Magnificent Musicians

Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
Rachel
Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia in 1840. When he was 19, he went to law school to become a lawyer. He did not want to be a lawyer, so he started studying music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music with Anton Rubinstein. In 1866, he started teaching at the Moscow Conservatory of Music.
One of Tchaikovsky’s most famous works was the “Nutcracker Ballet”. He was not excited to compose this, so he wrote the first act and then went to the United States. Upon his return to Russia he completed the Nutcracker Ballet.
Tchaikovsky composed a lot of famous works. Some of them are “The Nutcracker Ballet”, “Swan Lake”, and “Beauty and the Beast”.

Terrible Tyrants

Peter the Great

By Rachel

Peter the Great was born in Moscow in 1672. When Peter’s father died, a man named Feodor succeeded him. Feodor died within a few years. Neither Peter nor his weak-minded brother, Ivan, was old enough to rule. His sister, Sophia, ruled Russia until Peter’s fans forced her off the throne and put him and Ivan on. Ivan’s weak-mindedness annoyed Peter, and after a short time, he became the sole ruler of Russia.

Russia was a very wealthy country with an abundance of minerals from the Ural Mountains. Despite all of Russia’s wealth, it did not satisfy Peter. He wanted a link to Europe and the easiest one to get was a trading route. Peter already had one of these, but no one had access to it during the cold months. He wanted a trading route on the black sea, which was owned by the Ottomans. Peter sent some of his units to capture one of the Ottomans trading ports. His mission was successful and he took over the town of Azov.

After this big event, Peter disguised himself as a normal citizen so he could see what Europe was doing. He spent a while learning all he could in Europe from museums and other sources. He also learned how they built war ships and how they made guns and weapons so that he could improve his own.

Peter the Great died in 1725. He was the first real “King” of Russia. He brought Russia wealth and happiness, so he was called “Peter the Great”. Peter accomplished many great things.

“Peter I, the Great.” World Book Encyclopedia. 1996
“Russian Expansion.” King Fisher History. 2nd Ed.

Magnificient Musicians

Domenico Scarlatti
By Rachel
Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples, Italy in 1685 during the last few years of the baroque period. His father was a famous opera composer, so it is no surprise that he went in to music. He composed over 550 sonatas for the harpsichord, along with many Operas and cantatas. In 1719, Scarlatti moved to Portugal to teach the princess music. When she married a Spanish prince, he moved with her to Spain. Scarlatti was 72 when he died in 1757 in the country of Spain. Domenico Scarlatti was a great composer

Magnificient Musicians

Francois Couperin
By Rachel
Francois Couperin was born in Paris in 1668 during the baroque period. Most of his music was written for the harpsichord because it was the most popular instrument back then. He was the music teacher for the children of King Lois XIV. Couperin often performed for the royal court and the King of France at the palace Versailles. He died at age 65 in the year of 1733. Couperin was a great musician.

Hysteric History

The Salem Witch Trials
By Rachel

The Salem Witch Trials caused a lot of hysteria in Salem Town and Salem Village. Innocent people were accused of being witches every day. The jails were always full of innocent men, women, and even children.
The Salem Witch trials were a time in history when everyone was in hysterics. Many things contributed to this terrible event. Puritan culture was very strict at the time and girls were only to do their chores and never play and have fun. For Anne Putnam and her friends, this was very true.
They had fun listening to Anne’s servant Tituba tell them stories and show them future telling games. This was against the puritan laws. When the girls started going in to fits, they screamed out three names and Tituba was one of them. When she was tried for witch craft, she faked a confession saying she did it and that there were other witches in Salem. This is one of the reasons.
The witch hysteria was used by the church to control the people and get them to do what the church wanted. They said that if you did certain things, you wouldn’t fall ill.
When people did fall ill, mostly they blamed the Quakers. Quakers don’t go to church and puritans believed that that was a sin. Puritans never learned to accept the Quakers, and when someone fell ill, it was easiest to blame someone who no one liked, so Quakers were blamed for no reason.
The Salem witch trials caused a lot of hysteria and no one was safe from being accused. Innocent people were accused of being witches just because either they were not liked, or they had a low social standard. The Salem Witch trials condemned many people to death.

Amazing Art

Vermeer
By Rachel
Vermeer was born in Holland in 1632. Vermeer was known for painting simple objects, men and women playing piano, dancing or talking. Vermeer also made young women doing simple things like holding a picture. One of his most famous pictures is of a young woman reading a letter Vermeer lived in the baroque period. Surprisingly enough, even though Rembrandt Van Rijn and Vermeer never met, the two young men painted with the same style, they never met. Vermeer was 43 years old when he died on 1675. Vermeer was a great painter.

Catastrophic Colonies

Rhode Island
By Rachel
The Rhode Island colony was founded in 1636 by a man named Roger Williams. He was a prime minister for the Massachusetts colony, but he didn’t like the strict laws the Puritans had and if you didn’t follow the Puritan religion exactly, they through you out of the colony. Roger Williams and five of his followers tried to start a colony what he thought was outside the Plymouth colony’s boundaries, but when he found out that it wasn’t, Roger had to move again. They moved to what is now Rhode Island and purchased the land from the Indians. Once the colony was set up, many settlers started arriving. They came for religious freedom, and in 1644, Rhode Island gained a Royal Charter saying that it was its own colony.

Poetry Portraits

The Indian Raid
By Rachel
(This is what I think one of the soldiers who killed the Natives might be feeling)

As I sit,
Gazing into the fire,
I think of the people that used to be here.
I think of the culture that is lost,
And wish I had not done what I did.

The sun was blazing up above,
And my heart was fluttering.
My brain did not know what to think at the sight of the cowering women and children.
But they are gone now to where ever their souls go.
Why are the other men rejoicing,
When I can’t bring a smile to my lips?

Life will go on, Life will go on,
But I will always remember this terrible day,
Where My heart is Thumping,
At the site of our dead enemies.

Poetry Portraits

The Cemetery
By Rachel

People come every day,
Bringing their dead in coffins,
People walk by laughing and joking about death,
While others stand crying at graves.

In the quiet morning,
It will be empty here,
And people will forget their loved ones.
The sun will still rise and set each day,
And the moon will always be offering its lonesome rays of ghastly light when the sun has gone.

The rain will still rain,
The snow will still snow,
The hail will still hail,
The fog will still float in the morning air,
And the sun will still shine each day.

Poetry Portraits

Carl Sandburg
By Rachel

Carl Sandburg was born on January 6, 1878 in Galesburg, Illinois. When he was 18, he had several jobs, but none of them suited him. He loved reading and writing, so it’s no surprise that he became a poet. Sandburg never went to high school because his family only had enough to send his sister Mary, but she shared her books with him and he learned enough to be admitted to college. When Sandburg was out of college, he married a woman named Paula. They had 3 children, but their first had epilepsy (an incurable disease), and although there their two youngest children were healthy, one of them was very slow at learning. Two of their children never moved out of their house. Despite all Sandburg’s troubles, he was a magnificent poet.

Magnificient Musicians

George Frideric Handel
By Rachel Donka

George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685 in the town of Halle, Saxony in northern Germany. His father wanted him to be a wealthy man, so Handel was enrolled in law school to be a lawyer. Handel’s father was so intent on Handel being a lawyer that he did not allow musical instruments in their house. But Handel was determined to play music, so he managed to hide a harpsichord in the attic and he taught himself to play. Handel composed operas for a while, but he got sick of composing them and turned to compose oratorios instead. Oratorios were operas with out costumes and solos. His most famous chorus was the Hallelujah Chorus. In 1712, Handel moved to London, England where he died on April 14th, 1759.

PAWS

Today me and my mom went to the PAWS center. We got a tour of the facility and some volunteers told us what paws is about. We got to see all the dogs and cats they had for adoption. That was sad. Then we found out that the animals are only there for about 10 days before they're adopted. PAWS also has a foster care program. I want to foster kittens. I think it would be lots of fun.

Amazing Art

Harmensz Van Rijn Rembrandt
By Rachel
Harmensz Van Rijn Rembrandt was born in 1606 in Leiden, Holland (this is where the Pilgrims lived before they left for America in 1620). Rembrandt studied with multiple artists throughout his life. He became famous for his ability to make biblical figures seem heavenly, and also still human. He had an outstanding ability to portray light in his pictures. Rembrandt, although he was one of the most popular artists in Europe, started losing money as an adult. He bought pictures from other artists that he could barely afford. He also started painting for himself instead, so he did his job, but for no one, which lost him a lot of money. Harmensz Van Rijn Rembrandt died on October 4, 1669. He was one of the most skilled artists in the Baroque Period.

Poetry Portraits

Edgar Allen Poe
By Rachel

11/5/2008

Edgar Allen Poe was born in the year 1809. His parents both died before he was 3 years old. He was taken to live with John Allen, who had been a wealthy friend of his mother. When Poe was 13, he could read Latin poetry fluently, and he started writing poetry of his own. When he was in college, he wrote his first happy story, but when he read it to his friends, they teased him about it. Poe’s life had been riddled with sadness. He was an Alcoholic and he had to end college early due to the several thousand dollars he was in debt. He had some trouble with money and he fought with John Allen. When he was 18 he enlisted in the army saying he was 22. When he got back from the war, he went to live with his relatives that had taken his brother William in. He wrote very sad poetry, as he was a drunkard and was deeply disturbed in mind and thought. Edgar Allen Poe died on October 3, 1849. He might have been insane, but he still was a good poet. Some of his most famous poems and stories are “The Raven” and “The Tell Tale Heart”. Poe may be dead, but a part of him will always live on in American poetry.

Poetry Portraits

Pumpkin Picking Time
By Rachel
10/22/08

The trees are colored with many a hue,
Of auburn, yellow, and brown.
The ground is covered with a light dusting of dew,
And leaves falling all around.

Many pumpkins have grown in the field,
In colors of orange, white, and green.
Many people passing by yield,
To look at pumpkins to be seen.

Crows fly down to eat the field’s worms,
And they are not welcomed by the farmer.
The worms in the bird’s mouth wiggle and squirm,
As the bird brings them to his nest where it’s warmer.

Pumpkin pickings the time of year,
When everything’s quieting down.
For the cold season is drawing near,
And all nature seems to hide in the ground.

The plants all die in preparation,
For the upcoming time.
Life all goes on a vacation,
And the wind starts to chime.

Like bells ringing to announce the new season.

Poetry Portraits

Robert Frost
By Rachel
Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, although he spent most his life in New England. Frost became interested in poetry when he had one of his poems published in a magazine in 1893. He became famous because of how he could describe landscapes of trees and other things in the natural world in his poems. Two of his poems are “The Road Not Taken” and “Walking Through Woods on a Snowy Evening”. Robert Frost died in 1963. He was a great poet.

Sleepover

This is my choir at our January concert

Hi! I got back from a choir sleepover today. It was a lot of fun. we got to watch the musical of cats on TV. It was a really good movie. We went to bed at 12:30 last night and woke up at 7:00 this morning, so I'm really tired. I got back from that, and since my dad is training for a marathon, we went with him to the pool that he does water running in and played in it while he ran. I haven't been home for 3 weekends in a row and next week I'm going to Chicago because that's where the marathon is. That's all for now!

Girl scout camp, again!!! :-)

This is one of the things we saw on our nature hike - at least 15 orb-weaver spider webs.

Hi!
This weekend I went to girl scout camp again. It was alot lot of fun. My friends mom is our leader and she is the best leader ever. whenever one of the girls was sad, sick, or hurt, she was there. We couldn't have a better leader. The activities were really fun. we got to make a pretend fire with candy and pretzel sticks, and then got to eat it. We also did soap carving and that was alot of fun. We had an awsome camp fire, and I learned a new skit. That's all for now!!!

Girl scout camp

Hi!
This weekend I went to girl scout camp with my mom. It was a lot of fun. The theme was red white and blue, so we did alot of things that had to do with flags. I liked it when they showed us how to retire the flag. what they did first was to cut apart the stripes separetly and say something, while they burned it in the fire. Then they put the stary piece of they flag on whole. after the fire cooled down, they removed the gromets and gave them to people whoose family members are WW II veterans. it was really cool. Me and my mom got to sleep in a yurt, so it was all inclosed, but it still was really cold. Next weekend, I have a encamp ment with my troop and my mom's not going. I'm really exited. that's all for now!

Book Club

Hi!
On Friday night, I had my book club meeting on Wise Child. It was a lot of fun. Although, no one really liked the witchcraft part. We discussed the book for an hour, then we ate some really good snacks. We had bread with boursin cheese spread, apples with honey, berries with cream, and lavender and chamomile tea with stevia leaves. Then, we went out in the garage and played dance dance revolution for a long time. By the time everyone had gone home, it was 9:30 pm. I went to bed at ten. Book club was a lot of fun.

Radical Reviews

Wise Child
By Monica Furlong
Copywrite 1987
This book is set in a small village in Scotland.

Summary:
This book is about a girl called Wise Child. She lives in a small village with her grandmother, but little does she know, her life will change forever. It begins when her grandmother dies. No one in the village will take her in except for two people, Gretchen, a mother that beats her children, or a kind "witch" named Juniper. Wise Child, though afraid, chooses to go with Juniper. Wise Child learns many things from Juniper. She only went to the town on Sunday for church. Wise Child was very religous, even though Juniper wasn't. She soon discovers that Juniper is caring for Cormac, Priest Fillan's brother. Cormac has Leprosy. After living with Juniper for a long time, Fillan turns against Juniper. While Wise Child is caring for Cormac for Juniper, Fillan takes Juniper prisoner. When Wise Child gets back, they take her too. Fillan accuses them of witchcraft and ruining the fields. Wise Child realizes that Juniper will probably be put to death, so she sneaks out of her cell and helps Juniper. They walk for miles until they get to the coast. Suprisingly,Wise Child's Father's boat is out there. When they turn around, her father is there. I think this is a book good for ages over 8 as it has witchcraft in it. I have chosen this book for my Mother Daughter book club book. So far my menu is bread with Jam, Chamomile Tea with stevia, and apple slices with honey. My activity is a sachet with lavender and rosemary in it. I can't wait.

Peru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi! Right now i'm in peru! Ilove it so far. The flight was long, but I liked it. I like some of the food, but some sounds gross. They had something called Caucau. it was veal stomach. So far my favorite food wassome kind of beef. My favorite desert was somekind of cookie. Right now I'm in our hotel room. It looks really nice in here. Ilike it because i get my own bed. That's all for now!

Radical Reviews

The Sign of the Sugared Plum
By Mary Hooper
Date read 7/08
This book is set in London, in the summer of 1665 during the plague.

Summary:
Hannah is a girl who had lived in the country all her life but always had hoped to go to the city. Things drastically change when she gets a letter from her sister to come to help her at her shop selling sweet meats. This is where the story begins. When Hannah arrives at the Sugared Plum (her sister’s store) she learns that the plague was in London. She learns that she was not supposed to come. Hannah stays at the shop hoping that the plague will die down. Within one month of Hannah’s arrival in London, there are 1,000 deaths in one week! The plague takes more people every week. In another month, the deaths have reached 6,000 deaths a week! There are not many people left in London. Hannah and her sister need something new to sell. They decide to make plague preventatives. To make preventatives, the sisters took herbs like rosemary, angelica, and chervil and candied them.

Hannah’s friend Abby is a maid for a rich woman. When the cook falls ill with the plague, everyone else in the household, except the baby, soon follows. As Abby is dying, she gives Hannah and her sister a letter from her mistress. The letter is asking them to take her baby and get out of London. Just one day later, Abby dies. Hannah and her sister act as Abby and her Mistress and take the baby. They have special passes out of London, so they use them. Hannah and her sister bring the baby to her aunt and are safe from the plague. This is where our story ends.

I think this book is wonderful, but should not be read by people under the age of ten, for it has some offensive and inappropriate words. Other then that that it is a very exciting book.

If you want more information on the Plague, click here: Plague Info RMD

Summer Camp For Me

This is me, all packed to go!

Hi! I just got back from Girls Scout Camp. I got to ride a horse. It was a lot of fun. I was away for one week. I really missed my cat. I got to do a lot of fun stuff like making corn husk dolls. I also made a dipped candle and a dream catcher. I also got to go swimming, canoeing, and kayaking. My counselors were really nice, but one of them was nicer then the other. That was our counselor from South Korea. The food was horrible. I mostly ate fruit. I met two new friends, so I had alot of fun. I'm glad that I'm home now beacause I missed my family and I don't like mosquitos. Thats all for now!

Camp

Hi! This week , my brother is away at summer camp. He comes home on Friday. I sometimes miss him, but not every minute of the day. That is because me and my mom do fun things like go antique shopping. I started a new collection, antique (or any) keys. We also planted a garden. I can't wait to see if the corn grows. Other things we did: went to the farm with a friend, went to a Japanese tea ceremony, went to a movie. My brother is at a backpacking camp, so we can't call him. In 2 days, I will be going to a GS camp for one week too. My days will be very busy. I will have an activity every hour. That is all for now!

My Cat Tiny

This is my first ever post. I don't really know what to say in a blog since I've never done one before, so I'll just say what's been happening around here. My cat Tiny has asthma and she is on prednizone, but she hasn't had an attack lately, so she's fine. She's a mainecoon cat, so she is huge. She weighs about 14 pounds! In my family, she seems to like me the best because she normally sleeps in my bed. Some of the things I love about her: she's fuzzy and she nurses on my hair. That's all I can think to say right now, so I'll blog some more later.