Happy Holidays 2023
From McAlister and Jocelyn
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy New Year! Despite our best efforts, Jocelyn is late sending our annual greetings -- sorry about that. The year 2023 was challenging, but it brought us new opportunities.
We welcomed a visit from McAlister's daughter Meridith for McAlister's birthday weekend in January when he turned 80. We had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Pogacha, on Mercer Island. Just as we were about to walk out the door, McAlister announced in a loud voice a room of stunned diners that it was his 80th birthday. The room erupted in applause. Needless to say, that brought all other conversation to a halt. 
McAlister pointed to Meridith and Jocelyn and said, " And these are the two women who helped me get here!" Both Meridith and Jocelyn were speechless, but managed to not trip on their way out the door after a second round of applause. We're filing that one under Unexpectedly Memorable Moments of 2023.
In February, McAlister's pastel work was included as part of a special diversity display at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, invited in by fellow artists and appreciated by their rector, Rev. Beverly A. Moore-Tasy.
The long-awaited installation of our solar panels arrived in late March, but it would still be another 2 months before the installation was inspected and activated. A visit to Pogacha in late March brought us another Unexpectedly Memorable Moment: Ma and Pa Mallard took up residence on the top of the warm car, and didn't feel any particular need to move, even as we approached them and turned on the engine. They finally flew away when the car moved.
A couple of times this year our outdoor wildlife camera has caught full-grown deer wandering right past the house. We also see wild rabbits, an occasional bobcat, nosy squirrels, and of course the birds who visit "Toolie's Bird Diner" daily.
Jocelyn's contract job at Expeditors concluded at the end of March, and that began a 5-month odyssey of unemployment, with her filing a dozen or more job applications a week. Finally in July, she had a preliminary interview for a role in Starbucks Corporate IT Department. But it took 4 more interviews and another month (end of August) before she finally started working at the iconic headquarters in the SoDo area of Seattle. Washington State Unemployment Benefits kept us going, but it was a relief to get back to work, even though Jocelyn now has to commute to Seattle 2 days a week instead of being 100% remote (which she prefers).
In June our solar panels finally came online. When the sun shines, the solar panels offset our energy consumption, and when it exceeds our usage, the rest is sold back to the power company. 
The two men who came from Puget Sound Energy to enable the last step in the activation humored a bubbly Jocelyn by standing still for a photo.
Our godson, Dominic Mein, visits us from time to time (which we love), and in August introduced us to his new girlfriend, Liz. Dominic was just promoted to management at the tutoring and student assistance company where he works. He enjoys the challenge of getting kids from grades 3 to 12 to focus and learn.
McAlister has been working on projects in his studio and joining regular Zoom calls with fellow sculptors from the Oregon-based Pacific Northwest Sculptors group. He continues to experiment with molds and small glass pieces that would be fused into larger works. We made occasional visits to art galleries and shows throughout the year where his colleagues were displaying their art. McAlister is also working on a marketing plan and platform for teaching glass sculpture techniques by way of a video subscription channel on either YouTube or Patreon. We'll let you know as soon as that becomes available.
In October, we had lunch and a brief visit from Jocelyn's cousin Tim and his wife Ann from Indianapolis. We brought them to Pogacha, and enjoyed lots of laughs and stories. We took them on a brief tour of downtown Seattle and drove by the Starbucks building (of course!).
In November, Jocelyn was approached by the company from which she earned her 2 certifications in the software management methodology she practices ("Scrum") about becoming a trainer for them. It required passing a third certification exam, which she did on New Year's Day! Now she is a certified trainer for them, and can recruit and teach students evenings and weekends as her schedule allows.
Dominic joined us for Christmas Eve service at Bellevue Presbyterian, and then came over from dinner Christmas Day, making the sweet potato casserole that accompanied our turkey and all the trimmings.
Jocelyn continues to be involved with the Justice & Racial Reconciliation Team at Bellevue Presbyterian. She's working on a curriculum that will equip team members and the congregation to understand the biblical basis for justice, and specific ways to address racial animus in our world. It's deeply challenging but satisfying way to spread God's love.
We are so glad to receive your holiday cards and emails. Thank you for keeping us in your world. We hope you enjoyed catching up with us as well.