"Opal helps the baby to have sleeps when the momma is away."

The name for this pet comes from putting together the names of four great teachers and poets in Ancient Rome: Lucian, Horace, Ovid and Virgil.

"The lumber shanty that Opal lived in had only two rooms."

The Whiteley family's small home only had two rooms. One room for the family to sleep in and one room for cooking and sitting in. The "divide" between the two rooms was probably just a sheet or quilt separating the sleeping and eating areas. Lumber shantys were small enough to be hauled from one logging camp to another on the back of railroad cars. They were supposed to be only temporary shelter, but Opal's family lived in a shanty for most of her childhood.

Opal has given this name to a wood rat who is one of her favorite pets. Opal very often carries Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus whenever she goes visiting or exploring.

Opal named her pet rat after the poet Thomas Chatterton, and two gods of classical mythology.

I sat on a log in the woodshed writing my journal