Science class in the hallway

  Years ago, I painted the hall with chalkboard paint, and sometimes stuff appears there that I take a picture of before it's gone forever.
  The large rectangle was drawn by Cookie. You can't really see that there are pink squiggles in the center. She told me, "It's a magnified view of the bloodstream. The white blood cells are eating the germs." It's funny to hear a 6-year-old describe something like this, especially when she still pronounces it "bwood."
  Then Princess added the sick boy cutaway, showing organs inside him and various ailments. He's taking a pill that is half blue, half white, which is labeled "medicine" in the accompanying key. There seemed to be a chain of events, not visible in this small picture, that reads: "large intesting --> white blood cells + cough --> poison ivy + small intesting --> fever --> germs --> medicine." I'll wait awhile before I bring up the "intesting vs. intestine" issue. No need to jump on it too eagerly.
  The cartoon face was Gameboy's contribution; it's Albert Einstein. I think it annoyed the girls that he drew it there, but it's all gone now anyway, making room for other stuff.

American history, American business

  The American Girl company is canceling Princess' favorite doll, Felicity, the girl from the American Revolution.
  Hey, American Girl company! How can you cancel the American Revolution girl? That's the most important historical period of American history because it created American History! She has a great story!
  I'm not going to suggest some other girl be canceled instead, reeling as I am from the end last year of Kirsten, a blond Swedish girl who lives in the pioneer days of Minnesota. (Have I mentioned we're a Scandinavian family in Minnesota?) I know that each character has fans who choose her as a favorite. One of Princess' friends was very sad to see Samantha go.
  American Girl is just trying to sell more dolls; I get that. Really, though, getting rid of the girls of the American Revolution (Felicity's friend, Elizabeth, is going, too) is a surprise.
  Since two paragraphs ago, I'm changing my mind about picking a girl to cancel. Julie, the 1970s girl, isn't very exciting. I realize that her big problem, parents who are recently divorced, is a good thing for girls in similar circumstances to read about. She also has to fight the school to play basketball, which is hard for girls nowadays to understand would be a problem.
  But compare that with the other stories (spoiler alert): Kaya is kidnapped by a neighboring tribe and held as a slave; Addy escapes slavery with her mother, unsure whether she'll see the rest of her family again; Kit's family is struggling through the depression, and Kit actually goes to jail at one point; and in the biggest tear-jerker moment for me, Molly gets sick and won't be able to attend her tap-dance recital, resulting in her being the only one home when her dad returns from World War II. I'm tearing up just thinking about it! Gah!
  I haven't read the Rebecca books, though Princess got the whole set for Christmas (ironic, seeing at Rebecca is Jewish). I'm glad they added a Jewish girl to the mix, but don't like they canceled Samantha to do it. Princess makes a good point that Samantha's story is really driven more by her neighbor, Nelly, who used to work in a child-labor factory in the city. Long story.
  Anyway, I think I'd better snatch up some Felicity merchandise before it's gone. I'm playing right into their evil plan! Princess has the Felicity and Elizabeth dolls, a few outfits, and even her horse and pony (Santa can get a little crazy!) Her birthday's coming up, so I'll probably do a little shopping. But I won't like it.