UPDATE: The satellite image below was taken in 2024 as the memorial to this event fades into history.

Jeanine’s lemon tree has produced a bumper crop of lemons this season. The miniature tree has yielded 4 huge, very yellow lemons which I hope to consume soon in the form of a refreshing beverage. The tree occupies a corner in our breakfast nook and receives fairly good sun for half the day. I believe the tree was a gift from Jeanine’s father and I am sure these lemons hold a special meaning for her. When my father passed away, I requested his lambskin slippers. I think of him every day as I slip them on.

Occasionally I still get an opportunity to contribute to product concept ideation. While I am not at liberty to explain my crude prototype, pictured here, I can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed participating with members of my organization, wearing my engineer hat in place of my VP hat, to solve an interesting design challenge for a future iRobot product. Work has been incredibly demanding over the past month or so as my team readied two major new products for launch, the first ones to be developed entirely on my watch. I am extremely proud of my engineering team and all that they have accomplished. I can’t wait till these new babies hit the shelves.

Jeanine returned from a two-day visit with my sister who lives near Albany, NY. Whenever Alissa suggests to Jeanine that they first meet up in Lee, MA, I can predict that both will be returning home with bags full of new clothing. Home to 60 premium brand outlet stores, the mall can induce a euphoric buying frenzy in the frugal and value-conscious shopper. As someone who cannot pass up a sale on Arcteryx brand clothing or gear I am in no position to pass judgement on these Lee encounters. Jeanine put her new outfit, modeled here, to immediate use for a work function that she attended today.

After raising two sons I feel I have a pretty good understanding of the gender. Boys are simple creatures driven by simple motives (food, sex, …. actually that is the complete list). Girls on the other hand remain a complete mystery to me. When I returned from work this evening, I walked into the kitchen to find Fiona choking Sarinnagh while Maya was cooking eggs for them. Rather than fighting to get away, Sarinnagh was laughing uncontrollably while Maya seemed oblivious to the whole scene, very focused on her cooking. In the same setting, Kyle and Nico would have been hell-bent on demonstrating total physical superiority and would have stopped only when the eggs were ready to eat. Think dogs.

Later that evening while I was watching TV on the couch, Maya approached nonchalantly, seated herself high on the sofa back without saying a word and promptly placed her freezing cold bare feet directly on top of my bald head where they remained for several minutes. When she absorbed all the heat available at that location she started burrowing her feet under my back and arm pits in search of more. As soon as her toes were warm again she left as casually as she had arrived and without saying a word. Think cat.

Jeanine left this morning to visit my sister in Albany, NY leaving me to supervise Maya and Nala. When she is away it is my responsibility to ensure adequate nutrition for those left under my care. The dog can survive for several days without food so there is much margin for error. Feeding Maya, on the other hand, demands a more consistent and thoughtful approach. Fortunately, Concord has restaurants which serve all three meals of the day affording me an effective outsourced solution. While on one such excursion I encountered a large herd of black cows (only a small fraction shown here) in a field that is normally vacant and I was compelled to stop for a photo. Even though my calf is feeling pretty good, I opted not to play soccer this weekend. I have learned that stressing this particular muscle too early is not a good idea. Sobering to learn that a division 2 player from my league died of a heart attack during his game today. Puts my minor injury into stark perspective.

Captain Smith was the commanding officer of the Lincoln, MA Minute Men and was also the brother of Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams, the first Vice President, and second President, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President. His house, the oldest in Lincoln, was built in 1692 and after several additions was restored recently by the National Park Service to its original Revolutionary War appearance. Jeanine joined me this afternoon for a 6-mile training hike through the Minuteman National Park where we passed the historical building. Later in the evening, Maya modeled a new hairstyle of her own creation. Although she was really just fooling around, I think it is actually a very nice look for her.

As my Nepal adventure draws nearer and as my injured calf muscle continues to recover it is essential that I begin training again. This evening I started with an easy 2-mile walk on level ground with no pack. From here I will build up to at least a few 10-mile hikes before I leave at the end of the month. I paused for the sunset as I began my lap at the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. I finished by the light of my flashlight which will be the norm for any after-work outings since it is getting dark very early now.

We have an unusual number of redheads that work in the Human Resources department at iRobot. This group stopped by my office this morning for a meeting to discuss why I was not in costume for the Halloween open house. Children of employees are invited to Trick-or-Treat throughout the facility which is elaborately decorated for the occasion and to enjoy a special Halloween lunch. I have been unusually busy with two new product launches and have had little time to think about anything else. With the pressure on, I was able to improvise a headless pumpkin costume using only my normal work apparel, a rather sad statement about the nature of my professional wardrobe. Despite the fact that it was thrown together at the last second, I can tell you that this outfit produced more fear in small children than any other at the company. I was able to see well enough through the buff covering my head to track down and approach youngsters who found my lack of a face quite disturbing. Add a low pitched growl once in close proximity and they were quickly looking for the arms of their parents. I am guessing this Hallow’s Eve behavior will earn me another visit from the red heads.

Since we moved to the Boston area ten years ago the Red Sox have won the World Series three times and the Patriots have won the Super Bowl three times. Even though our family does not generally follow professional sports it is hard not to get pulled into the excitement of rooting for your home team when they are competing for a national title (kind of arrogant that we call them the “World” Series as I think about it). Jeanine multi-tasked (Open Table e-mail) during the early innings of the game and was fast asleep by the fifth inning. Maya made it till the bottom of the eighth but I woke her up for the final out of the game. This year’s victory was made more poignant because the team made such a dramatic turnaround from last season and because the team and the city rallied around the Boston Strong theme after the marathon bombing last spring.

I pulled this photo off of Nico’s Facebook account. It was taken on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia where he is completing an internship with SideStix, the manufacturer of his forearm crutches. He has learned many aspects of the business and everything there is to know about building and maintaining his crutches. This week he is in Seattle speaking at the local VA hospitals and demonstrating the product. I was thrilled to learn he will be returning in time for Thanksgiving as will Kyle.

Reluctantly, I have placed these PrincetonTec Apex headlamps up for sale on Craig’s List today. They are veterans of my coming-of-age adventures with both boys and many solo adventures I have taken over the years. They have seen the bottom of the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave in Belize and the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. They have guided my path through the Patagonia regions of Chile and Argentina, up the slopes of Mount Fuji, and over the Salkantay Pass in Peru. They have never failed me and remain in near-perfect condition. With my upcoming trip to Nepal, however, I am switching from AA batteries to 18650 and CR123A type batteries for all of my equipment. They offer lower weight for the same illumination and longer life. The downside is that the batteries can only be found in specialty retailers.

Maya is about mid way through the half year long Coming of Age program offered at our church. Participants examine their spirituality and belief systems with the goal of developing a personal credo and sharing it with the entire congregation. Unitarian Universalism is characterized by a “free and responsible search for truth and meaning”. Members do not share a creed, but are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth.

This evening parents shared a letter in which they tell their child what they admire about them, why they value them, favorite memories, and words of wisdom. I worked on my letter all week and practiced it many times hoping I could control my emotions while reading it to Maya in front of her peers and their parents. Jeanine had a great letter and delivered it with style and grace. I didn’t make it through my first paragraph before I totally lost it. I felt very vulnerable as I struggled to complete the letter, sobbing uncontrollably during parts. Maya put her hand on my shoulder and only that consolation allowed me to finish. The feelings I expressed came from deep within me, tapping into emotions too powerful for me to control. Maya’s hug as I finished pulled me back from the depths. This photo was taken yesterday but I thought it appropriate to post today.

The Earle family hosted a brunch for friends and family of the bride this morning. We spent the better part of five hours catching up and making new acquaintances. I enjoyed getting to know the groom, Kyle, whose adventurous nature belies his shy personality. The owner of no less than 22 alligators, he immediately recognized from my blog photos, the location where I had taken them while in the Everglades photographing gators. He had personally captured several of his in that same location. His ambition is to one day move to Florida and establish a sanctuary for dislocated reptiles. Other than Beth and her brothers Colin and Jamie, Maya knew few people and was happy to snuggle with Mama until she befriended the Earle dog, Saint. The head of this dog seemed to outweigh the remainder of its body but to its credit he was a very cooperative photographic subject. The party eventually moved to the local football field where Jamie was in action playing wide receiver on offense and safety on defense. We caught most of the first half before we had to leave for the airport.