10 People???

Hello Peoples! A new day has dawned. YAY!

Rick and I went to the bookstore today. Now, the bookstore in our town is big. There is room for plenty of people. Well, this morning an employee met us at the door and told us, the bookstore is only allowing ten people into the store at a time. We laughed and talked to the employee for a minute. She was great and had a wonderful, goofy sense of humor. She let us in. Apparently there weren’t ten customers in the store when we arrived. I saw two other customers. Mmm.

Rick and I watched, The Phantom of the Opera, this week. I had forgotten how mesmerizing that film is. I was sitting on a foot rest close to the tv totally captivated.

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Gerard Butler   Emmy Rossum   Patrick Wilson

I’m reading Ben Hur. I’m walking everyday and remaining occupied.

Have a great day.

Much love ~

Kathy

Love Starts Here by Traci Borum

Love Starts Here by Traci Borum

A Morgan’s Grove Novel

A BIG thanks to the author for e-mailing her book to me!  🙂

Jill McCallister is a bestselling mystery writer who believes her reservoir of writing ideas has run dry. She wraps up her mystery series and ends it. After she ends her series, her online publisher friend, suggests she write about genealogy. Jill agrees to do this, but, in the beginning, she has a struggle on how to approach this currently popular topic. So, Jill and her roommate, Lindsay, turn to a genealogy website online to look into Jill’s ancestors. During their investigation, the roommates discover Jill had an ancestor, Alfred J. Stout, who purchased a run down town in Texas, rebuilt it, and named it after his daughter Morgan. After some discussion with Lindsay, Jill decides to travel to Morgan’s Grove, Texas and research this town, her ancestors and the town’s history.

Warning: The reader may experience an unexpected craving for gingerbread cookies while reading this book.  🙂

I had such a good feeling at the end of this story. And! I was pleasantly surprised to discover it is a Christmas story. I thought the author had a fresh idea for her book ~ genealogy. It was a new idea for a novel and I liked it. It was new to me. Jill and her new friends in Morgan’s Grove are warm people. The community is welcoming, hospitable, friendly, generous and they treat newcomers like family. There is a soft, gentle romance in the book that is slow moving. Our leading man, Rick, is an enigma in the beginning, but as we get to know him he’s a great guy and loves his grandmother dearly and looks after her faithfully. When he meets Jill, he doesn’t trust her, but as time marches on, he changes his tune and the two fall in love. There are a few surprises in the story and the ending is sweet. If I was to describe this book in one word, I would say ~ charming. It’s safe for anyone who would like to read a gentle romance set at Christmas time. 4.5 stars!

I gave it 4.5 stars because I thought the beginning was a tad rushed. There is a recipe for gingerbread cookies at the end of the book.  🙂

Ramblings And What Not ~

Hello Peoples! *sigh* I walked downtown early this morning and I’m glad I did. The weather has been deteriorating quickly. I bought a hot chocolate to go and then went grocery shopping. The stores have a blue X on the floors, six feet apart, and everyone is suppose to stand on the blue X. It’s blue tape. *eyes roll* I’ll be glad when this is over, but I should say, most of us are keeping our sense of humor.

That’s right!  🙂  Rick and I watched Mom’s Night Out (2014)!  Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, Trace Adkins, David Hunt, Andrea Logan White, Abbie Cobb and several more talented actors and actresses!  🙂  This is a FUN film. And! At the end of the movie I always feel good. Bones (Trace Adkins) is my favorite character! If you haven’t seen this crazy movie, I highly recommend it!

My favorite books in March ~

On A Summer Tide by Suzanne Woods Fisher

AND

Gone With the Whisker by Laurie Cass

A Bookmobile Cat Mystery

I’ll be posting my review of Gone With the Whisker in a couple of days.  🙂  

Favorite Word ~

paradiddle  🙂  

Your favorites at the cottage in March ~

March 13, 2020 ~ Classic Movie Friday, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

March 13, 2020 ~ Ramblings And What Not

March 5, 2020 ~ Al Dente’s Inferno by Stephanie Cole

March 18, 2020 ~ No Toilet Paper???

Have a great weekend! Smile!  🙂

Much love ~

Kathy

Classic Movie Friday!

Night And Day (1946)

Cary Grant   Alexis Smith   Monty Smith  Dorothy Malone

Ginny Simms  Jane Wyman   Eve Arden

This is the story of Cole Porter (Cary Grant) and his wife Linda Lee Porter (Alexis Smith). I don’t know anything about Cole Porter and decided not to google him, so I don’t know how accurate this film is. However, I did recognize the music in the movie. The movie begins when Cole is at Yale studying to become an attorney. He doesn’t want to be an attorney, but he’s pressured by an older relative to study law. Cole wants to compose music. During his first Broadway show, the Lusitania sinks and his show fails for that reason. Cole goes to war with music on his mind. He’s injured during the war and is hospitalized. After the war he marries Linda, however, the marriage is troubled because all his time is spent composing music and spending time with his friends in the entertainment world. Linda leaves Cole a few months, traveling in Europe. He’s very successful. There is music, dancing, rehearsals and parties throughout the second half of the film. Tragedy strikes but it doesn’t seem to keep Cole from doing what he loves to do, compose music. The ending is touching.

Enjoy!

Hello Peoples! It has been a very quiet day here. I walked early this morning. I saw a few dog walkers, but no one else. I started reading, Love Starts Here by Traci Borum. Traci wrote the Chilton Crosse novels. I did read all of the Chilton Crosse books. If you are interested, check out her website ~

http://www.traciborum.com/

She’s also on goodreads.

This afternoon I watched another movie ~

Murder On the Orient Express (2017)

Kenneth Branagh   Daisy Ridley   Leslie Odom Jr.   Tom Bateman   Penelope Cruz

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo   Josh Gad   Johnny Depp   Derek Jacobi   Sergei Polinun

Lucy Boynton   Marwan Kenzari   Michelle Pfeiffer   Judi Dench and several more!  🙂

If you haven’t seen this film, go for it. I hadn’t watched it in awhile, so I thought now was a good time. The movie always seems to be different from the book and this one is no exception. I thought the cinematography was amazing. And! The ending clearly reveled the emotion of the characters.

Poirot finds himself, once again, investigating a murder. This time on the Orient Express. Enjoy!

Much love ~

Kathy

Movie!

Hello Peoples. Since I’m watching movies during the pandemic, I thought I would share my favorites with you. Your welcome.  🙂

Fly Away Home (1996)

Anna Pacquin   Jeff Daniels   Dana Delaney   Terry Kinney   Holter Graham

If you haven’t seen this film, I highly recommend it. It’s the most inspiring movie I’ve ever seen. For those of you who haven’t seen this film, Amy Alden’s (Anna Pacquin) parents are divorced. Amy and her mother live in New Zealand. Amy’s dad (Jeff Daniels) resides in Canada. Sadly, Amy and her mother are in an automobile accident. Her mother dies as a result of the automobile accident. Dad travels to New Zealand to be with his daughter while she recovers. Dad and Amy return to Canada when she is able. Soon after her arrival in Canada, Amy becomes a mother to several orphaned geese. And thus, begins an adventure that bonds Amy and her dad together and helps Amy through her grief.

Much love ~

Kathy

 

Good morning.

Hello Peoples! I hope you are all well and enjoyed a good weekend. It snowed a few days ago, so our weekend was cold. I did manage to get outside and walk. The cold wasn’t to bad as long as one bundled up!  🙂  Yesterday when I walked, I actually encountered people! I was surprised. It has been several days since I saw anyone out and about.

The letter “T” on my keyboard broke. I didn’t realize how much I use the letter “T” until it broke! For some reason, the computer guy couldn’t fix it, so Rick bought me a keyboard to plug into my laptop and now I can type the letter “T” and I have two keyboards! I confess, I am mighty suspicious of the computer guy.

Rick and I have been keeping busy. We read books and watch movies. Speaking of books, I will be reading Ben Hur by Lew Wallace as my next selection for the Classics Club. Last night we watched, The Fellowship of the Ring. We watched Frodo and Sam begin their perilous journey to Mordor. Speaking of movies, ya know, I have watched Ant Man and Wasp many times! I really like that movie. And! I’m going to wear out my poor Charlie Chan movies. I pulled out Nick and Nora. I’ve been watching those great films again. I might watch every movie we have before this pandemic is over. I’m happy spring is on our doorstep. I can start working in our backyard soon.  🙂

SMILE!

Much love ~

Kathy

Classic Movie Friday!

JEZEBEL (1938)

Bette Davis   Henry Fonda   George Brent   Margaret Lindsay  Donald Crisp

This is the story of the yellow fever epidemic in Louisiana before the War Between the States. I don’t know how accurate the film is, but the yellow fever victims were treated horribly. The dreadful conditions and treatment of the sick probably caused the disease to spread.

Julie Marsden (Bette Davis) is a spoiled, wealthy, immature woman who is manipulative and accustom to getting her way. Julie is engaged to Preston Dillard (Henry Fonda), however, she looses him through her unconventional ways. She’s a piece of work, arrogant and nontraditional. This is important in the south at this time. She doesn’t seem to care about consequences or doesn’t realize there are consequences. And! There are consequences for her and those around her. When Preston breaks off the engagement and leaves the south for a year, Julie is delighted to learn he is returning. However, he returns with his wife, Amy (Margaret Lindsay)! Julie is horrid to Amy. Even though he is married, Julie attempts to win him back. But, yellow fever is ravaging Louisiana and Preston loves his wife.

Bette Davie was a good actress. I personally like her films when she was young. She’s one of my favorites. She is a tragic heroine frequently.

I had never seen Henry Fonda so young. I’ve only seen him in films where he was much older.

Enjoy!

The Classics Club ~ Snowfire by Phyllis A. Whitney

This was a good story. When I decided to read it for the Classic’s Club, I wasn’t even certain it was a classic, but I do believe it is!  🙂  Phyllis A. Whitney was born in Japan (1903) to American parents. She passed away in 2008 and during her life time she wrote more than 70 books! She wrote books for children and adults. I’ve read a few of her books in the past and I’ve not been disappointed.

In Snowfire, Linda Earle’s brother, Stuart, is being held in prison for murder. He is accused of killing Margot, a woman in a wheelchair.  Linda is convinced her brother is innocent and decides to investigate on her own. Julian McCabe, an avid skiier, was Margot’s husband and they had one daughter, Adria.

From the beginning to the end this book had a foreboding atmosphere! Linda decides she must somehow gain access to Graystones where Margot was killed. However, it will not be easy to gain access to this formidable home and win over a grieving family.

“The gray stone house, with its slate roof, was like such an outcropping itself. It had been built of fieldstone, with arched, leaded windows and an arched doorway. It was not a large house–only two stories high–but it was starkly impressive. To the right of the front door and set a little back from it, a round Norman tower with a peaked roof and high weathervane rose above the chimneys. The tower had a gallery at the top, lighted by more arched windows which would offer a fine view.” (p. 24).

With the ski slopes nearby, a suspicious cast of characters, including a caretaker and Julian’s sister, and blizzard conditions, Linda must sleuth and uncover Margot’s real killer.

I thought everyone is this story looked guilty of the crime. Clay, Linda’s boss at the ski lodge, seemed friendly and helpful, always lending a listening ear, but could he be trusted? Emory, Graystones caretaker, hated Stuart. He was ugly to Linda and wanted her gone. Shan, Adria’s aunt planted horrible thoughts in Adria’s mind, plotting her against Linda. Jillian seemed aloof, however, Linda and Jillian were slowly forming an attachment. It certainly kept me guessing.

Happy Reading!

No toilet paper???

I have been rendered speechless! I decided to walk to the bakery this morning and read for a couple of hours. As I walked, I noticed, there were no people out and about! The area of town we live in is almost a ghost town! I walked on and noticed a restaurant was closed until further notice, traffic was beyond light and a coffee shop was open for take out only. Well! That’s a fine how do you do!!!  🙂

So, I walked on. When I arrived at the bakery, it was open, however, chairs and tables were stacked on top of one another and pushed aside. With the exception of the employees, no one was at the bakery! I was told the CDC ordered, the bakery was to be closed except for take out! For two weeks!!! How will I survive???

To add insult to injury, the stores are out of toilet paper!!! The good news is ~ our new refrigerator is going to be delivered today!!! YAY!!!

How is it in your neck of the woods??? I’ll be reading at home today. How about you???

Much love ~

Kathy