This afternoon Jeanine and I attended an operatic recital given by soprano Julia Massicotte at the New England Conservatory of Music.  Julia is the youngest of three daughters of dear friends from our days in Indianapolis. We attended church with the Massicotte’s as well as Bayside summer family camp. We joined members of their extended family for brunch ahead of the concert and Kyle for a robotically prepared dinner at Spyce afterward. Although I am no particular fan of opera, Julia’s performance was magnificent and I have little doubt she will evolve into a future diva. I captured the range of emotions she expressed while singing in an album that can be found here.

Sadly, Nala is nearing her final days. Perhaps the dumbest dog I have ever know, she has been a beloved member of our pack since we moved to Boston. By dumbest, I mean lacking in most attributes normally associated with canines. She would make for a perfectly fine cat; aloof, unmotivated by food, indifferent to affection, can’t be bothered to come when called. Still we love her. For some time now she has had difficulty breathing and there is little doubt that we will have to intervene soon to ease her suffering. Today she spent two hours outside, barking her head off at invisible would be intruders upon her domain. She has taken to laying down in the snow, probably to make breathing easier and to long naps during the day.

This photo of Jeanine was taken by her sister while the two were on vacation together in New Mexico last month. She texted it to me while I was in Argentina with Nico and I made a mental note that I would like to post it when I returned. While we were navigating from natural wonder to natural wonder, Jeanine and Susan seemed to be following a path from restaurant to restaurant and museum to museum.