Breaking news! The Daily Excitement has had THREE mentions last week! One got Gwendolyn, our Editor In Chief, on THE WEST SEATTLE BLOG, then it was the STRANGER BLOG, and then, an interview on... TA-DA! KIRO RADIO! 😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲! "It felt really good after the interview because all I wanted for The Daily Excitement was for people to know about it." Says Gwendolyn. "During the interview I was not nervous, but felt a little overwhelmed. " Here is a graph showing the amount of day-to-day readers.

Summary:Little House in the Big Woods is about a girl named Laura Ingalls(Author), her ma, Caroline Ingalls, her pa,Charles Ingalls, her sister, Mary Ingalls, and her other sister, baby Carie.

What I like about it: I like that they don't kill more game then they need to, because sometimes I feel sorry for the animals, but I know that they are only killing as much as they need to survive. Also, I like that in the first book there are sidestorys. You know, like the stories Pa tells? I really like those.

Rating Review: ★★★ (3/3)

How likely to reccomend to a friend: 7/10 because the characters in it are kind of prejudiced.

Has writer's block got you down? Do you struggle to put your ideas on paper? Even here at TayStone Media we grapple with this problem. We asked writers, artists, teachers and friends for advice tackling this tricky trouble.

"[When I have trouble writing the opening paragraph] I sometimes let myself start with paragraph two, getting into the details, the quotes, the arguments, the meat of hte sotry. By the time you finsih and write your conclusion, you'll be competley ready to go back and write the opening" -- Elsa

"Call the first draft of anything you write a 'zero draft'. That gives you permission to think of it as totally disposable, which can reduce pressure"-- Sydney

"[We] spend a whole day on idea generation so that the first day of actual writing there are lists or pages or pictures of lots of ideas to choose from... and I mean lots!!! [You can] walk around the house/neighborhood for categories and idea to get a huge list. Once [you] get ideas [you] can pick through them or mark dates to do those ideas. [...] We label our different parts...hook, intro, idea 1, idea 2, idea 3, closing, possible call to action or being bossy part and then writers change them for their personality and preferences" -- Cindy

"Try small careds with one word on each card. Draw one word and write about it. As in 'delight' and then writing about where to look to find delight" -- Mary Lou

"I remember one paper in college that was almost impossible. I fixed a pot of tea, sat in my rocking chair and started talking into a tape recorder. The only thing that got me going. It's always easier to rewrite!" -- Mary Lou

"Practice stream of consciousness writing with the knowledge that it is a rough draft and [you] can pick and choose what to include as-is, what needs some editing, and what gets binned. Or [start] out with appointing someone else to be the editor, but have the option to override them if they want to cut a beloved piece"-- Matt

"Even if it's not the topic you need to write about, start out by writing for 5-10 minutes about something you're really passionate about. That can get your creative juices flowing and your writing muscles working"--Laurel

What worked this week for our editor-in-chief? Well, she drowned out the voices saying "I don't know what to write" or "I can't do this" by enjoying some sugar-free gum and putting on some headphones and listening to some of her favorite soothing music (the soundtrack to Stardew Valley, if you're curious) while she wrote her story.

by Laurel

What it is about: My sister did a review on Sneaky Sasquatch last week and I thought " This is AMAZING! I want to do something like this!" . But what could I do? Soon I got the answer. I had bought some skis in Sneaky Sasquatch, but had not had the chance to actually TRY them. I asked sister and she said she would help me. Soon, I was on the bus, headed for Ski Mountain, and I discovered that skiing is really FUN!

What I like about it:NO rangers ever, ever, EVER come up there except that one ranger at the black diamond courses which you probably do not want to do anyway because they are REALLY hard, you don't have to sneak around to get food because the shop sells it, no rangers come up there, no rangers come up there, it's really fun to ski, you can basically LIVE there if you have a lot of money, no rangers come up there, no rangers come up there, no rangers come up there, and NO RANGERS come up there!

How many cozy game trophies: 🏆🏆🏆 (3/5)

Comic: Flower Girls! #

Wait, Who Are The Flower Girls?? #

From our co-reporters: #

Jokes to laugh by! #

• Two ships collided. One carried red paint and the other blue paint. The passengers were marooned.

• A criminals best asset is his lie ability.

• If at first you don't succeed then sky diving is not for you.

• Americans prefer houses with basements. In fact they are best cellars.

• For fungi to grow you must give it as mushroom as possible.

• It was a terrible Summer for Humpty Dumpty but he had a great Fall.

• Two peanuts walk into a bar. One was a salted.

• He didn't tell his mother he ate some glue. His lips were sealed.

• A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.

From Grandpa Fred and Grandma Geri

A throwback to Gwendolyn's first joke when she was 3: #

Knock Knock?

Who's there?

Butter!

Butter who?

Butter, the house is broken!

The Daily Birder aka The Daily Ex-Sight-Ment #

The only new bird this week was the trio of American Goldfinches that have discovered the well-named "Finch Blend" seed.

Birds come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Because they fly, body weight is a critical factor, and birds have evolved many strategies to come to the most efficient weight for survival and flight. These are birds we see at our feeders from lightest to heaviest. Can you match them with the objects that weigh approximately as much as the bird?

1. Anna's Hummingbird a. 1 Tbspn Honey

2. Bushtit b. 60" dressmaker's tape

3. American Goldfinch c. 3/4 tsp salt

4. House Finch d. 1/2 c milk

5. Spotted Towhee e. 4 paper clips

6. American Robin f. 1 Wob-la-cado (toy)

7. Northern Flicker g. 1 roll toilet paper, 242 sheets, 2-ply

8. Steller's Jay h. Sibley's Birds West book

9. American Crow i. Box of 12 colored pencils

Answers: 1c, 2e, 3b, 4a, 5f, 6i, 7d, 8g, 9h

Poetry #

The Power Outage #

Plink, plink
The lights go out.
I think the power has gone out.
No music or TV to entertain you
but there's lots of ways to get through
--By Hadley

Kindness Corner #

This week's entries are from a contributor named Hope (what a lovely name, especially in these times):

Our town,Strasburg,VA, is honoring our high school graduates by putting on our porch lights at 8:20(military time 20:20). We leave the lights on for 20 minutes. Our town is doing this gesture of respect for one week! A simple act showing much kindness!

Also we had an 8 year old donate the contents of his piggy(less than $10 bank) to help those affected by the Conoravirus. Others in our area heard about his generosity; they added their dollars(maybe pennies,nickels,dimes,etc). The donation grew to $3000!!!

Thank you, Hope! You can find our contact email at the bottom of the page. We'd love to hear from readers for any of our sections or create a new one!

Meet the Newsroom Cat #

Name: Harlequin Jane aka Harly Jane
Age: about 9 we think
Motto: Let me show you my bottom while you pet me
Favorite Food: Salmon tunachovy kibble
Favorite Book: Breaking Cat News
Favorite Movie: Miss Minoes
Something about you: I am a tortoiseshell cat who runs to kiddos when they cry instead of running away. I just like to know my people are okay.