Christmas 2024

When so many things seem to be going wrong, it’s easy to forget how many things are actually going right. Or, when worrying about the “big things,” to overlook the simple joy of the little things. Just maybe, things are not going to be okay, rather they are already okay now. But what about all the problems, disasters, heartaches, and setbacks? Well, we are here together to face them with the help of family and friends like you, which is a pretty good start, all things considered. So, this year’s theme is about reflecting on things that are “the best.” And if after reading this, you feel like leaving a comment below about your best things, please know we think that would be the best too.

—Warmest holiday wishes from Kevin, Ann, Malena, Scott, Owen & Juliette

[Click here to jump to photo gallery.]

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Kevin’s 2024

Best books:

Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build A Sustainable Planet, by Hannah Ritchie (2024). Turns out the world doesn’t have to end soon after all!

Simply Electrifying, The Technology That Transformed the World… by Craig R. Roach, Ph.D. (2017). Read this by candlelight during a power outage.

Best album: Polaroid Lovers, by Sarah Jarosz (2024)

Best day dream: all of a sudden, courtesy becomes contagious amongst drivers, a friend calls out of the blue for no reason except to say, “I was just thinking about you”, a politician somewhere says “I was wrong,” I hear from someone that they just got good news from their doctor, and my honeybees successfully winter over.

Best Analysis of the Last Election:

Best quotes:

“Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for.”
—Seamus Heaney (paraphrasing Václav Havel)

“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one.”
―Charles MacKay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1852)

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Ann’s 2024

Best book: The Samurai’s Garden  by Gail Tsukiyama. The author does a fabulous job of depicting life in Japan, spanning from the pre-World War II era through to the post-war revival.   

Best concert: The Bygones At the Crocodile Café

Best meal: definitely son-in-law Scott’s roast duck at Thanksgiving

Best trip: Egypt with Malena and Vassar friends (read Malena’s trip report here)

Best experience: the many e-bike trips around the NW (click here for sample trip report)

Best Quote:

“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”  
—George Orwell, from his book 1984 

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Malena’s 2024

Best books: historical fiction featuring women really led the category this year with Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghase, and Nefertiti: A Novel, by Michelle Moran. My Brilliant Friend, and all the Neopolitan Novels are also up there.

Best music: if Cowboy Carter (Beyoncé) doesn’t win best album, I swear to God…

Best meal : a strong tie between a fancy James Beard meal at Matia on Orcas Island, and backyard pork chops with homemade salsa, Owen’s sourdough, and a cornucopia of fresh ingredients enjoyed with family and friends on a summer night.

Best trip:  Fulfilling a life dream of going to Egypt with my mom obviously takes the cake. But I would also like to shout out the epic weekend getaways Scott and I took: the Formula 1 race in Austin, the HAVN sauna in Victoria BC, the farmhouse on the Olympic Peninsula, and bike-packing on Lopez Island. (Read all Malena’s trip reports here.)

Best experience: skiing off the top of Mt Baker in perfect conditions.

The best thing about 2024: the Fed successfully managing inflation through interest rates. That or the Eras Tour.

Best Quote: “Did you try using ChatGPT?”

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Scott’s 2024

Best book: anything written by US Poet Laureate Billy Collins

Best album: Right On, by Humbird

Best meal: 6 course tasting menu with wine pairing at Matia on Orcas Island with Malena

Best trip: mountain Biking in Oaxaca, Mexico

Best experience: sleeping on white sand beaches and under the open sky along the Lower Salmon River for a whole week in August to celebrate my 40^th birthday

Best quote: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” —Viktor E. Frankl

Best single thing about 2024: starting a new job with Eco Outdoor was hands down the best single thing that happened in 2024. Challenges abound but I couldn’t be more excited about what I do, the company I do it for, and the people I get to do it with.

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Owen’s 2024

Best  book: The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro

Best  song: Right Back to It, Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman

Best  meal: Bar del Corso, seated at the bar.

Best  trip: backcountry skiing in Japan with my Dad (Kevin’s trip report here)

Best  experience:  soaking in a Japanese onsen after skiing knee-deep powder in Hokkaido, Japan.

Just the best: going on adventures, big and small, with people I love.

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Juliette’s 2024

Best trip: family trip to Japan (sadly not overlapping with the Harrang family trip to Japan). A highlight of the trip: tour of a discount grocery store with a Japanese chef. 

Best meal: obviously everything in Japan (with Scott’s Thanksgiving duck a close second), but really enjoyed two new Seattle restaurants: Sophon and Ramie. 

Best concert: CharliXCX and Troye Sivan’s Sweat Tour (so much more than a concert…). [Editor’s note: music video here, viewer discretion advised.]

Best Album: Olivia Dean’s “Messy,” according to my Spotify Wrapped 

Best Experience: attending the MTV Video Music Awards for work is up there in fun/surprising/unexpected experiences

Just the best: tried a lot of new extracurricular things: ceramics course, book club, etc. 

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Photos/ click on image for slide show

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