On Wednesday, Karen and I stopped on Stevens Pass to snowshoe on our way to the Seattle area to pack up the apartment of her mother, 92, with severe dementia. A hoarder.

"Was the snow packed down on the trail?" we asked a couple in the parking lot. They had set off and immediately gave up. "We don't like the snow blowing off the trees," the man replied. "Yes, the trail is packed down." So we used microspikes.

"What cupcakes," I thought. Blowing snow sparkled in the sun. Beautiful! After hiking uphill for a mile or so, we chose to take another trail back. Holy cow!

It was an obstacle course going straight up then straight down, over and over. We ran downhill to see how far our momentum carried us up the next hill. Up. Down. Up. What a workout! The trail went sideways instead of down to the parking lot. After three miles of this, I was beat. Suddenly the trail spurted us onto a snow-covered road.

"Let's walk down the road to the car," I said wearily. Karen laughed. "Had enough?"

Saw My Daughter

Yesterday while we were packing, Claire, 29, stopped by on her way home from work.

The three of us went for a walk in the woods. Karen told Claire about six hiking trails near Claire's house. A typical millennial, Claire typed the trail names into her phone.

"Today is the first time we saw with sun in Seattle in 88 days," Claire said. "I grew up in sunny Wenatchee. I'm not acclimated to all this rain! It's depressing."

Claire and Karen discussed their vegan diets. Karen gave Claire four vegan cookbooks she had previously given her mother (who can no longer safely cook). It was wonderful to see my girl. Claire loved meeting Karen, she told her dad on the phone.

Favorite Moment

My favorite part of packing was early this morning. Karen and I sewed together the long edges of her mother's beloved quilt bedspread, so it would fit on a twin bed.

I'm left-handed and Karen is right-handed. We sat down, each starting at an end. We whip-stitched toward the center, meeting in the middle. I showed Karen how to make a knot with every third stitch. It was a sweet, restful moment.

Aides were delighted to take the couch, dishes, rug, printer (I found the printer cords in a nest of tangled cords), and a dresser unneeded by her mother. Karen sorted her mother's belongings; I packed, labeled and stacked heavy boxes. Hard work.

The movers arrived at 10:30 this morning. We had the cluttered apartment boiled down to 12 large boxes with garbage taken out. The movers took furniture, etc. to Goodwill for us.

Today on the way home from Seattle, Karen pulled over so I could take a picture of Mt. Index shining in the sun.

What an adventure!