Here is another example of my reading a book simply because the title intrigued me – Reports of His Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated by James Goodhand.
This book was just fantastic. That isn’t always the case when you start reading knowing nothing but the title. However, as the story began, I connected with the characters (Especially Ray) and was hooked with the series of events that fall into place.
Let’s look at the Goodreads Synopsis:
A lifetime ago, Ray “Spike” Thorns was a well-regarded caretaker on a boarding school’s grounds. These days, he lives the life of a recluse in a house rammed with hoarded junk, alone and disconnected from family or anyone he might have at one time considered a friend.
When his next-door neighbor drops dead on Spike’s doorstep, a case of mistaken identity according to the police, the hospital, the doctors—everyone—Spike is dead. Spike wants to correct the mistake, really he does, but when confronted with those who knew him best, he hesitates, forced to face whatever impression he’s left on the world. It’s a discovery that brings him up close to ghosts from his past, and to the only woman he ever loved.
Could it be that in coming face-to-face with his own demise, Spike is able to really live again? And will he be able to put things straight before the inevitable happens—his own funeral?
This is the best kind of feel-good it’s deeply affecting but full of clever mishaps and enough laughs along the way. It takes the message from Dead Poets Society and mixes it with the tragedy of It’s a Wonderful Life and tops it off with an ultimately lovable guy like in A Man Called Ove. The result is a heartbreakingly beautiful look at life and what we would all do if given a second chance.
I absolutely love the description of Dead Poets Society, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Man Called Ove. It really describes what you can expect from the book. I found myself jotting quotes from the book down on paper as I was listening to it.
This book follows the common format of moving back and forth between time. We see the main character as an old man, as well as his younger self. How do the actions and events of the past play into who he is as an old man? It’s that kind of thing.
There were some funny moments, some moments where you were are on the edge of your seat waiting to see what is going to happen, and moments that warm your heart and fill your eyes with a tear or two. It was really a great read. Some reviews said that the ending was predictable, but I didn’t think so.
I felt like the ending was a culmination of all I had read up to that point and then presented a wonderful surprise that had me smiling and holding back a tear. This didn’t fall into the “mystery/thriller,” “Historical fiction,” or “Based on a True Story” categories. It was simply a lovely story that deserves to be shared.
I had meant to post this photo last Friday, but posted a Christmas recap instead. I know that we are into the new year, but it is too cute not to share.
This is Ella in 2020. She’d be 9 months old here. I remember that I bought a Santa hat that read “My First Christmas” for her. However, by this time, it had gotten too small for her.
This was during Covid and it was a very weird Christmas. I love that reindeer shirt she is wearing. It is cropped out of the picture pretty much, but the big plastic thing behind her was the indoor swing we bought for her. She spent so much time in there.
It’s funny to see the Christmas tree in the corner. I don’t remember but one or two years that it was there. Most of the time it is in front of the big living room window. We must have been very trusting here because the gate that we had put up to keep Ella and the cats away from the tree is not up. Maybe we took it down to get to presents? I really don’t know.
It is amazing to look at her baby face. You can see little features that she still has today and features that have sadly faded away with growth. I miss her being this tiny.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.“ II Corinthians 5:17
January 1, 2026
Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus,
As a new year begins, I come to You thankful for the old year and all that I learned from it. Thank You for the good times shared with family and friends. Thank You for the trials and tribulations that helped me to be grateful and patient. I pray that I will continue to build patience and understanding in the year ahead.
Thank You for Your Word, Lord. I ask that You help me to read, understand and apply it to the details of my life. Allow it to guide me through the various situations I will face in the coming year. Help me retain Your word in my heart and soul so that I will always have it at the forefront of my mind.
As I read Your word, help me to remember Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Let me take those words and have them renew my mind and my thinking. Help Your word to guide me through each new day.
Help me to be an example of Your love and Your grace. Help me to be a light to others. Help me to be a loving husband and father. Help me to be a trustful friend to all. Help me to be the voice of reason during conflict. Help me to be bold in proclaiming the gospel to others.
As each new day dawns, let me rejoice in another day of life. Let me focus on the many things that You have blessed me with. Help me to avoid focusing on the things that bring me down and take my focus away from You. Your word helps to adjust my thinking. As Your word plainly states:
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8
May all I do in the new year be in line with Your will for me and for Your glory.
For us here on earth, we begin another year of 365 days. Our concept of time and Yours is so very different. As II Peter 3:8 says: “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” None of us knows just how much time we have here on this planet. Please help me to use each second wisely.
As I look at the things I want to make happen, I ask for Your help. This year I want to:
Spend more time in Your word
Spend more time in Prayer
Practice more kindness and to be less selfish
Let go of past hurts and extend more empathy and forgiveness to others.
Avoid negativity and be more positive.
Have more time with family
With Your help, I know that it can be done. With You all things are possible.
Thank You for Your unconditional love. Thank You for the gift of Salvation through Your death, burial and resurrection. Thank You for a new year and new possibilities.
2026 rang in as I was in Dreamland. The ball dropped in New York City – unseen by me. The new year was three and a half hours old when I opened my eyes.
Andrew tapped me and wanted to know if it was still night time. I assured him it was and encouraged him to go back to sleep. It wasn’t long before we were all up. Which led to Mabel hearing us.
Once she heard us, she wanted outside. I dressed and took her out in the cold so she could wander the yard and eventually offer up poops #1 and #2 to the new year. When we got back inside she wants to play and I want to sleep.
Once she settles, I try to sleep. However, 20 minutes in the cold has now got me pretty much awake. So her and I go out to the living room.
The new year is just over five hours old. My first meal of 2026 was a bowl of Lucky Charms. Mabel is laying next to me on the couch as I write.
I’m sure there will be a much deeper blog later, but for now here is a great quote:
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
As we begin the journey of 2026, may it be full of 365 “best days.”
Here we are – Day 365. As the final hours of 2025 tick away, I find myself looking back. It’s always been interesting to me that some events seem like they happened yesterday, while others seem like they happened more than a year ago!
I spent the last couple days looking back at the year. It was a year full of wonderful memories.
January
Sitting through a three hour dance recital to watch Ella for roughly 6-9 minutes – worth it completely!
Until Ella, I had only only dealt with boy stuff. Watching my little girl in her first recital was so fun. Those little kicks and simple moves brought so many smiles.
Hosting my own “feature” was fun to do. It was a bit more work than I anticipated and difficult to schedule so it didn’t overlap with other monthly features hosted by other bloggers. It was interesting to see which books struck a chord with my other blogger friends.
February
Believe it or not, Ella is already excited about this coming year’s Daddy/Daughter dance! She found out that Wicked is the theme.
Last year it was all about Barbie. There was plenty of pink around. There were fun activities and photo ops that she loved to do, like this one.
It was a lot of fun to do an interview with my friend and actor Eddie Deezen. We’ve been social media friends for some time and he has so many wonderful stories. I sent him a bunch of questions and told him he could answer a few or however many he felt he wanted to. He answered them all!
Normally, I’d send him a Christmas card, but this year, we didn’t send any.
For Ella’s 5th birthday, we went to Build-Bear. She got to pick whatever she wanted, and chose a kitty cat. She has such a wonderful day.
March
I tried again to host my Share Your Nostalgia feature. This time it was about Cartoons or Cartoon Characters. With the variety of participants and where they are from, there were quite a few neat submissions.
Some have asked me to do another round. I really haven’t found a topic that I felt might be worthy of doing. There’s always a possibility of one popping up soon.
April
I stepped out of my comfort zone in April and said I would coach Andrew’s soccer team. Not knowing a lick about the sport, luckily I had someone to help.
I had a lot of fun, but I don’t think I’ll be doing that again.
Ella did T-ball. Sadly, I never had the chance to see her because of my work schedule. They days that I did take off to do so, things were cancelled because of weather.
May
The start of one of the biggest fiascos of the year happened in May. Our dryer stopped working and I thought it would be an easy fix.
Getting all the parts to repair it, I replaced it all with YouTube’s help. However, it still didn’t work.
This led to us ordering a new dryer, sending that back and a long wait for the correct one to show up!
This year marked my 55th birthday. Since then, I’ve noticed my back hurts more than it used to.
June
A second dance recital for Ella. Watching her pop out of a bathtub that was turned into a yellow submarine was just one of the highlights.
For Father’s Day, I had a day with all my kids. The highlight was dinner at Applebee’s and ice cream afterwards.
I feel like I have lost track of hospital visits and surgeries between the kids over the past couple years. In June, Ella has to have tonsils out. She was such a brave girl and we got matching hats.
July
The new dryer finally arrived. As I attempted to install it, I ran into the normal “Keith” problems. Thankfully I had a guy at the local hardware store to explain how to flang the gas line for hook up.
No more trips to the Laundromat!
Another hospital visit – this time an MRI for Andrew. He has brought about more medical questions that I care to remember. Thankfully, the majority of his test results over the years have been good
August
How do you make a parent feel old? Start Kindergarten. Time will do nothing but speed up from here.
She loves school and is super smart. So proud of her.
We did our best to take advantage of days off during the summer, but work schedules and doctor visits made it hard. We did get to spend time at the zoo, however.
September
School means any type of extra activities just make life busier. Ella loved seeing Andrew play soccer, so she wanted to do it too.
She had fun, when she was on the field. I think she enjoyed socializing with her peers more.
Who doesn’t love the Homecoming parade?! Ella got to walk with her school. I wound up carrying her on my shoulders for the majority of the parade.
October
Andrew started preschool and is doing much better than we had hoped. He can spell and write is full name. His teachers love him.
My brother came up for a Halloween visit. We had a real nice day with the kids in Frankenmuth.
Ella and Andrew were invited to a fri nds birthday party. They had it at a bowling alley. Ella had only bowled once and this was Andrew’s first time. They both had a blast.
We did a couple Trunk or Treats this year, and then walked the neighborhood. He was a member of the SWAT team, and Ella was a fairy princess.
I remember the days where the person at the door just put the candy in your bucket. It seems like a lot of them offer voices now. I used to be able to go in and swipe the candy they didn’t like for myself. This year – not one Almond Joy because they never picked them. Grrrr
November
We had our first snow before I had the leaves raked up.
Despite my hesitation, Sam brought home Mabel. She is out St. Bernadoodle. She’s so much fun and is truly mom’s pup.
December
No family pictures this year due to a conflict, but kids got to visit Santa!
The ridiculous elf came to work with me and reeked havoc.
Andrew can’t get enough of his riding mower
Ella LOVES her American Girl doll
A rare Christmas visit from my brother
And soon the year is over.
I hope you are able to look back at the year and smile at the wonderful memories made.
I seem to use this quote every year but it is true…
“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.”
Every year I look back at the list of talented famous people who have passed away. It always amazes me at how big the list is. Some on the list are still fresh in our minds, while others make you go, “Oh yeah, I forgot about them.” As we wrap up 2025, allow me to tip my hat to some of them. (This is in no way a complete list)
January
Brenton Wood (83) “Gimme Little Sign”
Peter Yarrow (86) Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary, “Puff the Magic Dragon”
Sam Moore (89) Sam of Sam and Dave, “Soul Man”
Marianne Faithfull (78) “As Tears Go By”
Sam Moore
February
Jerry Butler (85) The Impressions, “He Will Break Your Heart”
Roberta Flack (88) “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
Robert John (79) “Sad Eyes”
David Johansen (Buster Poindexter) (75) “Hot, Hot, Hot”
The Ice Man – Jerry Butler
April
Johnny Tillotson (86) “Poetry in Motion”
Lenny Welch (86) “Since I Fell For You”
Nino Tempo (90) “Deep Purple” (with April Stevens)
May
Rick Derringer (77) Member of the McCoys, Music Producer, “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo”
Alf Clausen (84) Composer – The Simpsons
June
Sly Stone (82) Sly of Sly and the Family Stone, “Everyday People”
Brian Wilson (82) The Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations”
There was no shortage of possibilities to feature today on Tune Tuesday. Musical birthdays include Bo Diddley (1928), Skeeter Davis (1931), Paul Stookey (1937), Mike Nesmith (1942), Davy Jones (1945), Jeff Lynne (1947), and Ellie Goulding (1986). However, I have decided to focus today on a Hometown Hero.
Born today in 1934 in Coopersville, Michigan – Del Shannon.
Del had hits with Runaway, Keep Searchin’, Little Town Flirt, and in 1963 he actually released the Lennon/McCartney song Love Me Do! After his success with Runaway, he released his second single Hats Off To Larry.
The story goes that while on tour with Dion, Del wrote “Hats Off To Larry” in the dressing room that night. Dion and fellow rock ‘n’ roller Bobby Vee were present at the time.
Songfacts.com says:
The slow intro features Shannon woefully explaining the details of his breakup before he launches into an upbeat rock and roll number, reflecting his joy over his ex’s comeuppance. His label, Bigtop, thought a fast-paced intro would be better to hook listeners, but Shannon was adamant. He recalled to interviewer Ted Yates: “I had to fight for about two hours to get that the way I wanted it. They didn’t want to listen to me. I was just the singer.”
Happy Heavenly Birthday to one of the great Blues guitarists – Matt “Guitar” Murphy. He was born in this day in 1929 in Mississippi.
While many know him from playing in the Blues Brothers Band, he was also know for playing along with Memphis Slim and Howlin’ Wolf. The list of names that he’s recorded with is a Who’s Who of the Blues: Chuck Berry, Koko Taylor, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Buddy Guy, Etta James, Willie Dixon, and Freddy King – just to name a few.
In the 1970’s he played with James Cotton and his harmonica. They recorded six albums together. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi attended one of their performances and subsequently asked Matt to join the touring band of The Blues Brothers. He would appear in both movies as Aretha Franklin’s husband. He toured with the band until 2000.
He recorded three solo albums: His debut was 1990’s Way Down South. That was followed by 1996’s The Blues Don’t Bother Me and finally Lucky Charm in 2000. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2012.
He suffered a stroke in 2002, but he was able to return to playing. In June of 2018, Matt passed away after suffering a heart attack. He was 88.
Let’s celebrate him today with a cut from “Way Down South,” – Matt’s Guitar Boogie #2:
Most of the books I read are because of book suggestions on Goodreads, BookTok, or book blogs. I honestly don’t know what made me add this to my “To Read” list. I may have thought this was a time travel novel, I’m not sure. Whatever the reason, I recently finished Joy Moody is Out of Time.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Strange things are happening behind the bright pink facade of Bayside’s premier laundromat, Joyful Suds; home to Joy Moody and her twin daughters.
For much of their lives, Joy has been lying to Cassie and Andie. What started as a colorful tale to explain how the twins came to live with her grew over the years and was always something she meant to set straight. Joy really did think she had more time. Worse still, Joy is struggling to define the truth from the lies.
The girls have long believed they are vital to the future and must stay hidden to stay safe. Joy has told them that their impending 21st birthday is significant; they will step into their roles as daughters of the future revolution and life as they know it will change. Joy was right – everything will change, just not in the way the expected. On Andie and Cassie’s birthday, Joy Moody is found dead and her girls face a world they are not prepared for without their mother. Joy Moody is out of time… in more ways than one.
There is a sense of mystery throughout the book. You get the feeling that Joy has done something, but you’re not sure what. You also get the feeling that she is a bit weird and overprotective. She seems to have a reason for everything she does, even though it is a bit bizarre.
Right from the onset, you know that Joy is going to die at some point. No spoiler here, as it is in the synopsis. What happens after her death is where things fall apart and come together. There were some stand out characters who you either like or dislike. There is one point in the story where I got the sense that what is going on is something strait out of a predictable Hallmark movie.
I suppose I expected something a bit more from this. It wasn’t bad, it was just average.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 