an enclosure with three Australian Emu.

The library paid for the tickets for everyone who signed up for the event, which was really amazing of them because the tickets are $20 a person for anyone 12 and up and $16 for those 2 to 12.

The prices are steep but the place allows you to stay as long as you want, see all the educational KU live programs they have going on during the day, and bring and eat your lunch in the pavilions they have there or inside their gift shop. It isn’t a huge zoo, but there are 40 exhibits of various reptiles, the parakeet area, and the dinosaurs out back.

I am sure we will be visiting there again in the spring. Most of the exhibits are inside but running between buildings was a little chilly that day and it will be nice to go on a warmer day as well. I know Little Miss is already looking forward to another visit and I told her we would even pay extra so she can hold some of those snakes she loves so much.

To my son on his 17th birthday. Some memories of letters when you were younger.

Today on my son’s 17th birthday I found myself thinking about him through the years.

Here are a couple of letters I wrote to him and posted on my blog.

The first one was a day before he went into third grade in 2015.

I wrote the second in 2016.

2015: I’m not going to lie. I’m having a very hard time with you going back to school in a day. When I say hard, I mean my chest gets tight, my face scrunches funny and my eyes feel hot with tears and I feel weak in my knees.

I’m not ready for you not to be home with me every day. I’m not ready to not be able to rub your little back or kiss your cute head whenever I want. I’m not ready to not hear you building your Legos and creating stories with them, or listening as you tell me what you’ve made on Minecraft that day.

Someday I won’t be able to reach the top of your head to kiss it, I know that. Someday I won’t hear you ask me to come see your latest creation on Minecraft or your latest drawing. Someday you won’t even care if I watch you jump off the side of the pool or ride your new bike, or build your latest Lego robot.

You are so bright and creative and witty and fun. You make every day better, more fun, more interesting, and definitely more worthy to live. I never know what new adventure awaits me when your feet hit the floor each morning and that’s a pretty awesome (yet sometimes scary) feeling.

You’re such an amazing big brother. I hope you know that. You care for your sister, keep her out of trouble, help me care for her, and, as Grandma once said, you show her how to love by being loving to her. Each hug, each kiss, each cuddle shows Gracie what love really is and the fact you know this at only 8-years of age makes me realize we must be doing something right as your parents.

Here we are with only a few days left of summer. I can’t put the brakes on time; I can’t make it stand still, no matter how much I want to. Instead, I’m trying to enjoy each time you put your arms around me. I’m trying to focus on each moment we have together, each story you tell me, each kiss you give me and each laugh we share. I’m letting my cheek linger against the top of your buzzed head when I hold you.

You’re going to have an amazing school year. I know that. Third grade is going to be challenging. There will be tears. You and I will both get frustrated. We may even yell at each other a bit. But we’re going to survive it – together.

Love you, kid

Mom

2016

When I look at this photo of you I see a little boy who has my heart completely and has since the day I first learned you were growing inside me. I see your brilliance, your wit, your charm, your amazing ability to look at almost any situation in a positive light. How hard it must be for you to have been given parents who sometimes lean too much toward the negative yet God gave you the gift of compassion and encouragement because he knew we would need to be reminded. 

You wanted to cross the entire bridge that day but daddy and I were tired and said “no.” I wish I had said yes. I don’t ever want to limit you in your dreams or your goals. I don’t ever want to slow you down.

Your future is so wide open and though I often want to keep you close to my side, tucked under my arm, I know I’ll someday have to let you walk the path there on your own.

Before we know it, it will be spring and I hope we go back to that bridge because we are going to walk all the way across it together. 

Happy 17th birthday, kid. You mean the world to me and your dad and sister and the rest of the family.

You’re bright, compassionate, sweet, funny, silly, crazy, and an absolute blessing.

A look back at October in photos

October seemed to be a very busy month for us while also not busy. I don’t know how to explain that. It was full of little spurts of busy mixed with a lot of mental busyness for me as we try to figure out some next steps in life.
Today I’m looking back at October through some photographs.

We had beautiful foliage this year. I didn’t get out to take as many photographs as I should have or would have liked to, partially because of the rainy and yucky weather we had part of the time and partially because of apathy, for lack of a better word.

We also had some nice family time with my parents in October and also celebrated Little Miss’s 9th birthday.

Sunday Bookends: Working through my autumn TBR, comfy movies, and launching a new writing project

It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

This week I’m joining up with  Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer  and Kathyrn at  The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

I rambled a bit about what’s been going on yesterday in my Saturday Afternoon Chat. You can find that HERE.

The bottom line was we saw reptiles last week, ran some errands, and yesterday we made two apple pies for my son’s birthday because he likes pies better than cake.

I’ll be writing more about the visit to the reptile zoo later this week and maybe about my son turning 17 but I might cry too much while I write that.

What I/we’ve been Reading

Last week I finished Polly by Naomi Musch and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr.

Polly is the first book in the Apron Strings Book Series, which I am writing a book for. Polly is up for pre-order on Amazon here:

Here is a description for anyone who is curious:

One cookbook connects them all…
Polly ~ Book One in a string of heartfelt inspirational stories, featuring different women throughout the decades from 1920 to 2020.

The Great War has ended, but Polly Holloway’s heart is shattered when her fiancé finally returns home—with a French war bride. Now her future feels desolate, until she fastens onto the idea of using her skills and a special cookbook to turn her grandfather’s Victorian house into a fashionable ladies’ tea room. Yet, how will she endure the patronage of the woman who stole her sweetheart? Moreover, the suave tavern owner down the block is interfering in her business, personal and otherwise. Heaven only knows what goes on behind his doors.

Ross Dalton can no longer sell liquor in his establishment. With prohibition in force, it’s a mixed blessing. Ross met God on the battlefield, and he wants to start fresh, but he must earn a living. Converting his bar into a coffee house offers a partial solution. Still, bootleggers are pressing him to pedal their moonshine, and the girl up the street is convinced his place is a front for a speakeasy. She’s awfully cute when she turns up her pert little nose at his friendly overtures. How can he convince her he isn’t going to tarnish the neighborhood or ruin her business? And will she believe he’s a changed man when the bootleggers double down?

This week I plan to finish Walls Crumbling by Alicia Gilliam.

I’ve also started my winter read – Little Women — a little (no pun intended) early.

I probably won’t get through all of the autumn picks I said I would try to read by the end of November but I have started Nancy Drew, The Hidden Staircase. That should be a quick read. I also hope to finish The Cat Who Talked Turkey in time for Thanksgiving. We will see how that goes since I am a mood reader and sometimes my mood involves not wanting to read much at all. The funny thing is, if I push myself to read when I am stressed, I do feel better because I am able to escape into a fiction world and leave my own.

Little Miss and I are reading The Black Stallion by William Farley at night.

The Boy and I aren’t reading anything together right now because he finished Red Badge of Courage for school last week. I will finish it this week and then I am going to choose another book for us which I believe will be Around the World in 80 Days.

What We watched/are Watching

Last week I watched Little Women as part of the Comfy, Cozy Cinema with Erin at Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. We watched the 2019 version and I shared in my blog post why it isn’t my favorite version but I still like it and recommend it.

I didn’t have a lot of time to watch anything else but this week I hope to just watch some homey, cozy classic movies.

Erin and I are watching Tea With The Dames for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema. It is a documentary with Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Judith Plowright, and Maggie Smith and I think it is very quirky and funny. I hope Erin does as well.

I also rewatched last week’s sermon from Elevation Church and it helped me yesterday as I stressed over finances and some other situations in my family’s life.

What I’m Writing

Last week I sent Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage to my editor/husband and started working on Cassie. I’m excited to write Cassie and introduce her to all my readers on August 15, 2024!

I’ll be sharing more about that project in the weeks and months to come.

If you would like to read some of my books you can find out more about them here: https://lisahoweler.com/order-my-books/

On the blog this week I shared:

Saturday Afternoon Chat: Lighting our first fire of the year, a trip to a reptile zoo, and The Boy turns 17. Fiction Friday: Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot for November 2 Comfy, Cozy Cinema: Little Women (2019) A simple man, a simple job. Remembering Sonny Decker

Photos from Last Week

I will be sharing more photos later this week because I left my Nikon at my parents last night and couldn’t take the photos off the camera for today. I plan to have a post recapping October’s photos at some point so I will share more then. Here are a few from our trip to the reptile zoo for now.

Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.

Saturday Afternoon Chat: Lighting our first fire of the year, a trip to a reptile zoo, and The Boy turns 17.

It is cocoa with maple syrup time now that the weather is cold in Pennsylvania. That is what I am drinking this morning but later I will be sipping tea because I use real cocoa powder for my hot cocoa and if I have too much it trips my tachycardia issues a few hours later. Weird, I know.

We lit our first fire earlier this week and it was nice to have the house nice and cozy during the day and comfortable at night.

It is not lit yet today and I really need to get on that because it is going to be chilly again today, though not as cold as it was earlier this week. I am writing this blog post, though, so the fire will have to wait.

My almost 17-year-old (Tuesday he will be 17) will have to man the fire this afternoon because The Husband will be at work and Little Miss and I will be at my parents’ house making apple pies for The Boy’s birthday. He and my husband are not huge cake fans so my mom makes them pies. Now that Mom is 79, it isn’t as easy for her to make the pies on her own so Little Miss and I help. We will help again in a couple of weeks for Thanksgiving and my husband’s birthday, which are the same day this year.

Little Miss and I picked out the apples for The Boy’s pies yesterday at a farm store near us. My dad sent me a link to a website that helped us figure out which apples are best to use since previously we used Macintosh and they were too runny. We picked them up during a run to get groceries and to take my mom to get her license photo taken. It was so fun to look in the store with all its natural food and treats but I didn’t want to blow our budget so I got the apples, a small amount of chocolate, and a natural soda.

My mom can’t drive anymore but for some reason she still wanted her photo taken for her license and I wasn’t about to argue with her. Mom has suffered from Fibromyalgia for years and there have been times when getting around even at her house has been hard for her.

A few years ago she lost over 100 pounds with diet and she was able to get around even better. Her right shoulder is in bad shape, though, and surgery isn’t an option so there are days she is in total agony and can barely lift her arms. She walks with a walker and does well around the house now. Yesterday she was going to have to walk a bit to get to the bathroom at the DMV and then to get her photo taken and that made me nervous at first. I worried about what I would do if she fell or needed to suddenly sit down. I had nothing to worry about because she did amazing.

She might be hurting today but yesterday she got everything that she needed to get done without needing a wheelchair or to sit down. I was very proud of her. She shows me how to push through even when we are struggling.

Earlier in the week, Little Miss, The Boy, and I took advantage of an offer by our wonderful county library to attend a field trip at a reptile zoo about an hour away.

Little Miss absolutely loves reptiles so I kept this a surprise for more than two months and managed to keep it a surprise despite talking about the logistics of getting there with The Husband in front of her more than once. She thought I had a doctor’s appointment and that’s why we were driving so far but when we pulled up and she read the sign she was so excited.

She was also overwhelmed. There were so many exhibits with snakes, geckos, lizards, turtles, and alligators she could barely contain her excitement. She ran from exhibit to exhibit, her eyes wide.

In the courtyard, there was also a dinosaur display with animatronic dinosaurs, which we enjoyed seeing and interacting with.

The library paid for the tickets for everyone who signed up for the event, which was really amazing of them because the tickets are $20 a person for anyone 12 and up and $16 for those 2 to 12.

The prices are steep but the place allows you to stay as long as you want, see all the educational live programs they have going on during the day, and bring and eat your lunch in the pavilions they have there or inside their gift shop. I am sure we will be visiting there again in the spring. Most of the exhibits are inside but running between buildings was a little chilly that day.

I’ll be sharing more about this trip in a separate blog post later this week.

It was a long day when we went there because it was an hour’s drive down and then an hour’s drive back, plus the three hours we spent there.

On Thursday, Little Miss had gymnastics and I sat in the car and tried to work on the next book I am writing that comes out next year.

Next week I don’t have as much planned, other than celebrating The Boy turning 17, so I am looking forward to some calmer and cozier days.

How was your week last week? Did you do anything fun? Anything exciting planned for this week?

Let me know in the comments.

Fiction Friday: Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage Chapter 12 and Chapter 13

As always, this is a work in progress and there could be (will be) typos, plot holes, and other errors but those will be fixed before the book is published a couple of months from now.

If you want to read the first book in the series, you can find it on Amazon HERE.

If you don’t want to read this story in chapters on a blog and would rather read the fully-finished and polished version, you can pre-order it HERE.

Chapter 12

If you want to learn more about my other books you can find links to them HERE

Chapter After the tense supper with her father, Gladwynn decided she’d stop by Brewed Awakening for a cup of coffee to get her through the rest of her shift. Abbie was behind the counter with a smile, which was exactly what she needed.

“Whoa. You okay?”

Leave it to Abbie to be able to see right through her. She’d made sure she was smiling when she walked in and she and Abbie had only been friends for a few months, but Abbie could already tell when something was off.

Gladwynn waved her hand as if to dismiss the concern. “I’m fine. Just family drama.”

Abbie reached for a cup. Gladwynn knew she was getting ready to prepare Gladwynn’s usual coffee with French vanilla creamer and a dollop of whip cream on top. “Your dad?”

“Of course.”

Abbie turned to the coffee machine. The liquid pouring into the cup soothed Gladwynn and she found herself staring at it longingly.

Abbie glanced over her shoulder. “Already? Didn’t he just get there?”

Gladwynn reached into her purse for her wallet. “He doesn’t like to wait to bring a person down. Might as well get it over with seems to be his motto.”

The whipped cream spiraled upward and a swirl of chocolate syrup was added on top. “What’s his issue? Your moving or your job?”

“Both.”

Abbie slid a lid on the coffee cup and handed it to her. “Hopefully he accepts soon that you’re a grown woman and living your own life. Maybe it’s just hard for him and your mom to let you go.”

Gladwynn laughed. “No. That’s definitely not it. More like it’s hard for them to accept that I’m going to live my life and not the life they mapped out for me.” She took a sip from the cup. “Hey, I have this theory I want to run by you.”

Abbie tapped the top of the counter. “Run it by me. I’m ready.”

Gladwynn leaned closer, her elbows on the counter. “I think Derek was Samantha’s father.”

Abbie leaned back, eyes wide. “Really? What makes you think that?”

“Grandma and I found a letter in Samantha’s apartment from her mom apologizing to her for not telling her who her father was earlier.”

Abbie tilted her head, a small smile pulling at one corner of her mouth. “You were snooping at her apartment?”

Gladwynn shook her head. “No. We were looking for the extra scripts she had with notes for the actors. The letter discovery was an accident. Or at least Grandma said it was.”

Abbie pulled a tray of cookies from under the counter and began to refill the display case. “I can’t believe you’re pulling your grandma into being a snoop.”

“I did no such thing. She invited herself along. I offered to go so Grandma or anyone else that was close to Samantha didn’t have to.”

Abbie lowered her voice. “Did the letter say that Derek was her father?”

“No, but I just have a gut feeling. I mean Derek moved here like three years ago, Samantha two. They spent a lot of time together and – I don’t know. The letter just makes me think that Samantha was trying to connect with him.”

“Do you think he knew she was his daughter?”

Gladwynn shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if my theory is true or not.”

The front door opened and several people stepped inside. Gladwynn guessed they were all together, maybe visiting the local state park or family in town.

“Good luck,” she whispered to Abbie before stepping away from the counter. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything else.”

“You better,” Abbie whispered.

The group was blocking her exit so she waited to one side, sipping the coffee. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blur of color and blond hair.

“Gladwynn!”

She looked toward the sound of her name being called. Summer was walking toward her with a cup in one hand and a takeaway pastry bag in the other.

“Gladwynn! Oh my goodness! I haven’t had a chance to talk to you since you found Samantha.” The tall, blond threw her arms around Gladwynn and pulled her in for a brief, tight hug. She leaned back, her hands still on Gladwynn’s upper arms. “Are you okay? I mean you can’t be okay. Not after such a shock. It was a shock, wasn’t it? It’s all over town that you and Doris found her. I just can’t believe she’s gone. It’s like a total nightmare.” She let go and swept her long curls off her shoulder. “Do you think she was really murdered? Based on what you saw? I mean was there a knife or something?”

Gladwynn waited for a few seconds to be sure Summer was done speaking before answering. “Uh. No. I didn’t see a murder weapon. And yes, it is a shock. I have no idea if she was murdered or not based on what I saw but the police seem to think she was.”

Summer grasped Gladwynn gently by the elbow and ushered her toward a table. “Sit down. Take a load off.  I’m sure you could use someone to talk to. I know I could.”

“Actually, I have to get back to –”

Summer sat at the table and patted the surface of it in front of the chair across from her. “Oh just sit for a few. You work so hard. Luke is always saying so.”

Gladwynn sat reluctantly, catching the eye of Abbie who looked at her with a questioning expression. “I can stay a few minutes, sure.”

Summer sipped her tea and broke off a piece of her cookie. “Samantha and I had the best conversation one night in her apartment a couple of months ago. She was helping me learn my lines and we started talking about our lives and where we grew up. I grew up here, of course, but she told me she’d grown up in a small town somewhere in Nebraska. Her father was a farmer and her mother was a teacher. I could relate, of course, because my mother was also a teacher. I guess that’s why I love to read so much. My mother read all the time and it inspired me and now here I am working at the library that I practically lived in when I was growing up.”

Interesting. Hadn’t Vince said Samantha told him she was from outside Chicago?

Summer reached inside her purse for a tissue. Her voice softened. “Sam was so full of life. She had such plans for her future. She wanted to get married and have lot of children because she said she’d been an only child and she didn’t want her children to have such a lonely upbringing.”

She wiped her eyes and then gently blew her nose. “You hadn’t had a chance to meet her, had you?”

Gladwynn took a sip of her coffee. “No. I was set to meet her the day she died.” She leaned back in the chair and crossed one leg over the other. “Did she ever tell you what brought her to Brookstone?”

Summer frowned. “Not that I recall.”

“She didn’t say if she had any connections here? I mean, Brookstone, Pennsylvania is a long way from Nebraska.”

Summer’s blond waves bounced as she shook her head. “I couldn’t tell you. Maybe? I guess she just liked the area or something and the job looked good to her.”

A car honked somewhere outside. The line at the front of the shop was getting smaller now and most of the people who had come in earlier had found tables to sit.

“I think it’s weird that Derek died the week before her,” Gladwynn said. “I heard they used to hang out a lot. Did anyone ever say anything to you about who found Derek or how he died?”

Summer’s eyes widened. “Gosh. I don’t know who found him. I do think it’s weird he died only a week before Sam, but I have no idea how he died.”

Gladwynn glanced at her watch. She really needed to get to work. She was already late. Still she wondered what other information she might be able to pull from Summer. “Will you be going to his funeral?”

“Oh, of course. I loved Derek. Everyone did.” She broke off another piece of her cookie and popped it in her mouth. “He was a sweet man and a huge supporter of the library and the theater. He made a huge donation for us to buy books last year. We were able to replace half of the children’s library inventory with it.”

“Wow. So Derek must have had some money then.”

“He must have, but I don’t know much about him or his background. All I know is that he was hilarious, full of life like Samantha, and absolutely loved old black and white movies. He and Samantha used to watch them together in the lounge or at his or her apartment and even invited me one night. We watched Monkey Business with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Marilyn Monroe played a small part in it too. Have you seen it?”

Gladwynn sipped her coffee again. “I have actually. My grandma and I love to watch old movies together.”

Summer broke off another piece of cookie, eating it has daintily as she had the other pieces. “Luke loves old movies too. I can’t say I’m a huge fan but I watch them because he likes them. I’ve enjoyed a couple we’ve watched, but I’m more a fan of 80s chick flicks.”

There she went again, slyly dropping Luke’s name into the conversation. Gladwynn wondered if she was doing it on purpose or it was natural for him to talk about him because they were so close.

“You know, it was weird,” Summer said thoughtfully. “That night when we watched the movie, Samantha kept getting up and taking phone calls. She seemed – I don’t know. Off somehow. I don’t know if it was the phone call or if something else was going on. I asked her if she was okay and she said she was a diabetic and hadn’t eaten right that day, but I felt like there was something more going on.”

Gladwynn spun the coffee cup in her hand. “When was this again?”

Summer touched a long finger to her chin and Gladwynn found herself staring at the dark red hue of her fingernail polish. “About five months ago. I think anyhow.” She stopped tapping her chin. “Oh, yes. That would have been about that long. It was when Luke and I were going to go to a renaissance festival but then he decided he didn’t want to go so Sam and Derek invited me to come over instead.”

She could stop mentioning Luke anytime now. That was the third time. In fact, to help her stop mentioning Luke, Gladwynn was going to excuse herself.

“I hate to cut this short, but I do need to get back to work.”

Summer brushed crumbs off her hand onto a napkin. “Oh, of course. I’ve taken up enough of your time.” She smiled, her eyes glistening. “Thank you for listening. It felt good to talk about Sam. She’s truly going to be missed.”

The sincerity in Summer’s voice was clear and Gladwynn agreed with her as she stood. She wished Summer a good day then quickly made her way to the front door before anyone else could stop her.

As she drove, she thought back to what Summer had said about Samantha seeming off that night. Maybe she’d simply been off because she hadn’t taken care of her health. Or could it have been because of whoever had been on the phone with her? Maybe someone was threatening her? Maybe Derek had told his children about her and it was one of them who she’d been on the phone with her that night.

***

 Gladwynn couldn’t believe it but she’d finally caved under the pressure and given in to playing Diana in the Willowbrook production of Anne of Green Gables. Now here she was on a Saturday morning trying to learn her lines when she could have been at the lake relaxing,

She’d barely seen her father since their conversation two nights ago. She’d been at work and he’d been on conference calls or closed up in her grandfather’s office by the time she was up for the day.

This morning he was off for a jog. Gladwynn wondered what he would think when he arrived home and found Jacob and Brutus in the kitchen with Lucinda.

As far as she knew, Lucinda still hadn’t told him about her and Jacob “spending time together.” In some ways Gladwynn wanted to be out of the room when William returned, but in other ways she wanted to sit back for the show when he saw Jacob.

Lucinda was upstairs getting dressed for Derek’s funeral. Gladwynn had agreed to attend with her, partially to offer her support and partially because she wanted to get a look at Derek’s family.

She’d chosen a more conservative dress than she normally wore, color-wise at least The dark brown pencil skirt matched nicely with a white blouse without sleeves with a frilly neckline. She’d chosen her darker red lipstick and styled her hair into a 1940s style she’d seen online. She was actually quite pleased with how it came out.

Lucinda came down the stairs in a black skirt and white blouse with a black suit coat over it. “I’m going to grab myself some toast and tea. Have you had anything?”

“A little oatmeal and coffee,” Gladwynn answered, laying the script on the coffee table. “Jacob is in there reading the paper still. Have you said anything to dad about him?”

Lucinda adopted her best innocent expression.

“There simply hasn’t been any time. Your father has been working so much since he’s been here.”

Gladwynn followed Lucinda into the kitchen. Sunlight poured across the white and green flowered linoleum.  “That’s no different from any other time.” She picked up her coffee mug and slid it in the microwave. “You’re going to have to explain at some point why there is a man in your kitchen.”

Jacob chuckled from behind the newspaper. “I told her I could make myself scarce but she expressed pretty much the same thing you have about him needing to know eventually.” He lowered the newspaper. “Which is why I’m still here.” He put the paper back up again. “Besides we are all adults here. I’m sure your father will be a lot calmer about things than you think.”

The front door opened as Gladwynn took her mug from the microwave. “Well, we are about to find out. Buckle up, Chief.”

Jacob chuckled again from behind the newspaper.

William walked briskly into the kitchen wiping his brow with a handkerchief. “Looks like it’s going to be hotter than the forecast said today. It’s already heating up out there.”

He didn’t seem to notice the newspaper propped up on the table or the hands holding it as he made his way to the cupboards for a glass. He had retrieved the pitcher of water, turned around and was filling the glass when he looked up and his gaze fell on the newspaper.

Gladwynn sat herself at the seat at the end of the table, next to Jacob. Crossing one leg over the other, she sipped her coffee, and watched her father over the rim of the mug.

William set the pitcher and glass down and cleared his throat. “Oh. You ladies didn’t tell me we had a visitor today.”

Again with the throat clearing, Gladwynn thought with a small, quiet laugh.

Jacob lowered the paper, folded it, and laid it on the kitchen table, then smiled.

For her part, Lucinda continued to make herself toast and heat up the water for her tea as if nothing unusual was occurring. “Hmmm? Oh, yes. William this is Jacob and his canine friend Brutus. They join us for breakfast and dinner from time to time.”

One of William’s eyebrows raised as he propped his hands on the counter behind him. “Jacob. Hello. You were a friend of my father’s weren’t you?”

Jacob stood and walked around the table, holding his hand out. “I was. Also a deacon at the church for years, but mainly after you left for college. Good to see you again.”

William looked at Jacob’s hand suspiciously for a few seconds before taking it and shaking it firmly, his expression unreadable. Gladwynn swallowed a laugh at her father’s awkwardness.

“Jacob. Yes. I remember you.” He let Jacob’s hand go. “Good to see you too. You used to be police chief, or maybe you still are?”

Jacob shook his head slowly. “Nope. Not chief anymore. Retired for a few years now.”

Gladwynn had to give her father credit for recovering quickly from the surprise. He tossed in a smile for good measure even if it was a smile tinted with a bit of confusion.

Jacob sat back down and lifted his coffee cup. “Your mother makes a mean cup of coffee.”

William looked at Lucinda, whose back was to him, keeping his eyes focused on her as he responded, the smile fading. “Yes. Yes, she does. I know my father always said so.”

Lucinda poured hot water into her teacup. “William, I think you remember that Gladwynn and I are going to the funeral of a friend of mine this morning. We’ll be home later and I’ll make sure to fix us all some supper. I hope you don’t mind if Jacob joins us.”

William looked back at Jacob and the smile returned. “Of course I don’t mind. The more the merrier.” He turned back to the refrigerator and pulled a lemon out to cut slices for his water. “I’m sorry to hear about your friend. Anyone I know?”

“No,” Lucinda said. “Derek Murphy was his name – well, actually, I guess his name was Derek Thornton but he went by Murphy when I knew him.”

William began to cut the lemon into slices. “The Derek Thornton? The founder and owner of the Thornton Hotel company?”

Lucinda sat down at the table with her tea and toast. “Yes, from what I’m reading in the papers. He never told any of us that, though.”

William squeezed lemon into his water, then hooked one on the edge of the glass. “That’s strange. I heard he had retired but didn’t know he was living here. What in the world brought him to Brookstone?”

Lucinda shrugged. “No idea. We’re all wondering that now ourselves.”

William sat at the table with his glass of water. “My firm did some work for the Thornton family years ago, when Derek was still in charge. Heard he was a good guy. I played a few rounds of golf with one of his sons. I think his name was Michael.”

Gladwynn and Lucinda gave each other a look, remembering the day outside Samantha’s condo.

“What did you make of Michael?” Gladwynn asked, drinking the last of her coffee.

“Didn’t have a lot of time to get an impression of him really,” William said. “He seemed like a take charge guy. Didn’t like it when he didn’t make a put. Bit of a temper on him, but a lot of guys have a bit of temper when it comes to golf. He took a couple of calls during one round and used a few choice words. Beyond that, we didn’t really interact.” He took a long drink of the water and stood. “Anyhow, I’m sorry to hear about his father. Like I said, a good guy. Always fair and easy to talk to from what my colleagues said. I’m going to head up and get a shower and then do a few things in Dad’s office.” He tipped a nod at Jacob. “Jacob, have a good day and see you for supper.”

Jacob lifted a hand. “You too, William.”

A few moments later Lucinda had finished her breakfast and had her purse over her shoulder. “Ready to go?” When they reached the front door, she picked up her purse and keys from the table next to the coat rack. “We’ll take my car. Yours is much too flashy. Jacob, you’re going to meet us there after you drop off Brutus?”

Jacob had followed them down the hallway, Brutus trotting along behind him. “Yes, ma’am. That’s the plan.”

Lucinda winced. “Don’t call me ma’am. It makes me feel like one of my former students is addressing me.”

Jacob kissed Lucinda’s cheek. “My dear, I am definitely not one of your former students so I will refrain from doing that again.”

Gladwynn was certain she saw a blush spread across Lucinda’s cheeks as a girlish smile crossed her lips and she patted Jacob’s cheek with her hand. “You’re too sweet. See you soon.”

Jacob’s eyes were focused on Lucinda’s now and they were twinkling. “See you soon too.”

It was Gladwynn’s turn to clear her throat. “Okay, you two. Let’s save this for later.”

Lucinda shot her granddaughter a quick scowl and then they all walked onto the porch, Jacob passing by them with Brutus on the way back to his house.

“There’s nothing wrong with flashy.” Gladwynn commented, referring to Lucinda’s earlier comment about her car.

“It attracts the attention of police.” Lucinda paused, looked over her shoulder and winked. “Of course, you attract the attention of the police even out of that car.”

Gladwynn narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lucinda continued down the driveway toward the garage. “Lindy Brown at the barracks said she sensed some ‘energy’ coming off you and Tanner when you stopped by the other day.”

Gladwynn scoffed. “Lucinda Grant. Come on. First it was Luke and now you and your friends are trying to set me up with Tanner?” She stepped around Lucinda and down the front stairs. “Who is Lindy anyhow?”

“The receptionist you spoke with.”

“What is going on? Do you have spies everywhere?”

Lucinda reached into her purse and clicked the button on the remote to open the garage door. “Don’t be silly, sweetie. People just like to share information with me.”  She smiled sweetly as the garage door rose. “And sometimes that information is related to you.”

Gladwynn eyed her grandmother warily as she walked to the passenger side and opened the door. “The only reason I went to the police station is become someone blabbed that I had that letter.”

“It was evidence.”

“I was going to give it to him.”

“I felt you needed a nudge.”

Gladwynn pulled the door of the large 1987 Lincoln closed behind her and reached for her seatbelt. “I’ll nudge you,” she mumbled under her breath.

Lucinda started the car with a grin. “What’s that, honey?”

“Nothing.”

“You might like to hear what else Lindy told me.”

Gladwynn folded her hands over her purse. “I’m listening.”

“She overheard another detective and Tanner talking and they said the coroner report said there was a small indentation in Samantha’s skin just by her collar bone. Barely noticeable.”

Lucinda paused as she backed the car out, but didn’t continue her story once she reached the end of the driveway.

“Well? What does that mean?” Gladwynn prodded.

“I don’t know. That’s all Lindy heard.”

“Could it mean she was poisoned with something?”

Lucinda shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine but I would say it sounds like it to me. I mean, she was a diabetic so it’s possible it has something to do with that, but I don’t think that’s a normal place to give an insulin shot and it was odd enough to the coroner for him to make a note of it.”

Who in Samantha’s life would want to kill her? Someone from the theater? Maybe Emerald, who had wanted her job. It seemed a bit much to kill someone simply to direct a retirement community play, though.

Gladwynn was still leaning toward someone from Derek’s family, especially if they thought Samantha might end up with some of the money they expected to inherit.

Chapter 13

The parking lot of the Brookstone Methodist Church was packed by the time they arrived. Lucinda had said Derek was a popular man but Gladwynn hadn’t realized how popular. Of course, it may also have been because those who knew him in his previous life had now learned of his passing and were curious why he’d passed away so far from home. A small collection of television news vans reminded her that Derek had been a very rich and powerful man when he was alive and members of his family still were very rich and powerful.

She and Lucinda passed a few cameramen on their way into the church, ignoring a reporter who asked how they had known Derek and if they’d been shocked to know who he really was.

A reporter holding a microphone and speaking into a camera asked the same question Gladwynn had in her mind as they walked up the sidewalk toward the front stairs of the church. “Derek Thornton moved to this quaint, rural community two years ago, but what would make the former CEO of a multi-million-dollar hotel chain leave his company and move 600 miles away, changing his name and assuming a quiet life in a retirement community?”

“Why indeed,” Lucinda whispered as they stepped into the lobby of the church, which was filled to the brim with residents – some looking to say goodbye to Derek and some possibly there just to see the drama that might unfold. She leaned close to Gladwynn. “We might not even be able to find a seat.”

A hand waving at the back of the church caught Gladwynn’s attention as they entered the sanctuay. She nodded toward the hand. “It looks like Doris saved us seats.”

The seats weren’t close enough to the front to get as good of a look at the family as Gladwynn would have liked but she could see several people sitting up front, most wearing black.   A couple of the women were wearing large black and white hats like she’d see the royals wearing at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middelton.

Michael Thornton sat at the front of the church next to one of the women in the hats. The entire family looked out of place in the small church with its white walls, tall stained glass windows and dark wood pews.

The woman next to Michael looked like a model on the front of Vogue. Her jet-black hair was pulled back tight and tucked up under the hat, where Gladwynn imagined it was held together in a bun. The woman’s chin and pert nose were pointed upward, her lips pressed into a thin line. Dark eyelashes, very possibly fake, draped over narrowed eyes. Everything about her body language screamed her discomfort with being there. Very little about her showed any grief.

Next to the woman that Gladwynn had guessed was Michael’s wife was another woman with red hair. She looked at her gold watch and pushed a strand of her hair back from her face. As Gladwynn glanced down the row she could only see the backs of heads until she came to the end of the row where a woman with short dark hair dabbed a tissue at the corner of her eye, her shoulders drooping.

A dark wooden casket with gold trim sat at the front of the church open with Derek barely visible. Gladwynn didn’t mind not having a better view. She’d never liked the idea of an open casket at a funeral. The body inside was merely a shell and for her it was hard to see the person she loved not moving, their spirit gone. At least in her grandfather’s case, she’d known where his spirit was residing.

Several moments passed before the pastor stepped up to the podium. He delivered a brief introduction, sharing a story about Derek donating the money needed to fix the roof of the church and then opened the floor for anyone who wanted to share memories of Derek. No one from the family stood but several members of the community did, including Doris, Lucinda, and other residents at Willowbrook. A couple of the speakers expressed shock at learning who Derek was.

“He was down to earth, never showed airs as the saying goes,” Floyd Simpson said. “He played a dang good game of gin rummy too. Old fool owed me $20 and never let on he had plenty to pay me back with.” He laughed good naturedly and then the smile faded. “I’m going to miss him. A lot of people are going to miss him. He brought a lot of good into a hurting world. I hope we all can remember to live like he did and pass the good on to others.”

As Louise stood Gladwynn noticed Eileen sitting behind her, head bowed, wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. She lifted the sunglasses briefly and rubbed a tissue under her eyes. Another person spoke and then the pastor drew the service to a close. Still, no one from the family stood to speak. Gladwynn was surprised the patriarch of a wealthy family had died and absolutely no one from his immediate family stood to say something nice or good about him.

She excused herself to the bathroom as soon as the service ended, hoping to beat the rush. The outside door opened as soon as she locked the stall door. A soft growl from the other side of the stall startled her.

“That was so tedious,” a woman’s voice complained, the click of heels against the floor mixing in with her words.

A second female voice, this one with a thick New York City accent, spoke. “I can’t even believe we had to have his funeral in this stupid little town.”

Then a third woman. “Marjorie don’t be awful. It’s what Derek wanted. It was in his will and I, for one, am glad that Michael respected your father’s wishes.”

The first woman spoke again. “You would be, Beatrice. You’re such a good girl, aren’t you? What’s it like to walk around with a halo over your head? The only reason Michael agreed to it was because that country-bumpkin lawyer said they had to have the funeral here before the will can be read.”

The second woman snorted. “Exactly. I bet Derek had that thing read here because he thought that woman was going to be here. I can’t even believe he was going to give her part of the money. She did nothing to earn that money.”

Beatrice spoke again, this time from the stall next to Gladwynn. “If she really was his daughter then she deserved that money.”

The second woman: “The key word there is if she was his daughter. I get that Derek believed her and her mother but, come on, the old man should have ordered a blood test. She was probably just some money grubbing gold digger. Oh. Is that your pink lipstick? Can I borrow some?”

The first: “It is. The one I got at Macy’s. Go ahead and use it. And you’re right. I think she was just after Derek’s money. It doesn’t matter now, though, of course. She’s dead and she won’t be getting any of it. Too bad.”

Her “too bad” was definitely flippant and it was clear she didn’t really think Samantha’s death was a bad thing at all.

A soft whoosh was followed by the sweet smell of perfume. Gladwynn pressed herself against the back of the stall, hoping they wouldn’t notice her feet under the door.

The door to the stall next to her opened and then closed again. The faucet turned on, almost drowning out Beatrice’s words. “You’re both being awful. That poor young woman was murdered.”

The first woman laughed. “We’re not awful, Bea. We’re honest. I mean even you, Saint Beatrice, don’t want to lose your money, do you?” Her tone dripped with sarcastic mocking. “How else would you donate all that money to that church of yours?”

The door opened and closed again, a sound that Gladwynn imagined was Beatrice choosing to take the high road and leave the bathroom instead of responding to the other women – possibly her sister-in-law’s.  

The second woman spoke. “She makes me want to throw up. I don’t know what John was thinking marrying her.”

“She makes John weak if you ask me,” the first woman said. “John is nothing like Michael. He has no ambition. If she wasn’t around, John would be more focused on business and less on religion. That’s why Michael and I make such a good team. We both have an ambition.”

The other woman laughed. “That’s right. The ambition to make money and lots of it. Who cares where John and Beatrice spend their money. All I care about is that that woman is out of the picture.”

“Exactly.”

The door opened again and the click of heels signaled the two women had left. Gladwynn let out a long breath and relaxed.

So two of the Thornton women were very glad that Samantha was out of the picture. Their conversation had also confirmed that Samantha had been – or claimed to be – Derek’s daughter.

She couldn’t help wonder if one of the women had murdered Samantha? Or maybe they’d murdered her together. Or hired someone.

She left the bathroom a few minutes later, deep in thought, looking at the floor instead of where she was going.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she slammed hard into another person. When she looked up her gaze met a pair of sharp blue eyes. It didn’t seem it could be possible that she had, once again, not been looking where she was going and slammed right into Luke Callahan, but she had. The same thing had happened several months ago outside of the Covenant Church kitchen shortly after she’d met him.

Luke placed his hands on her upper arms to steady her and grinned. “This seems to be a regular thing with us, doesn’t it? Bumping into each other.”

Warmth spread across her cheeks. “Look like it. I’m sorry I was –”

“Deep in thought it looked like.”

She immediately registered that he was clean shaven again and donning his more formal attire, unlike the day at his house. He was wearing a light gray suit coat, unbuttoned, with a light blue dress shirt and black tie. She couldn’t help taking it all in as she took a step back, trying not to admire how well he cleaned up. This was how she was used to seeing him every Sunday and for the few lunches he’d attended with her and Lucinda after church.

He dropped his hands from her arms and as he did so, she caught sight of half a missing button near the edge of the suit coat sleeve. A lump formed in her throat as she briefly studied the other buttons of the coat, realizing they were the same style of the button she’d found in Samantha’s carpet.

A cold chill rushed through her and she wrapped her arms around herself.

“Yes,” she said, her voice sounding strange and high pitched to her. “I was deep in thought. Again, I apologize.”

“It’s fine. You okay? You went a little pale there. Can I walk you to the fellowship hall for the dinner?”

“No, that’s okay.” She looked down, keeping her gaze focused on the tips of her shoes. “I’m not going to the dinner. I’m going back to work.”

“You have the weekend shift then?”

“Hmm?” Her mind raced and she struggled to focus on what he was saying. “Oh. No. I don’t usually work weekends. I guess I forgot it was Saturday. I actually have to rehearse for a play I’m in.”

He grinned and folded his arms over his chest, giving her even more of a view of the half button on the cuff of the coat. “You? In a play? I didn’t peg you as the theater type. Which play?”

She wanted to turn and run to her car to try to make sense of what she was seeing, tell herself there was no way Luke’s missing button was the same button in an evidence bag at the state police barracks. “Anne of Green Gables. The residents at Willowbrook roped me into playing Diana.”

His smile faded briefly, so briefly Gladwynn almost didn’t catch it. “Oh, of course. Summer is playing Anne. She did tell me that. I should have thought that’s the play you’d be in.”

Of course Summer told you because of course, according to Summer, you spend so much time together. How could you forget? She wanted to say all of that but instead she said, “There’s Grandma. I’d better catch up with her. She’s probably looking for me.” She stepped around him, ducking her head. She glanced over her shoulder, knowing she didn’t need to offer more explanation but doing so anyhow. “We came together so I need to ride back with her.”

“Okay then. See you Sunday?”

She tried to answer but her voice seemed stuck somehow. She merely nodded then quickly turned away, making her way through the crowd of people to Lucinda.

“There you are. I’m headed over to the fellowship hall. Are you coming?”

She shook her head slowly and laid a hand on her stomach. “You know, I don’t think that smoothie you made for me this morning is agreeing with me. I think I’ll head back to the house.”

Her stomach really was upset, but she knew it wasn’t the smoothie. She hated lying, but she couldn’t tell her grandmother that their pastor might be involved in a crime.

Concern immediately furrowed Lucinda’s brow. “Oh dear.” She dug into her purse and pulled out the car keys. “Well, here, take the car back. Doris will drive me home. There are some antacids in the medicine cabinet in the second bathroom upstairs.” She patted Gladwynn’s back. “Are you sure that’s all that’s bothering you? You’re very pale. Maybe I should drive you.”

Gladwynn took the keys. “No. I’m fine. You go visit with your friends. You all need each other right now.”

Lucinda gave her a quick hug and cast her a look that said she didn’t believe Gladwynn and they would talk about it later.

In the car, trying to remember how to drive such a big beast of a vehicle, Gladwynn’s throat tightened and tears stung her eyes.

Why had she found a button belonging to Luke in Samantha’s bedroom? Surely there was a simple explanation. Her imagination was running wild, though.

Had Luke and Samantha been having an affair of some kind? That idea was much easier for her to accept than the other possibility, which she didn’t want to think about at all.

She backed out of the parking space and noticed Luke’s bright red pickup parked near the front of the church. Thinking back to that day at his house, at the beautiful cottage, the flowers, the animals, and the way he’d told her to be careful getting involved in this case, her mind raced with panicked thoughts of the worst possible reason for his button being in Samantha’s condo. Could Luke really have murdered Samantha? And if so, why? None of it made sense and the mere thought of it made her feel like she might throw up.

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Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot for November 2

Welcome to another week of Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, which I co-host with Marsha in the Middle and Melynda from Scratch Made Food For Hungry People.
This week has been a fairly relaxed but fun one for my family. Yesterday we went on a family field trip to a reptile zoo about an hour from us. My daughter absolutely loves reptiles. She watches a YouTube show called Snake Discovery about snakes and has even been trying to convince me to let her get a snake.

That isn’t going to happen because my husband is deathly afraid of snakes. He’s like Indian Jones in that room saying, “Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?!”

I’ll write more about our trip to the reptile zoo in my Saturday Afternoon Chat.

For now, let’s get on to the post with the most clicks for this week. It was:

A Little Vignette by Thrifting Wonderland https://thriftingwonderland.com/2023/10/27/a-little-vignette/

And a couple of my favorites from the links this week:

Share Four Somethings from Lisa’s Notes: https://lisanotes.com/share-four-somethings-october-2023/

Handmade Fall Cards by Amy’s Creative Pursuits: https://www.amyscreativepursuits.com/2023/10/handmade-fall-cards.html

The Challenge to Climb by Pam Ecrement: https://pamecrement.com/2023/10/27/the-challenge-to-climb-2/

Now it is time for all you bloggers to leave your links for this week’s Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot. Your posts can be on any topic, from fashion to design to memories to what you did this past week. All we ask is that you keep it family-friendly.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enterhttps://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

Comfy, Cozy Cinema: Little Women (2019)

For October and November, Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I will be watching cozy or comfy movies, and some of them will have a little mystery, creepiness, or adventure added in.

This week Erin chose the 2019 version of Little Women. This movie is full of beautiful cinematography but it really isn’t my favorite version of this story, which as most of you know is based on the book of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.

Before I get into this, I want to explain that when I say it isn’t my favorite version of the story, I don’t mean that I do not like it. I did not like it at all the first time I watched it, but I watched it again and I see what the director (Greta Gerwig) was doing. I simply did not like it as much as others I’ve watched from the standpoint of how it relates to the novel. It is a very good movie when not compared to the source. I don’t know if that makes sense at all, but just know as you read on that I believe it’s a good movie.

I mean, this is the seventh version of this story on either the small or the big screen so the director and screenplay writer had to do something different. This something different was weaving the story of Jo March and her sisters and parents in and out of the present, which is actually the end of the book and other movies.

That’s what I didn’t like about this movie, but let me explain first a bit about Little Women Most of my readers might know that Little Women is the story of Jo March and her sisters Amy, Meg and Beth, as well as their mother Marmie and the young man Theodore (Teddy) Laurence (Laurie) who lives next door with his wealthy uncle. Jo is a writer and based on Louisa May Alcott herself. The other characters are based on her family.

Jo is a bit tomboyish and doesn’t really like to be “ladylike.” Her sisters Meg and Amy are more like young women were “supposed to be” back then (which is the 1860s, during the Civil War). Meg, the oldest, is studious and responsible. Amy is a bit of a brat in most movies, but she’s young and simply learning. Jo is often dramatic and a bit serious. Beth is the meek and quiet child who also becomes the sickly child later on.

The girls’ father is in the Civil War. Their mother cares about everyone and sacrifices a lot for the poor and her family.

Jo wants to become a novelist but her family faces many struggles, which eventually leads her to selling her stories to newspapers to help them earn money. That’s where this story begins. Since I am a traditionalist in some ways, I wanted the story to be told like it is in the other movies (I’m reading the book for the first time starting this week so I can’t say for sure how the book is written) – chronologically. I wanted to build up to the big moments, slowly learning about each character.

But that isn’t how this movie does it and that’s okay. It is a totally different way to tell the story and it is an interesting way but for me, the story seems disjointed and out of order.

With the drama of the ending of the story being shown in the beginning, I felt like the viewer had no time to get to know the characters and even know why Amy was upset at Laurie or why either of them are in France. We were just left wondering, “What in the world is going on here?” I didn’t feel attached to the characters because all I knew what Amy was standing in a ballroom yelling at Laurie. Laurie was drunk. Should I care that Laurie is drunk? Is he not usually drunk? What’s the deal?

So I guess in some ways this version of the story pulls the viewer along on a journey to learn why the characters are acting that way. It is a more modern way of doing it and I didn’t like that at first. It grew on me, though.

I do, however, like the actors in the movie, other than Timothy Chalamat as Laurie. I didn’t enjoy him as Laurie.

Saoirse Ronan is very good as Jo and Florence Pugh pretty good as Amy.

Emma Watson was okay as Meg and Eliza Scanlan plays Beth. I didn’t buy Laura Dern as Marmie at all. Like at all. She’s just the least Marmie actor in my mind and didn’t change my mind during her performance. She’s a great actress but I just couldn’t get her in my mind as Marmie.

I also could not get Meryl Streep in my mind as Aunt March. It was just like watching Meryl be Meryl. Of course, this is only because my brain is tainted with the other versions. Neither actress is bad in their roles, just not the characters from the book to me – and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They made the roles their own.

This version is the third version of this story I have watched. I have watched the 1994 version with Kirsten Dunst, Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, Susan Sarandon (who I also didn’t see as a good Marmie), Claire Daines, and Trina Alverado.

If you’ve seen that version, then you remember the most beautiful scene with Claire Daines when Beth is (spoiler alert!) sick and passes away. It’s such a beautiful scene that I get weepy even thinking about it, let alone watching it. I will post it below, along with trailers or clips of all the movies I am mentioning here.

Earlier this year I also watched the 2018 PBS Masterpiece miniseries starring Anne Elwy, Willa Fitzgerald, Katherine Newton, Emily Watson, Angela Lansbury, and Michael Gabon.

The PBS version is very close to the book, I’d imagine, and the way the story is told is like watching the book come to life. The actors perfectly play each part as if the parts were written for them instead of them being shoved into the part to make it fit, which I felt happened with casting in some cases for the other two versions I’m mentioning here.

We are talking about the 2019 version, though, so let us get back to that version. The 2019 version feels like it has more activism about the role of women – like it was saying out loud what Alcott implied in the pages of the book. I don’t like when movies are preachy but this felt fairly natural instead of preachy.

From what I read, Gerwig wanted to direct the film when she heard it was being remade (yet again) because she said it had inspired her in her life and her career. She specifically wanted the film to be about, “the ambitions and dreams you have as a little girl and how they get stomped out of you as you grow up.”

The movie is produced and directed by women. The producer was Amy Pascal.

Gerwig wrote the screenplay using Little Women but also personal letters and writings by Alcott and other stories of hers.

One other good thing about the 2019 version is that it has James Norton portraying John Brooks. He is the actor from Grantchester and several other shows and Erin is in love with him. *wink* He is quite dishy and I didn’t mind looking at him for a while.

The 2019 version, like the others, still has a very sweet and downhome quality to it and I really like that as well.

A review in The New York offers a good overview of how this movie was written, produced and directed: “ . . . Gerwig’s “Little Women” is the tale of the birth of an artist—a female artist at a time that’s hostile to women and the telling of stories of women’s lives from women’s point of view.  . . .  her version of “Little Women” is about a free-spirited young woman whose ambitions threaten to detach her from her financially struggling family, and who discovers that her intellectual self-fulfillment and emotional development are inseparable from her devotion to her family.”

This reviewer, Richard Brody, also wasn’t impressed with Ronan’s performance as Jo.

“Ronan becomes a vessel for characters endowed with Gerwig’s creative fire, but not for the fire itself. (It’s unclear whether this is due to the nature of her own art or to its interface with Gerwig’s direction.) As a result, Ronan is not a powerful presence as Jo March: the character, famous for her anger, for her “temper,” comes off as unduly moderate, both inwardly and outwardly—not in conflict with herself, not repressing that rage, but merely claiming one that’s hardly in danger of bursting forth.”

Brody does see her performance as professional and good, though, and I do as well.

Now, which version would I recommend that someone who has never read the book to see? I would recommend the 2018 version if they want one closer to the book itself, but I would recommend all of them if you want a good movie. Just sit down and watch all of them one weekend and have fun doing it. It will be one of the most relaxing weekends you’ve ever had since they all check off the comfy, cozy, and homey boxes.

Erin has some great views on this movie that she shared with me earlier this week so check out her post on her blog here: https://crackercrumblife.com/

If you are interested in watching the rest of our movies with us, here is our remaining schedule:

Tea with The Dames (November 9)

A break for Thanksgiving

And

Sense and Sensibility (November 30th)

1994:

2018, PBS: