Dear Friends and Family,
It's hard to believe that 2024 is over already! It's been an eventful year for us, and we'll describe it in words and pictures for you. Thank you for your holiday cards and greetings too -- we love to hear from you.
In January we were blessed by a week-long visit from McAlister's daughter Meridith, including dinner out twice for his birthday. We tried a local Chicago-style pizza restaurant owned by a former co-worker of Jocelyn's, and the deep-dish pizza was incredible! Dinner on his birthday was at our favorite place, Pogacha on Mercer Island.
Jocelyn had been hired to work for Starbucks through October, but a disappointing fiscal Q1 for Starbucks caused them to drop all the contractors early. Consequently, she had a hiatus from work for about 6 weeks, during which she took on the challenge of cleaning out the garage. Jocelyn mistakenly thought that the boxes along the back wall were all empty, but alas, they were not.
Given the 25 years of accumulated possessions, the cleanup took weeks. That included a half-dozen trips to the nearby Transfer [trash] Station, rounds of donated materials, a dozen bags of trash, and in August, the installation of two new sets of garage shelves. The garage has been transformed into a more organized storage space containing things we still want to keep. We're down to one car, and now we can walk all the way around the car without having to open the big garage door. There are still a half-dozen boxes to clean out and some big items for which we'll have to call removal specialists. But overall, it's a huge relief. There's enough space now to do the opening twirl from the movie "Sound of Music" without knocking anything over. Yay!
In March, McAlister was surprised by the arrival of a very large package from our friends Lew and Diana. Decades ago when he was at Art Center College of Design, McAlister painted a watercolor painting (one of only a handful of times he ever used watercolors) and gave it to Lew and Diana as a thank-you gift. The painting hung in their home for years. Recently they decided to obtain a high-quality copy (giclée) of the painting, and returned the newly re-framed original to McAlister for his birthday. Their generosity reduced us both to tears. We proudly display the painting in our home.
In Apri
l, Jocelyn went to New Hampshire to meet up with her sister Melody at the Reflexology Association of America's Biennial Conference. As Past President, Melody was host for the conference.
Melody and Jocelyn drove up to see their brother Mark and his wife Karen in Maine for a brief but enjoyable visit. Melody and Jocelyn drove on back roads from Boston to Maine, visiting lighthouses along the way and finding the best ice cream cones in the process. Mark and Karen took us out for seafood in Portland, which was delicious!
Jocelyn was picked up by Alaska Airlines in late May, where she worked for the remainder of 2024. Jocelyn brings her Scrum software methodology expertise as well as extensive travel industry experience to the job. She's part of a team of 15 Scrum Masters, which is a nice change from all the times she's been the only scrum master on an assignment. Jocelyn coordinates the development of iPad-based software that the airport-based Alaska Airlines customer service agents use to help passengers get where they're going. Alaska's recent acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines has intensified the work and the deadlines. The year 2025 will be very interesting indeed.
In February, McAlister was again invited to display his art at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church for Black History Month. In June, McAlister was invited by Rev. Beverly Moore-Tasy to provide a one-day, one-man show at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Seattle as part of a multi-disciplinary display of music, art, dancing, and poetry readings that reflected on the significance of the holiday. As you can see in the video, McAlister's art was displayed in an alcove on the far side of the altar in the Cathedral. Meridith flew up to see the exhibit, and was a godsend in helping us get the pastels, sculptures, and flyers packed up, set up, and taken back down in one day.
July brought a celebration of life for Meridith's mother Alline (McAlister's ex-wife) who passed away in May. We flew to Los Angeles for the event, and reconnected with friends from the area while we were there. Meridith's celebration for her mother was memorable, and a fitting tribute to such a sweet and talented woman.
McAlister's misadventure with a fall down the front steps in late July landed him in the hospital for a week with 5 cracked ribs. He recovered faster than expected, and was discharged to a rehab facility where he had physical therapy and close attention from staff. He was able to come home after 2 weeks, and began several months of twice-weekly visits for additional outpatient physical therapy. As is his way, McAlister rebounded quickly, requiring now only an occasional use of a cane to get around.
Two days before Jocelyn's birthday, McAlister made a mysterious trip to our jeweler. After inviting Jocelyn out for a holiday weekend dessert at our favorite restaurant, McAlister produced a box with a sapphire engagement ring! "Just to be clear, will you marry me?" were the magic words. "Yes, yes, yes!" Jocelyn stammered. We had not discussed marriage for over 15 years, so this came as a complete but very welcome surprise. Thus, wedding plans are underway for a May 3, 2025 wedding at St. Margaret's Episcopal in Bellevue.
Our prior relationship with Rev. Beverly Moore-Tasy, and St. Margaret's being the perfect venue for a small wedding made that wedding location decision easy. Rev. Beverly will officiate. Jocelyn's sister Melody will be the Maid-of-Honor, and McAlister's brother Leigh of Raleigh, North Carolina will be his Best Man. Our good friend Tony Payne is flying in from Wheaton, Illinois with his wife Marian, to play the organ for us. We are so excited and grateful!
November and December were a blur of holiday preparations and too much food! Jocelyn picked up a weird sinus infection/bronchitis and gave it to McAlister, so we've both been stuffed up and coughing for the last few weeks. We are on the mend, but we plan to wear masks more often when we're out and about, at least until we get through the winter months.
We're looking forward to 2025 as a year of changes and opportunities. We are blessed by our family, our friendships, good health, and a home we love. We wish for you the same.