The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Stanley Waters Mystery Series by Bill Crider and Willard Scott Brings Us Beautiful Weather for a Murder…

I just started a new mystery book series that I am really enjoying. It’s the Stanley Waters Mystery Series co-written by Bill Crider and Willard Scott. Yep! Willard Scott! Some of you may remember waking up with him every weekday morning, as he would tell us what type of weather we could expect AND bring us information about centenarians (sponsored by Smucker’s, of course!) all over the country >>> on the OLD Today Show… way back to the time when Jane Pauley, Tom Brokaw, and Bryant Gumbel held the helm.

The Stanley Waters Mystery Series features a retired, nationally-recognized weatherman who, after becoming a widower, opens a Bed & Breakfast in the Virginia town he grew up in. I am truly enjoying the first book in the series.

As I sit here typing this entry, I am mentally going through some of the characteristics of a Cozy Mystery, and this book has several: It has characters who I really enjoy “spending time with” and takes place in a town where everybody seems to know each other. Some of the characters are a little odd, some of the characters gossip, there are three cats thrown into the mix, and the authors (I know I have said this very same thing before… while describing other authors!) have a great command of the English language, thus not necessitating swearing all the way through the book.

So far, I have only come up with one bad thing about the Stanley Waters Mystery Series… there are only TWO books in the series, and since the last one was written in 1999, I doubt there will be any more in the future. But, there is a bright side to this particular problem… Bill Crider has written several other mystery series from which to choose!

The Bonnie Hunt Show Is Truly Being Cancelled … I Still Can’t Believe It!

(I was going to post another entry today, but Jerry posted a comment about The Bonnie Hunt Show, and I want to respond…) Also, please read the last paragraph…

I am still in disbelief that they are going to cancel this show… I truly thought that some big-wig at one of the networks would see The Bonnie Hunt Show and get the rights to produce it. It is a uniquely different show, one that embraces the good in life and people, one that doesn’t go out of its way to sensationalize or dictate what the audience should feel, one that fills the television void for so many people.

I think that it is simply a question of demographics… The show doesn’t appeal to the majority of the viewing audience which apparently wants to see “cat fights” amongst the guests, private paternity cases being solved in front of a hissing and booing audience, marital cheating being revealed while all of the guilty are on stage fighting and laughing about being caught, ETC. (I don’t actually watch ANY of these types of shows, but I have seen enough of the promotions to get the gist. And, those types of shows are still going strong!)

She isn’t a sensational “gotcha” kind of host. She is truly kind to the people she is interviewing and doesn’t invite them on just to embarrass them. Her guests are people (and don’t forget how many times some of the Sesame Street Muppets have been on!) from today’s movies and television shows, as well as some of the true icons of television/movies: Dick Van Dyke, Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White, Carl Reiner… That’s very impressive!

To quote my twenty four year old daughter: Bonnie Hunt is a “very refreshing TV personality.  She’s genuinely funny without being crude, and she isn’t sickeningly saccharin…”

I don’t think that it is a matter of the age of her audience. I really do think that she has a following of young people, but they aren’t the young people who apparently make a difference in the ratings… And, even if it is a matter of age and her audience is old enough to appreciate the guests I mentioned above>>> What’s wrong with that?!? I bet that I spend a lot more money at the grocery/department store than someone  younger who “hoots it up” while watching a wife beat up a mistress (or two, or three!!!) on a surviving talk show! Good grief!

The  Bonnie Hunt Show is the only daytime show that I watch, and I will TRULY MISS IT!

 

Can You Believe May Has Arrived? Can You Believe Foyle's War Is Back?!?

It seems like we were just celebrating the end-of-year holidays, and already it’s May! My mind set would have the picture on the left showing the citizens of Who-ville singing “Fahoo fores. dahoo dores, Welcome all Whos far and near”!

Our neighborhood is already having their “first-Saturday-in-May garage sale” and they are getting the neighborhood pool ready for the May weekend hours. That’s a sure sign that it is almost summer out here.

I don’t know why I am having such a difficult time believing that it is already May, though. The hot, humid (H & H) weather is already upon us here in San Antonio. It is only a matter of time before I quickly get the correct picture in my head…

Even Sprite (our 15 year old puppy) knows that it’s almost summer. There is a time right before the H & H hits us that she enjoys going outside to just stand on the grass (which she is allergic to!) and sniff all of the smells in the (very few) breezes that we get. Of course these days she sometimes loses her train of thought when she goes outside even in the H & H and just stands on the grass looking around… sort of wondering why she is out there.

The one really good thing about May for us is that our daughter will be coming home after her exams, before she heads off to her summer internship. So, all of the H & H is well worth it! I just hope it’s not too H & H for the one week she will be home…

PS >>> Foyle’s War starts a new season this week on PBS… Make sure to check your local TV listings!

PBS and Milk Bones Present "Through a Dog’s Eyes"

I am pretty sure that I have never written an entry about not being able to sit through movies or shows that feature dogs… I think this comes from watching “Old Yeller” or “The Yearling” as a young child. The pet-sob-story movies have been off limits to me for years (and by that I mean LOTS of years) since my early childhood. People have told me about “Marley”… both the book and the movie. Nope! Not for me! I’m not willing to watch or read anything that is going to be happy… and then show how the cycle of life is inevitable.

But, “Through a Dog’s Eyes” is totally different. It is uplifting, it is inspiring, it is… terrific. This PBS one-hour show follows Jennifer Arnold’s dog assistance group as they pass their beloved trained dogs to the people whose lives these very smart, well-trained, beautiful dogs will change for years and years to come. It is a wonderful “investment” of an hour of your time. (Milk Bones is the proud sponsor of “Through a Dog’s Eyes” and they should be proud!!!)

This one hour show will be inspiring, I can almost guarantee that! These dogs truly change the lives of the people they are entrusted to. Unfortunately, I am not sure how many more times your local PBS channels are going to air the show. So >>> Go check and see! (My PBS channel will be showing it one more time, on Tuesday at 2:30 AM.)

I don’t think the reason I enjoyed this show so much is my love of dogs, or the fact that my master’s degree is in Special Education. I think it’s just that this show is a wonderful sign of what people and animals can do when they choose to be kind, loving, patient, and caring.

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