Skip to main content

Rainy Mondays & Chipp Poodles. . .

 

 

Sounds like a line from a Carpenters tune.

In any case, chilly autumn weather is here!  So, I have started the twice yearly routine of swapping warm weather attire for cold weather, and moving things between the cedar closet in the basement, the wardrobe in our bedroom, and the overflow closet in the TV room across the upstairs hall.  

Good thing too since today is dark, wet, and seasonal.  And if I cannot have winding, snowy ski trails through the forests of Norway or Michigan, than I am perfectly happy with the wet, colder conditions forecast for this week ('vaermeldingen' as they say in Norwegian).

All of which is a long-winded way of explaining today's heavy wool blazer, flannel pants, Merino wool socks, trenchcoat with liner, and one of my long woolen scarves plus a Tattersall umbrella from Brooks Brothers.

The fedora is from Optimo Hats of Chicago, and was a 50th birthday gift from my late mother.  Since these are made to order, it was not ready for shipping until just before my 51st birthday several years ago.  I like the hat, but prefer the softer construction of those by Borselino.  Still, I try to wear this one for one week a month between October and mid-April.  

There are now five similar, though slightly different, models in the cold weather rotation, and I enjoy them each year once the weather cools.  Now, lot's of people take the attitude that men who wear hats -- REAL hats mind you, not those damn backwards baseball caps on almost every male head in the Midwest and elsewhere, or what they now call knit beanies (we used to call them watch caps or ski caps -- are somehow affected idiots.  And I am using more polite language than has become the norm in online fora.

As the late Burt Lancaster once said in, I believe, the film Tough Guys, in which he starred with Kirk Douglas, "I'd say you have been misinformed."  With that said, it's time for me to get to work and accomplish something before class at 10:20.

-- Heinz-Ulrich





Comments

Popular Posts

The Power of Ideas. . .

  T he end is nigh!  The autumn semester/term approaches.  And while we still have almost two months of summer left according to the calendar, "Summer is over and gone," as the crickets sang in Charlotte's Web .  At least for those of us who head back to the classroom in less than a month.   In advance of a meeting with my program director late Monday morning, I spent about 40 minutes total during the weekend to jot down several ideas about planned workshops and related activities for the coming 2024-2025 academic year.  At an opportune moment, I mentioned "I have a few ideas," and opened my leather portfolio.   My director was highly receptive to almost everything I suggested, and we had a very productive planning session for just over 90 minutes.  Just about everything I sketched out on Sunday aligns with his own ideas.  It's nice when meetings go that well, and two related things occur to me in hindsight. One, it pays to exercise...

CSA Pick-Up Style. . .

I t's getting to be that time in the summer!  Yep, the garden fresh vegetables are starting to come in.  Picked up the first half-share of the Grand Duchess' Summer 2024 community supported agriculture allotment late yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.  Some delicious looking items that will make a nice salad for dinner this evening.  Meanwhile, the Grand Duchess and Young Master are across Lake Michigan in Wisconsin visiting cousins for the next several days and attending a large annual airshow. while yours truly holds down the fort. More of the usual summertime fare in the attire photos featured.  This particular shirt, while it has not appeared here in quite some time, is one of my favorites.  An item that has been in the seasonal rotation for a dozen years or more.  It ironed up nicely before I put it on and tucked it in.  The chino shorts (with a 6" inseam. . .  I know, I know.) are one of many such khaki pairs currently occupying the bottom...

A Box of Mercer Goodness. . .

    D uring a day already full of pleasant surprises, these arrived via UPS late this afternoon.  About a month before I expected them.  Yes!  Looking very forward to their inaugural wearings in just a few weeks when we're back on campus. -- Heinz-Ulrich