Jeanine has discovered a local source of fresh eggs. When she went to collect the eggs, she was introduced to the chickens who laid them. I will encourage her to bring back photos in addition to the eggs on her next visit. Ever since we both read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, we have been trying to be better localvores. Eating locally produced foods reduces the energy waste and resulting pollution associated with shipping our food here from far away places.
The longer we live in Concord, the more I appreciate the simple gifts we enjoy here. This morning Jeanine and I awoke to the sounds of a hooting owl followed by a magnificent sunrise over our field.
While Nico was hosting a Super Bowl party using the basement home theater, Jeanine hosted a birthday party for her friend Irene. Only women choose seaweed salad and sushi as a birthday food. Apparently they also had a liberal dose of wine because they all came down to the basement and were dancing to the Bruce Springsteen half time show in front of all the teenagers.
Nico opens his second match with a very impressive 5-point move called a gator roll, which he initiates from a front headlock. Jeanine and Maya, now in attendance, get to witness his 5-2 victory.
Nicolai draws the five-time defending champion in his first match. Despite the 9-2 loss, Nico puts in a great performance as his teammates and spectators look on. Each wrestler’s left arm is labeled with their weight in case you noticed the marking on his bicep.
This morning, Nicolai and I left the house before 7 AM to make weigh-ins for the Big East Wrestling Tournament held at Nashoba Regional High School. Nico is wrestling in the 85# Elite Division (Novice, Select, Elite) which included some of the best wrestlers in the state.
I coaxed Jeanine and Maya to search for bald eagles with me today. We found two adults and two juveniles on the Merrimac River near Newburyport. Between the cold and wind, photography was a challenge but I did manage a few reasonable photos of these majestic birds.
Any thoughts as to what we have pictured here? If you guessed baby canine teeth from Maya you are right. She braved a trip to the dentist this morning to have these stubborn little fellows extracted. Now that she has been defanged, I will now have the advantage when wrestling with her for the next several months!
Nicolai woked on a video for a science class project this evening. He has taken over my study and computer to edit the footage he shot with his friend Oliver.
Maya is responsible for decorating this Pavlova which we enjoyed for dessert this evening. School was cancelled for a nasty winter storm which deposited a slick combination of snow, sleet and frozen rain. I asked Maya what inspired her to make this creation. She told me she was bored. I am thinking of ways to make her bored again tommorrow.
The entire family was gathered on the couch this evening watching American Idol (not great TV I know, but it is something we all enjoy doing together – we try and predict the stars and the duds before they sing). No one can seem to recall what got Jeanine going (she says it was a story about my past) but she could not stop laughing.
Nico picked up a nice medal for his grappling efforts on Sunday.
Maya is an excellent student and even though she has much less homework than her brothers, she is quite diligent when she focuses on it.
In his opening match, Nico faced an opponent who had beaten him 5-0 just last week. After that match we reviewed the video and learned from each mistake. Nico did not repeat a single one and today defeated the same boy in impressive fashion. Nico almost wins by fall (wrestling term for a pin) but his opponent is saved by the bell.
Once on the mat, Nico proceeds to score several back points on his way to a solid win in the second round.
By maintaining absolute wrist control, Nicolai is able to emerge from this precarious throw in a very favorable position.
The next three images were taken in rapid succession and illustrate a very nice scoring sequence for Nico.
Nico and I traveled to New Hampshire today for the MVC League Wrestling Tournament held in Nashua. Nico emerged from the 8 hour ordeal with a second place finish. I emerged with some nice photos and a very sore back.-
After dinner, Maya and Kyle set out to create their own culinary masterpiece. By the smell of things, I would venture to guess it is going to fall into the tasty but unhealthy category.
It has been a while since we have seen Chloe and it was nice to have her join us for dinner this evening.
Jeanine has created another healthy masterpiece for dinner this evening. It is her own invention and as yet has no name.
The entire area is seen here, and we are looking forward to the next jam session.
Next, we used the PA speakers as a base for a desk, creating a little music editing workspace complete with an old acoustic guitar as wall art.
For the last few days the family has been working together to organize and decorate the basement. One section has been devoted to music. We hung Nicolai’s signed Van Halen cymbal over his drum set.
On the way home from work, I was stuck in traffic and decided to take a picture of the Alewife T Station from the window of my car. It is a rather interesting structure that I pass by every day (generally at a very slow speed.
It is the middle of winter with tons of snow and a temperature of 22F at 8PM. What better time to start practicing outdoors for Spring soccer. Kyle’s club team combines with the girl’s club team for two hours of drills and conditioning. Meanwhile, I am back on the indoor pitch after something like a two month break. I managed a single goal despite being totally out of shape and rusty.
Apparently, the marauders had good intentions, and Jeanine captures the result of their efforts. I understand the girls used these ingredients to make delicious omelettes and a fruit salad.
This is either a girl scout troup working on their cooking badge or a marauding band of knife-wielding midgets that have invaded our kitchen.
It has been a while since I have had a chance to watch Maya play indoor soccer. Given the holiday, I was able to attend her game this afternoon and was delighted to watch her move with such grace and power.
Winter can be a monotonous time photographically speaking. A fresh snow fall, however, is a thing of beauty and I took a moment late this afternoon to head out to the Sudbury River for a few photographs. The small version of this image does not do the scene justice. Click on the photo for a larger version.
I spent the better part of the day with Nico at a wrestling tournament in North Andover. He won his opening match with his first pin of the season and lost his second two in well-fought battles. Here, he sets up the move that leads to the pin.