I swung by Walden Pond today and was intrigued by the ice formations to be found on the shoreline. Most of the pond is still frozen but you could literally hear the groaning as the advance of spring begins to thaw the ice.

This Panda Bear cupcake is one of Maya’s creations and will join many close relatives on a journey to Rock & Roll Bingo Night at our church of Friday. There they will be sold to raise funds for the trip Jeanine and Kyle will be making to visit our sister church in Transylvania over the summer.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday you would swear that spring had arrived. Today another winter storm covered everything in sleet and snow.

 
Walking the dog was not enough for Jeanine so she got an early start on spring clean up.

 
With positively spring like weather, Jeanine insisted we get outside and Nala was treated to an extended walk around the neighborhood.

The planets must be well aligned for me today. I played footsol for 2 hours this morning and virtually every shot I took found the back of the neck. When I returned home, Jeanine asked me to make drawer dividers for a couple of drawers in the kitchen. You would have thought I gave her a dozen roses from the expression on her face when she saw the finished product.

The soccer talent in this family is by no means restricted to the boys. Maya has become quite good and helped her indoor team to a 5-2 victory with two very pretty assists. Despite being the smallest girl on the field she has no compunction about taking on opponents twice her size and more often than not leaves them wondering what kind of freight train just ran them over.

 
I caught Maya napping and decided to sneak in for a portrait featuring her eye lashes. Jeanine has gone to NYC for an introductory class offered by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition so I will be Mr. Mom until tomorrow evening.

Today Sonos received the very prestigious international iF Gold Award for design. Accepting the award in Germany is my colleague Mieko Kusano who played a major role in all aspects of our design.

My love affair with fast automobiles ended as the responsibilities of parenthood became a priority in my life. I had to take my car in for service this morning and while I was waiting I photographed this very handsome Audi R8 which I know the boys will be excited to see.

I decided to try a back road commute this morning. It added 15 minutes to the drive but took me over the Cambridge Reservoir, where I captured this image of the fresh snowfall over the frozen water.

 
School was cancelled today due to a Nor’easter that left Concord with more than 10 inches of snow. I worked from home unitl the roads were cleared and Maya made some progress on the scarf she is weaving.

My saucy sister Alissa and her dance partner doing a Jazzy Foxtrot during a show called Red Hot Ballroom earlier this year. My father was a ballroom dance instructor when he met and fell in love with my mother. The two have been dancing ever since and it remains a passion of theirs. Of all my siblings, Alissa and her husband John have really followed in my parents footsteps – no pun intended. Good thing Alissa is a successful investment management advisor. She has more dance outfits than I have soccer photos of the kids. If you are ever in need of a great financial advisor and would like to subsidize her dancing addiction feel free to check out her professional web site.

The girls worked together to verify the spelling of each word and took turns announcing to the judges and audience.

Congratulations to the Willard School Fourth Grade Spelling Bee champions. Maya and her team mates survived more than twenty rounds to win first place. The girls were magnificent, m-a-g-n-i-f-i-c-e-n-t, magnificent.

Kyle accelerates around an opponent during indoor soccer last night. He had one goal and 2 assists helping his team to a 5-2 win. As the spring outdoor season approaches, Kyle is looking very strong. Still photos do not do justice to some of his unbelievable footwork. Half the team decided to spend the night at our house necessitating a midnight snack run for chips, soda, ice cream and cookies. God only knows what we are going to find to feed them all in the morning.

I spent the day traveling from California back to Boston. The iconic flying saucer theme building featuring a suspended restaurant is undergoing renovation at LAX airport. I think it is even more interesting with all of the scaffolding surrounding it.

In art class Maya has been working on block printing and she brought some of her work home this week.

At 3:15am a freight train with whistle blaring woke me from a deep sleep. This is when I normally get up on the east coast so it was no real hardship. I arrived at the office by 4am, grabbed a nice shower, and worked until 9am. I then walked to a local cafe for breakfast and had my first dose of sunshine for the day. Back to the office and worked until 5pm with no time for lunch. Then I walked to the Farmer’s Market held each Tuesday in Santa Barbara and collected photographs of vegetables. Jeanine used a photo from a previous visit here for her marketing literature and I know she will like these. Back to the office and worked until 7:30pm and then off for a quick dinner and back into the tent. I lead such a glamorous life.

… or sublime.

Depending on the direction you face, the colors are either intense …

 
The proximity of the ocean to the mountains here is very dramatic. I arrived at the park just in time to pitch my tent before darkness set in. Once situated I was treated to a beautiful sunset.

I decided on a change of pace for my monthly business trip to Santa Barbara. Instead of my normal hotel I have opted for slightly more primative lodging. For the next three nights I will be staying in the Carpenteria State Park on the Pacific Ocean. In light of current economic conditions it feels like a good way to save my company money while adding a little spice to my otherwise routine travel regime.

 
Nephew John William returns to New York today after an all too brief weekend visit.

Is it soup yet? Jeanine creates another wonderful winter soup featuring root vegetables.

Nico, his friend Greg, and I spent the day at the Gunstock Ski Area in New Hampshire. Naturally, the most exciting jump on the mountain was near the top and in order to get this shot I had to walk up the entire bloody mountain. I was rewarded for all the exercise with a nice image of Nicolai catching big air. Nico has abandoned his outriggers in favor of his normal crutches explaining that they are lighter and allow him to go faster. Hard to argue with results.

My sister’s son, John William, arrived this afternoon for a weekend visit and was immediately enlisted to join Kyle’s indoor soccer team for a match. Although slightly younger than the rest of the players, Johnie scored two goals, one on an assist from Kyle which made for a nice family effort.

I was greeted upon my return home this evening with an appeal from Maya to inspect her toes. As much as I love Maya’s toes (and all her other parts) I must admit I was not prepared for green toenails. Thus, it begins.

Maya and Jeanine have attended several weaving classes this week. Maya is shown here on the loom she received from Santa for Christmas this year. I can’t wait to see the final outcome.

As promised in an earlier post, here is a picture, courtesy of Jeanine, of the chickens that are producing the eggs we are eating now. Maya accompanied her mother on an egg run today.

Nicolai asked to come to my soccer game this evening and was kind enough to photograph the action. We squeaked out a 7-6 victory and I managed one goal off my own rebound. Nico does a nice job capturing me in full stride about to take a shot.