Heirs of the Magi News Flash!

***Heirs of the Magi News Flash!*** November and the Thanksgiving season has arrived! Cassie and Michael are continuing their work and travel across Central Africa; and our favorite twin Magi Masters are keeping busy with school and the football playoffs adventures. There is sure to be a lot of fun and excitement through to and beyond Thanksgiving, so... ...Visit Witch Falls often to keep up with all of our latest adventures; and happy reading!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Cassie's Journal - September 25, 2012


Some day, when I open up my personal archives for other Magi to read, I’m sure that Aunt Leanne will have something to say about this; but I could kiss Michael for deciding to have a guys' only birthday party this weekend.  One boy-girl party for Sally’s birthday a week from Friday is bad enough – two in just under a week would have been awful from my pre-crossover perspective.  You know if he’d invited girls too that Miranda would have insisted that Rowen and I get invitations, so don’t read anything into that kiss comment that isn’t there.

Michael’s upcoming party was news for the guys in our class; and a few other friends of his in other grades.  A few of the girls were interested in the party too, but that was only because they were disappointed that they wouldn’t be hanging out with their favorite guys while they were at the party.  If Vanessa was over being annoyed with Michael for his uninformed choice of musical instrument on Friday; he was back in her doghouse for not wanting to spend his big day with her.

While birthday parties and the general density of certain boys were top chat topics today, there wasn’t much else going on at school that was particularly newsworthy.  Rowen and I spent a bit more than half of our lunch hour practicing in the music room, with the bonus of missing out on a lot of that girl chat time.  Rowen and I were both working after school, and other than stopping to eat and going for a walk with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana after dinner; I’ve been working on my computer since getting home.  I did my homework first; followed that up with a few hours of family business work; and have been studying languages and working in the archives since coming up to my room when Ethan and Ehlana went to bed.

I’ve had enough fun for today, so I’m going to wrap this up and call it a day.

Say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cassie's Journal - September 24, 2012


You won’t be surprised to find out that my top school news was our first music class where we really started learning how to play our chosen instruments.  Aunt Leanne is sure that’s because of the saxophone player I’m sitting beside.  That is partly true, but only because Michael knows a lot about music, and is helping me even though playing the saxophone is new to him too.  Anyway, we, as a group, aren’t exactly making music right now; but we did have a lot of fun trying today!

As usual, the Monday morning gossip network was all about football for the boys; and weekend updates on just about everything for the girls.  Our football team had a big away game win at Sweetwater Ponds with a fifty-six to twenty-seven win.  They’ll be on the road again this Friday, and only have one home game in the next four weeks.  I’ll skip the recap on the girls’ gossip, except to mention that Sally Reynolds handed out invitations for her birthday party today.  The big news there is that she’s having her first boy-girl birthday party.  Since she was the first kid in Witch Falls to invite me to a birthday party, I won’t hold that against her; but I’m sure that’s going to be another weird day for Rowen and me.

There isn’t much else to report from school, and after getting home and having a snack with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; Rowen and I went up to the lounge to get our homework done.  Rowen signed out a flute again, and that’s another advantage for her choice – it’s small enough to be tucked into her computer bag; while I’ll have an extra case to carry.  Since I had a healing lesson tonight, I didn’t sign out a saxophone, but we’re both thinking about using part of our lunch hours on our Day Two schedule to practice in the music room.  That way we’ll get some practice time in every day.

It didn’t take long to get our homework done, thanks to a little Magi power, but we stayed upstairs and mostly just talked and listened to music for a while before collecting Ethan and Ehlana on our way out; and walking over to the park.  Our first stop was the bleachers at the football field, where my adorable little brother and sister continued to wrap every girl there around their little fingers; and probably more than a few of the boys.  I should probably be suspicious that they’re also working for Aunt Leanne’s matchmaking service, but it’s just too funny to watch them when Ethan runs off to join the football game, or Ehlana needs hugs from Michael when he returns her adventurous twin, to be upset that they might have an ulterior motive.

While I’d have rather spent all of our time at the playground, Rowen wanted to watch the football game but didn’t like seeing some of the sidelines action.  She had at least one more temporary crossover moment; and I have a feeling that she was thinking a lot about what she could do with her Magi gifts right about then if only we didn’t have all of those pesky Magi Council rules.  I wish I could do more to help Rowen with that, but I can’t tell her what Ethan, Ehlana, and I know about her future.  Since she really is going to be my best friend forever, we know more about her future than most, but we’re still talking about what’s meant to be; and though that can change, I am sure that Rowen’s not meant to know about her future the way that my brother, sister, and I are meant to know so much of ours.

So we watched football and talked with Rebecca, Jenny, and some of the other girls for about forty-five minutes, and then took Ethan and Ehlana to the playground for some swing and slide action until we needed to be home for dinner.  Rowen went on from out house to the store after picking up her computer bag, and I helped Mom with making dinner while Ethan and Ehlana supervised and played with their iPads.  Dad joined in to help out after getting home a bit late from the office, and then we had to hurry through dinner and the cleanup so we were ready when Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne came over.

Mom did the healing lesson with Uncle Adam and me first, and then we all moved into the office for a family business and future plans meeting.  Most of that was just updates on what everyone was doing now; and the planning was all about getting ready for the construction and work that will be starting in the spring.  While I’m thinking about that, I’ll mention that we’ve heard nothing so far from Mark or Aunt Grace about whether they’ve made a decision about the job offers, but they are getting together for at least one weekend getaway that I’ve heard about; and I’m sure they are both thinking about it a lot.  Aunt Leanne is wondering if we should do a bit more, but I don’t think we’ll need to do anything; and right now, I’d really appreciate it if Aunt Leanne would just stop her matchmaking efforts entirely for a while.

Yeah, I know; there’s zero chance of that happening.  Fortunately for us, the odds of getting another doctor in town are quite a bit higher!

The meeting wrapped up by a bit after ten.  Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne went home then, and Mom, Dad, and I did the bedtime snack and story with Ethan and Ehlana before tucking them in for the night.  I came up to my room after that, and have been working on my usual nightly computing; the archive reading Mom assigned me from the healing lesson; and an hour of high-speed language studying.  It’s heading toward one-thirty, and I’ve had enough fun for today; so it’s time to wrap this up and get some sleep.

Say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Cassie's Journal - September 23, 2012

I didn’t mention it yesterday, but it’s definitely felt like we’re heading into Fall this weekend.  It was downright frosty this morning when we went outside for Tai Chi by the river.  The good weather news for this week is that it’s going to get hot again, but then there’s supposed to be rain coming along with the warm.

The weather didn’t really affect my day much except for dressing more warmly.  Other than Tai Chi, church, and an afternoon visit to the park; I didn’t even go outside much.  Rowen and I spent most of the afternoon in the lounge.  We got our homework done right after lunch; played around with the saxophone and flute; and had a long telepathic chat with Ethan, Ehlana, and Mandy.  The trip to the park was mostly because the Ethan and Ehlana wanted to get outside for some fresh air, and then we walked Rowen over to her house and had a quick visit with her parents before going home in time for me to help Mom and Grandma with making dinner.

Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam were booked for dinner with his family today, so we had Grandma and Grandpa to ourselves; and I was spared any more teasing about either saxophones or the potential love connections with other saxophonists.  I was a bit surprised that Grandpa didn’t have a few jokes, but maybe he isn’t any more interested in thinking about me getting into the dating game than Dad is.  Whatever the reason, I’m glad that the dinner conversation was mostly about the family business work going on around town and Grandma and Grandpa’s travel plans for their trip to Arizona.  It’s hard to believe that they’ll be heading south in just over three weeks!

Mom’s keeping a record of the work going on around Witch Falls, but since we talked about it a lot tonight; I should probably include an update.  The road construction is still really just getting started, but the three new roads that mark the boundaries of the new section of town have been dug; and the water and sewage lines are going in too.  Oak Park Ave is the road closest to Rowen’s back yard; and it will eventually be a through street to River Road; though not until the bridge over the Ridge River is built.  Riverbend Drive follows the river east from Oak Park; with Orchard Place completing the loop back to Witch Falls Road.  There will be two more roads between Oak Park and Orchard Place; but construction for them won’t likely start until Spring.  Everything for that part of our future plans is on or ahead of schedule.

As for Grandma and Grandpa’s trip to Arizona, Ethan and Ehlana are talking about hiding in their luggage, but I think they should consider talking Mom and Dad into taking them there for a visit sometime before Thanksgiving.  If they kept it to just a long weekend or something; I might even get to skip a day or two of school and go along!  We should definitely make sure that Ethan and Ehlana get to do more fun travelling than I got to do while Mom and I were busy playing hide and seek with the Hathornes.

Grandma and Grandpa stayed for a while after dinner, and took care of Ethan and Ehlana while Mom did a Magi lesson with me and Dad was finishing up his work in the office.  They went home at a bit after eight-thirty, and I helped Mom with the bath and bedtime routine for the twins.  We did the bedtime story in the office with Dad, and then I came straight up to my room once Ethan and Ehlana were tucked into their beds.  I’ve been doing my usual nightly computing while enjoying a bit of quality time with my Jacuzzi, but it’s time to get out and ready for bed.  It’s been a while since I’ve had eight solid hours of sleep, and I’m going to make sure that happens between now and morning, so...

...say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Cassie's Journal - September 22, 2012


Stop laughing, Rowen.  Aunt Leanne’s jokes are a lot funnier when they’re not aimed at me.

I should say that Rowen’s still laughing; since she thought the jokes were just as funny this afternoon when Aunt Leanne was teasing me while we were on our trail ride.  There wasn’t anything I could say to slow Aunt Leanne down; and I’m seriously wishing that I’d picked a different instrument – or that Michael had.  Since Rowen thinks I should; here are some of her favorite jokes from today.

What’s the difference between a sax player and a mosquito?
          The mosquito will stop sucking if you smack it on the forehead.

Why did Adolphe Sax invent the saxophone?
          Because he hated mankind; but couldn’t invent the      atomic bomb.

What’s the difference between a saxophone and a lawnmower?
          Vibrato.

What’s the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a saxophone?
          You need to plug the vacuum in first before it sucks.

And Dad’s favorite:
What do a lawsuit and a saxophone have in common?
          Everyone’s happy when the case is closed.

I’ll skip writing about any of the jokes or comments relating to sax, saxy, and the rest; but I’m sure you can guess most of them without my help.  Rowen can get away with laughing at me about this because there just aren’t that many jokes about flutes.

There isn’t really much news from around town.  Yard cleanup included the usual weekly work; the trail ride was great even with Aunt Leanne’s matchmaking-related humor; and we had dinner together before Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne headed home for a date night in.  Rowen and I had Ethan and Ehlana with us in the lounge for another short music practice and our first movie while Mom and Dad did some work in the office.  We did the bedtime snack with them after that, and helped to get the twins tucked in for the night before returning to the lounge again.  We’ve just finished our second movie, and have been surfing the net and chatting telepathically.  We’re going to start a third movie, but it’s time to take a little break; and we’re going to grab pillows and blankets in case we fall asleep on the sofa.

It’s not goodnight time for me quite yet, but then George and Gracie didn’t likely hop into bed right after their shows either, so...

...say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

Cassie's Journal - September 21, 2012


The top Grade Seven news today, at least for Rowen and me, was that we got to pick our instruments in music class!

Since Mrs. Robinson wanted to have some balance, and there are a limited number of instruments, we were supposed to be ready with our top three choices.  That wasn’t an issue for Rowen, not only because she’s alphabetically advantaged; but she was also the only kid in our class to pick the flute.  I had to wait nervously for a while, but then I was the first to pick the saxophone.  Some of our classmates were a bit disappointed, and needed to pick second choices; but I don’t think anyone had to choose an instrument that they really didn’t want to learn to play.

While Rowen and I were very happy campers, not all was well in music class.  We didn’t even hear about it until after school, but Michael is in the doghouse with Vanessa for picking the saxophone too; apparently because he was supposed to pick the trumpet like his best buddy Tim had.  She’d needed to choose her instrument ahead of Michael, and is regretting picking the trumpet once she found out that the main reason for her choice wouldn’t be sitting next to her in music class for the rest of the year.  I’m sure that Michael knows that she’s annoyed with him, but then there’s a good chance that everyone playing or watching the pick-up football game at the park this afternoon noticed the frosty glares; overheard loudly whispered comments; and caught the full range of usual tween girl danger signs that Vanessa was really quite good at doing.

Yes, that does mean that Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were at the park again after school, and we watched a bit of the football game; but we didn’t stick around to watch the extra-curricular action.  We spent most of our time at the playground, and then went home in time to have dinner with Mom.  We weren’t doing a dinner and a movie night this weekend, but Rowen was spending the evening with us so we could spend some time playing around with the flute and saxophone we were able to bring home for the weekend for the first time.

Ethan and Ehlana wanted to watch us practice, but I spared the rest of Witch Falls from the agony by putting sound wards up around my room so that nobody else had to hear our feeble attempts to make music come out of our instruments.  My photographic memory will come in handy when it’s my brother’s and sister’s turn in about eleven years; though their giggles and comments did just make our practice time more fun.  Patricia and Owen picked Rowen up on their way home from the store, and since Dad was home by then too; they stayed for a little snack and chat.

While I’m thinking about that, I really hope that the saxophone jokes don’t go on endlessly; and quite a few of them are just wrong to be teasing an eleven-year old about.  I’ve heard quite a few of them today; though most of them were overheard, and directed at Michael instead of me.  I don’t even want to think about what Aunt Leanne will have to say the next time I see her – especially since she’ll likely be putting those jokes into a way too personal context.  If she spreads too many comments around about Michael and me, though, I’ll likely be the next person in Vanessa’s doghouse.  Just the thought of that has me wondering if I should be annoyed with Michael for not picking the trumpet too!

Let’s move along, and I may or may not write about Aunt Leanne’s reaction and comments to this little news nugget.

I miss Dad every week when he’s in the city, but welcome home night is always fun; and after the Emersons went home, we stayed up and had a long telepathic chat and cuddle time in the living room.  It was after eleven by the time Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in and I came up to my room; and I’ve been working on my computer since then.  Rowen and I are doing a sleepover tomorrow night, so I wasn’t going to do much work or studying; but I wasn’t sleepy, and have somehow managed to keep busy for more than two hours now.  That’s included some family business reading; a chat in Spanish with a girl in Peru; and I worked in the Magi Project archive for a while.

Sleeping in isn’t going to be an option, and though I’m still not really all that tired; I’m going to wrap this up and at least try to get some sleep.  The yard work all morning isn’t exactly all fun and games, but the afternoon trail ride, and the movie night and sleepover here with Rowen will be; and I should be ready for another late night, so...

...say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”