A good portion of the day was spent playing Catan. The boys have now lured cousin John William and Jeanine into the cult. I was taught the game by my nieces during my last visit to Minnesota. I, however, opted to spend the day organizing my office and refining plans for my upcoming travels. Much depends on the weather and my final itinerary will be decided in real time.
The winter edition of the Colorado College Bulletin (large format magazine) featured two unrelated stories about Nicolai. The first concerning his participation in the TREE (Teaching and Research in Environmental Education) program and the second about his soccer exploits in Costa Rica. He remains thrilled with his choice to attend Colorado College and has been thriving academically.
It has been a real pleasure to listen in on the kitchen conversations amongst the kids as they debate topics ranging from politics to sociology, to the environment and capitalism. It is satisfying to see that our investment in their education has yielded intelligent and caring citizens of the world.
Our home has four furnaces and three air conditioners configured into five zones (1st floor, 2nd floor, master bedroom, basement, and shop). Two of these are now controlled by Nest thermostats replacing the programmable Honeywell controllers I installed when we first moved in. Our local natural gas provider was offering a $150 rebate on each device which motivated the purchase. The new thermostats are much more elegant in appearance and far easier to program and operate. It took me about 20 minutes to install each and I will add additional units when rebates are offered again.
Recognized as one of the best farm to table restaurants in the state, Woods Hill Table is a local culinary gem. Our family dined there this evening to celebrate being together. As the children have matured and grown more independent, our time together as a complete family has become increasingly rare. In a matter of days Kyle will be off to California, Nico back to Colorado, Maya re-immersed in high school, Jeanine into the demands of her job, and I on my next travel adventure. More than the food was savored on this evening.
A planned “boy’s breakfast” at Concord’s Club Car Cafe morphed into a family breakfast at Babico’s (the girls wanted in and the Club Car was closed). Visiting Maynard provided Jeanine the perfect opportunity to show off the new Open Table facility which is under construction there. Build-out is proceeding well and it will not be too long before I post a photo of the grand opening.
It’s not Christmas at the Calabria household until Jeanine’s pop overs are out of the oven. Prepared only once a year they are a cherished tradition. This year’s batch was outstanding and we enjoyed them with a wonderful beach plum jam from Martha’s Vineyard.
The family spent the rest of the day sloooowly opening presents as is our custom. I really like the photo that Maya took of me as I was opening my gift from Jeanine, a luxurious bath robe. I guess I was not as naughty as I thought.
UPDATE: The photo above eventually became the cover of Jeanine’s memoir cookbook.
Kyle is as trim and fit as we have ever seen him. Feeling a need to exercise, he completed a set of finger tip pull-ups using the mouldings in our kitchen. I exercised by running for my camera. Nico and Maya passed the time in a less strenuous but no less entertaining fashion. All the kids can play music but it always sounds best to my ear when they do so together.
After enjoying our traditional dinner at Chang Ans with the Budris family (13 years and counting) we all attended the Christmas Eve service at First Parish. Jeanine signed up the entire family to serve as ushers and I am happy to report that there were no fires resulting from the candlelight service on our watch. After returning home, the kids did the bulk of the work preparing our favorite Zeppole Balls (fried dough covered in honey and sprinkles).
The kitchen was full of young adult cooks this evening. Nico was joined by Karuna and Maya by Caleb as they prepared Coconut Chicken Curry and various yummy baked goods. Jeanine and I attended a holiday party while Kyle visited with high school friends in Boston.
Earlier in the day we bid farewell to the VW Jetta Sports Wagon which was Jeanine’s until she unapologetically and shamelessly commandeered my new BMW. It was subject to a generous buy back program from VW as mandated by their Diesel Gate emissions scandal settlement with the US government.
Nicolai returned from Colorado this afternoon uniting the family once again. I was thrilled that both boys agreed to join me for my soccer practice this evening. Few things bring me more joy than playing soccer with my kids and I was thrilled that both boys were interested in joining me for my outdoor soccer practice this evening. The temperature was just under freezing which is quite pleasant if you dress properly. Kyle has not lost a step and still has some very sweet moves that I need to learn from him. Nico was in fine form as well, picking apart the defense with his precision passing. I managed to show the boys where they got their skills from with 3 goals including a nice diving header.
Jeanine is never happier than when the family is together. Kyle returned from California late this evening looking trim and fit if not entirely exhausted. His work has been very challenging over the past few months so we will make sure he is well fed and rested before he returns. We are also trying to persuade him to consider a job in the Boston area so we can see him more often. If you know of an opportunity for a brilliant finance/computer science type please let us know.
For a change of pace, I decided to go for a stroll on the grounds of the Nashawtuc Country Club today. Normally, I prefer to hike on trails but they are generally somewhat boring, photographically speaking.
The need to test a new camera and lens setup had me venture out into the frigid cold in search of highly detailed scenes to photograph. I didn’t need to look much further than our own downtown cheese shop for just the ticket. Of course, it could be that my choice had something to do with the wonderful Caprese sandwich that they serve for lunch.
Trimming the Christmas tree this year was especially enjoyable. The family was joined by Maya’s new boyfriend Caleb and his sister Sara. Many hands made the work go quickly as we enjoyed holiday music, the first fire of the season, and a Jewish apple cake that Jeanine whipped together. I think Kyle and Nico will find the decorations up to par when they return home later this week. “It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.”
The first significant snowfall of the season left us with about 5 inches of fluffy powder and morning temperatures in the teens. It was a good day to spend indoors. Using a recipe from her upcoming cookbook, Jeanine baked ten cranberry-lemon bread loaves. She spent the rest of the day trying to keep Maya and I away from them. I spent the day obsessing over the photo kit I will bring with me when I head out to the Southwest for the first two weeks of January. Weather permitting, I am planning a long hike and overnight at Havasu Falls which means carry weight will be a factor. My standard travel set is 12 pounds. Ideally, I would like to cut that by half for the 24 mile round trip hike. These days I prefer to limit my total pack weight to 30 pounds and a 20% allocation to photo gear seems about right.
In preparation for a tree trimming party tomorrow, we started decorating the house and added lights to our Christmas tree.
I finally got around to writing our 2016 Holiday Letter and have posted the text here for those who may not be on our mailing list. The complete letter with many photographs can be found at 2016 Holiday Letter
Dear Family and Friends,
2016 finds the Calabria family healthy and happy in a year marked by major transitions. We continue to reside in Concord, Massachusetts but are planning to downsize (location still undetermined) when Maya leaves for college. The year has been characterized by much travel and many new beginnings. Carl continues to post daily photos on our family website and we invite you to visit with us at www.carlcalabria.com
After volunteering for 3 years as the President of Open Table, Jeanine accepted the paid position of Executive Director this summer. Her first challenge has been to find a new facility for the community dinner program and food pantry. Managing the 300 person organization, soliciting donations and preparing for the move has been both exciting and exhausting. Jeanine completed a 25 mile Ride for Food to raise money for area food relief and also completed writing her memoir cookbook to be published soon.
Since graduating from Santa Clara University last December, Kyle has been working as the Trading Operations Manager at Decker & Company, a boutique Asian emerging and frontier specialist broker. He spent three months living in Thailand as part of his introduction to the company and now lives in Menlo Park, CA. This year he obtained his Series 7 and Series 24 FINRA certifications and is waiting to learn the results of the CFA Level 1 test he recently completed.
Nicolai is a junior at Colorado College where he has just completed their semester long TREE (Teaching & Research in Environmental Education) program at the Catamount Center, located on the North Slope of Pikes Peak. Nico was named co-captain of the USA National Amputee Soccer Team and traveled to Costa Rica to compete in the Copa Internacional where the team placed third. Nico earned team MVP honors and is now the all-time leading scorer for the US.
Maya, in her senior year at Concord Carlisle High School, is deep in the midst of the college application process. She spent 6 weeks of the summer interning at prestigious Brookhaven National Labs where she worked analyzing data for a researcher who is studying the quark gluon plasma. She played varsity soccer, is co-captain of the nordic ski team and co-president of the National Honor Society. Over the summer she travelled to California with Carl to visit schools and for a mini vacation.
After 36 years in high tech, Carl began dabbling in retirement. Unsure if he will simply complete a “gap year” or begin a new chapter of travel adventure/photography, he has visited 9 countries, 22 states and 10 national parks so far this year. He spent 2 weeks with Jeanine in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and then another 2 weeks solo in Myanmar and India. Carl still plays Division 1 soccer (over 50s) and travelled with his team to Iceland to compete in an international friendly.
Now that Maya’s soccer season is over, I have decided to sell my dedicated sports photography setup. It has served me extremely well but will see little use now that the kids are all finished with high school sports. I have a different kit I will use for Maya’s Nordic skiing and for Nico’s future amputee soccer events. I spent the day taking “glamour shots” in my studio and expect my listings will net me close to $12K for the lens, camera, and tripod.
For several years now I have been unable to locate our wedding album. While continuing what will certainly be a month-long project to scan in all my remaining photographic prints, I finally found it; hidden behind a box of photos in my office. (Maya: Please advise if this is the correct use of a semicolon.) The photo above is my favorite of us and even though I already had a digital version, I rescanned it with my newer equipment to produce a much better result. Neither of us looks like this anymore but I still find great beauty in my partner for life.
From geometric to organic to classical, the architecture to be found on the campus of MIT can only be described as eclectic. After a morning meeting in Cambridge, I took a leisurely stroll and captured some of the iconic facades. My last visit here was with Maya during warmer weather when the grounds were crawling with students and visitors. Not so today affording me unpopulated sight lines. It never ceases to amaze me how much you can adjust the composition of an image by simply changing your shooting position. Notice in the photos below how I made the massive lawn nearly disappear by stepping back a few feet
Today I discovered a profound work of photography by artist Benjamin Von Wong which I feel compelled to share, not only for the raw beauty of the images but for the powerful statement behind them. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish. 50% of all plastic is used just once and it will not decompose for hundreds of years. I am proud to live in Concord, the first town in the country to ban single-use plastic water bottles. Please consider what choices you can make to reduce your consumption of single-use plastics. Von Wong’s blog documenting his work can be found at http://blog.vonwong.com/mermaidplastic/. It is both entertaining and informative.
I spent several hours today scanning old family slides and continue to discover images I have never seen before. I appear to be about five years old in the picture above. Believe it or not, the item in my hands is a Kodak Flash Dial used to determine lens aperture based on film speed and distance before the days of camera automation. Didn’t realize my interest in photography went this far back.
Below is a picture of my uncle Ernie, his wife Barbara, and their close friend Tony Bennet. Ernie was a professional musician who often accompanied Bennet on the acoustic guitar.
Apparently my siblings and I received much needed training in the art of kissing under the direction of my mother. Early efforts by Alissa appear to be targeted at the nostrils of sister Mayela and I seem headed for my brother’s lower lip. I think it is safe to say that we all eventually got the knack of it when left to experiment on non-siblings.
Jeanine is on Martha’s Vineyard enjoying a girl’s weekend with friends. Charged with the nutritional sustenance of Maya during her absence, I suggested that we make a burrito run for lunch. Black beans, brown rice, chicken, salsa, and lettuce make a healthy substrate for cheese and sour cream included only to satisfy our daily dairy requirements. Sending this selfie which Maya snapped to her mother did not elicit the good housekeeping stamp of approval I was hoping for. I guess it is true what they say; “When the cat is away the mice will eat burritos.” Next thing you know I will be tearing the house apart to locate my stash of black licorice which Jeanine has hidden from me (admittedly at my own request.)
I found this pathetic scene in the living room shortly after Maya returned home from Nordic ski practice this afternoon. I am still trying to solve the mystery.
Moving from the master bathroom to the kitchen bay window has been to the liking of this bonsai even though the light there is no better. I think it prefers being around people for most of the day rather than tucked away. I spent the morning in Cambridge on business and on a whim called good friend Bill Warner who was available to join me for lunch. The founder of Avid Technology, I have known him since my early days at Truevision (some 30 years). He shared his latest project with me, a website where historical maps of Boston (going way back) can be compared with maps of today. Have a look at MapJunction. Move the cursor left/right and up/down to compare maps which can be selected from the lower right and left corners.
When winter arrives it is less appealing to be outside taking photographs and more productive to be inside post processing or scanning old photos. Today I scanned a collection of old negatives that captured some very rare images. While I was in my twenties, I co-founded a company called Truevision. Running it consumed my entire life and there are very few pictures of my from that era. Below is one of the products we designed and manufactured, a component in our Horizon series of videographic processors.
Pictured below (on the right) is my mother. This photo was taken in 1953 at Lago Pichincha, north of Quito, Ecuador where she spent her summers away from the oppressive heat and humidity of her home in Guayaquil. This image was from a collection of 30 slides we discovered while I was visiting her last weekend in Schenectady.
Less than an inch in total, the first snow of the season arrived today. In one month I will be making another visit to the southwest and have some rather lengthy hikes planned. Feeling it would be prudent to get some training under my belt, I did a 4-mile hike with my pack this afternoon. I started at a cranberry bog near the Great Brook Farm State Park and finished at the dairy farm within the 1000-acre park. The temperature was right at the freezing mark which led to some very interesting patterns of ice and snow on the local ponds.
As co-captain of the Nordic ski team, Maya is responsible for hosting at least one “psych dinner.” Food was provided by members of the team which numbered about 25. Jeanine and I minimized our intrusion on the party but could not help but notice the ratio of desserts to healthy entrees. Jeanine did not approve. I, on the other hand, was not nearly as displeased and made several visits to the kitchen to sample the offerings.
While returning from Schenectady to Concord, I took a 5-minute detour while passing through Troy to visit the Emma Willard School, a prestigious all-girls private high school whose buildings and campus are reminiscent of the fictional Hogwarts School of Harry Potter fame.
Just 16 miles further down Route 2 one can find a very different form of architecture at the Grafton Peace Pagoda. Cars are not permitted on the property but visitors are welcome to visit on foot.
I was fortunate to celebrate her 54th birthday with my sister Alissa, her husband John, and my mother this evening. I drove to Schenectady earlier to help with a re-feathering project. My mother decided last month that she was tired of the food at the assisted living center where she has been living for the last two years. She has decided to return to her home in Schenectady to resume living independently for as long as possible. Initially, she rented out the eight-bedroom, three-story, hundred-year-old house and then last spring put it on the market but had no takers. I met her there this afternoon to help with projects to help with the transition. At 88 she is still quite spry and sharp as a tack. We were extremely productive working together despite the fact that I had to reprimand her several times for climbing the ladder or on top of chairs to help me hang window treatments. I had planned to leave the ladder here when I return to Boston but am beginning to reconsider that decision.
Jeanine and I enjoyed a brisk 4-mile hike to and around Walden Pond on this blustery afternoon. Despite heavy recent rains, the water level is the lowest I have ever seen it. The path visible in the photo above is normally underwater and taking it for the first time added a new dimension to our visit. Jeanine paused to gather some decorative winterberry branches that now adorn our farmer’s porch.
