The Middlesex School campus is located in Concord, just a few miles from our home. Jeanine and I enjoyed our evening walk behind Bateman’s Pond pictured in the background on a trail neither one of us knew existed before. Click on the photo for a more detailed view of the campus, designed by the famous Olmstead Brothers. Most of the campus buildings are located around The Circle, a grassy field at the center of the school. There are four dorms for boys, five for girls, and three academic buildings. In January 2019, the School opened the new Bass Arts Pavilion, a complex that contains two theaters, a gallery, and enhanced studio space for visual arts. All of my kids are fans of the TV series, “The Office.” I suspect they will be surprised to learn that the lead actor, Steve Carell, was one of many famous graduates of the Middlesex School.
Yesterday, while waiting for Jeanine to finish our cooking project at Open Table, I took a few minutes to do some aerial photography over Maynard’s Clock Tower Place, originally the Assabet Woolen Mill, then headquarters to Digitial Equipment, and now the Mill & Main complex. Open Table was operating out of one of these buildings when Jeanine took over as President. Shortly after, the property was purchased by a new owner who summarily evicted them. Taking over at that pivotal moment, Jeanine helped guide the organization from one dependent on the charity of churches and businesses for their operating facilities to one that now has a permanent, fully paid for, building in Maynard.
The family plus Kyle’s girlfriend, Klaida, spent the morning preparing meals for distribution by Open Table. Never has the demand for food been so high and the availability of volunteers to prepare it so low. We had the entire Open Table facility to ourselves and were happy for the opportunity to help out, especially as a family activity. The menu included flank steak and pea soup with ham. Cooking enough food for a hundred people is an altogether different thing than doing so for a single family. Everything in the kitchen is industrial in scale as was the volume of ingredients (22 cups of diced carrots for example; that’s a lot of carrot pealing). Just stirring the pots could easily replace a full upper body workout at the gym. Working together for a great cause was very rewarding and our family was pleased for the opportunity to help those in need during these unprecedented times.
Jeanine and I enjoyed a nice 4-mile walk to White Pond. A nearby former blue heron rookery was unusually devoid of wildlife with the exception of the hawk pictured above. While wildlife was hard to find, that was not the case for interesting photo opportunities. First, a makeshift parking lot for tiny vehicles replete with marked parking spaces, and second, a drying rack for small children.
A portion of our driveway is lined with a stone wall that defines the edge of a flower and shrub bed. At this time of year, it seems like each day brings a new flower to enjoy. Pollinators are busy at work and almost oblivious to close approach.
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.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
