Chores

My life seems like and endless cycle of chores. Every morning I have to get up, get dressed, make my bed, go downstairs and put on my jacket and boots, and go outside. Then I let Mary into her yard, spread fresh straw, add an armful of fresh hay (she doesn't have milk anymore), and carry a bucket of water for her (which is VERY heavy). Then I care for the geese. I let them out of their shed, rake out their droppings (eewww!), and get their food and water. Then I get to go inside, but my chores aren't finished. I let Blackie out of her crate, and I feed and water her too. Then I feed Shimmer and Forty-Niner. After that, I take Blackie for her morning walk. That's a lot to do before breakfast.

Bathtime for Blackie

Today I bathed Blackie. I had to wash her because mom thought she was too smelly. I read all about it in my pet care book (called "Great Pets"). I remembered to put a leash on Blackie and to use plain soap. I did not miss the warning on how wet you will get. I started to soap her. I got the impression that she doesn't like baths. What had been a nice, relaxing bath, turned into a no-holds-barred wrestling competition. Blackie didn't like being rinsed either. When I had finished, I wasn't able to close the shower curtain before she shook. I was soaked. Once I had dried her with a towel, I let off the leash and out of the bathroom. She started running around like a maniac rubbing on the furniture. I chased after her for a few minutes, then settled down to comb out my tangled hair. I hope I don't have to wash her again any time soon.

Zoe

Zoe is a nasty bully. She spread a rumor around that I dye my hair. I do not! Today I confronted her at recess. This is how it went.

"It's amazing," I said.

"What, that there's someone on the planet a stupid as you?" asked Zoe.

"No, that people will believe a rumor stared by someone notorious for lying," I retorted, "and you know I don't dye my hair."

"You should," she said, "you're ugly. And your sense of fashion is terrible. What did you do to those shoes?"

"What's wrong with slip-ons? They're more comfortable than those 'ballet flats', and in cases like this, they're more practical too." I took off at a run. A smart move on my part, because when she chased after me, her dainty little shoes kept on slipping off her heels! And she was afraid to get her shoes dirty, so she hadn't caught up to me by the time we had to go in.

Forty-Niner's New Trick

Forty-Niner has learned a cute little trick! Whenever he's hungry, he will wiggle his body in a certain corner of his tank. You see, I always feed him in the same corner, so he learned that if he "dances" in that corner of the tank, I'll feed him. It is really cute.

Meet the Pets

Today Allie and Sophie came over. They got to meet all my pets. Sophie said she had never seen a goldfish bigger than Forty-Niner. Blackie jumped up on us all. We had all seen Shimmer before at Sophie's birthday party. Then we went outside, and I showed them my other pets. They both thought Mary was the sweetest thing on earth. They didn't like the geese so much. You see, the geese like me, and they were "defending" me against Allie and Sophie. They left around four thirty. It was fun, but I'm glad they left when they did, because I had to walk Blackie, get Lacy and Marshmallow back in their shed, and feed everybody. I guess I had better do my homework now.

The Book Bonanza

Last friday was so fun. It was the "Book Bonanza" at school. Everyone (including the teachers) wore costumes from a favorite book. Lots of people dressed up so they were from the same book as a friend. There were kindergartners dressed up like frog and toad, kids of all ages dressed like Harry Potter characters, and many others, some quite fancy, but I think our costumes were best. By "our", I mean Sophie, Allie, and I. We dressed up like the Three Musketeers! We wore baggy pants that we tucked into our boots, loose wide-sleeved blouses (our mom's), and sashes. We made blue smocks, each with a white fleur-de-lis on the front. We also wore big floppy hats, and used eyebrow pencil to draw on mustaches. We even spoke in french accents. Too bad we weren't able to bring our swords. Anyway, it was fun.

Yawn!

Today I did chores, chores, chores. I washed dishes, ironed, ran the carpet sweeper over the rugs, dusted, and took out the newspapers, not to mention taking care of my pets. I also cleaned my room. Now that was a job, considering I'm not that neat and mom is a clean freak. I'm tired. I also will have to walk Blackie again, set the table, help in the kitchen, and wash the dinner dishes. Just thinking about it makes me tired.

What a Great Day!

Today everything seemed to go right. Even with my hair being hip-length, it didn't have a single big snag when I brushed it. When I brought Mary her milk, she bleated happily and trotted right up to me. I think she is starting to like me. At school, I got an A on the pop quiz we had for review. There was crystalized ginger in my lunch box. When I told Blackie "sit'' she sat. And I didn't have to act in that stupid "The Golden Mask" play. I wish every day could go as well as today.

Shimmer's Adventure

Happy new year! I've spent most of my Christmas vacation taking care of my pets. I named my goat Mary, and my geese are named Lacy and Marshmallow. Both the geese are female and white. Today being Saturday, I stuck Shimmer in the sink while I washed her bowl. When I had finished, I went back to the sink, but Shimmer wasn't there. I looked all over the bathroom, and finally found her in the toothbrush cup. Mom washed that cup five times using excess amounts of soap. From now on, I'm going to put Shimmer in a bucket when I wash her bowl.