Tumbling Twinns – Blogging while allatsea

Miss Emily and the new dress

On: 02/07/201712/01/2018 By: JA

On my early morning rounds about town I always pop into a local charity shop that has a really amazing collection of retro stuff. Occasionally a rare gem pops up too, and on this particular day I spotted a really awesome sailor dress that appeared to be around about the size that Miss Emily takes. Although one thing I have learnt is that what it says on the label does not always match what you think you are getting. Anyway, Miss Emily was suitably chuffed with her new gear, although I must really find her an appropriate hat, even though she does tend to loose those.

Dressed in her Sunday finest we ventured out into the sunlight, something that has been decidedly absent these past few weeks. The brook was very low too, so we could get to an area that ordinarily isn’t easy to access. My big concern was that Miss Emily would decide to do a nose dive into the sand, but fortunately she behaved a bit today.

If anything she was being demure, but then given how easy it was to get really filthy in these surroundings demure is a good thing to be.

“Miss Emily, you are really looking very beautiful today. The dress is perfect, although it may have to taken up a tad.”

“Taken up? nobody is takeing up my dress, forget it, it isn’t going to happen. This is my formal dress, for when I go the opera or the dolly church!”

“The dolly church? I have never heard of it.”

“Oh yes, it is a very important place. At the dolly church we pray that a 6 year old will not attack us with scissors and give us a bad haircut or that we won’t end up in the dreaded “Box under the bed” .

“I have heard of the box under the bed. If it is any consolation I will not put you in the box under the bed, although the only reason for that is my very low bed!”

“Although there is a large box in the box room with your name on it.”

“Nooooooo… not the dreaded box in the boxroom!”

“I am afraid so, occasionally I need to store you and that box is perfect. I do know that when dolls get put in boxes they normally fall asleep and dream dolly dreams.”

“A likely story! I don’t have sleep eyes so cannot sleep!”

“Let’s deal with that eventuality when it happens, rather just enjoy the outing.”

“Okey dokey, but you owe me an ice cream!”

“I will give you a rain cheque Miss Emily, because I owe myself an ice cream and there is none in the freezer!”

Miss Emily sat down on the bank of the Carrant Brook and looked at the burbling water..

“This is nice, the water is so clear too.”

“That’s true, although you can now see the pollution and the rubbish that ends up in the water.”

“Sadly humans are very quick to dump their rubbish in places like this. We need to educate kids from young ages to preserve the environment, and use the litter bins provided.”

Miss Emily thought for a moment, “don’t they teach that in school? I have never been to school so have no idea what they teach there.”

“Miss Emily I don’t know what they teach in school nowadays, but you can bet even if they did teach it there will always be the one person that will litter and do their worst.”

Miss Emily sighed and rummaged in her pocket and took out a cheerful looking hat and stuck it on her head. “Look what I found..”

“Wow Miss Emily, I am impressed, usually you loose a hat as soon as you wear it.”

“I know, it is amazing, although this is not the correct hat for this dress.”

“I must try to find you a boater, or one of those sennet hats like they use in the Royal Navy.”

“That’s a great idea, I have the dress already!”

“A nautical theme, I like that.”

We walked a bit further, and I took a missed step and almost fell, fortunately neither of us were damaged but it was a close call.

“Please be careful..” Miss Emily admonished. “If something happens to you I am going to be in big trouble.”

“I know Miss Emily, I have been thinking a lot about that, at some point I may need to sell you to another collector, although if I leave here I would love to take you with me.”

“I understand, but let us enjoy ourselves before that happens.”

“Well said Miss Emily. Come, its almost lunch time, I am sure your tummy is rumbling.”

“Oh yes. Can we have pizza?”

“Sundays are traditionally roast, 2 veg, spuds and gravy with pud for after.”

“Pud? what is this pud I hear you talk about?”

“You know, pudding, desert, afters…”

“Aaaah Pudding!! why did’t you say so? although will it be Yorkshire pudding or black pudding? those are imitations, they do not belong to the after dinner menu.”

“Very well spotted Miss Emily, personally I am a fan of Yorkshire Pudding, but will give black pudding a miss.”

“Black pudding is yucky stuff! gimme custard and ice cream with a side order of choc and I am a happy camper.”

“I agree, come, lets go eat.

“Oh, before we go, where is your new hat?”

“It’s er.. um… I dunno? but, I still have my giant bow!”

“I am surprised. Keep it up Miss Emily, one day you will be able to keep a hat.”

And I know she will try, but there are some things that Miss Emily just cannot do, and keep a hat is one. And now, it is time for lunch.”

Happy Groundhog Day 2006

On: 06/09/201510/01/2018 By: JA

It was very early on the morning of February second. The sun was just coming up. Penny was sound asleep and dreaming about Croc Camp

Carin tiptoed into the bedroom. “Penny,” she said softly. “Penny, wake up. It’s Groundhog Day.”
“Go away,” mumbled Penny.
“You said I should get you up and not take no for an answer,” replied Carin.
“Well, I changed my mind.”

“We’re going out to see the groundhog come out of his hole. Don’t you want to come? If he sees his shadow it is six more weeks of winter,” Carin reminded Penny. “But if not, spring is just around the corner.”
“Spring isn’t going to come any sooner depending on what a rodent does,” grumbled Penny, diving back under the covers. “You can tell me later what happened. Goodbye, Carin.” She turned the electric blanket up to 6 and closed her eyes.
“OK, but don’t complain later on that you missed all the excitement,” said Carin.

The other girls were waiting by the groundhog hole. “Are you sure this is the place?” Corky asked Taryn.
“Yes,” said Taryn, “Annette was complaining all summer about the groundhog who lived under the lavender in the herb garden. I’m sure this is it. He kept eating the buds and she hardly had enough to make wands this year.”
“Too bad for our undies,” said Kerry. “I can’t believe how warm it’s been this winter. Even if he sees his shadow, we’ve hardly had any winter so far.”
“Is this the famous Punxatawny Phil?” asked Corky. “I’ve heard about him.”
“No,” Taryn replied. “Our groundhog is Reading Ralph. But he’s just as good at forecasting the weather as Phil is.”

Carin hurried out to join the other Emmas. “Penny decided to sleep in,” she reported. “Any sign of Ralph?”
“Not so far,” answered Kerry. “Penny’s going to be sorry later on.”
“I would say she was getting her beauty sleep except that everyone knows that Emmas are naturally beautiful,” joked Taryn.
The girls all laughed. “Just don’t tell the Caities!”

The girls gazed intently at the groundhog hole. “I wonder how deep it is,” said Taryn. “Look, everybody, something’s moving! Here he comes!”
A little pink nose appeared. The girls held their breath.

“It’s just a wee mouse,” laughed Kerry. “Taryn, are you sure this is the groundhog hole?” She picked up the mouse and admired it. “He’s really cute.”
“I am sure this is the place,” Taryn insisted.
“I’ve seen the groundhog here lots of times,” Carin agreed.

“Look, something else is coming out,” Corky exclaimed.
A long skinny nose emerged. “Although it’s not very groundhog-ish,” Corky added. “If that is a word!”

“Looks like an anteater to me,” said Carin. “Maybe he was visiting Ralph. Then again, maybe we have the first weather forecasting aardvark in the USA.”
“Or the first aardvark family,” added Taryn. “Look!” The aardvark was followed by his wife and two children. They all scampered out of the hole and into the back garden to forage for ants.

The girls heard footsteps behind them. They turned to see Penny come running up. “Did I miss him? Did he see his shadow?” she panted.
“No, he hasn’t come out yet,” Taryn replied. “I thought you were sleeping in.”
“I couldn’t get back to sleep after Carin woke me up,” Penny explained. “And it’s too bad because I was dreaming we were at Croc Camp and I caught a big fish and it offered me 3 wishes if I would throw it back in the lake.”

“Well, what did you wish for?” Taryn asked.
“I don’t know,” said Penny, “I woke up. Too bad. I would have liked…”
“Baaaaaaa!” Suddenly a lamb came out of the groundhog hole. The girls all laughed.
“It’s one of the sheep from the Sultanate of Tamsen,” said Corky. “Wow, right here in our own groundhog hole.”

“It’s really soft, too,” Corky, who was tired of standing and watching, had pulled up a bench to sit on, and picked up the lamb. The other girls stroked the soft wool. “I wonder how it got in there.”

The girls heard a familiar voice. “Good morning, girls!”

“Carlisle!” they all laughed. “What were you doing in there?”
“Ralph was having a little Groundhog Eve party last night,” Carlisle explained. “We all had a great time, too. You should see Mrs. Aardvark do the tango. And Sam the sheep makes excellent pina coladas! I wont even mention the conga line….”
“But where is Ralph?” Carin asked. “We’ve been waiting and waiting.”
“He couldn’t find his top hat,” Carlisle explained. “He put it away last February and hasn’t looked at it since then. We finally tracked it down under the computer table behind all the wires. He’ll be out in a minute.”
“Ralph has a computer?” Taryn asked.
“Sure,” said Carlisle. “He works part-time for the Weather Channel. He’s a certified meteor.. uh, meteorologi… that is, weather rodent. He even consults with Princess Jessie from the Kingdom of Slumberland to be 100% accurate. You don’t think he makes his forecasts just by luck, do you?”
“No, of course not,” all the girls chorused, but each one secretly thought that he did.

Suddenly out of the hole popped Reading Ralph. “Good morning young ladies, Carlisle, Mr. Mouse, and other honored guests,” he said. He squinted and looked at the sky. “I am pleased to announce that I am unable to see my shadow so winter is hereby over.”
“Ralph, your shadow is down that way,” Corky pointed out.

“On the contrary,” said Ralph, looking down, “All I see are those messy leaves. Very untidy. I shall have to fire my groundskeeper, or at least reduce her salary. Do you girls know someone named Annette?”
The girls nodded, thinking with amusement how annoyed Annette would be to have be considered Ralph’s groundskeeper.
“Please convey to her that I wish my domicile to be better tended,” said Ralph. “But I reiterate, I do not see my shadow, so I am hereby declaring the end of winter. Finis, kaput, end of story. Now if those of you of the press wish to take my photograph, perhaps Miss Taryn will assist and we will finish the ceremony. Then I want to go back to hibernating. I was having the greatest dream that I was fishing and caught a rather large flounder who offered me three wishes…”
“Sounds awfully fishy to me, ” Kerry said.
“Must be something in the air,” Penny whispered to Corky.

The excitement over, the girls put Ralph back in his hole and headed back inside to have breakfast, eager to tell everybody to pack away their winter woolies because Spring was about to get sprung.

Later that day, Taryn met Randy. “Hey, Taryn,” said Randy, “what did Reading Ralph say? How soon is it going to snow?” Randy had gotten a new sled for Christmas and was anxious to try it out.
“Sorry, Randy,” Taryn answered. “Ralph said spring is just around the corner.”

“Oh no, I am late again. I spent the whole winter waiting in anticipation for somebody to give me a sled and when I finally do get one I find that Winter is over.”
“You could always send it to Dawn in South Africa, they are heading into Winter soon. Or, if the rain continues there she can use it as raft.” Taryn joked, knowing Dawn’s admiration of Randy.
“That’s a plan, but I think I will wait just a bit longer, you never know it may still snow, the weather has been mighty strange lately.”
“Well I hope it doesn’t snow again until next Winter, I have packed most of my Winter woolies away already and I am just waiting for it to warm up a bit more and I am going to hit the swimming hole.”
Randy looked dejectedly at his new sled. “Well, if you need a raft, you know who to call.”

A Belated Valentine (II)

On: 06/09/201510/01/2018 By: JA

Good Going. Sunny cries a few fake tears and we are in time out until we are thirty, maybe longer. Mom was really mad about Sunny not getting a getting a Valentine.

Never Fear! I have another one of my brilliant ideas! Quick, Yell for Mom!

Mom, We are really sorry. We got the kitten intending it to be a Valentines present for Sunny, instead of giving her a card. We wanted to make up to her for some of the things that we have done to her. You didn’t give us a chance to explain.

Here Sunny. Happy Valentines Day!

Thanks, I Love You both and I always knew you loved me too.

Great! Now we don’t have a kitten and had to get hugged by Sunny. Any more brilliant ideas?

As a matter of fact, I do.

If it was wrong not to give Sunny a Valentine, then it would also be wrong not to give each other a Valentine.

Happy Valentines Day to us!

The New Twinn in Town (II)

On: 06/09/201510/01/2018 By: JA

It was much later in the day that things started to wind down at the Continuum, Harmony, her paperwork filed under “Pending” was out in the garden, ready to plant her little patch of scarlet runner beans. Annette had bought her two plants in town, but Harmony always liked to plant the actual beans. She noticed, pleased, that Carin, Taryn, and Cavendish had already put up the sections of trellis for the beans to climb on. “It is very relaxing to be out in the garden and not behind a desk,” said Harmony to herself. “Just like Jack and the beanstalk. I wonder if I could trade these for a cow or even better, an assistant,” she giggled. “No, I really do want to plant them. I just am not the cowgirl type!”
Jackie had just finished for the day and was now walking homeward after her long day in the sick bay and her feet hurt, but she was pleased that she had been able to make a difference in the lives of so many Twinns. She heard the name “Jack” and paused and listened in to what Harmony was saying.
“I wish I could get a new assistant,” said Harmony. “This paperwork is driving me mad. And it would give me some time to do some more interesting missions.” Her most recent case was investigating why some of the girls’ scrunchies had come up missing. It turned out that Katie and Paris had taken them for a science project investigating how far a scrunchie could fly if you shot it at someone, and which thickness and design flew the best.
Jackie overheard. “I wonder if Sandy could help her,” she said to herself. “I wonder if I should talk to her.” But feeling shy, she headed on to the bus stop instead. Rounding the corner she bumped into Office Malloy who was doing his rounds.

“And young Jackie, how is it going? you look like you had a very busy day today.”
Jackie told Officer Malloy how she had helped out in the garden and in the sickbay, “I am bushed Officer Malloy, but you know what? I am enjoying it thoroughly. I don’t think I am going to join the police force yet. I think my place is here at the Continuum, they have a lot to teach me and I have much to learn. Don’t submit my application to the academy yet, I may just become a nurse instead.”
He laughed, “Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Have they offered you a permanent place yet? or will you move on once you have completed what they need you to do?”
“I don’t know, I guess that’s for them to decide, but if they make me an offer I will seriously consider it. Then I can help my family until we can get back on our feet again.”
Office Malloy was pleased that things had turned out well for Jackie and he walked her to the bus stop where Sandy was waiting for her. “Goodbye Jackie, I expect I will see you again soon. I have to pass the Continuum every day on my patrol so will pop in and see how you are doing”.

Jackie and Sandy compared notes on their day, and Jackie showed Sandy the hospital bracelet that Meko had given her. “I overheard Harmony talking about needing an assistant Sandy, I will ask her as soon as I see her again and see if you can’t come along and help at the Continuum too. After all, the farmers market is just not working out for you.”
Two weeks later Jackie was back in the recovery room at the Clinic, checking on a new batch of Twinns who had just had surgery. It would soon be time to take off the rubber bands and put hospital gowns on them. Meko had loaned Jackie a set of scrubs and Jackie felt very official. She looked around at the various Twinns. “Rosemary, Catherine, Cookie, Caitie, Denika…” she said to herself. “Too bad, no Ariels this time.”

“Caities are better,” piped up a little voice from down near her ankles.
Jackie just chuckled. Two of her sisters (Petunia and Pansy) were Caities and she knew how they were. “I’d better get the anesthesia cone for you,” she replied. “You’re not supposed to be awake yet.”
“Caities hate to waste time sleeping,” replied the Caitie. “Especially upside-down.”

As Jackie went to get the cone, she thought about her sister Sandy and the scene at the bus stop that morning. To her little sister’s dismay, Sandy was setting off for Arizona. The job at the Continuum for Sandy had not worked out because the very day after Jackie began her duties Harmony was called away for a conference on “Filing in the Modern Era.” Therefore Jackie had not been able to talk to her about having Sandy work as an assistant. Meanwhile Sandy was recruited by a grateful customer at the Farmer’s Market who had endowed a scholarship at a university in Arizona. Sandy was to go to study Chapeaugraphy, a subject she had always wanted to explore. She was very excited. “I’ll even let you wear my chicken slippers while I’m away,” she teased Jackie.

“But I will miss you. And I was hoping we could work together. I know this is a good opportunity for you, though,” said Jackie, sadly.
“Why don’t you ask them if Rosie can help with the office work,” Sandy suggested. “She is old enough to have a real job instead of just babysitting the little kids.”
“But she’s so shy,” Jackie replied. “She hardly says a word to anybody.”
“Maybe it will help,” Sandy said, as she saw the bus coming up the street. “And after all, you don’t really need to be chatty to succeed as a clerical assistant.”
“That’s true. I’ll talk to her about it,” Jackie said, giving her sister a hug and trying not to cry. “Goodbye Sandy. Keep in touch.”

“I will,” said Sandy, feeling rather teary herself. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in no time with a diploma in hand. And just think, no more piling up peaches or plucking chickens for me!”

Jackie was thinking about how much she would miss her sister when Meko came into the room with Cammie. “How is everyone doing, Jackie?”
“Pretty well, except the Caitie woke up and I had to give her some more anesthesia,” Jackie replied.
Cammie smiled. She was a Caitie too. “Caities hate to waste time sleeping.” Cammie was there because she loved to build things and she had invented a new compression chamber where six Twinns could be treated at once after their surgery. “How are the Twinns in the chamber doing?”

“They seem fine,” Jackie reported. “They are all sleeping, anyway.”
Meko took the pulse of one of the girls. “Her vital signs are stable,” she reported. “Cammie, I think this is going to be a great help to our work.”
“Then I will get busy and build another one,” Cammie said. “I can see you have more patients than we expected.” She headed out the door, whistling an old Croc Camp song.
Meko had been visiting the office. “I put in a requisition for more gowns,” she reported to Jackie. “And Harmony is back so you can ask her about your sister.”
“Oh, Meko,” said Jackie, dissolving into tears, “She left for Arizona to go to the university to study Chapeaugraphy.”
Meko hugged Jackie. “Don’t worry, Jackie, she’ll be back. I know it must be hard to send her off, though, when you were so close.”
“She suggested I ask my sister Rose if she would like to work with Harmony,” said Jackie, recovering. “Do you think Harmony will still need an assistant? I mean, she probably learned a whole lot at the conference and maybe she won’t need anybody.”
“Believe me,” said Meko, who had been to plenty of conferences and knew how little one really learned from them, “She will need an assistant. Now let’s get busy with these gowns.” After years of nursing, Meko knew that keeping busy was the best antidote to being sad.
“Thanks, Meko,” said Jackie, wiping her eyes. Even though she had worked with Meko for two weeks she was still a bit in awe of her. “I have never seen your hair down before. It is really long. I wish I could get mine to grow that long.”
“I have to keep it braided or tied up to do surgery,” Meko explained. “Fortunately it doesn’t matter so much in post op. Now where did I put my stethoscope? I hope Carlisle didn’t take it again to see how the radishes in the garden are doing!”

The New Twinn in Town (I)

On: 06/09/201510/01/2018 By: JA

One morning Officer Malloy was walking his beat downtown when he spotted a young Twinn looking intently at the contents of a window. He knew that windows and youngsters do not really go down well together and decided to nonchalantly sidle across and do some investigating.
The window was full of puppies and it was obvious that she was captivated by what she saw.

“Hullo there young lady. What do you find so interesting in there?”
“Hullo Officer. I was just looking, I enjoy window shopping and it helps me to pass the time. I saw these cute puppies in the window and wondered “How much is that doggie in the window?”
“The one with the waggly tail? I don’t know, but puppies are a big responsibility. Why do you have so much time on your hands in the first place?” he asked.
“I don’t really have anywhere to go Officer, my family has just moved into this area and I don’t know anybody around here. I was hoping to find some work here to earn money so that I could study further. My family is very poor and I just can’t afford to go to college at the moment. I also have many brothers and sisters and I have to help look after them too. Jobs are so scarce when you have no real skills.”
“What did you wish to study?”
“I always wanted to do something to help other Twinns and not have to wander around aimlessly looking for answers. At one point I wanted to be a police Twinn too and I went and filled in the papers but didn’t think was tall enough. “
“Well, to be a police Twinn the height requirements are 23 inches.”
“Oh, but what if I don’t make the grade?”
“Well, police work is not just about walking the beat and catching bad guys, its a lot about public relations and paperwork. It’s something you can do or can’t do. Its a calling rather than a profession.”
Officer Malloy was all to aware of the problem that faced so many young Twinns. “Well, I will tell you what you can do; meet me here tomorrow morning and you can come with me to the Continuum and we can see if they could use any help there, until you can find out what you want to do with yourself.”

“That sounds wonderful Officer, I would love to go with you.”
“And, I will help you go through that application for the police and if you like I will submit it for you after you have met the Twinns at the Continuum, there may be a position vacant for you there and you can work at it until they accept you for the academy or you change your mind.”
Officer Malloy handed the Twinn half of his doughnut, “Oh, and you must like doughnuts if you want to become a police Twinn too.”
The two parted company, agreeing to meet at the same place the next day.

Meanwhile, back at the Continuum, Meko was in the operating room. For some unknown reason there had been a large influx of patients coming to the sickbay for surgery, and even the Continuum’s own Penny had been compelled to return for another head transplant. Carlisle was standing by with the instruments, and Blackie was doing what he could to soothe the patients with purrs and head rubs. Meko carefully checked everyone’s vital signs with her new red stethescope.

“Carlisle,” said Meko, “I think I am going to need someone else to help me with all these patients. I wish Jane hadn’t moved on.”
“I know,” said Carlisle. “You need someone with hands, Meko. The trouble is that everyone is so busy these days now that spring is here.” He carefully placed an old sock into the cone that was used for anesthesia.

I’ll just have to do the best I can,” Meko replied, heading off into the garden.
“Good luck,” said Carlisle.
First Meko headed to the vegetable garden where Carin and Taryn were toiling away, with a little help from Cavendish, who was in charge of finding a good station to listen to on the radio (he kind of missed the BBC but did not want to admit it!). “Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow,” sang the girls along with the song on the radio.

Meko arrived in the garden. “Hi girls,” she called.
“Meko,” said Carin, “How is Penny doing?” She and Taryn were very concerned about their friend and fellow Emma.
“She’s holding her own,” said Meko. “I think she will be fine, don’t worry. Carlisle is with her. I’ll let you know as soon as she is out of surgery.” Meko looked around at all the plants and seed packets. “It looks as if the two of you have a big job ahead of you.”
“Yes,” said Taryn, “We have tomatos and peppers and onions and we are going to plant popcorn and pumpkins and beans later on. It will take longer without Penny but I think we can manage. Harmony is coming later on to help plant the beans because they are her favorite.”

“I especially like the little onions,” Meko commented. “Makes me hungry for hot dogs.”
“Or just regular dogs,” joked Cavendish. “There’s nothing tastier than a good schnauzer, with or without onions! By the way, you girls forgot to tell Meko we are also going to plant radishes.”
“And this year we are hoping we won’t get any mutant ones,” Carin said with a grin.
“I am looking for somebody to help me in the operating room,” Meko said, “but I can tell that the two of you have your hands full. I’ll keep looking. Have a good time planting.”
“We will, and if you need us later on we’d be glad to help,” Taryn said. “Bye Meko. Tell Penny we are thinking of her!”
Meko continued on her way and spied Candace and Jessie in the yard.

“Hi Meko!” called Candace. “We are doing our nails. Come on over and pull up a chair and I’ll do yours for you.”
“We got a new kind of nail polish, Twinkle Pink,” Jessie commented. “It has glitter in it. I think it will look great on 04 skin like you and I have, Meko.”
“No thanks,” said Meko. “I am glad you girls are using your sunblock,” she added, spying the bottles on the table. “Would either or both of you be interested in helping me in the operating room today? I have a lot of patients right now.”
“Oh no, sorry, Meko” said Jessie earnestly. “I am afraid I faint at the sight of Goop. I wouldn’t be any help at all.”
“Oh Meko,” said Candace, “I just could not wear those ugly scrubs you wear. No offense.” She shook her blonde curls. “And my hair would never fit under one of those shower cap things. Why it would crush all my curls.”
“I understand,” said Meko. “Thanks anyway.”

Meko heard shouts and music as she came around the corner. Courtney and Bethany were working out a routine on the balance beam.
“Looks good, Courtney,” said Bethany. “Oh, hi Meko.”
Courtney wobbled a bit but kept her balance.

“I am looking for some volunteers to help me in the operating room,” Meko said. “Would either of you be interested?”
“Oh Meko, we would but we promised to get this routine done today and it is only barely underway,” Courtney explained. “We have hours more to go. Sorry. We could come in later on after we take our showers though.”

“We’re practicing for the summer Olympics,” Bethany explained. “You have to work for hours and hours to get good enough to enter.”
“I understand,” said Meko. “Thanks anyway.”
“You’re welcome,” Bethany replied. “Tell Penny we are thinking about her and hope she is better soon.”
They both jumped back up on the beam as Meko departed.
“Knit three, purl five” said Wendy to Libby. “That’s it, Lib, I think we have it now.”
Meko had to laugh to see Wendy and Libby under what seemed like miles of knitting. “What in the world are you girls doing?”

“Wendy was making a sweater for the new Cookie and I think it got out of hand,” Libby chuckled.
“I had to get Libby to help me. I am going to turn it into a bedspread for the new Cookie instead,” Wendy confided. “I heard we don’t have a body for her after all.”
“That is true,” said Meko sadly, “But I am hoping we will get one soon. Meanwhile Leah is taking good care of her.”
“It must be awful to be paralyzed like she is,” said Wendy seriously. “I feel sorry for her. Those of us who are posable don’t know how lucky we are till we meet someone who is not.”
“I am going to go check on her now,” said Meko, deciding not to invite Wendy and Libby to assist her as they seemed to be wrapped up in what they are doing.
“Tell her we said hello,” said Libby. “Now what was that, again,Wendy, knit five and purl three?”

Early the next morning, Jackie was still at home in bed in the little room she shared with her sister, Sandy, dreaming of her new opportunity at the Twinn Continuum.

Sandy was getting ready for work – she had a job selling produce at the local Farmer’s Market. “Wake up, Sleepyhead,” she called, setting her shoes on the bed as she prepared to take off her chicken slippers.
“Oh wow,” said Jackie, popping up, “Did I oversleep? I don’t want to be late on my first day.”
“No, it’s only 6 a.m.,” replied Sandy. “I wish the Farmer’s Market didn’t open so early. If the Continuum has two jobs, tell them about me.”

“I will see what they have to say,” said Jackie. “What should I wear?” she asked Sandy excitedly. “I want to make a good impression. I don’t want to be too formal or too casual.”
“Jackie, we only have a few outfits between us,” sighed Sandy, sitting on the end of the bed and putting on her sneakers. “I don’t think you need to worry. From the sound of it they have all different kinds of things for you to do. Why don’t you wear my new jeans and a nice T-shirt?”
“Oh, Sandy, do you mind?” Jackie knew that Sandy had bought the jeans from money she carefully saved from her job after handing most of it over to her parents to help support the family. “I’ll be very careful, I promise.”
“I know you will,” said Sandy, hugging her sister. “Have a good time, Squirt. I’ll be anxious to hear how it goes.”

Jackie quickly got dressed and had a wash then dashed off to the bus station where she arrived just as Officer Malloy came around the corner, munching a chocolate covered doughnut. He was pleased to see that she had come, it could be that she had a genuine interest in finding a place for herself in society and he would do his best to help her. The pair of them chatted as they walked, sharing a box of doughnuts and some very bad vending machine coffee.
Eventually they reached the Continuum, and paused by one of the many benches scattered here and there around the grounds. “I don’t know where to send you first,” confessed Officer Malloy. “There are so many Twinns who need help.”

Annette had just returned from a trip to an out-of-town greenhouse and was not aware of the crisis in the sick bay. She was busy unloading some of her purchases when she overheard Officer Malloy’s comment. “I can use her,” she piped up. “Why don’t we do it alphabetically and start with A?”
“That’s fine with me.” Officer Malloy introduced Jackie to Annette. “You will learn all about gardening from Annette.” His two way radio crackled out a message. “I’ve got to get going – some idiots are stealing books from the library.” Officer Malloy shook his head at such a blatant expression of stupidity. He waved at Annette and Jackie as he strode away. “The flowers are really looking good today. Keep up the good work!”
Annette and Jackie waved back. “And nary a mutant radish in sight either,” joked Annette. “What do you know about flowers, Jackie?”
“Not a whole lot I’m afraid,” Jackie admitted. “I do have sisters named Rose, Pansy, Petunia, and Marigold, though.”
“Well, that’s a start,” Annette replied. “We’ll start with these yellow flowers. Now this is a daisy and it’s called Hello Yellow.”
“I have a sister named Daisy, too,” said Jackie. “I am just glad there isn’t a flower named Jackie.”
“Well,” Annette said, “We do have a Jack-in-the-Pulpit and it is one of my very favorites. I’ll show it to you later. We’ve got to get these in the ground before they dry out. The quality of the soil is very important, some flowers like loamy soil, some prefer clay, and others like sandy soil.”
“Gee, I have a sister called Sandy too.”
“That is very botanical family you come from Jackie. I am sure you will make a great gardener.”

Back at the sickbay, Meko was finishing her rounds and stopped by the bed of the paralysed Cookie. Leah was sitting by her keeping watch. The bed had been brought out into the yard so that Cookie would get as much fresh air as possible. Meko discovered that Carlisle had also come out to check on the Cookie. Meko checked her pulse while Carlisle counted her respirations.

“She was whispering again earlier,” reported Leah. “She said she thinks her name is Jane.”
“That is strange, the sooner we get her a body and back on her feet again, the better. I must meet with Kimmie and see what we can do, there is such a backlog of Twinns in need of surgery that I don’t know how I am going to cope. We must stabilise her so long and schedule her repairs for tomorrow, I am sure I can get somebody to help me then. Everybody is just so busy at the moment. Keep a close eye on her Leah, and let me know if there is any change. I have a meeting with Kimmie this morning to discuss the situation. Carlisle, I need your input too, can you come along? there should be some of your favourite chocolates.”

Meko and Carlise met with Kimmie in the garden.
“Kimmie, I am at wits end. Ever since Jane left I have not had a chance to get anything achieved. There is just so much work to do, and with summer on its way there will be even more! I don’t know if I can keep up with treating the sick Twinns and helping those who are in need of surgery. That new Cookie is in a bad way, I need to get her a new body and back on her feet, she is my major concern, but I don’t have anybody to assist in the operating room, either, and there are eight patients waiting.”
Kimmie sighed, she had The Book of the Twinns in front of her, “I know how you feel Meko, Jane was a great help to me as well, I have never seen The Book of the Twinns in such a complete state. She just helped out wherever she went, and Annette said that she was missing her too.”

“Maybe you girls need some chocolate,” commented Carlisle, checking out the snack dish.
“No, what we need is a new assistant and some chocolate!” Meko replied.
“It seems as if Jane was an assett to us all and I am sure she is doing great things where she is now. It’s strange but since she has left I keep on finding out how helpful she was and how much effort she put into everything. I have seen many Twinns come and go but she really left her mark on the Continuum.”
“We need to find somebody to replace her though, there is too much to do.”

“At the moment I really need someone to help out with some of the admin and filing,” Kimmie continued. “I know Harmony is also moaning that since Rory has been promoted she is also bogged down.”
Wendy’s voice came from outside “And I can always use help with my knitting!!!”
“And the croc camp is in need of somebody to assist in the lecture hall and obstacle course.” Carlisle said from the now empty snack dish. “And we need somebody who can fill the snack dish too.”
“And the kitchen needs a few more hands to help with serving,” Cathy said, leaning out of the window.
“….And….. and… and…. ” A chorus of Twinns added their needs.
“There must be somebody out there,” sighed Meko. “But till she arrives I’d better get back to sick bay. Come along, Carlisle, at least you can hand me the rubber bands.”
“Sure,” said Carlisle, “Though the term ‘hand’ doesn’t really apply to me, Meko.”

Kimmie chuckled as she packed up the dishes and The Book of the Twinns and headed back to her office. As she came around the corner she noticed someone new working with Annette.
“Hi Annette, who is this?”
“Her name is Jackie,” Annette replied. “Jackie, this is Kimmie.” The two Twinns shook hands. “Officer Malloy brought Jackie to us this morning. She wants to give us a hand with our work. She has a big family and is looking for odd jobs to help support them.”
“Great!” said Kimmie, pleased. “Jackie, tell me, where do you think your strengths lie?”
“Well, I have always wanted to help other Twinns. I don’t really know what talents I may have but I’ve had a lot of experience taking care of my younger brothers and sisters.”
“Meko is really anxious to find someone to help in sick bay,” Kimmie said. “Annette, do you mind if I take Jackie away from you for now? Meko has eight patients plus the poor paralyzed Cookie that Leah is helping to tend.”
“No, go ahead,” said Annette. “I will go see if Taryn and Carin are done with the veggie garden and maybe they will help me with the flowers.”
Kimmie took Jackie to the sickbay where Meko was struggling to cope with all the Twinns that needed surgery.
“Meko, I have brought you somebody to assist, meet Jackie, Officer Malloy asked if we could use her around here. I know that you need help urgently.”
“Hullo Jackie, I am pleased to meet you. Unfortunately we have a lot of work here at the moment and I need you to get stuck in immediately.

Never one to dawdle, Meko put Jackie right to work. Meko had already accomplished the preliminary gluing and was now removing the rubber bands and handing them to Carlisle, who was putting them in the box. Jackie was thinking how painful rubber band therapy must be. A Lois was standing by, waiting for her turn to be treated. Meko handed Jackie a hospital gown. “As soon as I get these bands off put the gown on Lois and stand her on her head,” Meko instructed.
“Even with the rubber bands off they have to stand on their heads?” Jackie asked, eyeing a nearby Ariel who reminded her of one of her sisters.
“Yes,” said Meko. “The procedure requires a 24 hour period of complete rest standing on one’s head.”
“Wow,” said Jackie. “I had no idea that surgery was so complicated.”

“It will be better now that you are here, the patients can get very scared if they are not helped through the procedure, it can be very stressfull.” said Meko. “Thanks for helping us, Jackie.”
“Yes, thanks,” said the Lois, sleepily.
“Oops, this one is waking up,” Meko said. “Carlisle, better get the anesthesia cone.”
Carlisle stuck another sock in the cone, “And when they wake up they have terrible headaches as well, but within a few hours are as good as new.”
Carlise showed Jackie how to hold the cone over the patient’s nose and mouth.” Take a deep breath Lois, and count to 100.”

Dawns New Pet

On: 06/09/201510/01/2018 By: JA

The Twinns were out doing their Saturday thing and Dawn was at home alone. She stared over the balcony at the slowly awakening garden and thought that it would be nice if she had a pet. Amanda always spent Saturday morning walking Waffles, Coalface, Louis and any other fury creature that cared to join her. Dawn thought that she would enjoy doing that too, but unfortunately she just didn’t have a pet of her own. “Theoretically Caities should be very good pet owners” she said to herself.

She sighed, “Oh well, I can at least enjoy everybody’s pets when they bring them here for a visit.”
Just then there was a flapping of wings and Dawn saw something alight on the wall. “Hullo, what’s that? it doesn’t look like a Hadedah.”

Dawn wished she had her binoculars close by so that she could see the creature. “Maybe it’s an alien, or a giant budgie, or even Rhodan…”
The creature looked curiously at Dawn, who looked curiously back.

Then it hopped off the wall and started to flap its leathery wings, flying straight towards the baffled Twinn. It landed on the balcony floor and looked expectantly at Dawn.
Dawn jumped down and found that she was nose to Twinn with a red leathery dragon. The dragon smiled at Dawn and made a whining noise.
“Well I’ll be a barrel of Bernetta’s, it’s a dragon, and a very cute girly one too. I bet you will make a great pet.”
The dragon nodded its head vigorously in afirmation.

She reached down and patted the dragon on its head. “Hmm, not even slimey or scaley.” She said. “I bet Cait would like to see you.”
“What would Cait like to see Dawn?” It was Caitlyn and Godzilla, who had just gotten back from their morning shopping.

“Hi Cait, I am glad to see you, look what just landed on the balcony.”
“Dawn, that looks like a dragon.”
“She is a dragon Cait. I want to keep her as a pet.”

“You can’t keep a dragon as a pet Dawn.
“And why not? you have a city stomping monster as a pet Cait.”
Caitlyn was stumped. “OK Dawn, you got me there. I guess it shouldn’t be a problem. Godzilla seems to like her.”
The dragon sidled up to Caitlyn and nuzzled her hand while Godzilla sniffed interestedly at it’s knee.

“However, it is possible this dragon belongs to somebody Dawn, so I think you should at least advertise that she has been found, and if nobody claims her then you can keep her.
“Cool. I will get Victoria to place an ad in the Hollow Times and see if anybody claims ownership.”
“Just one thing Dawn, does your new pet breath fire?”
“I don’t know Cait, only one way to find out….” The dragon took a deep breath and then….

“I guess that answers that question.” Caitlyn said, “at least she will come in handy when we need something cooked in a hurry. What are you going to call her?”
“At the moment I think I will call her Dragonette, or Braveheart, or even Idris.”
“Idris? that sounds Welsh.”
“It is. I saw it in an Ivor the Engine TV show. They had this dragon called Idris in it.”

And so Dawn finally had her pet, and being Dawn it was an unconventional one too. There was however, no guarantee that the dragon was not lost and would be claimed by her rightful owner. If, and only if that happened then Dawn would deal with it, but until then she just smiled contentedly and enjoyed watching her new pet romping with Godzilla. “I am correct, Caities DO make good pet owners.” she said smugly.
So, if anybody has lost a small dragon, please contact Dawn.

Although Dawn does not really want to hear from anybody claiming ownership.

The Monitor Stand

On: 04/09/201510/01/2018 By: JA

The Twinns had heard me muttering about “no space on my computer desk” and decided to do something about it. Sarah Willow, Justyn and Alison all decided to contribute towards a project to make me some sort of monitor stand/keyboard recess drawer. Alas, it was a gloomy day and so they also decided to work indoors and leave sawdust all over the place. Justyn was persuaded to handle the saw and with Alison watching and Sarah consulting made short work of a piece of handy wood. “Make sure you cut along the line Justyn” Sarah advised.
“I was hoping there was a jigsaw in the toolbox Sarah, and this is not quite the correct saw to use here.” Alison said.
“Let me know when I am near the bottom of the cut girls, I am relying on your guidance here.” Justyn reminded everybody.

Sarah laid out the 4 pieces of wood that would form the basic stand. “This is what I am trying to achieve here,” She explained. Of course we must just get these pieces in the centre.”
“Well, if we draw a centre line along the base and the long piece of wood that should ensure we have both sides equidistant.” Alison contributed.
“I am just glad that we do not have to cut any more wood, sawing is hard work.”
“I think we should persuade the bossman to buy a jigsaw.” Sarah said thoughtfully.
“Jigsaw? I just remembered, we could have used Dawn’s chainsaw.” Justyn replied, always looking for an excuse to use Dawn’s chainsaw.

Sarah measured the length of the base and then divided it in half, then she drew a line at the half way point. “That’s our middle line. Let me just measure the long piece of wood and then we can drill the holes for the chipboard screws.”

The holes marked, they set the baseboard down again and Justyn fetched the cordless drill. “I bet you the batteries are flat.” He said knowingly.
“That’s the usual story with these things Justyn, the batteries are either flat or they suddenly die as you are drilling the last hole.
Justyn drilled the first of 3 holes along the wood. “Uho, that drill sounds as if it’s about to die.”
“Yep, just as I thought, the batteries are busy dieing. We better put them on charge.”
“The bossman charged these not too long ago, I think those batteries are finished.”
“Oh well, it takes 3 hours for the batteries to charge, so we may as well go do something else and meet back here in 3 hours.” Sarah said.
“Drat, I was so hoping to get this thing finished today.” Alison added, “I hate leaving a project half done.”

“Well, I can do the rest of the measurements so long while Justyn gets the batteries into the charger, then once the drill is charged we only have to drill the holes and add the screws.” Sarah said, picking up her pencil.
“That’s a great plan. I will do the charging so long.” Justyn said.
“And I will go look for some chipboard screws.” Alison added.

Three hours later everybody was back, Alison with a pile of chipboard screws, and Justyn with the recharged battery pack for the drill. “Right, now where did we leave off?” Sarah said.
“We had to drill those screw holes finished and screw the whole thing together. Did you mark the places where we were going put the sides Sarah?”
“Yes I did Alison, let’s get down to business again.”
“Drill, don’t let me down now!” Justyn said as he squeezed the trigger, giving the drill a test run.
Alison intervened, “Let me first check that the bit is tight in the chuck Justyn, otherwise it’s liable to stand still and spin you around instead.”

Once the drill was running and the bit was in to Alison’s satisfaction they made short thrift of drilling the rest of the holes for the screws. “I found this beading Sarah, can we use it?”
“Sure Ali, this wood is chipboard so it has very rough edges, we can cut small pieces of it and try glue it to the front of the 2 end pieces.”
“I also found some cold wood glue, that should hold them into place.”
“Great stuff Ali, that will add a nice finish to the job.”

The 3 of them set to finishing off the project.

Justyn and Sarah screwed in the screws that held the whole thing together, at first they used the cordless drill until the battery died on them once again. “Somebody should tell the bossman he needs a new battery for this thing.”
“Typical, it always dies on the last screw. Justyn, see if you can get that screw in by hand.”

Then they dollhandled the new stand onto the table and, after much heaving and ho-ing, managed to get my extra heavy monitor onto the new stand. There was also space for the speakers next to the monitor, and of course the keyboard could slip underneath it when it was not used.

Even Carruthers and his new friend Casey were impressed. “Great job guys.” He commented.
“Thanks Carruthers, do you think the bossman will like it?” Alison asked.
“I am sure he will, he has been muttering about the monitor for ages. he will be really surprised when he gets back.”
“I think he will even be more surprised when he gets back and finds the mess we made, come Alison, Justyn, lets go clean up and put the tools away.”
“Rightho Sarah.” Alison said, scooping up an errant piece of wood. “You do know that we shouldn’t have been using tools with our long hair. We should have tied it up.”
‘You are correct Ali, it’s not safe workshop practise to work with tools without taking adequate safety precautions. Just imagine what the bossman have said if one of us had gotten hurt? or lost a limb.”
“Oh I don’t know, I have always thought a pegleg and a hook would really suit a gal like me.” Alison said jokingly.
“Just for that I think Alison can sweep up all the sawdust.”
“Sweep? Huh! I shall call upon my faithful vacuum cleaner. Together we shall rid the world of sawdust and other bits of aimless wood chips.”

And they all burst out laughing and headed off to tidy up and return some sort of normality to the flat.

Dawn Goes Undercover

On: 03/09/201510/01/2018 By: JA

There was a loud banging on the door and Caitlyn, who was catching a snooze at her desk was not amused.
“Who’s there?” She asked cautiously without opening the door.
“It’s Dawn, open up Cait.”
“Ok, hang on a moment.” Caitlyn opened the door but left the security gate locked. There was a strange boy standing there looking decidedly suspicious.

“You’re not Dawn, you are some crummy boy out to sneak up on us and check out our unmentionables hanging on the washing line.”
“No No Cait, it’s me Dawn”.
“Ha! try the other one, I know Dawn and you are not Dawn, go away and leave us alone”.

“Seriously Cait, it’s me, I am undercover. I was investigating some shenanigans at the local book shop. I had to go undercover or I would never have been able to infiltrate the baddies hideout.”
“A likely story, for all I know you are impersonating Dawn by making out you are her in disguise. Prove to me that you are Dawn”.
“Sheesh Cait, you are one suspicious dolly.”
“I didn’t become a detective because I accept things at face value. If you are Dawn tell me who owned you before you came here.”
“That’s easy, it was Tricia in Texas.”
“Hmmmm, that could have just been a lucky guess. Ok, what did Skye tell you to do the first time she met you?”
“Look behind the bookcase! and I found my long lost Richie Rich comic there.”
“Dawn? it is you… I am amazed, for a moment I thought you were a baddie.”

“Nope. I put on this disguise and snuck out early this morning so that I could get a headstart, but my informant gave me the wrong information so I had to come home. I was hoping nobody would see me like this.””So why didn’t you let yourself in?”
“I was so busy trying to look suave and macho that I locked myself out.”
Caitlyn just laughed, “Lucky for you nobody else saw you, I can just imagine what they would have said.”
“Don’t remind me. I would have never lived it down.”
Caitlyn rubbed her hands together, “don’t get too complacent my Caitie friend, I may want to hold this against you one day.”

“Hee hee, sooner or later you will have to go back undercover Dawn and when you do… the Bossman will have his camera handy…..” Caitlyn teased.
“Aaaargh Cait, don’t you even dare think about it! Where’s my chainsaw???”

The Twinns New Space

On: 03/09/201509/01/2018 By: JA

Everyone agreed that the old playhouse had become very dilapidated. The Twinns had acquired it second hand, and it had never been in the best of shape to begin with. The roof leaked, the floor had rotted out, and the whole thing ended up being just a repository for old chairs, lumber, and junk. Only the morning glories that Annette had planted made the playhouse look respectable.

So the Twinns started to save their spare change in hopes of buying a new house. Every Sunday as soon as the newspaper would come, someone would grab it and read the “Houses for Sale” section, even before they read the comics.

They would circle any ads that looked good, and then head off to consult Jin Ran, who served as treasurer for the Continuum.
Hopefully, Jin Ran and Coalface would unlock the box. But the total would always be a disappointment. Averaging around $27.45 (plus a smiley face button and a cat’s eye marble), the total was never enough for even a down payment on a new house. Of course it didnt help when Paris decided to use some of the money for a new pair of boots

But she was always good with an IOU and would pay the money back as soon as she got her allowance.

Kimmie and Jane and Carlisle were discussing the situation one morning. “You know I have those Swiss bank accounts,” Carlisle reminded the girls.
“Oh, Carlisle, we can’t take your money,” replied Jane. “We know you save it for poor and struggling crocs in other lands.”

“And Twinns,” said Kimmie, who knew of the secret generosity that Carlisle did not brag about, when he rescued Twinns from bad situations and found them new homes. “But there must be something we can do, Winter is coming and I don’t think our old playhouse will survive till next Summer. Jane, what about that big room in the back of the garage? Couldn’t we move all our stuff in there?”
“I never thought of that,” said Jane, who knew that the room had recently been cleared. “Let’s go look!”
The three hurried out to the garage and inspected the room. “It will be perfect if we can just get some lights and electric outlets,” commented Carlisle.
“Libby knows all that stuff,” said Kimmie. “She rewired a lamp for me one time. And let’s ask Randy to repair that broken window.”

Randy and Libby were happy to work on the new room. “Everybody will be so pleased,” Libby commented as she climbed the ladder to put in the last bulb. “It will be great to have our own room at last.”

“And a floor and no leaks in the roof,” Randy agreed. “Carlisle, can we tell people about it now?”
“Yes,” said Carlisle. “I am going to go tell the Emmas myself.”
Several of the Emmas were working in the garden. Carin and Penny were cutting lavender to dry, and Kerry was picking peppers. Taryn was digging out a space to plant the fall radishes.
Cavendish was teaching them one of his old army songs.

“What’s the use of worrying? It never was worthwhile, SOOO….
Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile,”

sang the Emmas and Cavendish loudly.
“That’s a great song,” said Kerry.
“There was one chap in my unit who used to sing ‘Pack up your laundry’, I expect he was a territorial or something.” Cavendish was saying, as Carlisle came to the garden.

In a few minutes they had come to what was to become their new space. The sun poured in the big windows.

“This is so cool,” said Taryn. “Wow, my voice echoes in here.”
“Wait till we get the furniture in,” said Carin, envisioning how happy everyone would be to have his or her possessions in one easily accessible spot.
“Here is the first thing we should hang up!” Penny had brought in the Croc Camp flag. The girls solemnly hung it on the wall.
“Look at all the sawdust on the floor,” said Kerry. “We’d better clean it before anyone brings anything else in here.”
“Let’s go get the Caities,” suggested Penny. “After all, we all know…”
“Caities love to vacuum,” the four Twinns and Carlisle all said at once!

So soon Wendy and Cammie were hard at work with the shop vac. As soon as they had finished, Rory and Cathy arrived with their stove. “This is great,” said Cathy. “Finally a safe spot for our kitchen. And look at this big pantry for our dishes and food.”

“And there’s even a little hook for the hotpad,” Rory remarked, pleased.

Just then Kelani and Lucy came in. Lucy had recently moved to the Continuum from China and did not speak English, though she was starting to pick up a word here and there. Fortunately Kelani spoke fluent Chinese (Kelani loved learning new languages and was fluent in quite a few and could hold her own in several more) and translated for Lucy. “Lucy made these lanterns and she is hoping you might want to hang them in the kitchen area.”

“Oh Lucy, they’re beautiful,” said Rory with a smile. “Thank you so much for thinking of us! Get the ladder, Cathy, and we’ll hang them right up!”
The four Twinns quickly hung the lanterns and then Kelani and Lucy stayed to help unpack the dishes.
Meanwhile, Laura had come running in. “Oh look, carpet!” she exclaimed. She kicked off her shoes and bounced up and down. “Wow, we are hitting the big time now. What can I do to help, girls?”
“Why don’t you wash the windows?” Rory suggested. “They’re pretty dusty.”
“Sure thing,” said Laura.
Carin and Sarah, meanwhile, had carried in several boxes of materials to make chairs. The Twinns had purchased and stashed them away for when they would have their own space. The girls spread the pieces on the floor. Sarah wielded the Allen wrench while Carin read the instructions. “Good thing there are only three steps because these instructions make no sense at all,” joked Carin.

“Now, Carin,” teased Sarah Willow, “I would not be meeting the Sarah Willow heritage if I couldn’t put together a chair in three steps. I just wish they had chosen to do screws instead of these Allen wrench things. For four chairs I’m ending up with four Allen wrenches. Just what I need in my tool box.”
“Oh, you’ll find some use for them,” said Carin. “Maybe you could take up welding and make a sculpture or something, or swop them for something new for your toolbox.”
“Right,” said Sarah. “Who wants to try out this chair?!”
Sarah and Carin went to open the next chair box, while Kerry set up her ironing board and iron and proceeded to iron the slip covers and curtains.

She brought in her radio so the girls could listen to the “Mid Morning with Elinor” show on radio WTWINN while they worked. Kimmie had e-mailed Elinor, who played Crosby, Stills, and Nash singing “Our House” for the Twinn Continuum while the girls sang along.

“Our house is a very very very fine house,”

Everyone was bustling around, unpacking things. Brooke and Penny unpacked a big bin of hats. Some they put in a drawer in a little storage unit which was at one side of the room. Others they put on clips and hung on the wall. “I never knew we had all these hats,” said Brooke, trying one on.
“Neither did I,” said Penny. “We will be all set the next time we want to dress up.”
Jessie and Cecilia unpacked the dresses and put them on a storage rack. “These racks hold a lot of hangers,” commented Jessie.
“I don’t know if I’m ready to look at these Christmas dresses,” said Cecilia. “I guess Christmas will be here before we know it.”
Randy brought in another bin of dresses. He pulled one out and pretended to wear it. “What do you think, girls? It’s me, isn’t it?”

Jessie and Cecilia laughed. “I don’t think so, Randy,” said Jessie. “Now go away and let us work.”
“You girls have no sense of style,” said Randy, chuckling as he went to find Jeremy so they could get the kitchen table out of storage.
Meanwhile, Meko and Pat brought in the bed and made it up. Ginger the cat, as cats will do, jumped on it as soon as the spread was unfolded and tested it out. “This pillow looks like you, Ginger,” said Pat.

Meko smiled. “This will be a good place for our patients, right by the window where they can get plenty of light and fresh air.”
“Yoo Hoo, Sofa coming through,” called Janna.
“Where shall we put it?” asked Eileen.

“Oh, right over here by the bed,” said Meko. “There’s a nice spot.”
Randy and Jeremy brought in the table and Carin put two of the chairs with it. Jeremy helped Olivia put on the strawberry tablecloth, but it was soon taken off again, as Olivia and Pat decided to do a jigsaw puzzle when the work was finished and the room had taken shape.

Finally the Twinns could relax in a room that was all their own. Everyone was very pleased, with lots of ideas for future adventures to come. Already the Emmas had decided to hold their monthly meeting in the new space and Wendy was going to ask if her SOCK members could hold their meeting in it. Kimmie had already decided that what the new space needed was a planning board with lots of pins and flags and dates written in, and everybody agreed that just maybe a Twinn housewarming party would be just the thing before Winter started to make itself known.

What Twinns Do All Day.

On: 02/09/201509/01/2018 By: JA

The question was asked, what do Twinns do when there is nobody home? Its like asking the question “What does the light in the fridge do when the door is closed?” or “If a tree in a forest falls down and there is nobody to hear it, does it make a noise?”.
Through the modern wonders of television and the internet I was able to capture the Twinns doing what they do best when I am not here. Much to my amazement they didn’t really get up to too much mischief, but then for all I know they were faking it.