Charlotte AKA Charly

Jeanine met her newest niece today for the first time and from the sound of things they have already bonded. For years now, Jeanine has been trying to schedule a visit to meet her but one thing or another (Covid, job, new house) has conspired to postpone this day.

I spent my day outdoors managing a second open burn in as many days. In light of yesterday’s visit from the fire department, I thought it best to minimize the amount of smoke I generated by limiting my burn to wood only (no pine needles). I also discovered that one of the trees that came down has encroached on our neighbors property, very nearly hitting their house. I reached out to let them know we would cover the cost of removal and any damage.

Open Burn

Conditions today were ideal for an open burn to get rid of all the trees that came down this winter. Air temperature was in the 50s and the sun was out for the first time in several days. Recent rains have left the ground cover very wet reducing the possibility of fire propagation. Unfortunately, the pine needles and limbs I was burning produced a great deal of smoke, enough to fill the entire river valley when the wind was in that direction. Reports of heavy smoke in Fairhaven Bay (about a mile upriver), resulted in a visit from the fire department to our address. Fortunately, my permit was in order, my same-day burn request had been approved, and my fire met all but one criterion; it was too close to the house. The requirement is 75 feet. The fire chief was very reasonable and suggested a different location near the top of the driveway for future fires. I was only able to take care of a third of the detritus and may look into buying a wood chipper to deal with the rest.

Pipa

Maya shared this photo of Pipa whom she dog-sat for last weekend.

Text message thread:

Maya: Dog sat for Pipa last weekend. She’s a total weirdo. She’s primarily motivated by cheese and fear.

Nico: I like her for who she is.

Kyle: Aren’t we all.

Gandalf

Jeanine shared this picture of Gandalf. He belongs to her sister who she is visiting in Indianapolis. With Jeanine away I have been eating unhealthy foods and binge watching Suits, one of my favorite TV shows.

Bonsai On Djembe

Our bonsai tree has yet to find a permanent spot in our new house. In the meantime, it has found a temporary home atop my Djembe drum fitted with a circular tray to prevent water from damaging the head. For now, it is enjoying light from two windows in our bedroom.

Veuve Clicquot

I neglected to share a photo I took yesterday of this bottle of champagne we received to celebrate the completion of the River House. Although we have our Certificate of Occupancy and have moved in, I still have a few more built-ins to complete in the main and guest closets as well as the mudroom. I completed the later this morning. Jeanine left for a mid-west road trip with her sister Susan. They are headed to Indiana where they will visit with her other sister, Lauren. Then all three will travel to Kentucky to celebrate her niece’s 40th birthday.

Dinner Party

Although we have had the kids over for family meals, this evening, we hosted our first proper dinner party in the new house. It was certainly the first of many more. When we designed the house, we did so understanding that the kitchen is where everyone likes to gather and that was certainly the case today. We used the island as a buffet table, the coffee klatch as a drink station, and the pantry counter as a staging area. Everything flowed smoothly and seating at the round dining table was very comfortable.

97th Birthday

My aunt celebrated her 97th birthday yesterday and I was so happy to see that my sister Alissa was able to attend the party. Having just completed building the home where Jeanine and I will spend the rest of our lives, I can’t help but wonder how many birthdays we can look forward to. Jeanine’s 61st will be the first, coming up in April.

36.34%

Based on a very favorable earnings report, the stock price of the company that Kyle works for increased by more than a third last week. Part of his compensation includes stock grants and I was pleased to learn that he decided to cash out 10% of his position. One of the painful financial lessons I have learned in my life is that it is far better to diversify a large position in any one company gradually over time rather than trying to time a peak event.

AI Imagery

I created the image above, not with a camera, but with a keyboard. I typed the phrase “baby otter snuggled inside the shirt of a young girl” into an artificial intelligence image synthesizer. I am left to wonder how this technology is going to transform the “art” of “photography”. I am curious to know who will hold the copyright for images generated in this fashion.

Coffee Table

Using cherry wood harvested from the bunk beds I built for the boys when they were young, I made legs for an oval glass coffee table top. Jeanine is not a big fan of the design feeling that the components should have been built of thicker stock. I tend to agree with her and therefore will need to revisit this project when time permits. Ideally, we would like the base to have an organic form. I will keep my eyes open for an appropriate tree root ball.

Sonos For Sale

With great regret, I posted listings to sell my remaining Sonos gear today. Although I regard the company and equipment as some of the best in the industry, there is simply no need for it in the new house because of the sound systems connected to our TVs and the open floor plan. I worked at Sonos as the head of engineering during the development of the Play5, pictured above. Of the 100+ products I helped to develop, this is one of my top five favorites.

Mont Pleasant Letterman

While moving boxes into my new office, I have been systematically going through each one and digitizing anything I wish to save for posterity and disposing of the rest. I attended the Technical Program at Mont Pleasant High School and lettered in three sports; wrestling, tennis, and cross country. I have kept these letterman patches for over four decades and have never seen the light of day. Today they made their last appearance in physical form posing for this picture. Below is a picture of my wrestling in a match against the Jr. National champion from Poland. Children please note that your fat old father was once ripped!

Igloo Aprés Ski

Maya traveled to the Sunday River Resort in Maine with friends from work for a bit of skiing. If you do not get cold enough on the slopes you can enjoy an ice-cold beer in an igloo afterwards. I think Kyle may have made the wiser choice heading for the warmth of Austin Texas where he also has a nice cat to warm his belly.

Third Place @ Nationals

Nicolai has been one of the wrestling coaches at Concord Academy for several years now. Today he drove to Lehigh University for the National Prep School Championships with the only wrestler on the squad who qualified for the tournament. Laura wrestles in the 100-pound weight class and placed third in the country. I am not sure who had the bigger smile.

Change of Pace

For a nice break from building closet furnishings, I treated myself to a furniture project. Pictured above is my new office desk that I built in less than 4 hours including finishing with a 2-part hard wax oil. Now begins the more time-consuming task of organizing all of my office supplies and financial records.

This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.