One of the little shops handled only percussion instruments. I came very close to buying another drum, but the thought of hauling it back to the states got the better of me.

My trip to Germany was rather exhausting. After working in Tewksbury for the day on Wednesday, I flew through the night and went straight to the Munich office for another full day, all without sleep. On the way to my hotel, I passed this Weinachtenmart (outdoor Christmas Mart featuring scores of small shops, food of all types, music, dancing, and of course beer). I am still not clear where I found the energy, but I had a great time finishing my Christmas shopping while sampling food from grilled Brats to the finest local cheese.

Maya posing with the gingerbread house she constructed. Please note the circular frozen pond on the right and the snow fort in front. I am off to Germany on business and doubt I will be able to post again until the weekend.

Tonight was my family night and I chose “food processor creations” for my theme. We started with fresh squeezed orange juice.

Next we moved on to ice cream smoothies. We prepared strawberry, raspberry, and banana puree to combine with blueberries, ice cream and coconut milk. Each family member then combined ingredients to create their own customized blend. Kyle, Maya, and I opted for a strawberry-banana blend with a hint of raspberry and blueberry over a vanilla base. Nicolai went for chocolate ice cream and raspberry (delicious). Jeanine made a coconut milk based concoction which was not very popular with the group.

Kyle, sporting a fine haircut administered by his father, scored 7 points in his game today, including a very sweet buzzer-beater to end the game.

Jeanine hosted a cookie-baking party today. Neighbor Gabriella is pictured here with daughter Julia and Maya looking on. I was in charge of quality control and was very thorough in my testing.

The day started with a little snow removal. We got about a foot of snow with some drifts almost double that. I called Nicolai on my cell phone and requested he take this photo. I actually enjoy snow throwing and realized that if not for my request there would likely never be a photo documenting this part of my home life.

Although I brought my camera with me, I did not have time for even a single photo in the 4 days on the road (14-hour work days, back to back). I returned on the red-eye this morning just beating a major snowstorm that hit Boston. Nicolai took this photo of a snow-covered tree illuminated by the setting sun (the colors are exactly what we saw.)

Tonight we trimmed the Christmas tree for Jeanine’s family night. Kyle played basketball earlier in the day and scored 4 points. I predict he will be in double digits per game by the end of the season. This evening Kyle also played a soccer game and scored 4 goals (4 was his lucky number for the day). I leave on a week long work trip tomorrow. I head first to Rochelle Park, NJ, then to Montreal, then Edmonton, CA and finally to Mountain View, CA. I will bring my camera with me, but may not be able to post any entries until I return.

Kyle joined us for part of the craft fair and then suited up for a Bat Mitzvah. Earlier this morning he had a basketball game. In the first half he played one of his best games ever. Unfortunately, the lack of a proper breakfast, I think, made for one of his less impressive efforts during the second half.

Today was the First Parish Craft Festival. I assisted with train assembly. Jeanine was co-chair of this annual event which is attended by 150 children.

Santa’s elves do not hold a candle to my little helper.

Nicolai and his school chum Patrick working together on their science project. They are creating a working model of the human digestive system. It is great fun to watch these boys working together. They brainstorm and collaborate using skills that many of the adults I work with fail to grasp.

This evening Jeanine took the kids downtown for the annual Concord Christmas tree lighting. I had to work late, but stopped on my commute home to capture the scene.