watching the Simpsons with my husband, eating chocolate covered cherries and drinking a glass of wine.

the holiday season has fully begun.

have a peaceful week.

wm

that’s all.

wm

Only we don’t eat turkey over here. Still, we’re grateful. I’m grateful for bacon, cuz that clam chowder I had for dinner last night was so good. My son is grateful for pigs. Live pigs. He has requested that I give up bacon. And his sister has requested that we buy them a Wii or Nintendo DS.

Wouldn’t hold my breath on any of that.

And dear readers, I am grateful for you, for America’s new president, for my new job, that I love so much. It is a cool thing to finally, after years of searching, find the right career. And it was there in the library, in the stacks, right under my nose, this whole time. (I needed to look between Cormier, Robert, and Creech, Sharon. Between DiTerlizzi, Tony, and Draper, Sharon. It just took me awhile to get there.)

I’m grateful for Hockey God, who is the yang to my yin, every day without fail. I’m grateful to my kids, who are funny and kooky and remind me of what’s important. (“We are. Over here. Don’t pay attention to anything else. Give us chocolate.”)

I’m thankful for the Nekkid Neighbors, cuz if it’s wasn’t for their love of gadgets, pots and pans, I wouldn’t be cooking Suzanne’s Crockpot Stuffing right now. (If you haven’t already, go sign up for a Book Club or two.)

I’m thankful for Suzanne, and all my Internet buddies. And I’m especially thankful for all my “real-time” buddies. This year will be better. It has to be. I just know it, that’s why.

Have a great weekend, y’all. We’re going to eat root vegetable soup with greens, stuffing with vegetarian herb gravy, TWO KINDS of cranberry sauce (in honor of my Mom’s family, who can never agree on a damn thing), pumpkin pies and real whipped cream, and brownies.

I wish you and yours all the best.

xxox

wm

With our two kids, ages 6 & almost-from-hell, you really really really you just have to believe me on this one really do not want to tell them in advance when they’re getting shots.

Why?

Because they will jump out of the car when it is going 60 miles an hour just to avoid that shot. (more…)

(Backyard Fairy Garden/ photo by Rawley/ use with permission only, please and thank you)

So. I read a lot of books for kids and babies. You are probably already aware. And by a lot, I do mean a whole lot. I wish I could review every title that comes my way. I try to, though. Good enough.

All of that reading does not always leave me much time for devouring the so-called “Grown-up Books.” When I do try to read some “real,” actual fiction, my first thought is: Pictures? My second thought is: Wow, that’s a lot of words. My third thought is: Now I sleep.

Here is half of the stack that’s currently toppling over on the side table in the dining room and on my nightstand. Why read one book when you can read 10 at once? was always my kids’ motto, and it became my motto, too. Competitive bunch. I haven’t finished even one of these tomes yet, but I will finish them all, eventually. (Do you want to know what I just made for dinner? Of course you do. A Devil’s Food Cake (scratch from a mix) and a meat-lovers’ frozen pizza from Winco. I remain the best book reviewer and cook on the planet. Thank you.)

So bon appetit and stay out of trouble: Read more.

xo Nancy aka Wacky Mommy, Reader at Large, at Your Service.

• “Hail Mariam,” by Huda Al-Marashi, is just a great young adult title featuring our hero Mariam, who is Iraqi American and Muslim. She ends up going to the local Catholic school (and is not too sure about it) because her parents think it’s a fantastic idea. Why? “Mama thinks I’m going to make friends who aren’t allowed the same things I’m not allowed. No crushes. No boys. No immodest clothes. But yes to visions of holy prophets!” When her younger sister Salma falls ill, the family comes together, in spite of the challenges. This book is top of my stack and it’s so good. (Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2026, 188 pages, grades 3 and up, $17.99.)

• “The Sherlock Society: Art Attack,” by James Ponti (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 2026, ages 8 and up, $18.99). (OK this one is more of a kid book. I’ll give myself a pass. An art pass!) I love this series. This is the third book from Ponti featuring the Sherlock Society. Alex, Lina, Yadi and Zoe are traveling to check out south Florida’s art scene and try to solve another mystery. Fun read. Ponti has loads of fans and I can see why.

• “Life’s That Way” is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read (and I have read many memoirs over the years). And it was written by one of my favorite actors, Jim Beaver. (Bobby Singer from “Supernatural,” Ellsworth on “Deadwood,” and he has many other credits, too.) He and his beloved wife, Cecily Adams, a successful actress and Hollywood casting agent, had just welcomed their sweet daughter Maddie when they learned of Cecily’s cancer diagnosis. Written as email updates to their family and friends, this collection of loving messages filled my heart and broke it, too. Jim is such a good writer, husband, father, friend, actor, all of it. Much admiration and love for this family. (Berkley Books/Penguin, 2009, 319 pages.)

• “Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy,” a collection of interviews with comedians by Judd Apatow, who knows something about freaks ‘n’ geeks. This one will be good. (Random House, 2015, 556 pages, $18.)

• “Between the World and Me (One World Essentials),” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel and Grau, 2015, 152 pages, $26). “Required reading,” according to author Toni Morrison. I concur. “This was the week,” Coates begins his book, which is a letter to his adolescent son, “you learned that the killers of Michael Brown would go free. The men who had left his body in the street like some awesome declaration of their inviolable power would never be punished.” Strong, powerful writing that comes on like thunder. Coates is a gift to the world. Read him.

• Isabel Allende, “My Name is Emilia del Valle” (Ballantine Books/Penguin Random House, 2025, translated from the Spanish by Frances Riddle, 287 pages, $30). It is 1866, we are in San Francisco. Our characters in this novel include: a pregnant, abandoned Irish nun, a Chilean aristocrat, and then a newborn daughter. (It’s still raining here, in 2026, in the Willamette Valley where I live. I’m reading this book all day, can’t wait.)

• “Emperor of the Air,” short stories by Ethan Canin. A beloved treasure I inherited from my old friend Loran. Love. (Perennial Library/Harper & Row, 1988, 179 pages.)

• “Golden Boy,” a new young adult novel by A.J. Symon (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2026, ages 12 and up, $19.99). A science-crazed young girl’s family dog turns into a human, and everything changes. Surprise!

• “Night of Madness,” scheduled for release end of September, is a creative and intense novel by author Ryan Douglass. (Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster, grades 9 and up, $21.99). A horror story about five teenager influencers who agree to spend the night on a movie set. The set? Is based on “Asylum,” a retro slasher film. Whoever lives, I mean, lasts out the night, wins a hundred thousand dollars. Surprise, surprise!

• “Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens (G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House, 2018, 370 pages, $26). I think everyone has read this book by now except for me, and you know I don’t like to be left out, dang it. Started it, it’s different. Great writing, interesting characters, and the setting is a trip. You feel like you’re there in the sand, by the water, in coastal North Carolina. All good. Except for the dead body.

• I’m looking forward to starting Kristin Hannah’s novel from 2010, “Winter Garden.” (St. Martin’s Press, 394 pages.) This one is about two sisters who have become estranged, but come together to take care of their sick father. Will their mother help? Or hinder? We will see. I love Hannah’s writing style, and she really goes all in on her characters, settings, and descriptions. Highly recommend this author if you haven’t read her yet.

Helloooooooooooooo, Book Lovers!

You know I’m happiest when I’m reading books or writing about books or checking books out to kids or buying books for my own kids. Or checking books out for my own kids. Or, alternately, checking books out for myself. Or buying myself cookbooks and then not cooking anything from them. (more…)

I’ll write the reviews tomorrow (or possibly Tuesday) and give you some recipes, but wanted you to see what I’ve been reading this weekend. (Along with Harry Potter 3, yay Harry Potter. Now I can see why everyone has been waiting in lines all these years for him.)

Happy Sunday, babies!

Recommended:

edited to add this:

Ayun’s book is funny. She’s a funny girl. She’s especially funny when she’s describing how her father stole her Betty Crocker’s New Boys and Girls Cook Book from her after her parents divorced. To my own father I would like to say, Peace, Dad. You killed yourself, you killed my dog, you left us alone. You left me longing for something I would never have. Ever. You wrecked my life in a lot of ways, but at least you never stole my favorite cook book so you could have the hamburger recipe like Ayun’s dad. For that small favor, I thank you.

(Also, you will find the delicious recipe for “Ham” Loaf Hawaiian, the first meal I ever cooked for my mom, dad and sis, on page 68, under the “Meats canned meat” section of the Betty Crocker book. I know because I just picked up my copy off the shelf and thumbed through it. I was also fond of making the Mad Hatter Meatballs on the opposite page. And the bunny salad. There is a lot of Internet love out there for this book, by the way. Ayun and I are not alone. Here’s someone who wrote a book about “Ham” Loaf Hawaiian.)

Here’s a good one from her book. I’ve already made these three times. I didn’t have chocolate chips, so I subbed sweetened cocoa. Good… but they’re not chocolate chips. Give it a try, and don’t blame me if you eat the entire pan.

gub-gub brownies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 2 sticks of butter. Sweet Jesus.

Then add 2 cups of brown sugar, 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.

Better taste some to make sure nobody poisoned it.

Thank God you’re still alive to add 1 1/2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Discuss boys for 5 to 10 minutes to give the dough a chance to cool off a little.

Add 2 cups of chocolate chips. (But first, as a favor to me, do a little Internet research to see which brand is owned by a conglomerate that gladhands its infant formula to impoverished families in developing countries in order to create “customers” who can ill afford a product they didn’t need in the first place and now mix with dirty water. Then buy another brand.)

Don’t forget to discuss those boys, though. Remember, the Internet didn’t exist back when I was in high school. I wouldn’t have known an instant message if it bit me in the ass.

Pour in a greased 9″ x 13″ pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.

These suckers have a long shelf life, so mail them to all your friends who have already left for college.

(from “Dirty Sugar Cookies”)

“Basically, I don’t like to talk about anything I’ve written or that I’m writing. What you write down, there it is and you’ve done it.”

— Joan Didion on the phone with the New York Times, 11/18/2008

I got nothing. Have hit wall re: cooking. Between the vegetarian thing (husband and kids), the whining (kids. “Mac and cheese. We only like mac and cheese! That’s the wrong kind of yogurt!”), the sheer monotony… I got nothing.

Will search. (more…)

Alternately titled, “Abbie Hoffman Killed Himself Because of Idiots Like Me.”

We just finished watching “Chicago 10” and it was good. Better than good — it was great. (more…)