Jeanine hosted a hen party for her friends this evening, one of whom was celebrating her birthday. I was not invited and spent the evening in my office until summoned to take a group photo. Jeanine was laughing uncontrollably, for reasons I hope to discover later, and I was not able to get a “serious” portrait of the group. Having said that, this image captures the mood of the night very accurately.

UPDATE: I have learned the cause for laughter, but have been told I may not publish the details. I can reveal that it involved an unintentional “jeu de mots” during a conversation between Jeanine and her hairdresser about a new employee at the salon.

Jeanine’s sister, Susan, and her partner Jean arrived yesterday and will be staying with us until Saturday. Today, while Jeanine was at a hair appointment that she could not reschedule, I orchestrated an outing to Bonsai West, which has one of the most extensive collections of bonsai trees I have ever seen. Some of the trees are over a hundred years old, meticulously trained and shaped to mimic the appearance of mature, full-sized trees found in nature. It is one of my favorite places to visit, and I was glad I could share it with my sisters.

Maya joined us for dinner and a raucous discussion that we all enjoyed.

The Magellan Explorer is a modern expedition ship custom-built for Antarctic cruises, launched in 2019 and designed to the latest Polar Code specifications with a Polar Class 6 (LR PC6) ice rating for safe polar navigation. It accommodates up to 76 guests in 38 cabins featuring private balconies, individually controlled heating, sitting areas, and bathrooms with heated floors. The ship is 298 feet long, with a beam of 53 feet, and is operated by a crew of 60. Public spaces include a glass-enclosed observation lounge, a spacious dining room with panoramic windows, a library, a gym, a sauna, and an outdoor BBQ area. For wildlife observation and landings, it is equipped with ten Zodiac boats and features two mid-ship gangways for efficient embarkation. The ship’s maneuverability and comfort are enhanced by state-of-the-art stabilizers, bow and stern thrusters, and advanced ice-detecting radar.

It has been a dream of mine to visit Antarctica, and today I booked a 20-day cruise on the Magellan Explorer, which will include stops in the Falkland and South Georgia Islands. We will depart from Punta Arenas, Chile, in late October 2026 (the earliest availability) and return to Ushuaia, Argentina.

489 days and counting!

With new import policies and taxes on Chinese goods in effect, it has become impossible to buy a new DJI drone in this country. This has led to high demand for used drones and I decided it is a good time to sell my backup.

Kyle believes that selling my backup is guaranteed to ensure that I crash my primary drone. I have to admit that this thought has also occurred to me.

In my mind, I see myself as playing soccer much as I did when I was a younger man. Alas, video of my performance on the pitch does not support such wishful thinking. Our post-season, semi-final playoff match last Sunday was professionally recorded, and I have reviewed the footage several times. Playing it back at 2x speed is what I visualize in my head and approximates the pace at which the game should be played. It also enables me to accurately assess my contributions and mistakes. Fortunately, I played one of my better matches and only gave away the ball once. On the positive side, I forced several turnovers and turned them into dangerous counterattacks, the best example of which is shown in the brief video above (I am in the #2 maroon jersey) . At 66, I am the second oldest player on my over-62 team and I am not sure how much longer my body will allow me to keep playing. All I can say now is that I am reasonably healthy going into the finals next Sunday and have signed up for the 2025 fall season.

It was a good day to review video footage indoors as the outside temperature reached 102F (picture of my car dashboard during my lunch run). I worked in the yard for less than two hours this morning and probably lost 5 pounds in water weight.

Nicolai has just been named to the World Amputee Football Federation (WAFF) Players Committee. In this role, he will advocate for players of the sport as it continues to grow and gain worldwide popularity. This is a great honor, and we are extremely proud of him.

Our local beavers appear to be starting construction on a new lodge. This evening, this rather large one came ashore directly in front of our house, cut down a small sapling, and took off upstream. The photos are not very good because (a) it was dusk, and (b) the lens on my camera fogged up when I took it from our air-conditioned house out to the patio where the humidity was very high.

This morning, I woke up to find a blue heron perched on a branch over the river. The light was wonderful, and I managed to get this shot without scaring my subject away. Later, I removed and sectioned a large branch that had fallen into the river during a winter storm. It proved to be a more strenuous task than I had anticipated, made no easier by the extreme temperatures we are having today.

Jeanine threw her back out while getting into her car after yoga class this afternoon. We had to cancel plans to attend the neighborhood picnic and a dinner party we were looking forward to. I am not a very good nursemaid maid but I tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

Kyle shared several photos from his trip to Portugal. The Benagil Cave has been on my bucket list for some time, and I was thrilled to see that he had visited this natural wonder.

Kyle may have inherited his passion for adventure travel from me, but there is no doubt he acquired his appreciation for exotic fine food from his mother. Presented with the meal below, I would be content to have the bread and the lemon, and possibly the sweet potato if I were feeling particularly venturesome.

Kris is a big baseball fan, or to be more specific, a Phillies fan. Even so, we thought she would enjoy a tour of Fenway Park while in town. Fenway is the oldest active Major League Baseball stadium, having opened in 1912 as the home of the Boston Red Sox. The park is famous for its distinctive features, especially the 37-foot-high left field wall known as the “Green Monster,” as well as quirky elements like “The Triangle” and “Pesky’s Pole”. With a seating capacity of about 37,755 for night games, it is one of the smallest MLB ballparks. Fenway has hosted the World Series eleven times, with the Red Sox winning six championships there. Besides baseball, it has been a venue for football, concerts, hockey, and other major events. In 2012, Fenway Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places, cementing its status as a Boston and baseball landmark.

This evening, we were joined by Kris and Maya’s friends Sarinnagh and Claire to celebrate her 26th birthday, a day in advance. Unfortunately, her brothers were unable to attend. Kyle is in Portugal touring the wine country, and Nico is in Arizona dodging rattlesnakes (literally). Maya requested that we dine at the Dali restaurant, a Spanish tapas bar she has always wanted to try. The food and ambiance were exceptional but no match for the friendships around the table. Maya has been best friends with Sarinnagh since kindergarten, and with Claire since middle school. Jeanine and Kris have been BFF for nearly 50 years. The warmth of the celebration reflected the profound relationships among these women.

After dinner, we reconvened at Maya’s apartment, where she introduced us to Wally and Kurt, the sibling cats she lives with.

Jeanine and Kris enjoyed a cocktail after a long day of work. In the morning, they were on the river in a canoe extracting water chestnuts. In the afternoon, they were at Kyle’s place getting it ready for new tenants. Kyle would be wise to thank them profusely for the effort they put in. I mulched our newly planted creeping thyme bed, which was more than enough exercise while I recover from my weekend collision with the ground.

Pictured in the middle is Jeanine’s grandmother, Lila Nalder, on her father’s side, framed by her parents. Lauren, Jeanine’s sister, shared this photo with us after receiving it from some sort of ancestry group. It is no doubt the oldest picture we have of Jeanine’s side of the family and a real treasure.

With 7 minutes to go in my soccer match this morning, I suffered a slight concussion when an opponent took my feet out from under me while I was up for a head ball. I landed flat on my back and head. It was an unintentional foul, and I think the other guy felt worse than I did. I took a moment to gather myself and returned to the pitch. A few minutes later, I felt a little disoriented and decided to finish the game on the bench. It was our last game of the season before playoffs, and we ended in style with a 4-0 win.

When I returned home, Nico and Maya were hard at work preparing a special Father’s Day lunch, which was amazing. We had the best fried chicken sandwiches I have ever tasted. They were truly amazing and followed by corn fritters, one of my all-time favorite foods.

Kyle called in from Portugal to join the celebration, and although we missed his presence, I am thrilled to see him living his best life.