For the third day in a row, I have been burning off dead wood from around our property. Today, I worked in the front yard near the road. With snow forecasted for tomorrow, I decided to make a final big push. It will take a couple of years to deal with the entire lot but I am very satisfied with how much I got done this season and will probably call it quits until next year. Nico took this photo as he was pulling into the driveway and posted it with the title, “Fire King.”
Jeanine sent more photos from New Orleans, where she is having a great time with her sisters. She reports that crowds are growing, and security is high with the Super Bowl set for this weekend. I am really looking forward to her return tomorrow. I miss her.
Jeanine and her sisters seem to be having a blast in New Orleans. I believe these pictures are from the warehouse where they store Mardi Gras floats. I am very tempted to make an inappropriate comment about one of these photos, but I will restrain myself in the interest of marital bliss.
On the home front, I took advantage of optimal weather to burn off tons of wood from our waterfront area. Representing decades of accumulation, it was a major undertaking. Because of recent rain and snow, the fire burned very slowly and required constant tending. While physically exhausting, the all-day effort was most satisfying.
I understand that cats do not like to be bathed, but I cannot say that I approve of Maya’s solution to the problem. What is clear is that Maya is in heaven now that she is living with two felines. I look forward to the daily photos and videos she has been sending of the cats being stupid. They almost make me want to adopt one, but that would not work out so well, given that Jeanine is allergic to them.
Jeanine left for New Orleans this morning, where she will be meeting her two sisters, Susan and Lauren. They will spend five days there in celebration of Lauren’s 70th birthday. Each sister has planned one of the days, and I hope to receive photos of their activities.
On the home front, I obtained 3 out of 4 visas that Jeanine and I will need for travel later this month.
It is true that I have a large collection of high performance flashlights. I will not say how many to protect the innocent. Three of these take the form of headlamps to which I added a fourth today. Although the headlamps I own are exceptional, none of them provide in situ charging. Our upcoming trip to New Zealand and Australia will last for 5 weeks and a single battery charge will not suffice for the full duration. I could use my much loved ZebraLight (pictured below) and bring an external charger, or purchase a flat-top 18650 type battery with a built in charge port, or pack a couple of extra batteries. When I did the weight, bulk and cost analysis, I decided that the best option would be to purchase a new headlamp with a built-in charger (pictured above). One of the challenges of international air travel is that you have to limit your carry-on weight to the most restrictive airline and nothing with a lithium battery can be placed in checked baggage. In my case, that includes the following 18 batteries/devices and I also prefer to carry my lenses with me rather than risk them to the baggage handlers. This is why weight and bulk are so important.
Kyle has moved on from Cartagena to Santa Marta for the remainder of his stay in Columbia. He sent this picture of his friend and her dog during an evening stroll on the beach. Maya is worried that Kyle may not be returning to the US. I am beginning to share that concern.
On the home front, we enjoyed a visit from my sister, Alissa, this evening. She was in Boston to attend a presentation at MIT on cancer research. For the first time in our marriage, I was entrusted with (or, rather, assigned) meal preparation for a guest. We had steamed salmon and rice, which turned out rather well. I do not count the salad, which came from a kit. Jeanine was full of advice on seasoning that I was satisfied to ignore, but I did take note when she pointed out that the rice cooker was not actually running ten minutes after I thought I had started it.
For several years, Nicolai has been the Assistant Wrestling Coach at Concord Academy. This afternoon, he invited us to attend a quad meet with Portsmouth Abbey School and Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall. Concord needed a win against Abbey to secure a first-place finish in their division. Jeanine had a prior commitment, but I was able to attend and enjoyed watching the team win 55-24 with many exciting matches that could have gone either way. My muscles are now quite sore from all the virtual moves I made from my seat in the bleachers. Anyone who has ever wrestled knows what I am talking about.
Our good friend and neighbor Dave DeLong just published his fourth book. Hidden Talent: How to Employ Refugees, the Formerly Incarcerated & People With Disabilities is based on 10 case studies of businesses committed to hiring people from typically overlooked talent pools. It also has short stories of workers who have overcome major obstacles to successful employment.
Here is a link to a sample chapter and more info on the book: ReadHiddenTalent.com
Dave is a nationally recognized expert on addressing chronic workforce shortages by recruiting and employing traditionally marginalized workers. We are fortunate to live in a community with so many talented and interesting people.
Late this morning, we experienced a magnitude 3.8 earthquake. The epicenter was SE of York, Maine, near Boon Island, roughly 66 miles from here as the crow flies. At first, I thought it was a slab of snow sliding off the roof, but I could not see any evidence of that. Then I thought it might be a mis-balanced load of laundry in the washing machine. Not until I checked my e-mail to see that neighbors had already identified the event as an earthquake did I make the connection. To be fair, this was a very tiny quake the size of which occurs 500,000 times a year. Even so, it is quite a rare thing to experience living in our neck of the woods.
Kyle shared this photo of the haircut he received today. I think it reflects the emergence of his inner Ecuadorian. Also shared was a video of a flaming dinner entry served to the table he was sharing with a new friend. We are all starting to worry that he may never come back.
A friend of ours was not feeling well, and when Jeanine offered to help out, we got a chance to take her dog Mingo, for an extended walk. Mingo was very well-behaved and kept close as we traversed a path through Concord Conservation land. Our friend continued to feel worse and eventually went to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and had an immediate appendectomy.
Jeanine was invited to speak at the grand opening of Open Table’s new annex (warehouse) this morning. During her tenure as the Executive Director, she was instrumental in securing the property and building. The space has been fully renovated and connected by a loading dock/breezeway to the main Open Table facility. Other speakers at the event included State Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Representative Kate Hogan. She delivered her comments to a standing-room-only crowd before helping with the ribbon cutting.
I have heard about lap dogs, but this is my first exposure to a laptop cat. Maya’s friend and flatmate Fiona recently adopted it, and Maya has secured some form of co-parenting rights. Although the feline prevented Maya from using her computer, it did not stop her from a scheduled meeting at work with her canine friends.
