My Real Life

July 22, 2019

The Egg and I

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 4:38 pm
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Last week, Erin shot me a text with a link to this article, and said “Someday?”

I clicked on the link and read the article and was completely taken in, initially by the mention of Betty MacDonald and the “Mrs. Piggle Wiggle” books.

Image result for mrs piggle wiggle original cover

Oh, how I loved those books when I was a kid.

If you aren’t familiar with them, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle had all these crazy cures for parents who would come to them with problems about their kids.

Like, for the kid who interrupted all the time, she gave the parents a powder to blow in his face that rendered him mute every time he tried to interrupt. Or, if I remember correctly, a kid who refused to bathe suddenly was growing radishes out of the dirt on their arms and legs.

They are books that were written in the 40’s and I had the original hardcovers, (I’m a bookie…that’s a big deal to me), but they were all ruined when my parents moved when I was in college, along with all of my records and albums. (Leak in the moving truck during an overnight rainstorm. Good times.)

Even today, when I am at a garage sale, I try to find the original hardcovers of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, but to no avail. I’ve never been able to find one, and I’m not spending the money on eBay, etc.

Anyway, when I realized that it was a book-lovers pilgrimage to where Betty MacDonald wrote those books, I was intrigued. I told Erin I was a definite yes to the “Someday” (which we both know will never actually happen) but also told her that I was going to see if the library had the book “The Egg and I,” which was discussed in the article.

“The Egg and I” was the book that introduced the popular characters of Ma and Pa Kettle, and was the inspiration for a movie of the same name starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray (which I now also must get from the library).

The library did, indeed, have the book, and from the looks of it, it hadn’t been taken out since 1940.

I started reading it yesterday and it is utterly delightful.

Utterly. Delightful.

It’s not going to be everyone’s taste.

When Monkey Girl was little, I tried to get her to read the original Nancy Drew books (which I also try to find original versions of at garage sales to replace my collection) but she felt that they were too “old timey” for her to relate to and she wasn’t interested.

This is definitely a bit old timey, but at the same time, it’s not.

Her descriptions are absolutely captivating. She personifies almost everything on the Pacific Northwest farm, and it becomes this living breathing entity, and no longer just a setting.

She’s funny and smart as she writes. I giggled at some of her descriptions of the conversations with her neighbors and the situations she got herself into.

I devoured the Little House on the Prairie books as a child, and again, as an adult. Something very much appeals to me about farm life, rural living, and living off the land. Perhaps it comes from my grandmother who grew up on a farm in Orwell, Ohio during the Depression. I love books set in those times or the pioneer days, and this book spoke to that part of me.

It’s not my normal reading fare. I’m actually right in the middle of a series of young adult vampire books, which I’m reading faster than I can get to the library, and when those are done, I have a few Stephen King that are waiting for me. My tastes in books are generally all over the place, but I tend to stay away from the biography.

(Except for Eric Clapton’s biography. That was phenomenal.)

I’m glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone and picked up this book. Turns out she wrote a few other biographical books, as well, and I plan on plowing through those when I finish with this one, as well.

The purpose of this post isn’t necessarily a book review, although I suppose it could serve as one, but it’s more of a reminder to step outside the familiar every now and then. You may be wonderfully surprised.

March 4, 2012

The Cow Says Woof

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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We like books.

It’s a simple fact.

And so, we spend an enormous amount of time reading books, whether we are 40, 11, 8, 6 or 1.

Our hope for the books we read to our 1 year old is that they might help him make some kind of contextual sense of the world around him.

That they might help him learn.

So, imagine my disappointment when I opened up this book to share with Tiny.

I’ll admit…I didn’t actually browse through it when I bought it.

It said both “John Deere” and “ABC” on the cover.

Around here, either one of those terms makes a book golden.

Saturday night was the first night that Tiny was going to bed without being nursed to sleep.

It was time, and although I wasn’t ready, I thought he might be.

However, I wasn’t just going to dump him in his crib.

We started the ritual we have with the other monkeys, which is books, songs, then bed.

I picked this book out of his bookcase, as we hadn’t cracked the cover on this one yet.

We sat in his rocker and I opened and began to read.

First page went by just fine.

He was pointing at things, I was reading, there was learning going on.

(Okay, in MY mind, there was learning going on.)

Then we turned the page.

Farm.

Okay…I can get on board with that picture to describe the word.

However, while I realize this is a book manufactured by John Deere who has a product to sell, my guess is that the majority of children who will read this book will not make the connection between the letter “G” and this farm machine.

Yes, it happens to be called a “Gator” but, really?  There was nothing else on a farm that started with the letter “G”?

Like, maybe a Gate?

We moved on.

I was somewhat stopped by the picture of “Ice Cream” on the opposite page, but I let it go.

Not really farming terminology, but my Grandma grew up on a farm, and I visited many times as a kid.

There WAS ice cream.

So, okay.

However, the next page made me pause, once again.

I see a barn AND a silo, and if I’m a little one, I’m focusing on the bigger part of the picture which ain’t the silo.

They couldn’t just put a picture of a lone silo in there?

Would that have been so difficult?

Here’s the one that really got me going, though.

Really?

Udder?

You can barely see the udder!

That girl is barely a A-cup.

I’m not sure how this is a picture of an Udder.

I think we all know who will be to blame when hundreds of kids go to nursery school, and when asked “What sound does this animal make?” call out “Squirt! Squirt!”

It was udder-ly ridiculous.

I’m sorry.

So sorry.

I couldn’t resist.

Finally, we came to “X.”

It was at this point that I realized the author, (and I use that term in the loosest sense of the word), wasn’t even trying.

It even took me a minute to figure out that it wasn’t the row of doors that was important in the picture.

It was the design of the “X” ON the door that mattered.

Whatever.

Lessons learned:

1.  Look at the pictures in a picture book before you buy it.

2.  Forget the whole novel writing gig.  Apparently anyone can publish a picture book of ABC’s.

3.  Tiny is only 1.  He probably wasn’t going to learn anything from that book anyway, so I should just calm down and not have an udder about it.

November 5, 2009

Next Contest

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 8:39 am
Tags: , , ,

I’ll be taking a blogging break until Sunday, but in the meantime, I’m going to run another contest here at My Real Life.

In order to enter, please leave a comment below telling me about your favorite book and tell me why you love it.  I’ve been slowly making my way through my book pile, and soon will be in need of some new titles.  It’s okay if I’ve already read your suggestion, because it could inspire someone else!

You can earn multiple entries by referring a friend to the blog and having them enter the contest, as well.  All they need to do is leave a comment with their favorite book, and mentioning that you sent them to the blog.  Then, both your friend and you will get an entry into the contest.

You can also earn an extra entry if you are a blogger and you add me to your blogroll.  In your entry, add a link to your blog.  This option for bloggers who are newly adding me to their blogroll. 

I’ll determine the winner by writing each persons name on a scrap of paper (multiple entries from referrals will have multiple scraps of paper with their names on it) and then selecting a name at random.

Remember, your privacy is intact, as all readers will see is your first name.  Your contact information is solely available to me.

The prize, you ask?

A $25 Barnes and Noble Gift Card!  What else could I give as a prize for a contest surrounding book titles?

So, while I’m on break, feel free to scroll back through and read the blog from the beginning if you’ve joined us late, refer a friend, enter the contest and enjoy your life!  I really do appreciate every single one of you who read the blog.

Contest Ends at 8:00 pm on Sunday November 8, 2009

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