At 3:15am a freight train with whistle blaring woke me from a deep sleep. This is when I normally get up on the east coast so it was no real hardship. I arrived at the office by 4am, grabbed a nice shower, and worked until 9am. I then walked to a local cafe for breakfast and had my first dose of sunshine for the day. Back to the office and worked until 5pm with no time for lunch. Then I walked to the Farmer’s Market held each Tuesday in Santa Barbara and collected photographs of vegetables. Jeanine used a photo from a previous visit here for her marketing literature and I know she will like these. Back to the office and worked until 7:30pm and then off for a quick dinner and back into the tent. I lead such a glamorous life.
The proximity of the ocean to the mountains here is very dramatic. I arrived at the park just in time to pitch my tent before darkness set in. Once situated I was treated to a beautiful sunset.
I decided on a change of pace for my monthly business trip to Santa Barbara. Instead of my normal hotel I have opted for slightly more primative lodging. For the next three nights I will be staying in the Carpenteria State Park on the Pacific Ocean. In light of current economic conditions it feels like a good way to save my company money while adding a little spice to my otherwise routine travel regime.
Nico, his friend Greg, and I spent the day at the Gunstock Ski Area in New Hampshire. Naturally, the most exciting jump on the mountain was near the top and in order to get this shot I had to walk up the entire bloody mountain. I was rewarded for all the exercise with a nice image of Nicolai catching big air. Nico has abandoned his outriggers in favor of his normal crutches explaining that they are lighter and allow him to go faster. Hard to argue with results.
My sister’s son, John William, arrived this afternoon for a weekend visit and was immediately enlisted to join Kyle’s indoor soccer team for a match. Although slightly younger than the rest of the players, Johnie scored two goals, one on an assist from Kyle which made for a nice family effort.
I was greeted upon my return home this evening with an appeal from Maya to inspect her toes. As much as I love Maya’s toes (and all her other parts) I must admit I was not prepared for green toenails. Thus, it begins.
Maya and Jeanine have attended several weaving classes this week. Maya is shown here on the loom she received from Santa for Christmas this year. I can’t wait to see the final outcome.
As promised in an earlier post, here is a picture, courtesy of Jeanine, of the chickens that are producing the eggs we are eating now. Maya accompanied her mother on an egg run today.
Nicolai asked to come to my soccer game this evening and was kind enough to photograph the action. We squeaked out a 7-6 victory and I managed one goal off my own rebound. Nico does a nice job capturing me in full stride about to take a shot.
Sonos is the first company I have worked for that observes President’s Day as a paid holiday. This morning I made and installed a chin up bar in Nico’s bedroom. After each boy demonstrated their considerable strength and stamina I could only muster a small fraction of the 20 chin ups I could do as a teenager. In the afternoon I ventured out for a little photograhpy and captured both a male and female Downy Woodpecker.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
