Polar Vortex Style. . .

My wife never seems to snap the shutter when I'm actually smiling. Her index finger must have been chilled yesterday afternoon.

Just because the weather has been absolutely frigid in my little corner of the American Midwest the last several days does not mean a guy has to leave the house looking like a a strange hybrid of dirty laundry piled in a basket and the Michelin Man. Think of that odd layered look so many guys seem to adopt, which invariably includes a hooded sweatshirt and some kind of stained plaid work jacket with an odd knitted skicap.

Granted, if you're working in a logging camp in Northern Minnesota or driving a snowplow and salt truck in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, that look might suffice. But for the supposedly white collar professionals, who populate an insurance industry giant that is based in my little city, and male academics with obscene amounts of post-secondary education? No. You've gotta walk the walk and talk the talk, boys. . . and pull yourselves together a bit more than you might be used to before heading out the door for public consumption.

As but one example of that, here's how yours truly braved the cold yesterday (15 Fahrenheit/ -9.4 Celsius was the high), the opening day of the new university semester:

* McGregor Duffle Coat (extremely heavy and windproof) -- Ebay
* Land's End Fair Isle Sweater -- End of Season clearance
* Land's End Corduroy Pants -- Purchased on Sale
* LL Bean "Duck Shoes" -- Purchased on Sale
* J. Peterman Wool Scarf -- Christmas gift from dear 'ol Mom 20 years ago or so
* Lined Leather Gloves -- Christmas gift from dear 'ol Mom in 1985

Largely invisible in this photo are the usual Harris Tweed jacket (thrifted), light blue ocbd shirt by Land's End (sale), a muted olive green, navy, and maroon wool necktie with equally understated Mallard ducks on it (thrifted), and a pair of heavy 'Smartwool' Nordic skiing kneesocks.

Needless to say, I was as snug in a bug in a rug for the ten minute walk to and from campus, which is the only reason I didn't add my trusty old tasseled wool ski cap by Dale of Norway, which was also a Christmas gift in 1995, to the mix. The lack of any breeze at that point in the day also helped the old ears immeasurably. In any case, it just goes to show how, with a tiny bit of determination, pointed gift hints to family and loved ones, and careful shopping, an average guy can assemble a cold weather ensemble that not only keeps him warm when the mercury drops well below freezing, but it will also help him manage to look reasonably nice. Arrogant? Possibly, but there's no harm in feeling good about oneself either. Classic male attire will certainly help in that regard.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Up North Style. . .

Bad Dad makes a friend. YMP and Bad Dad on the shores of Lake Michigan. Or was that Crystal Lake? The Grand Duchess takes a selfie in her kayak. How NOT to impress the girls sunning themselves along the river. YMP and Bad Dad kayaking on the Platte River headed toward Loon Lake. J ust back from a week in Northern Michigan in a charming and spacious house on the banks of the Betsie River outside of Thompsonville. A largely pleasant seven days despite some challenging episodes with the Young Master, who has picked up some very questionable habits and language from his friends in the 8th Grade during the school year just ended. But otherwise, we enjoyed ourselves and contemplated remaining for a few days longer since the house was available. In the end, we decided to return home as planned originally since neither my wife, nor I wanted to spend the remaining days chained to our computers in Zoom meetings from our vacation destination. I actually managed to leave the laptop and ip

Mid-June Thursday Style. . .

A nother pretty typical variation on the theme for late spring, summer, and very early fall. I'm a huge fan of Madras and have several such shirts in the seasonal rotation. Lightweight, exceedingly comfortable, and even dressy when pressed and tucked in, which is the usual way of things here at Totleigh in the Wold. Now, if I had my druthers, I'd still rather be skiing the trails in the upper half of "The Mitten" (of Michigan), in the Upper Peninsula, or Ontario. But summers ain't so bad either, and I'd look pretty funny walking around in cross-country ski attire during June. -- Heinz-Ulrich

A Lazy Saturday at the End of June. . .

A sleepy first half of the weekend here at Totleigh. Warmer and quite humid ahead of an approaching cool front here in Mid-Michigan. Perfect for yet another pair of chino shorts an a seersucker shirt -- tucked in of course -- with the usual leather deck shoes and ribbon belt. Otherwise, not much accomplished beyond a page or so of writing and monkeying around with audio settings for an upcoming podcast episode. However, I was not completely useless yesterday! I made a huge fruit salad for dinner, which the Grand Duchess and I enjoyed a short while later at the table on the back porch. The Young Master, as is his wont on Saturday evenings, took his dinner on a tray in the TV room upstairs where he whiled away a couple of hours on Flight Simulator, flying some sort of commercial airliner to some destination across the Atlantic or Pacific. I would have loved that sort of technology at about nine or 10 way back during the late 1970s, aka The Stone Age. As it is, my sister and

JasonJanuary 9, 2014 at 5:11 PM
Hi Heinz-Ulrich,
Thank you again for a very interesting post. Another vote for Harris Tweed from me! You seem to be coping well with the cold weather you are getting over there - it's making the headline news in the UK. Our winter hasn't happened yet although the rumour is that the cold stuff is arriving from you next week! It has though rained here in Oxford, UK, daily for weeks and the flooding is causing big problems. Dressing for the weather here seems to involve Wellington boots!

Anyway, I digress - even though I don't always get to comment on your informative posts, I always make a point of reading them.

Best wishes,

Jason
WSTKS-FM WorldwideJanuary 9, 2014 at 5:22 PM
Thank you for your comment, Jason! Much appreciated. Until the cold winter weather reaches the U.K., stay dry in the meantime.

Best Regards,

Heinz-Ulrich von B.
guyJanuary 10, 2014 at 3:10 AM
Some guidance on suitable hats is required for cold weather. When the dog drags me out for its night time walk and its pitch black, the wind howling from the arctic, and it is damp and miserable, I do find these days a hat is obligatory. I'm not keen on flat caps. Ditto faux military fur hats with a soviet star at the front. It has to be v cold and v dark for me to wear my furry hat which I normally only use in Switzerland when skiing. Now in the current US polar vortex you must have a suitable hat?

Regards,
Guy

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