Riley's Rambles [001]

Hello, world! I hope someone's out there to listen to me for at least a few seconds today, because I feel a bit like I'm going to explode if I have to listen to my own thoughts any longer. :)

Anyway, it's Riley. I've never posted here before, but I asked Zaira if I could make a post today, just about some thoughts that I wanted to share, since I've missed blogging. You see, at my old school, before I moved here this year, I helped run our school blog. It was kind of like a school newspaper and a newsletter in one, except it was online. I wasn't an editor, or anything, but I worked on the blog for two years and I sure got to write about a lot of really interesting things, and some strange ones, too--one time, I had to write a whole post about a girl at our school's parents' Chinese restaurant, which was delicious, and another time I had to do one on a kid on the football team who wore the same pair of polka-dot socks before every game, which was gross, because he hadn't washed them since he got them in eighth grade. Our football team wasn't even that good. We won, like, three games while I went there.

One thing that I'm missing a lot right now while I'm not in school is my band class. I can do all of my English and history and science and even--ew--math classwork online, but there's sure no practicing for our spring concert over Skype or Zoom. It's sad, but there's always next year. I've been sending videos of me playing little songs on the saxophone to my grandparents and aunts and uncles, because maybe it will make them smile. :) Some of my best friends are in band, and that's where I met a lot of my first friends when I came to my new school for the first time, too. Marlee plays the clarinet (and the saxophone, but only for jazz band), and Claudia plays the trumpet, while Rosanna, Jayne, and Georgia all play the flute. Eve plays percussion, but primarily keyboard instruments, something that I'm jealous of, but good-naturedly--I just think that everything must be better for you if you can play the piano. :) Maybe I should take this social isolation to learn, but more likely I'll spend it making weird crafts in my bedroom with Clover and Mackenzie, who live in the next house over,

My new house here is a bit of a weird thing. Where I grew up, in Traverse City, it was not a BIG city, per se, but it was definitely more populated than here. When I lived there though, I lived in a new(ish) house (we were the second owners) in a neighborhood with a big backyard and a patio. It wasn't like we lived in a big open area with no neighbors, but still, it's a big contrast to where I live now. Let me paint the picture for you. You're walking down Main Street, right, just a little bit outside of town, past some of the old, fancy hotels and towards the part where the State Park starts. On your right--which is where the shoreline and lake are--there's some little cottages, one or two or three in a row down little dead-end drives towards the lake. I live down one of those roads, in a cottage-like thing, I guess, except my house is actually three houses stuck together. They all look exactly the same, except for the curtains, the shutter colors, and the front doors, and of course the flowers and bushes and things. I live in the middle house, and on the left is Clover and Mackenzie's house, and on the right is Meryl's. It's a strange thing. I have no idea who built them, and I'd like to investigate, but these days that's not really an option. It's very fun, though, to share a bedroom wall with two of your friends on one side and another on the other.

I was really, really scared about making new friends here when I first moved. I didn't really have a lot of friends at my old school. I was really busy with band and the blog and just doing a lot of other things here and there, and, sure, I had a group of girls I hung out with, but they weren't really the type of close friends you'd have over for sleepovers or anything. I knew moving here that I wanted to make closer friends, maybe even best friends, and it seems like God agreed with me, sticking my bedroom right in the middle of the bedroom of two girls that, before I knew it, would become my best friends. Things have a funny way of working out, don't they?

Woah, this is long. You probably didn't sign up to read QUITE this many of my thoughts today. I have more to tell you, but I'll save it for next time, okay?

Hope you're having a great day,

-Riley Jude

Spring Forest Adventure

Hi, y'all! It's Zaira, but only for a second, because today I'm handing my blogging tasks over to my good friends Elijah and Eve. We've all been trying to stay busy around here, since school is closed and many of our family businesses are, too. Elijah is still at work, of course, and we've all been going to bother him every once in a while., just for something to do. Yesterday, he and Eve decided to go up in the woods on the bluffs and have a little look around at some of the first signs of spring on the island. I'll hand it over to them now! Thank you guys for sharing your exploration!

-Zaira Joy

Hello! It's Eve here, and I think that, first of all, I need to apologize for the both of us when I say that we might make some mistakes with this whole blogging thing. Eli and I are both usually behind-the-scenes sorts of people--you may know that Zaira and I co-run this blog usually, I take the photos and she does the writing. But you might not know that Elijah is an amazing artist. He loves botanical illustration and making little worlds in his sketchbook. He wants to go to school for that someday--but enough from me, for now. Elijah can talk about himself!

Oh! Um, hi. Thanks, Eve! :) I would tell all of you how amazing Eve's photos are, but if you've been around here for even a minute you already know. I can talk about our little walk in the woods, though! I love spending time up on the bluffs any time of the year, but especially in the early spring and late fall when there aren't many people. This year, it's even quieter than usual! I'm lucky that I live in the woods to begin with, my house is pretty isolated and it's nice to hear the birdsongs and things. Although, I suppose other people might not like it as much. I know that Georgia and Eve love living up above their moms' shop on Main Street, and I can see why, with all the fun and excitement that goes on along the shore in summertime.

It's true, Georgia and I do love being right in town, but I love being up in the woods as well. I think in this photo I was trying to convince you to climb a tree with me. You weren't having it.

You're right. I'll stay right here on the ground, thank you very much. And I should probably do what we were asked to do when Zaira first said we could commandder her blog for a day--update you on some signs of spring! And, well, there aren't many yet. It's been rainy, so the grass is getting greener, but you sure can't tell in the photos. There aren't many buds or blooms yet, either, but I did see some crocuses and robins in Lila and Marlee's front yard on the way to work the other morning. It does seem fitting that the season would start for them just a little before it does for everyone else.

We hope that you and all of your families are staying healthy right now! I know things are a little scary for everyone, and if you can get outside in nature, by yourself or with the people you live with, do it!

We also hope that we didn't do too bad a job here today, and maybe Zaira and you all will have us back again sometime! Until then,

-Eve and Elijah

An Introduction to Our New Friends (Part One)

Hi everyone! Zaira here. My friends and I have met some new girls over the past few months while we've been semi-MIA, and I thought that it was only fair that you, dear readers, get a true, formal introduction before you start seeing any unfamiliar faces popping up around here. I have to at least try to be a reliable narrator (and believe me, it's a hard job!).

These two girls are Clover and Mackenzie. They're sisters, and Mac is in my grade, while Clover is younger than us.

Mackenzie loves making videos--she wants to be a filmmaker when she gets older! Right now, she interns at the Cedar Island Public Broadcasting Station on the weekend and helps make the news. It sounds like a really important job! Mac is really focused and organized, which is something that I really admire about her. I'm so happy that we met this school year!

Clover is less reserved than Mackenzie is, and she always has a ton of energy! She loves science, especially astronomy. When she gets older, she wants to go to outer space! It sounds like an adventure to me! I love hanging out with Clover because she always has some crazy stories to tell me, and they're always true, whether they're about something cool she found in the woods, a complicated experiment she did in her biology class, or even some weird new scientific discovery she read about!

And last, but most certainly not least, this is Riley! Riley is one of the newest residents of the island, she just moved here with her dad. I met her in our Foods class first semester of this year, when she gave her Family Recipes presentation about kugel, a dish that her family makes for Hanukah. At first, I thought that Riley was really quiet, but it turns out that she was just new and didn't know anyone. We became friends really fast, and I'm so happy that we did! In truth, Riley is one of the most outgoing and funny people I've ever met, and I'm so glad that I know her! She loves going on adventures and is always down to do something fun and crazy, no matter when or where. 

Riley says she wants to try writing a post on here. I told her that that sounds great to me, so maybe you'll be reading that next! Remember back a few years ago when my friends all wrote posts once in a while? That was super fun, and I think I'd like to try it again, especially since we're all stuck at home nowadays and have a bunch of time on our hands.

Later, I'll introduce you to Jayne, Meryl, and Clementine in part two of this post...then, you'll all be up to date! In the meantime, Eve and I have been working hard on the new bios page, if you feel so inclined, check it our and maybe leave us a comment!

Until next time,

-Zaira Joy

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Our Irish Gals!

Georgia may be the only one in today's featured photo, but all of us Irish girls at Worldwide Dolls wanted to wish you all a happy St. Patrick's Day! Whether you're Irish or not, may luck be with you on this sunny Tuesday! :)

"May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May good luck be with you Wherever you go, and your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow.

May your days be many and your troubles be few, May all God’s blessings descend upon you, May peace be within you, May your heart be strong, May you find what you’re seeking wherever you roam.

May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been
the foresight to know where you’re going
and the insight to know when you’re going too far."

Sending love from Cedar Island,
-Georgia, Eve, Marlee, Piper, Clover, and Mackenzie