Tinkering: [ting-ker-ing] To make something with your hands; to experiment, invent. ~ Chloe, age 8
Tinkerbinkering: [ting-ker-bin-ker-ing] Um…whatever Chloe just said. ~ Lulu the Pom, age 4 (which is way older in dog years)
Do you know what tinkering is? It's my favorite thing to do in the whole world. I love to build things with little stuff I have collected in my "bits and bobs" container. You know, things like popsicle sticks, little plastic toys, screws, magnets, small pieces of rope or ribbons – thing-a-ma-bobs that may have gotten broken or lost their purpose. I use them for my inventions and future projects.
Mom got me this really pretty notebook so I could have one place to write down all my inventions and tinkering projects.
“Hey Chloe," squeaked a little voice. "Who are you talking to?”
"Shh! Lulu! Go back to sleep!" I snapped. "I'm talking to our friend now, the reader."
"We have a reader? Wow-wee! I'm gonna be famous!" exclaimed Lulu.
I started to get a little annoyed. "Go back to sleep and let me explain about you, ok?”
"Ok, Peaches," smiled Lulu, as she snuggled back into her little bed.
Sorry about the interruption. I guess now you’ve heard my little dog Lulu. She's my four-year-old Pomeranian and yes, she’s a talker. I know it sounds crazy in that weird, magical, “do fairies really exist” sort of way, but let me tell you that Lulu is definitely not a fairy. She can talk, but she can’t fly.
To start off, let me properly introduce myself. I’m Chloe and I’m just an ordinary eight-year-old girl. I love to tinker (as I tried to mention to you earlier), I love school (I’m in the 3rd grade) and I love hanging out with my dog Lulu (even when she’s a pain in my behind). We all live in San Francisco, California with my Mom and Dad in a house on a hill, Potrero Hill to be exact.
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| CHLOE | LULU |
| 8 years old | 4 years old |
| Picky Eater | Food Monger |
| Likes to make things | Likes to eat things |
| Best friend is Phoebe | Best friend is Gello (pronounced Jello) |
| Favorite color is blue | Favorite toy is a blue turtle |
| Loves school | Hates it when Chloe is at school |
I’m a pretty sane person. I believe in science. I believe in the facts. I’m not the kind of person that would believe that dogs can talk. When Lulu spoke her first words to me, I thought I was dreaming!
Here’s where the flashback music starts: Insert the harp as we go waaay back in time...ok not so far back, but far back enough to this past summer…
It was the start of summer vacation. Swim class was cancelled due to unseasonable rain. I was chilling at home watching my favorite TV show on PBS. Lulu was snuggling next to me on the couch, as usual.
“I’ve already seen this episode,” exclaimed a little voice out of the blue. “Can we watch another one?”
I looked around the room. Mom was working upstairs in her office. My mom has her own design studio and creates web sites and apps. I knew it wasn’t her because she doesn’t have a high-pitched voice like the one I had just heard.
“Helloooo! Right down here!” repeated the little voice.
I glanced down and my little Pom Lulu was looking up, smiling with her tongue hanging out and tail wagging back and forth.
I blinked twice and rubbed my eyes. “Did you just talk to me?” I asked, puzzled, looking directly at Lulu.
“Why yes, Chloe. I did,” smiled Lulu, with her head turned ever so cutely to the side.
I immediately started to process the miracle.
1) My dog can actually talk. (WOW!)
2) This must be a dream. WAKE UP NOW CHLOE!
3) HOLY MOLY! MY DOG IS ACTUALLY TALKING TO ME!!!
I must have been zoning out because Lulu started to get impatient. She tapped me on the arm with her furry paw and spoke again, “Hey Peaches, can we get back on track here and find a different episode to watch?”
Ok, now something really crazy was happening. I needed my best friend Phoebe here to make sure this was all real. And did my dog just call me Peaches?!
“Lulu, how are you really talking to me?” I asked suspiciously.
“Hmm…I don’t know. I’ve always understood you, Mom and Dad. I think it started when you were a baby and learning how to talk,” explained Lulu. “That and all the TV watching in this house.”
So now that I had a talking dog on my hands. I really needed some more answers. “Lulu, have you ever talked to Mom and Dad before?” I questioned.
“Nah, I think they would freak out,” explained Lulu.
“Yes, they probably would freak out,” I said. “So, no one else has heard you talk before, right?
“Right-O Chloe-O. Nooooobodee else!” Lulu affirmed.
“Ok great! And please don’t call me Chloe-O. That’s a terrible nickname,” I added.
“Peaches, on the other hand I may be able to live with. Maybe you can find another fruit name for me. One that I actually like to eat!” I joked. We both laughed.
“For now, we need this be our secret. You don’t see talking dogs every day and I just want to keep you safe,” I said. “I don’t want someone bad to take you away from me, like make you perform in a circus or something.”
“Sounds good to meeeeee!” bubbled Lulu. “Plus, I am really afraid of lions!”
Lulu is the closest thing I have to a sister and she’s also my best friend too. Lulu agreed to keep her little mouth shut, even though I don’t think she completely understood why.
I finally gave in on the TV front and let her pick which episode she wanted to watch.
“I’m hungry,” Lulu pouted. “Can I have a treat or maybe a little snack? Go get that new bag of salmon treats from the kitchen.”
Enter the flashback harp music again as we return to present time…
[ here's the graphic waves here]
And weeee’reee back! So this, dear friend, is how I came to realize my fluffy, constantly-hungry Pom Pom was actually a very opinionated little munchkin. But despite our little arguments from time to time, Lulu really is the sweetest dog. I’ve also gotten used to her calling me Peaches now.
Of course, now that her talking is out in the open with me, she can’t stop! I have to shush her when Mom and Dad are close by. She’s also a quirky one. For instance, she likes to walk backwards from her water dish after she’s had a drink of water. I saw her do this again recently and just had to ask her about it. Lulu told me she’s afraid the kitchen table will attack her. It took me a good twenty minutes to convince her that the dining room table is just an object and not alive like people and animals.
But the one thing that scares Lulu the most, more than our dining room table, is Mr. Snuffles. Mr. Snuffles is this evil white cat that belongs to Old Lady Sally next door. Lulu says he sends her bad “juju” with his icy blue eyes. He likes to make a swatting motion at Lulu with his paw from Old Lady Sally’s kitchen window whenever he sees her. I told Lulu that he was harmless. Mr. Snuffles is just probably bored because he’s a cat and has to live indoors. Lulu’s not so sure.
Read more in Chapter 2: Meet My Friends
