Perhaps the only thing about our Road House that is inadequate is the size of the garage. It is a tight squeeze for two cars with room for little else. In particular, we have no convenient place to store our snowblower, yard tools, and bikes. Yesterday, I ordered an 8’x6′ shed which will arrive unassembled, presumably within 2 to 3 weeks barring any supply chain issues. Given the temperature today was hovering just above the freezing mark and it is not likely to get much warmer any time soon, I decided to fabricate the platform base on which the shed will be mounted. I used 2x4s to fashion a torsion box frame which I skinned with 1/2″ plywood on both sides (screwed and glued). It took me an hour to procure the lumber and 3 hours to complete the project working in the garage and on the driveway. It is as solid as a rock. The next time temperatures favor outdoor work, I will place and level the concrete blocks on which the platform will rest.

Pictured left is Maya’s friend Connor who has been staying with us for the last few days. This evening, he organized a family cooking party and taught us how to make potstickers. Kyle and Nico joined in and we also had a brief visit from Grace, one of Maya’s high school pals. Potstickers are very labor-intensive to prepare and a certain degree of finesse is required. Many hands made for quick work and also resulted in several unusually shaped dumplings. The meal was delicious and the joy of cooking together will long be remembered fondly.

While on a 3.3-mile exercise walk to the post office and back, Jeanine and I came across this walkway made of large (5’x5′) stones. I can’t recall seeing such a large flat top stone ever before. We both liked the idea of using something like this for the walkway to our front door of the River House and the image has been added to our idea folder.

DeWALT recently announced a new battery technology for their cordless power tools. It features a pouch-style lithium-ion battery instead of the cylindrical cells that are common to the industry. The pouch offers higher current output, better packing efficiency, and longer service life. The first instantiation of the new battery is a 1.7Ah version for their 20V tool line. I ordered a pair as soon as they went on sale in November and they finally arrived today. The new (5-cell) battery has less capacity than the current version (1.7Ah versus 2.0Ah), but is smaller, lighter, and can supply a higher current allowing the tool to perform better. It is obvious to me that DeWALT will follow this battery with a 15-cell FlexVolt (20/60V) version that will probably have a 5.1Ah capacity although nothing has been announced yet. Another logical version will be a 10-cell, 3.4Ah version.

Jeanine and I spent a good part of the day at Kyle’s place helping out with his basement renovation project. Today, we worked on wall framing and new window installation. We never seem to accomplish as much as we had planned on but things are shaping up nicely. Kyle is learning many new skills as we go and accumulating a good set of tools along the way.

Jeanine prepared a delicious salmon dish this evening to start the new year on a healthy note. Earlier, I was dispatched to the supermarket to retrieve a package of barley for another component of the meal. I added a pint of Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk to the basket to ensure we maintained a well-balanced diet.

Looking back on December and 2021 in total, it is impossible to ignore the impact that the Covid pandemic has had on our lives. We are grateful that none of our family has contracted the virus and send our best wishes to those who have not been so lucky or who face other adversities. Although we kept travel to a minimum this year, everyone managed to get some time away. Maya did an internship with Rivian in Illinois and a vacation road trip in California. Nicolai traveled to Costa Rica with the US National Amputee Soccer team for a tournament there. Kyle spent time in Hawaii for a combination vacation and work function. Jeanine attended weddings in Seattle and Indianapolis, cavorted with girlfriends during a Martha’s Vineyard retreat, spent time alone in Provincetown, and joined me for a visit with family in Minnesota. I found my way to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Copenhagen for a combination photo adventure / international soccer tournament. For the most part, however, we have all stuck close to home and focused on work. Maya will graduate in the spring from Olin college and has accepted a position with Formlabs in Somerville. Nicolai continues to teach history in the Concord Middle School and coaches JV soccer and wrestling. Kyle is a Data Engineer working remotely for a California telehealth company. Jeanine continues to lead Open Table and has helped guide the food relief organization through tumultuous times during which food insecurity has increased and the basic operating model has had to be re-engineered to deal with Covid safety concerns. I have declared myself semi-retired but remain busy with a number of consulting gigs and the oversight of our new home construction. We have much to be thankful for and enter the new year hopeful that we will remain healthy and that Covid will fade into the background.

November was marked by great progress on the housing front. We cleared our last permitting hurdle for demolition of the River House and I was able to remove and recycle all of the appliances, furnace, and water heater as well as remove the oil tank and set up a temporary electrical service. At the Road House, I installed a Level 2 car charger in the garage, completed build-out of a proper shop in the basement, and took care of a small number of minor repairs. I also spent time working with Kyle on the renovation of his new house in Medford. With the help of the rest of the family, we gutted the basement and converted the water heater, dryer, and kitchen cooktop from gas to electric service.

Having quickly settled in, we enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving celebration with the kids and several friends at our new place while enjoying the spectacular fall foliage.

Jeanine and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary in October with a Gloucester lighthouse excursion. For the second year in a row, Covid has caused us to choose road trips over our plans for a European excursion. I made my annual trek to the north country for fall foliage and my soccer team completed another undefeated season. During the course of the month, we also found, purchased, and moved into a nearby second home where we will reside until our River House new construction is completed sometime next year.

September highlights included my 45th high school reunion, 63rd birthday, and a visit from my cousin Vinny and his family. Most of my time was spent on the design of our new home and the construction of a scale model to help us visualize the project.

We returned from Vermont this morning and decided to stretch our legs this afternoon with a walk to Newbury Field. There, I put the drone up for a photograph of an adjacent property that is scheduled for demolition next month. The house was designed by Concord architect Harry Little in 1936 for Brooks Stevens Jr. and his wife Janet Stevens. The Stevens family was known across Concord and Lowell for its role in the textile industry. The grand 8,749-square-foot European-style home, set on nearly 90 acres, was sold to new owners in 2018 for $19.2 million. The exterior of the home was used as the Laurence House in the 2019 film adaption of “Little Women” and is also being used as the location for a new horror movie that will continue filming after the house has been razed.

Nicolai’s quarantine expired and he tested negative for Covid this morning allowing him to join us in Vermont today. Hoping this would be the case we postponed our Christmas dinner by one day which also allowed a family friend, Jean Cass, to join us as well. She was delayed by yesterday’s poor driving conditions. Even if for only one day, having the whole family reunited was a wonderful gift. This is only the second time we have celebrated Christmas away from home. The first time, was in 2008 when we traveled to Costa Rica and enjoyed views of lava flowing from the Arenal Volcano on Christmas morning. Although less dramatic, our Vermont holiday retreat has been equally rewarding and proven once again that being together as a family is the only ingredient needed for our happiness.

It would not be Christmas without Jeanine’s popovers and despite the new setting, they remained on the menu for our traditional breakfast. I was in charge of preparing grapefruits and bacon, tasks that require little proficiency in actual cooking. Missing from the table and days festivities was Nicolai who is still under quarantine. We are hoping his Covid test tomorrow morning will be negative in which case he will be able to join us.

The family is celebrating Christmas this year at an old farmhouse in Vermont. Jeanine reserved the AirBnB rental property while we were still living in the River House and had insufficient space to entertain the entire crew (because I had already gutted 2/3 of the structure). At the moment, Nico has yet to join us. A teacher at his school tested positive for Covid last week and he is self-quarantining at home until the incubation period expires and will drive up on Sunday if he continues to test negative. We are sharing the farmhouse with Jeanine’s sister, Susan. Wood-burning stoves are the primary source of heat and very welcome after long strolls in the frigid air. Pictured below in the foreground on the left is the farmhouse.