Jeanine was treated to an especially nice mother’s day this year. The kids prepared a lovely vegetable quiche dinner from scratch, we all worked on the jigsaw puzzle together, and we joined my side of the family for a Zoom reunion with my mother. Jeanine went for a long walk with her friends during the morning and found herself featured in a new slideshow running on all of our digital picture frames when she returned. In the evening, everyone worked together to make Zeppole Balls so that I could photograph them for Jeanine’s memoir cookbook, the last photo needed for her to complete the project.
This weekend, the family started a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle called Curious Kittens. It has proven to be quite an enjoyable distraction and way to spend time together. At times, all of us were working the puzzle together. At others, one or two would continue the effort. We have made excellent progress although not without issues. My participation in the project has been threatened several times just because I like to loudly voice a victory chant every time I place a new piece into the puzzle. At first, I was restricted to celebrations of key pieces only but eventually, this restriction was broadened to disallow all celebratory vocalizations. You will notice a lack of curious kittens in the completed portions of the puzzle. This is because they all look the same and will be the hardest part to complete.
This evening before going to bed, I heard Maya laughing from the dining room. When I looked in on her, I found her seated at the computer wearing my bomber hat. I concluded she was playing a game of Dungeons & Dragons online with friends and decided the scene demanded a photograph.
Although I have cut the hair of all our children throughout their lives, Jeanine has never trusted me with that task. Today that changed due to the stay-at-home advisory in place for all Massachusetts residents. Initially, she requested I cut off 2″. Then she updated the request to specify shoulder length. To an engineer, shoulder length implies hair even with the tops of the shoulders which for Jeanine was more like a 7″ trim. I decided to split the difference at about 4″. I have since learned that a woman who specifies shoulder length actually means that her hair cover her shoulders when dry. Let’s just say that I did not get a tip nor can I expect another visit from this particular customer. Advice to all followers of this blog. There is no upside to cutting the hair of your significant other.
Yesterday, Open Table distributed 99 meals to families in need. The dinners included the flank steak that our family prepared over the weekend. I do not know if the pea soup that we made will accompany the meal or will be distributed separately. It is very gratifying to see the final “product” and to know that so many people will enjoy a meal they might not otherwise have had. No better way to endure the COVID lockdown than volunteering to help those who may be struggling more than usual during this unprecedented crisis.
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.
