Last night, Jeanine and I attended the inaugural “Brighter Together” parade and community celebration in downtown Concord. Over three hundred town residents turned up to participate. Brighter Together aims to create an annual winter tradition that lifts spirits, strengthens community bonds, and celebrates people of all ages, local businesses, and cultural organizations. Photographing by lantern light was a bit of a challenge, but enjoyable nonetheless.
For Christmas, Maya gifted Jeanine an all-day metalworking class where students learned to shape metal into art using anticlastic forming, which involves manipulating the metal to create saddle-like, ruffled and organic forms. The mother-daughter activity produced several earrings, in both copper and silver, as well as components for a wind chime.
Kyle departed Boston this morning, destined for a week in Jamaica. He is traveling there with three friends from his running club to soak up the sun and enjoy a bit of snorkeling. It has become his routine to vacation in the tropics to break up our frigid New England winters.
Jeanine joined her good friend Stefanie for high tea at the Lexington Vintage Tea and Cake Company. The smile on her face tells the whole story. It should be noted that none of the leftovers made their way back to our home. Admittedly, I do not know what half these things are, but I am damn sure I would have discovered a tasty morsel or two in the lot.
UPDATE: After reading my post, Jeanine informs me that there was nothing left to bring home. Still, I believe a search of typical hiding spots in the kitchen is warranted.
The water pipes at Kyle’s house have been prone to freezing during severe cold spells, of which we had a fair share this winter. To combat the problem, we opened up the wall behind the pictured kitchen cabinet so that the pipes could be heated from the living space side. Today, Kyle added a vented valence to the top of the cabinet, which allows warm air from the kitchen to circulate past the pipes. Air enters from an opening in the wall behind the base cabinets and flows up and out of the openings in the new valence. Phase two of our plan includes adding insulation on the outside of the foundation wall but this work will have to wait for more temperate weather.
This morning, while Jeanine and Kyle were enjoying coffee in the great room, they were treated to a brief visit by an American Mink or River Otter (there is an ongoing debate within the family) who peered in the window at them. I was in my office and missed the encounter, but later pulled up video from one of our security cameras and caught some of the action. The furry creature can be seen entering the frame in the lower left corner (make sure that your viewing window does not crop the bottom of the video). Sixteen seconds later, it makes its way along the picture window on the lower right side of the frame, looks inside to check things out, and then turns around and departs. Please reach out to us if you have a strong opinion as to the identity of our visitor.
In addition to our critter sighting, the scene outside was just magical this morning. Last night’s snowfall left the tree branches frosted, and the bright morning sun quickly turned it into rain.
When a total lunar eclipse occurs during sunrise, a rare celestial phenomenon called a selenelion (or “impossible sunrise”) takes place. During this event, you can see both the totally eclipsed “blood moon” and the rising sun simultaneously on opposite horizons. Of course, you also need clear skies. Early this morning, we enjoyed perfect viewing conditions, though a bit uncomfortable at 10° outside. Photographically speaking, the event is less interesting than a regular lunar eclipse because the rising sun makes it impossible to expose for the “blood moon.” I chose to take a photo shortly before the full eclipse and while it was still dark enough to barely see the outline of the moon. Once the moon was fully in the Earth’s shadow, it completely disappeared from view. It was still above the horizon but simply too dim to be seen in the morning light. This was to the dismay of the 50 or so people gathered at a popular high ground observation point, who did not know this would be the case. Yesterday, the local news made a big deal of this rare event, featuring lovely photos of a blood moon, but failed to mention that in our part of the country, this scene would not be visible. Dozens of people were still driving up as I departed, knowing the show was over.
Ten years ago this month, I spent several weeks traveling through Southeast Asia. While in India, I visited the Taj Mahal and was somewhat disappointed to find it undergoing routine cleaning with scaffolding on three of the four minarets. This was after sprinting to reach the reflecting pool ahead of all others (full story here).
Fast forward a decade, and I was able to remove the distractions with a simple command and artificial intelligence to create the image below. I find this both exciting and disappointing. The fact is that I could now prompt the software to place a picture of me in the scene without ever setting foot in India.
With my upcoming trip to Bolivia on the horizon and all the activity related to the Somerville house purchase, I thought it best to file our taxes early this year. Thankfully, that task is now behind me. While I was taking care of business, Kyle and Mario ran 10 miles with Kyle’s running club, and Jeanine, Maya, and Brooke went for a long hike in Concord. Later, the entire crew met at the new Somerville house, Nicolai and Jeanine for the first time, to look the place over.
Joining us this morning for an extended brunch were more cousins—John, Rachel, and her boyfriend Rob. Jeanine and Maya teamed up to make a perfect batch of popovers, while Brooke prepared a fruit salad that could feed a small army. In between catching up on everybody’s news, we engaged in a raucous game of Hues and Cues.
My nephew, Mario, and his new bride, Brooke, are staying with us for two nights. Mario has business in the Seaport District starting on Monday, and they will stay at a hotel in the area starting on Sunday. Kyle, Nico, and Maya joined us for dinner and a sleepover to spend time with their cousin. Jeanine was pleased to see her new sofa-bed pressed into service with high marks for comfort.
Jeanine and I enjoyed a morning walk around the neighborhood, where we encountered four-foot-high snowbanks and igloos big enough for an adult. It would be safe to say that we have had more than our fair share of snow this winter, but you will find no complaints here. One of the things I love most about living in New England is that we get all four seasons in their full glory.
This morning, our family’s offer to purchase this triplex in the heart of Somerville was accepted by the seller. I say family because this home will be jointly owned by all three kids. Each will own one of the three nearly identical units. Jeanine and I are helping with the down payment, while the kids will cover the rest. Each can choose to live in their unit alone, collect rent from roommates, or generate passive income by renting their entire floor out.
When we started looking for a property last week, this was the only one that met all of our criteria. The 3,816 sqft. home has 9 bedrooms, 6 baths, a huge basement and off-street parking. The closing is scheduled for April 15.
The nice thing about having a really long driveway is that it affords significant privacy. The downside is that it takes a long time to clear snow, especially after a powerful Nor’easter. Last night, we received about 11 inches of fresh snow, and it was the wet and heavy kind. I had an appointment with an orthopedist to evaluate my hip and knees at 8 am, so I had to get an early start on snowblowing the driveway. I have two sets of batteries for my electric snowblower, and I had to use each set twice to complete the job. On the first pass, I cleared a path just wide enough for one of our cars to reach the road. I took care of everything else on the second pass later in the day. I always make an effort to get down to the asphalt when temperatures are below freezing, and more snow is in the forecast. Failure to do so just makes future snowblowing that much more difficult.
Incidentally, I learned that my hips and knees hurt because of decades of wear and tear. The doctor saw no immediate or foreseeable need for replacement joints. The plan is to continue my stretching and strengthening routine and to address pain with Ibuprofen.
Nicolai will be honored by the Soccer Unity Project at their annual fundraiser. The Unity Ball event will be held on April 10th at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. Funds raised will ensure that young people — especially girls and youth of color — can continue to experience the power and joy of sport. Nico will share the spotlight with Miles Robinson, a defender for the US Men’s National Team, and Ally Sentnor, a midfielder/forward for the US Women’s National Team.