Friday, December 26, 2008

Dotty's pets












I have special chicken news! Penny AND Louise, the baby chicks Lily raised were BOTH roosters. We are very sad. They were both very pretty, but we can't keep them since they are roosters. We heard them both crow, and Penny (now Peter) liked Lydia!! Here are some pictures of the the two chickens we lost: (These pictures were from when they were babies)

Monday, December 1, 2008

Dotty's favorite blogs


I want to talk about some GREAT blogs by my GREAT friends!


Check these out and comment:




Saturday, November 29, 2008

THEME FOR DECEMBER!




The theme for December is...


Cinnamon Bear
!

Are you thinking....WHAT? Well I'll tell you who Cinnamon Bear is!! Cinnamon Bear is a stuffed bear with a green ribbon around his neck who helps two little kids find their lost silver star in another world! IT'S A RADIO SHOW! My Grandmother listened to it when she was a little girl, and guess what? It's still playing!!! Here is where and when to listen to it if you are
interested:

ON: K103 (103.3 F.M.) AT: 7:00 P.M. EVERY NIGHT TILL CHRISTMAS! I hope you like it! Happy Holidays!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FIRST EPISODE!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Dotty's pets


Just a few weeks ago, my family got new chicks! One of our chickens (Lily) was broody. For all those chicken experts out there, you probably know what that means. It means she desperately wants babies. But since there are no roosters in the coop, that is impossible. When a chicken is broody, they sit on all the other chickens’ eggs and thinks they will hatch. Of course the eggs never do, so the hens get GRUMPY! They are like rag dolls when you try to pick them up. They puff up and screech, and they don’t let others lay. And THAT causes a problem. When the others don’t lay, they “hold” their eggs, which can be dangerous.

So…. we got Lily two baby chicks to take care of! We snuck them under in her at night (which is the best time) and in the morning she thought she had made babies! Well, now Lily is clucking around happily with her babies, teaching them how to be chickens. And the other big chickens don’t seem to mind. Except, that is, for Lydia who is Lilly’s best friend, and who wants attention, too.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Dotty's theme for September




This is the spot of my blog where every month, there is a new theme.
THIS MONTH'S THEME:

Cupcakes!


And I know the best place to get them too: Saint Cupcake! That is where my awesome Aunt works, and my dad did a painting for them! He also wrote this story that, if you go to Saint Cupcake, you'll see painted on the wall:

The Story of St. Cupcake

The Story of St. Cupcake is not widely known. But those who remember it savor the tale like the aroma of warm cinnamon rolls on a crisp fall day. She was known as "the Baker's Daughter" in the quiet Northern town where she lived. Not a morning passed without the sight of the young woman, standing outside her shop in a cloud of flour, passing out freshly baked cookies to children on their way to school. Her Holiday Pie Parade had local families dancing in the streets. Her monthly Muffin Brigade delivered sweet comfort to the less fortunate.

Over the years, the generosity of the Baker's Daughter grew, as did her connection to the townspeople she served. Heartbroken souls found closure after tasting her bittersweet chocolate cookies. Anxious folk were soothed by her calming fruit cobblers. Listless laborers gathered strength from her eye-opening coffee cakes.

But the icing on the cake occurred when a young girl, long considered the town mute, was offered a pumpkin-spice cupcake by the Baker's Daughter. The entire town gasped as she took several bites, grinned widely and uttered her very first word: Sweet!
It is said that this single event transformed a humble baker's daughter into Saint Cupcake, the Patron Saint of Sweet. Today, devoted followers claim that she continues to work miracles in this very bakery. Here you will find that there still is plenty of goodness to go around.

Just take a bite and believe.




Monday, September 1, 2008

Dotty's reports and stories



FROM THE OLD CHESTNUT TREE>

THIS IS A BOOK REPORT I DID IN 5TH GRADE! IT'S ABOUT A
FAMOUS JAZZ MUSICIAN (He is my favorite)


CHARLIE PARKER
By Sophie
Charlie Parker was born in 1920 on August 29, in Kansas. His dad was seeking jobs as a song and dance man, when he moved his family to Kansas City to find work there. Unable to find work there, his father moved to go work on the railroad. He had to travel long distances so he was gone a lot of the time. In the end Charlie’s dad left altogether and his mother had to provide for two of them. Sometimes she worked 2 or 3 jobs to help Charlie get what he needed or wanted. But when she worked at night, Charlie would go and listen to jazz around town.
He started playing the saxophone when he was 12 when his mother gave him his first sax in 1931. And then when he was 14 he joined his first band. Because he did not have teachers he had trouble playing the music but he kept on practicing, he memorized songs from Lester young and eventually he mastered the music. He made his first recording in 1941 and people loved him. Then he made his biggest recording in1944. One of his quotes was don’t play the sax let it play you. And if you don’t live it it won’t come out your horn. His nickname was yard bird because he was always found in the yard outside listening to the bands inside a jazz club. He was too young to go in the club so he practiced outside with his sax. He said that his cousin could not say Charlie but yarlie instead so he got called the nickname. Then when he went to high school he was different from the others, he practiced his sax everyday preparing for his performance in swing bands. Then he would go to jazz clubs and listen to them at night. Charlie Parker was a genius in bebop and was great at songs on the sax. Soon other jazz musicians liked to play along with Charlie, to this day much of the Jazz language came from Charlie Parker.
THIS IS A STORY I WROTE!

The Old Chestnut Tree BY SOPHIE

It was summer once more. "Yes!" I said, as I ran outside onto the cool wet grass. I loved summer because I got to play in my chestnut tree.

The chestnut tree was fun because I knew that it had been there for many years and that other kids surely played on it before me. They probably did the same things with it too, used the chestnuts to make little characters, those kinds of things.

It had an old swing connected to it, hanging from a wobbly branch that should be fixed. But I loved that tree so much that I didn't care. Every summer I would climb it all the way to the top. There weren't any chestnuts at that time because they only were growing in the fall, but it was still fun without them.

So today I was out again, playing on it. I always thought about things better when I was on that tree, and today I thought of Summer.

Today was a perfect day to be out. The sun was out and shining, the lake was glittering, and the birds were singing. But today I saw something different about the tree. When I climbed on it, it creaked and swayed. I was curious, but before I could inspect anything, my mother called: "Julie! Dinner!"

In the middle of dinner I stopped eating and said, "I think something is wrong with the tree." My mom looked up, then my dad. "We know." they said. "It's an old tree, and its…" my mom trailed off. "Dying." she said. I stopped. "What? It can't be! It's been alive for years!" I was devastated.

How could this happen? I thought as I walked up the stairs. I knew that now it could be dangerous to play in the tree. But what could I do?

The next day, my mom told me the most horrifying thing ever. "We must cut down the tree." I was shocked. "What? No!" I said. "We can't let it fall down unexpectedly on our house Julie!" It was true. It was right next to our house, and could kill us.

So later that day, I heard a lot of banging, and sawing, and soon I heard a loud bang that shook the house. I looked out the window and saw the horrible scene of my favorite tree being taken away in a big truck. I felt tears streaming down my face.

The next day, I was at the library, when I saw a book laying on the return counter. It was called:
All About Chestnuts And Chestnut Trees. I grabbed it and thanked God for my luck.

When I got home, I read some of the book, and it was helping me feel better! I read a little everyday, and of course I didn't just
forget about my tree, but I did stop thinking about it ALL the time.

Over the week my tree got cut down, I tried to think of things to do. I was aching to climb my tree, it was like a hunger.

Then 2 days later, I was reading my book when, I started to think:
What would fill the space by our house? Then I heard my mother's voice. "Julie honey, we have a surprise for you!"

So I went downstairs. My mother and father were sitting on the couch. I went over and sat next to them. They handed me a flowerpot full of dirt, and it was labeled: CHESTNUT TREE.I knew it wouldn't grow for a while, but I felt a big grin break across my face.


LIKE IT? LEAVE A COMMENT!

Dotty's theme for November














It's once again time for a the new theme of the month! And this months theme is...

BaNdS AnD SiNgErS!


The theme for the month will not always be related to the holiday that is coming, so I thought it would be fun if I did the theme for November BANDS! So here are some great ROCK, JAZZ, AND LOTS OF OTHER KINDS OF BANDS!

THE BANDS YOU SEE PICTURES OF ARE...

ABBA

THE RAMONES
VERTICAL HORIZON
MIRANDA COSGROVE
THE BEATLES
SCHOOL OF ROCK

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Dotty websites


Hey all you girls out there! Are You looking for good websites to visit? Here are three great girl websites!

CHECK THESE OUT:

Poptropica.com--You have a little person, and you play games, earn things, and unlock levels.

Stardoll.com--You have a "MeDoll"and you can dress up, play games, chat, buy clothes, and you get a house!

AmericanGirl.com--I'm sure you all know what American Girl is! You can play games, take quizzes, and LOTS MORE!




Dotty's playlist

these are my favorite songs! If any of them sound good...look them up on YouTube.com and if you like them, comment!

Tribute by-Jack Black and Kyle Gass

School Of Rock
by-The School Of Rock

Leave It All To Me
-Miranda Cosgrove

Early Bird
-Charlie Parker

My Brain Is Hanging Upside down
-The Ramones

Back In Black
-AC-DC

Touch Me
-The Doors

Everything You Want
-Vertical Horizon

You're A God-
Vertical Horizon



>>

Friday, August 29, 2008

Dotty QUIZ what kind of reader are you?

Answer these questions:

What do you want to be for Halloween this year?
(a) A SCARY monster
(b) A fashion model
(c) An explorer

What is your idea of fun?

(a) Surprising or scaring people
(b) Designing clothes
(c) Climbing a tree


What would you rather do?

(a) Find hidden passageways in your house
(b) Help people in any way
(c) Climb to the top of a mountain

What is your favorite animal?

(a) Dog
(b) Hamster
(c) Panda

If you could have a magical power, what would it be?


(a) To be invisible
(b) To fly
(c) To run super fast

IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY A….

If you answered mostly As, you are someone who loves magic and horror. Well, here are some GREAT books I recommend to you:

100 Cupboards By N.D Wilson
12-year-old Henry York is going to sleep one night when he hears a bump above his head. It’s an unfamiliar house, because he is staying with his aunt, uncle, and three cousins, so he tries to ignore it. But the next morning he wakes up with bits of plaster in his hair! Two knobs have broken through the wall, and one of them is slowly turning……….

* I RATE THIS BOOK 7 OUT OF 10

It is a very suspenseful book with lots of funny characters. Good descriptions.

Fablehaven By Brandon Mull
Kendra and Seth are going to their grandma and grandpa’s house for a week. They think the house is a normal house with a normal yard…but it turns out that that their grandma is missing, and weird things are happening around them. Soon they find out that their grandpa’s yard is no ordinary yard. It is a secret preserve called Fablehaven, where magical creatures roam. And it’s in trouble. Seth and Kendra must find a way to find their grandma and save Fablehaven before it’s too late.

* I RATE THIS BOOK 10 OUT OF 10

This is one of my favorite books. It is part of a series. I love the characters because they are so creative. This story made me want to bring the book everywhere and read it ALL day. I have read all of them and can’t wait till the 4th comes out.

IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY B….

You are a “girly girl” reader. You love to read about real life problems, and girls who have adventures. Well, that’s great because here are some great books just for you:

Charlotte in Paris By Anne Bryant
Charlotte is going to Paris!! She is going to meet her French friend Sophie there to find her long lost kitty. Sophie is sure she spotted him. So she heads off. But while she is looking for her beloved kitty she has many adventures. She looks at fine art, goes to some pretty neat bakeries, and meets some nice people, but will she ever find her kitty?

* I RATE THIS BOOK 9 OUT OF 10

This book is part of a series called: “The Beacon Street Girls.” This one out of all the books is my favorite because I have always wanted to go to Paris. This book is a funny, well-written book.
Also part of the Beacon Street Girls series:
Maeve on the Red Carpet
Just Kidding!
AND MORE!


IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY C….

You are an adventure reader! Action, suspense!
That’s the kind you like. So here are the BEST books for you:


The City Of Ember By Jeanne DuPrau
An underground city was built. The builders thought it could last 200 years. It did. But now one little girl and her friend, Dune, figure out that it is underground. The generator that keeps them all alive is starting to break, and there are more power outages every day…. It’s up to Dune and Lina to save the City of Ember before it’s too late.

* I RATE THIS BOOK 10 OUT OF 10

This book is one of my favorites. I recommend this to anyone! (Even someone who does not like adventure.) I GUARANTEE you will not be disappointed after you read all three books.


My Side Of The Mountain By Jean George
Sam has a huge family with lots of brothers and sisters. He wants to get away. He is tired of it all: sharing, fighting, all that. So he runs away to a forest. He tries to make himself at home by carving a little house out of a tree…he makes a bed, finds food, and even makes friends with some animals! His great grandfather had a ruined barn in the forest that is FAR away from where Sam is. He decides to take a shot at trying to get there. So he does…and he has many adventures on the way.

* I RATE THIS BOOK 8 OUT OF 10

I love how he lives in a tree and makes friends with little animals. The descriptions are great and it is a suspenseful book. READ IT!