Bambi, Kelly, Hayden, Dylan, and Lillie came to visit this week and had a good time on the trail and in the Treehouse.
Friday, July 24, 2009
A Hayes visit & trip to the Treehouse
Bambi, Kelly, Hayden, Dylan, and Lillie came to visit this week and had a good time on the trail and in the Treehouse.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
More from European travels - A tongue-in-cheek trench-coat tale
It was a cold November evening, trench-coat weather, when Jim arrived in Zurich. It had been a busy day in Geneva and he had worked with Guy longer than was scheduled. After an early dinner he’d caught a train for the two hour journey to Zurich. Once there, it was just a short walk from the train station to the Europa hotel and now he was in his room – looking forward to a cognac in the bar and then a good nights’ sleep. Tomorrow he was scheduled to meet with Dr. Pfenniger.
His company had been working on plans for over a year to open a manufacturing plant in Europe and the choices had been narrowed to three. One was to work with Guy and expand the small distribution facility in Geneva. Guy had a background with the company, spoke French and German as well as English, and was already known to the agents there- so this seemed to be a good choice. The second alternative was England and government agencies there were offering large tax discounts as well as other incentives including assistance in obtaining a building and equipment. The steelworks that had closed there had left many people out of work and they were trying to remedy that problem. However, Germany had the reputation for the highest quality manufacturing and the leaders in the industry were based there. Jim’s boss, Mr. K., had, for many years, wanted to open a plant in Germany. The partner being considered was owned by Dr. Pfenniger and was a branch of the Zurich company he was visiting tomorrow. Now Mr. K had sent Jim on this very secret mission to add the last of the elements to make a final decision, cautioning him to be very discreet at every stop.
When Jim arrived the next morning, he went into his friend Eggie’s office. Eggie was a nickname for Eggenschwiler. He and Jim talked almost daily when Jim was back in Dallas. Eggie was very curious about the appointment and so were the others in the office. From the start, it was not like a normal visit. Everyone was looking at Jim and few were saying anything. Eggie explained that Dr. Pfenniger never met with anyone unless they were top management - investors or owners of other companies. He seldom even met with people inside the company. This was very, very unusual!
After a short time, Dr. Pfenniger’s secretary came downstairs to escort Jim to his office. It was a large room with large windows that overlooked the treetops and the city of Zurich across the lake in the distance. The meeting began with small talk. Dr. Pfenniger was an avid sailor and fisherman. That was obvious from the photographs on the walls and the decorator items in the office and that was the subject of the small talk. Jim heard the story of the catch of the huge stuffed marlin hanging behind the desk. But soon Dr. Pfenniger changed to the real topic of the trip. He’d taken care of the obligations and was ready to get the communication completed. "When you go to Germany tomorrow you will meet with Deiter as you usually do. You must say nothing to him about the real reason for your visit. While you are there, you will be approached by another man. His name is Alfred.He is the only one that knows why you are there and he will escort you through the plant. It’s imperative that you say nothing to anyone about the reason for your visit." The meeting was over.
The next day, Jim was in Germany. This was a favorite office to visit.It was just a short distance from Dusseldorf but was in a rural setting. From the large room on the second floor of the office the view was a large green pasture and cows were always grazing there. It was in this room that Deiter left Jim to do some paperwork and it was in this room that Alfred appeared. They talked briefly and then Alfred led him to the adjoining building where they worked for a couple hours touring the facility, making notes, and asking questions. Then Alfred took him back to the room they had come from, left him there, and a short while later Dieter again appeared. He was obviously being told what to do but not why. There were no questions from Dieter and, of course, no explanations from Jim. Lunch that day and the rest of the visit with Deiter was much like the visit in Zurich the previous day. Everyone was curious but no one asking.
This story doesn’t really have an ending. I used the word trench-coat in the first sentence because it really felt like a cloak and dagger tale when I was living that trip – particularly after Dr. Pfenniger said "you will be approached by a man". I wrote the first version of this for Glynda on the train leaving Germany the next day. She got a laugh - hope you did too.(The final decision on the plant was the England alternative. We hired Brian away from one of our reps there. He and I worked with a gentleman that had a “Sir” in his title to secure the benefits from the government. Brian became the man on the ground there and he setup and ran the plant.)
His company had been working on plans for over a year to open a manufacturing plant in Europe and the choices had been narrowed to three. One was to work with Guy and expand the small distribution facility in Geneva. Guy had a background with the company, spoke French and German as well as English, and was already known to the agents there- so this seemed to be a good choice. The second alternative was England and government agencies there were offering large tax discounts as well as other incentives including assistance in obtaining a building and equipment. The steelworks that had closed there had left many people out of work and they were trying to remedy that problem. However, Germany had the reputation for the highest quality manufacturing and the leaders in the industry were based there. Jim’s boss, Mr. K., had, for many years, wanted to open a plant in Germany. The partner being considered was owned by Dr. Pfenniger and was a branch of the Zurich company he was visiting tomorrow. Now Mr. K had sent Jim on this very secret mission to add the last of the elements to make a final decision, cautioning him to be very discreet at every stop.
When Jim arrived the next morning, he went into his friend Eggie’s office. Eggie was a nickname for Eggenschwiler. He and Jim talked almost daily when Jim was back in Dallas. Eggie was very curious about the appointment and so were the others in the office. From the start, it was not like a normal visit. Everyone was looking at Jim and few were saying anything. Eggie explained that Dr. Pfenniger never met with anyone unless they were top management - investors or owners of other companies. He seldom even met with people inside the company. This was very, very unusual!
After a short time, Dr. Pfenniger’s secretary came downstairs to escort Jim to his office. It was a large room with large windows that overlooked the treetops and the city of Zurich across the lake in the distance. The meeting began with small talk. Dr. Pfenniger was an avid sailor and fisherman. That was obvious from the photographs on the walls and the decorator items in the office and that was the subject of the small talk. Jim heard the story of the catch of the huge stuffed marlin hanging behind the desk. But soon Dr. Pfenniger changed to the real topic of the trip. He’d taken care of the obligations and was ready to get the communication completed. "When you go to Germany tomorrow you will meet with Deiter as you usually do. You must say nothing to him about the real reason for your visit. While you are there, you will be approached by another man. His name is Alfred.He is the only one that knows why you are there and he will escort you through the plant. It’s imperative that you say nothing to anyone about the reason for your visit." The meeting was over.
The next day, Jim was in Germany. This was a favorite office to visit.It was just a short distance from Dusseldorf but was in a rural setting. From the large room on the second floor of the office the view was a large green pasture and cows were always grazing there. It was in this room that Deiter left Jim to do some paperwork and it was in this room that Alfred appeared. They talked briefly and then Alfred led him to the adjoining building where they worked for a couple hours touring the facility, making notes, and asking questions. Then Alfred took him back to the room they had come from, left him there, and a short while later Dieter again appeared. He was obviously being told what to do but not why. There were no questions from Dieter and, of course, no explanations from Jim. Lunch that day and the rest of the visit with Deiter was much like the visit in Zurich the previous day. Everyone was curious but no one asking.
This story doesn’t really have an ending. I used the word trench-coat in the first sentence because it really felt like a cloak and dagger tale when I was living that trip – particularly after Dr. Pfenniger said "you will be approached by a man". I wrote the first version of this for Glynda on the train leaving Germany the next day. She got a laugh - hope you did too.(The final decision on the plant was the England alternative. We hired Brian away from one of our reps there. He and I worked with a gentleman that had a “Sir” in his title to secure the benefits from the government. Brian became the man on the ground there and he setup and ran the plant.)
Friday, July 17, 2009
One more post on European meals - and kitchen and cooks!
Zandvoort is a small town on the shore of the North Sea in The Netherlands near Amsterdam. Our rep there drove a blue Cadillac. The car had a reputation in the town and was sometimes used in parades. The rep also had a "hunting lodge" behind his house that was a manly retreat. He liked his reputation. Once he was going to take us to eat at a "special" place. It was after dark and we rode in the blue Cadillac through tunnels of trees across the flat coastal land and ended up at a place that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. But the parking lot was full of cars. Not to worry - we drove to the back, parked where it looked like you shouldn't and made our grand entry through the kitchen. The table was waiting and the service, that seemed to be from the manager, was immediate! We were not an inconspicuous party.
On the trip when Glynda accompanied me we got to meet a couple cooks. The first one was in a suburb of London. There were four of us - Brian was one of the others along with the rep who was feeding us that evening. Glynda ordered a French onion soup for a starter. It was a big serving and she didn't eat all of it. The waiter was concerned that there was something wrong with the soup. We assured him that it was just more than she could eat. Next the manager came. He too wanted to be sure there was nothing wrong and we assured him that it was fine. We thought that had to be the end of it but no - in a few minutes the cook came out of the kitchen. He wanted to make something else for her since she didn't like the soup. We finally got it all straightened out and the meal went well from there - until the after dinner cigars that sent Glynda from the table!
The last little tale took place near Nettetal, Germany which is near Dusseldorf. This was another country restaurant and the reps had brought their wives so Glynda would have some female company. It was a party of seven with Brian being the odd man. This was another long and excellent meals with many courses of good German food and, again, a wine for each course. That was usually two bottles per course and by the end of the meal we had a good collection of empty wine bottles on the table. It was late when the meal was over and that was when we were introduced to Akvavit (Danish for aqua vita - the "water of life"). It was an after dinner drink that is suppose to settle the stomach. The cook came from the kitchen, poured a cordial for each of us and one for him too. A toast to the meal and to the cook! We downed the drinks in one swallow and the meal was over. In the car on the way back to the hotel we three visitors agreed that the drink did indeed make the stomach feel much better. (BTW - the hotel was really an old country house but was in the city of Loberrich then. Since we were going out that evening we had to get two extra keys before we left - one to get inside the high walls around the building and another to get into the building itself. Then we made our way up the big wooden stairs in the almost dark and then to our rooms!) It took us over twenty year to find Akvavit in the US but we do have a bottle in the dining room now.
On the trip when Glynda accompanied me we got to meet a couple cooks. The first one was in a suburb of London. There were four of us - Brian was one of the others along with the rep who was feeding us that evening. Glynda ordered a French onion soup for a starter. It was a big serving and she didn't eat all of it. The waiter was concerned that there was something wrong with the soup. We assured him that it was just more than she could eat. Next the manager came. He too wanted to be sure there was nothing wrong and we assured him that it was fine. We thought that had to be the end of it but no - in a few minutes the cook came out of the kitchen. He wanted to make something else for her since she didn't like the soup. We finally got it all straightened out and the meal went well from there - until the after dinner cigars that sent Glynda from the table!
The last little tale took place near Nettetal, Germany which is near Dusseldorf. This was another country restaurant and the reps had brought their wives so Glynda would have some female company. It was a party of seven with Brian being the odd man. This was another long and excellent meals with many courses of good German food and, again, a wine for each course. That was usually two bottles per course and by the end of the meal we had a good collection of empty wine bottles on the table. It was late when the meal was over and that was when we were introduced to Akvavit (Danish for aqua vita - the "water of life"). It was an after dinner drink that is suppose to settle the stomach. The cook came from the kitchen, poured a cordial for each of us and one for him too. A toast to the meal and to the cook! We downed the drinks in one swallow and the meal was over. In the car on the way back to the hotel we three visitors agreed that the drink did indeed make the stomach feel much better. (BTW - the hotel was really an old country house but was in the city of Loberrich then. Since we were going out that evening we had to get two extra keys before we left - one to get inside the high walls around the building and another to get into the building itself. Then we made our way up the big wooden stairs in the almost dark and then to our rooms!) It took us over twenty year to find Akvavit in the US but we do have a bottle in the dining room now.
Monday, July 13, 2009
More learning about plants - Echinacea
One of the things I've learned this year is that you can't really rush mama nature. Professional growers do it but, unless you've got controlled environments, the plants are gonna do what they're gonna do. I planted some echinacea (purple coneflowers) seeds in February. These were planted inside and were within the specified 6-8 weeks before the last frost. They were suppose to bloom within 60-90 days. I got my first blossom today!
The pictures are the stages of a blossom. The top picture taken today, the next one yesterday, the next one on the 8th, and the bottom one was taken 10 days ago. The good news is that we have LOTS of blossoms at stage one. In ten days we should have many flowers. The foliage alone is very attractive, a nice dark green and the plant is a perennial. I'm guessing that it will bloom a lot sooner next year. It's also considered to be a wildflower.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Another travel post - this one about food!
When you're traveling Europe, particularly when you are being entertained, meals can be really special! Here are accounts of a few memorable ones for me (and I have to confess right up front - on most I don't remember what the food was).
The first was on one of my first trips. It was in Paris and Brian and I were traveling together. We stopped in a little restaurant on the Champs Elysees (near our hotel) that was nice but nothing really special - until we had to pay for it - over $100 (in 1980). That was educational!
Another Paris dinner was a few months later and was connected with a trade show. One of our reps (they call them "agents" there) had arranged for a dinner one evening. Picture a narrow street near the Seine with nondescript stone and brick buildings, plain entry ways and one turns out to be a drive into an inner courtyard paved with cobblestones. From there, we walked into another plain entry but inside was an elegant granite stairway that we took to the second floor. There we entered a dark wood paneled dining room. This really looked to be in a home rather than a restaurant and I still don't know if that was the case. It was a long four or five course dinner followed by cognac and cigars. I just remember that the food was excellent, the service was incredible, and it would have been a perfect meal except for the fact that one of the guests was a loud-mouthed American that was traveling with his equally loud-mouthed mother.
The last one I'll tell about (in this post anyway) was in Torino, Italy. It was a lunch and it began by our parking the car on, and blocking, the narrow sidewalk. There were three of us - a man named Guy Delaborde who was Swiss and Aurelio Busani, the agent for our company in Italy, and myself. It was a very small, local food restaurant and Aurelio was well known there. The decor reminded me of a Picasso painting with bright colors and a black & white floor. Guy and Aurelio were going to teach me about northern Italian food. Unfamiliar stuff that they would not tell me about until after I'd eaten it. Most of it I'd never had before and I've never had since. Most was very good. Probably four courses and a new wine for each course. Like many of the meals there - it was a long one, this one ending with a strong expresso. (I could hold wine pretty well then.)
The first was on one of my first trips. It was in Paris and Brian and I were traveling together. We stopped in a little restaurant on the Champs Elysees (near our hotel) that was nice but nothing really special - until we had to pay for it - over $100 (in 1980). That was educational!
Another Paris dinner was a few months later and was connected with a trade show. One of our reps (they call them "agents" there) had arranged for a dinner one evening. Picture a narrow street near the Seine with nondescript stone and brick buildings, plain entry ways and one turns out to be a drive into an inner courtyard paved with cobblestones. From there, we walked into another plain entry but inside was an elegant granite stairway that we took to the second floor. There we entered a dark wood paneled dining room. This really looked to be in a home rather than a restaurant and I still don't know if that was the case. It was a long four or five course dinner followed by cognac and cigars. I just remember that the food was excellent, the service was incredible, and it would have been a perfect meal except for the fact that one of the guests was a loud-mouthed American that was traveling with his equally loud-mouthed mother.
The last one I'll tell about (in this post anyway) was in Torino, Italy. It was a lunch and it began by our parking the car on, and blocking, the narrow sidewalk. There were three of us - a man named Guy Delaborde who was Swiss and Aurelio Busani, the agent for our company in Italy, and myself. It was a very small, local food restaurant and Aurelio was well known there. The decor reminded me of a Picasso painting with bright colors and a black & white floor. Guy and Aurelio were going to teach me about northern Italian food. Unfamiliar stuff that they would not tell me about until after I'd eaten it. Most of it I'd never had before and I've never had since. Most was very good. Probably four courses and a new wine for each course. Like many of the meals there - it was a long one, this one ending with a strong expresso. (I could hold wine pretty well then.)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Some travel stories
Deanna didn't know that I'd traveled Europe and expressed an interest so I though I post a couple things about trips there. The owner of the company I worked for wanted to get his money's worth for the plane fare so my trips were always three week trips and they happened every six weeks so while I worked the job I spent a third of my time away from home. They'd usually start in London but sometimes Munich or Paris.
When I traveled in Europe I'd always get a three week train pass. They were a little different then. As long as the pass was valid you could get on a train (first class compartment) and go anywhere on the continent the trains went - which is everywhere. England was not on the plan - they had their own pass. I enjoy traveling by train and if you're going 200-250 miles or less it can be faster than flying - from city center to city center - and you avoid airports and their related issues. I also had a couple weekends free on each trip so I could make some side trips and do some sightseeing too.
Glynda went with me on one trip and this happened to be a trip where a stop in Stockholm was planned after a stop in Amsterdam. We were traveling by train and I knew that there was water between the countries and that part of the trip would be by ferry. What we learned about ferries is that it's not just a little boat ride. As we were approaching the crossing I was watching to see how this was going to work and it turned out to be pretty simple. We just sat there while the train drove onto the ferry - the whole train - full length - and we rode in the train, on the ferry from Denmark to Sweden.
Here's a link to a site that has a couple more pictures of the ferry.
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