At a joint party held at Kyle’s new house, we celebrated Maya’s 22nd birthday (actually yesterday) and Father’s Day. Our family was joined by my nephew John and his girlfriend Quinn (plus new puppy; Miso) and Maya’s roommate Lauren and her boyfriend. Maya flew back from Normal, IL for the weekend. There, she has a summer internship with electric adventure vehicle maker, Rivian. With the newly recognized Juneteenth national holiday, Maya will always be assured of a day off on her birthday going forward. My Father’s Day included a long afternoon nap after playing soccer in the 80+ degree heat of the morning sun. We won 3-0 and will advance to the division finals to be held next Sunday. I had an opportunity to score what would have been a very spectacular goal after making a nice trap at the top of the 18 and beating two defenders. It was a side volley and I got all of it. Unfortunately, the resulting rocket went wide of the left post and I had to settle for imagining what might have been.

I decided to float in the wind this afternoon. I got in my car and headed west with no particular destination in mind. I eventually wound up in Worcester where I photographed the brand new Polar Park baseball stadium and the very old Union Station. The Woosox were in action and I had half a mind to stay for the game. Then I remembered how boring I find baseball. On the other hand, it is a very intimate ballpark and I think it might be fun to take in a game at some point. Most amazing to me about this park was the precision with which the grass is mowed. Close inspection will reveal near-perfect geometry in the mowing lines.

Union Station was built in 1911 and is the western terminus of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter rail line, with inbound service to Boston, and a station along Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited passenger line which will take you as far a Chicago.

During my wanderings, I came across the unidentified building pictured below. Currently, in a state of disrepair, I would venture to guess it was once a church based on the stained glass windows..

Most of my day was consumed with researching and sizing windows for the new house. Key factors are energy efficiency (U-factor, air leakage, solar gain), long-term durability (aluminum or fiberglass exterior frames, functionality (integrated screens, ease of operation and cleaning), and appearance. Today’s photos captured my interest because of their separation from their respective background.

After spending the morning looking at windows for the new house, I spent the noon hour with my chiropractor for a much need back adjustment. After a nice nap, I took advantage of perfect weather for a nature stroll and some photography which had dragonflies on the menu. I challenged myself to shoot one in mid-flight and got a few images worth sharing. These guys are very fast so it is not such an easy thing to do. They are slowest when coming in for a landing so I set focus on a likely landing site and waited for one to show up.

This evening, the wetlands scientist and civil engineer we hired to presented our Notice of Intent did so in front of the Concord Natural Resource Commission which must approve all development plans for work being done in close proximity to rivers or wetlands. Our plans call for the demolition and reconstruction of our current home on the existing footprint with the addition of an attached garage which will necessitate the relocation of our septic tank and pump chamber. Fortunately, only minor issues were identified and we are optimistic that we will receive final approval for our plan at the next meeting on July 7. The house design has also been shaping up and we are very close to a final concept which now includes integration of the east and west wing basements into a single unified walk-out basement.

Kyle starts his new job with Hims & Hers on Monday and was in need of a new headshot. I was happy to take one for him and I think he will be pleased with the result. I spent the entire afternoon at his house helping him to square away a number of items in need of attention and shopping for essential new homeowner tools (tape measure, utility knife, level, and ladder).

One of the traditions of the soccer team I play for is to celebrate after each match with an après. Hosted on a rotating basis by members of the team, we get together to enjoy a few drinks and whatever’s on the grill. Although always welcome, hosting spouses and kids generally make themselves scarce due to the amount of profanity and off-color conversation that generally occurs. Yesterday was an exception. Per and his lovely wife and daughter served up a wonderful meal that featured much healthier food than our normal fare of chips and burgers. Today, members of the team received this photo memorializing the gathering. I have played soccer with some of these guys for 18 years now and I am really going to miss them as much as the game when it comes time to hang up my cleats, something I hope to postpone for as long as my knees permit.

Two months ago I began passing a pair of kidney stones (one from each kidney). It took about a week for them to make the excruciating journey from my kidneys to my bladder. This morning, I passed one of the stones out of my bladder. It measured 3mm, which corresponds with what was observed on my CAT scan. That scan also revealed more than a dozen stones still remaining in my kidneys. Jeanine has me on an improved diet and drinking a ton of water to minimize future stone production. The inauspicious start to my day left plenty of room for more interesting developments. My soccer team won our final match of the season by a margin of 4-0. I played in the striker position for the first time this year but other than making a few good passes did little to distinguish myself in the new role. Having won our division, we will enter two more weeks of playoffs to determine the overall league champion for our age group.

Later in the day, Jeanine and I joined Kyle for move-in day at his new house. Jeanine prepared a lovely dinner and helped with unpacking. I helped Kyle set up his bedroom furniture, install a pair of air conditioners and a dehumidifier in the basement.

UPDATE: Two days after this posting, I passed the second stone in the pair. This one was larger (3.5mm) and sharper. I realize these kidney stone posts may be off-putting to some but my blog does double duty as a medical journal and it is a very convenient way for me to thoroughly document these episodes.

Jeanine spent the day helping Kyle pack for the move into his new home. I fixed a leaking sink, attended a local talk on invasive species and planting for pollinators, and continued to refine our house plans. We decided to dine out in the outdoors, not because of Covid restrictions but just because it was a beautiful evening. When taking this photograph I wanted to feature the umbrellas being illuminated by the setting sun. I should have got up and walked into a position where I could have made that the foreground. Instead, it is the midground and the family at an adjacent table became the foreground. I did not realize it at the time, but I was saddened upon review to see that everyone at the table seemed to be focused on a phone or tablet. Is this the new family night out?

While walking in the Twin Pond Conservation Land with Jeanine a few weeks ago, we came across a home that has many of the design elements we are planning for our home, a standing seam metal roof, stone foundation, and lots of floor to ceiling windows. Jeanine asked me to return for a photograph so that we could examine it for design inspiration and share it with our architect. The home sits high on a bluff overlooking one of the ponds so I opted for an aerial photo to reveal more of the house.

My soccer team practices under the lights on one of two turf fields at our local high school on Thursday evenings. Today, one of the fields was covered in plywood squares and rectangles in a very distinctive pattern. I decided it was worth putting my drone up for an aerial perspective. The wood is there to protect the turf from the chairs that will be placed upon them. My guess that these are being set up for Concord’s annual town meeting which is to be held on Sunday.

I almost posted this photo of my nephew Mario in this weekend’s post about his hurling match. I choose not to because he had just missed catching the ball he was leaping for. Today, I decided I had to post it because of the sheer athleticism of the jump. It reminded me of a photo that Nico took of me during a soccer match some 16 years ago proving that we have good jumping genes in the Calabria family. Photography Tip: Nico took this photo of me from a prone position with the lens a few inches off the grass which really creates a dramatic separation of the subject from the ground. The horizon line appears well below me. I took the photo of Mario from a standing position which diminishes the separation by placing the horizon line through his midsection. Had I taken his photo from a lower angle, Mario would have appeared to have left lower Earth orbit.

On March 12, I ordered a birthday present for Jeanine’s April 12th birthday based on an estimated 3 week delivery lead time. Nearly three months later, the 10-piece set of Demeyere Atlantis cookware arrived today. In a year during which so many businesses have been impacted by Covid, it seemed like being patient was a better course of action than canceling the order. I am only venturing a guess, but I think Jeanine is very happy with the gift and that it was worth the wait. These pots and pans just exude quality workmanship and style. Not five minutes after the first saucepan was unpacked, it was put into service for the preparation of this evening’s dinner.

As of today, I am beginning my second attempt at early retirement. Digital Alloys wrapped up operations on Friday, unable to secure “C” round financing or a company interested in purchasing the going concern. I am disappointed that we did not achieve a better business outcome and was very sad to miss the last day in the office and the opportunity to thank and say goodbye to folks in person. At the same time, I am extremely proud of my team and the work that we completed over the last 18 months. It has been one of my most satisfying jobs in recent history, having had an opportunity to wade neck-deep in design and engineering. I will continue my consulting role at Formlabs for now and will remain open to other consulting or advisory roles but I am quite satisfied to call this an end to a full-time work schedule. With our permitting process well underway, I plan to throw myself fully into our new home planning and construction, and with Covid restrictions lifting, to picking up where I left off on my travel plans.

My first act as a semi-retired individual was to finally program my electric car for nighttime only charging, entitling us to a nice discount on our energy bill. A simple task that I never seemed to find time for when I was so focused on work.