While Jeanine was in Burlington I spent some time completing projects around the house. For the master bathroom, I built a wood frame to surround the mirror, added new light fixtures, and hung various artwork. For the laundry room, I built a two-level, ten foot long shelf above the washer, dryer and laundry sink area. I tend to spend more time on indoor projects as the winter months approach.

My outdoor soccer season concluded today on a redemptive note. We won our first game of the season beating Canton, the divisional champions. I created several scoring opportunities, forced a number of turnovers, and left the field very satisfied with my play and totally spent. Our record for the season was 1-5-4. An optimist would conclude we only lost half of our games and beat the top-finishing team in head-to-head play. The realist would observe we failed to win 90% of our games, resulting in relegation to Division 2 next season. As for me, I am happy with any season that ends with my ability to walk unimpaired.

Yesterday while at Maya’s game, I was approached by a parent from the opposing team. She asked if I would be posting the images. I explained that I was not a professional and was only taking pictures of Maya. She gave me her e-mail address and asked if I would send her any photos that happened to include her daughter, the goalie, in the same frame. I got the sense that this woman probably had few, if any, pictures of her daughter in an athletic setting and decided to shoot a small series which I sent to her yesterday. Today, I received a very nice thank you note which ended in the following quotation and left me very moved.

The man said ”Don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, with starfish all along it? There’s too many, you can’t possibly make a difference!” The young girl bent down and picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea and said…. “made a difference to that one”

Jeanine is spending a writer’s weekend in Burlington, VT with her sister Susan. Meanwhile, I am charged with the care of the dog and Maya. Nicolai, for all intents and purposes, is self-sufficient these days. Maya’s schedule: 8:30 am outdoor soccer match in Natick, 11:30 am ballet class in Concord, 2:15 pm dance recital rehearsal, 4:10 pm indoor soccer game in Acton, 5:10 attend birthday party until 9 pm. I am tired just typing it out. Maya is planning to spend next weekend in NYC making this her last outdoor game of the season. She finished in fine form.

Until today, the only components of his crutches that Nicolai has failed to break were the carbon fiber tubes. Now he can add that to his list. His soccer team came from a 0-2 deficit against Belmont, in the opening round of the DCL championships, to win 3-2 with a golden goal in overtime. In the exuberance of the ensuing celebration he collided with a teammate who fell on the crutch and snapped the carbon fiber tube just below the junction with the handle/cuff assembly. I was able to cut off the damaged portion and extend the foot adjustment to compensate for the shorter tube. Good as new.

The patio off iRobot’s in-facility cafe was empty when I decided to enjoy my lunch, a hot cup of beef stew, outdoors. Temperatures have dropped sufficiently to keep most employees inside the cafeteria. It did not take long, with no one to talk to, before I noticed the movement of several butterflies among the bushes. This Cabbage White rested long enough for me to get a closeup.

I happened upon the beaver pictured above within a short walk of iRobot during my lunch hour. It never ceases to amaze me how much wildlife abounds if you simply take the time to look for it. Pictured below is a male hooded merganser. During breeding season his plumage changes color. The head, back, and neck become black, with white stripes near the chest and tail, and a white crest develops on the back of the head that can be extended to attract mates.

In the light of morning, I was relieved to learn that we had escaped the wrath of Hurricane Sandy. The yard was covered in small branches and clumps of leaves but nothing beyond that. By contrast, my commute to work took me past no less than half a dozen downed trees and power lines. Our main inconvenience was the loss of power for about an hour. When the lights went out, I initiated a mental countdown. 15 seconds for the standby generator to confirm a total black out, 5 seconds to auto start, 10 seconds to stabilize engine speed and voila…. and voila…… and…… nothing. After a minute elapsed, I went outside in the gale force winds to determine what went wrong. I tried a manual start. I tried resetting the controller. I verified the natural gas supply, still no joy. Having spent a good bit of time and money installing this generator it would be an understatement to say that I was not a happy camper. The unit does a self test every week and has started perfectly every time. I was perplexed and irritated as I read every detail of the owner’s and installation manual for a second and third time, searching, to no avail, for some kind of answer. About 5 minutes after our power was restored, I developed a failure theory and made a quick modification to confirm my hypothesis. I postulated that the only difference of consequence between the last successful test and the current conditions was the intense wind (gusting to 50mph). I used duct tape to cover the intake baffles which were fully exposed to the wind. The generator started on the first attempt. Mystery solved! Severe winds were entering through the intake baffles and either throwing off the gas-air mixture or pressurizing the chamber in such a way as to prevent combustion. Hard to imagine that an emergency back-up generator design would fail to consider this possibility. I will have to wait until the next big storm and power outage before I can feel any satisfaction with this generator and will be making a call to Generac, the manufacturer, to share my disappointment with them in the mean time.

Even the seagulls of Goldthwait Reservation in Marblehead, MA were hunkered down as Hurricane Sandy made its presence felt. Schools and many businesses (including iRobot) across Massachusetts were closed today at the request of the Governor. I ventured out to the coast for a few hours to experience the raw power of nature. Jeanine was not thrilled with the idea but I was not to be dissuaded. I have never seen anything like it and am glad I made the excursion. I kept a respectful distance from the water and returned to my car when the wind became dangerous.

It was eerily calm this morning, even as Hurricane Sandy began moving towards the Eastern Seaboard. It could be the largest storm to ever hit the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website. Anyone out there still doubting global climate change? My soccer game this morning was an hour and a half away in Fairhaven, MA which it appears will be in one of the most seriously affected storm surge areas come tomorrow evening. We were down 0-2 at halftime before clawing our way back with two goals for the draw. I had a very nice assist on the equalizer and saw about 70 minutes of playing time which left me content to spend a large portion of the remainder of the day on the couch. Our final game of the season will be next week against the division champions.

Sarinnagh and Maya pose after putting the finishing touches on their homemade Halloween costumes. They are attending a party this evening where they hope to earn a prize for their efforts. Maya had no less than 2 dance classes and an indoor soccer match today. I am guessing she will sleep well this evening. Jeanine and I did a little work around the house, readying it for winter and Hurricane Sandy which is predicted to impact us on Monday.

Maya hosted a slumber party for her friends after they attended their middle school Halloween dance this evening. One of the girls was admiring a photo I had taken of Kyle (or possibly was just admiring Kyle) and wanted to know how I made it look so good (answer being good lighting). I offered to show her and in less than 2 minutes all 5 girls were posing in my studio. Each one could be a model in her own right. Taken together with a small dose of teenage girl silliness and I had the perfect elements to create some very memorable photos.

It has taken several weeks, but I finally had a chance to find the story about Nico which appeared on CBS This Morning earlier in the month (follow link below). It is a comprehensive interview and includes very nice commentary by Jim Axelrod who described Nicolai as one of the 5 most impressive people he has ever met. The YouTube post of his amazing goal has reached 1.5 million views and appears that it will stabilize at that level. Interest in the story has all but faded although just today he agreed to a 2-hour interview with a TV show from the United Kingdom for which he will be paid $500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feekESbg-ls

I did not download this photo, taken last Thursday, until today and felt it deserved a belated post. Perhaps inspired by the expression “as American as apple pie”, visiting Chinese exchange students were treated to an apple picking and pie baking activity shortly after they arrived last week. Pictured here is the pie/work-of-art created by Maya and Wu, the student staying with us. Maya, a seasoned pie maker, expertly trained over the years by her mother, was able to teach Wu how to cut the strips needed for the crust using only sign language. The results speak for themselves, no translation required.

I used my lunch hour to enjoy another great fall day. I have a standard 2-mile loop that takes me through some nearby wetlands. Peak color has passed but there are still many trees that have yet to start turning. I thought a touch of green would be a nice departure from all the recent orange, yellow and reds of recent posts.

For the past five days we have hosted a Chinese exchange student as part of the reciprocal arrangement for Maya’s recent visit to China. Our student, Yuancheng Wu, spoke little English but was very open to new experiences. Maya’s skill at non verbal communication proved invaluable as they tackled projects including pie baking, pumpkin carving, apple picking, pizza making, and playing chess. Wu also had a chance to visit the Boston Common, Harvard University, and the New England Aquarium. To celebrate his last evening with us, Jeanine prepared a turkey dinner. We were joined by Nico’s friend Sarah and her puppy Findley. Afterwards, Findley and Nala provided entertainment for all as they frolicked in the living room.