In This Issue....
Kind of a boring week except that it's been really, really hot here...
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ODDS-N-ENDS
6063 N. Piedra
Sanger, Ca. 93657
559-787-2831
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MATH a poem by Cara White
My Whitewater Rafting Trip
Jell-O and it's History
Abracadabra....
A Pain Poll
Phillip the Fireman
Back Issues
I just found this poem on my computer and I thought I would include it in my newsletter. I wrote this poem on August 6, 2001.
Math, at the mention of its name I hear coming out from the dark quarters under my bed where evil lurks. I can sense its presence near me, ready to unleash horrible terrors. Gently creeping up behind me where I sit at this chair. Nearer still, ready to pounce, it chills me but I write on. I feel it's icy breath on my neck, forcing the rusty gears in my head struggle to work, I hear an evil laugh and see horrible visions of Mr. Leso's class*. My scream lingers in the air as I collapse onto the floor. It is too much for me; I am getting weaker at every second. I am gone and I see my crumpled body on the floor.
*Mr.Leso was my 4th grade teacher. When I wrote this I considered him kind of evil, now that I have him for Social Studies, I realize he’s not too bad for a teacher.
Editor's note-If Cara spent as much time on her math work as she did writing this poem, she would probably do much better in the class
About ¾ of the way to the Zephyr rafting place, the van/bus in front of us stopped because some kids were sick. Much to my displeasure, my friend Tessa and I traded vehicles so I had to ride in the van/bus because riding in a smaller vehicle helped combat her motion sickness. I was actually surprised that I didn’t get sick or start freaking out (I don’t like driving up there, the roads going up to the lake are scary!)
When we got to the river-rafting place they took us to the bathrooms and made us wait in this canopy covered outdoor eating-place. After about 15-20 minutes, a guy came out and instructed us on what to do if you fall out the boat ETC. Then he told us to wait for about 15 minutes while they got a bus ready for us. When they got the bus ready for us, we had a 50-mile ride ahead of us. The ride was kind of fun because it was really, really bumpy. The bad thing was that it was really dusty.
When got down to the actual river, we had to get our life jackets on and then get on the raft. It was kind of difficult to get in the raft because I didn’t want to wade through the river. We sat in the raft for a minute or so learning how to paddle and then started off down the river.
The first set of rapids were really fun because I really didn’t know what to expect. I was thinking, “You expect me to paddle through these?!? I want to hold on!”
After a little while I got used to paddling through the rapids and our guide said that we could get in the water if we wanted to. I went in the water and so did everyone else. As soon as I got in the water I started yelling, “It’s cold! Ahhhh, cold water! Get me out of here!”
The guide usually lifts you up by your life jacket. Well, my life jacket was too loose and it was coming over my head but I eventually got back in the boat. Soon after, we stopped for lunch. Our ice chest had sodas and stuff and we were going to have sandwiches. The leaders had all of the of the meat and stuff set out when they discovered they had forgotten the bread in the van, we had to eat the meat and stuff without bread.
We set off again feeling more energized, when we got stuck on a rock. It took us a long time to get off the rock, and when we finally unstuck, the other people in the rafts had already begun to swim over and try to help us. We got stuck two other times that day and all of them took a lot of work to get us un-stuck.
Later on everybody was jumping in the water and soon we came up to some rapids (I was one who stayed on the boat) and everyone was banging in to the rocks, we had to paddle hard to “rescue” all the people who were floating down stream.
Much later on I rode through some rapids that didn’t have a lot of high rocks and I had a lot of fun. I also swam along the boat for a long time because I think the water got warmer (or I went numb). Near the end of the trip, I jumped off the raft and swam/floated back to shore and everybody handed back their life jackets. I had to ride in a van/bus again. When I got home I realized I had a minor sunburn. I want to go rafting again someday!
2 T graham cracker crumbs, divided into two parts
1 pkg. sugar-free lemon Jell-O
2/3 c boiling water
1 c 1% low fat cottage cheese
1 container (8 oz) cream cheese
2 c thawed cool whip lite whipped topping
1 c reduced calorie cherry pie filling
Spray 8 or 9 in springform or 9 in pie plate with non-stick cooking spray
Sprinkle side with half the graham cracker crumbs, using other half for garnish. (Or omit garnish and sprinkle other half on bottom on pan.)
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; pour into blender. Add cottage cheese and cream cheese. Blend at med. speed about two min or until completely smooth.
Pour into large bowl and gently stir in whipped topping. Pour into prepared pan. Smooth top and chill until set - about four hrs.
The history of Jell-O; The dates are from the pre-1900’s to about 2001
Did you know there is a Jell-O museum?
View a gallery of the adds for each decade or so. It is really interesting
The name of the show was Magic Of The Round Table. She was a little late because the maps she got from the Internet were hard to understand so Bev (the librarian) had to direct her to the library by phone. When she did get there, no one really wanted to participate (except for me, of course).
She talked about the history of some of the tricks (The tricks were actually pretty old) and had a puppet named puff. I got to act out a scene from the book How to Eat Fried Worms and got to “cook” up some worms, I even had the proper kitchen attire!
The show was really cool. The tricks I liked best involved her somehow linking metal rings together and then making them come apart when somebody blew on them.
Sharon is a Central California based magician who performs a wide variety of entertainment. She combines magic, puppetry, and hands on participation, balloon creations in her entertainment. She travels throughout California.
She can provide you with entertainment to suit a particular group or product. She performs a wide spectrum of magic for private parties, corporate shows, birthday celebrations, promotional shows and educational school shows.
Sharon and her magic rings
I'm playing the part
Sharon and Puff
Here's Bev, the Piedra Librarian
Infomation about Sharon and her magic shows
