Happy Holidays from the Pacific Northwest! Hope you and yours had a good one. I can tell you that for us, all was quiet on the western front. We stuck close to our new home and had some home-cooking, and generally relaxed. Well...as much as you can relax with a crazed 6-year-old whose eyes glazed over every time a new package arrived with her name on it. Oooh the Christmas anticipation was at full speed by Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve was a glorious Seattle day. The sun and my beloved Olympics were out, and I went for a run along the water in shorts. As a matter of fact, we spent most of the day outside, running errands (walking to the stores) and walking to a neighborhood open house in the evening. The open house was hosted by the head of the PTA at Lorelei's school. She's a true free spirit, which of course, makes her parties the best. I've been to two, now, and each time, something interesting happens. At this party, we walked into a conversation about the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance. Just when I thought it could get ugly, someone handed me a glass of champagne. God bless whoever that was. Then another person arrived in full dress. I mean, in full vampire-goth-weirdo-Halloween-floor-length-gown dress. I feel terrible that I don't have pictures to share because it was a sight to behold. To be perfectly fair, these people were wonderful and we had a great time. The kids all played in the basement which was decorated, and the parents listened to great music and enjoyed a Mexican-themed fare - complete for 3 different types of homemade tamales (Ed - you were missed).
When we got home, Lorelei was permitted to open one gift, and she chose the above gifts - from Great-grandma Bear. She wears the doggy hat all the time!
And then the storm came.
Lorelei was crazy with presents. She had a great time, but wow. She got a lot of stuff. Whew. It wore me out. By around 5pm Christmas Day, Lorelei had what can only be described as a Christmas hangover. Those of you who spent the holidays around little kids will know what I'm talking about. Only the aspirin isn't for Lorelei, it's for me. Ugh.
It's hard to say what her favorite gift was. She has played with all of her gifts. It was really nice that everyone sent her gifts - she loved getting the mail and having the presents...it was just really nice. She was sad to not be with family, she told us that. This was a nice consolation.
Shawn and I did well too. I got the hat I always wanted and the cookbook that I didn't even know existed (nice work, Santa!).
That hat is for the rain. As luck would have it, it's been raining here, so I've had an opportunity to wear it. This hat is perfect.
Probably the best part of the weekend came on the day after Christmas. We walked down to Lincoln Park right near our house. We walked all along in the woods and down by the water. The Olympics were visible despite the clouds, but they looked like ghosts of themselves. It was really beautiful in a different way than the pristine views you have on a clear day.
Sometimes I think I like the Sound and the mountains as much on the cloudy days as I do on the clear days. The wildlife is always much more visible on the rainy, cloudy days.
It's nice. This is a good place to get a little perspective on things, that's for sure. It's why we moved here.
As the year draws to a close, here's hoping that we all can keep perspective and have a great year coming up. Much love to everyone - we wish we were with you, but hopefully we'll see you out here soon!
Much love to all!
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