CHAPTER ELEVEN The Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving 2016 has come and gone, and it was, indeed, a challenging time for the little Doll House people of Smithville.

Why, you might ask, was Thanksgiving so different for the little people?  Well, it just seemed like Don and Phyllis were ALWAYS around, and BUSY, getting ready for the big day.  So the little people had to stay inside and out of sight.  They had no time to prepare for their own celebration.

And it seemed like Don and Phyllis were doing very little, if any, cooking in preparation for Thanksgiving!  Now, that was just not right!  How were the Smiths going to have a feast with no food?  And, worse than that, how would the little people find any leftovers to collect for their feast?

Also, it seemed like Don was up earlier and earlier, getting the house ready for company, setting up tables, and he even put up the Christmas tree, for heavens sake.

And Phyllis was staying up later and later.  She even had the tables all set ready for company.  But still no cooking was happening!

And if that weren't strange enough, the company began arriving the evening before Thanksgiving.  And all the kids and grandkids brought the food with them!  So that explained why Don and Phyllis did no cooking.  And all of them called their party "Thank-mas."  So that explained why the Christmas decorations went up so early.  The Smiths were having one big party to celebrate both holidays.

The Little Doll House people did enjoy watching the family having so much fun.  And, even though the food looked and smelled delicious,  the little people went to bed early and dreamed about all the leftovers they would find tomorrow!

And, sure enough, a little before noon on Thanksgiving Day,  Don began getting out all the leftovers and warming everything that needed warming.  And soon everyone was in the living room eating leftovers and watching football.  Why, they were so engrossed in the game, the Doll House Collection team had little trouble collecting ample supplies for the Little People Thanksgiving Feast.

And after the men returned with the supplies, the women set about preparing everything for the community-wide Thanksgiving Feast!


So here is their delicious feast.

And here are their beautiful and festive tables.

And here are all the thankful families enjoying the Smithville Thanksgiving Day!

It is Halloween Time in Smithville

It is the week before Halloween, and Mrs. Lamper, the Smithville School teacher, is having
a very hard time keeping her students on task.  They have, evidently, been sneaking samples from
the Halloween, Trick-or-Treat candy supplies at their homes.   They all seem to be on
sugar highs.  Either that, or they have been watching too many scary political advertisements, and
it has made them all on edge.  Those ads are, after all, very frightful!

So Mrs. Lamper, in desperation, has dispensed with regular assignments, and is introducing
an entirely new project for all her students.

"Now students, I have raided Mrs. Smith's craft room and have found some interesting supplies in
her scrap basket.  I have found various colored papers, cardboard, tape, glue, fabric scraps, ribbon
scraps, some little baskets , and some beads.

I want each one of you to decide on one graphic design that symbolizes Halloween for you.  Then
I would like for you to use the markers that I found to draw a large picture of your design.
After that you should write a short description of how that symbolizes Halloween.  You can make
it into a poem if you like.  The last thing I would like for you to do is create a matching costume
for yourself that you can wear for trick-or-treating.

We will display these here at school until our all-school Halloween party.  Then you may take
everything home to decorate your house for Halloween night.  And you may wear your costumes
for trick-or-treating.  If you want, you may work with your brother or sister, to make one
display for your home.",

Well, the students were so excited.  They loved the idea and the chance to work on their own.
You have never seen such industrious students.  They thought and thought, then they painted pictures.
The pictures were so colorful and attractive that they were inspired them to write about their chosen
Halloween symbol.

But most exciting of all was choosing supplies from the scrap basket to create their very own
Halloween costumes.  Mrs. Lamper was so pleased with the outcome that she decided to
allow voting for the very best results of this day's work.

Following you will see the finished projects.  You can vote for your favorite by leaving a comment.

Project Number 1.  Created by Corey and Cathy Switcher.

This was the project completed by Corey and Cathy Switcher, and their be-wigged dog!  They
selected Trick-or-Treaters as their symbol.

Number 2.  This next project was completed by Freddy Sewell.  He painted a picture of an owl
and wrote about owls.  His Halloween costume included an owl's head made from a basket.

Project number 3.  Penelope Prescott is new to Smithville School.  But I think you will agree she
did a lovely job on her project symbol, the Pumpkin.

She wrote: "Yellow pumpkin , yellow moon,
                  Yellow candlelight.
                   It is so fun being scared
                   On Halloween night."

Her costume:

Number 4 .  This project belongs to Harriet and Annie Lamper.  They think that black cats

                   are the perfect Halloween symbol

                 Black cats with yellow eyes and long, curly tails.

                 They ride on witches broomsticks

                  And scratch with their long toe nails!

The students can't wait until Monday to have their party at school, and then take their costumes

and pictures home for an exciting night of trick-or-treating.  Vote for the best, if you would like

by commenting on Facebook.

CHAPTER NINE "New Folks In Town"

     September was a pleasant month for all the residents of Smithville.  On most days sunshine came in the windows, music played on the radio and blended with the sounds of lawn mowers busily working outside.  Now October is here, and with it comes some exciting news, but upsetting news for some.

     Last week Tess Endrews arrived at the Sewell's house with a letter for Elizabeth. And Elizabeth
couldn't believe what she was reading!

     The letter was from Elizabeth's mother and father, Phillip and Pamela Prescott.  The big news was that Phillip and Pamela would be arriving that day for an extended stay in Smithville.  It seems that the
Prescott's son and daughter-in-law (he being Elizabeth's older brother)  were being taken to Africa with
a missionary family for an extended stay at a missionary school.  They had decided that the extended stay would be too long for their daughter, Penelope.  So they decided to leave her with her grandparents.
     And Phillip and Pamela had decided to come stay with Elizabeth and Frederick, so that Penelope would have the company of her cousins, and the grandparents would have the child care assistance .
AND THEY WERE ARRIVING TODAY!
     "Frederick, Frederick, Come
 here!  You won't believe what is happening.  And it is going to
happen TODAY!"
     Well, if I tell you that Frederick was just a bit upset at the news, then I am the master of the understatement.  Frederick was horrified.  He had no desire to share his home with his in-laws....
for an extended  period of time. Besides, there really wasn't enough room in their house.

     "Elizabeth, exactly how long will they be here?"

     " Well, I don't know exactly, but Mother does mention the the missionary's term of service is
at least one school year."

     "YEAR!" shouted Frederick.  "NO, it is impossible"

     Elizabeth was wringing her hands and tears were threatening to spill.  From the kitchen Claire was observing their distress.  Now, you must understand that Claire has always been a very resourceful girl. She has had to be, handling all the crises that erupt in the Sewell household.
     She long ago had managed to acquire her own living space, so that she could have her own
days away from all the drama of the Sewell household.  Claire had bartered with the local Bed and Breakfast to have her own bedroom in the carriage house attached to the Hollyhock Hill Bed and Breakfast, in exchange for doing some cooking and laundry work.
     " I think I could get you a good rate on rooms at the Hollyhock Hill.  They aren't very busy right now, and would be especially interested in a long term stay."
     "Oh, could you?  Would you?  Frederick was quite excited.
      So the three of them hurried over to the bed and breakfast.  After inspecting the rooms, they
were excited to learn that they could rent them for a very reasonable rate.  And the owners were delighted to have good renters for at least a year.
     Later that day, all the Prescotts arrived, and Elizabeth was really happy to see her family again.
And Frederick was very relieved to show them their lovely rooms at the Hollyhock Hill Bed and Breakfast.

   
 And, oh yes, they brought their dogs, too!  

CHAPTER EIGHT from Small Stories of Life in Smithville

     Labor Day weekend was very exciting in Smithville.  On Friday and Saturday the tiny residents noticed that Don and Phyllis were a little busier than usual.  They did a little sweeping, a little dusting, and some grocery shopping.  Hmmm, they must be expecting company.  Then, when Don started putting up an extra table, and Phyllis started setting the table , they knew!  There was going to be COMPANY,  and a PARTY!
     Sure enough, on Sunday morning they started noticing the mouth-watering aromas of cooking, saw a birthday cake on the counter, and there were serving dishes being readied.  It was certain.  A birthday party was going to happen!
     By noon, the house was full of voices, laughter, and music.  Uh oh, the grown-ups were having such a good time, Britton had a lot of freedom to explore.  The tiny people were a little tense!  It wouldn't take Britton very long to rearrange all their houses!
     But as soon as Grandpa Don was through eating, he and Taylor took Britton outside for a walk and to play, so the Smithville small houses and tiny people began to relax and enjoy the day as much as the party goers did.
     By evening, most of the company had gone home.  Only Carla and Randy were still there visiting.
After all, they had driven all the way from Cincinnati, and they didn't get to visit all that often.  So they were catching up on all the news with Don and Phyllis.  When they decided they had better head home, Don and Phyllis followed them as far as Pendleton, and the four of them stopped in Pendleton for a sandwich before Carla and Randy headed for Cincinnati.
     When the tiny people saw that the house was quiet and the coast was clear, Tom Endrews decided that it was safe for him to deliver the day's mail to the other residents.  When he got on his bicycle and rode by the kitchen he noticed that Phyllis and Don had left food out on the counter, some that needed to cool before being put away.
      Tom was excited!  It was a perfect opportunity for the Lamper boys to pick up supplies to replenish the Smithville pantries!  Tom hurried off to deliver both the mail and the exciting news to George and Herbie.
     It wasn't long before George and Herbie had rounded up their equipment necessary for food gathering.  They gathered up storage bags, climbing ropes, hooks, baskets, and buckets.  Most importantly, they each had a wheeled cart for moving the supplies.
      Once, all was gathered. the boys took off on their mission.  The first step was to hook the climbing rope onto the kitchen stool and climb up that dizzying height!

     Once they were up on the stool, they used the phone cord to make their final ascent to the counter.

Wow!  Once on the counter, they find a feast of supplies:  flour, sugar, salt, crackers, vegetables, beef cubes.....things the residents can feast upon for days to come!
   

Then the boys have the hard job of loading the goods, packing them in bags and baskets, and lowering them to the floor so they can be loaded onto their carts.   

NOW!  They have the happy job of delivering all the goodies, dividing them up fairly among all of the Smithville residents.  The citizens of Smithville were so happy!  They, too, had a wonderful Labor Day, and a real reason to celebrate the day!  

In fact, they were so happy that they decided to pool some of their supplies, and have their own Labor Day celebration.  So they gathered together in Happy Valley, in Tom and Tess Endrew's yard. They each brought a covered dish, and the men cooked a huge kettle of beef stew using some of their new veggies and beef.  And, while Don and Phyllis slept that night, the tiny Smithville residents played music, sang, and danced by the light of the moon coming through the window!  What a happy day it had been for one and all!

CHAPTER SEVEN "The Happy Valley Neighborhood"

     Smithville has a pleasant little neighborhood called Happy Valley.  In Happy Valley live several extra-tiny people.  And, Happy Valley is a good name for the area, because the people who live there always have smiles on their faces.

     In  the pretty little yellow house shown above live two of Smithville's most appreciated citizens, Tom and Tess Endrews.  Tom and Tess have taken on the responsibility for delivering all important messages and news to the citizens of Smithville.  You see, their house in located right next to where Phyllis Smith listens to her television. And she faithfully listens to all the news and weather reports.
So Tom and Tess use their bicycles to deliver all important news to the town's citizens.  They also
pick up and deliver all the paper mail and messages from one house to another.

      You can see from looking at their house, Tom and Tess are very neat and organized.

     Also located in Happy Valley is the brand new town Library.  This lovely building is just
completed and managed by the only triplets in Smithville:  Bill, Bentley, and  Bonnie Box.
It is a wonderful addition to the town, and is being efficiently managed by the triplets, who also reside in living quarters in the same building.

   

However, do not come into the neighborhood or the library with the idea of being

noisy or unruly.  These extra-tiny people may be happy and smiling, but the like everything 

quiet, neat, and orderly.  They might just ask you to LEAVE!

CHAPTER SIX "Do Re Mi " Oh Me, Oh My !

Since Frederick Sewell had blissfully slept in this morning, leaving all the school preparations to his wife, Elizabeth, he felt duty-bound to volunteer his time to pick up Freddie from school this afternoon.
Besides, he had another motive for wanting to do this.  He wanted to talk to Freddy's teacher.  Since
Mrs. Lamper's husband taught singing lessons, Frederick wanted to get some information about these lessons.  Being an actor, he had often missed out on being cast in parts where singing was required.
You see, Frederick was not a very good singer, and he thought maybe Edward Lamper could help him improve.

When Frederick arrived at school  Freddy stood waiting with Mrs. Lamper.  Evidently Frederick was a bit late, as usual. When he asked Mrs. Lamper about the singing lessons,  she was surprised that this was his concern.  Most parents wanted to know how their child had done that day.  She suggested that
he should talk directly to Edward to get all the accurate information.

"Say, Edward is home and available right now.  If you want to walk over there, it would be a perfect time to catch him.  And you could help me out, too.  If our girls could walk with you, it would be a great help.  Their brother usually walks them home, but I need him here to help me hang some shelves."

Well, Frederick could do little else but offer to help.  So off he went accompanied by his little party of students.

Edward was at home when they reached the Lamper's house, and was just finishing a lesson with one of his students.  As this student left, Edward greeted the children and thanked Frederick for walking them home.

Frederick said, "No problem, I wanted to talk to you anyway, and inquire about talking singing lessons."
Edward seemed more than pleased to talk with Frederick about lessons.  "I would be more than happy to have another student.  Why don't you come in and let's have you try a little vocalizing to see if you might benefit from lessons."

So the girls and Freddy ran upstairs to play, and the men went to Edward's music studio.

"Let's try some scales first"
Edward played some notes on the piano and sang the scale for Frederick to copy, "Do re mi fa sol la ti do."  Then he repeated the scales again starting one note higher.
"  Now, Frederick, you sing the scales as I play the notes on the piano."

So Frederick sang, "Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti OH NO!"  Frederick's voice cracked on the high note

Upstairs the children were sitting around the floor vent watching and listening.  You see this old house had heat vents in the ceilings of the downstairs rooms so that heat could rise to the rooms upstairs.
These gave the children a perfect spot to watch and listen to the lesson going on downstairs.

When  Frederick's voice cracked on the high note, the children started giggling.

Downstairs, Edward said,  "Er let's try that again. Try breathing deeper breaths."  

So Frederick sang,  "Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti OH NO even worse."  His voice cracked again.

Again they heard stifled giggles from upstairs.

"Kids, get away from that vent right now!"  Edward knew just what the kids were doing.

"All right,"  said Edward.  "Now that the kids can't interrupt us.  Let's try the scales one more time."
This time he played the piano along with Frederick's singing.

Frederick coughed and clear his throat.  He gave it a valiant effort. "Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do."
But this time with the piano, Frederick was terribly flat on every note.  And, as he finished, the
dog started to  howl.  When the dog started to howl the children really lost it.  Hysterical laughter came from upstairs!

Edward and Frederick stopped.  There was an embarrassing silence.

Frederick said,   " Freddy and I must go.  I know Elizabeth is waiting supper. Freddy!  It's time to go!" Frederick yelled upstairs.

Edward, too, looked embarrassed.  "  You know, Frederick  what the newest trend in acting is.
The new musical on Broadway is "Hamilton".  It is sold out for months, and it is a Rap Musical.
Er uh,  you might want to consider taking Rap lesson from our sons."

"Thanks,"  said Frederick, hurrying Freddy along to the door,  I might consider it.  Come along, Freddy, Mother is waiting."  And they hurried out.


Rodgers and Hammerstein said this about the Do Re Mi scale, "When you know the notes to sing,
you can sing most anything."  If they heard Frederick sing the scales, they might have to reconsider.

CHAPTER FIVE The First Day of School

The BIG day has arrived.  It is a very happy day for the Smithville mothers, and not so happy for some of the children.  It is the opening day of school in Smithville..

Muriel Lamper, being both a mother and the only teacher at the school, is very busy trying to get the day started.  Clothes to find, lunches to pack, breakfast to prepare and eat.....it is a hectic morning.
Annie and George will be going with her.  It is George's last year in school, and Annie is in fourth grade.  Herbie is busy with his delivery service, and Edward has some students coming to the house for singing lessons.

Winifred Switcher is taking baby Caroline over to the Sewell's. Claire has agreed to watch both
Caroline and Beth while the mothers are busy getting everyone ready for the first day of school.

 
Freddy Sewell is so nervous about the first day.  He is new to the school, and he is stuck wearing Victorian clothes that are way out of style.  In fact, he cannot eat his breakfast.  He is so nervous that he is quite sick to his stomach.  Beth and Caroline, on the other hand, have no problem eating their
oatmeal and drinking their juice.  They are both soon settled upstairs playing with Beth's toys.

Mrs. Sewell can see that breakfast is just not going to work for Freddy.

"Freddy, why don't you go upstairs, brush your teeth, and then you can pick out a favorite toy or book to take to school with you.  I'm sure Mrs. Lamper would let you share it with the rest of the class."
So Freddy went upstairs, slipped his favorite thing under his jacket, and off to school they went.

When they arrived at school, the students were mostly milling around on the playground.  Mrs. Lamper had not rung the bell to call  them into class.  So Mrs. Sewell kissed Freddie good bye and left for work.

Soon some of the other students noticed Freddie standing alone.

George called out,  " Hey, where did you get those funny pants.  What are those things called?"

Red faced,  Freddie almost whispered,  "knickers."

"SNICKERS!"  George almost yelled, laughing loudly."

Soon all the other kids joined in, "  Where did you get those clothes?"

"Ha, ha, ha, look at him!"


" Fancy pants...fancy pants.....fancy pants!"

With tears in his eyes, Freddy ran off and hid behind the school building.  After a bit of a cry,  he took out his favorite item that he had brought from home.  It was his trumpet that he loved to play more than anything.

After a good bit of playing his trumpet,  Freddy felt so much better.  It really settled him down, and when he looked around,  there were all the other students.  They had come around the building to see who was playing the trumpet.

"Wow, you are really good!"

"Play some more!"

"Man, you can really play that thing!"

Freddy smiled.,  And just then George Lamper stepped up.  "Freddy, you must join our brass trio, and then we can be a brass quartet.  We have needed  one more player.  All our music has been written for four parts.  You are so good, we might even win the talent contest!"

And from that moment on....Freddy fit right into life at Smithville School.

CHAPTER FOUR A Daring Trip to Watch the Olympics

Today the Lampers had a visit from Winifred Switcher.  Winifred was quite upset because she had been right in the middle of mixing the batter for a special order cake  when she discovered that she was all out of chocolate.  Frederick Sewell had ordered the cake for his wife, Elizabeth's birthday.  And Winifred wanted it to be especially good.  She needed for the Lamper boys to visit the Smith's kitchen and "borrow" some chocolate.  A couple of M&M's would do.  But, even better, would be a hot chocolate pod.  The Smith's kept the pods to use in their hot drink machine, and one would give Winifred enough chocolate to last quite awhile.

The boys were happy to take off and see what they could find.  So Muriel and Winifred settled in for a cup of hot tea and a good chat.

When the boys returned, they were happy because their trip had been a big success.  They were able to bring back a hot chocolate pod.  But the boys were really excited for a different reason.

"Mom, where is Dad?  Dad!  Dad!  We need to talk to you!"

"Boys, slow down.  What is so important?  Your dad is upstairs resting and reading his new issue of The Saturday Evening Post."

"We'll explain later, Mom."  And the boys ran upstairs to find their dad.

"Dad. we have something to tell you.  Grandpa Don is sound asleep in his reclining chair, and the TV is on showing the Olympic golf.  AND  Britton's chair is sitting right in front of the TV!"

Then Herbie joined in, "And, Dad, if we are really really super quiet, we can sneak in, climb up on Britton's chair, and watch the golf match!"

"Oh, I don't know, boys.  It sounds risky and dangerous.  What if Grandpa Don wakes up and catches us?"

"He is really snoring, Dad.  I don't think he'll wake up.....if we are super quiet."

"Pleeeea.....se, Dad.  You know you love golf.  And Ricky Fowler is playing.

Well, that did it.  For, indeed, Edward did love golf.  While the Lamper family had still been packaged and for sale at the store, they had been displayed on a counter right next to the TV sales department.
The department manager had been a big golf fan and kept the TV's tuned into golf as often as possible.
So the whole family had watched and become real golf fans.  AND Ricky Fowler was Dad's favorite golfer.  So that did it.

"Okay, boys, but let me tell your mother.  And you must be very, very quiet.  AND when I say it is time to go,  we must leave right away."

When they went downstairs and told Mother,  Winifred thought maybe her husband, Conrad, might like to go along, so she hurried home to tell him.  And the boys went with her to carry the chocolate pod.

Soon, the boys, their dad, and Conrad were quietly sneaking into the living room.  They used their climbing rope to climb up and get onto Britton's chair.

What a treat the afternoon was!  They saw a good hour, at least, of Olympic golf.  They even witnessed Justin Rose hit a hole in one!  Wow!  That doesn't happen often!

But, oh no!  They were so into the golf, that they didn't hear Grandpa Don wake up!

"Well, look at this.  Britton left his chair sitting here....and all these dollhouse guys."

The "Guys" froze.

Meanwhile, Don picked them all up.  "What's this little rope?  Oh well, I'll put all these back in the dollhouse so that Britton can find them."

Don put all the dolls and the climbing rope back into the Lamper's house.

And, even though it gave them an awful fright, it did save them a long walk home.

And later on that evening, when Don and Phyllis were sound asleep,  Conrad Switcher went home to Winifred, and everyone and everything returned to the proper places.