On Mondays and Wednesdays we do not allow TV. As a result, I often find the children more willing to let me take their photos on these evenings. Last night Maya and I had a lot of fun together.

St. Lucia is an Italian saint who has been adopted by the Swedes. She is associated with the idea of light. In the middle ages, December 13 fell on the longest day of the year. This holiday celebrates the fact that the days will now start getting shorter. The candles and (yellow) saffron bread represent light, the bare feet represent charity, and the red sash represents the wound she suffered at the hands of her fiancé after she gave away her dowry to the poor.

Today we celebrated St. Lucia Day. In Swedish tradition, the oldest girl of the family wears a white dress with a red ribbon around her waist and a wreath of candles on her head while serving coffee (hot chocolate in out case) and special saffron bread to the rest of the family.

Child #2 was half asleep while eating breakfast (literally). There is a fork with scrambled eggs on it approaching his mouth as I took this photo.

Our tree angel has been with us for more than a decade. Every year, I struggle to get her positioned just right. This year, for the first time, I think I was successful. Nicolai was in charge of our first fire of the year and did a nice job starting it from scratch (my use of a propane torch to start fires, while extremely efficient, is viewed with varying degrees of contempt by most of the family). Family night concluded with chocolate fondue over pound cake, apples, pineapple, and tangerines. The family was too impatient to permit a proper photo of what was a beautiful dessert.

Jeanine was in charge of family night this evening and selected tree trimming for the activity. Please note that Maya was dressed in her night gown. She announced this morning that she wanted to relax all day and that she would not be changing into day clothes. Earlier in the day, Jeanine and I went on a long walk during which she introduced me to a hidden trail by an abandoned railroad track which traverses a number of beautiful marshes. Sometimes, I can not believe we live in the midst of such beauty. I was without my camera unfortunately, and therefore have a good excuse to make the hike again.

Another breakaway, this time with a defender breathing down his neck. After the game, we went out for lunch, did a little Christmas shopping, discussed the value of a younger sister to post college dating strategies, and I explained the terms or our estate plan to him (yes, a very strange combination of topics and activities).

Kyle comes up with a nice steel against Brookline this morning. His team won by one point with a basket in the final 8 seconds of the game.

Maya was also engrossed with this weaver and her loom. Maya observed with great interest and when tested could recite all of the steps, including the sequencing of the pedals, necessary to operate the loom. Constructing a loom would be a fascinating woodworking project and if I can ever find the time, I know it would be put to good use by at lease two members of the family.

Maya posing by one of the Christmas trees featuring traditional Swedish ornaments made from straw.

Maya watched this woman painting a plate for more than half an hour. She was very friendly and Maya was not the least bit bashful about engaging her in conversation.

Later in the day Jeanine, Maya and I went into Boston to attend the Swedish Yule Tide Festival. Pictured here is the Saint Lucia procession. Jeanine was in her element and was enthralled by the experience. We enjoyed wonderful Swedish waffles, shopping, and watching artisans at their work.

Another experiment with pendulums resulted in this interesting pattern. Maya enjoyed the museum with her friends for a while, but the last 30 minutes she spent with me, engrossed in some very neat activities designed to illustrate various theories of optics. She seems to have a genuine interest in science.

Maya and Sarinnagh place their hands on a thermally sensitive surface and then checkout the results.

This morning I joined Maya and her science class at the Discovery Museum for a weekend field trip. Here she experimented with the motion of a pendulum.

Maya and Sarinnagh get a big hug from Frosty.

This evening was the annual Concord Christmas tree lighting. The downtown area is closed to traffic and most of the town turns out to enjoy the music, food, and Christmas parade.

Jeanine was in fine form for the evening and definitely the better half of this couple.

The interior of the estate featured stunning woodwork everywhere and brought back memories of our Meridian St. home in Indianapolis.

This evening, I held a Holiday Party for my staff at the Stevens Estate in North Andover. Although I have been at Avid for over three years now, this is the first time I invited spouses and significant others to an event. It was a great getting to know everyone and to formally introduce Jeanine to my colleagues.

Immediately after church, all but Nico went to watch Kyle play in his basketball season opener which resulted in a 61-40 victory.

Seth slept over last night and Maya (having found her long lost camera) could not resist photographing him. We all went to church this morning where the teens conducted the entire service (Godspell theme). It was truly moving and with my outdoor soccer season over it was nice to attend church with the family.

This morning, Jeanine went into Boston to shop at the French market while the kids and I did a bunch of chores around the house. Later in the day, we attended the First Parish Art Festival where Jeanine and I both volunteered to assist with craft projects. I was please to get a shot of Nico while he was serving as my assistant in the woodworking area.

Returning home at 10:30pm, I did not anticipate that the evening could grow more outlandish. Although I do believe the person on the right is one of my children, I have no idea what is on his head or why. Looking on is friend, Anna.

This evening my soccer team had it’s annual celebration banquet at Serafina’s. Suits and ties are mandatory, but as you can see it does not take long for all sense of decorum to give way to unchecked exuberance. The bill gives some insight to the evening; $1400 for food and $1800 for drinks.

This evening I helped Nicolai to prepare an eBay listing to sell this microscope. Nico and I worked together to set up the product shot and we were both quite pleased with the result. It is actually more difficult than you might expect to arrange all the items in a visually pleasing way. Nico has a great eye for composition..

Maya reunited with her pig.

On the way home today we travelled by way of Route 2 to avoid traffic. Although it adds about an hour to the trip, the scenery is magnificent and despite grousing from the children I made several stops to enjoy it.

Alissa returned from shopping with a bright pink pair of vibrating slippers. You read that correctly. Battery operated, vibrating pink slippers. Despite serious teasing (not much imagination required), Alissa could not be parted from her new found foot joy.

My nephew Johnny looking more like a man every time I see him. He is taller than his mother and is nearly as tall as Kyle.

I have vivid childhood memories of watching the locks operate. Unfortunately, today there was no traffic on the river and we could only image what it was like.