When I parked Maya’s tiny house in the backyard last year, I did so with the aid of a rented 1-ton pickup truck. I wanted the house situated as close as possible to the walk-out entrance to my basement shop. This would make all subsequent finishing work that much easier. Unfortunately, this parking location was not level, causing the house to list 3.7 degrees to one side. This, in turn, we believe, is the root cause of some water leakage into the house. The challenge; how to lift in place one side of a 7-ton house so that it rests 6 inches above grade. I managed the task with the aid of two 12-ton hydraulic bottle jacks and a cross brace I fabricated from wood to perfectly position the jacks beneath the axles. Using a series of three incremental lifts, the tires now rest on top of a pair of stacked platforms I constructed from scrap wood. The entire operation took 3 hours and cost $50 for the bottle jacks.
It is very sad when the highlight of your day is passing a kidney stone. Fortunately, this was a relatively small one (a third the size of my last one) and did not cause much pain. My last set of kidney stones required surgical intervention, so as things go, I have nothing to complain about. Jeanine has been very supportive, encouraging me to drink more water. My diet during the lockdown, hours spent at my computer, and a general reduction in physical activity have not been helping matters. I can’t wait for a return to my normal work routine.
While our community remains in lockdown, Jeanine and I have been trying to get out for a late afternoon walk each day. Today, I grabbed my drone as we hiked on our local rail trail. The route takes us around a body of water that did not exist when we moved into our home. It was subsequently created by a couple of industrious beavers. For such a small animal, it is amazing the impact they can have on their local environment. Our house is located about 500 yards from the far shore.
Sunday dinner included this beet-based Rossoli salad and cheeseburgers. It was a very nice combination of healthy and not-so-healthy food. The recipe is from Jeanine’s memoir cookbook and we used the opportunity to get a proper photograph. For the book, I think I might replace the white background with a kitchen countertop background scene.
The Quabbin Reservoir is an hour and a half drive from our home. It provides the drinking water for Boston and is carried there by a series of underground tunnels the longest of which is 25 miles and terminates at the Wachusett Reservoir. When the Quabbin was created, the towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott had to be abandoned and now lie at the bottom of the 150-foot deep reservoir. Soaring above the Quabbin are a number of Bald Eagles, reintroduced here in 1982. This morning, Jeanine and I and our good friend Aliza drove out to the Quabbin and hiked into a location known for good sightings. We were rewarded for the 4-mile hike when Jeanine spotted this mature eagle flying to a perch.
The collective noun for a group of geese on the ground or in the water is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team, or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump. When they are swimming in family formation they are just called damn cute.
Jeanine joined me on my daily delivery run to Digital Alloys (some packages are being shipped to my house to provide a signature on receipt). Afterward, we did a little hiking in the nearby Shawsheen River Conservation Area. Less than a mile from the office it was one of my favorite noon-time walks when I was working at iRobot. Then it was on to Mikey’s Famous Roast Beef to pick up sandwiches for everyone at home. It felt great to be out in the spring air and I am really looking forward to getting out more often as the weather improves.
Despite an initially good wash cycle, my recent attempt to repair our dishwasher by replacing the turbidity sensor was not successful. Today, I removed the unit entirely and did a complete teardown of the drainage system. I discovered the drain pump impeller shaft completely wrapped in hair and the various drain hoses filled with all manner of gross debris. After an hour of thorough cleaning, I returned the unit to service and the first wash looked good. I will wait for a couple more days this time before declaring victory.
When I went to work this morning (in my study), I noticed that Kyle had set up his tent in the music room (which is currently serving as his office). He received it as a Christmas present from Jeanine and I. This weekend, he is planning to take his girlfriend camping and wanted to do a dry run of the setup. Initially, I thought he might be taking the whole quarantine directive way too seriously.
Dinner this evening was courtesy of Nico who prepared a chicken stir fry. He shares his mother’s passion for preparing delicious food and has become quite proficient in the kitchen. Mondays are always my busiest workday so I had little time for anything else today. We are trying to think ahead to when the non-essential business lockdown is lifted, potentially as soon as May 4. It will be anything but business as usual and we are thinking through all the ways we can continue to flatten the curve once operations recommence.
Jeanine and I enjoyed an afternoon 13-mile bike ride on the Nashua River Rail Trail. We picked up the trail in Groton and headed north. Because the trail was rather crowded, we decided to come back via back roads instead. I took advantage of the Superpedestrian Copenhagen wheel on my bike to keep up with Jeanine who is a far more fit cyclist than I. While the electric motor assist made the pedaling easy, it did nothing to address my biggest problems with cycling; a sore ass and palms. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the spring outing with Jeanine and may have to invest in a more cushioned seat and handlebars for future such outings.
Earlier in the day, I prepared a buttermilk pancake (from mix) breakfast for the family. They don’t compare to Jeanine’s scratch recipe but I did not hear any complaints, probably due to the state of shock induced by my actually preparing a meal.
We woke up this morning to 2″ of heavy wet snow, something of an anomaly for this time of year. As it turned from snow to rain, I ventured out for some photography. I love snowscapes and on this day also took some time out to build a little snowman, something I have not done in a very long time.
If I try to find something positive about the coronavirus epidemic, it has forced us to become more self-dependent and close-knit as a family. Maya is seen here giving Jeanine some type of hair coloring touch-up. I do not know all of the details of the process but it was clearly an intimate time for mother and daughter. Jeanine was delighted with the outcome. On a less emotional level, I was able to repair the dishwasher by correctly diagnosing and replacing the faulty turbidity sensor (pictured below). Lacking any relevant trouble-shooting information, I was very pleased with my sleuthing skills to identify the problem. With all five of us in the house again, a malfunctioning dishwasher makes for a lot of undesirable work and I can tell all were happy to learn that the repair was successful. The boys have been contributing as well by helping Jeanine with some of the shopping, cooking, and cleaning.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
