With the kids scattered to the winds (Maya in Nantucket, Nico with cousins in Minneapolis, Kyle in Nicaragua on a service project) Jeanine and I had the day to ourselves. We decided to go kayaking on the Sudbury River launching from the South Bridge boat house where we rented a kayak for Jeanine. We headed upstream for a liesurely 9 mile paddle and encountered more Blue Heron than people on our voyage. We are very fortunate to live so close to so many great kayaking destinations. We are less than 5 minutes from the Concord, Sudbury and Assebet Rivers.
So many people on airplanes these days spend all their time watching the movie, working on their computers or glued to a book failing to appreciate the beauty below them. Forget about smelling roses; take a moment and look out the window.
Santa Barbara has a lovely beach, warf and marina. I made the 15 minute walk here from my hotel after work. Suprisingly I found little photographic inspiration until I came across this reflection in the waning evening light.
As colorful as the produce was, none could compete with this street performer. I have seen him here on prior trips and hope to get a better portrait of him on my next visit. For me, he captures the spirit of Santa Barbara.
I travelled to Santa Barbara today for work, arriving at about 6pm. Around the corner from my hotel each Tuesday is the open air farmer’s market. Although things were winding down as I arrived I was able to purchase some delicious fruit and get a few pictures.
We thoroughly enjoyed the visit by Anita and Dave. Anita prepared dinner for the family last night while Dave, who is an excellent musician, jammed with the boys in the basement. Jeanine drove Kyle to the rendezvous point for his 3am departure to Nicaragua while the rest of us slept.
…. Jeanine and Maya discover wild blueberries along the roadside which we harvested for almost an hour. When we returned home Jeanine turned our gatherings into an unbelievably yummy pie which we shared with my cousin Anita and her boyfriend Dave who called out of the blue and are visiting with us this evening as they travel through the area.
This B&B is known for their collection of Nubian goats and the cheese they make from their milk. I wandered into the barn for a peek at a couple of the young Nubians. There is a good joke here, but I will pass it up in favor of maintaining a G rating for this blog.
We spent last night at the Fern Hill bed and breakfast just as we did last year. After their numerous performances on Saturday, campers unwind with an all camp dance that evening. Parents return on the following day to collect them necessitating the overnight stay. The proprietor is a veteran mountain climber and was a little skeptical last year when I told him that Nicolai and I intended to climb Kilimanjaro. This year having heard of our adventure on the radio was most congratulatory and thrilled to discuss the climb at length.
This morning Jeanine, Maya and I left the house at 6am to make the three hour derive to Sweden, Maine where Nicolai has been attending music camp Encore Coda for the last three weeks. Maya is the first to embrace her brother and he is thrilled to see her.
In his final performance, Nico played drums in a rock band. we were all very impressed with the set and it was great to see Nico having so much fun, not that you could tell by his facial expression while performing. Not cool to smile I guess. How do you get a guitar player to stop playing? Put some music in front of him. How do you get two picolo players to play in tune? Shoot one of them. Nico now has a full complement of musician jokes and he was very happy to share them with us.
After playing percussion for the symphonic orchestra he then played drums for a jazz ensemble. It’s a shame they always put the drummer in the back. Nico asked me why it was important to make sure the drums are set up perfectly level. It is so the drummer will drool equally from both sides of their mouth. He then asked me what you call a trombone player without a girl friend? …. Homeless.
Nicolai performed in four seperate groups. This year he participated in the Jazz Choir. Click on the photo and see if you can find him among the singers. Bonus points if you find Waldo as well.
Because we arrived earlier than expected we had some time before Nico’s first performance. Maya entertains herself using a crab apple to draw with on the concrete foundation of the administration building.
This evening I attended the wake for Hakim and was overcome with emotion. My soccer team is a band of brothers and his father’s loss is our loss. When I returned home to learn that Kyle had obtained his driving permit and had driven home I could not see past my fear of losing my own child to share his enthusiasm for reaching this milestone. I know that Bahi will carry the burden of his son’s loss for the rest of his life and I will do what I can to ease that pain. This reminder of how quickly we can lose a loved one will also cause me to find more moments to cherish my own family.
As part of camp Jeanine, Maya and her friends have been making their own tote bags. Here is Maya’s creation which she completed entirely on her own. It did not occur to me until after I took the photograph, but the seat cushion on the chair was sewn by her grandmother.
Earlier this week Maya and I constructed a buzzer. It is a little crude, but it works nicely and Maya learned a lot about electricity. The nail is wrapped in fine guage wire to form an electromagnet. It is covered in electrical tape and hot melt glued to the backing board. The metal clapper pivots about a nail and is returneded to its resting position by a spring. The white wire forms the interrupter switch.
Little does Kyle know that his close friends are waiting at the restaurant to surprise him for his birthday. He was truly stunned and very happy to see his buddies.
Kyle turns 16 years old today. It is hard for me to imagine how quickly the years have passed. He has turned into a rather fine yound man and we are all very proud of him. Here he prepares to go for a run.
Today I am saddened beyond words. The 25 year old son, Hakim, of one of my soccer team mates died today. Hakim would frequently join his father and our team for practice sessions. It is impossible for me to fathom this loss and to comprehend the pain of losing a child.
This evening Maya and I attended the surprise 50th birthday party of my high school wrestling partner and good friend Tom Metzold. I had the distinction of being the person who had known Tom the longest and I was thrilled to have shared in the celebration.
This weekend Jeanine is visiting her sister in Vermont, Nico is still at music camp in Maine, and Kyle is staying with friends in New Hampshire. Feels like we are playing Monopoly with hotels ready to go up all over New England. Maya and I are enjoying the time together. This evening we had a date night at the Main Street Cafe. During dinner she asked me how a fire alarm worked and followed my explanation with great interest. When we returned home we constructed an alarm bell together. We fashioned an electromagnet from some left over wire and an iron nail. We used a scrap of steel for the clapper and created an interupter switch with wire leads fastened with hot melt glue. It took about 90 minutes but we eventually got the buzzer to buzz. Maya was quite pleased with the outcome.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
