Sibling Assignment # 31 : Annie, Sandy, and Goosebumps

This week for our sibling assignment we were to write about a memorable musical . Sunday Scribblings word is Goosebumps so I combined the two. You can find Raymond Pert’s post about the musical here and Silver Valley Girl’s will be here soon.

"Maybe far away
Or maybe real nearby
He may be pouring her coffee
She may be straightening his tie!
Maybe in a house
All hidden by a hill
She's sitting playing piano,
He's sitting paying a bill!”

I get goosebumps any time I hear the red-headed orphan sing this song in the opening of the musical “Annie” as she is longing for her parents. I love musicals, especially ones that have a happy ending. In “ Annie” I am drawn to the good vs. evil, children singing and dancing, the rags to riches storyline, the suspense of Annie searching for her parents, and the significant relationship between a girl and her dog. Annie was spunky. She was a girl you wanted to be. I remember first hearing about the musical “Annie” when the search was on for the girl to play her on Broadway. This was in 1977. Soon the song “Tomorrow” became popular and I loved hearing the stories of the live dog on the stage.

My first memory of the character was the poem by James Whitcomb Riley that my mom had read to me as a child:
"Little Orphan Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep; “
Actually, this poem inspired the original comic strip. I didn’t really remember the comic strip much except how Little Orphan Annie had those weird eyes without pupils, red hair, and a dog named Sandy. When I was teaching in the Tri-Cities a girl from our school was chosen to play Annie in the Richland Players production of the musical. I kept looking at her, unable to picture her in the part until the day she came to school with bright, curly red hair! Her mom had redone her appearance for the part. I went and saw that production of “ Annie” and got goosebumps. I fell in love with the orphans in “It’s The Hard Knocks Life” as they performed the song and dance routine while cleaning at the orphanage. It was a lively production and the star kept that red hair for the rest of the school year!

Later I saw “Annie” on stage at the Opera House in Spokane. By then I had seen the movie version and could mouth the lyrics to “Maybe”, “ Tomorrow”, and “I’m Going to Like it Here”. “Annie” is the type of musical that always sticks to the story. I love that nobody has tried to do this musical in modern day, or with Andy instead of Annie, or with a poodle or pug as Sandy. Traditional musicals give me goosebumps. I know there will be a mean Miss Hannigan, a red-haired girl, and an otterhound mix named Sandy. I think all of us growing up had a time when we wanted to run away or wished we had a different parent because we were upset about something. When Annie sang about her love for her long-lost parents in that opening song it made me feel thankful that I always had my parents. It gave me goosebumps that my mom was sitting next to me in Spokane Opera House listening to Annie sing that song:
“So maybe now this prayer's

The last one of it's kind...

Won't you please come get your "Baby"

Maybe.”

Andrea McArdle was the original Annie on Broadway(left) Allison Smith (above) was another Annie before "Kate and Allie" and "West Wing". Sarah Jessica Parker (right) first played July,one of the orphans then played the role of Annie before starring in " Square Pegs" and creating the role of Carrie Bradshaw.

You can find other Sunday Scribblings about goosebumps here.

My Own Friday Fourteen: Reasons I Am Glad Summer is Still Here

Even though I hinted that autumn is in the air in my blog yesterday, we do still have lots of summer ahead of us. It is just that those of us that are on the " school schedule" ( teachers, parents, and students ) see the seasons changing a bit quicker!

Fourteen Reasons I Am Glad Summer is Still Here:

1. I can enjoy late night reading of a novel I can't put down.

2.There is the smell of lilies, phlox, and scented geraniums in the air.

3. We can enjoy fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and beans.

4. Apricots and peaches are ripe and ready to pick.

5. The Ferry County Fair is a few short weeks away in Republic.

6.Morning sunrise is still beautiful as the rays shine through the pine trees.

7. I have the time to pickle, can, preserve, and freeze our garden bounty.

8. Family members can come and visit before beginning the fall school schedule.

9. We can still enjoy fresh bouquets picked from the flower garden.

10. As one last baby swallow waits in the birdhouse we can watch the mother bring him food.

11. There will still be time to go camping.

12. The yellow jackets challenge our eye-hand coordination, patience, and humor each day (and maybe that is not a good thing!)

13. The lake is still warm enough for swimming.

14. The last reason I am glad summer is still here is because soft vanilla ice cream cones from Sandy's Drive In by Kettle Falls always taste better in the summer.

My Own Thursday Thirteen: Autumn is Just Around the Corner

Today I began to notice that autumn was in the air . My favorite season begins when school starts the day after Labor Day. That is fall on my calendar.

Thirteen Ways I Can Tell Autumn is Just Around the Corner

1. I used a throw to wrap in when I sat outside drinking my coffee this morning.

2. I got a welcome back letter from my principal in the mail yesterday.

3. The peaches sign is up at Sherman Creek Orchard.

4. Chrysanthemums are just beginning to bloom.

5. Today we harvested dill, put our thumb in the winter squash, and pulled carrots.

6. The cats are coming inside to sleep more.

7. I read a funny cartoon today and thought it

would be great to use the first day of school with my students.

8. The grape leaves are covering the flower bed and the clusters are getting bigger.

9. The coleus is showy with it's vivid purple and green leaves.

10. I wore socks today.

11. I found the school supply list I had made for my students at Wal Mart and checked out the choices of pens for myself.

12. The Autumn Joy sedum is about to turn its lovely color of apricot.

13. I set my alarm for this morning to get in the habit of once again being an early morning person.

Happy Birthday to The Princess!

Today my niece The Princess celebrates her 17th birthday. Here she is on the 4th of July with her dog Sadie. I composed a poem in her honor today:

Princess
Funny, talented, intuitive, energetic
Daughter of Silver Valley Girl and PKR
Lover of her computer, Sadie, Hollywood, coffee
Who belongs on the stage singing and acting
Who needs her cell phone, friends, and Family Guy
Who gives love, encouragement, and smiles
Who fears clowns, strangers, and Lester
Who would like to see a play on Broadway

Who always makes me laugh out loud
Resident of her castle
Princess

Here is a picture timeline of the Princess. I was there when she was born and here she is enjoying some sunshine in her crib when she arrived home. We all took a trip to Eugene for a family picture. She is practicing her pose. Next The Princess getting her first bike from Papa Pert ( my dad). She was so pretty at our wedding celebration as our flower girl. She took the opportunity to set up a photo shoot while camping at Canyon Creek. I think the photo shoot was more exciting than the camping experience. Recently she starred in "Nightmare at Dream Gulch, or...Wake Me When It's Over." at the Sixth Street Melodrama in Wallace, Idaho as a sweet Irish girl. Later in the show she sang some Gershwin. The photo collection ends with the Princess ( including crown) as we celebrated her birthday Saturday and last, but not least, another pose with Sadie. As the poem illustrates my niece is talented, funny, smart, and caring. I feel blessed to have her in my life.

Have a happy birthday Princess and may your year be your best one yet!

Words

"You can say anything you want, yessir, but it's the words that sing, they soar and descend . . . I bow to them . . . I love them, I cling to them, I run them down, I bite into them, I melt them down . . . I love words so much . . . The unexpected ones . . . The ones I wait for greedily or stalk until, suddenly, they drop . . . Vowels I love . . . They glitter like colored stones, they leap like silver fish, they are foam, thread, metal, dew . . . I run after certain words . . . They are so beautiful that I want to fit them all into my poem . . . I catch them in midflight, as they buzz past, I trap them, clean them, peel them, I set myself in front of the dish, they have a crystalline texture to me, vibrant, ivory, vegetable, oily, like fruit, like algae, like agates, like olives . . . And I stir them, I shake them, I drink them, I gulp them down, I mash them, I garnish them, I let them go . . . I leave them in my poem like stalactites, like slivers of polished wood, like coals, pickings from a shipwreck, gifts from the waves . . . Everything exists in the word . . . "
From Memoirs by Pablo Neruda

I Love Zucchini #2 and a Keeper from the Recipe Box

My love affair with zucchini continues this week with another great recipe that you can double, triple, freeze, or just eat in large quantities. Remember, zucchini does grate easily and freezes well. Find my first post on zucchini here. There are lots of excellent recipes for zucchini bread. The taste and texture of this one makes it one of my favorites.

Zucchini Bread Plus

Mix these ingredients at medium speed until thick and foamy:

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup olive oil

2 cups sugar ( I use Splenda and about 1 and 1/2 cups)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Stir in the remaining ingredients:

2 cups zucchini, unpeeled and shredded

1-8 1/2 -ounce can crushed pineapple-drained

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup chopped nuts

Grease and flour two 5/9 inch loaf baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Yield: two loaves. Freezing improves flavor. I always use the smaller size baking pans and it made 6 small loaves. Enjoy!

taken from Best of Friends, Etc. Cookbook by Darlene Glantz Skee