Today I fiberglassed the deck of my kayak. Once again, Maya played a crucial role mixing epoxy on a just in time basis. It took roughly 20 batches to completely bond the fiberglass to the wood. Four additional layers of epoxy are required but these should go much more quickly and Nicolai has volunteered for the next round of mixing. Jeanine just back from a bike ride inspects the progress. You really need to click on the photo for a higher resolution view.
Maura and Nico spent several minutes attacking the dog before they all relaxed on the couch for a portrait.
Since Kyle will be shooting black and white film (they develop it at the school), I thought I would give it a try as well.
Kyle is taking a class in photography at the high school. His teacher prefers to start the kids off with pinhole cameras which the students construct and then move them up to film cameras with minimal automation. I searched Craig’s list and found a guy who was giving away a half dozen broken film cameras. I was able to repair three of them and this is the one I will give to Kyle for his class work. I forgot how much more deliberate shooting with film is and now fully appreciate why the professor insists on starting the kids with film.
Maura will graduate high school early, spend a year in India and is considering Tufts for her college choice. They will be visitig the campus tomorrow.
Linda Farrell and her daughter Maura have come to visit with us for a few days. Linda was our midwife for Maya’s birth.
Several weeks ago some baby sheep arrived to join the herd I routinely drive past on my commute. I kept telling myself that I should stop and get a photo but with all that has been going on at work it has been hard to spare the time. Today, on my drive home, I snuck up on them and was surprised that the babies have nearly doubled in size. None the less they are still pretty cute.
Maya and Nico played a little B-ball this afternoon after school. I came home a little early to take all three kids to their dentist appointment. I am happy to report no cavities and high marks for brushing technique. Jeanine has been away since Sunday attending a healthy living class at Kirpalu in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Holding down the fort has become easier as the kids have gotten older. Each child was assigned one night for making dinner and kitchen clean up and they can all fend for themselves after school. That said, we are looking forward to Jeanine’s return tomorrow.
A big day at work today. I announced that I would be leaving Avid to join a much smaller company called Sonos where I will head up their engineering team. Sonos, headquartered in Santa Barbara, designs and manufactures a wireless digital music delivery system for the home. I will be based in their Cambridge, MA office which is growing rapidly as the company expands its product portfolio. The company reminds me of Truevision, the company I co-founded in my twenties, and I am very excited about returning to such a high voltage environment, now with 25 years of experience to draw on. Leaving Avid, however, will not be easy. It is a great company and I have been priviledged to work with many wonderful people. I offered a three month notice when I resigned earlier this month and will start at Sonos in early June. Pictured here is the Sonos controller from which I can access any song in the world and play it in any room in the house. I purchased the system before my first interview to evaluate the company. Many will recall that it was immediately usurped by the kids and turned into their Christmas present.
After the game, as I was putting my tripod away, Maya took a moment to photograph her father.
Maya endured three hours of travel to watch her brother play. During his one hour pre-game practice we had a lunch date at Applebees. On the way to the restaurant I stopped to photograph this cute little house.
Kyle played in three soccer games this weekend at the Seacoast Soccer Tournament in Epping, NH. Jeanine made the three hour round trip yesterday and I did the honors today. The boys won their first two matches and tied the last which was good enough to finish in first place. Kyle, still recovering from mono, was in fine form. Here he lifts the ball over a defender’s slide tackle and continues on his way as if he had stepped over a puddle. And yes, that is snow in the background. Conditions yesterday were terrible but could not have been nicer today.
I completed the deck of my kayak today (twice). The first time I wired it together, I was not satisfied with the bevel angles between deck plates. To make the refinements, I had to remove them all and then redo about four hours of work. Despite the enormous frustration this caused, I was quite pleased with the outcome and am extremely happy with the shape and lines of the kayak. Once again, Maya provided significant assistance. I have decided on the name Calypso when the time comes to christen her.
Maya and her friends perform a dance to the Nutcracker at the Willard Talent Show this evening. Maya has not grown dramatically since yesterday. She has, however, developed a very big vertical leap.