Category: Bow Ties

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So Much For Saving Time And De-cluttering

Festive-colors Bow Tie o’ the Day is doing nothing but saying to me, over and over, “I told you so.” Yesterday, when I was tidying the garage, I came across a storage bin whose contents I’ve been meaning to get rid of for about a zillion years: music cd’s. Actually, we have two more bins full of cd’s that need to go. But I must first transfer all the tunes to the computer before I can set the cd’s out to pasture.

Anyhoo… I was all hyped up about finally getting the urge and the energy to get the de-cluttering o’ the music done. I figured if I dedicated the whole day to the project, I’d never have to spend time and effort on it again. And we’d have three fewer storage bins in the garage.

I picked up the bin and headed into the house, when suddenly… OH to the HELL NO! Something in my gut screamed at me. But did I put the bin down immediately? No. I figured I was just using a flabby, loud, muscle I hadn’t used since my Hanky Panky surgery. All this hefting and toting would surely help me get me back in shape. I figured once I got the bins o’ music upstairs to the computer, I’d just walk the strain off while I loaded music. I got a total of one of the three bins upstairs.

I have mentioned before that my IQ is kinda high. Yesterday, apparently, my IQ was missing in action. I’m human so sometimes I slip out of IQ gear, and get stuck in Stubborn gear. I blame it on an old clutch under my hood.

And that is why I am sitting in my living room on this beautiful Thursday morning doing absolutely less than nothing, and unable to get comfortable. I have things to do, people. But it is a forced Pajama Day for me.

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And The Winner Is…

The voting is done. The results are in. And this holiday season, instead of wearing/presenting every piece of holiday neckwear I own, I will be selecting one to wear per post. That means you will not be seeing the entirety of my Christmas collection this year. Think of it as me presenting my Greatest X-mas Tie Hits.

I’ve never not worn every piece before, so this will be a weird holiday season for me. It will be much less work for me though. And Suzanne will be happy cuz there will be fewer clumps o’ ties grouped around the house, waiting for their turn to be posed and photographed. She’ll also like that I’ll be able to set up TIE O’ THE DAY snapshots much more quickly than in past ho-ho-ho seasons. I know you will find it hard to believe, but the truth is that I can get carried away with both neckwear and writing. Put the two together, and there goes the whole day! Add Christmas season to those two things, and there goes the night too!

I must hang my head about something though. I almost lied to y’all. I thought of mis-representing the vote results and just saying most of the votes were for my wearing every last seasonal neckwear piece. Why would I feel like I should lie? Because of Joyce Moody, rebel that she is. She voted for me to wear the entire holiday collection. And hers was even the first vote— like, the second after I opened up the voting, Joyce voted to see ’em all. A lot of people voted for that, though not a majority. But it’s Joyce Moody, for golly sakes! Clearly, I would lie for Joyce. Almost. Disappointing Joyce is something which has never been anywhere close to my Bucket List.

If I remember correctly, Joyce was one of my Mutual teachers. (It could have been Sunday School, but I’m pretty sure it was Mutual.) I was probably 16 or so, and let me explain about me in high school. I didn’t wear make-up (never have), and I spent most of my time in overalls or 501’s— certainly not in a dress, if I could help it. Trust me, most of the authorities—female and male— in my life at the time were telling me to be a “real girl.” Apparently, what would have made me into a “real girl” would have been to wear make-up and dresses, and blow dry my hair into Farah Fawcett feathers. The message which I consistently got from people was that I was not enough, just being myself. Being me was not good enough. I certainly wasn’t a “real girl.” I wasn’t presentable without a coat of paint and curling iron burns on my head. Even when nothing was said to me, I saw the thumbs-down expressions of others’ faces when I’d walk into any room at school or church.

But I’d show up at Mutual in my overalls, and Joyce Moody always smiled at me like I was PERFECT. Like I was VALUABLE. Like I was IMPORTANT. Like I was ONE OF THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD. She probably saved my life. See why I considered lying about the Christmas neckwear vote, so Joyce Moody can get what she wants?

Anyhoo… Next year there will be no vote. Joyce wins already, and I’ll be wearing 300+ pieces of festive neckwear from Thanksgiving 2020 to New Year’s Day 2021 .

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Another “T-you” To Vets, From The Neckwear

I’ve been working around the house all afternoon, alone and in my pajamas. But that doesn’t mean I can’t wear a flag-ish Bow Tie o’ the Day with a matching puff-style, flag-ish pocket square in my pajama top’s breast pocket while I work. Observing Veterans’ Day for the entire day is a good lesson in patriotism for Skitter to see, even if I’m just in the confines of our own home. I’m determined to raise Skitter right.

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Hug A Vet

Bow Tie o’ Veterans’ Day is a diamond bow made with a folk art, stars-and-stripes theme fabric. Veterans’ Day is always a tough and glorious day of acknowledgement for the men and women who have served in the U.S. military. They chose to serve us. Let’s make sure we serve them in return.

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One Of Those “Best. Day. Ever.” Days

Yesterday, I had an incredible, yet incredibly simple, day. I had the kind of adventure that cost me nothing more than a tank o’ gas and the effort it took to get dressed. In return, I got back a boatload of all the abstract specifics that I would call my core values. In what profound, exotic activity did I participate? I had a regular ol’ conversation with my oldest— but truly young-at-heart— sister, Mercedes. Some of you readers know her as Betty, or Betty Rae, or BT. But to me, she’s Mercedes. She is my own, personal Mercedes.

Mercedes has lived in Pleasant View since the late 60’s when she hitched up with the jolly Nuk. PV is only thirty-five minutes away from my place, yet somehow, we don’t see each other as often as I’d like. We mean to see each other. I mean— it’s not like each of us is boycotting the other. We get along famously. She was literally the first TIE O’ THE DAY reader. Mercedes was my first tbloglodyte, way back when TO’TD was simply a text and a pic of a shirt and tie. That was also back when TIE O’ THE DAY showed only one tie per one day.

Yesterday, I showed up at Mercedes’ basement door with a bag o’ books to share. A bag of books is like a hostess gift between us. We trade books back and forth. Some guests might show up to a get-together, lugging a plate of cookies or a bottle of wine as a “thank you” to the host. We do books. We don’t mind trading underlined, highlighted, margin-noted books if need be. The markings give us further insights into each other. “Why did she highlight that paragraph? Why did she underline that word twice? I’ve gotta ask her about that.”

Anyhoo… We sat in Mercedes’ pleasantly dark basement where she has been working this week. She met The Saddle Purse and my Frida Kahlo cape in person for the first time. We talked family, religion, politics, you name it. And we are always able to respectfully discuss these dicey topics, without bullying and/or closed ears. I come away from our conversations feeling nourished and more knowledgeable than I was when we started.

Do you know what I didn’t do while I was talking to Mercedes? I didn’t worry about snapping pix for a TIE O’ THE DAY post. A post picture wasn’t the most important thing. I was totally focused on having a funny and meaty conversation with my bigliest sister. Enjoy my stick-figure-on-a-sticky-note re-creation of my happy day.

I did wear my wood, glasses Bow Tie o’ the Day for my visit with Mercedes— just in case you wondered.

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And Then There Are The Holiday Bow Ties

Skitter wants you to know that these three boxes of ho-ho-ho Bow Ties o’ the Day hold greater numbers than it may appear. Each box is packed at least four bow ties deep. The love-seat provides just enough room for them and Skitter to sit and watch television. They are all sometimes champion couch potatoes. I’ll just stand here in front of the love-seat for a while, gazing down adoringly into the many eyes of my Skitter and my festive bow ties.

I live such a weird, blessed life.

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Should I Say YES To The Holiday Neckwear?

Or maybe I just need to figure out how much holiday neckwear am I going to say YES to, and when should I begin to say YES to it. Headlamp Bow Tie o’ the Day is assisting me in planning out our 2019 holiday neckwear game plan.

For those of you who have not been TIE O’ THE DAY readers through a Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa season, I need to clue you in. In past years, I have taken on the task of wearing EVERY SINGLE festive piece of neckwear I own, during the course of the season. Last year, I had to begin donning my ho-ho-ho neck apparel sometime before Thanksgiving, and I still had to wear more than one piece at a time, in order to be sure to show them all before January 2. There were some days I had to wear dozens at a time for post photos. Last year, the tie tally ended up at 107 holiday bow ties, and 217 seasonal neckties. Folks, it’s tough to wear that much neckwear over the holiday season. I’m thinking I might wanna slow it down this year— maybe select and wear fewer pieces, and then I won’t have to begin displaying the highlights of my collection until December. If I’m gonna wear ’em all, I gotta start immediately.

But TIE O’ THE DAY is not all about me: I don’t want to hurt any ties’ feelings by not showing off the gamut of ’em. I don’t want the pieces I choose not to wear to feel like they aren’t up to snuff. I hate it when my tie critters feel bad. And I don’t want y’all to not see the ridiculous amount of holiday neckwear I have collected.

So I’m cogitating about what I can do to keep everyone jolly. Let me know what you want me to do. I’m giddy to show off every bit of the ho-ho-ho neckwear if that’s what y’all want. And I’m giddy to wear fewer, but select, ties o’ Christmas. What’s your preference to see, if you have one?

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Lost In The Tie Room

When last I posted, on Halloween, I showed you Skitter in her french fry costume. I fully intended to post later on Trick or Treat day, showing you my costume. But I made the mistake of saying to myself, “Self, while I’m waiting for the short ghouls and superheroes to knock on my front door in search of goodies, I’m going to fetch the Christmas neckwear out of storage, cuz I need to start wearing it ASAP if I’m going to wear every piece.”

There isn’t room in the Tie Room for the ghastly amount of Christmas neckwear to have year-round residence in there, so it all lives in a storage bin apartment complex in the garage— in the space where my car should park, but can’t. Oh, I made it into the garage to retrieve the bins containing X-mas neckties and bow ties, but after I moved all those bins into the Tie Room, I somehow got overwhelmed and confused. I lost my way out of the Tie Room. Yup, I have spent the last few days mountaineering my way through the maze o’ neckwear which is my decades-long collection.

Aside from being very dehydrated from my lostness, I emerged from the Tie Room relatively unscathed. I drank a mini-keg of water, and promptly sat down to write this. So here are some photos of me in my costume for Halloween. Bow Tie o’ the Day displays a dandy cast o’ sugar skulls, which complements my Suzanne-made Day of the Dead cape. But what am I?

I love the frightening and fantastical costumes Halloween gives us, but when it comes to dressing up myself, I gravitate toward the obscure, clever, or punny things to be. For example, in the fall of 1994, when Major League Baseball went on strike, I donned a white sheet and an Orioles baseball cap and became the Ghost of the Baseball Season. And when “the war in Iraq” was the most repeated phrase on the news, I stuffed my bra to overflowing with plastic toy soldiers and went to Halloween events as “The War in My Rack.” It’s who I be.

Anyhoo… When Miss Tiffany was last cuttin’ my hairs, I saw the idea in the mirror: my hair took the shape of a comma! How cool is that, since I’m a writer? Punctuation is part of everything I create, and the comma is my fave-rave punctuation mark! With my cape, I just had to be a superhero called Comma Woman. In fact, I am more than just plain old Comma Woman— I am Oxford Comma Woman!

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Monotonous Skitter

Skitter was chilly this Halloween morn, so she chose to wear her red plaid Bow Tie o’ the Day. I told her she could choose her own Halloween costume, and she said she wanted to be an order of McDonald’s french fries again this year. What Skitter apparently doesn’t want to be is awake.

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Tidying My Files O’ Miscellany

I’ve never had to look at a calendar to know when Halloween season is due to arrive. Nope. I just pay attention to Mom. When Helen Sr. is sharpening her broom, Halloween is nigh. She’ll tell you herself that she is every bit the witch she says Dad always told her she was. Mom certainly had him bewitched.

Here are a few photos left over from my month of October, in no particular order. 1. In celebration of National Candy Corn Day, Candy Cane Bow Tie On A Shelf o’ the Day took a wild ride on The Saddle Purse this afternoon. 2. I ate a taste-astic steak at MARTYRS STEAKHOUSE in Taos. 3. I did not buy either of the arty wood fish on this gallery wall in Taos, but I got oodles of compliments on the autumn-hued Bow Tie o’ the Day I was wearing. 4.,5. Fall colors and fall light blasted at me from the foliage behind our house when we got home from Taos.

Tonight, don’t eat the rest of the Halloween candy you haven’t already eaten. Tomorrow is the bigly day kids will be coming for it. Do not disappoint children and dentists.