Christmas

Christmas was a lot of fun. Mom kept me tied up inside cleaning before Aunt Sue and Uncle George came, so I didn't notice dad putting in a fence around the "garden shed". When Aunt Sue and Uncle George came, surprise! They had brought me a goat and two geese! The goat is a female kid, and still should have milk. The geese are older goslings. Six pets in six months! Actually seven, if you count Fuzzy-Doo.

Every year before this year I left out cookies and milk for Santa, but this year I did not. This is why: dogs aren't supposed to have chocolate and all the cookies we have are chocolate-chip. Instead, I left a note that explained why I couldn't leave out cookies and milk and asking him to help himself to some, and to please, please, please, not touch Aunt Sue's pecan pie.

Santa brought me a big pack of tic tacks, some lip gloss, other little things, and Harry Potter 6! I haven't seen it yet, but we have all the rest, so why on earth would we not get this one? I've read all the books, and I love them, but they probably messed something up really badly.

Mom got a microwave. I'm glad I won't have to melt butter on the stove anymore. Dad got a replacement of his long-lost pocketknife, and I got another nerf sword. I was able to beat dad in a fencing match. Also, I got a 10-gallon tank for Forty-Niner. I'm glad I did. He could barely swim in his old 1-gallon tank.

Dinner was great. We had ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato biscuits, green beans, and pecan pie for dessert. I can hardly remember a year without pecan pie. The last few years when we lived in California, I was able to compare Aunt Sue's pie to the store-bought kind that we had. Aunt Sue definitely makes the best.

Aunt Sue and Uncle George went back to the farm this morning. I think I had better walk Blackie now.

The Christmas Pageant

Today we had the church Christmas play. The pageant was basically your ordinary Christmas play. The littlest kids were sheep or stars. Older kids were shepherds or kings. Everyone else was an angel. You probably understand the basic way it it went, so I will only give a few of the parts that made the mom-in-charge go crazy. The sheep were wearing black socks on their hands and feet and thought it was fun to go sliding down the hardwood isle of the sanctuary. One of the angels tried blowing their gold poster board horn. All you could hear was a weird buzzing sound and then a magnified voice saying "This doesn't work very well!" It was a lot of fun.

"The Golden Mask"

Today we had the performances of "The Golden Mask", our class play. We had a performance at 2:30 for all the kids, and we had a performance at 4:00 for the parents. Now I'm going to say how it went.

1. All the actors went to the bathrooms to change into our under-costume-clothes. To keep from freezing, we all had brought a bathrobe that we wore until we went on stage.

2. All the actors stood in line for our costumes.

3. I finally get to the front of the line. I get the tube dress wrapped around, the headdress put on and the necklace on.

4. I go over to a little table sitting in the backstage room and someone else puts green eyeshadow, black eyebrow pencil, and red lipstick on me. Yikes!

5. I wait for it to be time for the play to begin.

6. The play. I won't talk about it because it was really boring.

7. We go back to the classroom to get out of our monkeysuits.

8. Repeat.

After the 4:00 performance for the parents, we went home. We got to keep our costumes. It was fun, but I'm glad it's over.

The Dress Rehearsal

Today was the dress rehearsal of the school play. It was chaotic. First we all changed into our under-costume clothes (for me, a camisole and short leggings). Then we stood in line for a long time for our costumes to get our costumes. It took a long time to get to the front of the line because most of the costumes look alike and any last minute adjustments had to be made. Finally the curtain went up on the first scene. The only person watching was our teacher. Until the last scene everything went okay. The mummy climbed into the vacuum box that was painted to look like a sarcophagus, and the two boys standing right by the sarcophagus slammed the lid shut. No problem. But when it came time to push the mummy off stage, the two boys standing there couldn’t do it. There were supposed to be three boys standing by the box, but one was sick and wasn’t at school. Finally, despite what the script said, Sohphie had to come and help push the box off stage. I hope the performance tomorrow will go better.

This is odd

Something weird is going on. Dad is working on building a “garden shed” and “firewood holder”. He’s already finished the firewood holder, but it seems awfully far from the house. As for the garden shed, he says we’ll need it in spring, but why not build it then, when it’s warm and sunny? And why in the world is Dad building a fence around the shed?

The Christmas Tree

We got the Christmas tree today! It’s a real one. After we decorated it we drank hot cocoa and ate some of the sugar cookies I made. I played my flute a little. It’s not a real flute, not all shiny and with keys, it’s just one my dad helped me make out of PVC pipe. Aunt Sue and Uncle George are coming for Christmas.

Forty-Niners, not Forty-Niners

On Monday we got an assignment. We had to write a paper about a family member or pet. We had to turn it in on Friday (today), complete with with photo. I chose to write about Forty-Niner, my goldfish. The hardest part was taking a picture of him-- he would zip into the plants whenever he saw the camera. This morning we read our papers in front of the class. No one understood about his name, though. Last year I did a bunch of “California History” and learned all about the california gold rush forty-niners. But this was Iowa, and I was the only one who knew a ton of california history. Some of the boys knew who the forty-niners were, though. We had an interesting conversation during recess. Here is how it went.

Boy: “I didn’t know you liked football.”

Me: “What?”

Boy: “You sure must like football if you named your goldfish after a football team.”

Me: “Forty-Niner?!? I named him after the forty-niners, not some dumb football team!”

Boy: “That’s what I said, you named him after the San Francisco forty-niners, the football team.”

So I ended up explaining about who the forty-niners really were. I wish I’d written about Blackie instead.

Snow Day

No school today because of the snow, but I did learn how to do some new things. I learned how to build a fire and how to make hot cocoa from scratch. I'm planning to write my letter to Santa today. I guess I'd better let Blackie out. Last time I let her out she wanted to come right back in. I don't blame her-- I wouldn't want to go out there anyway.

All Mixed Up

Today I mixed up my lines in the rehearsal for the Christmas pageant. The mom-in-charge said that she didn't care if we sort of forgot our lines, but she really wanted us to talk with feeling. Well, right after Gabriel (Allie) told me I was going to have baby Jesus, I started to say my lines. I said them with perfect feeling, but they were the wrong ones! I said, "O Isis, I shall grant you anything you wish if you shall take away this horror!" Everyone burst out laughing, including me. The mom-in-charge wasn't mad, but once the laughing had died down, she asked "Where did that come from?" I had to explain about the school play. I promised myself that I would practice my lines for fifteen minutes every day after school.

What a Bad Day!

I had a very bad day today. I slept too late and when I went to get dressed all I had clean was a short-sleeved T-shirt and a skort. No leggings. I at least had knee socks to wear with my T-strap mary janes, but there was an cold gap between where my skort stopped and the place where my knee socks began. I had to wear a sweater.

When I got home Mom told me to walk Blackie, so I did. When I let her inside, she bounded upstairs. I didn't worry about her until I heard a crash. Mom and I raced upstairs to find that Blackie had knocked Shimmer's fishbowl off my desk. Shimmer wasn't hurt, but her fishbowl had smashed into a gazzilion little pieces. It was chaos, trying to get curious Blackie out of my room so she wouldn't cut her paw or eat Shimmer, and taking Shimmer and her three biggest rocks out of my room and putting her into the bathroom sink. We ran down to Walmart to get another fishbowl for Shimmer. Mom says aluminum foil keeps dogs from jumping on furniture, so now we have so much foil lying around that our house looks like the tin woodman's castle (see The Road To Oz) . I'm still cold.

A Disastrous Rehearsal

Today we worked on the school play. We practiced on the real stage, not our classroom. A lot of people forgot their lines and when they were supposed to say them. When the person with news came and I called "Scribe!", the water jug person that had been missing came on. After Mr. News had left, in fact in the next scene, where I was playing senet and wondering what I should do, the scribe came in when I called for the priestess to bring me the sistrum. The priestess came in when I was calling upon Isis (without the sistrum). Isis was right behind the priestess and tripped on her costume and toppled into the priestess. It took so long to calm everyone down that by the time the chaos stopped, it was time to get back to regular work.

First Week of Advent

Today being the first week of advent, we picked parts and practiced songs and tried on costumes for the church Christmas pageant. Alexandra, or Allie, like we always call her, being pale and blond, got the part of Gabriel. Sophie, being tan, is a shepherd. Finally the mom in charge asked, "Who will be Mary?" A five-year-old girl said "I'll be Mary," but everyone ignored her. All the girls my age had already been Mary, so they thought of the brilliant idea of making me Mary. Being the new kid, I didn't have much of a choice, so since I didn't really have a problem with it, I went with it. After parts were decided, we tried on our costumes. The Mary outfit was just the right length, but it was way too big around. I looked more like a ghost than like Mary. One of the shepherds, however, had eaten a few too many lamb chops and almost ripped the biggest costume there was. By no means he needed his sash, so it's part of my costume now. Having a sash really helps me look like there's a body underneath that gown.We were all sent home with the script, and we're going to practice lines next week.

Sophie's Birthday Party

I have a new pet and a new friend! Today was Sophie's birthday. Alexandra and I were the only guests . Sophie has 4 big brothers. At her party, there was a game where we tried to guess how many marbles were in a big glass jar. I was closest. The prize was a little green turtle in a round fish bowl with some rocks. I named her Shimmer because of the way her shell shimmers when she swims around. Sophie's birthday cake was lemon with thick, yellow, lemon frosting. After cake, Sophie handed each of us a stiff plastic sword. She told us that the swords were her big brothers' and if we didn't like fencing, we could stop. We didn't have to stop. All three of us not only loved sword fights, but we all had our own swords at home. It turned from an organized, two person match to a three-way, chaotic, noisy, fight with us all hacking at each other. Alexandra was the first to fall. Sophie and I had still not given up when Sophie's mom came to say that it was three o'clock and time for Alexandra and I to go home. I wasn't sad. I couldn't wait to tell Mom about Shimmer. Oh darn, it's time for dinner.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was fun. At Aunt Sue and Uncle George's farm, Blackie kept on barking at all the goats. None of the goats gave her any trouble until she started barking at the mean old billy goat. I was inside the fence right by Blackie when the billy goat, Grumps, started to charge her. I gave Blackie a little shove to get her out of his path then grabbed Grumps by the neck. Thank goodness Grumps is dehorned. I put him in the goat house and slammed the door. Then I took Blackie and went out of the pen. At dinner Blackie stole my turkey. She is becoming a real bounce-a-maniac.

I've been invited to Sophie's birthday party tomorrow. She's in my class at school and is the royal fanner in the play. She goes to the same church as me. She lives on my street three houses down.

Blackie's barking, I guess she wants to be fed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We got the day off from school today. We're going to Aunt Sue and Uncle George's farm for Thanksgiving. Their farm is so fun. I like petting all the goats except the billy goat. He acts mean. Aunt Sue makes a pumpkin pie at out of real pumpkins that she grows in her garden. It is really yummy. We're going to bring Blackie with us to the farm. I hope she does okay in the car. It is a 45-minute drive. I think I'll go play with Blackie.

Blackie

I had hoped to write about the new puppy yesterday, but I was so busy taking care of her that I didn't have time. Her name is Blackie. She is sweet. We walk her a lot. We feed her dry food. We've got to take her to the vet to get her shots. Here she comes, I think I'll go play with her.

The School Thanksgiving Play

Yesterday was crazy. If anyone mentions the word "pilgrim" , all the kids in the school ages third grade+ will crack up. Every year, the second graders put on a short play on the first Thanksgiving. Well apparently last year a lot of kids forgot their lines, so the teacher decided to have a narrator reading off cue cards, and the kids would simply act out what the narrator read. The play started out fine.

"The pilgrims set off for the new world in a ship called the Mayflower. After weeks of sailing the ship landed--"

Then disaster struck. The narrator accidentally dropped the cards all over the place. He quickly picked them back up in any old order.

"-- on long tables--of smelly fish --ninety-nine indians came.-- The pilgrims stepped on--governor Bradford-- who had issued a proclamation-- called the Mayflower Compact-- who said that the day would be a holiday of feasting-- in with the corn seed."

The play went downhill from there. The kids, being that they were knucklehead second-graders, didn't realize that they were getting it wrong. Needless to say, there will be no narrator next year. I guess I've got to go get the puppy's space set up-- we're going to pick her up today.

Time Flies

So much has been happening. The script came out over the weekend. We've been rehearsing it every day. I'm in every scene, so during the time where we work on the play, I'm always busy acting and never get to make any crafts. I absolutely hate saying this line: "Oh Isis, I shall grant you anything you wish if you take away this horror!"

Another new thing: I'm getting a pet dog! A couple down the block has a border collie that had babies. The problem was that even though the puppies are for all practical purposes border collies, the father is unknown, so they can't sell them for a ton of money as a purebred. We're going to take the puppy home on Saturday.

I'm getting to know another girl in the play. She, like Alexandra, lives on my street and is in my class! I didn't get to know her sooner because for most of October she was sick. Oh, it's time for dinner.

The Pine Creek Flashlight and Glowstick Festival

No news for today, but last night was so fun. We went to the Pine Creek Flashlight and Glowstick Festival. It was so fun. There were all sorts of contests for flashlights. Some policeman won the "biggest flashlight" contest. And it was cool to see a 1/2 inch flashlight. I feel so sorry for the guy that judges the "brightest flashlight" contest. He must see spots for a week! Then, ta-da!, there comes Miss Glowstick! Now that was funny! On Friday night, there was a big pageant for teenage girls. The winner would be dressed up in a robe with glow sticks attached to it, and crowned "Miss Glowstick" at the festival. The crown was made of glowsticks all attached to each other. The throne she sat on had two huge flashlights strapped to the side of a chair, and had long glowsticks taped around the seat to make a little skirt. Even though it wasn't cloudy, I didn't see a single star as the flashlights threw beams of light up into the sky. One of the best parts was when Miss Glowstick came out and all of the kids sing the "Miss Glowstick Song." None of the adults want to sing it because it is so stupid. Here's how it goes:

She's Miss Glowstick

She glows with beauty, she's so polite,

Oh where would we be, if not for Miss Glowstick,

Lighting up the night,

May she never get sick,

For she's Miss Glowstick.

I hope I never try to be Miss Glowstick, because the stupid dress would keep me from being able to participate in the mad candy scramble. The field is all dark and you go out with your flashlight and a paper bag and try to collect as much candy as possible. The little kids get trampled by the big kids, and hardly ever get any candy. Alexandra and I did our good deed for the day by sharing a few pieces of candy with some little kids who didn't get a single piece.

Tomorrow, we've got to practice the play. Oh, Joy :-(

It's Cold Out There!

Today was prop day. The craft group made all sorts of stuff for the play. I had to learn how to play senet. All the actors had on their costumes-- we were practicing movement. We weren't exactly rehearsing scenes, as the script hadn't been finished yet. We were just getting used to our costumes. Then disaster struck. Brrrrrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnggg! It was a fire drill! It was freezing out on the playground. Well, I guess it wasn't that cold for people who were wearing normal clothes. The boys were the coldest, as none of them remembered a jacket, and they weren't wearing shirts. This is such a stupid play. I guess it's time to feed the fish.

Dress Up

Costume Day! The actors all had to bring one bed sheet for their costume. I'm glad everyone brought white sheets. Well, now I'm all decked out with a full egyptian queen outfit, complete with sandals, necklace, and headdress. We've been having a few minor difficulties trying to make everyone happy with the script. There's a girl who takes tap dancing who wants it to be a musical. There's also a boy who wants somebody to try to tackle the mummy in the play. Thankfully, the director said no way to both of those ideas. I'm exited about my part.

Playtime!

There's a class play! Every year, the fifth graders (my class) put on a play that they wrote themselves. We break into groups: one group for writing the play and directing it, one for craft making, and one for actors. We got to pick what group we were in, and I chose to be an actor. Alexandra picked the craft group. We all messed around and practiced auditions while the playwrights made a script. The teacher was over there too, reminding them that Tenochtitlan was an Aztec city, not and egyptian pharaoh, and that Galileo wasn't an ancient Egyptian priest. Finally they revealed the play. There never was a more stupid play! Here's how it goes: there is an Egyptian queen. Suddenly a mummy comes back to life! So, using the sistrum, or religious rattle, she calls the goddess Isis, the god of love, to help her, and Isis lures the mummy back to its grave. She asks one thing in return- the golden mask of the pharaohs. You get the point-- pretty stupid. We actors also auditoined today. We said what part we wanted, then the teacher asked us to say a line. I got the part of the queen! Part of it might have been the fact that I have black hair. They haven't come out with a final script yet, so for the next few days we'll be fitted for costumes ("tunic dresses" and stuff) , and the cast will practice voice exercises and our walks. Bye for now!

Candy!

I went to the candy shop with Alexandra today. I never went inside the place until today, but I already love going there! Alexandra is so smart. Today she thought of whenever we go to the candy shop we split everything exactly in half, no matter what part of it we paid for. We went to Alexandra's house to eat it. Her brother is a pain in the neck! When he saw us eating candy, he started begging for a piece. We finally gave him a mint. He ate it, but as soon as he was done, he started complaining that one mint wasn't enough. We gave him three banana-flavored circus peanuts. He ate them, then said he didn't like the flavor. We gave him a twizzler. He said he ate it too quick and didn't enjoy it. We finally got him out of our hair by giving him a super-spicy, mouth-on-fire cinnamon-flavored candy stick, and told him it was cherry. After he jumped up and ran to the sink, Alexandra and I snuck off to my house. Oh great, it's time for bed.

Kiss a Fish

Mom must have known how much I wanted a pet, because while I was at school, she got me a goldfish! She also got me a "goldfish starter set" to put the fish in. It's a goldfish bowl filled with food, gravel, "everything you need to take care of your goldfish", as it says on the label. The goldfish is a comet, three inches long! He's the perfect gold color, so I named him Forty-Niner, after the California gold rush forty-niners. I guess I'd better go and his bowl ready.

Halloween

Halloween was fun. Our costumes were great, but not quite warm enough. Alexandra had a pretty little cape she wears to church, so she was fine. I had to wear Mom's coat. Since it was chilly, we didn't go trick-or-treating that far. I got forty-six pieces of candy, and ate two. For Halloween I fed Sniffle a special snack. I arranged a blob of peanut butter with three sunflower seeds placed so that it looked like a ghost. I wish I had a pet.

An end and a beginning

I called Ashley yesterday. She didn’t seem to take it too hard. She said that she was glad that we buried Fuzzy-Doo, not simply put her in the trash. I can really understand why she feels sad. After all, she just moved and now her hamster died. She seemed on the verge of tears when she hung up, so today I sent her a card. On the front, I drew a picture of a hamster with wings and a halo. Sure Fuzzy-Doo wasn’t an angel on earth, but she may be one in heaven. On the inside it said:

Fuzzy-Doo may be dead, but she’s in a better place,

Somewhere where she won’t have to stand the crazy human race.

Not my best rhyme ever, but good enough.

It’s not that I’m trying to replace Fuzzy-Doo, but I’ve started to feed a chipmunk that lives in the backyard. I found a little metal bowl in the garage, and I put peanut butter and sunflower seeds in it. Then I put the bowl on a flat rock in the yard. I call the chipmunk Sniffle because of the cute way she twitches her nose. I’m not sad that Fuzzy-Doo died, but I wish I had a pet.

Fuzzy-Doo's Funeral

We held Fuzzy-Doo's funeral yesterday. Alexandra came. We were going to bury her in the cardboard tube she died in, but when we lifted it up, she slid out. We buried her in a Chinese takeout box instead. We all said nice things about Fuzzy-Doo. I said, " Fuzzy-Doo had a long life for a hamster. No hamster could ever replace her." Alexandra spoke next. She said," I've seen a fair amount of hamsters at people's houses and at pet stores, but not one of them was as fluffy, soft, and sweet as Fuzzy-Doo. " After that, Mom said, " I'm sure all of us will never forget Fuzzy-Doo." I'm sure I'll never forget Fuzzy-Doo, mainly because she bit me. I have to call Ashley. I won't tell her about Alexandra because she might feel like I was replacing her.

Fun then Tragedy

I forgot to blog yesterday, and I've got news for today, so it's going to be hard to tell about all of it in one post. Yesterday we went all the way to the mall, and got our costumes at the Halloween store there. Alexandra found a very pretty, pink, "hoopskirt ballgown", and is going to be a princess. I had more of a problem. I was thinking that perhaps I would be an Egyptian princess, but there were no costumes for that. A witch would have been good, but none of the witch costumes came in my size. I certainly didn't want to be a "skeleton bride". I finally found the perfect costume for me, and it goes perfectly with my black hair. A vampire! After we got our costumes, we went to the dollar store for accessories. Alexandra got a pretty folding fan, and I got a pair of fangs, a black eyebrow pencil, and we both got black fake-velvet bags (for putting our loot in). Yesterday was so fun.

I wish I could say that today was a good as yesterday, but it wasn't. Fuzzy-doo died today. He seemed alright when I fed him early in the morning. But when we came home from church, there she was, inside her paper towel tube, dead. We're going to have the burial tomorrow after school.

What Alexandra looks like

Last night I didn't have time to talk about Alexandra, so I will tonight.
Alexandra, like me, is very skinny. She has no freckles, and is pale. She has blue eyes. She has shoulder length curly, blond hair, unlike my long, straight black hair. She says she might be a princess for Halloween, and I think she would make a good one. I'm not sure what I want to be for Halloween.

What I look like

I can't believe it! I got through three posts without saying what I look like! Well, here goes. I am about 4 1/2 feet tall. I am very skinny. I know that I am very skinny because I sometimes get teased about being too skinny by people who were pretty skinny themselves. I have no tan, though not pale, and absolutely no freckles. I have dark brown eyes. I have long black hair. No, not dark brown, black, B-L-A-C-K. I do not look at all Asian, mainly because I'm not. I've had pierced ears as long as I can remember.
Oh darn, it's time for dinner.

Alexandra Jameson

I am so excited! Today I talked to this nice girl, Alexandra, at school, and she said that I was really nice, and asked if I would like to go to get Halloween costumes with her. I said that she was nice to ask me, and that I'd love to get Halloween costumes with her, but I'd have to ask my mom. Well, tonight at dinner I asked Mom if I could, and she said that it would be all right if we went on Saturday. After dinner and homework, I called Alexandra, (she had given me her phone number,) and she said Saturday was fine. We're going to pick up Alexandra on Saturday morning at 10, and we'll be back by 1 pm. I am so happy, because she only lives two houses from me and goes to the same school and is in my class! I can hardly wait until Saturday.

Ouch!

Fuzzy-Doo is driving me absolutely crazy. Yesterday I was supposed to clean that cranky hamster's cage, but when I tried to lift her out, she bit me! (not hard, thankfully.) The trouble didn't end there, though. I was still determined to lift her out of her cage, but the next time I tried, she bit me again! Hard. Not a little nip type of bite. A OW!, really-needs-a-band-aid, bleeding type of bite. I hate Fuzzy-Doo, and hope she dies soon.

First Post

My name is Joan Lewis. I am 10. I live in Pine Creek, Iowa. My dad sells cars. We used to live in Los Angeles, where Dad worked for the car company. But, we moved out here to Iowa, where a lot of Mom's family lives. We moved in late June. I made one friend, but she moved away in late September. However, she left me something incredibly interesting. A PET !!!!

We lived in a tiny apartment where no pets were allowed in LA, but now that we moved to Pine Creek, I've been dying to get a pet. Well, when my friend Ashley moved, she left me her hamster! Her hamster, Fuzzy-doo, is old, grouchy and bites me. No doubt Grumpy-doo will die within 2 weeks. Bye for now.