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A Week in Photos: 2024, Part 51
December 30, 2024
Monday, December 16: Had to be out of the condo by 10 a.m. but our flight out wasn’t until 6:30 p.m., so we used that time in between to go to Disney Springs and see Moana 2 and explore the Coke store (all three floors … as far as I can recall, I’d only ever been on the first floor before). Having heard horror stories about lines at the Orlando airport this holiday season, I insisted we get there three hours ahead of our flight, which turned out to be more time than we needed, as the posted wait time for security of 25 to 29 minutes was accurate. Better too much time than too little in that situation, I say. We were once again blessed by the airline gods and had an empty seat between us for the long flight to Seattle. Even got in to Seattle early, which helped a lot since we had a tight connection to the short flight back to Spokane. We landed there around midnight local time, which felt like 3 a.m. body time, and still had two hours to drive home, which fortunately we did without incident. (Pic of the day is a Christmas tree in Disney Springs that reminded me of the one in front of the Space Needle I saw last month.)
Tuesday, December 17: Since we’d gotten home so late the night before (close to 6 a.m. if I recall correctly, which meant we’d been awake for over 24 hours), I slept in and had a lazy day. So lazy that it was after dark when I thought to take a photo for the day. Very wintery at home; quite a contrast to Florida. (Though many of the days we had in Florida were cool by their standards, which I welcomed, since it meant I didn’t have to wear compression socks to ward off the heat-related exercise-induced vasculitis I’ve struggled with on our recent trips.)
Wednesday, December 18: My body was still on east coast time, so I was up in the blue light of early morning to see rain on the windows. Not a good thing during ski season.
Thursday, December 19: Clearning my shows off the DVR, saw evidence of the snow that happened while we were gone, in the form of modern art created when the satellite dish struggled to get a clear signal either due to the heaviness of the precipitation or the accumulation of snow in the dish itself.
Friday, December 20: Even though it felt like we just got home, we spent part of this day packing to leave again, this time just to go a day’s drive west to spend the holiday with Mr. Karen’s sister Kathy and her family. I’d caught up with the laundry from our Florida trip, though there wasn’t a whole lot of overlap between the things we wore there and the things we’d need for a week in the cool rain of the Pacific northwest. I don’t remember when I started folding my socks and underwear into my shirts for packing (shown here after selection but before packaging up) rather than having separate packing cubes for just socks and just underwear but it’s worked out because I don’t have to remember which socks I decided to pair with which shirt. And yes, I do like lots of color in my socks and shirts. (That tie dye shirt in bottom right was actually my mom’s, so at least some of my love of color is passed on from her.)
Saturday, December 21: Drove and drove down to the freeway and then across Washington. We left earlier than usual so we could get over the pass before Seattle while it was still daylight and thus not below freezing. I happened to be the passenger when we approached the Columbia River scenic views, so that was nice for me. Rarther than going all the way to Kathy’s house, we got a motel outside of Seattle. Thanks to our early start, there was time to go for dinner at my favorite conveyer belt sushi place before we turned in for the night. (We did end up moving to a new room when the sink in our first one turned out to be clogged up, so that was less relaxing than it could have been.)
Sunday, December 22: Checked out of our hotel and went to the rendezvous point for Mr. Karen to meet up with the other family that was going to the Seahawks vs. Vikings game (this was why we didn’t drive all the way up to Kathy’s the night before). Once he was able to sit in a nephew’s car while waiting for the rest of the folks to arrive, I took off for the Japanese variety store and the Korean grocery to pick up some snacks that definitely aren’t available at home. I didn’t go to the locations of those stores I’d been to before since I was starting out by the stadium rather than the neighborhood where I stay when I go to craft classes, so I drove in parts of town I hadn’t seen before. So nice to see such variety of stuff, like the Oaxaqueño restaurant/store next to a red light I had to stop at. Two stops wore me out, so I didn’t do anything else in the city before heading up to Kathy’s house.
On this date in 2023: Endemic Pandemic
2022: Home is Where the Laundry Is
2021: Back on the Slopes
2020: Going Grey Eventually
2019: Spoiler-Free Star Wars Thoughts
2018: When All Else Fails, Scenery
2017: December Progress Report
2016: Facing the Forecast
2015: Icy
2014: Temptation at the Thrift Shop
2013: Little Karen
2012: Sock Monkey Tries Five Guys
2011: Sock Monkeys Redecorate
2010: Sock Monkey Goes Grocery Shopping
2009: Gadgetry
2008: Twilight, The Movie
2007: Fitter
2006: Chilly Afternoon Out
2005: Triplets
2004: Vacation Paddling
2003: Pikachu Loves Me, At Least for Now
2002: Lost Weekend
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