Piece of Pennsylvania history

Did you know James Buchanan was the only Pennsylvanian president of the United States. He was also the only president who never married. He was succeeded by Abraham Lincoln. He was the 15th president of the US.

lost in time

No, I don't really know what the title of my post means, so don't ask me. It doesn't mean anything I suppose, I just wanted to have an interesting title to the post! lol

Yeah, I've been putting some weird pictures on my blog lately haven't I? So you're probably wondering what in the world is THAT picture of? Well it's a very old picture, as you can probably tell. It is illustrating a story written over 3000 years ago. It's the oldest novel ever written, the Odyssey by Homer.

And no, it has nothing to do with Focus on the Family's AIO broadcast, although that's what might pop into your head when you hear the word odyssey. Another thing connected with the name odyssey is our old blue van (it was pretty old so we sold it) it was a Honda odyssey. Now our family van is a white Toyota Sienna. But anyway I am getting way off topic! :)

So to get to the point, those brown things are cannibals, they destroy all of the ships except one which Odysseus (the hero of the story) is in. In the end only he gets home, all his men are eaten by a cyclops or sea monster or by cannibals. Odysseus almost drowns. But he is rescued by Calypso.

I would probably never have read this on my own, but I had to read it for English. It is pretty gruesome in some parts, like when they poke out the cyclops eye. But overall I thought it was a wonderful epic story.

my shadow

My Shadow
by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

something gross!!!

If you are grossed out easily (or are under age of 13) do not read any farther. Have you ever heard of the poem/nursery rhyme at goes ...

Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.

Well basically Mary was "Bloody Mary" the daughter of King Henry VIII. She was a Catholic and tortured Christians. The silver bells and cockle shells refer to instruments of torture. The "pretty maid" was something that cut off peoples heads.
here to read more about it. There are more nursery rhyme with weird origins on that site.
Such as "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" was making fun of all the German immigrants with long names.
The origin of the words to the Three blind mice rhyme are based in English history. The 'farmer's wife' refers to the daughter of King Henry VIII, Queen Mary I. Mary was a staunch Catholic and her violent persecution of Protestants led to the nickname of 'Bloody Mary'. The reference to 'farmer's wife' in Three blind mice refers to the massive estates which she, and her husband King Philip of Spain, possessed. The 'three blind mice' were three noblemen who adhered to the Protestant faith who were convicted of plotting against the Queen - she did not have them dismembered and blinded as inferred in Three blind mice - but she did have them burnt at the stake!
I'm never singing those songs again!!!! Especially the Jack and Jill poem, that one made me sick! (It's about people being beheaded).

History is always interesting to me! And it's also creepy to think that one day people will look back on our time as history too! Everyday you make history!

so sad

There are so many terrible things happening lately.
1. Korah's duckling died.
2. That big earthquake yesterday in China killing
12,000+ people.
3. Now I'm sick, again. Had to go to the doctor today. Got more medicine.
4. My fish has ick. (she's sick, ick is a white colored infection, kind of hard to see on white fish) :( I hope she doesn't die, Jordin is so cute!

I'm pretty depressed. Can't wait until it all passes over.

petfinder.com - so many pets out there

no, this is not my new rabbit. No, it's not chloe. Her name is Spazzi, and she's for adoption. She's near Harrisburg PA. We can't adopt her, I just thought she is so cute! Don't you think? You can read about her here: Spazzi

First Bank of the United States

I thought this picture was so neat. It's the first bank of the united states. Here is a picture of some really old money.

Go here to read all about it. I think History is very interesting, don't you?

EXPRESS YOURSELF

Let your feelings out!
post a comment

Let YOUR voice be heard!
Make a post.

wild thing --- u make my heart sing ---

Thursday the Eighth

When I woke up there was rain on my windowsill. Yesterday we planted tomatoes, sweet banana peppers, and marigolds in our garden. We also put in carrot, radish, onion, parsley, cilantro, and nasturtiums seeds. Today we want to put in the lettuce. A lady from church is going to give us some cucumber plants. That will fill up the garden.
Never heard of naturtiums? They're plants with beautiful flowers, and you can eat them and their leaves. They are easy to grow, some kinds doing well in poor soil, others more as a window plant.

yummy!

I had 2 bananas for breakfast yesterday...
And green cauliflower and white broccoli for lunch with fried/steamed potatoes & onions! yummy!

so ... whats up?

So yeah, thats why I do my blog. It's fun to type up something quick and let people know whats up. And if they care to, they can leave me a comment. Email is nice too, but blogs are so cool because it gets sent to everyone, but not the people who don't want it, and only the people who care to will answer. Its something to think about!

So if you care, you will read on and find out what I'm doing today.

Well In English this morning, we kept talking about the Odyssey by Homer. Its a really weirdbut fascinating story. It's the oldest novel ever written. When I have more time later I might go into detail, but probably not, maybe on one of my other blogs (like my classic stories blog)... I'll have to think about that.
And then we did more and more square roots and all that jazz in algebra. And I wasted an hour playing a computer game called westward II.
And then I put in some laundry because I need my white shirt for soccer today.
Right now my mom & siblings are at BME. They're just there for the morning, it was an open school day thing. But I'm guessing they're going to end up homeschooling next year.
Well... now I'm going to go take a shower. Oh yeah did I mention we're finally buying the plants for our vegetable garden today too!!?? Finally! I can't wait.
(we planted asters and pansies in our front yard... picsture soon!! .. like in a few days. whenever its all planted.)) adios amigo & amigas and come back soon!

Reason for Blogging

Why do I do it? What purpose does it serve? Do I receive long term benefits? I do it because it's fun. I can share my life with my friend. Yes! Living life to the fullest is a benefit everyone needs! So go ahead, start a blog, post away! See what joy it brings.

so yesterday...

Never ever give up!

Pink Dolphins!

Yes, they are real! No joke! They live in the Amazon River in South America. They are also found in Hong Kong. They're an endangered species. Read these websites for more information:
http://www.wiu.edu/users/emp102/DolphinWeb/endangered_dolphin.htm
http://www.naturehaven.com/Ocean/dolphins.html

Soccer

Since I haven't it mentioned before, you might be wondering what my favorite sport is. Well, I really love soccer. Today we were supposed to go play with the home school group, but since it rained, and the field is all muddy, its cancelled. I even got new athletic clothes to wear! Oh well, I have to go to the doctor anyway.

Awesome shots

No, these aren't from outer space. This is a place in the desert they're growing crops by irrigating the fields.
Yellow poison dart frog.
Breath taking double rainbow.
Circle of fish in the ocean.

I'm still sick

I've been coughing and not breathing well, and spitting up green stuff, and blowing my nose too. It might be bacterial, or it might not be. My mom was researching it online. Since it's been over 2 weeks, it doesn't look like it's going away on its own. So I'm going to the doctor.

{not that far}

So keep on dreaming
Until you reach the stars
It might seem like a long way
til' the end of the day
But it's not that far

- mandy