Author Archive for Nettie

Theodosia Throckmorton Tour of London

Published by
Nettie
at Jul 29, 2010 in London and The Library. 0 Comments

While we were in London, I was finishing the third book in my new favorite series written by R.L. LaFevers about Theodosia Throckmorton, an eleven-year-old girl living in turn-of-the-century London. She has the special ability to detect vile curses on the Ancient Egyptian artifacts brought to the museum her parents run (The Museum of Legends and Antiquities), and, while working to remove them, gets caught up in many exciting adventures involving secret societies, mummies, and valuable antiquities. Since the books note many specific sites in London, I decided to find out if I could visit them while on our trip. I won’t put in any spoilers, but my sites do include the second and third book. Here are the places I visited:

  1. The Seven Dials: The scene of an exciting chase in the first book, “Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos”. In the book, the Seven Dials is in a crime-ridden, seedy neighborhood, but today, it is a nice, friendly section of town. No people getting stabbed here!
  2. The British Museum: Theodosia visits this rival museum once in “Serpents of Chaos”, and again in the third book, “Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus”. It’s also just a really big, interesting museum that we go to every time we’re in London.
  3. Cleopatra’s Needle: Scene of a large battle between two secret societies that want something (I’m trying to not give anything away!) in the end of ” Eyes of Horus”. It is so cool to see an Egyptian obelisk just standing in the middle of London!
  4. Chesterfield Street: is where Theodosia lives. It is also the location of the Embassy of the Bahamas! The street is filled with old townhouses, exactly as described in the books.
  5. Charing Cross Station: The main train station used by Theodosia’s family and enemies. I’m afraid it doesn’t look quite as it used to.
  6. The Alcazar Theater: is now called the Phoenix, but looks pretty much the same. Theodosia first visits in the beginning of “Eyes of Horus”, and continues to visit throughout the book. It is at Charing Cross Road.
  7. Somerset House: The former inhabitance of the Society of Antiquaries, and also, in the Theodosia series, the Brotherhood of Chosen Keepers. It is now “an inspiring space for art, culture and creative exchange”. It looks very grand, and you can just imagine Theo visiting here. It is located on the Strand.
  8. Burlington House: The current location of the Society of Antiquaries. Not in the Theodosia books, but I wanted to see where the Society was now. It IS a really pretty building, and you can eat lunch in the courtyard… You can find it at: 31 Burlington Arcade.

I didn’t go to any sites particular to the second book: “Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris”, but there are plenty. This was a really fun tour to do: one of my favorite parts of our London trip. I loved being able to actually SEE the places that are in the books.

Falconry Exhibit at the British Museum

Published by
Nettie
at Jul 18, 2010 in London. 0 Comments

While in London, we visited the British Museum three days in a row. On one such trip, we discovered that the museum was having a “Renaissance Night” with sword fighting, beer tasting, and a falconry show out front. We sat down to watch, and the head falconer showed the audience how he sent off the various olws, falcons, and hawks to scare away pigeons. When he asked for volunteers, I got to hold Elsa, a big, orange-eyed owl, while she snacked on baby bird heads. The only other time I’ve interacted with large birds of prey was not nearly as fun… I’d rather have them eat little baby birds than my granola bar! (Click the picture above to see more images.)

Class Cupcakes

Published by
Nettie
at Jun 19, 2010 in The Kitchen. 0 Comments

For our last homeroom, I decided to surprise my group with cupcakes that looked like their faces. I was inspired by the book Hello Cupcake, and an article in American Girl Magazine. Both featured cupcakes iced to look like real people. I used jellybeans for boys’ ears and a few of the girls’ eyes. Chocolate sprinkles were helpful in creating eyebrows and thick hair that stood up. I used candied cherries for everybody’s mouth, and little flower sprinkles for earrings and hair clips. I’m the curly-haired cupcake in the middle of the second row. I made myself much too tan by accident, but if you surround me with cupcakes with darker icing, it doesn’t look that much different. Making these for my classmates was really fun, and everybody loved them. I can’t wait to make them again!

To Kill a Mockingbird

Published by
Nettie
at Jun 4, 2010 in The Classroom. 1 Comment

Last week, my middle school performed To Kill a Mockingbird at the Live Oak Theater. I played Dill, which was an AMAZING part. Dill is very dramatic and likes to make up stories, so it was very fun to be him. I also enjoyed having the audience laugh at my lines, since I rarely get a funny part in plays. This was also my first time being a boy. Our set was three house fronts and their porches, a painted backdrop, and the Radley tree, which I helped to make. We used rough cardboard-y pots to make the trunk, and covered wooden poles with cellulite clay and gravel to use as the branches. It was the best part of the set. I also helped with gluing on the knothole, which sadly fell off in the second performance. The costume committee did great, as you can see from the pictures here. I wore a white button-down shirt, khaki shorts, black knee socks, black shoes, and my Spanish teacher’s dad’s cap, with the name “Alejandro Madrid” written inside. Everyone did wonderful, and all the performances were very fun! This was the best play I’ve ever been in, and I’m very sad it’s over!

Taller Uno: Cuidado de Animales

Published by
Nettie
at May 7, 2010 in Mexico. 0 Comments

While at El Molino, we got to choose a morning and afternoon workshop. For the mornings, I chose Animal Care, taught by Eloy. Every day we would go to a pet store to buy medicine and vaccinate animals at different farms. The first day we went to a chicken farm, and gave eyedrops to chicks to, as far as I could understand in my español no muy bueno, stopped them from getting a disease that turned them loco. The next day was my favorite. This time we dusted albino rabbits’ ears with blue powder that killed ear parasites. I think that the blue in the powder was supposed to help the farmer know which bunnies had been vaccinated, but it still looked pretty funny. At the end, we got to hold newborn baby bunnies. They were so small they could fit in your hand, and their eyes hadn’t even opened yet! On the last day, we walked to a large mansion that kept five horses. We gave a pregnant horse a shot to make its appetite stronger, and fed alfalfa to the rest.

This was one of my favorite parts of my Mexico trip, and definitely the best workshop. I LOVE animals, and I want to be a veterinarian, so this was the perfect class. You can see more pictures of the workshops here.

Traveling to Erongaricuaro

Published by
Nettie
at May 2, 2010 in Mexico. 0 Comments

Last Saturday, my eighth grade class took a midnight flight to Guadalajara, Mexico. After an hour in customs, we boarded a tour bus to take us on a four-hour trip to Erongaricuaro. This small Mexican pueblo is the home of El Molino, a camp for American and Mexican kids. Every year the eighth graders from my school stay here for a week, improving their Spanish, going on field trips, and attending workshops.

We stayed in a colorful building surrounded by trees, cacti, flowers, and places to play four square, volleyball, and soccer. We ate outside. Our largest and tastiest meal was lunch, served at 3 o’ clock. We ate tamales, rice, spaghetti, enchiladas, and these small tortillas with refried beans served with the cheese and meat made by the Quesos y Embutidos group.

Sadly, the class of kids from Chihuahua did not come. However, we did have fun with the counselors, who we taught to play Egyptian War and TOUNGEs. Later this week, I’ll post more of my adventures in Mexico.

Off to Mexico

Published by
Nettie
at Apr 24, 2010 in The Classroom. 1 Comment

Today my eigth grade class and I set off for El Molino, a camp in Erongaricuraro, Mexico. There we will attend workshops, such as weaving and animal care, and go on field trips with a school from Chihuahua. We’ll be back in one week and I’ll write about my adventure then!

Largest Crayfish of the Year Award!

Published by
Nettie
at Apr 18, 2010 in Berkeley. 2 Comments

On Saturday, our family went to Cal Day, when the University of California at Berkeley has its open house. Most of the campus buildings are open for people to look inside and see special displays and do activities. You can also go to the Phoebe Hearst museum for free, as we did, but unfortunately it was a little messy, since they were getting ready for a new Egypt exhibit. We also took our annual trip to the Life Sciences building, where we visited the live kelp forest and the floor of stuffed animals. Cal also has several music concerts, and Mother decided that we should go to the one where they play Baroque(n) instruments, which was quite, um, Baroque(n). Finally, we ended the day with a Strawberry Creek bug hunt. Peabody and I caught many water striders, and Father caught the “largest crayfish found this year!” according to the student who led the expedition.

Rifle Training

Published by
Nettie
at Apr 10, 2010 in Doings. 1 Comment

This morning I got up early and went with a friend and her dad to the Richmond Rod and Gun Club to take part in the Smallbore Junior Rifle Training Program. After a gun safety program, we learned how to shoot a .22 rimfire rifle at targets 25 yards away. This was my first time shooting a gun, and the instructor said I did well. Even though it was freezing cold and extremely windy, I had lots of fun, and I learned a lot!

Cherry Ames, Department Store Nurse

Published by
Nettie
at Nov 22, 2009 in The Library. 1 Comment

Recently I have been reading the Cherry Ames mystery series, about a young nurse in the 1940s. The pink hardcover on the far left of the photo is “Cherry Ames, Department Store Nurse”, the last in the series, the first one I read, and the funniest so far (the department store Santa frequently visits her for aspirin). In the book I just finished, “Cherry Ames, Army Nurse”, Cherry is in the army, making new friends (and enemies) and saving lives. “Cherry did not know what new life she would find [in the Pacific], what new challenges she would face. But whatever it was, she was ready for it!”

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