Classic Style

Not bad, but it's just about time to visit the barber for a trim.  The ol' hair is getting a bit puffy on the sides and top. W ell, the summer break is in full swing for yours truly here at Totleigh-on-the-Wold even though the Memorial Day Weekend is not yet upon us.  Besides working on an article and a few other professional commitments, all of which can be done from home, it has settled down pretty nicely here since turning in final grades a couple of weeks ago. However, there was reason to don presentable attire this morning once the Young Master was loaded aboard his school bus.  The Grand Duchess and I had an appointment with our attorney in Downtown Lansing to finalize and sign our will, so what better reason?  I decided that a suit might be a bit much for me, although I was happy later to see that our lawyer was thus attired, so I opted instead for a sports jacket (Hickey Freeman) and odd pants combo.  Not visible is a braided brown leather belt an...

  Here's one of the Young Master mid-parade.  He concentrated hard to remain focused and with his class as they visited just about every other classroom around the school, ignoring Mom and Dad in the process. T oday was Letter Day at our son's school, and the kindergarten classes that will conclude in about four weeks held a parade in which each child had the chance to share his, or her special letter project with the rest of the school.  The Young Master and I worked together to create his sandwich board on Sunday afternoon and early that same evening.  Not too shabby if you ask me. -- Heinz-Ulrich   Here is the front of his sandwich board that YMP and I made, painted, and labelled on Sunday earlier this week. Here is the rear.  According to his teacher, YMP was able to tell her all of the words on his board, which was a nice surprise since I wasn't always sure that he was listening when we went over all of this a few times late yesterda...

A WWII-era illustration that I believe was by Laurence Fellows although I could be mistaken.  Still, I dig the juxtaposition of the 6x2 double-breasted suit with the officer's dress at right .  You'll recall, of course, that the former had its basis in the military uniform . U nseasonably cold here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold this morning, 36 degrees Fahrenheit and spitting snow (in mid-May) just before 9am according to my wife the Grand Duchess.  Hmmm.  Don't know if that is what I needed to hear since the lawn needs mowing desperately. ********** I have managed to pick up a couple of new suits for a song on Ebay during the last couple of weeks.  The first is a 6x2 double-breasted charcoal pinstripe in worsted wool by Samuelsohn of Canada that even features true surgeon cuffs.  Luckily, the sleeves are already the right length and allow about 1/4" of linen to show with my arms at my sides.  After dry-cleaning, I tried on the 40R suit (with a dr...

Not my conference, but a generic photograph found online of some conference session somewhere, to set the mood and tone for today's post. T he spring term has concluded, final grades have been submitted, and with only one student complaint, so life is reasonably good.  It has been a busy several weeks here, but now it's time to catch my breat h and concentrate on my own professional activities for a few months w ithou t too much distraction . Apropos that, I spent the day yesterday attending several sessions that are part of a two-day conference here on second language acquisition , and the various ways technology can be used to enhance it.  The sessions I heard were thought-provoking , I met a few interesting people, and I left with a number of interesting ideas although I am not currently teaching any L2 courses.  Good.  The time was well-spent then. But , y ou can't attend one of these things with your eyes open and come away without the distinct impre...