This evening we attended the Sonos Summer Celebration held at Kimball Farms. Nicolai left for Encore Coda music camp earlier in the day so he was not able to join the family appreciation outing. Despite some brief periods of intense rain the event was a great success. This being the first Cambridge based company gathering since my arrival, I was very keen to take full advantage of the event to build an even closer knit team. For an ice breaker, Maya assisted by sticking labels with the names of taco ingredients on them to each attendees back. Each person was asked to circulate in the crowd and ask yes/no questions to determine what their label said. Having done this, I informed the participants that the first team to form a complete taco (shell, chicken, lettuce, tomatos, salsa, cheese) and sit at a table with their hands up would win the prize.
The fact that she was eager to sign up for next year’s camp on the spot suggested that Maya had a wonderful experience in this camp run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. She enjoyed many activities including kayaking, mountain climbing, swimming, archery, soccer, singing around the campfire, a talent show and a Ropes course. Most importantly, she made some very good friends and returned with a much greater appreciation for nature, wildlife and the great outdoors, a theme of the camp which is woven into every activity.
Maya was very proud of the latrine that her cabin shared. She demonstrated the sink and explained how each girl could dip their toothbrush into an individual stream of water.
This evening Nicolai was interviewed by Steve Audette for a story he is doing for Frontline. Nicolai was a real trooper and handled the two hour session with grace. Steve is a skilled interviewer and really explored the emotional side of the story. You could tell he was angling for the most dramatic telling of Nico’s Kilimanjaro adventure (what all good story tellers do) but Nicolai held firmly to the slightly less glamorous truth of his experience. I was very proud of him for his unwavering honesty. We will know in a couple of weeks if Frontline picks up the 10 minute story. Stay tuned. I tried working from home today and with Maya at camp, Kyle at work, Nico at a friends, and Jeanine at yoga and then her nutrition training it worked out extremely well. Even though I was considerably more efficient, I must say I missed the office setting. I finished my last meeting at 7PM just as the team arrived to set up. It took about an hour to create a studio in our living room and setup the lighting and sound. We wrapped shortly after 10PM.
The return flight from Indiana was delayed on the tarmac for over an hour and we did not return home until late Sunday evening. On each visit home, Jeanine enjoys the wide open spaces and the seemingly endless fileds and near inifinte sight lines. I thought this would be a nice image to remind her of home. See if you can figure out what the objects covering the field are. Click on the photo for a closer view.
Larry would have been pleased with the gathering of his family and friends to celebrate his life. He would have appreciated the outdoor, casual setting, where words came only from the heart and each song told the story of his life. Guests were invited to take plants from his garden (potted by the girls) as a remembrance and I know that nothing could have pleased him more. I am equally confident that he continues to look in on this blog everyday, as he did in life, and I will honor his memory by continuing to share the story of his daughter and grandchildren. A complete set of photos from the memorial service can be found by following this link.
The girls fashioned an altar from giant wood slabs that Larry had planned to turn into table tops. The French, Sweedish, and Northwestern University (where Larry earned a degree in botany and minor in zoology) flags decorated the tent and were integrated into the service during the closing.
Today we celebrated the life of Jeanine’s dad, Larry Roche, during a memorial service at his home on Lake Holiday in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He died rather suddenly after complications from surgery on June 1, but not before his three daughters reached his bedside. Tomorrow is Bastille Day and the date for his service was picked for this reason. Larry was half French and grew up speaking the language. This was a holiday near and dear to his heart.
Today was spent preparing Larry’s home for the memorial service. I was assigned the task of cleaning up and organizing the basement. It was an all day job and we had a fire going for the better part of it. Over the years Larry and Euince had acquired, salvaged or built a number of tables and bookshelves. Unfortuantely the damp basement and untreated wood made for ideal mold conditions and the only option was to burn these items off.
Kyle and I flew to Indianapolis this afternoon to join Maya, Nico and Jeanine for her father’s memorial service. The Indy skyline has been enhanced by the addition of a new basketball stadium (right hand side) since we moved away five years ago.
Our field is being harvested again and I always enjoy this as a photographic subject. I was in a rush to leave for work and did little to think about exposure of this image (or composition, or framing come to think of it). None the less it is my photo for the day.
I was dead tired after work this evening and took a little snooze after dinner. Now that the soccer season is over I went in to have my right knee, which has been bothering me, looked at. I almost walked out of the doctors office after waiting an hour and a half to be seen. I almost wish I had. The initial diagnosis is arthritis which is pretty dissappointing since there is little that can be done to address it, short of giving up soccer (which is not an option). I am scheduled for an MRI to confirm the initial assessment.
We celebrated Nico’s 14th birthday this evening. He celebrated with his friends earlier this summer before they left for vacation. For dinner he requested a rotisserie chicken on the grill. This time we did not incinerate it and it was very yummy. It has been quite a year for Nicolai and during the traditional birthday video he reflected on his Kilimanjaro and all the unexpected follow on noteriety.
Last night when I returned from work Maya told me that she had designed a trap for a wild cat that has taken up residence in her horse riding instructor’s basement. When I saw the plans I was amazed by both their detail and the practicality of the design. Because we used a cardboard box for the primary structure, construction went very quickly and we were able to work and see inside with the box open. I have no doubt this trap will work and Maya could not be more pleased seeing her concept turned into a working device. I think there is still hope for one engineer in the family. Click on the photo for a more detailed view.
Jeanine’s photographic skills have really become quite excellent. While Nico and I were kayaking on Sunday, Jeanine took Maya, Kyle and Johnnie to a butterfly exhibit.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
