Since moving into our home almost seven years ago, this closet has been a dumping ground for luggage and backpacks. The key word here is dumping. Today, I took some time to build in a set of shelves, which, with any luck, will result in a more organized use of the space. While I was at it, Maya also got new shelves in one of her two closets.
Celebrating her 50th birthday today is Jeanine’s close friend Irene. Her husband organized a surprise private dinner party at the Colonial Inn, where we spent the evening enjoying the company of her circle of friends.
Nicolai won three matches today to win first place in the DCL (Dual County League) Tournament in the Junior Varsity 100 pound division. He wrestled with great composure and strength beating every opponent by a margin of 10 points or more.
When I returned home from work this evening, I found Kyle, Hannah, Nicolai, and Maya playing this game of their own invention. The binders created ramps down and up on which a quarter is rolled with the goal of landing in one of the bowls, each carrying a different score. I am always thrilled when the kids find an activity they can all enjoy together. When they have invented the game themselves, it is that much better. The brothers teamed up against Hannah and Maya who led up until the final round.
I received this bonsai tree more than two years ago as a gift from the family, and it has thrived under my care. I water it weekly and prune it once a month or so. I realized I had never posted a picture of it and decided to rectify that oversight today.
Nicolai defeated his opponent from the Boston Latin School this evening with a first period pin. His match finished at 7:30 and I raced to Acton for my 8:30 indoor soccer match. Unfortunately, we lost 4-1 against a team I felt we should have beaten. Kyle has really improved his study habits and is applying himself with real intensity for mid term preparation. We will all be glad when the week is over.
Every year, we post select holiday cards on the wall in our breakfast nook. This year, the task was not completed until our order for small magnets arrived today. Before wallpapering this wall, we painted it with magnetic paint, which makes it ideal for posting photos and artwork. See if you can find your card.
Everyone looks on as our new Roomba (floor cleaning robot) drives around the kitchen in search of things to vacuum. It employs several different navigation algorithms (diagonal runs, spirals, wall hugging, cliff detection) which the kids have already started to evaluate. Nala does not know what to think of this low profile intruder but has so far elected to keep her distance although she did become quite concerned when it started to push her food bowl around. Jeanine is reserving judgement until she sees the final results. We have tentatively named it Dusty.
In the sitting area off of our master bedroom we have a rowing machine that Jeanine uses from time to time. In one of her rare requests for a technology addition to the home she hinted that she would enjoy a TV she could watch while exercising. She was thrilled when she discovered the new set installed. The kids are now vigorously calling into question the family policy of no TVs in the bedrooms. Technically this TV is in the sitting room or in our case the rowing room and their protests were summarily dismissed.
Jeanine on her way to attend a fund raiser for the Concord Music Conservatory pauses to let me take a few portraits. She just keeps getting more beautiful with time.
Hannah and Kyle went grocery shopping together and returned home to cook dinner. They were kind enough to make an extra smoothie for me as I recuperated on the couch from an unusually stressful week at work. Later, they played cards, which is exactly the right speed for Kyle as he recovers from his snowboarding injuries.
It doesn’t take much to tie up traffic during my commute. This morning, a tiny accident slowed down the works. On the bright side, I noticed this interesting tree which I have sped past a thousdand times. It is far easier to smell the roses if you are not racing past them.
When I returned from work this evening I met Danielle for the first time. She is a college student who helps us out on Wednesdays while Jeanine is attending her Stand and Deliver workshops. She drives the kids to and from their activities, prepares dinner, and keeps the house clean. Anyone who operates our cook top immediately qualifies for inclusion on the family blog. Later in the evening I had an indoor soccer game. I had a goal and two assists but we lost 4-3. I was out of shape from my recent travel and the fact that we had no subs did not help.
Maya’s room transformed. There are some fabric details which still need to be worked out but the basic layout is complete. I designed and built both beds, a bookshelf which is off camera (on the near wall) and the coat stand all in cherry. I am very pleased that each child in turn has enjoyed these pieces and hope they will one day be passed to the next generation of Calabrias.
Maya requested a total makeover for her bedroom today. She has outgrown the style of her current furniture which she now regards as childish. Before removing all of the items pictured here I took several photos to help sell these items on Craig’s List or eBay. The new motif is entirely cherry and teak wood and we were able to refurnish the room with items we already own. Maya and I worked together on the project for the better part of the day and I really enjoyed our time together. I will post an after photo tomorrow when we have natural light again. The new look is not as well coordinated but definitely more mature.
As the resident snow blower, I have a love-hate relationship with snowfall. On the one hand, it usually translates to an hour of hard work; on the other, it makes for the most beautiful photos. This is the farm across the street from our house.
Nicolai wrestled brilliantly today winning 9-3 over a strong opponent from Wayland. Even though I think he earned a pin, (study the first image carefully), I am glad he went the whole six minutes for the conditioning value. Nico accepted a forfeit during the second match of the double dual meet which was fortunate because his elbow was quite tender after the first. The results of Kyle’s MRI revealed muscle and tendon damage and although surgery is unlikely it is very clear he will miss the remainder of the wrestling season. He will begin physical therapy as soon as the pain subsides and with any luck will be as good as new in time for the soccer season.
Travel from Santa Barbara to Boston will take the better part of the day. Here I get a nice view of the coastline on approach to LAX.
Main St. in Santa Barbara is lined with boutiques which remain open until 9pm to capture the tourist traffic. This shop does not allow photos from inside so I had to settle for a photo taken through the window.
Even though I spent all the daylight hours working, I did manage to find a nice image as I walked from the office to my hotel at dusk. I have admired this tree for some time but until today had never found a satisfying angle from which to photograph it.
I am in California for the entire week primarily to attend a two day management off-site meeting. Each functional area reports on accomplishments over the prior year, what could have gone better, and objectives for the coming year. Sonos did extremely well last year distinguishing itself from almost every other consumer electronics company. In spite of the global economic down turn, we enjoyed 50% year over year growth. This image seemed to capture the spirit of our success.
Followers of this blog know that my business trips to Santa Barbara often provide very unusual images. As I walked from my hotel to the office I passed this woman and snake. This is something we just do not see that often on the streets of Concord. She was actually trying to raise money for snake rescue and I was happy to donate to the cause. If I see her again tomorrow I may try and get a closer image of the snake.
Since the beginning of this school year, Nicolai has been preparing for a right of passage in the Unitarian Universalist church called Coming of Age. In this ceremony, held later in the year, Nicolai will stand in the pulpit and share his personal credo with the entire congregation. This evening, as part of the process, parents were asked to share letters describing what they admired and valued in their children as well as any words of advice they wanted to offer. The entire group assembled afterwards for a moment of reflection. I leave for Santa Barbara tomorrow and will spend the entire week there working.
Here is a nice sequence of our powerful little Maya unleashing a rocket on goal. She has grown an inch and a half in the last 2 months and although she remains the smallest girl on the court she is intimidated by no one.
Meanwhile Maya had a futsal match in Brookline where she scored a very pretty goal after dribbling past defenders over the full length of the court. Kyle helped out by driving Maya to meet me at Belmont. Even with Maya as navigator (she is actually very good at this) they got lost and arrived twenty minutes late. Fortunately we had planned with some margin in the schedule. When Kyle turned around to head back to Concord he got lost again. Two hours later, Maya and I while returning from her match thought we spotted Kyle driving near Fenway Park. A phone call confirmed it was him and that he was hopelessly lost. We rendezvoused and he followed us back to Concord. I think a map and navigating lessons are in Kyle’s immediate future.
Jeanine is attending a conference this weekend and I am juggling the kids. Nicolai had an all day (6am-6pm) wrestling tournament at Belmont. He won his first match with a pin in the first period and dropped the second in a well fought battle against the number two seed. Nico took him down in the first period for an early 2-0 lead but during the second and third periods it became clear why his opponent was ranked so high. Nico looked strong for the entire 6 minutes and had some very nice moves. His finally match was a very dissappointing 6-8 loss. Nicolai led for most of the match, nearly pinned his opponent twice but failed to pursue a winning strategy in the third period. Rather than protect a two point lead he went for a risky pin, got reversed and gave up two back points. This loss put him out of the running but I am guessing a valuable lesson was learned.
For the last 6 years Penny has been my dental hygienist. She is the most skillful and gentle I have ever encountered and the only reason, since leaving Avid, that I stayed with the Tewksbury based practice where she works. I trust her more than the dentists to tell me what is going on with my teeth. Sadly, I have been unimpressed with the newer dentists at the practice and Tewksbury is neither close to home or work making it quite inconvenient to reach. Consequently, I will be switching to the practice which handles the rest of the family located one town over in Lexington. Penny and I are the same age, enjoy adventure travel, are still active in sports and have plenty of injuries to show for it. I will miss her and our twice a year conversations and pray that the new practice has someone with half her talent.
This evening I took Kyle to the hospital for an MRI of his left hip. X-rays have ruled out a broken bone and we hope the MRI will show no major soft tissue damage. We should know the results early next week. Kyle is able to walk but is still experiencing a lot of pain. He has plotted his recovery trajectory and believes he will be back to wrestling this season unless his injury requires surgical repair. We shall see. The MRI scan took 30 minutes and Kyle had to remain perfectly still with his legs taped together. The machine is in use around the clock and patients ring this call button to gain access to the hospital after hours. We rang the bell for twenty minutes before gaining entrance.
Nicolai wrestled in his first varsity match yesterday. I arrived ten minutes before the scheduled start time and unfortunately the meet was already underway and Nicolai (in the lightest weight class) had already completed the first period. At that point he was leading 2-1 but soon fell victim to fatigue and lost on points. He fought off two pinning combinations with the heart of a lion and I was very proud of him. Kyle is now off crutches and walking gingerly. On the recommendation of his chiropractor he is going to have an MRI to rule out a torn muscle. With no time to set up my camera for Nicolai’s match I have no pictures of him so I am substituting one from later in the meet of one of his teammates executing a nice suplay.
The glory of this sunrise lasted for about 90 seconds. I raced to grab a camera and was fortunate to catch the tail end. I am beginning to wonder if this happens every morning and is often missed due to the brevity.
Jeanine gave me three bonsai trees for Christmas and I brought them to my office today where they will keep me happy year round. Still thriving under my care is a large bonsai I recieve two years ago which greats me every morning in our sun drenched master bathrooom. My mother, a master gardener, will be happy to see that I show modest signs of competence and a distinct appreciation for the bonsai art form.