Hello, Hohensteins!

Here we present at least an introductory collage of the Hohenstein branch of the Ghulf clan: Barb, Hillery, and Hillery's own Kyle and Kobe. Introductory? Yes. These pictures, from Facebook, are a little dated and not very well matched, but we've had some technical problems exchanging photos with Babs, what with our Kodak empire not quite communicating with hers. But rather than waiting any longer for new pics to mature--especially in light of promising new careers demanding copious amounts of time from three of the four Hohensteins--we thought it best to go forward now. Babs has been busy returning to her old avocation in eldercare, this time working for A Place for Mom. Hillery is at the end of her training in the medical field, in nursing assistance. And Kyle is launched on a career in Arsen's favorite military service, the United States Coast Guard. Only Kobe has the luxury, still, of being just a child. Good for you, Kobe! It's the best time of life!

Barbara--who, for Brigitte and me--will forever remain “Babs,” a German shortening of all Barabaras over there and thus deeply embedded in us--is our oldest daughter and, hence, presides over a line in which we are delighted to see three generations into the future: our great grand children. It makes you dizzy to think that the oldest, of two mind you, little Kyle, is is now in uniform. How time doth pass. How they shoot up...

Arsen's Weapons Systems

An elaboration of the idea is presented on LaMarotte here.

As May Gets Ready to Depart...

The explosion of onions, flowers, and herbs along the outside of our sunroom, which terminates the back of our house.

The array in the center of our concrete apron--preventing us ever from putting a car into the garage. Even if there was any room in it, of which there is actually none.

Dough Spill Addendum

Enough was left to make three of these...

Dough Spill

The aftermath of spending a day in the ER the other day—instead of baking an Amish Friendship cake—has created a big headache and a rather sour stomach in me. You can see the evidence above. But I’ll spare you the totally ugly pictures that would also show a fridge completely inundated with rising and spilled cake dough! Not a pretty sight, believe me, although less damaging than the Gulf Oil Spill that fills TV News daily. But this too took a good deal of effort to set right—creative handling and time to clean out this ghastly sticky mess.

So, you bakers of friendship cakes, BEWARE AND NEVER MISS a scheduled baking date, for whatever reason!

— Brigitte


[The ER visit, for the record, was caused by still unexplained chest pains, lasting for brief periods but recurring at intervals. They had the good sense to go away after a while...]

Maple Seed

Picture of a single silver maple seed. A collage commemorating this season is on Ghulf Genes here.

Alex Darnay

The newest member of the clan, Alex Darnay, born to Lena and Brandon, came a little too early to kick off this blog--but here (we had to rob Facebook to get these snaps) is Alex at his most colorful, born April 5, 2010.

Here is Alex with his mother Lena (nee Grandy). Brandon, who has lately been heard to mutter--"I'm pretty sure whoever created the phrase 'Sleep like a baby' never had any..."--could not be found anywhere near Alex. He is also a bit photo-shy, thus never looking somber or Father-like anywhere, hence we've had to go to, ah, it looks like a racecourse, to get this pic of him. But of course, as we all know, Dad's are somewhat peripheral to such grand events...

Jennifer: Turner Talent on Display

We were delight to get from Gwen today the May/June 2010 issue of The Ozarks Mountaineer. Thank you, Gwen!! The magazine features on its cover a wonderful landscape seen and instantly captured by our own Jennifer Turner Linders, the family's foremost photographer. The lead story of the magazine, "Jennifer Linders: She Does More Than Point And Shoot," shows an additional selection of Jennifer's splendid work. The story featuring Jennifer and her work is here. The magazine's website, for the present featuring her cover, is here. Good work, Jennifer. We always knew you would be emerging into very public view.

The photo above is the smallest of those reproduced in the magazine but it shows to perfection Jennifer's keen eye and her skill in "stopping time." We, of course, see her work daily. One of her splendid scenes hangs in our living room...

For the chance visitor from beyond the borders of this clan, I feel that I should add the following. Jennifer is Susie's and Rex's daughter; Susie is my sister, hence Jennifer is our niece. In the "world" out there her profession is nursing; she is a seasoned and senior O.R. Nurse. Photography is her avocation. And then there is the big job--raising two boys, Tanner and Heath...

Beatrice Flower

Our backyard on a May morning in the sun. Never looks better than at this time of year. I draw attention to the red flower on the table to the left. Brigitte bought it three or four years ago, and it's still doing splendidly. She named it the Beatrice flower--because that is its name, I think, and my Mother's. Here is a close-up of it taken before it got moved.

My camera work in these shots is just so-so. The globe in the foreground is fuzzed out. Never mind that it just happened to be put there because it was in the way. The color of the flower is correct in the shadows, too yellow in the bright sun of the close-up...

Way Back...

Thanks to my old Army buddy, Philip Marshall Cavanaugh, I received the two pitures shown here. These were taken circa 1957 in or around Goeppingen, Germany. I could not at first identify the people, but Phil sent me the names, and then the lights went on. The second from the left is Harry Seyler. I knew him very well--but only much later. Both of us then sergeants, we shared a room at the 8th Infantry Division Headquarters in Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

Once I had the names on this list, I vaguely remembered some of the others. The are (l. to r.) Lanning (first name forgotten), Harry Seyler, Mike Hansen, Tom Foster, Mike Vickery. Tom Foster sent the picture to Phil.

In the second photo, taken at one of the drinking places we then loved to frequent, are shown Mike Hanson, Tom Foster, and Rolf Hanson. In this image Tom has his field cap removed, and suddenly I also recognized him. Rolf looked very familiar to me when I first saw this image, but his name would not come. Yet I distinctly remembered the dapper figure. In those days I was sure that his family had to be wealthy. This was, remember, a citizen's army still; draftees filled the ranks. Rolf used his free time to travel widely in Europe to see strange and exalted places--which wouldn't have been possible on our the very meager pay.

Brings back memories of course...

Magee Family Display

We are connected to the Magees through Monique. A grand family reunion last summer in August provides us with a way to introduce this extended family with a group shot, but, as sometimes happens, this photo by no means equals a census of Magees. Even our rather limited survey of people we know tells us that lots of individuals are missing. But the Magee branch of fictional Ghulf Genes will serve us to introuce other such arrays of humanity, the drops, you might say, of society. First we show the picture of those assembled. The people arranged themselves, fortunately for our purposes, in such a way that we are able to capture, in an enlarged rectangle, those best known to us of those who are here present. That picture follows, with commentaries on the names beneath.

John is the person whom, in this context, we would call our John. He is part of our innermost circle since his marriage to Monique, who is our flesh and blood. Dick Nason is John's stepfather and stands immediately behind John's mother, Sheila. To Dick's left and our right is Susan Riordan, John's sister. And last, his face partially obscured (like Dick's), is Jim Magee, father of Susan and John. Not shown is Michael, Susan's and John's brother--nor the three Nason children by Dick's previous marriage, Katrina and Eric ("the twins") and Bobby. As we noted, not everyone is present--or our aging eyes can't quite see them all in this large assembly.

I would here draw special attention to Susan. She is, you might say, The Mother of Blogs. Her initial ventures into blogging (Gettysburg Family, accessible from this site), inspired John's Patioboat and then, in sequence Ghulf Genes and others, not least Michelle's Pontoon Pirates, a blog that Monique started as a summer's lark and which has sprouted like the legendary beanstalk into the French sensation. As in all family matters, it's difficult to sort out the lineages, genetic or other. But Susan is easy to identify as the generatrix of our blogging.

The setting? The Adirondacks.

Fresh from Paris

Freshly minted this morning comes a new post on Pontoon Pirates reporting on the culinary wonders occasioned by a visit to Paris byYves Paret. Yves is Thierry's father and Michelle's beau-père. Here he is helping grandson Malcolm practice a part in a school play. Malcolm is wondrously disguised in that wig--don't you agree? When we heard Malcolm's voice come from this figure in the embedded video on PP, we could barely believe it! 

The Paret Matriarch, Madelaine, did not come on the trip, but we have a nice picture of her from last Christmas in the post as well...and shown next:

Delighted to have these. Brigitte and I conceive of this blog as serving in part as a "record," thus as of a place where people might be found. And on this side of Atlantic some of the family have never met the elders of The French Connection--and have perhaps never even seen their photos.

Welcome Madelaine and Yves! Bienvenue, Yves et Madelaine!

But to really get aquainted, please visit that stellar photoblog, Pontoon Pirates!

The Lilac Bush

Herewith the process of planting the Mother's Day gift lilac bush, accomplished with a four-pic collage (thank you Picasa). From left to right, top to bottom:  First the gap in our bushes framed by the wheel-barrow and the green container that will hold the stripped ground cover. Next the digging, the dirt, and a container with broken pottery to help with the drainage. Lilac bushes like to be drained! A close-up of the finished hole comes next. And, finally, the bush in place--but at a distance--the gap now ready to be filled as our little lilac bush "grows up."

The next two photos show the lilac bush from a bit closer up--and Brigitte having a closer look at the results. Notice how her extended left hand half strokes the blooms and half emphasizes: This is Mine.

It all went splendidly. The day was perfect for this little venture, and the usual interruptions, mishaps, and horrid battles with monstrous roots that usually require finding the big axe were missing for once. Brigitte has been wanting a lilac bush now for two years, and here it is--Reality. All that remains for me to do here, by way of a footnote, is to acquaint you with Brigitte's other, ahem, shall we say "favorite" bush? Tra-ra!

Editorial Code and Data, Inc.

Herewith some ECDI mementoes. No sooner had Monique joined the company than she added the "touch," to wit memorable objects to use in-house and to give as token gifts to our clients. Our all-time favorite was the ECDI cup. Later came the ECDI keychain, featuring our logo, and then--we ventured into the production of statistical CDs--the ECDI coaster which captured the flavor of that foray.

Photo News from Turner Clan

Just received. We're thrilled to see three generations of the Riggs!

Gwen, Duane, and granddaughter Macee

Kayla and Macee and Macee's Christening.

Twins Ashton and Brendan on the flanks and uncle Jason in the center holding his niece Macee.

Granddaughters Keely, Baily, and Taylor

Stone Beast

Ages ago now Kate, a Gale editor in Minneapolis--and indeed, a close friend of the family, a real member of the Ghulf clan--gave Brigitte the stone depicted here, an object we've treasured. Odd how that it adds to the pleasure of having it--to show it. What kind of beast must this have depicted? Was it drawn from a prehistoric relic?

Peggy's Gift ... Onioning

Brigitte loves the frog, a gift from Peggy (and I'm partial to it too, btw). (That btw makes me hip, don't it?). The frog holds chives, the smallest plant in the onion family. Its formal name is Allium schoenoprasum. Now for the layout. The best pic big and first; other views follow, including one that shows that we also fold laundry in the sunroom.

You were wondering about Peggy? Here is our most recent picture of her, taken last November during her visit with Baldy. Susie is in the background. The expression on these two ladies' faces testifies to the "exciting" times we always guarantee to our guests at McKinley Mansion...

Archive Digging

This photo goes back to April 28th and shows three employees of ECDI, one retired, resting from mysterious labors at an undisclosed location. Brigitte, Monique, and Joyce.

In the Wake of Mother's Day

Here is a picture of the lilac bush that features in the picture that follows--where, still unplanted, it served today as a recreational space for a triplet of Monarch butterflies. Monique and John took Brigitte to Wiegand's Nursery and Garden Center on M-Day, and the present was the lilac bush, our very own.

And, oh, by the way. We made this blog to serve as a place for pictures that should be accessible to family far and wide. We won't announce its existence, except to the family, but it is a public space. Postings here will be on a catch-as-catch can basis. There are too many photos on Brigitte's and my hard drives, and accessibility to them is difficult. Therefore a photoalbum in the modern style is, finally, indicated... Herewith, then, the Monarch:

The picture of which the above is an edited enlargement follows:

Mechanical reality intrudes: electric lines, phone, and cable. The poor lilac can barely hold its own against so much brick. But if the weather favors us, you'll soon see it actually planted.