Friday, October 30, 2015

Lesson 385: Howling Fun


Boo!



It's Halloween weekend and it blew into Erie with a howling wind.



Erie experienced 40 mile an hour wind gusts earlier this week.



Daughter Ellen Louise painted my face 
for my running group's Halloween Fun Run through the park.
The process took about 45 minutes and I nodded off in the process.
Ellen said it was difficult putting make-up on a snoring person.


We held our run after a big high school meet earlier in the day.
It was nice to be encouraged with their motivational chalk messages.



I took my group back to the creepy clown house.
Thankfully he wasn't home.....
but that means he was out there somewhere....
lurking.
He roams the streets of Harborcreek on All Hallow's Eve.


The next day I completed my first virtual 10K
for the Zombies Run! game I play.


I earned a ton of materials to build my base,
and found out more interesting clues to this on-going story,
chapters unlocked with each run you complete.

I made a map,

 

and suckered a couple of friends to come along with me.


We made a pop stop in Hawkingville


and made it back to the church unscathed.


There was some degree of guilt experienced as I was mentally planning my zombie
run while sitting in a church pew for the Sunday service.
I told God I was sorry that zombies were distracting me from His word.

A few days later He sent  a sign it all was well.
According to my calculations,
the rainbow ended right in the church parking lot.


The cool part was my sister, 


and my mom photographed the same rainbow
while in different parts of the county
at the exact same time I took my shot.


The Today Show crew dressed as the Peanuts characters this year.


The new Peanuts movie opens November 6th.
It looks very good, 
and maintains Charlie Brown's charm.


Check out the movie trailer below:


Sam donned a Peanuts Gang inspired costume this year.


He is a sheet ghost!


It was easy, 
cheap,
and it sure made him easy to spot in the Halloween parade.


I know it's Halloween,
but its never too early to think about Christmas.
The Krazies are headed to the Barber Ball this year!
Please join us.
Don't forget,
those who participated in the Barber Beast
 receive a $50 discount on tickets.
Type in BEASTBALL for your discount upon reserving your place on the dance floor.
Here is the link if you are interested:



But for this weekend, 
it's all about ghosts
and bats
and all things that howl in the night---


---like wolves.

If you haven't seen this video filmed in a wolf sanctuary,
check it out.



Final advice for the night from Eloise:
When the lights go out this Halloween,



Enjoy the photo video with some more weekend run shots.
It is appropriately set to Zac Brown Band's song,
Day for the Dead.

Sleep tight tonight,
but with one eye open.
That creepy clown is out and about.

ELOISE

Friday, October 23, 2015

Lesson 384: Storyteller

It's Friday night!
Curl up on your couch,
pull the blankey up tight,
click on your phone,
and swipe over to the Lamp Post.
Allow Eloise to tell you a bedtime story.

I pulled out the fur hat this week,
for a couple of reasons.


Even though we are in the middle of pumpkin lovin'


leaf changin' season,




our parts up here along the Great Lakes region 
have seen some snow.



Perhaps it is because Natalie has been drawing these in school!


Facial arrangements and markings of art of the autistics 
always intrigues me.



Another reason the fur hat appeared is an answer to the cyber-whining
of Natalie People T-shirt enthusiasts who cried for a winter version of black t-shirt.
Hoodies! they cried.
Long sleeved! they requested.

NO! said the voices from the Lamp Post in unison.
T-shirt orders are hard enough,
and I've been heckling people on facebook for a week for payment.

Instead, Eloise offers you the following suggestions
for Natalie People Cold Gear:

1.  Place a hoodie beneath the t-shirt

If your t-shirt is too tight,
jump aboard the last 33 days of the 58 Day Challenge.
You'll create some space, for sure.


2.  Put a long sleeved thermal underneath it.

Pair it with a football helmet, and you will
have added warmth and safety.


3.  Style up your People t-shirt with a scarf,
belt, sweater leggings,
and high boots.

All are assured to keep you warm 
and toasty through the winter months.


Natalie's People T-shirts are continuing to circumvent the globe.
Today, one made it to the Colosseum in Rome!


My niece was returning to Erie on a connecting flight from Chicago this week.
Alesha was wearing her People T-shirt through the airport,
and someone walked by her and in passing said,
"Hey!  I have one of those!"

If you are this mystery person from the Chicago flight, 
please contact Eloise and fill me in on the rest of the story.
I'd love to tell it.

The exercise story of the week 
revolved around my chance to fulfill my dream of 
calling plays at a Team Adrenaline workout.
Our plays come in the form of squats and sprints,
and push ups and planks.



Because Eloise's stories never go quite as planned,
somehow I wound up at the wrong starting spot with part of my team (the nice ones),
while the other part (the ruffians)
worked out in a nearby parking lot.

The bullhorn battery died,
and I didn't get to shout orders,
but it was an aerobic adventure just the same.
My hiney was sore the next day and I had no one to blame but myself.


After the bit of early-workout befuddlement,
Team 1 and Team 2 merged,


and I gave my friends some apples with individual messages
as a Thank You For Your Patience parting gift.




A few of the apples must have rolled from the bag onto my van floor that evening.
The next day as I was pulling into my driveway 
(maybe a hair too fast)
one of them rolled to the front and lodged itself under the brake.


I missed Grandpa's barn door by centimeters.
Whoops.
Sorry, Dad.
Like it hasn't happened before....

After the screeching halt, I picked up the apple from the van floor.
This is what it read.
I'd say this sounds like a good title for my next book.


Sam wrote the last chapter to his first year of football tonight.


The mighty Oregon Ducks played in the consolation game 
for the Little Gridders Super Bowl of 3rd and 4th Grade Champions.


The season ended with a win for them-
but it was the learning of the first-years that mattered most.
That is the true win.
Thank you, Coaches for your time, energy, and dedication to the game.



The Back to the Future Story continues.
Sam loves the movie and the idea of time travel as much as I do.
He got a Time themed Loot Crate this month
(check out a trial subscription of you have a boy in your house).


He got a Doc action figure,
a hoverboard,


a Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure t-shirt


and a TARDIS.


What is your beautiful story?



Come sit, and tell it to Eloise.


I'll write it for you.


If I could write a story for my teenaged daughters, it would be similar to this one:

Meet Sarah and Juan.

Always prepared: At their high school prom, Juan brought the corsage - and Sarah, of course, brought the gum

They are the two that star in the Wrigley's gum commercial 
that has every woman grabbing for the box of Kleenex.

Juan and Sarah meet in high school
and fall in love amidst swirling snowflakes,


and clumsy hallway mishaps.


Juan secretly records the memorable moments on gum wrappers,
in penned, stick-figure sketches.


I don't want to be a bad storyteller and blow the ending for you,

Art installation: Inside, she sees framed gum wrappers lining the walls, each of which has a drawing by Juan on the inside

so just watch the commercial on the attached link.


Happily ever after: The gum commercial has already been viewed millions of times since being uploaded last week

Former American Idol contestant Haley Reinhart does the background vocals
to one of the most romantic songs ever written.

And to all the boys out there......
if you want to date my daughters,
I'd plan on showing up to the Lamp Post with a pack of Wrigley's chewing gum.
It will win you some points and a stamp of approval from Mother Eloise.

Click the link below for the commercial:

Another American Idol contestant is sweeping the music world today
with the release of her new album.
I even loaned Carrie my red boots for the cover shot.
She's going to trade me her legs,
but I haven't received them yet.
Back to the squats, I suppose.


Carrie appeared on the Today show this morning,
and will have a Takeover on CMT this weekend.

In case you missed Carrie this morning:


Music is the world's best storyteller,
and I have many happy chapters to look forward to,
especially when Tim McGraw is authoring the musical book.

He released a new song with his daughter Gracie McGraw this week.
It's terrific!
Good job, Gracie.
If Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were my parents,
I'd be taking full advantage of the Music World know-how, too.




Hello!  Adele has a new song and video, too!




I also found these two little darlings this week.


Lennon and Maisy are the best young talent I've seen in awhile.



Here are a couple songs told in their story-version.

Boom Clap Cover, CLICK HERE

The ring of fire near me tonight is a candle
and a glass of 6 Mile Cellars wine.
Time for a bit of relaxation.


I told my stories for the night.
Now it is time to read yours.
Time to surf facebook.

Good night, My Friends.



You will never get closure with a narc. NEVER. First, he doesn’t meet the 3 most important pre-requisites: A reasonable degree of sanity; a foothold in reality; empathy. He will never accept his part of the responsibility, as he portrays himself as the long suffering hero and you as the terrible ogre, after every nasty blow-up, attack and cold shoulder episode she initiated and will never admit to any of the atrocities he committed during the relationship now that it’s over.


ELOISE