We learned today that a good friend of the family died suddenly on Thursday. Sarah Doherty co-founded SideStix, the company that makes the carbon fiber crutches that Nico uses. She reached out to us in 2007 to congratulate Nico for becoming the first person ever to climb Mount Kilimanjaro on crutches. She would become the second and was hoping to learn from his experience. She lost a leg at age 13 while biking when struck by a drunk driver but never let that stand in the way of leading a very athletic life. She worked with her husband, Kerith, an engineer and inventor, to create the world’s most comfortable, light-weight, high performance forearm crutch. Nicolai would become an early beta tester and brand ambassador for the fledgling company which we later became seed investors in. Nicolai spent a portion of his high school gap year living with the couple on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia and working at the company. Sarah showed us how passion can overcome adversity and was a beacon of hope for all that were lucky enough to know her.
Although we have endured our fair share of weather delays on the River House construction project, thus far, we have been spared major snowfall. This evening we got little more than a dusting after a day dominated by light rain. Now that the roof has been sheathed, it was possible for the crew to work on interior framing. Kyle spent the day working from the Road House while his basement is being insulated with closed-cell foam. He joined Jeanine and I towards the end of the day for a tour of our newly completed work. It is so exciting to be able to walk through the various rooms and to start to get a real feel for what life will be like in the new house.
We are hoping that the River House will be weather tight by the end of the month. At that point, my first priority will be to set up a provisional shop so that I can begin building all of the cabinetry for the house. When we sold our Mattison Drive house, the sale included most of my major woodworking machines (to avoid the hassle and cost of moving and storage). I kept my miter saw, bandsaw and planer and have since replaced my table saw, air compressor, and dust collector. Today, I ordered the pictured drill press which should arrive within 3-5 weeks. All that remains to reestablish my shop is a jointer which I hope to identify and purchase within the next few weeks.
The best security system is one that recognizes and averts a potential threat before it becomes a real one. The River House will be fitted with high resolution (8 mega pixel) cameras at each corner and another integrated with the door bell. These will be hard-wired using POE (power over Ethernet) and have the ability to distinguish between human motion, vehicular motion, and general motion within the filed of view. Each is fitted with infrared illuminators which allow for night vision. The high resolution video streams are constantly recorded to hard disk and an alarm, push notification or e-mail can be sent based on selected trigger criteria. Should an intruder manage to get passed the outside cameras, they will face 36 motion sensors located throughout the inside of the house. I spent several hours testing the cameras and video recorder to make sure everything worked as expected. I found several bonus features and learned how best to program the system.
This lovely arrangement of flowers arrived today. A thoughtful and most appreciated gift from Formlabs where I continue to consult on a monthly basis. We are grateful for the splash of beauty and brightness at an otherwise grey time.
We will remember 2022 as the year of the River House. A life long dream, to build our own home, it has been both a joy and a massive undertaking. We spent a full year living in the old house to experience every season so we could make the most informed design choices. The next 6 months were spent developing our plans and obtaining the necessary permitting for the project. During the last 6 months the actual work of demolition and construction commenced in earnest. With any luck, we hope to be “finished” in the next 6 months.
Jeanine and I tried to recreate a picture taken 2 years ago after we had just moved in. I think we did a good job on matching the clothing. but construction materials made it impossible to position my camera to get the same perspective. Consequently, the new house appears much taller compared to the old one. In fact, it is only slightly taller.
Behold the perfect Zeppole ball. Normally, our family prepares this traditional Italian treat on Christmas Eve. This year that did not happen so we decided to add it to the menu this evening. The kids arrived early afternoon and joined us for dinner. Maya prepared an exquisite mushroom risotto while Jeanine made a delightful salad and collard greens and red bean soup (for prosperity in the new year). I decided to tackle the Zeppole and must say that they came out very well. I used a new technique for cutting the dough which produced less of a ball and more of a tiny pillow shape. A nice bit of innovation with which to start the new year.
Good weather this week has resulted in great progress on the River House project. We are under a roof now, albeit just the sheathing. Still, it is a big milestone and means that work can progress inside even during inclement weather. Much of the building supplies have been moved under cover to protect them from the elements and most of the temporary internal reinforcements have been removed which makes it far easier to visualize the final space.
Before leaving Minnesota on my recent visit, I helped my brother to clear out my mother’s effects from the senior living center where she spent the last few years of her life. Among them was her Certificate of Naturalization, the only document I found which had both her picture and signature. The later is worth close inspection, as it demonstrates both her artistic expression and precise execution, characteristics that were present in every aspect of her life.
In order to finalize plans for electrical and plumbing infrastructure at the River House, I had to select a washer and dryer. We will be using a heat pump style ventless dryer. This type of machine runs off a 120V 15amp circuit compared to our last dryer which used 240V 40amp circuit (roughly five times less electricity). More importantly, the unit does not require an outside vent. Conventional dryers exhaust approximately 200 cubic feet of conditioned air every minute. This is a an additional huge waste of energy, especially during the summer and winter months not to mention an additional penetration through the building envelope. In a matter of a few years, I predict that heat pump ventless dryers will be a requirement for all new homes if not all new appliance sales.
I could not help myself with the title of today’s post even though Boxing Day was actually yesterday. Kyle is taking this week off for vacation and I worked with him this afternoon to box in the HVAC trunk line that feeds conditioned air to the house. We used 3/4″ stock and pocket hole screws to minimize the encroachment into his living space and were both quite pleased with the results. By midday, I was overcome with a severe headache and body aches and opted to return home. I tested negative for Covid and believe I might be suffering from food poisoning based on my other symptoms.
Angela Flerida Calabria, died at her residence in Minnetonka, Minnesota on December 23, 2022, at the age of 94, after succumbing to pneumonia. She was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the daughter of Jose Canelos and Delia Benavides, who immigrated to the United States via Ellis Island when she was a teenager. Angela was bilingual in Spanish and English. She initially worked as a silkscreen artist in New York City and continued that career for over 25 years part-time, while raising four children with her husband of 54 years, Dr. Frank M. Calabria, Ph.D.
Angela met Frank at a dance studio in Brooklyn, NY, where he was an instructor. They were married a year later and traveled through Europe on their honeymoon. The couple moved to Albany, NY in 1956 and to Schenectady in 1966, when Frank became a Professor of Psychology at Union College. The couple was renowned for their dance performances including folk dancing, ballroom dancing, and their favorite, Argentine Tango. Angela and Frank were treasured members of the Capital Region ballroom dance and Albany Tango Society communities.
Angela was also a talented artist and sculptor, working in various mediums, including clay, wood, metal, plaster, lead, and fabric. She studied the art of Chinese brush painting with Gu LeFu and sculpture under Robert Blood. Angela was also an accomplished gardener and transformed her Schenectady residence on Wendell Avenue, into an authentic Japanese garden, which was frequently featured in the GE Plot Home and Garden tours. Her residential housing layout sketch was featured in the book “Images of America -Schenectady’s General Electric Realty Plot”. Angela was also an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady where she served on the Women’s Alliance and Wellspring Committees for many years. An avid tennis enthusiast, she played well into her seventies and was known for her tenacity.
Angela relocated to Minnetonka, MN in 2019. There she danced two or three times per week, with the Tango Society of Minnesota, up until weeks before her death. At the age of 93, Angela performed an intricate Argentine tango at the Mall of America for hundreds of fellow dancers and onlookers. Within the Minnesota dance community, she was recognized as a “Tango Treasure.”
Angela was predeceased by her husband, Frank Calabria. She is survived by her elder sister Maruja Coddington and younger brother James Canelos, four children; Carl Calabria, Mark Calabria, Alissa Quinn, and Mayela Harris, and by her nine grandchildren; Kyle, John, Mario, Nicolai, Rory, Rachel, Maya, Sophia, and Rose. She is also beloved by her in-laws Juanita Canelos, Robert Coddington, Jeanine Calabria, Marie Calabria, Stephen Harris, countless cousins, extended family, and friends.
Two memorial ceremonies will be held to honor a beautiful life; the first in Minnetonka, MN and the second at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady, NY with times and dates to be announced. The family would like to express their deep gratitude for the support and care received from Sunrise of Minnetonka, Home Instead of Minnesota, and Park Nicollet Hospice of Minnesota. Donations made in Angela’s honor will be graciously accepted by the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady, 1221 Wendell Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12308, or Albany Tango Society, c/o Kevin Magee, 170 Central Avenue, Troy, NY 12180.
With all that has transpired this month, I have not had time to create our annual holiday card. I thought I would dedicate this post to a virtual version.
This year has been a most eventful one for the Calabria Clan.
Maya graduated from Olin College with a degree in Robotic Engineering and accepted a position at Formlabs as a Test Engineer. She recently injured her shoulder while mountain biking which has put a damper on her main passions; rock climbing and Latin dancing.
Nicolai took a leave of absence from teaching middle school social studies to train for the 2022 Amputee Soccer World Cup with a qualifier tournament in Mexico and the main event in Istanbul. He captained the team to its best-ever finish and scored 8 goals in 7 games. The entire family traveled to Turkey to watch him play.
Kyle was promoted to Senior Data Engineer at hims & hers where he has been working for almost two years. He has been renovating the basement of his home in Medford, a project which included adding air conditioning and switching from natural gas to all-electric appliances.
After 9 years as Executive Director of Open Table, Jeanine decided it was time to try something new. She timed her resignation so she could attend the World Cup with Nico and become more involved with the River House project. She is also about to publish her first book, “A Taste of Stories.”
I am now semi-retired, working in a part-time consulting capacity for a small number of local high-tech companies. The remainder of my time has been fully consumed with the design and construction supervision of our new home on the Sudbury River. I have also been helping Kyle with his renovation project on most Saturdays.
While in Turkey, Jeanine and I traveled to the Cappadocia, Pamukkale, and Selcuk regions where we enjoyed great hiking and the most amazing geological formations and archeological ruins. Jeanine spent time in Belgium with a long-time friend and I enjoyed some downtime in Puerto Vallarta.
We are thankful that everyone is healthy and happy and wish the same for you and yours in the coming year.
I was fortunate to catch a very early flight back to Massachusetts and arrived by noon. Maya and Nicolai picked me up at the airport and we rendezvoused with Jeanine at the River House. The kids have not seen the build recently and there was a lot to take in. We coaxed Jeanine up a ladder to the second floor where she was able to enjoy views from the aviary (her future office) for the first time. Kyle joined us shortly after we returned to the Road House where I shared my experience of the last week and we remembered Angela. It was a cathartic conversation and brought a real sense of closure to me.
In the evening we were joined by our close friend Aliza and her son Winn for Raclette, a Swiss[dish, also popular in the other Alpine countries, based on heating cheese and scraping off the melted part, typically over boiled potatoes. Aliza’s Bouche de Noel and chocolate cream pie made for a delicious finale. Later, Nicolai prepared dough for our traditional Zeppole Balls but the crew crashed before they could be fried and will have to wait until tomorrow.
While I have been in Minnesota, Jeanine has been my eyes and ears on the ground at the River house build site. Each day she sends several photos to apprise me of progress. Today she also filled in for Santa, delivering Christmas presents to all the people working in the cold to bring our dream house to reality. Predicted torrential rains and the holiday will suspend further progress until next Tuesday.
I spent from 7 am to 7 pm with my mother today. She is resting comfortably but is no longer able to eat or drink. I am certain, however, that she can still hear and understand me so I read her the cards and messages that continue to arrive and tell her what all her loved ones are up to. For a change of pace, I also put on one of her Argentine Tango dance mix CDs (at low volume) until a hospice nurse suggested something more soothing. Naturally, I keep her up to speed on the status of the River House build which was always a topic of interest when we spoke by phone in recent months.. It is apparent to me that her time has arrived and my only wish now is that she pass quickly and peacefully. I hope and will try to be at her side when that moment arrives.
I spent the entire day with my mother in her room at the senior living center where she has been a resident for the last three years. She is no longer able to communicate verbally because she can not generate enough air pressure to speak intelligibly. She tried writing but this proved equally difficult. Instead, I asked her to show me what she wanted using her hands. This proved both effective and poignant. I could not help but think that she was dancing with her hands. Based on her gestures, I was able to determine that she wanted a thread and needle to sew something. Sadly, I judged it unsafe to give her something that sharp. I encouraged her to sew in the air and she was happy to do so for several minutes more.
As much as I am enjoying being in Minnesota to visit my mother and brother’s family, I would be just as happy if they lived someplace warmer. When I joined Marie (my sister-in-law) for her morning walk with Luna (the adorable family poodle), the temperature was two below zero. When we re-entered the house after our arctic expedition, my glasses steamed over and then gradually cleared up. Tomorrow morning we are looking forward to double-digit negative temperatures, snow, and winds steadily increasing to 25 mph.
My mother’s condition continues its gradual decline. We have now put in place around-the-clock, in-room care in addition to the visits from hospice staff. Although it has been emotionally draining, I am grateful for the opportunity to spend these last days with my mother. It has allowed me to express my love for her, to say all that needed to be said, and to ensure that her departure is a peaceful and dignified one. It has also been an honor to serve as the conduit for so many messages of love and admiration from family and friends who cannot be here.
Maya shared this photo of her UU chalice with a candle lit for her Nana.
I remain in Minnetonka and spent the better part of the day with my mother. While she remains as sharp as ever, it has become very difficult for her to speak. She still enjoys listening to me read messages from friends and family and looking at photographs of loved ones. Mark is spoiling her with homemade purees which she prefers over all other food. My sister Mayela, herself a retired hospice caregiver, is guiding all of us through this very difficult time while my sister Alissa is handling all of the legal, financial, and agency management work that must be done.
Jeanine has been my emotional support pillar and has taken over day-to-day monitoring of the River House construction project which made dramatic progress over the weekend.
One component of my mother’s hospice care is music therapy, a portion of which I captured in the video below.
My mother was visited by her friends Mary Ann and Eduardo, from her Argentine Tango Community today. In preparation for their visit, she took a clipping from one of her plants and placed it in a water-filled vase as a gift for them. She then directed me to her stash of red wine bottles one of which was added to the gift bag along with a handwritten note. She enjoyed the visit immensely but was falling asleep by the end and rested comfortably for the rest of the afternoon.
Jeanine shared the photo below from her morning visit to Nicolai’s apartment where they all watched the World Cup final together. Her beret was not enough to help the French win but man can she rock a beret. In Minnesota, we were rooting for Argentina so Messi could cement his legacy. Perhaps it is best that we are in different parts of the country right now.
This morning, I learned that my mother has been struggling with her recovery from pneumonia and that she is now receiving hospice care. I decided it would be best to book the next flight to Minneapolis. I arrived at the senior residence center where she is living by mid-afternoon. In between naps, I read to her messages from family members who cannot be here and set her up with my laptop so she could view images from her past. The image in the picture above is of her with my father atop a mountain in the Adirondacks. Her voice is extremely weak which has made it difficult to understand her at times but it is clear that her mind is as sharp as a tack. She has communicated to me her wishes for what comes next and I have shared them with immediate members of the family who have all been contributing to her care in so many ways.
I spent the evening at my brother’s house where we were joined by his four children and two girlfriends and a late-arriving childhood friend of the family.
In the River House, Jeanine’s office will be located directly over mine. We have taken to calling it the Aviary for reasons related to the development of our design over time. Initially, the space was going to be a screened-in porch which we tentatively named the Perch. Our first architect was not so keen on that descriptor and labeled it the Aviary on an early set of drawings. The name has stuck even though we changed the design to make it a fully conditioned space and part of the interior of the home. The room will have a large window directly over the one in my office offering a long view of the river and three more looking across it. The wall that will contain the latter set was erected today and I can’t wait to climb up there and test the view.
This evening, Jeanine and I attended the holiday party for Amide Technologies, one of the companies I am consulting for. Consistent with the frugality that is a hallmark of any good startup, the event was held in a conference room at our new office in Cambridge. What the venue lacked in ambiance, the engaging conversations with colleagues more than made up for. We both had a wonderful time and I enjoyed showing Jeanine around the office and the lab where we are building a first-of-its-kind instrument for the rapid synthesis of arbitrary proteins.
My brother Mark shared this photo taken with his son Mario and the buck he took down with a single arrow. They proceeded to field dress the deer and I have no doubt will save and eat every bit of the harvest. While I have never had an interest in hunting, it occurs to me that the needed skill set is very similar to wildlife photography. It requires an understanding of your subject’s behavior and a great deal of patience.
We received our first snow of the year today, more of a dusting really. Even so, it was enough that our framing crew did not show up to work. The excuse was that the car they share for the commute would not start. Very frustrating for me since each day of delay costs us ~$1500 (the average daily fee for site and project management charged by our builder). On the positive side, the weather forecast for the remainder of the week looks promising. Even more promising; Jeanine and I have found an exterior color for the house and roof that we both really like. We have been wrestling with this decision for months now, spending hours each weekend driving around and looking at houses for ideas and inspiration. With these two choices made, we have an anchor from which all other color choices will follow.
I am getting ready to purchase 3 dozen smart occupancy sensor/dimmer switches for the new house. I have been testing two units in my workshop for some time now. Dimmer switches can buzz with certain types of LED lights and can flicker while ramping up or down the power level. Satisfied that they are compatible with the recessed lighting I have selected, I decided to install them in the Road House so that I could test the motion detection sensitivity and coverage pattern. I also wanted to spend more time than I already have to ensure that they play nice with Apple’s Home Kit which we will be using for the automation of the River House. I decided to place them in the kitchen. This four gang box used to have three dimmers and one outlet. I decided to combine the circuits for the sink lighting and the under cabinet lighting onto one circuit called task lighting which allowed me to add a second much needed outlet. The installation went slowly because I opted to keep the power on so I would not have to work under flashlight illumination. Once installed, I spent hours learning all the nuances of the switch programming and integration with Home Kit. It was time well spent since I discovered a few things that worked differently than I expected and several features that I was unaware of.
Kyle and I took a break from his basement renovation project to watch the Brazil v Morocco World Cup match. Joining me on the couch was Bailey who is my new best friend. Kyle and I returned to our work and were able to finish the last of the plumbing, installation of a bathroom ventilation fan, and hanging of cement backer board within the shower area before leaving for Nico’s apartment where we were joined by Maya and Jeanine to watch the France v England quarterfinal. The day was both productive and enjoyable and to top things off, our framing crew was also working on the River House today.
Framing for the first floor and part of the second floor is now complete. I concatenated my last video with the latest footage for an up-to-date progress report on framing.
Kyle has a new housemate. Meet Bailey. Kyle has been renting out a room in his house and his latest tenant comes as part of a package deal that includes this lovely dog. I suspect that it will not be long before Maya pays him a visit.
My mother, now 94, was released from the hospital today after mostly recuperating from pneumonia. We are fortunate that my brother Mark lives in close proximity and was able to supervise her care with remote support from my sister Alissa. I imagine (and am hoping) she will be back on the dance floor in short order. I was also “released” from the hospital today after having a colonoscopy. The discharge nurse would not let me walk home even though it would take half the time of driving. Instead, Jeanine had to come and spring me from the joint.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
