Month: February 2020

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No, I Did Not Forget V-Day

We went to Nashville about 30 hours after we got home from Valentine’s dinner, so I put these photos aside until now. Rest assured, I will never NOT post about Valentine’s dinner. It’s what I do, so here it is.

Like last year, I chose to wear my candy, conversation hearts Bow Tie o’ the Day for the bigly event. It’s one of my jumbo-sized bow ties, which are especially fun to wear because no one can ignore them.

I was lucky to get Suzanne and I dinner reservations at CURRENT, in SLC. The minute we walked in the door, we were accosted by admirers of my cape and Bow Tie. I always like to give proper credit to Suzanne, as the cape maker of my smashing frocks, so I love for her to be around when I get cape compliments. It’s so much better than just telling her about the accolades I hear when I’m out alone in a cape. Sometimes when I relay a cape compliment I’ve received, I think she doesn’t believe me that her seamstress ability is as eye-catching and successful as I try to express. But she knows how to create a fine cape. If ya wanna cape made, Suzanne is definitely your man.

Once we were seated upstairs for our din-din, Suzanne promptly managed to order a bottle of wine that cost more than dinner. She’s always thoughtful enough to let me smell the adult beverages. I can vouch for the fact that expensive wine has an expensive smell. And the aroma will have to be enough for me.

I ordered an appetizer which was mostly a mystery to me—even after I ate it. I recognized most of the words on its menu description, and I knew from dining at CURRENT in the past that it would show up looking glorious on the plate in front of me. It would be pretty and safe—whatever it was. I can attest that my appetizer had pesto and butternut puree and grilled bread, among other things. It was yummy. Suzanne had the crab bisque, with puff pastry crackers.

You can guess Suzanne had the scallops, and I had the prime rib. Always guess that’s what we had for a fancy dinner, and you’ll be right more often than not.

We didn’t decline dessert, even though we were stuffed. Our desserts were extravagantly pretty too. Mine was called Persian Love Cake, and I can’t explain it except to say I know it was covered in pistachios and fig jam, and at some point I was eating rose petals as part of it. ‘Twas tasty. I was so focused on my own dessert that I didn’t really pay attention to what Suzanne had. It was some kind of chocolate torte. I think.

At some point during dinner, my cheeks got kissed. I’m telling you right now that I did not wash my cheeks that evening. I did not wash the kisses off my cheeks the entire next day either. I finally did wash the lipstick away before we went to the airport to fly to Nashville.

It’s so much work to be loved.😉

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I Mean It In A Good Way

TIE O’ THE DAY recognizes the power of words. Yup, the pen is truly mightier than the sword. Sometimes people use language to attempt to defeat our efforts to create a happy life. You women, especially, know how that “b”-word can get thrown at you at key moments of your triumphs. We mostly hear it when we step out of line to stand up for ourselves. We mostly hear it when we are inconveniencing the status quo— when we say, “Nope, I was not put on earth to always take care of everyone else but me.”

And so we learn to take back the b-word. We begin to wear it with pride. We wear it in the way only tough broads can. We learn to take it as a compliment. It is in this spirit that I fell in love with these socks. I decided to get a pair for each of the crafty bitches in my life, starting with Suzanne—Queen of the Crafty Bitches. She can craft up food, quilts, capes, scarves, etc. But as I tallied up all the crafty women I know, I realized—to my delight—almost all of the women I am related to, or otherwise consider friends, are of the same tough breed. There is no way I could afford to buy that many pairs o’ socks. The store where I found this pair certainly did not have enough to fill my order. So the photo of this pair is for all of you ladies who know what I’m talking about. May the b-word be with you!

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It’s Greek To Me

Bow Tie o’ the Day was witness to some bigly sights in Nashville. Even Bow Tie knows one of the best things about traveling to a place you don’t know much about is that you can be surprised by what you find there. This was our favorite thing-we-didn’t-know-was-in-Nashville-and-we’re-so-glad-it-exists.

As a younger soul, I was into Greek mythology, art, and architecture. I thought I’d have to go to Athens to catch what’s left of the Parthenon, and I hope I do someday. But this full-size replica of the complete Parthenon was breathtaking to behold. It houses an equally humongous statue of the goddess, Athena. Nashville considers itself the “Athens of the South”—a hotbed of learning, art, music, and literature. After visiting for a few days, I can see why.

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And Then We Ended Up At Another Concert In Tennessee

I chose an ice cream bar Bow Tie o’ the Day for our first foray into downtown Nashville. We were touristing in the guts of the city, and I asked Suzanne if there was anything special she wanted to do while we were there. She wanted to go to the symphony.

There’s a plethora of music to be had in Nashville, as we all know. Leave it to Suzanne to have read something about the Nashville Symphony throwing Beethoven a birthday party when we were in town, by performing some of his works. So the first thing we did was score a couple of tickets for a symphonic performance later in the week. For the life of me, I don’t know what got into Suzanne because I can’t drag her to the symphony at home. But we set foot in Nashville for 15 seconds, and suddenly Suzanne was symphony-hungry.

For our evening at the Nashville Symphony, I donned a paw print Bow Tie o’ the Day. It seems I was missing Skitter beyond all reason that day. I knew darn well she was happy being spoiled with a week-long sleeping party at our house with Suzanne’s sister, Marjorie. Still, I missed her, and I knew she would have enjoyed the symphony. Skitter is a devoted listener to all kinds of music, and Beethoven is right up there on Skitter’s List O’ Astounding Composers—right up there with Philip Glass and Lawrence Welk.

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Illumination

We vacationed in Nashville for the express purpose of attending a LUMINEERS concert. Their tour schedule didn’t show any indications they would be playing in Salt Lake City, so we decided we’d head somewhere else they were playing. We figured we’d see them at their Nashville stop. Plans were made. Flights were scheduled. A car was rented.

And then… About two weeks before our trip, it was announced that the LUMINEERS would be playing in Salt Lake City in August. Were we upset we were about to spend a bunch o’ bucks on our trip to see them in Nashville, when we can see them here in a few months? Heck, no! It just means we can can see them twice.

Wood spectacles Bow Tie o’ the Day had a fantastic night checking out the concert. Seeing the LUMINEERS twice still won’t be enough for us.

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Street O’ Mine

If we ever move to Nashville, we will be shopping for a house on this one road only. TIE O’ THE DAY surely ought to dwell in a home located on Edge O’ Lake Drive.

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I’m Whistling “Taps”

I donned my wood guitar Bow Tie o’ the Day for our outing to Nashville’s Fisk University yesterday—our last stop before heading to the airport for our flight home to SLC last night.

I am sad to report that this is the last photo ever to be taken of me in my bow tie beanie. A heady tragedy happened soon after our foray at Fisk U. Somewhere at the Nashville airport, between dropping off the rental car and walking to the terminal, my hat went missing. Was it pilfered by a jealous criminal with a penchant for bow ties? Did it run away to join the bow tie circus? Did I carelessly drop it from my too full clutches? I dunno. I just know it’s gone for good, and I shall never wear it again. Because of that, I am in mourning. And I also wish my bow tie beanie well, as it begins its new life as an orphan in Tennessee.

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Misc. Stuff I Found

TIE O’ THE DAY presents a few sundry items I’ve run across here in Nashville: 1. A cleverly named wine I didn’t purchase. 2. A beckoning sidewalk sign I didn’t believe. 3. A pair of socks I didn’t purchase, but whose sentiment I definitely do agree with.

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A Family Secret Revealed In Nashville

Apparently, my oldest sister has been leading a secret double life for years. She’s had us all fooled with her low-key Utah life, while she’s been brazenly hawking cowboy boots in her Nashville store. TIE O’ THE DAY’s discovery explains a lot about Betty/BT/Mercedes.