Meet my colleagues at iRobot. We met offsite for a Quarterly Business Review which started at 7:30 in the morning and wrapped up with a very nice team dinner at l’Andana’s Grill in Burlington at about 9:30 making for a very long day. The President and General Manager of the Home Robots Division and my new boss is Jeff Beck, front row-third from the left.
Jeanine and Kyle departed this morning on an extended college visit road trip which will take them through Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. They elected to take my car because of the built in navigation system leaving me with the Smart Car, the smart child and her older brother. This not-so-smart parent allowed the pictured child to drive the pictured car around the neighborhood (twice) before usurping control and heading out to the ice cream store for a little treat. Only lack of sufficient height prevents Maya from driving without me.
We enjoy living across the street from a small horse farm. The stable is surrounded by several beautiful trees which are in peak bloom this weekend. My day started with a very disappointing soccer match played in a gentle rain. We lost 0-1 to an opponent which we dominated for 80% of the game. I had a couple of strong shots from distance but they just missed the frame and a diving header that was on the mark but not powerful enough to beat the keeper. This evening Jeanine and I enjoyed a lovely dinner at Nourish in Lexington while on a double date with friends she knows through her book group. Afterwards we saw the Swedish movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (highly recommended mystery, but not for the faint hearted).
Later in the game, while playing as a midfielder, Maya splits two considerably larger defenders and makes a full field run up the touch line beating an additional two defenders during her attack. What she lacks in size she makes up for with grit and intensity. Her team won with a late score by a margin of 3-2.
In this sequence Maya dispossesses an attacking opponent during her soccer match this morning.
Maya and her Girl Scout troop prepared a fund raising concession stand at the Emerson Umbrella this evening. Proceeds will be donated to charities which care for abandoned or abused animals. I was the first customer and added $4 worth of fat to my waistline. Kyle will be spending the weekend with Hannah and her family on the Cape while Nico and Jeanine are out with their respective friends this evening. I am enjoying a brief moment of solitude after another exhausting but extremely productive week on the new job.
Our gardens are bursting with color, the beneficiaries of all the recent rain and unusually warm weather we have experienced lately. Hard to imagine that snow is in the forecast for the coming weekend.
Although my new job continues to consume most of my time, I did complete my initial assessment work several days ahead of my own schedule and feel very optimistic about how quickly I will be able to work with the team to deliver improved results. With little time for photography, I opted today for a still life featuring a birthday present Jeanine received from her great friend Aliza.
The Concord Fire Department was on the scene to rescue our town flag when attempts to lower it were thwarted by a tangle. I paused during my evening commute to look on as the CFD made quick work of the task.
My birthday girl turned 47 today and just seems to grow more beautiful, vibrant and wise with each passing year. She received several dozen phone calls and e-mails from family and friends, was treated to lunch by her local chic clique, and celebrated with our family over dinner at the Asiana restaurant in Bedford. Maya created a very special hand made birthday card and the boys chipped in for a raspberry plant which they have committed to plant for her as well. Inspired by who knows what, the boys got into a playful wrestling match tickling each other and tumbling around much as they did when they were toddlers. It brought back fond memories and capped the evening on a very happy note.
Maya danced in two routines during her end of the year recital (once to the theme of Fame and the other time to Gimme Some Lovin by Sam and Dave). She was her effervescent self and a pleasure to watch. My soccer team faced Nashoba on their grass home field. I scored the season’s first goal 10 minutes in with a crushing half volley from about 25 yards out. I shot with the outside of my right foot and bent the ball around and over the goalie into the upper right corner. We won the match 3-1 and it was a great way to start the season.
After lunch, I drove to Brattleboro, VT, enjoying the photographic opportunities along the way. Each of the three states I spent time in today has a distinctly different character, and I managed to return to Barre just in time to have a late dinner with Jeanine in between workshop sessions.
This morning I drove to Keene, NH stopping at a half dozen photogenic covered bridges along the way. The harsh light was not very flattering but I found a few angles I would like to come back and shoot in the fall when the leaves are turning.
This is my favorite Seuss sculpture. The background was extremely distracting so Maya and I stripped it out (a tedious and time-consuming job). Please click on the image for a closer view and try not to laugh.