this is what you get

I intended this post to be something slightly more coherent, perhaps even in paragraph form, but alas, basically everyone in this house is sick, but me. I've been 24 hour on-call nurse and complete sentences and paragraphs aren't in my repertoire right now. (apparently, using the shift-key isn't in my repertoire, either.)

*hurry. over to this post on momformation. i'm giving away a great little compact photo printer from epson.

*i just finished reading this book by michael perry. i was (probably a little too) sad when it was over. you know how you mourn the end of a really good story? there was a bit of genius on every page. and of course, it was almost like reading a page from my own story. i think i may be so bold as to say this ranks in my top 3 reads of  2010.

*speaking of poultry, tonight we lost our rooster, captain. do they have strokes? he was suddenly stricken blind. running into things. then lethargic. he could have been old. he could have been sick. and we didn't want him to pass something on to the hens. so unfortunately, we (which means, dan) had to put him out of his misery.

*i've been knitting. that hat peeking out in my picture is kyrie's. it's a great pattern. and so versatile. i can wear it, and so can all the girls. and now several family members have requested it as christmas gifts.

*i purchased a set of these, since it appears that i'm going to be doing a lot of knitting-gifting. (be warned, there is a ticking "countdown to christmas" on this website. it may elevate your heartrate.)

*last night, i did something i never thought i'd do. i purchased ready-made photo christmas cards. but apparently, my drive to always "design them myself" has resulted in five years of no christmas card from our family.

*i made one holiday decor splurge yesterday. on an advent calendar. i know. i know. i could have made my own. but sometimes, you just need to let someone else do the work. luckily, i'm not ready for it to be december 1, so this will give me a few extra days to get organized. i loved our advent calendar when i was little. it was one of my favorite parts of the holiday. my kids need to get in on that action, too.

*tomorrow on momformation, i'm going to be sharing my kitchen christmas wish list. what's on yours? i'd love to know. 

*and while we're talking...now that coop is over, any good book suggestions? let me have it.

alright. that's the news from here. where the rain is pouring down, the woodstove is cranking. and there is strange pig-like squealing-screeching-creep-me-out coming from the dark, back yard.

that would be my cue to go upstairs and hide under the covers with a feverish babe who is already passed out in my bed. someday my husband and i will sleep in the same bed again without a child between us, right? right.

Comments

[JCasa]

oooh, coop looks good. put it on my list. i recommend the steig larsson trilogy (i just picked up #3) if you are into page turners. i am already mourning the end of this 3rd installment, but hope to find some sort of resolution in the end.
kitchen wish list... lemon reamer squeeze thing that will catch the seeds so they don't end up in our barley salad, like tonight. (did you know lemon seeds look just like barley?)
enjoy your day, mollygirl. xoxo

[Megan Tietz]

Funny. I've been dreaming of that day when it's just hubby and I in bed together for, oh, five years. Oh my, nearly six actually! Maybe someday . . .

I've had Coop in my Amazon cart for months. Glad to hear the rave review.

[Kyrie]

Oh! Yours is so cute! Subsequent caps go even faster :) I LOVE the handmade labels! So fun! I'm trying valiantly to read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which comes very highly recommended, but my mind can't wrap itself around reading these days. Sad.

Always on my kitchen wishlist: scoops of different sizes (so handy, and mine always seem to go kissing in the mudpit!) and wooden spoons (same story there, ha)!

Love to you and yours, I hope everyone feels better soon! xox!

[Lindsey G]

I just added Coop to my Amazon wish list, last week, glad to hear it's good. I also went with the ready-made photo cards this year, because I also end up not getting them done. It was so nice and easy, delivered right to my Target!

[Mama Urchin]

We've been fighting various colds and such too. There always seems to be someone who should be in bed. I hope you guys are on the mend soon.

[Karen at sew and sow life]

Goat Song, lyrical and lovely and to be savored. (one of my top three of the year).
Little Bee, difficult, but exquisite.
The Dirty Life, wonderful.

Hope your household is out of bed soon.

[tara thayer]

:)
i wouldn't know about that last bit...there are so many people in our bed it's like a clown car.
xoxo

[Ray and Hazel's mom]

I loved Coop, too. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

[jessica]

molly- the hat really fits you AND the girls? i'm in search of a good hat pattern for our moms and one for my kids.

[mommycoddle]

hi jessica. it DOES fit all of us. It's a tiny bit big on elizabeth, who is three, but still totally wearable. And i also consider myself to have a bit of a big head. :) The pattern has a lot of stretch to it. And once you get going it knits up really quickly.

[mommycoddle]

you make me laugh.

[jess]

I will second The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball. I'm no expert (or writer for that matter) but to me, this was SO well written, I really can't say enough about it.

[heather]

Kitchen wants would be a set of large glass containers. Rumor has it the largest one from Crate and Barrel will hold a bag of flour.

Good reads: hmm, I just finished Number the Stars and The Giver by Lowry. Both were good. I am starting the Larsson series now (finally off the library hold list). I also have Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close on my list. It was recommended by a friend when I asked recently for book ideas.

Our bed also feels like a clown car. Last night I slept with my boys, my daughter slept in my son's bed, and my husband slept in my daughter's bed. It feels like a cake walk at times with our beds.

[Aimee]

I enjoyed the book Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt! Just requested Coop from the library and will pick it up tommorrow!

[minnesota:madre]

I'm so glad you shared the labels. I just found a Christmas vest my grandma knit me- very hot in 8th grade:) She had little Grandma Hammond labels.
Hope you're all feeling better soon. The yuck seems to be everywhere!

[melissa]

I really enjoyed (fiction) Per Peterson's Out Stealing Horses, and more recently (nonfiction) Hampton Sides' Hellhound on his Trail (about James Earl Ray and his pursuit of MLK). V. serious but gripping.

I'm looking at Christmas Cards today, too.
xo

[annie]

I just went to my library's website to reserve the book you mentioned & they have Coop: A year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting. Is that a sequel? I don't see it listed on amazon's site. You may want to check it out!

[Molly]

How do you ever find time to read?

Love the hat. I've been thinking of it...

Funny about that DIY card drive. I've had exactly the same impetus. And precisely the same results.

May your littles find the high road, soon. (And yes, that bed will return to a two-fer. Took eight years, but we're there. Mostly!)

[amy]

Have you read Michael Perry's other books? Population 485? Great. Also, Twelve by Twelve: A One Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream by William Powers - it's in my top 3 of 2010. Love your list.

[stephaniefromtexas]

The books that top my list this year are A Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunée, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I am so reading Coop as soon as I can put my hands on it.

I feel your pain on the loss of Captain. My sweet rooster, Gumbo, died last month. Unfortunately, it was the guineas that turned on him and took him out.

Kitchen wish list: mortar & pestle, All Clad food mill, kitchen torch, and pizza stone.

[Mary Jo, Five Green Acres]

In the same genre as Coop, if you haven't read Farm City by Novella Carpenter yet, I'd highly recommend it. Not a new book, but I finally got my hands on it recently and savored every page.

[Nahuatl Vargas]

Love to read you, hope everyone gets well soon.

[may]

woohoo! love to see a wisconsin author being praised :)