Octagon House

Author’s Note: We, Ally and Megan, went to the haunted house in Pewaukee, known to most as the Octagon house, because we both were interested in what the owner thought of living in a house with ghosts that she couldn’t control if they were there or not. We walked down on a Friday after school, then showed up at her front door. We asked her several questions, and we got some useful answers. She seemed quite content with telling us about her experiences in the house. She was actually so relaxed, she asked us if we wanted a Coke!

By writing this piece, we wanted to accomplish successfully holding an interview and turning it into a report, including quotes from the interview.

There is a difference between a house and a home. A house is just a structure; a place that you can manage to make your life livable in. But a home is where you can be a family, make memories in, and feel perfectly safe. Margaret Kirley had these things running through her head when she bought the haunted house in Pewaukee, also known as the Octagon House.

People say that the house is haunted, but Margaret doesn’t think so. She’s never really witnessed it, but her nine kids claim that ghosts live within the walls of the octagon-shaped home. Rumor has it that the house was also part of the Underground Railroad, but Margaret says otherwise. “That’s what they say, but it’s never really been proven,” she told us.

The house has a unique octagon shape, and this always causes passing people to ponder on the thought of the form of the home. We asked her if she knew anything about it, and she did. “Back in 1850, there was an architect in New York named Hortson Fowler, and he figured out this unique design on how to utilize the space best, and he came up with this house,” she said. She also stated that Fowler wrote a book, but she did not tell us what it was about or why he wrote it.  

Besides the shape of the house, inside are many unique features. There are two Italian marble fireplaces right across the hall from each other, each placed in their own living room. Also, there was originally a spiral staircase located directly inside the front door, but a fire in the early 1870’s wrecked some of the interior of the house, including the staircase. The next owner who bought the house replaced it with a regular staircase, but it wasn’t your everyday railing. Beautiful carvings snake up the railings, all the way to the third floor.

The floors were also numbered different than your house’s probably were. The first floor is what you would consider the basement, and the second floor is what we would call the first floor, and so on.

Margaret moved into the house 47 years ago, in 1966, knowing that it was previously accused of being haunted. In fact, the newspaper headline stated “Haunted House in Pewaukee for Sale”. According to Margaret, “it was no secret.” After making themselves at home, the children started to notice strange things happening in the house.

Margaret told us that she has invited people over many times before, but has been denied because they were afraid of the house and what was inside it. She actually said a story based off of what the girlfriend of her son, Jeff,  told her. “My son’s girlfriend swears on a stack of bibles that this happened. She was talking to Jeff, but didn’t believe in the spirits here. She said, ‘If you are here, make your presence known!’ and immediately, a fire lit up in the fireplace.”

Another story she told us about was actually quite interesting. A man and his wife showed up at the front door, and they were just arriving from Kansas. The kids yelled to Margaret, and she rushed to the front door with curiosity. They needed a place to stay, so a nice big house with many rooms fit their needs. The only open room they had at the time was in the attic. “No way I’m sleeping in the attic! I’ve heard stories about this house before, why on earth would I want to sleep in the attic?” he asked her. She told him that they could put a cot in the upstairs hallway. He accepted the offer, so she set up the bed. Later that night, she heard something upstairs. She went to the bottom of the flight of stairs, and his face was, according to Margaret, “white as a sheet”. He shivered, then told her he saw a ghost. She did not believe him, she just figured that he was seeing the things he was worried about seeing.

Margaret is very proud of what she accomplished in the house. One of her sons still raises grapes in the backyard. She managed to keep the vineyard in good shape, and raise nine kids with the roof still on. People still think the house is haunted, along with her kids, but she still thinks that the house is just your everyday home, but with it’s own special characteristics.

Amazing on Accident

Cookies are some of the most loved foods across America. But one of the most favored kind of cookie, the chocolate chip, was actually made by mistake.

In the 1930’s, Ruth Wakefield fed all of the guests that stayed at her house, much like a bed and breakfast. She was busy making butter cookies, but got the idea to try some chocolate butter cookies. Thinking the chunks of the chocolate bar, given to her by Andrew Nestle, she cut up would mix in and make the batter chocolate, they stayed as chunks. After they were done baking, she tried one, and they were actually quite tasty. She still served them, and they were enjoyed by the guests.

Nestle continued to give her free chocolate for her delicious cookies. In the package, he even included a small chopper for all of the chocolate. Later on  in 1939, chocolate morsels were made and packaged, just like the ones sold in supermarkets today.

Nowadays, chocolate chip cookies are considered the most popular cookie in America. These cookies make up half of the cookies families make in their own houses. They are found in many shopping venues, and some stores are treasured because of their amazing chocolate chip cookies.

People say, “Learn from your mistakes." They obviously never met Ruth Wakefield. One mess up, and she created the one of the most loved foods in America.

Holocaust

Life of Pi Reflective Piece

Author’s Note: I was told to write a piece on extended metaphors and why the author includes them, especially since Life of Pi is a book that uses that style. It was kind of a confusing task at first, but when I really thought about it, it just kind of came to me.

To me, the climax is the best part of the book. All of the suspense piles up, up, and up, giving you mixed emotions, feelings about the book, and all of the characters in it, when suddenly. . . it stops. Yes, in fact, some authors decide to stop the best part of the book and put it into another chapter, or better yet, another book. But why is it that they do that, especially during the best part of the writing? There are answers behind this, and it takes some people a while to discover them.

There are plenty of authors that use this technique in their writing. One of my favorites is James Patterson, author of Maximum Ride. He has considerably short chapters, around two or three pages. Patterson sure is good at cramming lots of juicy stuff in those short chapters, though. There is so much to take in, and then, BOOM! Another chapter starts. He makes the first few sentences of this chapter quite amusing too, and then it sucks you into reading the rest of that chapter. Doing this is almost like forcing yourself to read on, to ease the need for finding out what happens next.

Life of Pi uses a technique somewhat similar to the one stated before, but at the same time, it is completely different. Yann Martel inserts italicized chapters, used to tell the reader about his conversations with Pi. But here’s the thing -- none of it ever happened. That’s right. Pi isn’t real. But, Yann Martel makes it seem like he actually went and had conversations with him. Why is it he does that? It’s called a story inside of a story. The italicized chapters is a story, and so is the actual story.

Yann Martel also uses extended metaphors. He splits the book into two parts, and each one has a different meaning behind it.

The first part of the book symbolizes life’s boundaries. Some people are born into an open sea; no limits, not knowing what to do or where to go. Others are born into a swimming pool; limited, locked in, strict rules.

The second part of the book symbolizes birth. If you read the first few sentences of the second part (page 97) try to think about relate it to child birth, and you will see exactly what Yann Martel was trying to accomplish. The ship sank. It made a sound like a monstrous metallic burp. Things bubbled at the surface and then vanished. Everything was screaming: the sea, the wind, my heart. Birth obviously isn’t a peaceful job to be done, but eventually it is worth it when all of the pain is gone.Then, you are left out in the open sea.

Pi was raised by strict parents with strict rules. Religion was their main focus of life, being Hindu. When Pi was thrown into the open sea, he was confused. No direction to follow, no rules to take into consideration. Everything that he did was up to him, and no one else. This was hard for him, going from swimming pool to sea.

Seeing these extended metaphors isn’t the easiest thing to do, but when you incorporate them the entire book starts to come together. I am starting to understand these metaphors better, and it is also making it a lot easier to know what is actually going on in the writing and what the author is trying to say.

Nutrition

Author's Note: I wrote this report because I have realized that people have been complaining about their weight lately, but they aren't doing anything about it. Some try to work out, but they don't focus on what they're actually putting into their body, and this can have more of an affect on people than some think. By writing this, I wanted to accomplish writing a report with a very focused voice. I also wanted to try not to refer to the reader or the previous writing.

Lately, nutrition is being thrown to the side. People want to get stronger, look better, and be able to fit into that one outfit, but it seems like no one wants to take that one extra step by eating better. If you aren't willing to pay attention to what's going in you, a workout won't always cut it.

Many Americans think that they have the nutrition smarts, thinking that they can just go out and eat a Big Mac with a side of french fries and a large chocolate shake.2364 calories and 96 grams of fat from those foods are going into your body. On a 2000-calorie diet, you could be going almost 400 calories over in only one meal. Staying within this range is actually very simple, but not if you eat these types of foods on a regular basis.

Realizing how much fat you are consuming is actually quite a simple task, and there are many different ways to perform it. If you bought an item from the grocery store, you can simply glance at the nutrition facts. In the picture to the left, you will see how many grams of fat, circled in red, and how many calories, circled in blue, are in one Nabisco Oreo® cookie.

There are five different food groups that each food is specified into: dairy, fruit, vegetable, protein, and grains. Each should be about equal, but not quite. You are supposed to have the most of vegetables, grains, then protein, fruit, and finally, dairy. Shown to the right is the most current food “pyramid”. It is now shaped like a plate to better show the different food groups and portion sizes. 

Many people wonder whether calories are either good or bad for you, but honestly, it’s both. Calories are simply energy. Most people get the feeling that calories are unhealthy because a lot of people choose poorly and eat too many of them. But, if you lose most of the calories that you eat daily, you are dealing with calories perfectly fine. Each person should consume about 2,000 calories per day, but this also depends on your body weight and size. The average teenage girl should eat about 1,800 calories daily, while the average teenage boy should eat around 2,200. So depending on your size and weight, that is around how many calories you should consume each day.

Myths about fats are everywhere. Some people think that trying to avoid it helps you lose weight, but that is incorrect. Each person needs to balance out the different kinds of fat that they consume: monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat (good fats) and saturated and trans fats (bad fats). Here are examples of foods that contain the following kinds of fat:

Monounsaturated Fats:

• Olive Oil
• Canola Oil
• Sunflower Oil
• Nuts
• Peanut Butter
• Avocados

Polyunsaturated Fats:

• Soybean Oil
• Corn Oil
• Walnuts
• Tofu
• Soymilk

Saturated Fats:

• High-fat cuts of meat (beef, pork, lamb)
• Chicken with skin
• Butter
• Cheese
• Lard

Trans Fats:

• Packaged snack foods
• Stick margarine
• Fried Foods
• Candy Bars
• Vegetable Shortening

Good fats help you with your cholesterol, heart, and overall health. The bad fats, on the other hand, increase your cholesterol and the risk of disease throughout your body. But, a good balance between the four types of fats will lead to a healthy diet.

Holocaust Project

Brianna and I recently completed a project on the Holocaust, and please view the prezi below!

Holocaust Prezi

One Week's Time, Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Road Runner

The sun is shining, falling prettily on the flowing, green leaves of spring. The birds are chirping, and there is a nice little breeze dancing across the field . . . I wish.

Instead, I am in a landscape with bursts of bubbling lava filled with the scent of sulfur so strong my eyes water, and where there is a steep slope that is the only way to get out: up.

Star Lily agents surround me, guns pointed straight at the left side of my chest. On my black suit, parts are slightly ripped open where some agents foolishly tried to kill me. Obviously, they failed. The bullets rebounded off my high-tech black suit that is covering every inch of my body except my jet black ponytail, and that was the distraction I used to escape into this volcano.

The present Star Lilies start to circle me, and I slowly raise my gloved hands, faking surrender. As they close in, I give each agent a look they’ll never forget, and I sink through the floor. No, I sink into the cracked ground of the bubbling volcano on Pico Island, and I escape the clutches of these people again.

In case you are wondering at this point, the Star Lilies are secret agents on the run to end my life in a terrible and tortuous way. The agents are all part of an organization called T.A.P.E: Talented Agents Pursuing Ecology. Totally random, and not true at all. I’ve heard the boss is a guy, and none of the agents have actually ever seen him, because he’s always a silhouette.

By the way, the agents are not all called Star Lilies. There are different levels judged on each agent’s skill and experience. From lowest to highest, the ranks are as followed: Dandelions (also known as the “Weedlings”), Baby’s Breath, Violets, Carnations, Azaleas, Roses, and finally, Star Lilies. Lately, it’s been all Star Lilies chasing me. Great.

I drop down to the top-secret  level below the main ground of the volcano that T.A.P.E. uses, and started sprinting, following the dark, damp passageways I memorized a couple months ago.  Metal encrusted dirt walls loom over me, casting barely-there shadows underneath my feet. As I jog around the next turn, I spot a tad of laser-beam red. That’s smart, there’s a glowing sign saying ‘Exit’. No wonder the people running this joint are a bunch of buffoons, I think to myself.

Entering the outside world, I squint as the bright sunlight pierces my vision. Now, where in the world did I come out? According to watch (that has a GPS in it), I’m a forest away from a car. Huh, I must have over-calculated something. Too late now. I run toward the tangle of trees, and shimmy up one. Then, hopping from tree to tree like monkey through the jungle, I look behind me to check the Star Lilies’ progress. A couple are already streaming out of the volcano, looking burnt and, I have to admit, rather mad and dangerous.

Suddenly, a branch whips across my face, making me fall to the ground in a flurry of leaves, yelping.  Unfortunately, those people over there spot me right away because of that. Shouting, they rush through the dense forest as fast as they can (which isn’t very fast, believe me), and I hurry my way out of the bushes.

Hopping into my specially-designed, camouflaged black car, I put my keys into the ignition and the engine sputters to life. I speed off, and as I look into the rearview mirror, agents are getting into their cars as well. Looks like they made it out of the jungle after all.  No problemo. I turn on the holographic image projector, and show myself teleporting away. Soon after, I put a holographic boulder in the road, just to be safe. Done.

I speed up even more, still watching to make sure the Star Lilies are well out of my way. Sadly, they all swerve around the boulder. The agents must have figured out something. To my defense, it was only the size of a small living room chair. What do you expect? The projector was out of battery!

The agents all start to send the wings of their cars out, making every car look like a small jet. They rise into the air slowly but surely, speeding up as they get higher in the air. Guns emerge from the passenger and driver windows of the cars, all pointing at my tires.

Idiots. I think. Bullets fly at my wheels, but I don’t break a sweat. The tires are bulletproof, and bounces back any projectile, so the bullets fly right back at the floating cars. Each one of them explodes, leaving a puff of smoke and debris sitting in the air like a cloud. Hm, must have been explosives.

As I open the sunroof, I slip on my sunglasses, allowing my eyes to get used to the change in light. Poking my head out, I wave a peace sign smugly over at the piles of smoking ash, and then hit the Zoom, Zoom! button on my high-tech car, speeding off into the distance with a trail of purple and blue light streaming behind me like a flame. This is how we do it, I think proudly to myself, humming the song in my head.

Star Lily

I glare down at my screen sitting before me, noticing that three of my 279 cars have been exploded. That stupid Road Runner, how dare she play me like that! I think angrily to myself. I spin around, making my flaming red hair slap against my face. I blow on it to get it out of my mouth, then continue on.
“Jerry, how is the mission going?” I ask one of the many Carnations. I don’t think he understands me, my Irish accent being heavy.
He jerks his head up from his computer screen nervously, pushing his glasses up towards the bridge of his nose. He shakes his head the slightest bit, then answers, “Just fine, Miss Aget. Did you finally get Amaryllis Diem?”
“Is that your business?” I reply darkly, showing I am not in a stellar mood. I whip around and march away with my red pumps clacking with every step. I roll my eyes when he cannot see, and walk to the next office.
Suddenly, I hear a beep in my bluetooth device. Jobe tells me I need to gather Nick Spart and Wanda Smith and go up to his office on the 100th floor. Nick was in the weaponry development section, and Wanda was in the training gym. After I contact both of agents, I meet up with them in front of the elevator leading to the 100th floor.
Jobe is an unknown human being. Everybody knows that he is human, but we do not know his first name, his voice and I’m not even sure it’s a ‘he’. Jobe always uses a fake silhouette when speaking to his (or perhaps her) advisors, or anyone for that matter, and the voice Jobe uses sounds fake. ‘Jobe’ is just a name we use to call this mysterious person that’s our boss.  We are all 100% positive that his last name is Jobe, so we call him that rather than always saying ‘Boss’.

The clear elevator transports us to the top floor of the agency. Nick, Wanda, and I all stare at each other, the ground, and the ceiling in complete silence, and in the background, classic elevator music plays. A couple seconds pass, feeling like hours, and a monotone voice declares, “Arriving at floor 100, prepare to exit.” Transparent, glass doors silently glide open, and before us is a dimly-lit room with several straight-backed chairs.

There is a screen sitting in the front of the room with a man’s silhouette. On the screen, a round, white light circles the outside of the shadow. Even though I can’t see Jobe, I know that his eyes are piercing me in the gut.

“I’ve been expecting you,” Jobe says seriously, almost gravely. Jeez, after hearing him say that, I started to think about how much I’ve been dying to turn around in a big black chair and say that while twiddling my fingers.

“What do you need us to do?” Wanda asks.

“Road Runner, also known as Amaryllis Diem. She reminds me of a spider. Spineless, weak, and useless with too many tricks up her sleeve. Every time I see her, I want to just step on her and squish her into a pile of bloody mush, hearing nothing but a scream before her fate reveals itself. But I can’t do that if you keep letting her out of my hands! Cass, you’re the top Star Lily, yet she always manages to escape your carefully constructed plans. So, this time, I’m taking matters into my own hands. You have one week’s time to bring her to me, or, kill her slowly and painfully for me. We have a Dandelion, a Carnation, and finally, my best Star Lily. Yes, you, Cassiopeia, your skills combined with the others should be an effortless mission.”

Why does he have to use my full name? I haven’t heard that since elementary school! I think to myself. Call me Cass, moron.

“So we have the option to kill her ourselves or to bring her to you to do it?” Wanda, being a Dandelion, asks.

“That is correct, Weedling,” Jobe responds, “And I will be very, ah, disappointed if you cannot complete your mission. You know what happens to those who I am disappointed in, no?”

I gulp. “Yes, Boss.”

“Now, that is all.” The screen fades out, leaving us sitting in the silent, dark room, wondering what will happen to us in the future.