Happy 2026!

I am starting to think I should open a PO box in Washington state because I spend so much time there. I made another trip over and back, and I managed to do it in between storm systems.

DD#1 and her husband bought a house and moved into it in November. It’s a wonderful house on five acres, but it’s a mile off the county road. That’s a feature, not a bug, for them. Their house in Ketchikan was beseiged by tourists throughout cruise ship season and they wanted privacy. However, privacy comes with a road full of potholes and ruts and DD#1’s 20 year-old Honda Civic wasn’t cutting it. My Jeep fairly glided over the uneven surface, so I decided to sell it to her and get a new one. I loved the BMW, but the Jeep has been a great replacement. Mine had 35,000 miles on it and has had no issues.

Knowing it would be easiest to swap vehicles over there, we called the guy who helped us purchase the husband’s two work trucks. I explained what I wanted and he found it. The new Jeep is basically the same model as the old one with a few more bells and whistles. It’s also red. I asked if they could install running boards and studded snow tires and he said that those would be done by the time I arrived.

I left Sunday after church, because I had to deliver the sermon that day. Also, during the winter, it’s easiest to break the trip up into two days. I spent Sunday night in Spokane, then drove to DD#1’s house on Monday. We went out to dinner that night with her in-laws. On Tuesday morning, she and I headed back to Seattle. When we arrived at the dealer, the new Jeep was ready and waiting for me. Our sales guy was amazing. Not only did he have the Jeep ready for me, but he went over the paperwork for the private sale and had everything appropriately notarized so that DD#1 could make the title transfer easily.

She headed home—with a stop at Ikea—and I headed for Pacific Fabrics. 😇 I bought two more yards of the Hugo Boss deadstock fabric because I have decided to make a longer, lined coat. The store was insanely busy. Usually, there are half a dozen people shopping. That day, there were probably four times that many. I would have liked to linger, but I had a few other errands to do.

DD#2’s boyfriend’s mother has been in Seattle since the middle of December. She is staying at the same Airbnb where I stay when I’m there. (She heads home tomorrow.) I met her and the kids for dinner. She is so much fun. I wish we had had more time to visit.

I left Seattle a bit later than I wanted to on Wednesday because the fog was so thick. I have a healthy respect for freezing fog—I saw one of our neighbors flip his truck in freezing fog—and I am familiar with how Washington drivers do not. I waited until the sun came up and the fog started to burn off. I arrived in Spokane around 1 pm, which gave me plenty of time to do some shopping. I had a list of supplies for my Sew Expo classes and knew I could get most of them there. I also picked up a backing for the baby quilt; my college roommate’s granddaughter arrived a few weeks early, just after Christmas, so I need to finish that project and get it on its way.

Speaking of fog, DD#2 and her boyfriend went to a friend’s apartment for New Year’s Eve so they could watch the fireworks from the Space Needle. The fog was so thick that this was their view:

I drove home yesterday morning. Traffic was virtually nonexistent, which was lovely. The roads were clear and dry. I really did luck out with the weather over the passes in both directions.

And now I need to play catch-up and deal with the end-of-2025 paperwork. I am also hoping that because it is the beginning of 2026, QuickBooks payroll will play nicely. Pray for me. I could continue to do payroll manually, but that is hard to do when I am traveling.

The husband is done slacking and plans to go to work today to prepare for a concrete pour next week.