While I have been in Minnesota, Jeanine has been my eyes and ears on the ground at the River house build site. Each day she sends several photos to apprise me of progress. Today she also filled in for Santa, delivering Christmas presents to all the people working in the cold to bring our dream house to reality. Predicted torrential rains and the holiday will suspend further progress until next Tuesday.

I spent from 7 am to 7 pm with my mother today. She is resting comfortably but is no longer able to eat or drink. I am certain, however, that she can still hear and understand me so I read her the cards and messages that continue to arrive and tell her what all her loved ones are up to. For a change of pace, I also put on one of her Argentine Tango dance mix CDs (at low volume) until a hospice nurse suggested something more soothing. Naturally, I keep her up to speed on the status of the River House build which was always a topic of interest when we spoke by phone in recent months.. It is apparent to me that her time has arrived and my only wish now is that she pass quickly and peacefully. I hope and will try to be at her side when that moment arrives.

I spent the entire day with my mother in her room at the senior living center where she has been a resident for the last three years. She is no longer able to communicate verbally because she can not generate enough air pressure to speak intelligibly. She tried writing but this proved equally difficult. Instead, I asked her to show me what she wanted using her hands. This proved both effective and poignant. I could not help but think that she was dancing with her hands. Based on her gestures, I was able to determine that she wanted a thread and needle to sew something. Sadly, I judged it unsafe to give her something that sharp. I encouraged her to sew in the air and she was happy to do so for several minutes more.

As much as I am enjoying being in Minnesota to visit my mother and brother’s family, I would be just as happy if they lived someplace warmer. When I joined Marie (my sister-in-law) for her morning walk with Luna (the adorable family poodle), the temperature was two below zero. When we re-entered the house after our arctic expedition, my glasses steamed over and then gradually cleared up. Tomorrow morning we are looking forward to double-digit negative temperatures, snow, and winds steadily increasing to 25 mph.

My mother’s condition continues its gradual decline. We have now put in place around-the-clock, in-room care in addition to the visits from hospice staff. Although it has been emotionally draining, I am grateful for the opportunity to spend these last days with my mother. It has allowed me to express my love for her, to say all that needed to be said, and to ensure that her departure is a peaceful and dignified one. It has also been an honor to serve as the conduit for so many messages of love and admiration from family and friends who cannot be here.

Maya shared this photo of her UU chalice with a candle lit for her Nana.

I remain in Minnetonka and spent the better part of the day with my mother. While she remains as sharp as ever, it has become very difficult for her to speak. She still enjoys listening to me read messages from friends and family and looking at photographs of loved ones. Mark is spoiling her with homemade purees which she prefers over all other food. My sister Mayela, herself a retired hospice caregiver, is guiding all of us through this very difficult time while my sister Alissa is handling all of the legal, financial, and agency management work that must be done.

Jeanine has been my emotional support pillar and has taken over day-to-day monitoring of the River House construction project which made dramatic progress over the weekend.

One component of my mother’s hospice care is music therapy, a portion of which I captured in the video below.

My mother was visited by her friends Mary Ann and Eduardo, from her Argentine Tango Community today. In preparation for their visit, she took a clipping from one of her plants and placed it in a water-filled vase as a gift for them. She then directed me to her stash of red wine bottles one of which was added to the gift bag along with a handwritten note. She enjoyed the visit immensely but was falling asleep by the end and rested comfortably for the rest of the afternoon.

Jeanine shared the photo below from her morning visit to Nicolai’s apartment where they all watched the World Cup final together. Her beret was not enough to help the French win but man can she rock a beret. In Minnesota, we were rooting for Argentina so Messi could cement his legacy. Perhaps it is best that we are in different parts of the country right now.

I spent most of the day with my mother as she enjoyed visits with all of her local family members.

This morning, I learned that my mother has been struggling with her recovery from pneumonia and that she is now receiving hospice care. I decided it would be best to book the next flight to Minneapolis. I arrived at the senior residence center where she is living by mid-afternoon. In between naps, I read to her messages from family members who cannot be here and set her up with my laptop so she could view images from her past. The image in the picture above is of her with my father atop a mountain in the Adirondacks. Her voice is extremely weak which has made it difficult to understand her at times but it is clear that her mind is as sharp as a tack. She has communicated to me her wishes for what comes next and I have shared them with immediate members of the family who have all been contributing to her care in so many ways.

I spent the evening at my brother’s house where we were joined by his four children and two girlfriends and a late-arriving childhood friend of the family.

In the River House, Jeanine’s office will be located directly over mine. We have taken to calling it the Aviary for reasons related to the development of our design over time. Initially, the space was going to be a screened-in porch which we tentatively named the Perch. Our first architect was not so keen on that descriptor and labeled it the Aviary on an early set of drawings. The name has stuck even though we changed the design to make it a fully conditioned space and part of the interior of the home. The room will have a large window directly over the one in my office offering a long view of the river and three more looking across it. The wall that will contain the latter set was erected today and I can’t wait to climb up there and test the view.

This evening, Jeanine and I attended the holiday party for Amide Technologies, one of the companies I am consulting for. Consistent with the frugality that is a hallmark of any good startup, the event was held in a conference room at our new office in Cambridge. What the venue lacked in ambiance, the engaging conversations with colleagues more than made up for. We both had a wonderful time and I enjoyed showing Jeanine around the office and the lab where we are building a first-of-its-kind instrument for the rapid synthesis of arbitrary proteins.

My brother Mark shared this photo taken with his son Mario and the buck he took down with a single arrow. They proceeded to field dress the deer and I have no doubt will save and eat every bit of the harvest. While I have never had an interest in hunting, it occurs to me that the needed skill set is very similar to wildlife photography. It requires an understanding of your subject’s behavior and a great deal of patience.

We received our first snow of the year today, more of a dusting really. Even so, it was enough that our framing crew did not show up to work. The excuse was that the car they share for the commute would not start. Very frustrating for me since each day of delay costs us ~$1500 (the average daily fee for site and project management charged by our builder). On the positive side, the weather forecast for the remainder of the week looks promising. Even more promising; Jeanine and I have found an exterior color for the house and roof that we both really like. We have been wrestling with this decision for months now, spending hours each weekend driving around and looking at houses for ideas and inspiration. With these two choices made, we have an anchor from which all other color choices will follow.

I am getting ready to purchase 3 dozen smart occupancy sensor/dimmer switches for the new house. I have been testing two units in my workshop for some time now. Dimmer switches can buzz with certain types of LED lights and can flicker while ramping up or down the power level. Satisfied that they are compatible with the recessed lighting I have selected, I decided to install them in the Road House so that I could test the motion detection sensitivity and coverage pattern. I also wanted to spend more time than I already have to ensure that they play nice with Apple’s Home Kit which we will be using for the automation of the River House. I decided to place them in the kitchen. This four gang box used to have three dimmers and one outlet. I decided to combine the circuits for the sink lighting and the under cabinet lighting onto one circuit called task lighting which allowed me to add a second much needed outlet. The installation went slowly because I opted to keep the power on so I would not have to work under flashlight illumination. Once installed, I spent hours learning all the nuances of the switch programming and integration with Home Kit. It was time well spent since I discovered a few things that worked differently than I expected and several features that I was unaware of.

Kyle and I took a break from his basement renovation project to watch the Brazil v Morocco World Cup match. Joining me on the couch was Bailey who is my new best friend. Kyle and I returned to our work and were able to finish the last of the plumbing, installation of a bathroom ventilation fan, and hanging of cement backer board within the shower area before leaving for Nico’s apartment where we were joined by Maya and Jeanine to watch the France v England quarterfinal. The day was both productive and enjoyable and to top things off, our framing crew was also working on the River House today.

Framing for the first floor and part of the second floor is now complete. I concatenated my last video with the latest footage for an up-to-date progress report on framing.