Long Good-byes

The weather turned cold and wet here today.  We are hoping to have our last weekend of garage sale, but the weather will probably keep people away.  Most of our large things are sold or committed to someone so it is just a matter of time to see my home as empty as the day we first rented it.

My brother, Jon, flew up from California to say good-bye.  He retired last year and took a two month long trip around Europe with his wife.  Now he is writing a mystery novel and enjoying life in his cottage in Alameda.  We visited a few places we hadn't seen since we moved here a year and a half ago, including the glass museum in Tacoma and Pike's Market in Seattle.  We started the day with a great dim sum lunch in Chinatown and then wandered off to the market.

We talked about our sons, our family, dad, food, travel, and anything else that came up.  Whenever I visit with him, which hasn't been as often as I would have liked, it is like we have never been apart.  He has been my friend since I was a kid as well as my mentor and big brother.

After he left, our focus went back to packing.  We are now the proud owners of dual SIM GSM phones which we can use in Thailand.  American phones are useless outside the US as are all the other electrical things I own.  We will clear out the house by next weekend, drive our boxes of worldly goods to the shipper in Seattle, and then lug our 5 suitcases, two overnight bags and backpacks to a hotel near the airport.  In the meantime, our neighbor is going to take us to dinner and another pair of friends are buying us a dim sum brunch tomorrow.  In just the short time we have been here, we have made some very good friends and I will miss them all.  We tried our hands at a business, canned fresh fruits and vegetables, visited Portland to the south and Canada to the north, and taken a ferry across the Puget Sound.  Of all the places I have lived, this is one of the most beautiful.

We also heard from Nee's friend, Bee, in Thailand.  We arrive at midnight on the 27th of January.  Good friend that she is, she is going to pick us up and deliver us to our hotel.  Her promise reminds me of the song my boys used to listen to on their We Sing tape. 

Make new friends and keep the old ones.

One is silver and the other gold.

Bee is the one next to Nee.