Photo by Angie Quantrell
Yakima Valley
Squish, Squash, Squished
Written by Rebecca Kraft Rector
Illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte
Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021
As the oldest child in a family of 4 children and 2 parents, I can relate to being squished in the car. And squabbling and fighting about it, especially over who gets a window seat. (This was before the time of cell phones, electronic games, and movie viewing options many children have now. Back in the dark ages. We had a car. A station wagon car. With fold up bench seats in the way back, but that was usually full with the family dog and picnic lunch stuff.)
I digress.
I won a copy of Squish, Squash, Squished from Rebecca Kraft Rector through Kathy Temean’s blog, Writing and Illustrating. You can view the original post to learn more about Rebecca and Dana here. THANK YOU, Rebecca and Kathy!
Squish, Squash, Squished is such a delight to read! I loved the problem (squished in the back seat), the characters (adorable cuties with their no-nonsense mom who takes extreme-but fun-measures to stop the bickering), and the imaginative cast of characters who hop in for a ride. The words are just perfect with plenty of language and word-play, and the illustrations are the icing on the cake.
I suggest this book for anyone who has bickering children in the backseat, anyone who has children (or is a child), those who love fun word-play and stories, and creative minds who believe animals can do the things they do in this book.
Why I Love This Book:
~ told in the style of It Could Always Be Worse, the escalating drama is wonderful
~ I love the word-play and sing-song silliness
~ fun cast of characters, a mix of people and animals (love it)
~ adorable setting and the perfect illustrations to make this picture book of the magical sort
~ while not preaching about keeping it quiet in the backseat, readers will get the hint that it could always be worse . . .
Living in an RV, I sometimes drift into the theme of being squish, squash, squished, but I better hush-mush or my hubby might invite in some passers-by…
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Yakima Valley
black baby bunny
basks
but
beware
boy blocks, bundles
black baby bunny
bumbles
bounces
burrows
beautiful baby bunny
black baby bunny by Angie Quantrell
What do furry kitties and people noses have in common?
Both sometimes need de-furring (or de-zitting). I doubt that last is an actual word. But you know what I mean.
I’ve personally used the Bioré strips on multiple occasions, to some success. But after a week of so of poofs of kitty fur falling from Monet (our hunting monster girl cat) and floating around the RV, I was getting pretty tired of wearing gray itchy hair.
After one snuggle session, I accidentally wiped my fur-covered hands on my navy shorts. Oops. So off I went to get the lint strips, which quickly took care of the problem.
. . .
And then. Could it be that easy? Let’s try and find out. (With Monet, this is risky business, trying stuff like sticky lint strips on her body. I could be putting myself in the way of scratches, bites, or hisses. Such is the personality of Her Highness.)
. . .
But it worked! For a few times. And then she was done. But oh, the wonder and delight of cat-ching that much fur before it was displayed around the RV.
Go ahead. Try some kitty Bioré strips this shedding season. Let me know how it goes.
Nibbles, A Green Tale
Written and illustrated by Charlotte Middleton
Marshall Cavendish Children, 2009
I have so many wonderful memories of the guinea pigs we loved during my years of teaching preschool. Our mama gave us hours of delight as we watched her lead her trail of babies around the room. Rustling plastic bags brought squeals demanding whichever “greens” we had brought. Both preschoolers and my family members loved snuggling and playing with these cuties.
Imagine my delight when I saw Nibbles, A Green Tale at the library! Nibbles is obviously a guinea pig, one who loves dandelions. With our current pasture-wide crop of dandelions, I couldn’t wait to read this picture book. If only I could borrow a city of dandelion-loving guinea pigs and let them camp out in the pasture for a week or two. That would take care of the clouds of white seeds.
Why I LOVE this book:
~ guinea pigs! Wheet, wheet!
~ guinea pigs who eat dandelions
~ guinea pigs wearing clothes!
~ a fun story of how one guinea pig rescued dandelions from becoming extinct
~ a green strategy to solve dandelion problems (though the sheer number of them needed to clear a pasture…)
~ adorable illustrations
~ wonderful story and characters
There is a sequel to this book, Nibbles: Another Green Tale. I can’t wait to track down a copy.
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Yakima Valley
bunnies for sale, free
hopping, leaping, eating all;
please, take some bunnies
bunnies for sale by Angie Quantrell
Rabbits for Food (the book cover I want to make into a large poster and display in the pasture for the bunnies to read so they will decide to nibble elsewhere)
What some of you might not know is that RV ovens have one rack.
At least our RV oven has one rack. And it’s not a large one either. A half-pan cookie sheet fits inside, with just barely enough room around it for air flow. A Dutch oven does not fit (it’s too heavy, and I fear it would bend/break the rack). A low casserole dish fits, but some lids might bump the top. And once you turn off the oven, you have to let it cool completely before restarting it. The gas pilot light is under the bottom tray at the back of the oven, right where you will burn your arm if you try lighting it while it’s hot. Personal experience speaking here.
And something to watch out for, a lesson I learned just this week with the future scars to match my experience, is the spring loaded oven door is very spring loaded. Very. Using a similar trick as shown in the above photo, a foil wrapped pan, I attempted to put the pan in the oven, the foil stuck, I somehow lost control of the door, and it swung shut on my arm. Did I mention the oven was preheated? I threw the pan in as I jerked my arm out, bouncing the hot stove door edge along my arm. Yikes! I am thankful for fast reflexes. Yes, yes I am.
Oh, but our RV DOES have an oven. We love using it in the winter to heat the RV. We avoid it in the summer, preferring to cook on the BBQ and keep the heat outside.
I’ve often been frustrated by meal plans that need two dishes to be in the tiny oven. And then I started experimenting. See the above photo.
As with all experiments, you figure out new things to try or ways to improve an idea. Now, with the above meatballs and garlic rosemary potatoes, I wouldn’t bother with the foil dam in the middle. Just let the juices mix. Yum! But some things I might not want to touch while baking, like juicy salmon and sweet potato fries. Or something like that.
Either way, combining a main dish and side or two is the perfect way to utilize a small RV oven. I always try to cook too much, because leftovers make perfect lunches for the next day or two.
Garlic Rosemary Potatoes
5-6 small red potatoes, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 6-8″ sprig of rosemary, washed, dried, and chopped (leaves only, not stem)
olive oil
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
Optional: fresh grated Parmesan cheese, Tabasco sauce
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix potatoes, garlic, rosemary, and enough olive oil to coat it all. Spread on one half of a foil-covered cookie sheet (I like to spray my foil with vegetable spray to keep food from sticking). Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Fill the other half with meatballs. No recipe here for these. I love the Costco frozen meatballs.
Bake for 30-45 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through. We like crispy sides, so we cook them longer. If you want to cook yours until just done, aim for 25-30 minutes. Stir halfway through cooking and test potatoes along the way.
Serve potatoes and meatballs with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a few splashes of Tabasco. We always add broccoli, salad, or green beans. Gotta have those veg!
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Yakima Valley
Love, Laughter, and Life 