Meet Twitch (current provisional name), a Russian miniature hamster, the newest member of the Calabria menagerie. Maya used her own money to purchase this little guy along with his food, bedding, water bottle, food dish, exercise wheel, and tiny house. She has read several books on hamster care and impressed the sales clerk with her knowledge.

Jeanine’s sister Susan has been with us since Friday having driven down from Burlington. VT. Jeanine hogged her for the whole weekend so we will need to make arrangements for another visit soon. None of us have seen her new condo so I think a trip north is in order. It was great that Jeanine got to spend time with someone from her side of the family over the holiday. Her nephew, Luke, was originally planning to visit as well but those plans did not materialize.

My sister Mayela is 6 years my junior making her something like 45 years old. Most women half her age would love to be in this kind of shape. Does she work out at the gym? Is she a slave to aerobics? Her only form of exercise is swimming, walking her dogs, and the occasional game of tennis.

There was a time when I considered it my responsibility to look out for my baby sister. Now she is the first person I would turn to for help if I found myself in a dark alley with a motorcycle gang.

I spent a few hours at the Concord Public Library today, loading up on reading material from my upcoming trip to Taiwan and China. I leave on Monday for a nine-day tour of duty to visit Sonos contract manufacturing facilities. Our library is very photogenic, exuding charm and character from every nook and cranny.

It should be noted with some amount of concern that Calabria children require almost no encouragement to begin howling like a pack of hungry wolves. My favorite picture of the holiday gathering is this small grouping of carnivors.

My father and mother were proud to be surrounded by all their children and grandchildren.

Rarely have we had an opportunity to photograph all nine cousins together.

Jeanine prepared this year’s turkey for our family gathering of nineteen, and it was without a doubt the most succulent and tasty bird we have ever enjoyed. She soaked the 25-pound farm-raised gargantuan in a brine marinade for several days before roasting it to perfection.

Demonstrating great teamwork, the children prepared mashed potatoes in record time.

No Calabria gathering is considered complete without a bocce tournament. Such competitions are often accompanied by significant testosterone-induced bravado and early predictions of victory. Once again, youthful exuberance was no match for the wisdom of the elders.

My mother looks on as Rose helps to prepare home made rolls for the holiday feast.

Across the street from my parents’ home is a house which seems to have been fully embraced by a vine growing from its foundation. Click on the photo for a larger view of this beautifully organic decoration.

Thanksgiving Day begins with a walk through the neighborhood with my sister Mayela.

Rose pouts as she is placed into time out for behaviours unbecoming of a human being. Older brother Mario is pleased with the outcome as it seems all older siblings are when consequences befall younger members of the family.

Nicolai, who can hardly wait for the wrestling season to commence next week, taunts his father into a take-down match only to realize once again that defending against my duck under will never be more than an unrealized dream.

No reunion would be complete without a chess match among cousins.

The boys entertained themselves with several games of Mau. You must deduce the rules of the game as you play with the goal of discarding all your cards to win. The Mau (Nico in this case) issues cards to players when they fail to observe a rule (initially known only to him) correctly and thus the game is learned. I have yet to witness a harmonious outcome to this game nor have I ever failed to find myself rolling on the floor laughing at the antics.

Today we drove to my parent’s house in Schenectady, NY where we will spend the Thanksgiving holiday, joined by my brother, both sisters, and their families.

This evening I attended the CCHS Men’s Varsity Soccer Banquet where the team and parents celebrated a great season and our state championship. Coach Pavlik recognized each player and spoke at length about their contributions to the team. He described Kyle as giving 100% effort on the field and as having some of the best technical skills on the squad. Kyle was more flattered when his coach described his amazement at Kyle’s moves and how they left opponents dangling (a soccer term of art meaning you totally faked someone out). I was recognized for my photographic contributions and received a small booklet with words of appreciation from all the players and coaches as well as a small key chain camera. The boys are already talking about how strong the team looks for next season and about the possiblity of a state title repeat.

My youngest niece Rose is a cutie for sure. To say that she is willful would be unimaginative. To say that she is the miniature CEO of the family might come closer to the truth. Today Marie will drive with her four children to Schenectady where she will visit with my parents. Our family will follow later this week and my brother Mark will join us there on the weekend. My sister Mayela and her husband Stephen will fly up from North Carolina and my sister Alissa and her family live in Albany so we are looking forward to a grand reunion of the Calabria clan.

Kyle’s soccer team won the Massachusetts State High School Championship this evening defeating Palmer 1-0 at Worcester State College. The score does not reflect the dominance of the CCHS team which controlled the game from the first whistle but credit is due to the Palmer goalie for his brilliant defense.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jeanine hosted a small army of Girl Scouts who she taught how to make old fashioned apple pies. From the looks of the operation it seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves and I suspect that many a Thanksgiving table will have a place of honor reserved for these first time works of culinary art.

Mario and Nicolai take turns practicing one-arm handstands. I did not think about the symbolism of this image (boy on one leg supporting boy on one arm) at the time I took the photo.

Nicolai, Kyle, and cousins Rory and Mario have all grown to about the same height and are like peas in a pod. They spent the weekend playing all manner of games and sports. I even managed to squeeze an hour of yard work out of this manly crew.

The Harvard Business School campus, as one might expect, features rather conservative architecture. This structure is the notable exception.

The first keynote speaker at the Cyberposium was the CEO of Research in Motion (makers of the Blackberry phone). It was interesting to get a glimpse into the future of mobile smart phones and to understand why these devices are starting to bump up against the limits of physics. The second keynote speaker was the founder of YouTube but I opted to get back to the family rather than hang around all afternoon once my panel was done.

Today, I attended the Harvard Business School Cyberposium where I was a panelist discussing Converged Devices (the next generation of television). The one-hour session was over in the blink of an eye, and I enjoyed the interaction with the four other panelists and the audience.

Today my brother’s family (minus my brother) flew from Minnesota to Boston where they will spend the weekend with us before driving to Schenectady to visit with my parents and sister next week. This is my niece Sophia who is as delightful as she is beautiful.

I flew back to Boston today and went directly from the airport to Lynn where Kyle’s soccer team was competing in the semi-finals of the state high school tournament against the team from Sandwich. CCHS scored a single goal late in the second period to advance to the finals which will be contested on Sunday.

It never ceases to amaze me what I come across while in Santa Barbara. This bicycle rig seems to include an air damn, windshield, dashboard, storage compartments and who knows what else. If I was not on my way into the office I would have hung around to see what the rider looked like which would have surely been entertaiing as well.

After work, I did a little nighttime photography and shopping in downtown Santa Barbara. Evenings here at this time of year are really quite delightful. I am hoping that all the walking is also helping my pinky toe to recover. It still smarts with every step.