As the the year comes to a close I have looked back through the photos I took during 2013 and selected one of my favorites to share. When I started this blog almost 9 years ago I thought it would help me to improve my photography. In retrospect, I suspect it has actually done more for my writing skills. The real value, however, that I have only now come to fully appreciate is that I have created a window for my children to peer into their childhood. The glass may be rose-colored (I rarely make an effort to document the ugly part of our lives) but it still offers a reminder of how we spent our days living together under one roof. I will continue making daily entries until Maya graduates from high school at which time I may scale back to a less challenging cadence.

For the last week, I have been something of a vegetable, content to write performance reviews while at work, get caught up on my blog or on recorded TV shows while at home, and generally rest while my body makes the full transition back to Eastern Standard Time. Today I was in the mood for some exercise and took a one-hour walk during lunch. Massive amounts of rain over the last two days have melted much of the snow on the ground and swollen rivers and flood basins. Despite the cold it was nice to be out for a walk, especially without a pack.

It has been ages since Kyle, Nico and I have gone out for a Boy’s Breakfast and today it was more like a Boy’s Lunch given it was after noon before we set out. That notwithstanding, we all ordered breakfast and enjoyed our normal conversation among men. Later in the day, the entire family went to the Science Museum, principally to see the new exhibit; Our Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture. It was most interesting, but I was even more captivated by the Hall of Human Life where I analyzed the arch of my foot, the efficiency of my walk, and my balancing ability using interactive measurement stations. I was very impressed that the stations were able to handle Nicolai’s configuration with no apparent problems. My balancing score (timed maze traversal) was 2 seconds faster than both boys and I enjoyed lording this over them for the balance of the day.

I installed a new dishwasher today, something which has been on my honey-do list for some time. Despite their high ratings, our last two Bosch units have been a disappointment. Only time will tell if we are any happier with the KithechAid unit we selected this time.

We have been very fortunate to have Jeanine’s sister Susan (middle) and family friend Jean Cass visiting us for the holidays. Sadly they will be driving back to Burlington, Vermont this morning but not before I corralled them for a photo which included the unusually cooperative Nala.

During the Holiday break, Maya has been spending hours a day at the piano teaching herself Saint-Saens, “The Swan”. It is a rather complicated piece but Maya is already sounding quite proficient at it. It is very nice indeed to have the house filled with music, especially at this time of year.

Christmas at the Calabria’s is an all-day affair. It starts with Jeanine’s famous pop-over breakfast (another outstanding batch this year) followed by the emptying of the stockings (one item at a time, sequentially from oldest to youngest). This usually takes us to lunch time and then the afternoon is spent slowly opening presents from under the tree. This year Jeanine was responsible for all of the gift selections as I was in Nepal. I did, however, return with an assortment of Cashmere scarves and shawls, Tibetan wool hats, Nepali pants, jewelry and a singing bowl which were all distributed on the day I arrived.

This year Kyle took over for me as head Zeppole Ball fryer. These honey and sprinkle covered fried dough balls are a long standing Christmas Eve tradition that goes back to my youth. The kids have become quite proficient at the recipe and I have little doubt they will one day be photographing their children making these little holiday treats.

A more recent tradition is Christmas Eve Dinner at Chang An’s Chinese restaurant with the Budris family.

I did not bring any shaving gear with me to Nepal and returned with a scrubby beard. All the men I run into say I should keep it. All the women say it should come off. I plan to keep it for about a week and then this photo, taken by Maya, will be the only record of its existence.

My effort to obtain a seat assignment on the left-hand side of the plane for my flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok was immediately rewarded with views of the full Himalaya range including Mount Everest as we broke through the clouds after takeoff. What an incredible sight to end my visit to Nepal. From Bangkok, I fly to Frankfurt, and then on to Boston for a total trip duration of 36 hours. It is hard to complain about the less-than-ideal routing given I used frequent flyer mileage to obtain my tickets. The time is put to good use as I set a goal of deleting at least half of the 6000 photos I took during this vacation. Once home I will seek to further reduce that number to 1000.

The Chorten Chempo in Bouddha is one of the largest stupas in the world and the most important Tibetan Buddhist monument outside of Tibet. The stupa has been sealed for centuries and no one knows for sure what it contains although it is widely believed to contain parts of the Buddha’s body (bones, hair, teeth) and other holy relics. Is is said that one spin of a prayer wheel here is the equivalent of reciting the mantra embossed on it eleven thousand times.

By mid morning I began walking to Pashupatinath, Nepal’s holiest Hindu pilgrimage site. The Pashupati Mandir is the main temple but entrance is restricted to Hindus only although I was permitted to go as far as the entrance gate and look inside. Here also is where cremations are performed on the banks of the Bagmati River. During my 4 hour visit, I witnessed as many cremations including one for a high ranking dignitary complete with a military guard and band with the General of the Nepali Army in attendance to pay final respects. Bodies are carried to the river where they are dipped in the water three times, the feet are cleansed and clothing removed (discreetly under covers). The body is then placed on a riverbank ghat (raised platform) on top of a bed of logs. The chief mourners (typically the eldest sons) circle the body three times and then set it on fire (face first, which I found to be somewhat disturbing). It is then surrounded by additional logs and covered with wet reeds to keep flames from erupting. Smoke is carried to the heavens for hours before the body has been fully consumed. I found the cremation ceremony to be very poignant and beautiful but had trouble reconciling that image with the level of pollution in the holy river which I can only describe as a sewer.

I find traditional Hindu religious attire to be very photogenic and enjoyed making several portraits as I surveyed the crowds from a distance.

The ancient Newar town of Bhaktapur, located 30 minutes by bus from Kathmandu, was my favorite cultural destination. It was cleaner and less commercial than the other places I have visited and one can imagine that this is what Kathmandu must have been like in bygone times. I spent the entire day roaming within the gates of the old city.

The siblings pictured below are children of the street. At no point during several visits to this particular square over the course of the day did I see a parent anywhere. The older girl never let the baby from her arms. What they did for food I have no idea.

The city is graced with carved wood at almost every turn. The artisan seen working here was preparing a new railing for the guest house in which I was staying.  All the work is done by hand.

Durbar Square in Bhaktapur was easily my favorite cultural destination. The architecture and craftsmanship are unrivaled and the layout of the square is more open than most others by virtue af an earthquake that destroyed many of the original structures.

Yesterday I complained about all that is wrong with Kathmandu. Today I covered about 25 miles on foot trying to capture images of all that is good. Most tourists take taxis between the main attractions. By walking you get a much more intimate view of the city. In no particular order.

As I was getting ready to make the 8 hour bus trip back to Kathmandu, I noticed a very unusual scene. A man suspended by a rope was collecting honey with little apparent regard for the swarm of bees that was attacking him as he did so. No amount of money in the world could induce me to perform this work in this fashion. I departed with a greater appreciation for the honey I was having each day with my lemon tea. The bus ride went quickly as I spent the hours conversing with a young woman who worked in Bhutan as an eco-tourism adviser and was in Nepal visiting friends. That evening I found a quiet guest house and went out for a nice dinner at an Indian restaurant.

Tomorrow I will walk throughout the city visiting the many cultural sites in the area. My photographs will be carefully taken to show all that is beautiful. Today, however, I must comment on the fact that Kathmandu is the most polluted city I have ever visited. It is truly depressing to witness what little regard the Nepalese have for their environment. The air is thick with smog from unregulated engine emissions, the open burning of trash, and the use of fires for cooking and heating. The rivers and waterways are filled with garbage and sewage. Residents urinate, defecate and spit where they please. Car and motorcycle horns are beeped incessantly all day long and well into the night. People discard refuse and organic waste wherever they are standing. The homeless live in squalor. It is hard to imagine how people who can be so friendly to strangers can be so uncaring for their own environment especially in a country so blessed with natural beauty.