This evening, I was invited to a company team dinner by one of my clients. It is a small startup on the verge of launching its first product. The dinner was the first non-virtual gathering of the entire team. After making a big deal about the importance of taking photos of the early days, I proceeded to take the worst team photo of my life. No amount of post-processing can make up for an out-of-focus image or poor composition. Earlier in the day, I had been working on a project that required me to switch my lens into manual focus mode and I failed to switch it back to autofocus. As luck would have it, the focus distance was close enough that I did not notice the problem when I checked the photograph in my viewfinder after taking it. When viewed at full resolution on my computer monitor, however, the missed focus was apparent. Making matters worse, the composition is all wrong. I should have intervened and asked the larger men to stand in the back row and added a third chair to the front row for the smaller individuals. Fortunately, the dinner and conversation were most enjoyable and my epic fail has seared the lessons learned into my brain. (1) Don’t rush: check all camera AND LENS settings, (2) Zoom in to check focus on all faces, and (3) Take charge of composition, even with people you do not know well.

Today, I got to preview an 8-minute video created by Grammy and Academy Award-nominated film producer Geoff McClean of Nico and the US Amputee Soccer team while at the World Cup Qualifier in Mexico. It is absolutely amazing. Geoff would like to make a film about the team’s journey to the World Cup and will use a version of this video to pitch the project to NetFlix executives. Some of the captured dialog quality was less than ideal and Geoff asked Nico to re-record the audio for those segments. To that end, I fashioned a make-shift recording studio in the River House using moving blankets suspended from the ceiling. The acoustics proved to be excellent and the resulting audio clips turned out very well. We are keeping our fingers crossed hoping the project will get greenlit. Stay tuned.

Sundays in the spring and fall mean soccer for this old man. In this morning’s match, I had three assists and got cleated in the ankle for my trouble. Two of the plays were nearly identical and less than five minutes apart. I ran onto a pass behind the sweeper and carried the ball all the way down to the end line and crossed it sharply back to the top of the 6-yard box where our center forward knocked it in with his head on the first goal and a volley on the second. My new teammates really appreciated the quality of these plays and I got some really nice compliments after the game.

After grabbing lunch and a hot shower, I went to Kyle’s house to help with his ongoing basement renovation. When I arrived, I was so tired and relaxed that I had to take a 40-minute power nap. When I arose, I found Kyle had prepared green tea and a small dose of chocolate to revive me. It did the trick.

Jeanine and her sisters enjoyed playing some pickleball as part of Susan’s 70th birthday celebration weekend. I can’t wait to hear how the match went. I spent the entire day doing a spring cleanup at the River House. Not the most enjoyable work but at the end quite satisfying to see the result and a pretty decent workout as well.

Nicolai is in Cincinnati this weekend on amputee soccer business and was able to connect with one of Jeanine’s dearest childhood friends, John Albachten. He also managed to recruit two future amp soccer stars.

Jeanine’s sister, Lauren, flew into Boston this morning for a long weekend visit. For dinner, we were joined by Maya and the three women prepared an exquisite Khao Tom (Thai Rice Soup) dish according to the guidance provided by an online Milk Street Cooking Class, a present from Lauren for Jeanine’s birthday. Jeanine and Lauren will drive to Burlington, VT tomorrow morning to visit their third sister, Susan who will be celebrating her 70th birthday over the weekend.

This is the last model (1/48 scale) I will build of the River House. There have been no material changes since the beginning of the year. Because the house has a walk-out basement, I have only included that face rather than the entire basement so as not to exaggerate the perceived size of the house. Once we have decided on siding materials and orientation, I will try and paste full-color overlays onto the base structure.

Every time Jeanine calls me this is the image that pops up on my phone screen. I love my phone.

I had really hoped to attend the Boston Marathon and/or the local Patriot’s Day reenactments but various work and River House meetings fragmented the day such that I could not break away. I did find time to have my second Covid booster, something I decided to do after my mother tested positive last week. She is tough as nails despite her tiny 80-pound frame and I don’t think she is going to let Covid stand in the way of her Tango dancing for long. My brother’s cooking has proven curative while my sisters ride shotgun on her caregivers to make sure she is getting everything she needs to recover.

The family gathered for brunch at the ArtBar in the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge this afternoon. We did so to celebrate Jeanine’s birthday as a group. The food was great and Jeanine received some very thoughtful gifts from the kids. Later we walked to North Point Park where we strolled among the blooming daffodils and weeping willows.

Today, there was no doubt that spring has arrived. I spent most of the day at the River House working both inside and out. As our demolition date approaches, there still remains a few items I need to remove so they can be recycled; the bathroom pedestal sink and commode, certain flooring materials, and a number of light fixtures and doors. Even though the house is coming down, it does not change the need for maintenance of the grounds which occupied the bulk of my time and contributed most to my sore muscles.

Mercifully, my kidney stone passed last night (kidney to bladder). It will probably hang out there for a couple of weeks before completing the remainder of its journey. Fortunately, the last leg is usually quick and almost pain-free by comparison to the week of agony I have just been through. With my mood lifted immeasurably, I was able to meet with 4 different clients over the course of the day and finished editing photos from our recent trip to visit my brother in Minnetonka. Pictured above is their dog, Luna. She is one of the smartest and most playful dogs I have ever met. The full set of photos from the weekend can be found here.

I spent the entire day preparing our 2021 tax returns. Having moved twice in as many years, I have not been able to keep records as well organized as in years past. That combined with the fact that I received income from three different employers (one full-time, two consulting) last year did not make things easier. Still, I muddled through it and was left wondering, as I do every year, why our tax code is so complicated.

As I turned the corner to go upstairs to our bedroom for the evening, I was startled by the silhouette of someone standing outside our living room window. I froze in my tracks and in doing so took a few more seconds to realize I was looking at my own motionless shadow. You may think that you would have figured this out sooner, but I think not. At first glance, it is only logical to assume this shadow is produced by a backlit figure standing outside the window. In reality, it was the result of a car’s headlight from across the street shining through our dining room window and projecting my image onto the living room window curtains.