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.

I spent most of the day with my mother as she enjoyed visits with all of her local family members.

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.

The showers in the main and guest bathrooms of the River House will be fitted with the pictured control panel instead of a traditional rotary valve situated below the shower head. Because it is a digital system it offers a number of unique capabilities. Water temperature is set and maintained digitally regardless of variations in supply temperature. Jeanine and I will each have a one-button preset to dial up our preferred temperature and shower head selection (rain head, shower head, or both). The console displays the actual water temperature and the target temperature and can pause the shower once it reaches the desired set point. I did some dry testing of the system today and realized that it really wants to be installed at eye level for ease of operation and viewing. This placement will also prevent unwanted actuation by visiting future grandchildren. Should we be wheelchair bound at some point, the presets can also be activated with voice commands.

Framing on the River House has progressed to the second floor of the west wing where the sub-floor is being glued and screwed in place. Pictured in the foreground is the garage which will have a roof that slants from left to right. Roof joists will be supported in the middle by the gigantic beam. The garage doors are each 10 feet wide to give us plenty of margin as we enter and leave and 8 feet high to clear a roof-mounted kayak. Our kayaks will be stored on the high-side bay using a pulley system to hoist them up to the ceiling much as we did in our last house. The garage floor is temporarily covered with OSB sheathing to protect it from construction activity.

While out driving with Jeanine looking for house siding ideas, we passed Ponyhenge. The last time I was here, the rocking horses were facing inwards. Now they are arranged carousel style which I find much more interesting.

Generally the person behind the camera, I have relatively few pictures of myself and fewer still of me with my siblings. Today Alissa shared the photos taken by the professional who was covering her birthday party. I liked this one of me with my youngest sister, Mayela in particular.

My baby sister Alissa turned 60 today! Jeanine, Maya, and I were thrilled to join her for the celebration at her home in Slingerlands, New York. The food was fantastic, the ambiance festive, and my other sister Mayela and her husband Stephen were among the guests. The highlight of the evening for me, however, was reconnecting with a close friend, Debbie McGuinness, who I have not seen in close to 40 years. We joined Bell Labs at the same time and were participants in the OYOC (One Year on Campus) program. She did her Master’s degree at Berkeley and I did mine at nearby Stanford. We were part of a cohort that spent many weekends together and also did a small group trip to Hawaii to hike the Kalalau Trail on the Napali coast of Kauai. Debbie is a member of the cancer survivors group started by my sister and at some point she became aware of Alissa’s maiden name and made the connection. Talk about a stroll down memory lane, or rather, a drunken stumble during which I was reminded of events and stories I have long since forgotten.

The pictures below are from our Hawaii adventure. Debbie is on the left, I am flanked by my girlfriend at the time and my graduate school roommate, Ken Zabriskie. Resting on the boulder is John Modla, the fifth member of our motley crew. With limited vacation time, we chartered a helicopter to fly us to the far end of the trail and hiked back out.

Pictured here is the rough opening for the largest window in the house. It measures 13 feet wide and offers a nice view of the Sudbury River from the living area. The window assembly includes a sliding section which will provide access to stairs down to a future patio area. The entire back wall of the house, which has yet to be framed, will be two-thirds glass offering views across the river. Mounted on the tree with the ladder leaning on it is the “bird house” which shelters the camera I use to make the time-lapse videos that often appear on this blog. Every night retrieve the camera to transfer the footage to my computer and recharge the battery.

Every morning, I drive over to the River House to set up my time-lapse camera for the day. Today, I was greeted by this 8-point buck. I often hear him moving about in the brush and this is the first time I really got a good look at him. Quite the handsome fellow, I think.

At long last, vertical framing has commenced. I was tied up with consulting work all-day, but that did not diminish my excitement when I visited the site after dark to check on progress.

The framing crew scheduled to resume work on the River House failed to show up today. Suffice it to say, I was not pleased. It has become clear that they are over-committed and are juggling many jobs at once. I am beginning to think we will finish our house sooner if I just do the work myself, an option that I am not taking off the table. I decided to search for an image that would help me to relax and selected this one, taken when I visited Croatia 3 years ago.

After two days of feasting, we felt compelled to get some exercise today before driving back to Massachusetts. A three-mile hike around Lone Rock Point was just what the doctor ordered. The trail mostly followed the high cliff edge but also included several descents down to the water’s edge of Lake Champlain. We were led on the hike by Ikey, one of Susan’s close friends and Belle, a neighbors dog who she is taking care of while they are away.

Given that my cooking skills are limited to frying eggs and making toast, I was little help preparing yesterday’s feast. My talents lean towards fixing and making things which I was happy to do today. Susan wanted to upgrade to a larger TV mounted over the fireplace. We got an early start to take advantage of Black Friday pricing and returned with a 55″ model and the necessary hardware to mount it to the wall. All three kids helped with various aspects of the task and we later added a sound bar to the installation. The work was completed just in time to enjoy the US vs England soccer match on the new TV, a much appreciated upgrade as judged by the rabid soccer fans that are my children.

Susan has one of the most thoughtfully organized homes I have ever visited. The same cannot be said of her very large toolbox. Having struggled to locate the tools I needed for the TV project, I took it upon myself to reorganize her kit, a task which I take very seriously and enjoy thoroughly.

Jeanine and I got an early start on our drive to Burlington, VT where we had Thanksgiving dinner with Jeanine’s sister Susan and her friend Jean. The kids arrived last night. Everyone chipped in to prepare the feast although Nicolai was demoted from butterhorn roll dough kneading to sweet potato peeling by Maya who felt his technique was too aggressive. Kyle was our go-to turkey carver and managed the task with aplomb. Jeanine brined the turkey last night and delivered it ready for roasting as well as pies and other desserts. Jean prepared the green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy and teamed up with Susan for the stuffing and corn pudding. The entire operation was run with Swiss watch precision; all of the food was ready at the same time and cooked to perfection.

After carefully inspecting 8 random Tstuds from the shipment of 2200 lineal feet we received, I have decided to return it all. Because it is a lumber-based product, a 10-15% cull rate would not be unusual. For whatever reason, however, the quality control on the product we received was not to an acceptable standard for use on our project. Instead, I have decided to use LVL 2×4’s to build a staggered stud wall (wood is a poor insulator and the goal is to avoid creating a bridge from the inside wall to the outside wall). Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is an engineered wood product that uses multiple layers of thin wood assembled with adhesives. Made in a factory under controlled specifications, it is stronger, straighter, and more uniform than conventional lumber. Due to its composite nature, it is much less likely to warp, twist, bow, or shrink. Used in a staggered wall design, it will provide an even higher R-value than Tstuds. The only downside is that it is 5x more expensive than regular lumber and roughly 35% more than the Tstuds.

It has taken quite a bit of time, but I am very pleased with the adjustments made to the framing layout. Every corner is square and every wall is straight and parallel within the limits of my measuring tools. My happiness with this outcome was short-lived. The framing members we have selected for the house are called Tstuds. They use a truss-style construction method that results in a large thermal break. This makes for a much higher insulation value than traditional lumber. Our shipment arrived this morning and I took a moment to inspect the product. Of the first 8 studs I looked at, I found problems with each. The manufacturer has offered to replace any that we cull from the lot but it is not clear to me that they have a handle on their quality control. A deeper investigation will occur tomorrow.