The Rose

Above is my world famous Rose.It is called "The Lovely Rose". I could not be proficient at art without Vita my wonderful art teacher, who is a real artist, and my other amazing artist friend, Eirene. I draw other things as well including fairies, different flowers, and birds. I will be posting more pictures for everyone to see. In fact Chloe (Totally Random in NYC )and I are working on an art project, but I cannot tell you what it is: you will have to wait. Please comment.

Done with School

I use a curriculum called Sonlight which has 36 weeks, packed with things to learn. Tomorrow is our last day of Sonlight for the year, although my mother has other things planned to use.We have science kits, books to read, and projects to do which will keep us busy all summer.

6th grade went by very quickly.Out of all the, subjects I liked History the best. I have a good memory so I can remember important dates and times in history. My least favorite subject is math. Ugh! Since I use Sonlight I have to read novels chosen by Sonlight which correlate with what I am learning in history and in other subjects. My favorite book I read would be the "Phantom Tollbooth" .This book reminded me of "Alice and Wonderland"--another good book. I hope that 7th grade is fun too and I do not get to much homework.

Bird Watching

My mom found a website where you can watch live baby birds in their nest.We are watching humming bird babies.There are two of them and they are growing fast. Today I woke up and saw that they grew new feathers. I saw the mother feeding and laying on her babies.I have known them for about 3 days,but my mom found the site has been watching them since Sunday. I am also watching unhatched duck eggs, Red Deer eggs, House Wren eggs,and Cardinal babies.I have some links to visit them below.

http://www.ustream.tv/hummingbirdnestcam Humming bird

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cardinal-cam Cardinal

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/pixcontrollernestcam House Wren

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/red-deer-rdrn-telus-tower-peregrine-nest-box Red Dear

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/duck-cam Duck

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/black-capped-chickadee-nest-cam Chickadee (my favorite)

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nicasio-owl Owl

Greenwood Cemetery

Today I went to Greenwood Cemetery. Greenwood is a beautiful cemetery where a bunch of famous people and some ordinary people are buried. Luckily we had a great and funny tour guide to show us all the different graves. One person buried there was an artist named Nathanial Currier.I also saw a ton of beautiful statues, but acid rain wears away at them. Our guide said that Monk parakeets live in the cemetery. We did not see the birds, but we did see their nests on the main entrance. At the gift shop we got two books the tell you about all the graves and allow you to go on self guided tours .I had a great time. Thanks Angel for organizing this event.

I put a link at the end so you can learn more.

Video tour of the catacombs and crypts of Green-Wood Cemetery

Who Wants Some Noodles

Yesterday Betty drove Mom,Richard, Marlene, Chloe, Kai, and I to a place that serves hand pulled Chinese noodles. In the car, Michael gave me a adorable golden teddy bear, and I named him Hans.Hans means John in German. Neither the outside nor the interior decor were attractive, but their food was simply delicious . A man made noddles right in front of us it was pretty amazing. I wonder how long it took him to master that marvelous skill .I can not wait to go back again.The pictures are not mine. In fact I found them on the internet along with the recipe for noodles below.Sorry no pictures of Hans.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into thin strips
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dry Sherry
• 2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)*
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce**
• 4 cups chopped Napa cabbage (from 1 head)
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 8 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 14-ounce package fresh yakisoba noodles or Chinese pan-fry noodles
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• *Sold at Middle Eastern markets, natural foods stores and some supermarkets.
• **Available at Asian markets, specialty foods stores and some supermarkets.

PREPARATION

• Stir chicken, soy sauce, Sherry, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in medium bowl to blend. Let stand 20 minutes or refrigerate up to 2 hours.
• Whisk garlic, tahini, ginger, sugar, vinegar, and chili sauce in small bowl.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and green onions and sauté until cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Add chicken with marinade and tahini-garlic mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly; cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.
• Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Add to soup in pot. Stir in half of cilantro. Season soup with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro

Jamaica Bay

On Friday we went to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Reserve.We saw plenty of birds including an Osprey, a Glossy Ibis, and my favorite the Yellow Warbler. We also saw a plant called Mullien. This plant was as soft as a blanket.The Indians used this plant as diapers for their babies.We also filled in workbooks that made us Junior Rangers. As Junior Rangers, we all received badges and patches. I had a great time in the outdoors with my friends, family and the great outdoors.

P.S Thanks for organizing this event Betty .

Presidents Challenge

Every year an event called Presidents Challenge is held. Today, as always, I participated. We do all different activities like sit ups , pull ups,the mile run, the V stretch,and some other things. Depending on how good you perform you get certain color badges--blue(Presidential) is the best, then red (National),and finally white(participant). I had a pretty good time. The mile run was not as horrible as I expected. During the middle of an activity it started to drizzle a little. The rain felt good as we were that hot and tired. I would have enjoyed this more if all my blogging friends would have came.

Books

Do you want a good book? I have some ideas. My first suggestion would be "Finally" by Wendy Mass. This book deserves 9 out of 10. My next book is especially for Chloe. The books name is"the Tail of Emily Windsnap. I thought Chloe would like it because it about a mermaid, and we know how much she loves them. Book number four is called "Noonies Masterpiece." It is a little strange, but whoever likes art should get this book. Last of all is "Julia Gillian". That book has two in the series. I will critique some more books when I get my newest load of books from the library.

German

I got a free demo from Rosetta Stone today. I am learning German . I learn German words by teaching myself from books and maybe next year I may even take real classes. I also wanted to try Rosetta Stone which is a popular computer program, so I ordered the free demo. It lived up to my expectations. Now I desperately want to get Rosetta Stone. It is really expensive, but if you really want to learn a language I think it would be worth it. I have plans for earning money to purchase it. One cool thing about this program is that you can speak to the computer to check your pronunciation. Now you can see why I really want it......