Fear the Beard

Abraham Lincoln

Now, I know what you’re thinking. That I’m just here talk about another old, white, male president from the 1800s. Well, yes, he is an old, white, male president from the 1800s, but he’s also an old, white, male president from the 1800s that cared about racial equality throughout America during a time where that wasn’t normal. Now, I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and say that all of his morals about race were in the right place because he probably wasn’t looking to make things completely equal, but he was on the side of the people who wanted to get rid of slavery in the South which was definitely a new concept. Now, who is Abraham Lincoln? I’m going to be honest here and tell you that before doing a little research I thought that he was the guy who cut down some tree. Well guess what that happens to be George Washington NOT Abraham Lincoln. Now Lincoln? He was 16th president of the United States of America and served from 1861 to 1865 when he was assassinated. Abraham Lincoln was president during the time of the Civil War. He was a great leader to many and gave his famous speech the Gettysburg Address(on November 19, 1863) after the Battle of Gettysburg, to honor the people who had died during the Civil War and express the importance of bringing freedom and equality to this nation. He was a strong supporter of the Union side of the Civil War and wanted to end slavery in the South. Although, even after the war, slavery didn’t end all together, his support of the Union was key in both their victory and eventually the end of slavery. If he had supported the Confederate Army, most likely, they would have had the power to defeat the Union and ,if that had happened, there may still have been slavery today and, for sure, the amount of race and gender equality that we have today would have diminished if the Confederates would have won that war. Due to President Lincoln’s support for the Union, my entire life was essentially made possible because without him and his contributions I may not have

even been born. Now what does Abraham Lincoln have to do with anything? Well, my father is African-American and my mother is white so if slavery were still prominent today my parents would never have been able to be together and even if they had had me, I still would have been forced to become a slave. I can’t even begin to imagine life as a slave. I would never be able to have the type education that I have the privilege of now because I probably wouldn’t have any education at all. When I think about it, I realize just how much different life would be. I would be forced to work for my entire life with no pay, treated with little to no respect, when now, I am given tons of opportunities every day to chose my own destiny and become the person I want to become instead of having to become a person that others believe I should be. Mine along with almost all others lives would be completely changed if Abraham Lincoln had not done what he had done in order to allow people of all different races a chance to be in America and become a free citizen. I believe that, even now, we are still carrying on his legacy by changing things to better people of all races, beliefs, genders, ages so that we may all be 100% equal one day. Now, I’m going to ask you. Is he just another old, white, male president from the 1800s? I definitely don’t think so because he was unique, progressive and willing to break the mold and become a rebel in order to do what was right for the country. I guess he is kinda like everything that Donald Trump isn’t… With better hair!!!!!! :)

Sources: Picture of Abraham Lincoln(Black & White), Picture of Civil War Flags:Confederate and Union

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My Passion of Heights

My Passion Of Heights

Every since I was little, I have absolutely loved climbing things. A lot of people are afraid of heights, but I find them delightful and exhilarating. I feel like I am on top of the world and can do anything. So in 4th grade, I started rock climbing and am still doing it.

When I am attempting a new wall, I first survey it. What is the level of the wall? Where are all of the holds? What different body positions and grips do I want to work on? I always try to do levels of walls that are challenging and I have to really calculate all of my moves on. But at the same time, I do not want to climb a wall that is overwhelming and I waste my strength on.

When I am trying out a new move, I first try it on a easy level climb and practice it a lot. I sometimes feel embarrassed if I slip and fall when first attempting it. So I try it out away from people and humiliation.

Sometimes at the rock climbing gym, I feel peer pressure to do a certain climb that I am not comfortable climbing. Especially with bouldering. Bouldering is a type of rock climbing that you do not wear a harness on. Usually I will say, “Sorry that climb is a bit above my level. I will try to work up to it,” or I will give it a go and ask for someone to spot me so I don’t fall and hurt myself. I never like refusing a climb that someone recommends because I feel like they are disappointed in me.

Once, when trying out for a rock climbing team, I broke my knee in the middle of a very hard climb and started crying. I asked for a break and the belayer tightened the rope so I hung in the air. I took a shaky breath and looked down. My friends were giving me the thumbs up. If I was lowered down, I would not make it on the team. I was determined to finish this climb. But how? My vision started going blurry and I was panicking. Focus. Survey. Formulate a plan. But I had to get through this. I swung back onto the wall and started hopping up the wall. Before every move, I looked up and down to get footing. After 5 more agonizing minutes. I reached the top. I pumped my fist. I did it! The belayer lowered me down and she said,” Congratulations."

Rock climbing has become a part of my identity. It’s who I am. I hope to continue rock climbing as I get older. Rock walls are like life. As you ascend through it, there will be challenges and bumps. But eventually, you make it to the top.

Interesting Links:

http://cis.oaklandcc.edu/pxraviku/FA2010/s306/public_html/history.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/103301385173927375/

Sources:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d4/a0/dc/d4a0dc66716bd6a501d85531b107feaa.jpg

http://maxxelli-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1920x1080.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e0/4e/96/e04e963217dd4f1322e71d7149daaa41.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a6/37/c0/a637c04c299a5b661b4efcfbc1e075ad.jpg

http://www.skringers.com/good-wallpaper-high-quality-resolution/good-wallpaper-rock-climbing/

Link to Table of Contents

Glass

Cavemen used obsidian glass to make weapons and decorative objects. Manufacturing glass goes all the way back to Eastern Mesopotamia and Egypt in 3000 BC. Fragments of the oldest glass vases were found in Mesopotamia in the 16th century BC.

    In the beginning glass making took time and was costly. It was a luxury item only a few people could afford. The discovery of a new technique of making glass called “glass blowing” revolutionized glass making. Glass blowing is when you inflate molten glass with the help of a tube called a “blowpipe”. In its molten state glass is squishy and bendable so it can be manipulated into the desired shape. The molten glass is inflated in a bubble by being blown into by the blowpipe which is being controlled by a glassblower. When this method was first invented clay blowpipes were used. Today glass blowing is widely used. Although its main purpose is with decorative items.

Age Of Enlightenment

Will [Censored]
Paul Monheimer
Cultures 7
Febuary 10, 2015

Age of Enlightenment

         The Age of Enlightenment was a time in from 1650-1780 when people began to emphasize reason, analysis, and individualism rather than authority. In this period people began to work together and abandon the old teachings, coming up with new ideas.
Before this, most people who had new ideas were often exploited, and sometimes even imprisoned. With Philosophers Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, and Isaac Newton in the lead, western math, science, and astronomy was never the same.
       The Enlightenment gave way to plenty of books, essays, medicines, ideas, ways of doing science, and even wars! Yes, the American Revolution and the French Revolution were all formulated from ideas coming from the age of enlightenment. The Enlightenment affected the way the people think today because it showed that people should think of their own ideas, not only work within the pre-made systems. Here's a pretty cool link to a great resource if you want to continue reading more http://www.history.com/topics/enlightenment.
Sources: http://www.history.com/topics/enlightenment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment
Image Link: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Oer-Weimarer_Musenhof.jpg
       

The Feelings of Music

Music, what a wonderful thing. It can sooth us, it can calm us, it can bring us together, but most of all it shows who we are. If you were to listen to two different pieces of music and then see how you feel after you listen to them depending on the type of music it is do you think you would feel like how the music sounds? Click on these two pieces of music then see how you feel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiFJfjHosJ4                                                                                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ptfyhBjXj8
If music can make you feel that way imagine all the feelings and emotions there are for all the different types of music. Exactly how many emotions are there that come from music?

Links Used:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiFJfjHosJ4                                                                                     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ptfyhBjXj8
 https://www.google.com/search?  q=music&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ECLcVOCpNsW4oQSdiYKIBQ&ved=  0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1600&bih=799

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571. He was born in Weil Der Stadt, Wurtemberg in Germany. Johannes Kepler went to the University of Tubingen. There he learned the ideas of Copernicus. In 1596 when he was a mathematician at Graz, he wrote the first defence of the copernican system. Johannes Kepler was outcast from the Lutheran church

Off The Courts

          Swish, I feel the racquet vibrating against my hand as I make contact with the ball. The adrenaline pumps through my body as I bounce on my feet, ready to move at a moments notice. The tennis court making you feel small and huge at the same time. People keep saying there is no other feeling in the world than this, and let me tell you. I am one of them. All your senses are honed into that tiny, yellow, fuzzy ball flying across the court.

13(1776)

January 26, 1776

Dear Diary,

Today was a very slow day. Last night I dreamed of the ball. The moonlight revealed through the shaped walls. Couples dancing about, with dresses laced with gold. I was so happy in my dream I forgot to wake up! Mother had to come in and wake me. And boy she was not happy about that. We did not have food for breakfast, so I had to add shopping onto my chores for today. I braided my hair into two long braids, using string to tie them at the ends, and put my dress on. The one with a blue ribbon around the waist. Mother had gotten it for me a few years ago, but it was my only dress.

Elsa was especially happy this morning. I guess she had had good dreams too. She played with Ann, her doll, who was now held together with a corn husk.    

After I got Elsa ready, I grabbed my woven basket and headed to the market. I said hello to Marty the baker, and picked out a small loaf of bread for the week. Marty is a very nice man. He gave the bread to me for no charge. I guess he had heard about Nina.

My sister Nina was nine years old when she caught the Black Death. It is a plague that has been going around town. When she fell ill, my mother spent all our savings trying to save her. That was last Tuesday. Mother had kept quiet about it, but I guess word had gotten around. I thanked Marty, choose a few apples and oranges from Penny, a farmer, and headed home.

Tommy ran out to me as I arrived. He tugged on my shirt and told me that Mother had gone to work.

I fixed them some lunch, and went to tidy the house. Which wasn’t very hard. A three room house is not very big. I finished my book and took a nap. I woke up to a crash. Elsa and Tommy had been playing and knocked some old china over.  I was so dead. I cleaned the mess up, and tried to piece it back together, but it was no use. I sent them to the room we all shared. When mother got home I told her what had happened. I felt terrible about it. Her face showed everything. I could do nothing to change what had happened. My dreams had been overthrown by my guilt. I carried myself, supper less, to my room, where Elsa and Tommy were already asleep. I slipped into the bed and looked out the window. Carriages passed, the horses’ trot echoing on the walls. Party goers returning from the ball. Sigh.

January 26, 1776

Dear Diary,

Today was a wonderful day! The ball is tonight. Maybe I will find my prince charming. When Mira, our maid, woke me up, I could just feel the sun, shining through my curtains. I was so reluctant to get out of my warm, comfy bed, but Mira insisted. I changed out of my night gown, and into a loose skirt and a blouse. I added a jacket for the cold January air.

Breakfast was delightful. Laura and the rest of the cooks made biscuits with a lovely jam on the side. Father talked about the ball, telling mother and I about all the young gentlemen that were attending.

After breakfast I headed to town. The merchants were yelling out their sales, trying to top each other. Girls from lower class families scavenged the market, swiping apples and pears. I saw one girl steal a whole loaf of bread. The nerve of some people! Her hair was in tangles, and her dress was a few sized to small. Not that there was much to see. Her frail body looked like it could snap just like that. I had gained a few pounds recently, so mother had me put on a diet.

When I returned home Laura had made lunch, but I was too excited to eat. The ball was only a couple hours away!  I sat down to do my makeup while Mira did my hair. A lovely bun. Mother had gotten my dress last week. It had pink bows at the ends, and puffed sleeves.

After what felt like forever, our carriage arrived. The chauffeur helped me up. The ride was bumpy, but at the sight of the ballroom all my sickness was washed away.

The ball was marvelous. Young lads danced around, escorting ladies to the dance floor. I danced, and danced, and danced. Father would be so happy. Afterwards I hopped back onto the carriage and left the glorious ball behind me. The sky was dark, but a thousand little stars lit the pathway. A beautiful view. Sigh.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse was invented by American Indians. It was played for spiritual purposes. It was believed to be  invented in the 12th century and was known as the “little war” because they used it to settle disputes and it was very violent. In the Cherokee tribe, they way they ensured victory was that the shaman (priest) would use a sharpened comb (rake) and ran it down the players arm 28 times drawing blood. If they player never cringed or whimpered, he was assured success during the game.

Today, we play a game that the english modified for suitable playing as a sport. Also today instead of using a wood or deer skin ball we use rubber, and use helmets pads and gloves for protection. We use metal sticks instead of wood sticks like the Indians used. They also come in different shapes then the original Indian sticks.

The game is played similar to field hockey and the players catch and throw the ball with their stick and the net in the head of the stick.

The object of the game is to make the most goals possible in the time given. The way you make a goal is to shoot at the goal and hope the goalie doesn't deflect it or catch it. Each team has ten players on the field at a time: three for defense, three for attack, and three for middy, and one goalie.

I like to play lacrosse because it puts me into shape very easily as well as improving my hand/eye coordination. It's also very exciting to make a goal because its harder than some sports.

Music To My Ears

I have been playing piano since I was in second grade. It has always been an important part of my life. Whenever I need a distraction, or something to wrap my mind around, I start practicing or listening to some kind of music. Sometimes, I like to improvise, which means making it up on your own. 

Fiery Piano Performance

Listening to music is also an important part of my life. I love a good dub-step beat or a catchy pop song. That always makes me happy and helps me focus on whats important in life. Stress relieving! Sometimes I just like to fiddle around on Garageband and make up a jingle. Music also helps me make connections. If I hear a sound that coincides with a word or phrase I tend to remember it better. This is called musical learning.

My piano teacher, Alena, lives just a few minutes from Catlin. When I walk in and take my shoes off, I'm excited to get to work on my pieces and maybe start a new one. Playing keeps me motivated to keep moving.

On top of lessons once a week, and practice at least 4-5 times a week, I am competing in Science Olympiad and playing basketball for Catlin. It may seem like I am overworking myself, or ignoring school work, but I actually manage fine. This is because I believe that if I do a little of everything, but keep focused on my main goals, I'll do fine. I may have basketball practice one night, but then I'll work on homework and if I have time I'll also practice piano.

Sometimes, performing can be difficult. I have performance classes every month or so, which let me practice in front of others. It can be hard to play fluidly, sometimes I start over thinking what I'm doing, like when I perform in drama class. We all have our "pet peeves". 

Ludwig Van Beethoven

I have learned a lot while playing piano. I know the time periods, composers, chords, and things like grace notes and crescendos which add to the richness of the music. But also, music has helped me learn about history too. Since my piano teacher is from Belarus, I have learned a lot about European history and the culture there. I have also learned about the composers themselves, some of whom have had very interesting lives. 

Piano and music relate to Revolutions! which I am studying in school. Music is related to the Industrial Revolution because production of pianos and other instruments became more mechanized, but it is to this day still considered an art. Music and other arts were also parts of other revolutions because people were expressing their thoughts and they feeling of the moment. Many poems and pieces were written by people during the French Revolution and Civil War. These are interesting ways to learn about how people felt at the time.

On the topic of learning, my family is donating our old piano to The Snowman Foundation. This charity accepts money and pianos for families and students. They believe that everyone deserves a chance to play and learn piano.

Though it can challenge me, music is still an escape. It lets me bring back sounds that were written in ink pen on paper hundreds of years ago and play them today.

Image Sources:

http://www.pinktentacle.com/images/burning_piano.jpg
http://moonlight-sonata-sheet-music.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/tumblr_m87zhyVLb81rql8omo1_cover.png-300x300.jpg
http://www.monsterworking.com/wp-content/uploads/music.jpg

Telescopes are Awesome

The Telescope

Hey you reading this you probably know what a telescope is? don’t you! It’s that thing you look out of to see things far away from you. You probably know the telescope best from movies with pirates in them. Those things are useful, right? Lets see where, who, and when they were made! The earliest telescope ever used was in 1609. There were many people that claimed they invented the telescope such as Hans Lippershey (who is mostly credited), Zacharias Janssen, and Jacob Metius of Alkmaar. The telescopes supposedly consisted of convex lens, and a concave eyepiece. Soon after that, Galileo used that design to make his own, it worked, and the telescope was born.

The telescope was known to have been invented somewhere in the Netherlands. The telescope has so many importances to it, pirates used to use it to see enemy ships far off the coast to ready for battle, while scientists use it to make amazing discoveries about our world.  Telescopes are now getting so advanced, that scientists are sending them up into space! Recently The Hubble was sent out into space to bring back astronomical research. This amazing, modern telescope can see space better than anything else.

Well, why are people even that interested in space objects? Because space objects allow you to see a world beyond the eyes. Now you probably use binoculars more than you use telescopes. But let me tell you, telescopes are way more amazing and have so many more features and history as explained above. Now get up from wherever you are and go make a discovery with a telescope.

 Tea party? More like tea war declaration!

Written by Silas Godlee-Campbell 

           "The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American!"
 This statement was made by Patrick Henry (an orator during the movement for independence) shortly after the Boston Tea Party.

          The reason  that this "tea party" was so historically  important was not that Mr. beary actually showed up (he didn't)  it was that during the Boston Tea Party  English settlers dumped 12 million dollars worth of tea into the Boston harbor. That's 27,180,000 cups! Now the English settlers didn't do this out of celebration or boredom they did this to get back on England, because England was taxing them for things that they didn't tax the rest of England for such as tea or beans. Now the English settlers were a little ticked by this but what really got their knickers in a twist was that they didn't get a say in how they were taxed and they couldn't try to change the previous taxes, this is called taxing without representation.

           This event was one of the major turning points in American history. If the English settlers didn't get so fed up the country might be a completely different place maybe we would all be English or maybe our land would be sold and America would be controlled by 17 different countries. So next time you're enjoying the hearty taste of a Big Mac be thankful that the English settlers had the back bone to fight back against their English depressors.

 Sources
 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_came_first_Boston_massacre_or_Boston_tea_party
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_taxation_without_representation
https://docs.google.com/a/catlin.edu/document/d/1L2IsJucS_2BMw8Bb8B_jP7rcF6SW-tZIhPX3JAZxD4g/edit?pli=1

immigration 1964

Immigration in 1964

By Miriam

London, England 1964

Ellis Island 1964

Starting over, it’s hard to do. Weather its moving to a new school, a new state, or in my father's case a new country. In 1964 my father, his mother, father, older sister, and older brother, moved to Portland, Oregon from London, England. His family wasn’t the only family that moved away from everything they knew to America, the country with new opportunities and less judgment during the time.

It’s not easy to leave everything you’ve grown to know and love. My father was only two at the time, but my aunt was eight, and my uncle was almost twelve. When they first moved to the U.S. they lived in a two bedroom one bathroom house, in Lake Oswego, Oregon. My aunt attended Collins View Elementary, and my uncle attended Collins View Junior High, (Collins View is now called Riverdale.) My grandfather got a researching job at the University of Oregon Medical School, and my grandmother continued her work as an artist, but mostly stayed home with my dad.
It wasn’t necessarily the moving that was the hard part, but adapting to the american culture. My aunt says “For me the worst part was my accent. They used to make me say funny things and wouldn't take me seriously, almost as if I was a toy.” My grandfather tells me “What was hardest for me was the new words. I had trouble understanding people at work, and when I asked if someone had gotten into some barney, they would just stare. (Barney is english slang for trouble.)” The funny thing is, even though my grandparents were only 34 when they moved here, they are now 80, and still carry their british accents withem wherever they go.
So you might ask yourself, if moving to America was so hard, why come? My father's family came to the US for the same reason almost every family moves to the US, Financial reasons. My grandfather was having troubles holding a job. It wasn’t that he wasn’t qualified for his jobs, or that he wasn’t good at them. The problem was it was only 19 years after World War II, and it was still hard to get a job as a jew. My grandfather had tried everything, he even changed his last name, but even that didn’t cut it. Lucky, being a jew in america did not affect his work life, or his place on the social status, for the most part.
1964 was a big year for immigration to the U.S. The Cuban Missile Crisis had just ended, they had a new President, and M.L.K was still alive and promoting African American rights. People of different races were starting to come to the U.S. Forgineers thought of the U.S. as a safe place again and, it all affected all those families who left everything behind and came to the U.S.A.

Sources:

• http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade60.html
• http://www.history.com/topics/1960s
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960s
• https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=immigration+1965&revid=291992740&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1680&bih=873&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=J5cmUZm2JcvwiQLQr4CgBw#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&spell=1&q=immigration&sa=X&ei=ypcmUYK1GdDmiwK-wIDoCQ&ved=0CE4QvwUoAA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42768644,d.cGE&fp=20efa0ca7869284f&biw=1680&bih=873
• https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=immigration+1965&revid=291992740&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1680&bih=873&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=J5cmUZm2JcvwiQLQr4CgBw#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=london+1964&oq=london+1964&gs_l=img.3..0l2j0i24.516998.525499.5.525994.20.13.4.3.3.0.58.537.13.13.0...0.0...1c.1.4.img.m0hT6iyvPGo&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42768644,d.cGE&fp=20efa0ca7869284f&biw=1622&bih=873
• My Father
• My Grandfather
• My Aunt
• My Uncle
• My Grandmother

Food in the Industrial Revolutions

Food: The differences between the industrial days and now

By: Lyssa Stevens

People in the industrial times needed a lot of long time carbohydrates, and lots protein to keep them functioning from dawn to night. Factory workers generally tended to eat gruel, bread, solidified porridge, mutton, seasonal fruits (apples and berries), and beer (even for the kids). These foods were loaded with the right kind of nutrients, and were relatively cheap to get for yourself and family. Foods that were uncommon back then for workers were tropical fruits, milk and dairy, and good meat. Tropical fruits were hard to find because they would have to be imported, raising the cost above what they could pay. Milk and dairy was less plentiful because all of the farmers were working in the factories, and it was hard to keep even if you somehow acquired it. Although loss of milk and dairy products can leave you with a disease called rickets. A disease that softens and weakens your bones. Nice meat was hard to keep and find if you were poor, often the best cuts went for a high price and generally sold to the richer upper class.
Nowadays, workers of low pay, and the poor in general, tend to eat cheap junk food. More of the poor rely less carbohydrates and protein and now on sugar, fat, and salt. People are more likely to go out to eat at a fast food restaurant. There are also a lot of cheap food like hot dogs, frozen burritos, ramen, and you can even get frozen personal pizzas for 99 cents. I went to New seasons and I looked around at all the food, I chose what I wanted for dinner, a pasta dish with a simple sauce of bacon, peas and onions. This cost me about 10 dollars for 8 servings. If the poor really wanted to, and had the right habits for healthy eating, then it would not be that hard to eat healthy for a relatively cheap cost.
Here is a recipe for a simple gruel, and old fashioned bread.
Gruel:
Potato Gruel

To feed 4:

4 small potatoes
8 pints of water
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp flour

Method:

Cut the potatoes into large thumb size dices.

Boil on medium heat for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water.

Add ½ teaspoon salt, pinch of white pepper.

Turn heat down to low.

While stirring, add 2 tablespoons of flour in a little at a time.

Keep stirring softly until all the flour is all dissolved and it makes thick sauce.

By now the potatoes will just be starting to loose their square shape and start to look more rounded, but still firm in the middle. The dish will turn out to be half sauce and half potatoes.

Bread:
4 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups water
3/4 tsp yeast

Not a lot to it. Bread making is 10% recipe and 90% technique. Sugar, oil, eggs and milk can cause breads to get stale faster, an old style country bread is the kind one might find in a paper bag or basket on the kitchen counter.

Lets get started on our technique. You will need to mix together the salt and the flour in a large mixing bowl. Then make a well in the middle of this mixture and put the yeast in it. Next you will need 2 cups of 75 degree water. This doesn't sound like it will be warm enough since you are used to 110-115 degrees for regular bread. This is just warm enough to activate the yeast and will make sure that your bread rises slowly. Next pour this water into the well and mix until the yeast dissolves,then start mixing in the rest of the flour. This will be sticky to the touch but don't add more flour or you won't get anything but heavy regular bread. The dough will be less sticky after it has been kneaded a bit. After you have the flour all mixed up, turn it out on a very lightly floured bread board. If you do not have a bread board, dampen your counter and sprinkle flour over it, then lightly smooth the excess flour to one side.

Kneading old style country bread is a bit different then regular bread in that you don't use the palms of your hands, instead you will stretch and fold the dough. This is best done by taking out any anger you might be harboring on your dough. Pick it up and throw it down, fold it over and slap it down on the counter some more. Keep doing this for about five minutes then cover the dough with a clean cloth and let it and your arms rest for five minutes. Repeat the kneading for another five minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic by now. Cover up the dough and let rise for exactly forty-five minutes, no longer. After forty-five minutes have passed, knead the dough for five minutes again, then let it rise for forty-five minutes again. You will need to repeat this one more time. Make sure the room that you are rising the dough in is at least 70 degrees, and not nore then 75 degrees.

While waiting for the last rising, you will need to prepare a baking stone for the final loaf rising. If you don't have a baking stone, a baking sheet will do. Sprinkle some of the cornmeal on it. Then divide the dough in half and form into the desired loaf shape. Place the loaves on your baking sheet or stone and cover with a cloth to let rise for an hour and a half. You can make slits in the loaves just before baking.

While the loaves are rising, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put a shallow, empty roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven when you preheat the oven. Put the loaves in the oven and add 1/2 cup of water to the roasting pan. Close the door quickly and bake for fifteen minutes, without peeking. The water will create steam that will keep the loaves from breaking open. After fifteen miutes, turn the temperature down to 425 degrees for thirty minutes or until hollow when tapped.

Remove the bread from the oven and cool completely. If you give in to the temptation to eat it hot from the oven, you will surely miss out on the flavor and texture that is formed from cooling the bread completely. Herbs and different flours can be used and enjoyed. You are only limited by your imagination. If your first try doesn't come out just right, please try again, you won't be disappointed. Good luck.

I got these recipes from the sites: http://www.mylearning.org/everyday-life-in-the-industrial-revolution/p-2355/resource/1509/ Gruel

and: http://www.essortment.com/make-old-fashioned-bread-44956.html Bread

Watch the video of me making a simple potato gruel! : )

Too much time

If you have one night to do something, and it is due the next day, wouldn't you do it the day before? Probably. How about if it was due next week, or next month, would you still do it the day before? Probably not. That is what happens with long term projects, our minds think since we don't have to do the work now, then we can sit back and relax and do it on the very last day. This is actually the complete opposite of what we actually want to do. What happens at the very last moment, when you are rushing to do the assignment, your computer breaks down, or maybe your Internet crashes. What happens then, well your screwed. So if you do it early, then you can actually sit back and relax and not have to worry about when you need to complete the assignment.


Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination

Paul Revere

By Abbey Gregory

Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march

By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar

Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street

Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,

In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,

Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock

When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,

When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,

When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read

How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;

And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

In Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is the tale of the beginning of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Although, in this story Paul Revere is a patriot in the war, he was not always on the watch of the British military. Up until he took part in the Boston tea party act, he was just a Silversmith. Shortly after the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere served as a courier for the Boston Committee of Public Safety. He traveled from Philadelphia to New York to report on the political happenings in places near Boston.

On April 7, 1775, there was rumor of movement by the British army. Joseph Warren sent Paul Revere to warn the Massachusetts Congress of the possible attack. Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. on April 18th, Joseph Warren told Paul Revere that the British army were about to leave Cambridge in Ships. They were bound for Boston, Lexington and Concord. Warren told Revere that the objectives of the British were likely to Capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Adams and Hancock were not aware of any of these happenings, so Paul Revere was sent out to warn them as well as all of the military in nearby towns.

At this point the poem picks up. He said to his friend if the British march to hang a lantern in Belfry Arch. This is a signal between the people leading the counter attack. He said if one by land and two by sea warn all the people they encounter I will do the same on the opposite shore and we will warn all the townspeople to prepare for war. He then silently rode across the Charlestown shore. Just as the moon rose over the bay the Phantom ship of the British sailed its way into shore. Meanwhile, Revere’s friend quietly warned everyone of the oncoming battle. If you listened through the silence you could here the men, the arms, the tramping of feet making there way down to the shore. His friend climbed the tower of the old church to check on all the happenings in the town. What he saw in the churchyard was the dead. Some of townspeople, but mostly British. For a second he thought the battle was won but then he saw more ships coming in.

Meanwhile, on the opposite shore Paul Revere watched as all the ships started to come in. A hurry of hooves in the village street. Paul Revere raced to the waters edge. It was 12:00 by the time he crossed the bridge to Medford town. He heard noises around him that told him the whole town was awake. It was 1:00 when he rode into Lexington. He was almost there. It was 2:00 when he rode into Concord. He crossed the bridge that would be first to fall, when it was hit by a british musket ball. The British army fought but surrendered in the end. People all around fought against them and there were just too many for the British to win. So through the night rode Paul Revere and warned many towns to prepare for the British.

Paul Revere’s Ride is a partially fictional story of the great battles of Lexington and Concord. These battles write the story of our country. Many lives and communities were lost but in the end a great country was formed. Paul Revere helped lead the Americans in a tremendous revolution that shaped the United States of America.

Works Cited

"Fast American Revolution Facts." Fast American Revolution Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"History Myths Debunked." History Myths Debunked. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Paul Revere Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Paul Revere." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Paul Revere." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Feb. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Paul Revere's Ride." Paul Revere's Ride. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.