Congratulations, again! Margo graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing. She completed the program in two rather than the normal four years still achieving the highest honors of Summa Cum Laude with a perfect grade point average! What an incredible success.
Congratulations! Arno graduated from one of the best high schools in Texas with a year to spare. He’s going to be 17 for a good while longer. We are incredibly proud of him and can’t wait to see what the next chapter in his life brings.
Can’t believe I haven’t touched a camera in three months but here we are. Margo and I went out to take a few graduation pictures for her cards. It was great fun and, at 19, she’s now almost done with college.
Now that the holidays are officially over, Margo and I wanted to catch a bit of a break at the various museums in downtown. There wasn’t much traffic and very few people around, all of which made for a nice afternoon.
We have hd a lovely evening at a friend’s house yesterday and found out that none of us know how to play pool. let alone win a game. Today it’s Christmas albeit with a little less excitement than we had a few years ago. It’s all smooth sailing and our steaks for lunch are taking priority over gifts.
The port is actually a tourist attraction albeit also serving as a working port. Hamburg has always been an international city due to the many sailors who have passed through over the centuries. I am here for a private tour of the actual port, which is absolutely astonishing. You normally don’t get a behind the scenes view of the largest cargo terminal. Love every minute of it.
Just a quick two-day visit to see Malte and Lotte in Stendal. It was great fun as always and I saw the first snow of the year on a trip to the forrest. We had a fantastic dinner with lots of wine and good conversation. Most of the images are not mine, which is why you occasionally see me in them.
Back to Germany for one last visit to the house. It’s strange when you leave a familiar place behind. The house is incredibly beautiful and it’s soon just a memory. Some last photos.
Lots of art this week. Margo and I went to the DMA on Saturday and then on Sunday Arno accompanied me to the Fort Worth Modern. All of them are in-between shows so we took in the permanent collections. It was great to get out and we had lots of fun talking.
Lots going on and we’re just hanging out around the house. Austin came by for a visit and everyone’s ready for the long Texas summer.
Arno and I went to the Kimbell to check out the exhibition on German Art between 1910 and 1945, which was obviously a period of wares and upheaval in Europe. The show is well curated and several artists that my Mom had known personally such as Emile Node and Georg Muche were represented. In fact Muche, who taught at the Bauhaus for several years, was one of her most influential teachers at the School for Textile Engineering in the early 1950s.
We had our annual Johanniter Convocation in Fredericksburg, TX this weekend. The town is a tourist destination because of the many wineries around and there are lots of great food options. It is always amazing how many interesting and genuinely nice people I meet at these events.
The weekend was excitingly busy. It started with a visit to the Dallas Art Fair, although there wasn’t much to report on. Later, we went for BBQ, downtown and the gun range. It was great fun and we had a couple of great shooters in the mix.
You never really experience the place where you live until you have to show it to someone else. Henk and Susanne are in town for two weeks and we’re making the rounds through the usual spots. It’s a lot of fun to see them here and we’ve gotten quite drunk on Saturday albeit without photos.
Today I am meeting John and Nancy for lunch at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central. It’s always an opportunity to walks the streets for a few hours.
I spent a few days with John and Nancy to pick up the astonishing photographs of Alfred Schwartz, who was Nancy’s Dad. We shipping everything to Texas and I will post scans of the 1950s though 90s imgaes here over time. Stay tuned. First, a couple of shots on the street.
If the images of Alfred have taught me one thing already, it is to be far more selective in what I post here. Up to now, my images are often documents of something we have done or seen. However, now that the kids are out of the house, I can be a lot more selective. Hopefully the quality of images goes up by quite a bit.
We have hd a lovely evening at a friend’s house yesterday and found out that none of us know how to play pool. let alone win a game. Today it’s Christmas albeit with a little less excitement than we had a few years ago. It’s all smooth sailing and our steaks for lunch are taking priority over gifts.
Margo gave me a lunch and nice afternoon for Christmas and we finally got an opportunity to go out. The weather was a balmy 22C and ot seemed like everyone else had the same idea. It took a whuile to even find parking, but once we had that covered it was absolutely brilliant.
We’re spending our last night in the house and it’s unlikely that we will ever set foot in it again. Given that it’s been my homebase for close to 50 years, it all feels a bit surreal. A reminder that we don’t actually own the things we have. We’re just looking after them for a while. These last few days have also given us more opportunities to roam and explore.
We’re goping to fill an entire 40ft container although close to half of it will be taken up by the old BMW. The movers were incredibly fast and efficient. Now it’s just a few weeks before all of this has to find a place in our house.
We had a few opportunities to go out and have some fun. Cologne, Duesseldorf and more than a few dinners with Henk and Susanne including for New Years. It was a lot of fun despite the daily sorting, packing and discarding. One of the things we learned was that Henk is a phenomenal cook. All I am hearing from Arno and Margo these days is that my own cooking is lacking quite a bit after tasting his. : )
I arrived at the house today to begin the long process of sorting through everything. There is way more stuff than we can take and a lot of it isn’t going to fit into our home in Texas. Here are a few images before we have to tear up the place.
Margo and I had an itch for Galbi and Gymchi and thus headed over to Korea town for lunch and a few bobas. In fact, we tested two best places side by side to setle which one is better. Confusingly, they were both great in that one had better boba while the other made more versatile concoctions. Nothing was resolved, but we were left quite full and satisfied nonetheless.
Quick trip to downtown Fort Worth and the Modern. We had initially planned to have lunch there, but got distracted by a Cajun place in the city. Great food and the right preparation for the museum. The exhibit was an astonishing architectural installation by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe.
Arno and I were bachelors this weekend and lived it up in style. We went downtown, mainly to catch a fabulous lunch at Mercat, but also to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit once more. We finished our exploits with a walk through Deep Ellum which was lively and busy to say the least.
It was really nice to celebrate Arno’s birthday together once again this year. As is customary, there were a lot of clothing items which always hit the spot. We went for a nice dinner and toasted to many great years to come.
First time everyone was back at the house. It’s been great to see Margo and Arno, and I am sure they enjoyed being pampered a bit, certainly having a doting mother around. We just ate very well, which pretty much sums up the two days. It was great fun and we shall do it again in two weeks when we celebrate Arno’s birthday.
It’s the first time we have celebrated without Margo and Arno in a good while. 18 years really. We had a great day, visited the Frida Kahlo exibit at the DMA and then had an early dinner at the Egyptian Room. All around very nice and relaxing.
Finally had a chance to visit Nils in Oldenburg again and took it. It was great to see him and had a load of fun as we always do.
Liz and David came over with their kids for a pizza lunch, We made a full eight pizze and they were pretty much gone, which is an accomplishment. It was a very nice afternoon and we truly enjoyed their company.
It was a belated birthday gathering this year since Austin’s birthday really was several weeks ago. We just didn’t find a time to get together. It was fun though and we had good food as well as plenty of good laughs.
We went to the mall today so that the girls could check a couple of things such as building a teddy bear, getting gifts for friends and looking for sneakers off their list. Mission accomplished.
Given that Lara is staying with us, a trip to Cowboy Coliseum was in order. Except for Meredith, none of us had actually ever been at a rodeo and thus we were all very excited to go. The show was great and we saw plenty of very tough guys being thrown off bulls and horses. There was lots of lassoing and cattle wrestling as well. Everything we had hoped to see.
We took a road trip to Fort Worth for a walk in downtown and Sundance Square before heading to the Modern and Kimbell for a relaxed day with lots of great art and some good food as well.
Just popped into downtown for a quick morning walk and a few snapshots.
Last day. We are flying out tonight and took a long walk up to Tiffany’s before heading out.The city is interesting because of its people and there’s never a shortage of interesting characters.On the way back Margo and I got out reader cards at the New York public library, which is usually the best souvenir to bring back. It’s hard to say Good-Bye, as always.
We’ve covered a long distance today and took a bus through Brooklyn to Ciney Island, which was a long ride but totally worth it. It’s a completely different New York and people actually are normal as opposed to beautiful and fashionable. Of course, we had a Nathan’s hot dog, before coming back to downtown and walking over the bridge to Brooklyn again. We finished our last full day in style with a very nice steak & frites at Pastis.
First time we took the subway other than getting here from the airport. All the way up to East 90th on the 4 train, and into the Guggenheim and the Neue Gallerie. We had a fabulous lunch at Cafe Sabarsky and then moved on to the Met, which was way too busy. Through Central Park we went and landed in the Museum of Natural History. Another train to downtown and the ICP and then a brisk walk back to the apartment. Four museums in one day.
Today was all about modern art. The Whitney is naturally one of the most interesting buildings in the city, and their Biennale has been their staple for close to 100 years. There were way more artworks than we expected and not all of them on the same level. Yet. some were just amazing. We also got another 20,700 steps in, which is on par with the last two days.
Long day and lots of walking. We probably walked close to ten miles and covered the High Line, Chelsea, and Midtown. An excellent lunch with Nancy and John at the Oyster Bar. Then on to MoMa for an immersion in the past hundred years of painting and sculpture, back to Flatiron for a shot break and then up to Times Square for the Alicia Keys musical Hells Kitchen on Broadway. We’ve been busy to put it mildly.
Margo and I flew to New York today for a long weekend, good food, some shopping (accomplished by now), museums and Broadway. It’s great fun to be back in the city and feels like not much has changed. There certainly are few places where you can survey as much as you do here. People are very individualistic, typically have a lot of character, and don’t mind at all being photographed.
Has it really been 18 years? Today Margo walked across teh stage to receive her High School diploma. She’s finished near the top of her class, already completed two years of college courses, and was accepted into the University of North Texas. In just a few months she’ll be living in a dorm at the Honors College and begin her own life. I can’t tell you how proud we are of her. Well done Margo!
We didn’t really have time to celebrate Margo’s birthday properly during the week. Instead, she invited her best friends for Korean BBQ and a visit to a karaoke room afterwards. Of course, we missed the signing, but I am told it was enormous fun. I’ve thrown in a few photos that I took while we were waiting towards the end.
Margo and I went to the DMA only to discover that there was a huge Indian festival going on in the park. We really enjoyed the buzzing crowd, where everyone had lots of fun and was somehow busy doing something. Every now and then it’s really nice to forget that you’re in North Texas.
Typically when you graduate from high school, you send out cards to friends and family. We took well over 200 shots this mornings and then whittled it down to six which was really hard. Margo look amazing in many of them. Anyway, here is a selection.
We celebrated Easter with Alex, Emilia and Massimo this year. This gave Margo a chance to hone her babysitting skills a little bit and it was just incredibly cute to see Emilia explore the house. Great reminder of how it was with Margo and Arno not too long ago. I miss those days.
This was a very short trip and it blew by in no time. Unfortunately, we did not have any time to see local friends or visit with Malte and Charlotte in Stendal. Next time…
At some point during every trip we end up on the Koenigsallee in Duesseldorf. Don’t ask me how, but somehow we all have a honing beacon that sets us on the right course. Margo had already bought a whole bunch of stuff at Zara and now it was Arno’s turn to get a really nice pair of Chukka boots and some shirts.
We’ve had a few nights to get the jet lag out of our system and met with Susanne and Henk this evening for a wonderful steak that he prepared to perfection. It was all great fun and is always really refreshing to get together.
Margo and I flew t Germany to visit with my Mom and also to keep Arno company on the way back. She’s an absolute pro by now and knows the ins-and-outs of international travel like the back of her hand. It was great to finally arrive.
A conference, a couple of days, and a crazy city. Everyone was getting ready for Superbowl and there wasn’t a lot a time to walk or shoot.
It’s really nice to have Arno at home and feels like we are a family again. Not that that’s missing when he’s gone, but there just is a part that isn’t there. We went to Antonio’s in Addison, which is probably the best Italian in town and a joint that I frequented with regularity when I lived in an apartment above the restaurant. Oh, and we had snow. Not a big deal for the rest of the world, but in Texas…
We had a wonderful evening with Marilyn and Juergen and certainly celebrated the New Year in style. Arno won the best dressed award as he does every time while Margo got the most beautiful prize. And what do I get? Don’t think there are any awards elevating mediocre culinary skill.
Round two. We celebrated the American Christmas this morning and exchanged gifts. As always there were a lot of clothes, some shoes, and books. Arno and Margo were both extremely thoughtful with their gifts and we’ve all been surprised. We finished the day with a nice dinner as we usually do.
Time-honed traditions tend to bring back memories. We have always celebrated Christmas twice at our house given that we run a half German and half American outfit. Everyone will get their German presents on Christmas Eve, or Heiligabend, and the American ones on Christmas Day as is the respective local tradition. I am pretty sure that the kids thought they’d get more presents this way when they were younger. Now it is just reason to have two outstanding dinners in a row. Austin typically joins us for the occasion as well and it was fun to see him, as always.
Fun project and quite possibly a weird sensation for Arno as he gets older. We still have a box full of Arno’s kid shoes and I’ve been wanting to photograph them for a while now. The idea is to document his maturing process a little bit through something that he carried with him where ever he went. So many experiences have been had and memories were made in these shoes. We set up the studio today to capture them. They will be framed for the dining room now.
I spent a few days in Germany to see my Mom and visit old friends. Arno got out of his school for Christmas as well and we flew home together. It was great to see the place where he now lives and meet some of his friends. Before heading back we visited Hamburg for business meetings and to explore the city a bit. Our first stop was the venerable Cafe Paris, where we just barely got a table (the maitre d’hotel really checked us out before making a favorable decision) and, of course, the Kunsthalle nearby.
Margo and I are holding down the fortress at the moment while Meredith and Arno are in Germany to get him situated at the new school. We decided to visit Fort Worth this morning for an early lunch and the current Robert Motherwell exhibition. It was truly phenomenal and well worth the trip.
This was our last weekend before Arno moves to Germany to attend an incredible boarding school on the island of Spiekeroog in the North Sea. We were all happy and sad, nostalgic and excited, and quite possibly a bit through the wind. This has been a long time coming and we have all started to process his move in our own ways.
We took some time this afternoon for a quick run to the park. Arno and I had been dying to go for a photo shoot for weeks, but work somehow always got in the way. Well, this was our chance and we had a ton of fun. Arno took one of my older cameras, which was also good practice for his year abroad and I went with the Monochrome.
It is always fun to go to Susanne and Henk’s house. They are excellent cooks and always gracious hosts. We have also been friends for most of our lives so that catching up is great fun. I brought my Mom to see their newly built home on the next morning as well. It is located right next to a forest, has a stunning, very modern architecture and fantastic interior design.
I received an invite to try out Amazon’s new home robot Astro as a beta version and quickly jumped on it. It’s not every day that you get to try new home technology before it goes on sale to the public. Expectations were running high and we were all excited when it finally showed up at our door. The unit looks great and was easy enough to set up. Everyone had to make poses in front of the cameras so that Astro could recognize us later. We quickly found that the applications are very limited though. I could not get useful information while cooking, news were severely limited and video streaming off the table. Astro ultimately only stayed for a few days and will have surely found a new home by now.
This year we had no choice but to celebrate Margo’s birthday a few days early. It was a really nice dinner followed by opening gifts from everyone. It’s crazy when I think about it. This is her 17th birthday. The very first one feels like yesterday and I still remember many little details from the day she was born.
The following does not require a comment, obviously. Suffice it to say that this was not staged. Things like that actually happen in our home.
I rarely get the opportunity to make photos that serve a purpose beyond this site. Thus, it was a lot of fun to capture product shots for Carl’s new jeans company. The light was great and there is always a lot to see in the workshop.
Lazy Sunday. We had to break the routine and get out of our shell. So we traveled downtown, took in the Nasher and then walked around the park for bit. There was a lot going on between a flee market and the regular food trucks. Routine disrupted, I’d say.
It’s been a relaxed and pleasant evening. We started early to make Schnitzel which turned out alright. However, as always, the fun was in the company and we had a great time together.
Tonight was Margo’s first experience with wine. We wanted to make sure that happens in a safe environment, of course, given that it will happen no matter what. While we were at it, why not begin the journey with a Lafite. She’ll surely discover the other end of the spectrum by herself. Meredith had bought four steaks and we made a phenomenal relish, if I may say so, to round out the experience.
When artists paint a figure from behind, this is called a Rückenbild because it shows the person’s back. The intent, of course, is to put the viewer into the position of the person depicted. Today, we had a few of those and we were busy. Two fantastic exhibitions at the DMA, then a stroll through the park, and a BBQ dinner in the Bishops Art District.
It was time for our American celebration. I had to wake Margo and Arno up with a loud doze of Depeche Mode on the stereo at 10:30am this morning, which hasn’t happened ever before. They are growing up fast. We had a wonderful day, exchanged many gifts and ate far more than we should have. Can’t say we could’ve done it any better.
Per our tradition, we celebrated the German Christmas with Austintonight. He helped me to make dinner before we opened the first batch of presents.
I had a chance to visit with Henk and Susanne in Krefeld. They are building a new house at the moment, which is incredible and beautiful. After walking around the site for a while, we sat down to eat and talk until midnight.
Arno and I went to Carl’s atelier today to take a couple of shots for his website. His process is amazing and the bespoke jeans he creates are second to none. Of course, we were also able to confirm what we had known all along, namely that Arno makes for a very good model.
We’ve had a really nice Thanksgiving with friends from Germany, enjoyed a wonderful Greenberg Turkey thanks to Joe, and Arno nearly had more beer than I did.
Spur of the moment decision. We haven’t been to the museums in Fort Worth for a long time. Margo needs to analyze four paintings for school and thus we went. The permanent collection is still incredible and we saw a highly interesting exhibition of Murillo.
Funny fourteen. We celebrated Arno’s birthday with a Schnitzel dinner on the night before and a hearty breakfast since he would not be home until later in the evening. It was fun to watch him as he unwrapped everything. He got new furniture for his room, so the rest of the presents were not as elaborate this time around.
Knowing that she likes to read fiction, suspense and murder mystery, we gave Meredith a years’ worth of books for her birthday and hid the other presents inside of the pile. Dinner was a perfect steak & frites with peppercorn sauce.
Just a few snapshots over the past month of so. Dinner or lunch and signing books for Meredith.
I went back to Germany for a few business meetings and to pick up Arno who had spent an incredible summer with Charlotte and Malte in Stendal and Karlsbad. We took some time to explore Frankfurt, take in an exhibition at the Schirn Kunsthalle and then proceeded to the airport for a few hours of sleep ahead of our flight home.
With Meredith and Margo in New York and Arno exploring Karlsbad in Czechoslovakia, I had some time to dash off to the DMA for an hour of roaming around in the museum. There was a huge line at the entrance due to crowd control and bus loads of people inside. But it was totally worth it and nice to roam through the permanent collection.
Our last night in Frankfurt; this time without Arno who is staying in Stendal for five weeks. All of us were sad that the trip is over again and it would have been great to spend a bit more time in Krefeld and Stendal. Of course, the prospect of sleeping in our own beds again is what drove us home. The return trip was uneventful and smooth.
Today we went into the forest for a BBQ. The kids were able to run through the woods and explore while we had a chance to sit back and relax. It was a perfect day with lots of sunshine.
It was great to see Malte and Charlotte again after a long break due to Covid. Arno will stay for the summer and is surely going to grow up in spades. The kids all get along and there is much horsing around going on at all times. Most important, he can run around as much as he wants to in Germany and, unlike in the US, kids play outside a lot. It’s going to be a really exciting experience for him and he certainly could not be in a better family.
Meredith and Margo went to their annual haircut in Duesseldorf, which gave Arno and me a chance to roam the city. We went into the museum, walked along the Koenigsallee, had a fabulous Korean lunch and picked up the girls several hours later. In the evening we met Marcus and Christine for dinner.
Everyone needed to get out of the house for a change and we finally found a car. Cologne was a natural choice to visit the Ludwig Museum, built on a chocolate fortune and one of the largest private collections of Picassos,which had a fascinating Noguchi exhibition. Lunch at Frueh, as we always do, and then dinner with Henk and Susanne in Krefeld. It was great to see them both and we spend several hours just talking.
Finally here! We still did not have a car and were thus bound to what could be reached on foot in a reasonable amount of time. We spent most of the day at home and met Torsten for dinner in the city park.
We left DFW the evening before, flew through the night and arrived in Frankfurt the next morning. After standing in line at the rental car counter for two hours, we gave up and took a train instead to arrive in Krefeld by afternoon where it took another hour or so to even find a cab driver willing to take us. Everyone crashed early and slept heavy.
It’s been a long time that I have had the opportunity to go out and just roam around with the camera. Obviously, still a bit rusty after years of not being on the street, but it’s fun nonetheless.
We finally had a chance to go back to our favorite BBQ. Happy faces all around.
It’s been pretty warm outside for the last few weeks and we decided that it is time for a proper swim. The water was still bitter cold, at least for my taste, but we hd a lot of fun goofing around in the pool. Afterwards we went for an ice cream at Eataly and then started to cook … of course.
Austin’s birthday is still two days off, but this was our only opportunity to celebrate with him. Per his request, we made schnitzel for dinner and then gave him our gifts.
Arno is playing the sax in the school band this year and they performed for peers and parents. The concert was really well organized and everyone played beautifully. It was great fun all around.
Margo turned 16 this year. Can you believe it? It was a week day and we did not really have a chance to celebrate much. Margo did so with good friends on the following weekend, but cameras naturally weren’t allowed when she met them.
We invited several good friends over this month and are truly glad to be social again. Ben, Minoo and their kids came over for a schnitzel while we made pizza, and had quite a bit of wine, with Adrienne and Joe.
We finally found the time to do something together outside of the house. I have sent the last four years focused on work and only that in building up a startup. Everything else naturally suffered and amplified due to the pandemic. Now that we seem to be getting back to normal, it was high time to pack everyone in the car and do something.
Juergen and Marilyn came over for Alsatian Tarte Flambe and Margo took on the camera. Her images are really, rally good and show so much talent. She experiments a fair amount, but also gets the people right, catches everyone at good moments and her framing is neat and composed. I could not be prouder of her.
I am teaching a workshop on blockchain in San Fran this week and had a few moments to sneak out to shoot. The city is fascinating because of its diversity and energy. Where else can you go from rags to riches faster than here? Our venue was in the heart of the city and just a perfect location to work for a week.
Barbara and Hans-Walter invited us over for a great dinner and we got a tour of a true startup. With dozens of old sowing machines in one of their garages, their son is building a jeans manufacture that is absolutely fascinating. The jeans look really good and everything is made to measure. Can’t wait to put my first order in.
We all sat down to prepare a special salad for New Years that requires making our own beef jerky and that in turn requires lot of work on everyone’s part. It was a lot of fun to come together though.
We all took it easy on Christmas Day. Of course, we had a few people in the family who wanted to get to the presents part of the day quickly. We obliged and there were lots of presents to go around as every year.
We had a very nice Christmas Eve with Austin, as we do every year. Arno helped greatly in the kitchen and also gave us an impromptu solo on his sax. At some point people did not want to be photographed any more. I must have overdone it. Wonder how …
Just a quick visit with Mom. Things are still not normal and pandemic testing is still required, but at least not all stores were closed. I met my first real boss in Cologne for breakfast after 26 years of communicating virtually!
Arno started to play the sax two months ago and has gotten pretty good by now. He gave an impromptu concert tonight and even improvised for us.
Arno’s friend Freddy invited him to a Mavs game, which was great fun. We hadn’t been to a sports even in ages and Arno is their biggest fan. Great atmosphere and a win at home. We could not have asked for more.
Arno invited his two best friends over for a night of gaming and movies before we celebrated his birthday in style. He now has a really cool setup for his MacBook and can surely hack into any system by now. Dinner naturally involved our favorite Hong Kong dumpling joint.
We celebrated Meredith’s birthday this week and had a lot of fun with it. Margo and I gave her a bracelet and shawl respectively. However, Arno had the idea to make her favorite food, Dibbelabbes, for her. He bought the ingredients with his own money and then out each in its own gift wrapping so that he could hide them throughout the house. Each gift contained a card with a clue as to where the next one might be. It was all great fun and delicious, too. On Sunday Austin joined us for lunch to celebrate as well.
We are truly enjoying the freedom from the pandemic at the moment and grab every bit of normal life from eating in restaurants to going back to the museums. Everyone is still getting started and things are far from normal, of course, but it’s nice to experience the illusion of normalcy for a bit.
Just a couple of shots from the past two weeks …
It took longer than usual for temperatures to come up to Texas summer levels and thus we had only been in the pool once for our first swim. In any case, we are enjoying the summer and also ability to go about our lives as we always have. Last night we had an excellent fondue thanks to Margo’s help in the kitchen.
End of the school year! Margo and Arno received their scorecard and things are looking up. Both recorded straight As in every class, so it was time to celebrate and take the victory lap. By popular choice we ended up at Maggiano’s where Bonnie, Margo’s godmother, joined us for an eventful, funny and hilarious dinner naturally followed by an Italian ice cream.
It’s back to normal. Can’t tell you how many cars there were on the road today. Loads of them. Arno and I determined that we should pay a visit to the Dallas Museum of Art and thus we went. The exhibits were as good as always, there were lots of people and you could tell that everyone isstilla bit jitterish about what to do or how to conduct themselves. It was great fun though and we completed the tour with a tremendous milkshake from Wild About Harry’s.
It was a bit late this year, but we, well Arno, finally got the first swim in. We were told that the water is still cold and that that’s just fine, but for obvious reasons no one dared to follow suit. Can’t wait for the temperatures to come up a bit …
Our little girl turned 15. I am still wondering how it all happened so fast. It seems like yesterday that I saw her for the first time at the hospital and now she’s a teenager who will learn to drive pretty soon. It was a good day and Margo truly enjoyed her presents. Knowing that she would get a pair of Doc Martin’s, she even came prepared to put them on right away. Austin came over as well and we all made Saltimbocca for dinner.
The last couple of days were spent in anticipation fo Margo’s birthday. Tonight we went to our favorite Korean place to celebrate leaving the 14s and gradually entering the 15s.
Gerard had invited Chris and me to a tour of the new ballpark in Arlington, which was interesting. Due to the pandemic the Rangers are just now starting to use the facility. It was certainly nice to take the camera out again as well.
We had been planning to get together for a long time, but, as for everyone, things shut down of course. Mario celebrated his birthday last week and I still had an old debt to Chris for providing invaluable medical advice when I first caught COVID last year. Thus, we made good, old-fashioned schnitzel and cucumber salad followed by a big (procured) pie.
Meredith and Margo went an what can only be described as an epic shopping spree. Of course, Margo looks stunning in her new clothes, which worries me a great deal. Anyway, we took a few snapshots and had loads of fun in the process.
Hans-Walter and Barbara invited us to the Arboretum tonight for a member-only event with music, wine and food. People were still socially distancing, however, the whole experience felt really normal again. Something we hadn’t experienced for 14 months. It was a nice glimpse into what normal life will soon be like again.
Margo had choreographed a dance for my birthday, but ran into the typical production delays that often plague creative work. It was finally ready to be performed tonight, which spurred Arno into an impromptu performance to the same music as well. It was lovely to watch and I certainly feel honored.
More family life. Today Margo and I cooked for a couple of hours. We will have friends over tomorrow and needed to prepare a red wine glaze and pistachio ice cream beforehand. The sauce took us over four hours to make and required a full bottle of wine as well as several pounds of meat and veggies to essentially end up with a cup of liquid. However, there is just nothing like it. Can’t wait!
Pledging to make better use of my cameras, we took it out for dinner tonight. It’s a start …
Well, we are still around, albeit not having posted for a while. Here are some shots from the past few months including the week of “Snowmageddon” where we had no power and loads of snow.
The last day of the year was about as uneventful as the previous nine months had been. It’s amazing how time flies and here we are. Another year and lots of great things to report for it. Everyone is healthy, happy and in a good place. All of us beat COVID a few months ago and we came out alright. I don’t thik we could have asked for more.
The big day is finally here and everyone is very excited. Especially Arno was walking on eggshells and really wanted to get to the part with presents quickly, of course. However, we first made billionaire bacon and then proceeded to celebrate. Lots of presents and lots of joy. In the evening we had a nice steak dinner and then everyone settled into their own things to do.
Here we are. It’s Christmas again and we have barely had a year since the last one. As tradition dictates in our home, we celebrated with the German gifts from Oma today and called her to wish her a Merry Christmas. We all miss being in Germany right now. In the afternoon Austin came by to exchange gifts as well and we concluded the evening with a nice dinner.
These past few weeks have been uneventful, so we decided to create a bit of excitement ourselves. Arno is the dressman of the family and lived up to his reputation while Margo is the one with a big heart for everybody around her.
Last night we had a thunderstorm warning, sirens were going off and we all assembled in the closet to sit it out. Your biggest worry usually is that one of the trees might fall on the house. It was all good though and we moved on. Tonight we had Italian an Roma, which is a complete hole in the wall with lots of character and food that is sufficiently good to keep going back.
Just a few shots from the past weeks, going to restaurants and hanging out at the house. Margo and I went to lunch at a local diner on Sunday to find time to talk.
We were all a bit through the wind today and everyone mostly kept to themselves. Austin came over to say Hi, which was nice. We hadn’t seen him in a while.
We celebrated Arno’s birthday in style. First a stint to Pinstack where we met Freddy, his best friend. Then on to unwrapping presents and a round of games. Arno got lots of presents and we wrapped 40-some books for him as one, which was a big surprise and a lot of fun.
Tomorrow is Arno’s birthday and we’ll celebrate in style. He is extremely excited, did not go to bed easily and really wanted the night to be over before it had even begun. We had a lovely dinner at Basile and then turned in early. Tomorrow is a big day.
We had dinner at one of our favorite BBQ joints in town, Lockharts. You get all of your food loosely wrapped in wax paper, take it to your table and then use the wrapping as your plate. It’s messy and fun.
It’s actually a lot more fun for everyone to celebrate over several days. Meredith got presents more than once and we got to enjoy the moment with her. Anyway, she received a lot of hand-painted t-shirts and has choices to make now when she goes for walks early in the morning.
We started to celebrate today so that we’d have the weekend and a bit more time. Meredith opened two of her presents while we kept the rest for Tuesday. Arno greatly helped to cook today and is becoming quite a chef.
Meredith’s birthday is coming up and so we started to prepare. All of us thought about what gifts she might want and then we set out to buy a few. Since her birthday is on a Tuesday and just after Labor Day, we thought we start celebrations early. All of us painted a few t-shirts for her, which was great fun and we got ready to make a few special meals as well.
After several weeks of non-stop work, I was finally able to spend time with Arno and Margo, jump into the pool and cook a few things. We had our first breakfast together in months and splurged on milk shakes. It’s great to let go …
Just a few shots in the house given that we’ve been quarantined for a while now. It does lift the mood to carry a camera with you where ever you go.
The temperatures have been summer-ish for a few weeks by now, but never really came around to warming the pool water. So, today was the day. We all jumped in and had lots of water fights. It’s good to be back out here in the fresh air and the sun.
I met Massimo in downtown today for a good, long walk. It’s been at least two months, so this outing felt really good.
Given that Margo and Arno are staying home this summer, we have begun to work on projects that keep the mind sharp and the intellect challenged. Both are working four hours a day on assignments. Margo’s first project is to read, understand and interpret Huxley’s “Brave New World” while Arno works on understanding the differences between electric and petrol-fueled car engines.
We made time to play cards after lunch, which is always a highly competitive affair in our house. There were instances of smack talk, a bit of boasting and even the occasional victory lap. Today is my Mom’s birthday and we were also thinking about her. I know we all wish we could have been with her in Germany.
All of us were in dire need of a haircut and Rachel graciously agreed to stop by the house this morning. We all needed to wear masks which made it quite comical. In any case, it feels like we’re human beings again.
Most parents will likely tell you that their kids are growing up way too fast. To me it never felt that way, possibly because we’ve always been very close and it just seems natural. Margo turned 14 today and she’s not a kid anymore. Over the last year she has matured quite a bit already and the organic process of settling into her own skin has long begun. It is a lot of fun to watch and Arno isn’t far behind.
Quarantine has morphed into daily routines. After initial adjustments, all of us now behave as if nobody’s watching. Pajamas all day, no problem. Flip-flops and socks, sure thing. Hair down and no gel, that’s fine. Five marsh-mellows in one bite, do it again. We have to keep it fun around here and everyone’s pitching in.
There are people who bring a tremendous energy where ever they go. They light up a room or get everyone to do things that nobody would have done otherwise. Chris and Mario are a perfect example. It’s always fun, always engaging and there are always surprises when they visit. The photos speak for themselves.
We had a very delicious lunch at Kirin Court, our favorite Dim-sum place in town today. With temperatures balmy and the sun out, our wait was almost as enjoyable as the food.
On my way back to the States. The trip was cut short by a pretty big storm over Germany so that I ended up staying at the airport with plenty of time on my hands.
A quick visit to see Charlotte, Malte and their family in Bonn over a nice dinner. Half of these shots were taken by George, who is a uniquely promising talent behind the camera.
A few shots from the design district in Duesseldorf. The area morphed from a forlorn industrial park to some hottest real-estate areas in town.
We needed to take one good picture, which eventually ended up being 228 tries to choose from. In all fairness, there were a couple of cute ones and we also had a bit of fun manipulating each other to look nice in front of the camera. It certainly did not always work out. Can you guess which one is will be printed and framed?
We met Royd, who arrived just after my camera battery had died,for brunch today. It was a great morning and we thoroughly enjoyed our conversations and his company.
Arno played a game with his school team today. They have gotten substantially better under a new, more competent coach and now play really well together. More than anything, each player performed on a much higher level than before.
