Classic Style

  H appy New Year (in older Dano-Norwegian orthography) from Classic Style! -- Heinz-Ulrich

  Fresh from the oven and newly dusted with confectioner's sugar, the 2021 stollen baked by my wonderful wife, The Grand Duchess! C hristmastime is still in full swing here at Totliegh-in-the-Wold. Yesterday afternoon, on the 26th, The Grand Duchess got out one of her German language cookbooks, and set about putting together the dough for this year's stollen.  A little later, I had to make a quick trip down the road to the supermarket to pick up some additional butter and yeast packets for her, but things were already well underway when I returned.   The entire preparation and baking process takes a while, but the end result is what you see above.  Apparently, stollen is something that had its start in the areas of Germany where there was mining.  In this case, the Saxony region.  The most famous variety is the Dresdner Stollen, which is what The Grand Duchess whips up for us each year, using an authentic German recipe and ingredients.   Apparently, Germans bake their stollen i

T he goose is in the oven, the pie baked, and other dishes poised to cook in the oven once the bird comes out.  The aroma in the house is delightful.    Yours truly will set the table in a short while.  A more formal setting than usual plus a place set for absent and deceased family members, something we decided to start doing this Thanksgiving.   And again, the J. Press gray herringbone tweed jacket.  Easily one of the most versatile pieces in the wardrobe.  Tomorrow, we are dressing even more formally before digging into the various leftovers.  Stay tuned. In the meantime, Merry Christmas (Eve) Everyone! -- Heinz-Ulrich 

  M erry Christmas and Season's Greetings Everyone, -- Heinz-Ulrich     

    E njoying a dark, wintry day, with some sporadic snowfall, candles, and The Young Master here at home, listening to German Christmas music, trying to get some work done, and failing terribly.  But, ah well.   The Advent Wreath and gingerbread cookies, baked last Sunday by our son and The Grand Duchess, at the breakfast table certainly help.  The annual authentic Dresdner stollen, baked by my wife, cannot be far off. -- Heinz-Ulrich 

  N o big surprises here, but it felt right to don some seasonal festive attire to attempt a bit of work here at home ahead of Christmas.  And to attend a Tae Kwon Do belt test for The Young Master later this afternoon.  These events are always a reason to celebrate the hard work and focus of the various students, so why not?   Hmmm. . .  I think that might be my new reply on those rare occasions when a stranger asks why I am so dressed up.  Why not? -- Heinz-Ulrich

  Y ours truly at the conclusion of an hour-long walk around the snowy neighborhood late yesterday afternoon following gingerbread cooking baking and helping The Young Master wrap gifts for his mother.   Attire visible in the selfie above features a heavy green vintage wool duffel coat that I've had for about a dozen years, a wool  Peterman University College-Dublin scarf given to me for Christmas by ol' Mom about 25 years ago, and a four foot long wool stocking cap that I purchased in Norway in February 2000 while attending a winter carnival with friends in Røros, Norway.   An old mining town right along the Swedish border, I have never been as cold as that day there.  And we were dressed for the weather believe it, or not.  Or so we thought.   My Norwegian roommates Geir and Magnus always used to say that the cold and snow along the coast in Trondheim were nothing compared to where they had done their military service year, north of The Arctic Circle, prior to enrolling in un

  W ith the addition of some well-worn L.L. Bean boots, heavy ski socks, a cardinal red UW-Madison fleece, and a 25+ year old tasseled skicap from Dale of Norway, even shoveling and blowing show off the front walk and down the driveway can occur in relative style.  Wet heavy snow that's not quite enough to warrant strapping on the ol' cross-country skis, but it felt good to get outside for an hour or so.   Back inside now.  Drinking coffee, listening to quiet Christmas jazz online, and just kind of watching the world outside my window.  For some reason, the Beatles tune I'm Only Sleeping keeps running through the back of my mind as I write this. -- Heinz-Ulrich.

  A not unpleasant combination of cold weather items yesterday (Thursday), my last day on campus for the semester.  Possibly straying a bit close to something you might spot in Yankee Candle, but ah, well.  I felt good wearing this particular combination, and 'tis the season as they say. I dress for myself at this point.  I have fun wearing my clothes.  They brighten my day, and maybe a few others who cross my path.  In short, dressing presentably brings me joy in otherwise unpleasant times.   And as my wife and I discussed one evening a few weeks back, albeit in a different context, we should go out of our way to find and create more of those little bits of joy in our lives.  Doing so makes life worth living.  Donning another tweed jacket, seasonal necktie, cords, and penny loafers this morning, following a shower and shave, to head out and run a few errands before returning to home to enter points for final student team projects.  Then I can begin calculating final course grades

  T o my eyes, this was a very pleasing, seasonal effort today.  The pants actually have more very dark crimson as part of their pattern than is readily apparent here, so they worked nicely with the tie.   And it is amazing what you can get accomplished in three or four hour chunks when no one bothers you.  On track to have all three courses for next semester, two new and one revamped, well ahead of Christmas, which will allow me to forget about work for a couple of weeks or so.   I enjoy what I do, for the most part, but time away spent doing other things will be refreshing. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A very productive four hours or so in the library this morning before some midday errands on the way home and the a couple of additional hours uploading readings for a new course on Modern Scandinavian and Nordic Authors, which will run for the first time this winter and spring.  We begin with Ibsen, Strindberg, and Hamsun, and end with a couple of Icelandic and Greenlandic authors from the second decade of the 21st century.  So, canonical 'dead white guys' all the way to indigenous LGBTQ+ authors in 150 years of literary history.  It's gonna be a wild ride. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  E njoying my attire more than usual this finals week since classes are over, the library is very quiet barring a few students studying for exams, and I have been free to work on course preparations for next semester.  Really just a delaying tactic to avoid looking at final team projects, individual semester reflections, and calculation of semester grades.  I've got a week until those are due. -- Heinz-Ulrich

    T aking a day for myself this chilly, windy Saturday by puttering around here in Zum Stollenkeller, taking care of some Christmas shopping online, and applying to paint to a few toy soldiers over on the painting table.   And all while wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, dark green corduroy jeans, an obnoxious belt I purchased online last summer, and the usual chocolate suede camp mocs, which are my go to shoe here at home between October-April or May each year.   In Germany, shoes reserved for wear at home are referred to, as my wife points out, 'hausschue.' Honestly, most of what I have observed when I (or in more recent years we) have been in Germany ain't quite the same thing.    What you will usually see is more in keeping with Birckenstocks (invariably with socks) than Allen Edmonds of similar.  Of typical German footwear habits, the less said, the better. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  I t's funny what you occasionally will dig out that you forget you had.   Such was the case with today's shirt, purchased from Mercer and Sons last winter at some point, and the Brooks Brothers Makers necktie, which I chose because it goes with the jacket and almost looks seasonal if you squint just right.  The little asterisks might be mistaken for snowflakes.   And the socks seemed to work reasonably well although I think brogues might have suited them better than penny loafers.  But, ah well.   Tomorrow is the last day of (asynchronous online) classes this semester, and then the gallop begins to calculate and turn in final grades.  I have resolved not to answer any resulting peevish, whiny student emails in December-early January either.  Not exactly kind, but if they were that worried about their grades, they should have talked to me, oh, I don't know.  October or early November when there was still time to turn things around?   I'll never understand the thought p

  I t has been two years or more since I last wore this heavy tweed suit by Chipp.  15 months and 40+ pounds of weight loss plus a few very recent alterations, have, however, made this a very comfortable and warm item to sport on a snowy December day in Mid-Michigan.   With a highly respectable collar roll today, thank you very much! The cranberry waistcoat was one of three given to me last year by The Grand Duchess for birthday and Christmas 2020.  It goes so well with the suit, that I think I'll make it a permanent addition and hang them all on the same hanger as an effective three-piece ensemble.  The Merino wool socks from Dapper Classics are a fun seasonal addition.  I made sure to purchase two pairs a few years back. Last, I stopped on the way home, under instructions from The Grand Duchess, to pick up this year's Christmas trees from our usual vendor given the apparent shortage and supply chain problems so many places this year.  Mr. L., the man who heads up the operatio

    T he last week of classes begins today, heralding the (almost) end of the semester!  So, it's time for some festive attire. Among other items a toasty warm vintage Polo double-breasted blazer with some fairly subtle wool flannel plaid pants and a bright MacDonald tartan necktie help to brighten this dark, cold day with sporadic snow showers and high winds. It's also Saint Nicholas Day.  The three of us left our shoes by the front door last night, and they we're filled with chocolate goodies this morning.  The perfect accompaniment to a mid-afternoon mug of coffee. Heinz-Ulrich

    A chilly, gray Sunday at home.  Whiling away the afternoon by finishing up a few things and spending some time with one of the cats.  At home attire today include the dark green Rugby top shown plus tan corduroy jeans, a surcingle belt, and the usual chocolate suede camp moccasins worn without socks.  I know, I know.  Heinz-Ulrich

    I n December 2020, The Grand Duchess and I began a new pre-Christmas tradition with the lighting of the first Solstice Pineapple.  This evening, we flipped the switch on the second annual Solstice Pineapple, which will probably ripen before Winter actually begins in about two weeks.   No matter.  We'll purchase another and adorn it with lights until it too becomes ready to chunk and enjoy.  Yum! We're nothing here at Totleigh if not a bit quirky and weird.  But that's ok.  It keeps us young at heart. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  I cannot recall when I have ever enjoyed my attire like I have the last several months since the Fall 2021 semester kicked off at the start of September.  Almost 18 months stuck at home will do that I suppose. While the foundational items have been seen here before, the shirt is new, or rather it has not appeared in a long, long time with any combination of navy blazer and pants.  I purchased it as one of several new shirts from Land's End during early fall 2004 in my first teaching job after graduate school when I added to and expanded what was a very basic professional wardrobe.   Although you don't necessarily need a huge amount of clothing to present yourself well, at some point you do want more than just a couple of sports jackets and two or three dress shirts.  In any case, the shirt pictured above sees the light of day infrequently these days.  But it is fun to trot out now and then and works well with the knitted silk necktie selected for today. The chocolate suede b

  T he simple swapping in and out of shoes and accessories can produce a host of different looks that are nevertheless beneath the same umbrella.  Doing my best Tuppy Glossup here today with the addition of a bold wool vest given to my by The Grand Duchess last Christmas, some equally bold wool socks, and a rather festive silk pocket square -- for December 1st -- that I've had for about 15 or 16 years.   The wool tie is an old favorite that, thrifted 1o or so years ago.  The suede brogues are by Allen Edmonds made for sale in Nordstrom department stores, but I snagged them very cheaply on Ebay in late 2015 just before we moved (Yet again!  Twice in six months that year.) from an apartment into Totleigh-in-the-Wold in early December that year.   Gotta wear 'em now before the snow starts piling up when L.L. Bean duck shoes and boots become the default footwear of choice. -- Heinz-Ulrich   "Fra-gee-lay.  It must be Italian!"  My sole concession to Christmas schlock, a 20