We enjoyed a visit from my cousin Gina, her husband, Vincent, and their son, Vinny this evening. They are in town for the graduation of her grandson, JD, from Boston College. Jeanine prepared a 5-course dinner to celebrate the occasion. Avid travelers, we heard wonderful stories about their recent exploits as well as learning something … Continue reading Sanchez Visit →

The clover we planted on our south lawn is starting to come in now. Hopefully, the tracks from the broadcast seed spreader will fill in over time. Growing conditions have been excellent and we are enjoying the changes we observe every day. Not visible in the photo but also starting to show up is the … Continue reading Clover Crop →

I spent a good portion of the day working in the yard. While using an electric pole saw, I cut off a large and heavy limb which clipped my arm on the way down. Fortunately, it only resulted in a minor cut and abrasion although the impact hurt like hell. I post images like this … Continue reading Minor Scrape →

It is hard to fathom, but today marks 19 years of making daily entries to this blog. That is 6,935 days and 8,943 posts (in the early days, every photo was treated as a separate entry by the hosting software). To be certain, it has been a major commitment of time and energy. Each entry … Continue reading Nineteen Years and Counting →

We decided on a pedestal-mounted electric meter rather than one stuck onto the side of our house. It is located adjacent to the driveway and was not particularly attractive. I decided to use cedar siding I salvaged from the original house to enclose all but the components requiring access by the power company and fire … Continue reading Meter Pedestal Enclosure →

With Nico in Denver, it was down to Kyle and Maya to celebrate Mother’s Day in person with Jeanine. They treated her to a shopping spree for plants and herbs and a lovely dinner. Due to a shortage of players, I was reassigned from my normal wing midfielder position to a striker during my soccer … Continue reading Woman of the Year, Man Of The Match →

Witnessing the aurora borealis in person has been on my bucket list since I have had a bucket list. I always assumed this would require a well-timed trip to Norway, Sweden, or Iceland. Never did I imagine I would have a chance to see them in my own backyard. Late last night, Jeanine and I … Continue reading Aurora Borealis →

My sister Alissa who lives in Albany, NY is in town for the Mother’s Day weekend to visit with her two adult children. She stopped in to join Jeanine and me for dinner and is my first sibling to get a tour of the completed house. She shared family news and details of the book … Continue reading Sis In The House →

Nico has recently been named an ambassador for Arc’teryx, my favorite brand of outdoor gear. Below is a message he posted on his Instagram account. I still very much feel like a learner in the accessibility space. As someone who grew up with few accessibility needs, I took my own mobility and independence for granted. … Continue reading Arc’teryx Ambassador →

The yard on the south side of our house has been planted with clover and no-mow fescue. thus far, only the former has started to emerge. It is a much-welcome change from the otherwise barren soil we have looked at for over two years. It has been an unusually rainy spring which is working to … Continue reading Signs of Growth →

I have saved paper copies of every federal and state income tax return I have filed since 1976. I have moved these records from Schenectady, NY to Indianapolis to Palo Alto to an apartment in Indianapolis to a house in Indianapolis to another house in Indianapolis to a house in Fishers, IN, to a townhouse … Continue reading Up in Smoke →

Jeanine was shocked to notice that all the plants recently installed on the south side of our house had disappeared. A careful review of the surveillance video (starting at time code 9:06:00) revealed the culprit. If you watch the upper middle of the screen between the two river stone streams you will observe a very … Continue reading Busted →

One of the best things about the soccer team I play for is that we gather after every match to hang out together. We call this an “aprés.” If it is an away game, we meet at a nearby bar or restaurant. If it is a home game, players volunteer to host a BBQ. In … Continue reading Concord United Aprés →

Nothing could have brought more joy to Jeanine than being one of the judges at Chopped for Charity, the Open Table fundraiser she started while Executive Director. This evening her only responsibility was to sample food from three of the finest chefs in the Boston area, comment on her observations, and vote for a winner. … Continue reading Judge Jeanine →

Jeanine appeared in last week’s Concord Bridge with her friend Margo Kimball. Signs of Life combines the repurposing of yard signs (think campaign and fundraising signs) to promote art, nature, and mental well-being.

My nephew, Mario, was in Boston this week for business and we were thrilled he could join us for dinner this evening. We were excited to learn that his new job in business development will bring him to the area at least once a year. He brought us up to speed on plans for his … Continue reading Nephew in the House →

I generally take great pains to match grain and color on various parts of the furniture I build. Notice how the grain pattern on the left side drawers matches that on the right side. Also, notice how the color of the toe kicks does not match the rest of the piece. Fortunately, it took little … Continue reading Not Quite Done →

I made progress on the credenza I am building for my office. Pictured above is a look at the internal hardware needed to support the push-to-open drawers. The rod between sides is used to synchronize the slides so that a push on one side of the drawer face will trigger the other side as well. … Continue reading Drawer Guts →

On May 25th, the New England Revolution soccer team takes on the New York City FC at Gillette Stadium.  Immediately following the match a second 50-minute game will be played between the amputee soccer teams representing the New England Revs and New York City FC. Nicolai is the captain of the former and has been … Continue reading AASA Night at the Revs →

Jeanine has been in Burlington, VT all weekend celebrating her sister Susan’s 72nd birthday. On the home front, Nicolai, Maya, and several of her friends, participated in the Bionic 5K race this morning. Later in the week, I hope to publish a picture of Nico, who placed first in the above-the-knee amputee division. This season, … Continue reading Susan’s 72nd →

I joined some of my soccer teammates at Gillette Stadium this evening to watch the NE Revs take on Miami CF. It was a chance to see Lionel Messi in action and we were not disappointed. He scored twice in the 4-1 drubbing of the Revs. He spends ~90% of his time on the pitch … Continue reading Lionel Messi →

It has taken some time to get around to completing the stairs to the garage. I finished the structural portion several months ago to facilitate access to the house. The plan post-construction was to top the structure with the same white oak flooring used throughout the house. I intentionally left a roughly sanded surface to … Continue reading Garage Stairs →

Nico has been named to the 2024 Range of Motion Project (ROMP) climb team for the second time. Each year, a select group of adaptive athletes, industry leaders, and disability rights advocates come together for the signature climb: an attempt on one of Ecuador’s highest peaks to symbolize what is possible when you have access … Continue reading 2024 Romper →

Our landscaping plan for the River House is based on native species. Only recently did we learn that local insects and pollinators are not able to eat non-native plants. Absent a food source, their numbers dwindle which negatively impacts the entire ecosystem. A secondary goal was to create a pallet of colors and textures that … Continue reading Covering Ground →

Kyle has moved on from Spain to Italy where he connected with my brother and his family who are on vacation in Tuscany. I am pleased to report that we are receiving a steady stream of photos that help us live vicariously through his travels which have now taken him to Rome. Not posted here … Continue reading On to Rome →

Final grading for the yard was completed today as was seeding with a no-mow fescue. Jeanine assisted our landscapers with the installation of one hundred native plants while I put our last two stone slabs to good use as foundation elements for our new grill. I also cut down 30-foot lengths of leftover standing seam … Continue reading Blank Planting Canvas →

My soccer team’s second match of the season produced another shutout with 7 unanswered goals. I had one shot on net but found the post instead. Still, it was a well-struck ball and I like the sound of the reverberating frame. I managed one assist before tweaking my hamstring at the end of the first … Continue reading Friendly Ghost? →

Rain for much of the day sent me to my workshop to start the construction of a small credenza for my office. It is the perfect project on which to use our last sheet of bamboo plywood and will make a nice matching piece to the desk I built earlier. The design will include two … Continue reading Credenza →

Jeanine and I spent the better part of the day burning off downed limbs that we had been gathering for days. Six hours of constantly feeding the fire covered half of what we needed to burn. In all likelihood, we will hire someone to chip the remaining tree trunks that fell during the winter and … Continue reading Wife Roast →

Work has begun on our landscaping plan. Four inches of clay has been replaced with an equal amount of topsoil in areas where we will be planting a no-mow fescue. River rock has been installed to create tiny “streams” where roof and surface water runoff can make their way to the river. New temporary erosion … Continue reading Taking Shape →

When our most recent wind storm took down several trees, Jeanine and I did the minimal amount of work necessary to clear the driveway for vehicle traffic. Today, we did considerably more to prepare the downed trees for removal. This involved cutting up the trunk and separating burnable wood from branches with pine needles. The … Continue reading Clean Up →