Chapter Eighty Eight
While visiting the family in Maryland, one morning some of the Hittys went exploring around the house. We had seen some strange items and wanted to take a closer look. My sisters were more curious then I and just had to get up close to some of them and even touch! I was quite content just to look.
The first items they thought were strange were the chicken and the egg. These were wooden figures with floppy legs. We wondered why someone would have such figures and Esther explained there has always been a topic of discussion about which came first, the chicken or the egg. Interesting to think about. Hmmm.
Next Hitty Carol and Hitty Lara climbed up on the piano top to examine the miniature of a terracotta soldier figure that Martha had brought back from her trip to China this past summer. The story of the figure is that Emperor In Shi Huang ascended the throne at the age of 13in 246 BC and when he became Emperor of all China he began work on his mausoleum.. It took 11 years to finish and when present day archeologists unearthed the site they found nearly 7,000 full size Terra Cotta warriors and horses!
It has been several years now that Carol and Martha have been into the hobby of astronomy. They each have several telescopes and go to Star Parties. We were told these have to be held quite a distance from any city where the sky is dark and not affected by the glow of city lights. It, therefore, was not surprising to come across a strange looking globe sitting in the dining room! It didn't look like any globe any of us had ever seen. I believe it was called Starship Earth II and was a view of the stars.
At the last Star Party, they bought us Hittys a telescope! Oh, we were so excited to open the box. We don't know much about the various constellations but Carol said we would learn.
When we got home we wanted to take the telescope out to the backyard and look at the stars. We waited until there was a clear night and by then it had gotten a bit chilly. Becassine insisted we change into long sleeve dresses. She reminded us we all had to stay healthy because next week we are planning on going to Oklahoma. We were thrilled to be able to see the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper!
Esther explained that people have been interested in the stars down through the ages and she showed us a picture the artist Vermeer had painted in the 17th century. It is titled "The Astronomer" and is in the Louvre in Paris.
It is now only a week until it is time to leave for the Hitty event in Guthrie, Oklahoma and we are so looking forward to it. Our trip to see the family and then start learning about astronomy has made the time pass more quickly.
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