Kyle comes up with a nice steel against Brookline this morning. His team won by one point with a basket in the final 8 seconds of the game.

Maya was also engrossed with this weaver and her loom. Maya observed with great interest and when tested could recite all of the steps, including the sequencing of the pedals, necessary to operate the loom. Constructing a loom would be a fascinating woodworking project and if I can ever find the time, I know it would be put to good use by at lease two members of the family.

Maya posing by one of the Christmas trees featuring traditional Swedish ornaments made from straw.

Maya watched this woman painting a plate for more than half an hour. She was very friendly and Maya was not the least bit bashful about engaging her in conversation.

Later in the day Jeanine, Maya and I went into Boston to attend the Swedish Yule Tide Festival. Pictured here is the Saint Lucia procession. Jeanine was in her element and was enthralled by the experience. We enjoyed wonderful Swedish waffles, shopping, and watching artisans at their work.

Another experiment with pendulums resulted in this interesting pattern. Maya enjoyed the museum with her friends for a while, but the last 30 minutes she spent with me, engrossed in some very neat activities designed to illustrate various theories of optics. She seems to have a genuine interest in science.

Maya and Sarinnagh place their hands on a thermally sensitive surface and then checkout the results.

This morning I joined Maya and her science class at the Discovery Museum for a weekend field trip. Here she experimented with the motion of a pendulum.

Maya and Sarinnagh get a big hug from Frosty.

This evening was the annual Concord Christmas tree lighting. The downtown area is closed to traffic and most of the town turns out to enjoy the music, food, and Christmas parade.

Jeanine was in fine form for the evening and definitely the better half of this couple.

The interior of the estate featured stunning woodwork everywhere and brought back memories of our Meridian St. home in Indianapolis.

This evening, I held a Holiday Party for my staff at the Stevens Estate in North Andover. Although I have been at Avid for over three years now, this is the first time I invited spouses and significant others to an event. It was a great getting to know everyone and to formally introduce Jeanine to my colleagues.

Immediately after church, all but Nico went to watch Kyle play in his basketball season opener which resulted in a 61-40 victory.

Seth slept over last night and Maya (having found her long lost camera) could not resist photographing him. We all went to church this morning where the teens conducted the entire service (Godspell theme). It was truly moving and with my outdoor soccer season over it was nice to attend church with the family.

This morning, Jeanine went into Boston to shop at the French market while the kids and I did a bunch of chores around the house. Later in the day, we attended the First Parish Art Festival where Jeanine and I both volunteered to assist with craft projects. I was please to get a shot of Nico while he was serving as my assistant in the woodworking area.

Returning home at 10:30pm, I did not anticipate that the evening could grow more outlandish. Although I do believe the person on the right is one of my children, I have no idea what is on his head or why. Looking on is friend, Anna.

This evening my soccer team had it’s annual celebration banquet at Serafina’s. Suits and ties are mandatory, but as you can see it does not take long for all sense of decorum to give way to unchecked exuberance. The bill gives some insight to the evening; $1400 for food and $1800 for drinks.