The Tardis

One of the last picture we have of the van

A few days ago I walked into Mum's room to find Callum showing her pictures of vans and big cars.

"We're thinking of buying a new car," Mum said. "We will sell the van and get something newer."

Sell the van? I couldn't believe it. We had owned the van for fourteen years. It would be hard to imagine life without it.

Imogen and Charlotte started bagging seats before we have even decided which car we were getting. They were just as excited as me.

On Saturday, Mum and Dad went to the car dealers to look at all the choices. Everyone else waited around at home to hear which one they were going to buy.

The Tardis

The phone rang. Charlotte grabbed it. "Hello," she said. Her face lit up as she talked to Dad.

When she hung up, she turned to us. "We have a car," she said.

"Which one?" Immy asked.

"I didn't catch the name but it is silver, has seven seats, four doors, a boot and wheels," Charlotte told us.

"Yes," I yelled and danced around the room.

By Tuesday the car was ready for us to pick up. Dad swapped the van for it after work.

We sat around in the living room, waiting to see what the new car looked like. Dad took a long time getting home. We were all very anxious by the time he turned into the drive way.

"He's here," I called as I raced out the front door, everyone on my heels.

"What do you think?" Dad asked as we crowded around the new car.

"It is wonderful," we all chorused.

"It is the Toyota Tardis," Dad said, "because it seems tiny on the outside and huge on the inside."

The name suits it perfectly.

"We need to go somewhere in it," Immy said.

"The beach?" I asked. We hardly ever go to the beach.

"I don't see why not," Mum agreed.

So now we are looking forward to the holidays. We are off to the beach!

Wrapping my Presents

This morning Mum suggested I wrap my presents.

I found the wrapping paper, sticky tape and scissors. I also asked Gemma-Rose to help me find some bubble wrap so that I could use it to wrap up the salt dough nativity I made.

Soon I was ready. I started to wrap the first present. As I wrapped I hummed Christmas carols to myself. I really felt Christmas is almost here.

At ten o'clock I took a break from wrapping presents for morning tea. I was almost finished. Smiling I took a bite into my biscuit.

As soon as I had finished wrapping up my presents, Gemma-Rose wanted to wrap hers. With my presents wrapped I can hardly wait for Christmas day. It will be a lot of fun. I can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces when they see what I have bought them!

Getting Braces

A month ago, Mum, Immy and I were sitting on the train. Next stop would be ours. I grabbed my book and MP3 player and put them into my bag.

We were going to get my braces put on. I was a bit nervous. I had been assured by Imogen and Charlotte, who have both had braces, that it isn't as bad as it is made out to be. I was trying to believe them.

We rushed off the train and onto the street. It was pouring with rain. I dug in my bag and pulled out my amazing cat umbrella.

We walked down the busy street, trying to find somewhere for morning tea. After a lot of walking we found a cafe and Mum bought me a milkshake and apple pie. The milkshake was very yummy and the apple pie warmed me up. I hurriedly ate them up before we had to dash over to the orthodontist's. We went up the lift and came out in a waiting room.

After brushing my teeth, we sat down to wait. I had only just put my bag down when a lady came out of a room.

"Sophie?" she asked. I got up again and followed her in.

The orthodontist smiled and told me to sit down. He talked me through what they were doing. I soon forgot to be scared as I listened.

While finding fitting metal bands for my teeth, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the metal band onto one of my teeth. I felt scared again as they picked up a piece of sand paper.

"You won't like this," the orthodontist said and he was right. He sandpapered the tooth until it fitted into the band. I was very relieved when it finally fitted in.

After taking some new x rays, the old ones being out of date, he started to put the braces onto my teeth. It took a long time and was very boring. It didn't actually hurt at all.

"What colour bands would you like?" I was asked.

I looked at the colours shown to me and picked a nice bright purple. It didn't take long after that for them to finish putting the braces on and Mum to be allowed in. She smiled.

"Immy said you would pick that colour," she told me.

I smiled as best I could. My mouth felt like it couldn't fit everything in it.

After being told all about how to look after my braces and what not to eat, we went back to the train station.

On the way home I told Immy all about.

"You look like a chipmunk," she told me and took a photo.

Mum and Imogen ate their lunch on the way home, but after trying to nibble some of mine I gave up. I knew someone would make me something soft to eat when we got home. I was right. Charlotte was willing to make me some custard to eat instead.

The next day my braces started to hurt, but after a few days they calmed down and I got used to them.

As I still have baby teeth I will have to go back to the dentist next week and have two of them pulled out. I am not looking forward to it!

Slideshow Making

A few days ago Mum taught us how to make slideshows on Kizoa. It was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed ourselves.

We all had different ideas on what we could make a slideshow of.  My first one was of Imogen, Charlotte, Gemma-Rose and me. It was pretty good for a first try.

I hope to make a lot more slideshows. I have heaps of ideas that I can't wait to try out. It is so exciting.

Can you make slideshows?

Joining DIY

"What is DIY?" I ask Mum.

"Do It Yourself," Mum answers. "It's a site where there are lots of challenges.You can do craft, cooking, writing, animation, photography and other things. You can have a look at it if you like."

I rush over to my computer and flip it open. I am soon on DIY looking around. It looks fun and soon I am telling Gemma-Rose all the things I would be able to do if I joined.

"You could sign up if you like," Mum offers. 

"Really?" I ask, already finding the sign up page. 

Soon I have joined and I'm looking around to see what badge I will try to earn first.

"I want to try earning the Writers' Badge," I tell Mum. "One of the challenges is to make a blog and write  three blog posts. I already have a blog so all I have to do is take a photo of it to prove I've done this."

Soon Mum and I are trying to work out how to take a screen shot of my blog. 

"Press the print screen button and then go to Paint and click paste." It takes a while for Mum and me to work it out. But we work it out in the end.

I go back to the DIY site and upload the picture of my blog to my project page, and I smile.

"I have done my first project," I tell Mum. She smiles at my excitement.

I can't wait to earn my Writers' Badge and do more projects. It is going to be a lot of fun.

Are you on DIY? What is your username? I am Miss Fifi!

New Blog Name

"Mum come have a look at my blog header I have made," I called.

Mum came over to have a look. "That's nice. You know you could always change your blog title if you like."

"Really?" I asked. I had been longing to change my blog title for ages. It no longer seemed right.

I went around asking people for their ideas for a new blog name. Soon I had all the names I could want and more.

I looked down the list I had written out, trying to choose which name I liked best.

"It is either Sophie's Stories or Sophie's Scribbles," I told Mum.

I decided on Sophie's Stories and then went to Picmonkey to edit my new blog header. I smiled happily as I loaded the header onto my blog. Sophie's Sea Bed was gone and Sophie's Stories was born!

When Dad came home from work I rushed over to him. "I have changed my blog name," I told him. "It is now Sophie's Stories."

"I said you should have that name from the start," Dad said smiling. I grinned back. He was right. Sophie's Stories is much better than Sophie's Sea Bed.

Piano Delight

I walked into my piano lesson. I couldn't wait to see what I would be doing.

The first thing my piano teacher said was, "Let's choose an exam piece to learn."

I stared. Had I heard her right? Did she say exam piece? Even though Imogen and Charlotte have done lots of exams, I have never done one in my life!

It seemed that I had heard her right. My teacher opened up a music book and sat down on the stool to play some pieces for me to choose from. I listened eagerly. I couldn't believe that I was going to do an exam.

As my teacher finished the last piece she turned to me. "Which did you like best?" she asked.

I thought about it and then turned the pages over to my favourite piece. My teacher played the first bit to make sure it was the right piece and then turned back to me. "Your turn."

I sat down at the piano and started to play. The piece was much easier than I had thought it would be and soon I had finished the first page.

After my lesson I ran over to the car where Mum was waiting. "I am going to take an exam," I called, jumping in.

She smiled. "I bet you can't wait."

When I got home I told everyone else my news. They were all very impressed.

"I told you Christine would want you to do an exam, didn't I," Imogen said. I grinned. I hadn't believed her at the time.

Mum  is right, I can't wait. It will be a lot of work, but it will be worth it. This is what I have always wanted.

Visiting London and Making Postcards

Today we went to London. We saw the London Eye, Big Ben and learnt heaps. It was so much fun. The best thing about it was we didn't even have to leave our family room. It was all on Mum's computer.

Mum has found all these videos about different countries and cities on YouTube. We go on a different trip each week. Gemma-Rose and I really enjoy it.

When we came back from our adventuring on YouTube today, Mum had a brilliant idea. Why don't we make our own post cards about London?

I grabbed my computer and raced to Morguefile to find some pictures to do with London. I found plenty of photos of Big Ben, heaps of pictures of the London Eye and some of the Beefeaters.

Once I had all the pictures I wanted, I went to Picmonkey and started to turn them into postcards. I couldn't believe how good they looked.

Gemma-Rose and I spent ages playing with photos, turning them into postcards and finding good words to go onto them.

After a while we had to stop for lunch. I didn't really want to stop, it was so exciting. I will have to make some more later.

I  am going to make postcards to go with every country we learn about. I sure I can find good photos for countries like Vietnam or New Zealand.

Mum is all buzzing with new ideas. I can't wait to try out some of her other ideas like making movie posters.

Do you like my postcards? Which is your favourite? Mine is the one of the London Eye.

Lunch Time, Movie Time

"Would anyone like to watch a movie?" Mum asked one day. We all nodded.

"Should we watch Shakespeare?" someone suggested.

"Or a Gilbert and Sullivan?" someone else asked.

"What about a Jane Austen or a Charles Dickens?" Imogen offered. My head went up. I had never watched a Jane Austen or a Charles Dickens. I had always been too young.

"Jane Austen," Gemma-Rose begged. We all agreed.

I only knew the story line to Pride and Prejudice. I was excited because I was going to find out what all the other Jane Austens were about.

We settled for watching Persuasion. It was a good movie and we all enjoyed it. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to watch another Jane Austen after it, and then another favourite mini-series of the big girls', North and South. 

One day when we had just finished watching an episode of North and South, Mum turned and looked at Gemma-Rose with a funny expression. "What are you doing watching these movies? Aren't children your age supposed to like watching Barbie?" she asked. Gemma-Rose just grinned. She likes to do what older people do.

Mum doesn't mind Gemma-Rose watching with us at all really, she was just wondering why she likes all these movies for older people.

We have taken to watching an episode of a mini-series at lunch time each day. When we had had enough of Jane Austen we started on Charles Dickens. They are also very good. I really enjoy watching them.

At the moment we are watching Bleak House. My favourite character is Mr Guppy. He is very funny. You can't help but laugh at him. 

We are watching the mini-series one episode at a time. It leaves me wondering what is going to happen next? How will the mystery be solved? It is hard to wait for the next lunch time to find out. 

Do you like watching period dramas? Which is your favourite? 

I am going to have to read all of the books. I have a lot of fun ahead of me.

The Thief of the Quiet Princess

The cover I made for my book

I am sitting at my computer writing. It is the last sprint. I only have five hundred words to go before I have finished my novel and Camp NaNoWriMo. 

I put down my computer and shout, "I have done it! I have written a fifty thousand word novel!"

Mum comes to have a look. She congratulates me and claps. I feel all warm and pleased with myself. Not many girls my age can write a fifty thousand word novel.

My novel still has a lot of work to be done on it, but the first draft is finished.

In my story there is a thief who has stolen a prized yacht. The two detectives, Bella and Dianne must work out who the thief is and get the yacht back.

It isn't easy for them. The thief seems to always be one step ahead of them, and it takes all their skill and a bit of help from some friends to catch him. Things are not made any easier by the fact that their boss has just gone overseas on a holiday.

What do you think? Is it a good story line?

The novel's name is The Thief of The Quiet Princess. Imogen thought it up for me when I had no ideas.

I am planning a second book. I am stilling working out the story line at the moment, but it sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun. I will have to make sure I edit the novel I have just finished though.

Do you like novel writing? What kinds of novels do you like to write?

Squeebles Maths

Gemma-Rose with a toy she made

Gemma-Rose used to dislike maths. She used to be really reluctant to do any. Funny enough I used to be like that too until Mum found this wonderful maths book full of fun ways to do multiplication. I now love maths.

Mum decided to find a fun way to teach Gemma-Rose her multiplications tables too. She is a bit young for my favourite maths books so Mum went looking on the internet and found this game called Squeebles and she downloaded an app for it onto her tablet! Gemma-Rose loves it.  You can't get her off it.

I think Gemma-Rose is going to be a maths fan like me. I adore maths. I love finding new ways to do big equations. Gemma-Rose isn't quite up to doing big maths problems yet, but at the rate she is going she will better than me soon.

After a bit of hunting, Mum found a few other Squeebles games. Gemma-Rose was delighted. She plays her maths games just for fun now.

Gemma-Rose lets all of us have a go at her games. Seeing if we can break her high scores, which we hardly ever do, and having fun with her. 

It is funny how one fun maths game can make you adore maths. I can hardly believe she used to be so reluctant to have a bit of fun playing with numbers.

Soon Gemma-Rose and I will be racing each other to work out maths problems. I wonder if I will be able to beat her or if she will be too good for me.

Hattie Big Sky

Mum has just finished reading Hattie Big Sky to me and Gemma-Rose. It was really good.

It is about a sixteen year old girl who gets left a claim of land by her uncle when he dies. She can't wait to prove up on it. But proving up doesn't turn out to be as easy as she thinks. 

The book is set in the First World War. Hattie's claim of land is in Vida Montana. We have never read a book about the World War that is set in the USA before.

My favourite bit in the story is when Hattie is being chased by some wild horses and, not being able to outrun them, she takes off her skirt and starts waving it at them. It was very funny.

Rooster Jim would have to be my favourite character. He is a very comical character and his ways of sorting out problems are hilarious. His way to make a chicken lay eggs made me laugh. 

I never really thought about how much work it would be to run a farm. Hattie had to get up at the crack of dawn, see to all her animals, get breakfast and start working on her fields. She would also have to cook, clean and wash clothes. Life sounds so hard back then.

To earn money Hattie wrote her stories of what she was doing and sent them to a newspaper. I was very surprised to find that she liked writing like me. 

The book is based on the author's great grandmother's life, though it isn't quite the same. It is hard to believe that some of the things that happened in the book might have really happened to a real person.

I really enjoyed listening to the book. I can't wait for Mum to read the sequel. 

Picnic at the Park

"Shall we get some rolls and fillings and go down to the park for a picnic?" Mum asked.

"Oh yes please," we all cried.

We all hopped into the car and Mum drove us to the shopping centre.

We walked around trying to find what we wanted to eat.

"How about ham and potato salad?" Mum asked us. We all agreed it was a wonderful idea.

We found the potato salad, meat and rolls.

We also got some yoghurt and honey to eat after the rolls.

We went down to the park. It was mostly empty so we could sit at our favourite bench.

 Imogen and Mum served out the rolls and we all started to eat.

The rolls were scrumptious. We were all hungry.

After the rolls Imogen found the yoghurt. We didn't have any bowls to eat out of so we put the yoghurt in disposable cups and poured honey on top of it.

The yoghurt even though eaten in such a strange way was very delicious. I decided that yoghurt tastes nicest out of disposable cups.

It was a wonderful picnic.

When we went back home we were very full. I couldn't eat another bite.. We had the best picnic ever.

Learning to Write

Gemma-Rose is sitting at her computer typing. I look over her shoulder to see what she is doing. She is working on her novel. She is a very advanced writer for her age (9). She is writing long novels with perfect spelling and wonderful characters. I often stop to listen to Gemma-Rose as she reads her novels out to Mum.

I think back to when I was her age. I had never thought of writing much then. I spent all my time playing and drawing. It wasn't until I heard of NaNoWriMo Young Writer's Program when I was ten that I started to write a lot. 

At first my writing skills were horrible. I had bad punctuation and spelling. I would get bored of characters and instead of making them better, I would go and find a new character to replace them.

Now after a few years of writing, my skills have improved a lot and I am able to finish novels and make my characters have personalities. When I first started writing I even forgot to put speech into my stories.

I think of the children at school who do writing programs and fill in worksheets to learn to write. I think that doing the real thing is a better way to learn. My spelling and punctuation have gotten a lot better by writing novels and reading good books, than if I had filled in the workbooks. I am lucky Mum let me learn this way.

At the moment I am doing Camp NaNoWriMo. I have nearly finished my novel. I have written 40000 words. With luck I will finish all 50000 words by the end of the month! 

Sewing Fun

We own a book called Make a Monster. It has a lot of really cute patterns for toys to sew out of fleece.

The other day Mum pulled the book out and told me that she would help me sew a toy from it. I was very excited. 

I picked up the book and flicked through the pages until I found the toy I wanted: a cute little toy with funny ears.

My first toy

"Do you want to go down to the shops for some fabric?" Mum asked me.

"Oh yes please," I answered and I ran for my shoes. 

Gemma-Rose had also decided she wanted to make a toy and so together, Mum,Gemma-Rose and I set out to the shops for fabric.

Me and my first toy

It turned out to be just the right day for sewing as the fabric shop was having a sale. We rushed over to the fleece section of the shop to choose the fabrics we needed.

"I want green and pink for my dinosaur," Gemma-Rose said. Mum hunted out a nice lime green coloured fabric and a bright pink one.

Gemma-Rose's first toy

"What colours would you like?" Mum asked me. I looked at all the wonderful colours. It was so hard to choose.

"Could I have that dark purple and bright orange please?" I asked. Mum agreed and we walked off to the counter with our arms full of fleece.

Gemma-Rose and her first toy

Straight after lunch we settled down to sew. Mum helped us cut out our pieces and then left us to it. 

I spent a happy afternoon sewing my toy together. It was a really easy one and so it was done before dinner. The toy looks really cute.

My second toy

Gemma-Rose's toy was a little harder and it took her two days to finish hers, but it looked wonderful when it was finished. She is a really good seamstress. I wish I could have sewn like her when I was her age.

Me and my second toy

After our success at our toys we wanted to make more. Mum was all willing to help. She cut us out some more pieces and we started to sew.

While we sewed Mum read to us. Sewing is a wonderful thing to do while Mum is reading because it doesn't take your mind off the story.

Gemma-Rose and her second toy

It took me a little longer to finish my toy this time because it was a harder one. Gemma-Rose ended up finishing her toy before me. But I don't care. I had a lot of fun sewing my toy. I can't wait to sew some more. 

Poetry, Poets and Writing

I love poetry. I am glad that term is back because I can study it some more. My favourite kind of poems are ballads. They tell wonderful tales.

Two of my favourite poets are Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. I love Banjo Paterson's Man From Snowy River. It is so exciting. My favourite poem by Henry Lawson is Andy's Gone With Cattle. I liked it so much I memorised it. It is the only poem I have ever memorised.

Today we looked at a poem called The Village Blacksmith by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It wasn't a ballad but it was still very good. 

I sometimes wish I could write poems. It would be so much fun to write stories in rhyme. It must take a lot of talent to get poem writing down to an art.

One day I am going to learn how to write a ballad. I have a feeling writing poetry must be almost as much fun as writing novels.

What is almost as good as being able to say you have written a poem though is to say you have memorised one.

Do you like poetry? What is your favourite poet? 

Zoo

I love going to the zoo. I like walking around taking photos of all the animals.

We don't go to the zoo very often. I only remember going twice. A family as big as mine can't go too often because it is way too expensive.

It is always fun to try and take a photo of an animal in a tank. It is so hard not to have a reflection in the glass.

I like watching the bird and seal shows at the zoo. The seals are very well trained and often do funny tricks. The birds are very interesting.

One of the highlights of the zoo is the elephants. They are so big and strong. I love elephants.

When we go to the zoo it is always a whole day trip. We get up early and get home late. That means we have lunch at the zoo. We have a special picnic of ham and potato salad and rolls. Somehow the rolls taste best there, eaten outside.

I like the giraffes with their long and beautiful necks. They suit long necks perfectly. I think I would look ridiculous with such a long neck.

Last time we went to the zoo we saw three almost grown tigers. One of them was trying to eat a flower pot. He was so cute.

It was at the zoo I learnt a very interesting fact about koalas: They are bouncy in the morning and sleepy in the afternoon. I have only seen koalas bouncing about once. It was very hard to take a photo of them.

There was a fishing cat at the zoo, but it was hiding so we couldn't see it last time. It was a big pity because I really wanted to see it.

There are three Tasmanian devils at our zoo. They are so cute. They run around playing with each other. They were also hard to take photos of.

I love going to the zoo. I hope we get to go again soon.

Xylophone

Gemma-Rose playing the xylophone.

We have a xylophone. None of us can play it properly, but when I was little I used to pretend I could.

The xylophone sat in the study and the only person who ever even thought about it was me. I would pick it up and sit on the floor with it. I would hit it with the sticks making an awful racket. I don't think anyone liked me playing the xylophone.

When Gemma-Rose was a bit older she too wanted to play the xylophone. I gave her one of the sticks and we made even more noise than ever.

Then after ages of playing the xylophone, one of the sticks broke while we were playing it. I was most upset.

Dad soon fixed it with a bit of super glue and it was as good as new. He gave it back to us with instructions to be more careful with it.

Again we had a lot of fun with the xylophone, but then the stick broke again. Dad was too busy to fix it and so we put away the xylophone and our fun.

One of these days I am going to find that broken stick and get someone to fix it so Gemma-Rose and I can have some more fun. It is not half as much fun to play the xylophone on your own with only one stick.

Perhaps we should learn to play the xylophone properly, then everyone will stop saying, "Don't make such a racket! Stop that noise!"

Do you have a xylophone? Can you play it?

When I was Little

Me when I was little

I remember when I was small. I used to follow the big girls around, always wanting to be one of them. They often let me join in with their games.

Imogen would invent some wonderful games. She would be an inn keeper and we used to be people staying at the inn. Most of the game was spent making the inn. We would take our dress ups and go and fill skirts with pine needles for pillows and big dresses for blankets.

Another game we liked was being on a ship. Whenever we went to the park, the play equipment turned into the ship and I would grab the telescope and Charlotte the wheel or Imogen. They often swapped jobs. Sometimes Charlotte was a crazy cook that put nails in the soup or tyres in the bread. Don't ask me where she thought she would find them out at sea!

On rainy days we had to play indoors. Imogen had some wonderful ideas for those games as well. We would play school and libraries. I enjoyed the school games. Imogen was a wonderful teacher.

We had a lot of Little People and we played some games which went on for days at a time. I remember I often got the people Imogen and Charlotte didn't want.

I love my big sisters. They never left me out and they always let me be one of them. Do you have sisters like mine?

Very Exciting

Gemma-Rose on our piano

Today we got a piano! It was very exciting. It's an upright piano. Our piano teacher has a few pianos and she wanted to give this one to us.

This morning Dad, Callum and Imogen went out to get the piano, leaving everyone else at home to wait excitedly. It was very hard.

Finally they came home, but the truck was a few minutes behind them. That few minutes felt like years. I couldn't wait to see the piano. I had never seen this one when I had my lessons.

When the truck appeared, the men, with the help of Dad and Callum, slowly carried the piano into the house being very careful not to break the piano or the tiles. It did not take half as long time as it felt though.

Then the men left. We all wanted to hear the piano. The piano we had been playing on before was an electric one and sounded much different.

Imogen rushed off to get her music and started to play one of her favourite pieces on the new piano. It sounded wonderful, not that it needed an upright piano to do that, but it did make a big difference.

I was all eager to try out the new piano and went straight off to do my piano practice. I had not done it earlier while they were getting the piano, because I wanted to practise on the new piano. My music sounded so different and grand. I could hardly believe it was me playing the piano!

I love our new piano. It is so wonderful! Do you have a nice piano?

Unexpected Garden Photos

Yesterday I went outside to take photos of our trampoline for my blog post. I ended up taking more photos of our garden than of the trampoline.

 

This is our wonderful ash tree. It was tiny when we got it, but now it is taller than me!

This picture is of a big gum tree at the bottom of our garden. It turned out a lot better than I thought!

These flowers are some of my favourites. They are chrysanthemums which always bloom close to Mother's Day. Maybe that's why they are the most popular Mother's Day flowers. They are very pretty, aren't they?

We have quite a few bushes like this one. It is very nice. I like how it has both red and green leaves.

These flowers are in the bottom of one of our flower beds. They just grow all around the plants. 

There are only a few of these flowers left now. They are a lovely pink, but you can't see that very well in the photo.

Our daisy bushes just keep growing. They make the garden look wonderful.

I love our garden. It has some wonderful plants in it. Which is your favourite picture? Mine is the top one with the pink flowers.