Classic Style

  B oxing Day afternoon, the vivacious Grand Duchess baked our 2025 stollen from scratch, and it is about  one quarter gone already!  It's something I wait for all year.  Sonja uses one of her German cookbooks to prepare an authentic Dresdner Stollen each December, sometimes a bit ahead of Christmas, some years during Christmas Week depending on how busy life is. It is yeasty, slightly sweet, and indescribably delicious with fresh strong black coffee at any point in the day, breakfast included. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  N ot yours truly this time, but another vintage image fron my collection of Santa Claus, Father Christmas, and Saint Nicholas images long past.  In keeping with spirit of the season, which, despite what retailers, news media, and radio stations might have us believe, is still in full swing. Or at least it is here in the Grand Duchy.   And as I enjoy a mug of strong black coffee with a large piece of cherry pie for lunch and listen to some traditional German-language carols, I ponder Christmases long past on this icy, dark Boxing Day.  My mind turns back to December 1988 when I spent the Christmas and New Year's period with my mother and step-father in Southampton, England.   It was a day not unlike today when my TWA flight touched down about 7am at London-Heathrow on Boxing Day.  Dark, chilly, and frosty.  I had spent most of Christmas proper in transit from Philadelphia with a lengthy layover at JFK in New York on my way across the Atlanti...

  A couple of photographs from Christmas Morning: Yours truly enjoying coffee with the Drand Duchess at the dining table before things got going with the Young Master, stockings, and gifts.  The lower photograph shows our sprig of Mistletoe brought back to me from Seattle by the Grand Duchess and atop one of her gifts to me.  I haven't had mistletoe in the house since I was a small child, so this was a special surprise.  And yes, we've made use of the mistletoe several times.  She is the greatest gift I think I've ever had.  At Christmas or any other time. Merry Christmas Night Everyone! -- Heinz-Ulrich

  I n the Grand Duchy, we typically have enjoy our big holiday dinner on Christmas Eve.  This year, the goose, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, in particular, were done to perfection.  Lots of other goodies vied for our epicurean attention too, including various side dishes, pickles, sauces, and relishes.  Best of all, not only did the very slim and besuited Young Master enjoy a helping of everything, but he returned for a second large helping of buttery mashed potatoes followed by a big piece of cherry pie for dessert.   Taking a much need breather now after clearing the table and helping the Grand Duchess load the dishwasher.  Wife and son are rewathing A Christmas Carol (the 1984 Geoge C. Scott version) in the TV room. The Grand Duchess and I will reconvene later this evening once the Young Master has retired for the night.   As for yours truly, I'm still in a food coma of sorts, sipping another mug of coffee and having some quiet time with ...

  W armest compliments of the season to all visitors to Classic Style.  Here's to greater kindness, empathy, and charity during and beyond the Christmas period.  Dare I say we could all of us do a little better as my great grandmother, I was told as a child, used to say. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  J ust Bad Dad and the multilingual Young Master goofing around during breakfast today, the fourth Sunday in Advent.  The Grand Duchess will be home tomorrow evening to help us rein in our pre-Christmas zaniness.  But it wouldn't be the silly season in the Grand Duchy without Santa Claus hats and the Solstice Pineapple. -- Heinz-Ulrich

W hile I cannot vouch for his sartorial choices this Sunday morning (and I was still in my pajamas don't forget), the Young Master and I finished the family tree after his breakfast and another mug of coffee for yours truly.  He added crystal icicles, silver, and red glass balls to tie the whole tree together, which the Grand Duchess started very late last night.  The decorations on this table tree are from her own childhood and our son's along with a few additional family pieces.   As Paul and I enjoyed chatting about this and that, I handed him hooks and baubles to hang as he stood on either the love seat, or a step-stool.  Meanwhile, the Grand Duchess packed for her departure from Detroit later today.   Just the boys now for a week until her return.  We've got a date to watch Christmas Vacation (1989) and A Christmas Story (1983) together in the evenings this week.  Neither movie resonates particularly with Sonja.   It must be ...

  Y esterday, Saturday, was a bustling day here in the Grand Duchy.  In and around picking up the Christmas trees after breakfast and decorating them that evening, there is also a virtual stack of final student projects and independent capstone reflections to wade through.   Still quite a way to go with all of that before I can tally and submit final course grades along with the usual panicked emails AFTER the fact. Typically, these attemot to jockey for a grade change and offer 1001 reasons to explain why students oughtn't, didn't, couldn't, wouldn't, or shouldn't have to.  Sigh.  I really wonder what message so many parents have sent to their children during the last 30+ years or so.  But onto more pleasant things. Since the Grand Duchess leaves midday today for a few days with aging parents and sister in the Seattle area, we lit our third Advent candle during dinner yesterday evening.  The Young Master was again otherwise engaged (he's 16 now),...

  E njoyed (yes, really) my program's final meeting of the semester earlier today.  Coffee and pastries were part of the equation, both of which make any work function easier to sit through.  That said, there was some sharing of personal plans and laughter around the table during the first 35 minutes, so it was actually pleasant as far as these things go.  As usual, I was terribly overdressed, but it was an occasional after all.  Hey, anytime there is coffee, it's an occasion in my book. Final course grades are due next Tuesday afternoon. Although grades have yet to be entered into the learning management system for Collaborative Project #3 and the Independent Course Capstone Project (the latter due by 11:59pm tonight), the whiny, entitled emails have already been coming in for a few days as students try to relitigate previous grades from weeks ago.  I guess grades, in their minds, are like a plate of overcooked pasta at The Olive Garden.  If you don't...

  C ontinued snow and cold here in the Grand Duchy as I wade through final student team projects and related semester independent capstone reflections plus a few last minute grade-grubbing situations that require much more time and mental effort than they are worth.   If students simply kept up with course requirements/expectations, there would be no problem at the very end of the semester during which they try to backtrack with all manner of claims and excuses.  The part of my job I like the least. In more interesting sartorial matters, here's the attire for yesterday.  The red corduroy jeans were a winter clearance item three of even four years ago from Land's End, and less than US$20.  I really like 'em and enjoy unpacking them each fall after five or six months of storage in one of the off-season plastic tubs beneath our bed.  Fun old friends by this point, and they're in regular at home attire rotation between mid-October and late April each year....

  C old and snowy outside, and after yesterday's ski tour it's back to the salt mines this morning starting to review and determine grades for the third student learning team projects. Clearing the path, you understand, ahead of 100+ independent capstone reflections at the end of the week. But before settling down to some genuine work, how about a dash of avoidance?  Hence the quick photos of today's at-home attire.  One needn't resemble a basket of soiled laundry you know.  Even at a busy time of year. -- Heinz-Ulrich

S hortly before the Grand Duchess and I sat down to dinner yesterday evening.  The Young Master was otherwise engaged.  Should have crumbed his place before snapping this photograph however.  A meal of wonderful roasted vegetables (olive oil and Rosemary) with fresh banana bread and coffee for dessert.   Back to work today (Monday) wading through a digital stack of final student team projects ahead of their independent 'capstone' semester reflections on Friday.  And in the meantime, a week not entirely free of the usual last minute drama from a few students who sat on their hands throughout most of the 15-week term until the last 10 days or so.   The 5 to10% of my job that I could do without.  Sigh. -- Heinz-Ulrich

    F inally managed to get out for about 90 minutes midday for the first jaunt on my classic skis at a nearby park that has actually rolled trails for skate technique.  Not quite enough snow yet for classic tracks, but that didn't stop many of us from taking a tour through the Mid-Michigan woods.  Quite a few other skiers out early this afternoon.   I was a bit wobbly for about the first 10 minutes,but I found my balance and stride and did pretty well for the first outing this season.  Some nice glide and no wipeouts.  Even managed a few tricky downhills.  Yes!!! Besides yoga and meditation with the Grand Duchess, there is nothing that makes me feel as happy and at peace as cross-country skiing.  Except a ski tour with her.  It was not so today, but plenty of couple skiing is on the way over the next few months.  For the present, however, amazing early season conditions for local skiing 10 minutes from home.. -- Heinz-Ulrich

W hile I've sung many of these familiar tunes in English, Norwegian, and Swedish at different times in various choirs myself, nothing gives me the same chill -- and even brings tears to my eyes (I'm a sentimental sap, at heart) -- as their German language versions.  If you're seeking more traditional music for the Advent and Christmas seasons, I also recommend these CD's (or their streaming or MP3 versions): Christmas in Vienna -- Vienna Boys Choir (Philips, 1991) German Christmas Music: Kammerorchester; Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach; Hartmut Haenchen, Conductor (Sony Music Special Products, 1993) Weihnachten: A German Christmas (Seattle Pro Musica, 2002) Delightful, quiet, and contemplative seasonal music.  Perfect for solo listening, family dinners, holiday gatherings, Christmas Day, or Christmas Week.  A welcome departure from the overplayed Bings, Britneys, Mariahs, and hippopotami  that otherwise clog the airwaves at this time of year. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  W ith lots of fresh snow all over the place following our first major winter storm of the season, tweed, corduroys, oxford cloth, and other assorted woolen items seemed like the way to go this morning.  Merry and bright as they say. -- Heinz-Ulrich

    M y sole concession to Christmastime kitsch, a miniature version of the infamous leg lamp from the 1983 film A Christmas Story , based on the short stories in humorist Jean Shepherd's In God We Trust.  All Others Pay Cash (1966).  My lamp occupies a place of honor (?) on my desk for but one month each year before it is carefully stored away once again after January 1st.  Hey, we've got to keep up appearances, you know. -- Heinz-Ulrich