Classic Style

  E asing back into professional wear during the next few weeks as we scream toward the start of the fall semester/term on August 28th.    Today, we were blessed with sun, a breeze, and temperatures in the upper 70s Fahrenheit, which made dressing a joy.  I didn't want to change clothes on my return home, but the front yard and some delayed mulching duties beckoned. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  I n my defense, I have read that extreme heat and humidity can lead normally level-headed men to commit unspeakable acts.  Does dancing on the back porch at dusk count?  And no.  Before you ask.  We had yet to open the usual Friday evening bottle of wine. -- Heinz-Ulrich 

  F ollowing breakfast this morning, the Young Master and I visited our local barbershop for mid-summer sheerings.  We were both getting a bit shaggy,so it was time.   The usual 3.5 on the sides and back with just enough to part on top (left side) and tapered along the nape of the neck for both of us.  No product.  Just nice, traditional, masculine haircuts.  The Grand Duchess will be pleased when she returns home. In other news, the annual fall semester kick-off meeting of my program is in one month.  I am one of the three faculty planning/leading the event, but -- vapid popinjay that I am -- what I am really looking forward to is the opportunity to wear a jacket and necktie along with some leather dress shoes.   Who knows?  If it's a hot day, I might just break out the Madras sports jacket, or the linen suit.  Oh, the possibilities! -- Heinz-Ulrich

  O ut and about with the Young Master yesterday for another tutoring session followed by a trip to the bookstore on our way home.  Amazon is great, but there is nothing quite like physically browsing the shelves of an actual bookshop.  Or a library.  While I did not see anything, the Young Master found three books that tickled his reading fancy. -- Heinz-Ulrich

    T he Grand Duchess and I enjoyed several mid-evening sessions out on the lake where we stayed during our recent visit to the Upper Peninsula just outside of Marquette, Michigan. It was, in a word, beautiful.  And calming. Sadly, the at present prickly Young Master ignored several repeated invitations, opting instead to work on his ground training (for an eventual flight lesson) after full days out and about exploring all that far northern Michigan and the Lake Superior coast have to offer.  At 13.5 years old, he is at THAT age I suppose.  No matter.  Sonja and I enjoyed some peaceful, quiet adult time sans child. Before the Young Master came along in October 2009, we used to ski and, during summers, camp, in the western reaches of the UP in the areas of Ironwood, Houghton-Hancock, Calumet, and on up to Copper Harbor.  We would simply drive north from Central Illinois up US Highway 51 through Rhinelander, Wisconsin and on into Michigan. Where we are...

  O ut and about yesterday afternoon with the Young Master for his usual math tutoring, a subject he maintains he dislikes, yet he does remarkably well with it and enjoys his visits to the tutoring center.  More of the usual summertime gear for our errands yesterday, but there is something wonderful about donning slightly faded, old, yet still serviceable attire in the early morning post-shower.   These two items, purchased 10+ years ago from Land's End, are an example.  And I must admit to loving the obnoxious Madras shorts, which so closely resemble those worn by three generations of family when we used to convene on the Carolina coast or the Chesapeake Bay (Virginia) when I was a child and teenager, depending on who hosted the extended family for a couple of weeks each July or early August. Most family members hailed from North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.  We were the outliers living north of the Mason-Dixon Line outside Philadelphia, but one great...

Yours truly solo on the shores of Lake Superior just outside of Marquette, Michigan. There are those orange shorts again!  I packed and wore several other pairs during our visit, honest. Joined by the Young Master.  Why does it always take a dozen shots just to get one where the kids aren't making faces at the camera? The Grand Duchess in the the forward seat of an ocean-going kayak on Lake Superior.  Among her considerable outdoors experience, Sonja has enjoyed previous time in a kayak, but not in some years, so she was eager to revisit the activity.  By all accounts, an amazing three hours was had.   T he von Boffke family spent last week on the shores of Lake Superior in the Marquette area of Upper Michigan.  Cool, overcast or partly sunny most days with heavy rain several nights running (usually around midnight to very early morning), and wonderfully rugged country for exploring with numerous skiing, boating, hiking, and biking possibilities.  All ...

    H aving a coffee and killing time next door to the Young Master's usual Friday math tutorial hour.  He and I will later pack our bags and, once the Grand Duchess returns home and packs her bag, load the car for our trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for a week away.    Getting some additional mileage from the new orange chino shorts, which got the wifely seal of approval yesterday evening.  So, they will go in the bag for an appearance or two next week.   Stay tuned for a vacation attire update or three next week.  Hey, even on vacation, there is no reason to walk around looking like a shambling mound of soiled laundry on legs. -- Heinz-Ulrich    

  T he chino shorts (9" inseam") in a bright, irreverent orange have arrived via FedEx.    I tried 'em on and wore them to blow off the front walk over which we had a large tree limb removed this morning, so there was sawdust along with twigs and leaves all over the place.  But at least the wind and ice storms we occasionally get here in Michigan will not bring down the now absent branch on the house.  Sadly, however, the front walk is not as shady as it once was.  That, I will miss. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  O ut for a few errands of my own this morning followed by a midday pick-up of the Young Master, who was on campus with his mother.  A quick trip  to the local big box hardware store on the way home for some paint, then lunch with child, and a (hopefully) quiet afternoon.  Now, when does school start again? More of the usual items for my venture out today.  Solid mid-blue socks and reddish-brown braided belt not visible.  The star item is definitely the J. Press knit silk necktie work with a mostly linen jacket, khakis, and light blue OCBD shirt.  An easy to assemble combination of items that works in almost any setting except the most formal. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A sunny, breezy summer's day for July 4th here in Totleigh.  Very warm, but not oppressively so.  Mid to upper 80s F.  The Grand Duchess and Young Master took a bike ride mid-afternoon, while yours truly remained at home and worked on the latest episode of my ongoing podcast.   Late in the day, I fired up the Weber grill and prepared hamburgers with grilled vegetables for everyone.  We finished with patriotic cupcakes for father and son with a wedge of watermelon for the Grand Duchess before some small fireworks in the driveway.   Sonja and Paul attended a large area fireworks display last weekend, which seems to be a growing trend, at least here in Michigan.  Or maybe it's because the holiday falls on a Tuesday this year? ------------   More of the usual gear today although I broke out my red, white, and blue seersucker shirt to get in the spirit of things.  This time, I decided to include a shot of today's ribbon belt....

  O ut for our usual thrice weekly math tutoring for the Young Master this morning.  Fortunately, there is a small cafe just three doors away where yours truly can kill some time with laptop and a cup of fresh dark roast.  Otherwise, it is wonderfully quiet in our neck of the woods, where many are away, or relaxing at home for the long holiday weekend We're following a quiet 4th of July Week here at home with a week on Michigan's Upper Peninsula where we have rented a cottage on Lake Superior outside of Marquette.   Looking very forward to that since I haven't been up there since before the Young Master was born.  The Grand Duchess and I used to ski and camp in the UP during the early years of our marriage almost 20 years ago before he came along.  Clothing-wise, more of the usual summertime attire with a navy and green ribbon belt and shirt tucked in.  But of course.  The shorts are actually a very faded sagey green, which does not show u...