Hello, I am Eloise.

My dog Eloise is most definately one of a kind. When we're walking her or have her in the car, she never fails to draw attention, and some odd questions. The best (as in funniest) ones I've ever been asked about her are:

"Is she a kind of chihuahua?" Answer: No. But we understand. Her lack of any apparent brain activity would seem to relate her to that breed.

"Is she still a puppy?" Answer: Nope. She's 2 1/2

" How did you get her so small?" Answer: We programmed the puppy machine that way.

(Seriously, a gal asked me that as if we built puppies in the basement.)

"What do you feed her?" Answer: Goldfish food.

(Sorry for the sarcasm, but really, what do they expect?)

Anyway. So here's something to file away in your All About Eloise Trivia file. Her favorite food? WHIPPED CREAM. These two pictures are of said intelligent pooch licking the whipping cream out of the lid from one of those delicious mocha milkshakes from Cruisin' Coffee. I drink the shake, she gets the whipped cream. And she goes bananas for it.

Ok, so even dogs have their..... moments.





We all love our dogs. They make life better.


Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dog. "Sigh"
There's so little chance for advancement. ~Snoopy

4-18-92, 10:07 A.M.

The time and date I was born. Celebrating 19 years of life this week.

19 highlights in my 18th year:

1. Completing Mrs. Jordan's honors English class.

2. Cruise to Alaska with my family.

3. Joining Mt. Baker symphony.

4. Getting my driver's license.

5. Getting my ears pierced.

6. Lots of BBQs in the summer with friends and family.

7. Day trip to Larrabee State Park with my family.

8. Fiddling with Ali and Brad.

9. New Year's Day dance on Camano Island with Placzeks and Moores.

10. Getting my own hard cover set of Calvin's Institutes from mom and dad.

11. Planting and harvesting my veggie garden.

12. Taking a flower arranging class with a friend at WCC.

13. Performing at my first masquerade ball.

14. Singing Handel's Messiah at Christmas time.

15. Starting my first official year of teaching violin.

16. Having 5 students in my first year of teaching.

17. Babysitting my niece Lydian for 2 weeks.

18. Spending another year of Tuesday mornings with the Clarkes.

19. Turning 19 of course! ;-)

O Lord, and Guardian of my soul,
Your word is my counsel,
Your power is my courage,
Your promises, my comfort,
your presence, my confidence.
I rest my life,
My soul,
My future,
in your hands.

~B.J. Hoff

Forget it.

Awful. Nerve wracking. Mind-boggling. Unnecessarily Complicated. Invented to make people wonder why there aren't more accidents on the road. Probably the result of more cases of insanity than drugs or 6th position on the violin. Bad.

All this flashed through my mind, as I killed the motor on the jetta for like, the sixth time during my first stick-shift lesson this afternoon. My wonderful daddy was everlastingly patient as he explained that once the meter on the dash board reaches 20, you shift.

Daddy: "Let out the clutch SLOWLY and when it's almost out, shift to 2nd gear. No Emily, 2nd, that's fourth..... Ok so the car stalled. (a nice way of saying I killed the motor) Turn the car on. Now, push in the clutch and the brake. Shift to 1st. Now let off the brake. Now SLOWLY let off the clutch, and give it a little gas.

QUICK,!! NO, LOOK OUT, SHIFT! LET THE CLUTCH OUT! SLOWLY!! GIVE IT GAS!"

(Car: shudder, shudder, jerk, jerk, bounce bounce. Ominous silence)

Sigh. The car died again.

Daddy: Umm, it's ok. Turn the car on. Let's try it again.

Me: This is horrid.(as the neighbor lady gives me a sympathetic glance.)

Daddy: you're doing pretty well actually!

Me: Sigh. (as I give daddy a sympathetic glance.) Can we go home now? That is, if I can make it all the way around the block?

Daddy: No, no, keep trying. You'll get it.

15 minutes later...

Me: (starting the dead car again in the middle of a turn.) I suppose we should give it a rest. You look shell-shocked and I feel like a jellyfish.

Daddy: Ok.

So. That was my first lesson. I hate stick shift, but I guess I'll have to try, try again. Like daddy, rather too cheerfully I thought, said as we walked in the house, "Clarks NEVER quit."

Me: Sigh.

No Excuses...

Just busy! I know I haven't blogged lately, but I've been busy doing the usual, and some unusual, which is what makes life fun. (or not so fun if you count falling down the basement stairs and coming down with an eye infection. bleh.)




A few examples:





1. Ali got new roller blades, so I'm getting my exercise, since she can't go alone.
Just smile and wave at the folks in their cars that gawk and point at the funny girls in skates and long skirts.

2. Bradley has a new enthusiams for basketball and if Ali's busy (probably rollerblading) next best option? You guessed it, me! But I enjoy it, and he's helping me get better and we've been playing almost every day!

3. Teaching Violin! I have 5 students, and I like teaching them all, and they're not the only ones learning. Me too!

4. Orchestra in Bellingham on Monday nights with Ali. We're both enjoying this so much, and we love our director, and the music we're learning is amazing.

5. Studying. But it's not as bad as it sounds. I'm enjoying what I'm studying. Mainly consumer math and theology. Lots of theology, which I especially love.


Please forgive my sporadic blogging, but it's one of those things for spare time. A scarce commodity!
Thanks for reading all, I'm enjoying your blogs.

PS,
Kate, you should really start a blog!

Good Grief Charlie Brown!

Where does the time go? My kid sister (for that she will always be to me, even when she's 50) know affectionately by me, and only me as Charlie Brown, is 15 years old today!

Happy Birthday Charlie! Love you!

Homemade Beeswax Candles

Last Wednesday morning, in absence of violin lessons due to mid-winter break, I had some free time. I've made candles a few times before, and I find them to be one of the most beautiful crafts. I've made tapers and globes before, so this time I decided to try jar candles. They were easy and less time consuming and they make beautiful gifts and hopechest additions. Another plus is that they are unscented. (great for the people in our family with allergies) Oh, and if you buy pure beeswax you don't have to worry about soy, chemicals and other undesirable additives.

It's a fun project for a rainy/snowy/cold/windy day. I suppose we could just call them Washington days. :)

What are some things you gals have made for your hopechest?

Oh Yes.

I got it.
After passing the test with a score of 90, I'm a licensed driver!