Family Stuff
So who are Bill and Diane Elliott?
Good question - our kids have been asking us that for most of their lives!
We're your average Empty Nesters who are well into the second half of our lives.
Our sons, David and Michael, are on their own, so the house, car, and budget are all our own, though we still share several garage shelves with them.
Along with Khan-Pur, our cat (OK - he’s a purebred Exotic Shorthair, so he needed an exotic name) and Miss T (Remember Mr. T?), our trundling box turtle, we have claimed the Salem-Keizer area of Oregon as our home for almost 30 years. Now that we have Salem’s one-way streets figured out, we plan to stay around a bit more.
Bill
Currently I work for Oregon's Department of Justice as their “Software Education Coordinator.” Yep - the fancier the title, the plainer the paycheck!
In my spare time I'm also
Frequently my family and friends find me in the garage, trying to figure out how to drive nails with a screwdriver or which end of the hammer cuts wood. I call it “wood working,” Diane calls it “making sawdust,” and our neighbors call it “noise”!
Cameras and computers complete my list of interests. As you can probably guess, I speak Windows at work and Macintosh at home.
Diane
I’m a Systems Analyst for Oregon's Department of Consumer and Business Services. Unlike Bill I don’t pursue hobbies connected with computers or anything having to do with work. At home I enjoy sewing but I spend most of my spare time with the Columbia River Chapter of Sweet Adelines, International. Serving on the Region 24 Board of Directors and singing with my chorus keeps me more than just occupied!
Khan-Pur
Yes - I am an Exotic Shorthair, complete with a pedigree and a picture! Back in 1990 I was the “runt” of the litter, and the owner of our cattery decided to get rid of me. She was really cool about it. We went to a cat show in Salem and, unlike “purrfect” show cats, I got to wander outside my cage and play with people. Little did I know there was a “For Sale” sign behind me!
On the last day of the show, late in the afternoon, three people wandered by, played with me for a while, then left. How was I to know they talked about buying me. They each agreed to contribute a trifle to the venture and sent this guy named “Bill” back to my owner. He offered her a ridiculously low price, considering my high breeding and higher character. I still cannot find words to express my chagrin and abject shame when my owner accepted without so much as a hesitant cough!
So here I am, grand master of all I survey. Really, I am! I have to let my people think they run things but I am definitely in charge. Every so often, though, they rebel and disappear for days on end. Nice strangers come in to see me once in a while, but not my people. When they do come back they talk of the new and wonderful places they've been. They even put their reports on something called a “web site.” Maybe I should figure out what that computer mouse is really for!
Miss T
I'm the “hard-shell” member of the family. As an Eastern Box Turtle I simply take life as it comes. No one knows how old I am. I'm not telling, but I'm sure you'll agree I don't look my age. I came into the Elliott household back in the spring of 1983 and I've been with them ever since. We've worked out a livable arrangement over the years - Bill feeds me once a week or so and plops me into a bowl of water now and then for a drink and a bath.
Around Thanksgiving he puts me and a large towel in a box and places me in the garage. I think this is called “Hibernation,” or something like that. Come spring he wakes me up by plopping me into a bowl of water. In a few days I'm ready to eat and face another year.
So what do I do in return for all this? I wander around the house and nip any toes I find!
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