On The First Day Of Christmas...
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
It’s the twelfth day of Christmas.
So much has happened in the last two weeks that I have had little time to write about it. By the time Saturday night rolled around, there was ten inches of snow on the ground. Carrie and Zachary had successfully landed in California and I was left alone in Seattle.
My friend Cameron picked me up at the airport and whisked me off to his place in North Seattle. We sat and watched the snow bury his yard and wondered when it would stop. Sunday we marched down the street and went sledding down this monster hill. There were a dozen or so people gathered to celebrate this rare occasion. Some of them lent us a plastic sled when they saw that our garbage can lid was woefully insufficient for sliding. We blasted down the hill time and again, finally returning home for hot drinks.
The next few days brought more snow and less action. We took nice walks in the winter wonderland and I did a little shopping, but many tasks got left undone. Seattle is a town that is not accustomed to snow. When it hits, everything comes to a stand still. My cousin needed his four wheel drive vehicle and I didn’t want to rent a car in those weather conditions, so I spent most of my time sitting around the house. Carrie and Z arrived on Christmas Eve. Rather than driving to Portland to see my mother, we spent the night at Cameron and Anne’s. It was an exceptionally nice evening, but not quite what I had planned.
Christmas day found us driving to Portland with my cousins. We opened gifts, welcomed guests, and ate a traditional dinner of cracked crab. The highlight was a rousing game of Wii bowling in which the six year old beat us all with 192 points.
After Christmas, my brother and his family arrived from Texas. We rented a nice house together in the Montlake area of Seattle. It was great. The house had plenty of space for everyone, spread out over three floors. This meant the two kids could run around downstairs without bothering anyone while everyone else hung out in the living areas. We did puzzles, played games, ate good food, and even ventured off to the mountains for inner tubing in the snow.
We tried to go boating on the Skagit River to view bald eagles, but blowing snow drove us back to Seattle. We wandered around the Museum of Flight for the rest of the day before heading out to a beautiful dinner at a local seafood house.
The time ended too soon. We had so much planned, but very little got accomplished. Carrie, Zachary, and I flew to Atlanta on Sunday. We have four days here before returning “home” to Venezuela. I must confess, I am not very excited about returning. There’s nothing specific, just mounting dread over the impending homecoming. I’m sure this feeling will subside soon or at least I hope so.
MJR
It’s the twelfth day of Christmas.
So much has happened in the last two weeks that I have had little time to write about it. By the time Saturday night rolled around, there was ten inches of snow on the ground. Carrie and Zachary had successfully landed in California and I was left alone in Seattle.
My friend Cameron picked me up at the airport and whisked me off to his place in North Seattle. We sat and watched the snow bury his yard and wondered when it would stop. Sunday we marched down the street and went sledding down this monster hill. There were a dozen or so people gathered to celebrate this rare occasion. Some of them lent us a plastic sled when they saw that our garbage can lid was woefully insufficient for sliding. We blasted down the hill time and again, finally returning home for hot drinks.
The next few days brought more snow and less action. We took nice walks in the winter wonderland and I did a little shopping, but many tasks got left undone. Seattle is a town that is not accustomed to snow. When it hits, everything comes to a stand still. My cousin needed his four wheel drive vehicle and I didn’t want to rent a car in those weather conditions, so I spent most of my time sitting around the house. Carrie and Z arrived on Christmas Eve. Rather than driving to Portland to see my mother, we spent the night at Cameron and Anne’s. It was an exceptionally nice evening, but not quite what I had planned.
Christmas day found us driving to Portland with my cousins. We opened gifts, welcomed guests, and ate a traditional dinner of cracked crab. The highlight was a rousing game of Wii bowling in which the six year old beat us all with 192 points.
After Christmas, my brother and his family arrived from Texas. We rented a nice house together in the Montlake area of Seattle. It was great. The house had plenty of space for everyone, spread out over three floors. This meant the two kids could run around downstairs without bothering anyone while everyone else hung out in the living areas. We did puzzles, played games, ate good food, and even ventured off to the mountains for inner tubing in the snow.
We tried to go boating on the Skagit River to view bald eagles, but blowing snow drove us back to Seattle. We wandered around the Museum of Flight for the rest of the day before heading out to a beautiful dinner at a local seafood house.
The time ended too soon. We had so much planned, but very little got accomplished. Carrie, Zachary, and I flew to Atlanta on Sunday. We have four days here before returning “home” to Venezuela. I must confess, I am not very excited about returning. There’s nothing specific, just mounting dread over the impending homecoming. I’m sure this feeling will subside soon or at least I hope so.
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 11:54 AM
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