Claude Lanners - and some enduring gifts

Thanksgiving 2011 - I'm thinking of many things for which I'm thankful.  Here's one:

Hospitality plus.  Luxembourg.  (1989)

Our family had the good fortune to come into contact with a gentleman by the name of Claude Lanners some 30 years ago. Claude is a relative on my mother's side, resident in our primary ancestor-land, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. 

I've been thinking about Claude lately in relation to a few items: (1) I received a link to a website (on Geneanet) prepared by Claude, with endless amounts of information about the Bormann family; and (2) I received a 57-page pdf file, written by Claude, titled "History of the US Branches of the Bormann Family."

Both are priceless, enduring gifts.

(As if that weren't enough - Claude has been giving us all a life-lesson as he deals with ill health over what has now been an extended time period - continued graciousness; neither anger nor denial at what's happening and what lies ahead; continuing productivity on family history topics that only he can produce; etc.  (Claude's graciousness - to which I deliberately refer repeatedly - was impressive in good health.  It's even more impressive, and enduringly memorable, in these more difficult days.)   But enough on the illness topic for now, it makes me unhappy.)

Three thoughts on Claude's family history work:

1983 - early stage family history work.  (House residence, New Brighton, MN)

1983, our Glenview, IL townhouse (chicken cacciatore courtesy PJ)

1.  Simply put:  no one else - no one - could have done it.  Claude truly was the one-of-a-kind man-on-the-spot.  He has an unmatchable combination of extensive knowledge (both family history and the overall history that gives context to the family situations over the years); genuine interest in people; hospitality to visitors, fluency in the language(s) needed to work through the historical records and converse with the locals; fluency in English that permitted precise communication with we Iowans; the work ethic to track down so much information; and then the hard part:  putting it on paper.  So often information is gathered and just ends up sitting in shoe boxes or the like; so seldom is it reduced to a usable writing.

Paradise Valley, AZ, October 1992

 2.  And we must not underestimate how much time and skill this kind of writing requires.  Thoughtful, concise writing does not occur easily.   Dashing off a letter (or a blog post, for that matter) is one thing.  Putting together the delightful  "History of the US Branches of the Bormann Family" is an entirely different level.  Claude had to make hundreds of editorial decisions at multiple levels, including (at a minimum): (1) selecting the information to be presented out of a huge mass of loosely-connected materials that had been accumulated over many years; (2) selecting the structure of the document (strict chronology? back and forth in time? etc.); (3) making countless presentation decisions about when and how to use original writing, quoted text, conversation notes, photos, drawing, maps, excerpts of historical documents, etc.; and (4) finally - selecting the precise words and images that now grace all of those pages.

Paradise Valley, AZ, October 1992

3.  He succeeded.  The Bormann history is not an exercise in name-date-drudgery, as can so easily occur with family histories.  Instead:  it's lively, readable, informative, wonderful!  I'm going to print the final version, have it bound (self-publishing is easy these days!), and proudly shelved alongside the St. Joe history book (1976), the Altman family history (that Claude so graciously acknowledges in his work), and other family materials.

We had the pleasure of seeing Claude in Illinois in 1983, and in Arizona (along with his son, Michel) in 1992.  I've posted a few photos from those fine days.

Paradise Valley, AZ, October 1992

Also included below is a delightful set of photos (click arrow at bottom right to proceed through slide show) that Claude put together - included to give a sense of the valuable type of work he does, bridging content from the U.S. and Europe.  (I'm not posting the Bormann family history itself here - too many names and dates for privacy purposes, I think - will eventually post it to my secured website as a repository item.)

Claude - thanks for the enduring gift of your family history work.  And thanks - even more - from Patricia, me and all of us here in Arizona - for your friendship over this nigh-30 year span.  


Gales 1983-2011

Test video (Aster)

I previously mentioned how much we enjoyed our November 6th Minneapolis lunch at Aster Cafe.

Neither here nor there . . . but I had taken a short test video (22 seconds) during lunch with our (relatively) new camera (Canon ELPH 500HS).  Have liked the still photos quite a bit; now - with one experiment behind us - I'm optimistic about the video capabilities as well.  For a point-and-shoot, it's pretty rare to be able to zoom while in video mode; plus it's full 1080p.  And look at the nice job it did with very difficult lighting conditions in this short clip.  (Try it full screen.)  I still like the way this quartet sounded . . .



These devices are simply amazing . . . I think back to the video equipment we lugged around (with separate lighting) in the early 80s . . . ridiculous progress.

Midwest tour (Nov 4-9, 2011)

PJ and I have found late autumn to be a congenial time for Midwest travels in recent years (for example, see here, here and here).  So:  we went for it again this year. And had another delightful trip.  Started out the trip moving around steadily (counting getaway day from Arizona, we slept in different states on four consecutive nights.)  (Reminder, click on any photo to start "Lightbox" display.)

PJ looking jaunty in St. Paul.

Plotting our evening . . .

This skeleton doesn't look "too" mean.

The best combination:  mixing sports affiliation and high culture. 

After flying into Minneapolis on Friday (11/4), we went over to Eau Claire - our second trip to the Haag homelands.  We all chit-chatted awhile, Dan got back from work, we chit-chatted even more, then were on our way to dinner at Mona Lisa's restaurant.  An excellent choice, the locals seem to know the territory.  Back home for Barb's apple crisp and more conversation.  Couldn't be more pleasant; Champ (the pooch) was also entertaining (though wearing his Halloween seemed to calm him).  Allison made a creepy skeleton for our bedroom door, but we weren't scared (well, not much).  Emily has added the flute to her repertoire, which is quite nice indeed.

Barb made scones for breakfast on Saturday (11/5) - these were a big hit.  We played a board game - forgot the name, you pick cards with things you think other players like.  I had good cards and won, going away.  Speaking of which, we eventually gathered up and headed to the twin cities.  Nicole and POC called to chat while we were enroute, mentioning (among other things) an unfolding scandal at Penn State (which has dominated the airwaves for days now - Sandusky).

Lunch with Mark and Therese in St. Paul - Brasa - yum, nice.  Up to New Brighton - Steve & Cecilia, Margaret, Steve & Liz, Jenna, Nick; also Therese.  Much enjoyed spending the evening together; Cecilia had put together a delightful pork dinner.  The young 'uns left after awhile, I assume reluctantly, but they conceded that the >50/<60 sleepover would best proceed without those pesky kids.  Watched ASU blow a road game to UCLA despite the presence of CPG, EPG and other ASU loyalists (strangely enough, while tapping out this post, I see that ASU is blowing a road game to WSU right now, ugh).  Back in New Brighton, we chatted away the evening.

Pedal Pub depot in Minneapolis.  Neat old building!

Breakfast with the sleepover crew on Sunday (11/6); the morning flew by; Steve & Liz eventually headed out; later we went down to Aster Cafe in Minneapolis for lunch (after touring the "Pedal Pub" depot, which is right in the same neighborhood).  Therese & Mark joined us for lunch.  Lunch turned out to be delightful (we only were wishing Steve & Liz could have attended) - the restaurant featured a very fine quartet playing music from '30s and '40s (I think, mostly), folks dancing away up by the band, very nice food (I had a quite wondrous flatbread pizza ("pear & chevre roasted onion, spinach with prosciutto")).  Plus they were serving Surley Darkness, apparently a mythical beer ($18 for a (large) bottle?); Steve and I had to give it a try - nice.  ("This massive Russian Imperial Stout brings waves of flavors; chocolate, cherries, raisins, coffee, and toffee.") (?)

Aster in Minneapolis.  Surly Darkness in foreground (not to be missed).

After that:  onto Iowa.  Arrived in St. Joe for the tail-end of a dinner at the school gymnasium - a dedication or observance of the completion of the new garage at the rectory.  Got to see some folks, it was nice.  Back to the house, chatted away the rest of the evening with my folks.

A view of the Aster dancers, with the combo . . .

Monday (11/7) - this was our light-duty day.  Went to 7:30a Mass (and ensuing chatter outside church); breakfast; rounds of phone conversations; then dinner.  Grandma had the usual assortment of baked goods around - if not better than usual - variety, quantity, quality.  Went over by Clarence and Caroline around 1:30p - delightful visiting, plus an unusual occurrence:  Clarence and I won three of four games.  The evidence of our triumph (in the form of a scorecard) was compromised by timely intervention of the vanquished, though one can still make out from the photo the glorious comeback in the final game - a 1200 point turn-around launched by a rare nello bid by Clarence.  (He also did a great job with the bourbon beverages, by the way.) 

After another fun round of "500"

Back to St. Joe for supper.  We looked over the posters from the recent Luxemburg event in Wisconsin, and just enjoyed an evening with the parents - a fine thing.

Evidence blurred by a PJ-provoked Caroline-snatch.

Tuesday (11/8) - our usual delightful, slow-unfolding morning in St.  Joe house.  Fr. Kollasch took a test-drive on our rental car (Altima) (he wasn't impressed).  Some packed up cookies for us to take back to AZ - yes.  Turns out that Bev Ramker's prolonged cancer battle had ended (back on Friday), so we were going over to Osage on this date for the wake (or "visitation", as it is called nowadays).  Dolores came over from Storm Lake to join us, so it was nice to have time with her.  Easy travels in both directions; we were gone from around 2p until 8:15p or so.  Had intended to meet up with Steve & Liz in Osage, but that didn't quite work out.  Did enjoy talking to the Laubenthals, also caught up with Mike & Mary Bormann and Merrill and Brenda Bormann (who were in the very long lines).  Late supper and chatting back in St.Joe.

Wednesday (11/9) - hectic start to the day - Grandpa & Grandma had to leave pretty early for Bev's funeral, and I was stuck on a conference call for awhile.  But PJ and I did have a chance to have breakfast and chit-chat with Dolores, which was quite nice.  Then onto Minneapolis and back to Phoenix, where PJr completed his round-trip airport taxi service.

Dad, Mom, me

Nice trip - pretty fast-paced but how can you beat this:  I get to see my parents, five siblings (and their spouses), four nieces, one nephew, two aunts, one uncle, several cousins, three states, nice meals at restaurants and in homes, on and on over six days, all with a fine traveling companion who now has 33+ years of Iowa travels on her resume - I'm lucky, how many folks get to tour like this?

House is missing on the hill, but the view remains a delight.

10 ones

no reason for this post except I much like the notion that I could queue it up for 11:11 on 11/11/11

Chipotle ale

Tried this Sunday night (10/23).

While the cooking team (PJ, CPG, Pat H) was assembling a pretty excellent pork roast with a+ trimmings.  And a bourbon glaze or sauce.

Bought the bottle during our recent trip to Flagstaff; I was intrigued by the label, the unpromising pairing of "chipotle" and beer, plus the Rogue folks do some nice beers (such as "Dead Guy").  (Plus I buy lots of iffy things when I'm traveling, typically t-shirts.) (Maybe I took it as some sort of challenge when the clerk up in Flag told us "people say it's 'interesting', but not something they would 'drink all the time'.")

It was ok but not awesome.  My tasting panel agreed.  The clerk's info was accurate.

Choral Union (year seven)

CPG, PJr and I are in year seven of Choral Union (well, year five for PJr).  Either way, it starts to sound like a long time.

This year's first concert is Sunday, October 30.


I like our program:  Mozart's Coronation Mass; Monteverdi; Gabrieli; di Lasso; even the "I was glad" piece (Hubert Parry) used as processional at the latest royal wedding.

Plus, PJ has arranged a nice after-party.  It will be a fun day.  (Even though our #2 loyal fan is stuck over in Santa Monica.)

Flagstaff visit (October 8-10, 2011)

After breakfast at Macy's (10/10)

[Reminder, per new "Lightbox" feature, clicking any photo will bring up all photos for review in enlarged fashion (though without captions) in an overlay (as explained here).]

As discussed at greater length here (and also here), we've long enjoyed going up to the Flagstaff area about this time of year.  Typically to visit Lockett's Meadow and take a look at the aspens changing color.  But a 2010 fire led to flooding that closed the road up to the Meadow.  So this year we had to improvise a bit.

Inside Macy's . . . folks in line, always.

Lots of waiting for the train when walking around downtown Flagstaff.

I'm a huge fan of Flagstaff.  It still seems amazing that one can get in the car here in the Sonoran Desert, and alight up in pine trees in just two hours.  And the town now has plenty of fine restaurants; the old downtown is a pleasure to wander around; the university and hippie communities create a certain flavor; etc.

Kachina Trail (10/9)

PJ among the aspens, Kachina Trail (10/9)

A cold front had swept through the area a couple days before we arrived, and was just clearing out as we hit town on Saturday morning.  Snow had fallen down to about the 8000 foot level (meaning nothing in town).  So the weather was great - no precipitation, the storm had cleared the air so that visibility and clarity were optimal, cool but not uncomfortably so.

nearing trailhead (Kachina Trail (10/9))

from hotel parking lot (Humphrey's Peak)

When we hit town on Saturday, we were looking for lunch (after an early check-in at a thoroughly serviceable Quality Inn (same one we used with the kids several times years ago)).  Ended up at Criollo Latin Kitchen - really enjoyed the place.  Enough to where - out of six possible lunches and dinners on our trip - we ate there four times.  Favorites included the pork belly tacos; patacon (beef over fried plantains); pork dinner entree; not to mention Dale's Pale Ale.  Nice atmosphere in the place, thoroughly reasonable pricing, the kind of flavors we really appreciate, top quality all around.

Had delightful breakfast both mornings at Macy's European Coffee House - it lived up to rave reviews.  Still trying to figure out how they did the egg-on-croissant treat.  Wonderful coffee, great little place.

Also had dinner at Josephine's (more of a fine dining experience, good but we weren't moved) and a Sunday lunch at Lumberyard brewery (solely to squeeze a bit more suffering out of the Cardinals' wretched loss to a wretched Viking team, ugh).

Criollo Latin Kitchen (10/10)

Walked the downtown area a few different times and enjoyed going through the shops.

Pork belly tacos (Criollo Latin Kitchen)

Criollo Latin Kitchen

Hiking:  decided the Kachina Trail (trailhead up near Snow Bowl) was the right mix of moderate exercise and fine views.  It was just delightful up there - plenty warm, plenty of snow on the ground for great visuals, plenty of sunshine, an interesting trail with more big boulders and overlooks than I recalled.

Patacon (Criollo Latin Kitchen) . . . so good . . .

Walnut Canyon on a gorgeous late afternoon (10/10)

Things being so fine, we decided to stick around all day Monday (10/10); I went to the beautiful public library to do some work, then we had lunch (at Criollo).  Took a bit of a road trip out to Walnut Canyon - we've visited numerous times but don't get tired of this.  Had never taken the short rim trail before - very beautiful as we were approaching sunset.  Final dinner (at Criollo) and back home.

Rim Trail (Walnut Canyon) (10/10)

Rim Trail (Walnut Canyon) (10/10)

From Rim Trail (Walnut Canyon) (10/10)

Not-so-wildlife

This healthy fellow caught my eye yesterday while I was slaving away working in my home office.

Second time I've seen him wandering through the 'hood in the last couple weeks.

He looks really well fed; perhaps Smokey; perhaps Jo-Jo will encounter him (I'm hoping, in a nice way)?

I'm using masculine pronouns but haven't confirmed.

Lightbox!

Google - which provides the platform for my blogs - recently provided what I think is a neat upgrade for photo viewing.

Under the "old" system - you could click on a photo to enlarge it.  Then you needed to hit the "back" button on your browser to return to the blog.

Under the "new" system - named "Lightbox" - you can click on any photo in a post, and all photos in that post become available for viewing in a large overlay.  Click on any photo appearing in the overlay to be taken to the next photo.  When you're sick of looking at the photos, just close the overlay (using the typical "X" in upper right hand corner).

In addition to new posts, this feature will work for all previously-published posts (or so I'm told).

I like the feature. (I've been trying to incorporate embedded slide shows for posts with multiple pictures, but haven't much liked that approach.)

D'backs playoff game (October 5, 2011)

We (me, PJ, Chris, PJr, Nedda, PJr's friend (Alan)) attended game four of the NLDS between Diamondbacks and Brewers on October 5, 2011.  This was our second post-season venture in recent years, four years to the day since the last one (see here for description of 2007 outing v. Cubs).  And our second in-season venture to the ballpark (see here). 

pre-game view; we arrived very early.  I like this vantage point.

Diamondbacks looked weak in Milwaukee and had fallen behind two games to zip; not a good thing in a five-game series.  But they had won on Tuesday night, extending the series to game four.

Maybe because of the weak start to the series and uncertainty about getting to game four; maybe just because; the place wasn't filled.  But it certainly was quite loud.  The team gave away 35,000 black T-shirts for what was billed as a "black-out" (complementing the team wearing black uniforms) - I can't say it was terribly effective.  All in all:  we enjoyed the game a bunch - long, lots of scoring, Ryan Roberts grand slam, just a nice outing.  For a full description of the game, see here.

In response to the Brewers' "beast mode" antics, the Diamondbacks (via Miguel Montero) offered up a "snake bite" mode.  An amiable Brewers fan sat beside me, and patiently endured multiple "snake bite" attacks from PJ as the Diamondbacks thrived throughout the game.

The D'backs ended up losing the series on Friday in Milwaukee - many missed opportunities. 

It was a ridiculous season in many respects - a team that had lost 90+ games two years in a row, looked awful in spring training, looked awful on paper, played awful for the first six weeks.  Then caught fire and somehow won 94 games - very entertaining throughout.  The team brought up this kid named Josh Collmenter - a/k/a Chainsaw Jim Duggan (or whatever) - perhaps the single biggest factor.

Return to Montreal and Quebec City (September 9-16, 2011)

L'Echaude' (Quebec City)

PJ and I first visited Montreal and Quebec City in September 2009.  We had such a delightful time in 2009 that we decided on a pretty quick return trip.  Even better the second time around.

Based on the 2009 trip, I posted descriptions of Montreal (here); Quebec City (here); and some of the churches we visited (here).  Those descriptions are pretty much on target, so I won't repeat them.

stuff tastes better when on a menu written in French

Some observations about the 2011 trip:

1.  We added a day in each city (compared to 2009 schedule) - well worth it.  Same hotels - would gladly repeat both.

PJ at our table inside Barroco (first night in Montreal).  I really like this photo.

2.  While we didn't experience any serious hassles in 2009, familiarity with the area made the 2011 trip incrementally easier and more enjoyable.  We had a better feel for French words - English translation generally available, but not on road signs.  We're getting better with menus.

inside St. Patrick's (Montreal)

Sunday afternoon view from atop Mont-Royal (Montreal)

3.  Surprisingly (given high quality in 2009), we ran into better restaurants this time around.  This was particularly the case in Montreal - three unbelievable dinners (Barroco, Bocata and Gard-Manger).  Each in the old port area; each in old stone buildings with the thick walls; great lighting, difficult to get reservations, inventive food, delightful.  Gard-Manger is interesting - no sign, no menus - just a few items scribbled on a chalkboard.  Seating for maybe 40; folks outside clamoring to get seated.  Some of this is due to buzz associated with the chef's TV show, but we felt the food was off the charts.  Restaurant jammed, loud music mix, delightful.  Barroco was a small-plate concept - just delightful.  As to both cities:  where do they source the fresh ingredients?  Wow.

4.  Walked all the way from our Sunday lunch spot up to Mont-Royal; then returned to the hotel via what passes for Montreal's Chinatown.  Fantastic urban walk with payoff views of the St. Lawrence and downtown.  Plus we got to walk with Montreal Alouette fans celebrating a big win over Edmonton, or somebody in the CFL.

inside Notre Dame Cathedral (Montreal)

Lunch - 300-year-old converted mill, St. Laurent, Ile d'Orleans

churches on Ile d'Orleans are perched on the water - stark

5.  Did a better job in Quebec City of getting away from the tourist areas - Rue St. Joseph in particular had some interesting restaurants.  Required lots of walking - all enjoyable.

6.  Returned to L'Echaude' in Quebec City - recalled the maitre'd from 2009, he went out of his way to make the dinners delightful (yes, there's something about comp'd champagne).  Duck confit and veal dishes were amazing.  He touted their blood sausage (black pudding) but we weren't quite up to ordering this as an entree - so he arranged tastings of this on two nights - excellent. 

7.  Something completely different - traveled to Ile d'Orleans - easy and quick trip from Quebec City (15 minutes or so).  This small island apparently always was agricultural.  Now it's full of small farms - fruits, apples, cider, cheeses, chocolates, wineries, six small towns each with its own church.  You can drive around the island in about an hour, great river views throughout.  Had a wondrous lunch at a 200+-year-old converted mill - fresh-caught salmon; Quebec wine; dessert (cheesecake) with coffee - old stone building, we were there during a heavy rain - it was easy to let your imagination run to old France itself.  Stopped at a cider place - they're entertaining and making wonderful drinks.

leaving the winery on Ile d'Orleans; St. Lawrence river and Quebec proper ahead - gorgeous . . .

Doing work at Domaine Steinbach cidery (Ile d'Orleans)

Notre Dame des Victoires (Quebec; walking back from L'Echaude')

8.  PJ is a good travel companion.

9.  Only one really rainy day on the entire trip (other than a bit of rain while we were on the island) - we were walking around Quebec - stopped in an unlocked church (St. Dominic's) - stayed for noon Mass in French.  Nice. Later that day had a wondrous lunch at Clocher Penche.

street scene outside our hotel (Quebec City)

10.  I remain fixated on Willa Cather - and really like this book about old Quebec City - it entirely gets my imagination going.  Jacques and Cecile went into Notre Dame des Victoires to get out of the rain, and sledded on Cap Diamante.  The apothecary shop was on one of the streets connecting the upper town with the lower town.  On their trip to Ile d'Orleans, Cecile and Pierre circled the island and landed at St. Laurent (where we had lunch). 

Bistro du Cap - delightful dinner - seated maybe 20 max?  (Quebec City)

Etc.

11.  We'll happily return.  Not sure when - there are other spots to visit . . .