Day #357 And the Winner Is . . .

Here's another post that has nothing to do with bees.

For the past month you’ve been putting up with those dog announcements at the bottom of my posts, and many of you, from Colorado to Michigan to Florida to Scotland (!) andlots of places in between, responded by contributing to the Walton Animal Guild. I wish all of you could have won, but there's room for only one new dog in my next book.

Now the dog raffle is over, and if you’d like to see Gracie, the winner, playing in the snow, check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmT6gntBa90&feature=youtu.be

Three years ago, Gracie was rescued by Carol and Ted Baum from the parking lot of a drugstore, where she had installed herself as the official outside greeter, apparently looking for just the right people to adopt. They took her to an animal shelter so her original owners might find her. When she wasn’t claimed, Carol and Ted went right back and brought her home.  She was in pretty bad shape physically, but with lots of love and good vet care, Gracie rebounded to good health.

I love happy stories.

So now, Gracie will grace the pages of Violet as an Amethyst, the 6^th Biscuit McKee mystery. I’m having great fun working on re-writing the dog scenes. I'll be sure to let you know when it's released (both print and ebook).

BEEattitude for Day # 357:

       Blessed are those who care enough to give animals a home, for we shall repay them with love (from the dogs, cats, and horses) and with honey (from the bees!)

 

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The teeny details:

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Fran+Stewart

Day #354 Window Guy

The Hollander family in Youngstown, Ohio runs the nicest window company, and I’d like to brag about them.  A few days ago I received an astonishing phone call from them. I’ll need to give you a little background, though.

While I was working at the beekeepers booth at the Gwinnett County Fair, I took a little break to walk around and see the other exhibits. One of them was for Weather Tite Windows. I stopped for a moment and spoke with a young man named Sam. I told him I was in a hurry to get back to the honey bee booth, but that I’d try to stop by later. He was nice enough to bring me a brochure.

I told him about a harrowing experience I’d had when someone from another company came to give me an estimate. That guy was HORRIBLE! Pushy, pushy, pushy! I finally had to ask him to leave my house. And I complained to the company, but never received any sort of apology from them. “If you send somebody like that,” I told Sam, “I’ll be very upset with you.”

“No, ma’am,” he said. “All our people are really nice, and we depend on the quality of our product to sell itself.” He told me a few more things about the company—there weren’t any visitors at the bee booth right then—and I signed up to receive a call so we could schedule an estimate.

The lady who called the next day was as pleasant as could be. And the fellow who came to show me their windows and give me an estimate was downright likeable. I ended up telling him that I would do business with them, although I had to get a few more royalty checks before I could schedule the work. I don’t believe in paying by credit. I save up for what I plan to buy.

A couple of days later, when I was back working at the fair, I stopped by the Weather Tite booth again and told the young woman what a pleasant time I’d had dealing with their company. I mentioned Sam specifically, and Jim Wall, the estimator.

The next day, Aaron O’Brien, the president of Weather Tite Windows, called me to thank me for such positive feedback.  It brought to mind something that happened when I was in line at Publix on 9/28. The woman in front of me asked if she could write her check for $200 (about $18 over what she had bought).  When the clerk handed her the change, she accidentally handed back the check as well, underneath the bills. The woman returned the check, and the clerk seemed surprised at that. Why would anyone be surprised by honesty? Shouldn’t fairness be automatic? Shouldn’t acting honorably be the norm?

In an economy such as we’re experiencing now, it must be tempting to go for the hard sell, to rake in the customers, to push a more expensive window when someone doesn’t need it. Weather Tite doesn’t do any of that.

I’d be willing to bet they hire only nice people. If you’re looking for an estimate, give them a call.  They’re in Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Florida, and Georgia.

And I’ll let you know as soon as I get my new windows. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a good experience.

BEEattitude for Day # 354:

       Blessed are those who act with courtesy and consideration, for they shall sleep soundly at night.
 

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You Can’t Get Your Dog in My Next Book

The Contest is Over!

I’ll announce the winner in tomorrow’s post

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

Day #353 Goodbye to Another Favorite

 

This seems to be the week for dying. First a bee, then Wangari Maathai, and now one of my favorite stores.

I found Grains-n-More through Rancho Alegre, the place where I buy goat milk, meat, fresh produce, all of it organic and delicious. Rancho’s program is called Gwinnett Locally Grown. Grains-n-More  was one of the locally-owned businesses that distributed products through Rancho Alegre.

I bragged about Grains-n-More on Day # 282. That’s where I bought my wonderful Teecino, which brightens my tea cup every morning (and afternoon and evening) with its perky –and non-caffeinated – taste. And coconut oil. Vanilla beans. Steel-cut oatmeal. All of it organic and wholesome.

Several days ago I received a call from Dan, the owner, telling me that they couldn’t fill my latest order for two more bags of Teecino, because they’d had to close down. Not enough orders to avoid the steadily-increasing shipping costs from his suppliers, costs that he couldn’t pass on to his customers.

For bees, the cost of doing business is reflected in the high early-mortality rate when they are subjected to herbicides and pesticides.  At least Dan and his wife still have life. They’re bright and intelligent, and I have no doubt that they will get through this rough time.  They’ll figure out what to do to make it.

Bees don’t have that option. They gather nectar, trusting that it will be good, not knowing that some ill-informed soul, in quest of the perfect lawn, has sprayed Round-Up on stray weeds (which just happen to be blooming, inviting bees for a sip).

BEEattitude for Day # 353:

       Blessed are those who support local businesses by buying from them regularly, for they shall find open doors wherever they go.

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LAST CHANCE – TODAY ONLY – to Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

Today’s the last day. If you donate $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, you will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Day #352 -- 3 million trees

Krista Tippett, a public radio host, interviewed Wangari Maathai in 2006, and I was fortunate to have heard a rebroadcast two years ago. In introducing the program, which Tippett called Planting the Future, Tippett said:

She is a biologist by training, in her late 60s, with flashing black eyes and a presence that fills the room. Wangari Maathai received the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Sitting across from her, it is not hard to imagine that this woman stood up to a dictator and won, and that she's fought off encroaching desert by planting 30 million trees. Wangari Maathai knows what many in the West have forgotten: that ecological crises are often the hidden root cause of war.

. . . For a quarter-century, she battled powerful economic forces and Kenya's tyrannical ruler, Daniel arap Moi. She was beaten and imprisoned, but her Green Belt Movement has now spread to 600 communities and into 20 countries. "The Earth was naked," Wangari Maathai has said. "For me, the mission was to try to cover it with green."

Caption:Wangari Maathai of Kenya holds her Nobel Peace Prize in the Oslo City Hall, Norway, on Dec. 10, 2004. The first African woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize has died after a long battle with cancer, it was announced Monday. (Bjorn Sigurdson, Pool/Associated Press)

Wangari Maathai died earlier this week at the age of only 71, and a Nairobi twitter post about her death said, “No wonder the sun is not shining today.” That’s quite an epitaph.

At the fair last week, I had a lot of children ask me what happened to honey bees when they died. The sun keeps on shining when a bee dies, but—in their small way—every bee in a hive counts. Those 30,000,000 trees that Wangaari’s force of women planted, most likely depend on bees for pollination. Those trees will grow stronger and healthier, not only because of Wangari Maathai, but also because of bees.

BEEattitude for Day # 352:

       Blessed are those who find something in life to be passionate about, for their enthusiasm shall enrich their lives and those of others.

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TOMORROW’S THE LAST DAY

Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

Anyone who donates $10 (during September) to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Day #351 Great Big Spider

A great big elegant spider of an unknown species (unknown to me, that is) has taken up her residence outside my bay window. Her body is wider than my thumb (and I have fat thumbs!).  I took these two pictures of her against the reflections from the window. This first picture shows her size. The second (fuzzy) one shows her legs. The orange in the background comes from the early morning lights inside as the spider ran toward the side of her web.

The other day, she ate one of my bees.

I have to admit, I was a bit ticked off at her. I rather like spiders. They eat lots of bugs. In fact, I imported some daddy longlegs a while back so they could eat up the itsy-bitsy ants that had invaded my kitchen.

But eating one of my bees was going too far. She wrapped the hapless bee in a graceful silken sack and hovered over it for quite some time. I think she was sucking out all the juices. Yuck!

Today, though, she’s back to eating mosquitoes and aphids. Hope she stays away from the bees from now on.

I’ve decided to assume that the bee she ate was at the end of its 6-week life cycle. That’s recycling at its best.

BEEattitude for Day # 351:

       Blessed are those who recycle, for they shall have a cleaner world. (But we bees wish they wouldn’t recycle us too early!)

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JUST ABOUT OUT OF TIME

Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

For only two more days, anyone who donates $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

day #350 Stone Soup

I subscribe to an e-service called the Daily Om. Each day I receive an inspirational email, and I particularly enjoyed this one from a couple of days ago. Years ago I read the children’s book, Stone Soup by Marcia Brown, without realizing that it was based on a very old folk tale that seems to have shown up in the oral traditions of many countries.

Here’s what the Daily Om said about it. The first paragraph summarizes the story. The second paragraph is what I really want to share with you, though.

There are many variations on the story of stone soup, but they all involve a traveler coming into a town beset by famine. The inhabitants try to discourage the traveler from staying, fearing he wants them to give him food. They tell him in no uncertain terms that there's no food anywhere to be found. The traveler explains that he doesn't need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with all of them. The villagers watch suspiciously as he builds a fire and fills a cauldron with water. With great ceremony, he pulls a stone from a bag, dropping the stone into the pot of water. He sniffs the brew extravagantly and exclaims how delicious stone soup is. As the villagers begin to show interest, he mentions how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brings out a cabbage to share. This episode repeats itself until the soup has cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets—indeed, a substantial soup that feeds everyone in the village.

This story addresses the human tendency to hoard in times of deprivation. When resources are scarce, we pull back and put all of our energy into self-preservation. We isolate ourselves and shut out others. As the story of stone soup reveals, in doing so, we often deprive ourselves and everyone else of a feast. This metaphor plays out beyond the realm of food. We hoard ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer if we keep to them to ourselves, when in truth we make the world, and ourselves, poorer whenever we greedily stockpile our reserves. The traveler was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the genius to draw them out and inspire them to give, thus creating a spread that none of them could have created alone.

I have to admit, I’ve always thought that this was what really happened with the loaves and the fishes—people were drawn out of their self-centered hording, and all were fed with plenty left over. And that is a miracle indeed.

This is what the bees do. They make enough honey for themselves, but then they keep right on producing. It’s the excess honey, honey the hive doesn’t need but creates anyway, that beekeepers take. I’m going to think about that the next time I spread honey on my biscuits. And I’m planning to share the honey I’ll get from my hives.

I’ll be getting that honey because Rob Alexander, who could easily have kept every bit of honey from those hives of mine that he’ll be tending at Rancho Alegre, told me he’d give me back half of the excess honey they produce. My own sweet Stone Soup.

BEEattitude for Day # 350:

       Blessed are those who share our honey, for they shall have lives filled with sweetness.

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RAFFLE ENDS THIS FRIDAY

Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

From now through the end of September, anyone who donates $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Day #347 Cindy's Weight Loss Idea

It’s time for a laugh or two, folks. This post has nothing to do with bees.

My dear friend, Cindy Pitts Gilbert, owns The Singin’ Bean, a coffee house and eatery in Lawrenceville GA. They do karaoke, too, which is where the Singin’ part of the name comes in. The Bean is where I go when I’m stuck on a chapter. I get a big Crock-o’-Choc, sit overlooking the intersection of Pike and Perry Streets, and somehow or other the writing begins to flow. Maybe it’s all that hot chocolate! I’ve composed a few of my blog posts there, too.

At any rate, Cindy came up with the best weight-loss idea I’ve ever heard. She said to feel free to forward it. This blog is about as forward a place as one can get.

Here it is, in Cindy’s own words:

I always wondered what my problem was. Just found out why I am overweight!  The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my body says "For extra volume and body."

I'm going to start using dish washing liquid. It says "Dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove!"

Thanks, Cindy.

BEEattitude for Day # 347:

       Blessed are those who disseminate vital information, for they shall feel good about themselves.

p.s. from Fran – I finally got around to watching (and crying my way through) Tuesdays with Morrie. I love Netflix! I’m always about 2 years behind everybody else in what movies I watch, but if I find one I like, I can simply watch it twice.

__________________________

Green as a Garden Hose, the 3^rd Biscuit McKee Mystery,

is now available in mass market paperback

from World Wide Mystery, a division of Harlequin.

Harlequin.com

 _______________________________

Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

From now through the end of September, anyone who donates $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Day #346 Bees Don't Like Rain

Bee don’t like rain, but I sure do.

I have a condition called vitiligo, which simply means that I don’t have a lot of melanin in my skin. Melanin is the stuff that darkens the skin and protects the body from ultraviolet rays.

It started when I was pregnant with my 1^st child – more than three decades ago. A little white patch appeared over my left eye. Over the following months, the patches spread. At one point my arm looked “like a map of the Alaskan archipelago” – that’s what my highly-artistic sister said.

Now, all these years later, I simply look extra-pale. If you check out the official photographs of the Gwinnett Choral Guild on their website, I’m the one who looks like a ghost.

I don’t mind it. But boy do I enjoy rainy days! There is something so relaxing about clouds, lots of clouds. No need to worry about sunburn. It’s wonderful!

Now that I have bees, though, I worry about my bees getting wet. What is it about people that we always seem to need to find something to worry about?

BEEattitude for Day # 346:

       Blessed are those who accept life’s ups and downs, for they shall enjoy the rollercoaster.

p.s. please forward this blog link to:

your friends who have dogs

your friends who read

your friends who’d like to learn about bees!

_______________________________

Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

From now through the end of September, anyone who donates $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Day #345 Home Grown Taters

Remember way back this past March (Day #157) when I planted those seed potatoes in an old plastic garbage can on my back deck?

It worked! The plants grew up over the summer (and probably were pollinated by my own bees). Well, harvest time has come. I just scrubbed off a few, and I’m planning to cook them for dinner tonight.

I thought you’d like to see what they look like. They're not very big -- that's a blue-ringed cereal bowl.

Are they just taters like any other taters? On the one hand, I guess I’d have to say yes. They're like any other good organic potato I could buy at a farmer's market. 

But on the other hand, they’re mine, and that makes them special.

Bet they’re gonna taste delicious!

BEEattitude for Day # 345:

       Blessed are those who relish the goodness of the earth, for they shall be constantly gratified.

__________________________

Green as a Garden Hose, the 3^rd Biscuit McKee Mystery,

is now available in mass market paperback

from World Wide Mystery, a division of Harlequin.

(Go to www.eHarlequin.com and search for Fran Stewart)

or use this link:

http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=24312&cid=$item.i_origcat

_______________________________

Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

From now through the end of September, anyone who donates $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Day #343 On Hold for Now

Once when I was traveling back to Atlanta after visiting my sister in Colorado, our plane ended up stuck in between a snow storm behind us and an ice storm ahead of us.

Nobody was taking off, and nobody was landing; we couldn’t go forward, and we couldn’t turn back; which meant – there we were circling around. I don’t know about the pilot, but I was truly hoping we wouldn’t run out of gas.

And now, I feel like I’m in another holding pattern. The bees are doing just great, going about their bee-ly duties. I’m the one who’s running around in circles.

I spoke with Rob Alexander a few days ago. He’s the one who handles the bees at Rancho Alegré, so he’s the one who will end up caring for my bees once they’re off my deck.  Rob runs 8-frame hives, and mine (as you well know) are 5-frames. So Rob said he’d switch my bees around and organize them into 8-frame units.

Will the bees like that? I dunno.

Bees are fairly adaptable, but this late in the season, they won’t have a lot of time before winter to store up honey reserves.

Are my bees going to be okay? I certainly hope so.

Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I’m just circling, waiting for the Gwinnett County Fair to end so Rob will have time to pick up my bee hives. Hope I don’t run out of gas…

BEEattitude for Day # 343:

       Blessed are those who invent new words (like bee-ly), for they shall at least have a good laugh.

The donate button is on WAG’s home page and here, too:

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Day #342 No More Night Netflix

I’ve made a decision. From now on, when I watch a Netflizx movie, it’s going to be when it’s light outside. Thank goodness I don’t have a 9 to 5 job! I’d hate to miss my movies.

Why am I doing this? I thought you’d never ask.

Yesterday evening, in the middle of Les Choristes/The Chorus, a delightful French film (with English subtitles, of course), I had two interruptions. The first one was great fun—a neighbor to whom I’d loaned Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander stopped by to return it and to tell me that she’d stayed up till 4 a.m. finishing it. A person after my own heart!

The next interruption, though, was not appreciated. Another bee got through my sliding glass door somehow or other. I think there must be a teeny hole down at the bottom where the door rests on the metal slider-thing. I stuffed in a piece of paper towel just in case as a temporary stop-gap measure, hit the pause button with my mouse, and scooted to the kitchen to grab the plastic container I use for trapping bees inside the house.

By the time I got back to the family room, the bee was not only NOT on the sliding glass door where had been, but she was NOT buzzing. A quiet bee is a bee that can easily be sat on or stepped on or brushed against. With this bee-sting allergy I’ve developed, I can no longer afford a casual encounter like that.

I kept the container in my hand, checked out my chair VERY CAREFULLY, and resumed the movie, ears attuned to any faint buzzing sounds. Just as the action was escalating in The Chorus, there went the bee, buzzling away inside the ceiling light fixture.

I managed to corral her and get her outside without any problems, but I’m faced with this problem of bees at night, attracted to the light from my family room shining through the curtain on the slider. If another one finds the hole (wherever it is), I might not be so fortunate next time. The last thing I want is to sit on a bee!

So—the logical conclusion is that I keep the light in that room turned off at night. This isn’t a problem, since the room is relatively unused -- except for my old Netflix movies!!!!! I can’t give them up!!!!! Not having a TV set, or anything even vaguely appraoching a home entertainment center, I put on old, outdated computer off to one side in the family room, and use it to play the DVDs once a week or so.

From now on, I plan to switch writing in the morning and watching a movie at night. Not a big deal.

And if it keeps the bees outside where they belong, it’s a darn good solution, wouldn’t you say?

BEEattitude for Day # 343:
       Blessed are those who help keep us bees from getting confused, for they shall learn how to adapt happily to an ever-changing environment.

p.s. I know I keep putting in this blurb about getting your dog in  my book, but I’d like you to know you have a very good chance of winning – but only if you enter. Remember, it can be a dog you had a child or a beloved dog who’s already gone across the rainbow bridge.

_______________________________

Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

From now through the end of September, anyone who donates $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Day #341 A Humbling Experience

This is a very long post -- much longer than usual, but I think it's worth reading. This is the exam given to all 8^th-grade students in Washington State in 1910. I cut and pasted it from this website: http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/2004/july04/1910.html
 
I had to think twice about some of the answers to the very first question, to say nothing of a LOT of the rest of them. See how you do . . .

The following 8th-grade exit exam materials for Washington state in 1910 were supplied to the Education Reporter by Vincent J. Doran of Anchorage, AK. OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, STATE OF WASHINGTON, OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON MY DEAR SUPERINTENDENT AND TEACHERS: Herewith are sent lists of questions to be used by pupils of the Eighth Grade, who are candidates for certificates of graduation. The aim of these questions is to give the pupils of the Eighth Grade a test in both the technical and general knowledge which they should possess in order to be ready for the higher work. The following facts have been kept in view in the preparation of the questions: The advancement of the pupils. The general knowledge that they should possess. The supplementary work that is now expected of teachers in our schools. The requirements of the preparatory courses in higher schools. If a pupil succeeds in passing successfully this test, he will receive a certificate of graduation, and will be entitled to enter upon a high school course. Permit the suggestion that no teacher have charge of his pupils while they are writing upon the questions, and to this end the Superintendent or some one appointed by him should have charge of the following examination. The papers are to be graded by the county Board of Education. The standard is uniform for the state, and is as follows: Minimum 60% Minimum in grammar and arithmetic 80% Average 80% The rules and program for teachers’ examinations are to be followed so far as they are applicable. Very truly, HENRY B. DEWEY, Superintendent of Public Instruction EIGHTH GRADE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS AUGUST 18 AND 19, 1910 READING CIRCLE WORK Write a brief review of one reading circle book. GRAMMAR Write the plural of the following words: daisy, leaf, tooth, penny, die, me, tongs, valley, Miss Jones, Mr. Brown. Name the four kinds of sentences as to use, and the three kinds of sentences as to structure. Give sentences containing noun, adjective, and adverbial clauses. Name four kinds of pronouns and give examples of each kind. In what must a pronoun agree with its antecedent? Illustrate. He felt the damp of the river fog, that rises after the sun goes down. Diagram or analyze. Compare: little, much, near, old, up, honest, elegant, famous, neat, merciful. Write a sentence containing a verb in the active voice, change it to the passive, and explain how this is done. Name three different ways in which a noun may be used in the nominative case, and three ways in which a noun may be used in the objective case. Write a letter to a friend describing briefly the country surrounding your home. ORTHOGRAPHY (spelling) 1-6. 1. soldier 16. sustenance 2. grandeur 17. obedience 3. numeral 18. cancellation 4. cuticle 19. declension 5. buffalo 20. military 6. decrepit 21. irregular 7. meridian 22. accurate 8. phrasing 23. pernicious 9. prairie 24. laudanum 10. reservoir 25. beneficent 11. Manhattan 26. senator 12. biography 27. registrar 13. emblematic 28. January 14. genuine 29. soliloquy 15. Siberia 30. Tuesday Write sentences showing the correct use of the following words: beat, beet; great, grate; lain, lane; seam, seem; the, thee. Mark diacritically the vowels in the following: banana, admire, golden, ticket, lunch. Form words using the following affixes and tell of the meaning of the words thus formed: ary, less, er, ous, dom. Define the following words and give examples: primitive word, compound word, vowel, accent, prefix. UNITED STATES HISTORY AND CIVICS What were the three objective points of the Federal forces in the Civil War? Name the last three presidents in order, and name an important event in each administration. How did the Colonies of the North and South differ as to social life, education, industries, and customs, prior to the Revolution? (a) State briefly the causes of the War of 1812. (b) Name two engagements. (c) Two prominent American Commanders. Give a short sketch of the life and work of one of the following great men: Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, William McKinley. (a) When and where was slavery introduced into America? (b) How was it abolished? What has made the names of each of the following historical? Alexander Hamilton, U.S. Grant, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Cyrus W. Field, Clara Barton. (a) State the qualifications of a United States Senator. (b) Name the Senators from the State of Washington. How do you distinguish between the terms Puritans, Pilgrims, and Separatists? Give an account of the framing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence. GEOGRAPHY What causes the difference in climate between Eastern and Western Washington? Name ten wild animals of Africa. Tell some reasons why the people of Washington are interested in the Orient. Name the five chief nations of Europe, and give their capitals. Name five important cities and five products of Canada. Sketch a map of South America, locating three rivers, five capital cities. What and where are the following? Liverpool, Panama, Suez, Ural, Liberia, Quebec, Pikes Peak, Yosemite, Danube, San Diego. Name five of the principal crops of the United States, and tell the section where each is raised. Describe the Nile and the country through which it flows. Name the largest country of Asia, three important cities, and three important products. ARITHMETIC Divide 304487 by 931. Find the sum of 5/9, 5/6, 3/4, 11/36. A gardener sells his celery for 8 1/3 cents per bunch. How many bunches should he give for $5.00? How many board feet in a piece of timber 14 inches square, and 12 feet long? What number diminished by 33 1/3 percent of itself, equals 38? By selling my horse for $156 I gained 8 1/3 %. How much did the horse cost me? A note for $200 was given January 1, 1909, rate of interest to be 8%. How much was due April 1, 1910? Find the square root of 95.6484. What is the cost of enough lumber to floor a room 24 feet long and 16 feet wide, at $32 per thousand feet? How much will it cost me to pave a street 42 feet wide, and 625 feet long, at $11.65 per square yard? READING 1-5. One selection in prose and one in poetry from eighth grade reading book. (50 credits) (not included) Name five American poets, and give a quotation from each. Who wrote the following? The Village Blacksmith. Rip Van Winkle. The First Snowfall. The Great Stone Face. The Raven. Quote two stanzas of "America." Quote a stanza from one of the poems mentioned in question 7. Give in your own words the meaning of the following: "To him who, in the love of Nature, holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language: for his gayer hours She has a voice of gladness, and a smile Into his darker musings with a mild And healing sympathy, that steals away Their sharpness ere he is aware." PHYSIOLOGY Describe the structure of the skin. Locate the thoracic duct. Trace a drop of blood from the time it enters the left ventricle, until it returns to its starting point, and name the different valves and principal arteries and veins through which it passes. Describe the composition of the blood. Why are the arteries more protected than the veins? Name five special senses. Explain why health depends largely upon habit. Explain the effect of alcohol and tobacco upon the action of the heart. Give some good reasons why boys should not smoke cigarettes. What do you understand about the germ theory of disease? GENERAL QUESTIONS (Note—Examiners will grade penmanship of pupils from their answers to the following questions) Write your name in full. What is your age? Write your post office address, number of your school district, and name of your teacher. To what grade of the school do you belong? Have you completed the grade? Is this your first eighth grade examination? If you succeed in obtaining an eighth grade diploma, do you expect to attend school next term? Where?

I have to admit it – I’m truly humbled by the breadth and depth of this exam.

BEEattitude for Day # 341:
       Blessed are those who expand their minds, for they shall find new worlds in there.

_______________________________

There’s still time

to get your dog in my next book!

From now through the end of September, anyone who donates $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a drawing.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com/News.php

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.