Let the Good Times Roll...

Let's start with weather. Last week saw our first (and hopefully last) snowfall of the season. It was unexpected in this part of the county, but it ended dropping a significant amount of snow over the course of one day. I tried to get into work, but found the going treacherous and returned home. It took me an hour to make the round trip to Poulsbo and back, and as my daughter said :She lives in Poulsbo!" Actually, just outside of Poulsbo. And as luck would have it (his, not mine), John was in California. There are still pockets where the snow is in piles or covering yards or fields, but at least the roads are clear, so life as we know it has resumed.

Christmas gifts were sent out on the 15th and most have arrived at their destinations. We are easing into the holiday here at home as we have no visitors this year. But we will be spending time with all the offspring over New Years and that is coming up fast. Roosevelt will be off to Club Med or whatever he calls the kennel on Friday and we will be on a plane to San Francisco on Saturday. There are dinner plans with friends, an overdue visit with the grandson, a football game, and more dinners. We'll return to our quiet space on New Years Day.

I am wrapping up and winding down at work. My last day is officially January 4. Accounting for holidays, I have 7 more work days. The department held a nice "see ya later" fete for two of us who are departing. They gave us gifts for our new commutes which included lots of foot pampering products for my city-walking tootsies and a gift card to buy some reading material while I enjoy that ferry ride daily. As always, there are people I will miss. But I am so looking forward to the new job!

John has also started some long-term "winding down" as he has put the staff on alert that he intends only about 4 more years with the company. That time will fly by, so, if any of them are interested, perhaps they'll want to take over the business. Perhaps in a year or two, he will reduce his semi-monthly visits down there to monthly. Maybe he would actually be here to be "snowed in" with me!

Well, the world didn't end on Friday and the Solstice ushered in the return of the light. Merry Christmas to us all and here's to a very Happy New Year. Till then...

Tis the Season (of Change)

I had a surprise when I logged on to my computer at home one evening this week. Daughter Kate was online and called me via Skype. I had me first Skype "conversation" with The Grandson! It was so much fun to see him. He has changed so much since my visit just after his birth. His hair (what hasn't fallen out) is turning a reddish color. And his cheeks and his legs have "filled out" as they do. He's a charmer for sure. That was a wonderful surprise.

I have accepted a new job! Come January, I will be commuting across the water to a hospital in Seattle to work as a Clinical Education Specialist for their Ambulatory sites. It's just what I did in California before we moved up here and it's a role I enjoy. The hospital was named Top Hospital of the Decade last year and my experience with the people I have met there so far has been only positive. They really have their act together. I'm even looking forward to the commute. I won't have to drive (except to the Park 'n Ride lot). I'll catch a bus to the ferry terminal, spend 35 minutes relaxing, and take a 4 minute ride up the hill in Seattle to the hospital. Once I get a little more fit, I'll walk that last leg. So, I get activity, exercise, and relaxation built right into my day! Win-win.

Of course, that change in job will bring some other changes as well. John will also begin to commute to the airport via the ferry and the train on his California weeks. We can ride together to Seattle and then on return he will wait for me at the ferry terminal and we'll ride back together. We're going to get a freezer so we can create meals and he will be the chief cook on his weeks at home since I'll be arriving home later. And I'll line up a house cleaner to visit a couple times a month so my weekends won't be spent in the trenches. Team Grant will "keep calm and carry on" through this period of transition.

We're not putting up a Christmas tree this year. Since it will be only John and I during the holiday and since we are leaving to visit in California just after said holiday,  I have opted out of the putting up/taking down. I've started putting a few merry touches around the house and that will be just fine. Christmas cards have gone out and I'll work on wrapping and mailing gifts now. John wants a boat so he can go whale watching in the Sound! The resident Orca pods have been very active locally. One of the ferries even had to stop as they were in the midst of a pod. So, maybe John will have to look for them on his rides on the ferry now. See. You wish for a boat, and Santa sends you a ferry! Ho, Ho, Ho...