After a productive morning of organizing around the house, Jeanine and I took advantage of the perfect afternoon and drove to Plum Island where we hiked a couple of the nature trails and discovered the island’s namesake. We finished our visit to the wildlife refuge napping on the beach enjoying the dramatic wave action caused by the recent passage of Hurricane Earl.

Kyle, sporting a new haircut, and his buddies were attracted by the aroma of the broth Jeanine was cooking so we gathered them in for the last shot of the day.

Jeanine is putting the finishing touches on her professional web site and asked me to take a picture of her cooking. We had a lot of fun doing the project.

My Audi A3 sold for the asking price yesterday and today I am feeling a little seller’s remorse. It has been one of my favorite cars but it had reached the age when the financially prudent thing to do was sell. I am in no rush to find its replacement as I really enjoy driving the Smart Car. I am still leaning towards another A3 but have decided to keep an open mind and consider other options.

Pretty humdrum day when the blog features a photo of my doctor’s office. I was in for my 52,000 mile check up. Engine looked strong, air intake was good, tail pipe inspection was satisfactory, on board computer checked out OK but oil pressure was very high and 3 out of 4 suspensions joints are shot. The mechanic implied that the junk yard was the next stop if I didn’t take better care of the machine. On a brighter note my earlier visit to the dentist revealed no needed work on the grill.

Nicolai spent the weekend in tryouts for his high school junior varsity soccer team. There are many kids vying for a small number of remaining openings. For the first time, Nico’s skill and determination may not be enough to compensate for his inability to run as fast as others. Of two things I am sure, however. First, Nico is putting every ounce of his strength into these tryouts, evidenced by another stress induced crutch failure shown in the photo. Second, that the decision of his coach will look past his disability and only consider his effectiveness on the field. For many years we struggled to work past small minded officials who could not imagine that Nicolai would be able to play or contribute to the beautiful game. He has since proven to the entire local soccer community that he has game and the question now is no longer one of discrimination or exclusion. Our fingers will remain crossed for him.

Maya and friend Lydia laid her deceased pet hamster Twitch to rest this afternoon. We froze him (double bagged) until Maya returned from camp knowing she would want to do this. My soccer team won our season opener by a 4-1 margin against a team that beat us last year. I took enough ibuprofen to neutralize my knee pain but struggled with poor conditioning in the 90 degree weather. I played a good 60 minutes and earned a penalty kick which we converted for one of our goals.

I have little doubt that before long Kyle will apply his marketing savvy to his new acquisition.

Kyle has invested some of the profits from his landscaping business into an 8×14 foot trailer. This will allow him to transport larger equipment to his work sites and store his tools somewhere other than our garage. He now has 35 clients and his business continues to grow based on word of mouth referrals. We have told Kyle he is not permitted to store this Goliath on our property and he is working to secure a parking location on a friends farm.

Maya received three tickets to the Revolution soccer game this evening and invited Sarinnagh to join her. Maya prepared roast beef sandwiches and we had a mini tail gate party before the game. The Revs scored the first goal but shortly thereafter lost a man to a highly questionable red card. They played one man down for more than half the game and held their lead until the final minutes when they gave up two goals to lose the game. The girls and I had a great time despite the disappointing outcome.

A quick tour through the backyard turned up some very interesting shots this morning. Best viewed at full size.

Kyle has hired Nicolai to develop a website for his Yard Dogs Landscaping business and he shot this portrait of the crew for the project. Kyle now has 35 clients and is gearing up for the fall season. We worked together this evening on sides for his truck bed so that he will be able to haul leaves more efficiently.

After picking up Jeanine from the airport yesterday, we went directly to the dealer to pick up her new Jetta Sportswagen TDI. It is platinum gray with a black interior. Although not the dream car she will pick after the kids are all off to college it can hold the family and our gear while getting 42mpg on the highway. Rain all day yesterday and today made getting a nice shot difficult.

Nicolai waits outside with learner’s driving permit in hand for his first official driving lesson with the Christo Driving School. He has been practicing with us and will probably be able to give his instructor a few pointers. Nico has grown 3 inches over the last year and looks every bit a man these days. Having repaired his SideStix crutches with replacement parts he is back to using them again.