Yes, I’m wearing the same Bow Tie o’ the Day and full garb as yesterday, because the photo of me really is from yesterday. Suzanne had to have out-patient foot surgery. While we were at the surgical center, I noticed this sign. I said to myself and Suzanne, “Whew! For a couple of reasons, that sign is of no concern to us. Thank goodness!”
Suzanne’s foot surgery went well, as far as we can tell for now. In this second photo—which is from today—you can see Suzanne “sleep-cuperating” on the love seat with Skitter’s aid. (There’s a tiny sliver of the love seat left for me at Skitter’s side.) As part of the surgery, Suzanne had to have a screw put in her hoof. Now, whenever Suzanne fusses at me about something, I can defend myself by replying, “Suzanne, you don’t even know what you’re talking about. Before you say one more thing to me, you better check on your foot—because I think you have a screw loose.” 😜 That will save me exactly once.
Today’s Bow Tie o’ the Day is a soft flannel piece. I wear it today as part of my 3-flannel wardrobe—flannel bow tie, flannel shirt, and flannel Face Mask o’ the Day. This is my first 3-flannel day of the Fall season. It’s chillin’ up out there, folks. Brrrrrr.
I had a bow tie dream last night. (It is not uncommon for me to dream of neckwear, as I’m sure you have probably already surmised.) I dreamed that I had a bow tie tattooed onto my forehead. I pay serious attention to my dreams, and so I thought I would try out the idea on this morning’s selfie. It looks like me, don’t ya think?
I finally got to give Mom her birthday hugs, a few days after her actual birthaversary. Mom loves sunflowers, and I was able to find a snazzy Shirt Full o’ Sunflowers to wear for her. It only made sense for me to wear my bees Face Mask o’ the Day with it. In honor of Mom’s fun belief that she is a witch with always-sharpened broom, I donned my flying witches Tie o’ the Day. Mom also liked my pig earrings and my chicken Sloggers shoes, which I chose just for her. She’s such a farm girl.
I managed to find a soft batch of marshmallow Circus Peanuts, which is one of Mom’s fave store-bought treats. We opted to stick a birthday candle in one, so we could sing to Mom. She blew it out like a pro, despite her oxygen difficulties. Of course, she’s had 91 years of practice at blowing out birthday candles.
Mom was more “with it” and energetic than she has been recently. Even Skitter noticed it. Suzanne and I had a wonderful few hours of conversation with the old dame. I was so pleased with Mom’s improvement, and I give credit to the fine cast o’ folks at Millard Care and Rehab. They look out for Mom like she’s family, and it shows.
I often say that Mom was my first blessing, and it is still true. My gratitude for having Mom runneth over—still and always.
I’ve had some new earrings I’ve been wanting to try out on a Saturday night, and yesterday Suzanne sent me a text from upstairs that said we were going to SLC to dinner for the evening. Finally, I had a place to wear my piggie earrings out on the town for all to see. I took an up-close pic of the chubby earrings so y’all can see both the front and back of my tiny pink friends. Since we haven’t been out a lot lately, I decided to be as formal and black tie-y as I get—with my fave black shirt (the oldest shirt I own, from the 80’s) and my black-background flip-flop Bow Tie o’ the Evening. Likewise, I went black vinyl with my record album Face Mask o’ the Evening.
Suzanne had made reservations for us at PAGO, where we filled up on some of our favorite foods. I almost ordered the pork chop, just to maintain the piggie-theme of the night, but I ended up opting for the steak. Suzanne, of course, ordered the scallops. We are very predictable sometimes. Suzanne chose a sauvignon blanc to drink, which she said was tasterrific, and I can verify that her wine smelled nummy and made my mouth water. I sometimes wonder if Suzanne gets weary of my sniffing her wine selections, but it’s not like I’m going to quit doing it, so we both might as well get over it if it’s a problem. I think Suzanne will agree that probably our best discovery of the night was an appetizer made with beets, strawberries, goat cheese, and candied quinoa. The true gem within the appetizer was the pickled strawberries. We didn’t know pickled strawberries even existed, and now we will never forget they do. We will be ordering them at PAGO again, soon.
I donned a blue-polka-dotted orange Bow Tie o’ the Day and Skitter was wearing her avocados Tie o’ the Day (which you can’t see cuz it’s covered by her blankets in this photo), and we headed to Delta to see Mom last Friday. Suzanne managed to get the day off work, so she drove us to our destination.
When we got to the care center, folks were getting on the center’s little bus for a short outing. I could see Mom was already in the front seat, ready to see the sights. She had no idea we were there. I could have caught the group before they headed out, but since the pandemic began, the Millard Care and Rehab residents haven’t ventured out until recently. I did not want to keep Mom from a drive with her current neighbors, so Suzanne and I said to each other at the very same time, in almost the same exact words, “While we’re waiting for Mom to come back from her ride, we should go to Mom’s Crafts!” Mom’s Crafts is Suzanne’s idea of Heaven. Because Suzanne always spends a lot of $$$ there, Mom’s Crafts is also my idea of a depleted bank account.😜 So Suzanne bought a ton o’ fabric, and we both got to say “howdy” to Kyla. Mom’s Crafts is always a good time. Even Skitter was grooving about it. Skitter told me she wants Suzanne to teach her to sew, so she can shop for her own fabric at Mom’s Crafts and make her own doggie blankets. It’s gonna be a long and interesting winter, I can tell.
When we returned to the care center, the bus was already there, and Mom was already inside the building sitting with a pal at her table in the facility’s new fancy dining room. What a great space! I didn’t see Mom’s face as we were walking in her direction, cuz I was wrangling Skitter across the room and through the other residents, but Suzanne said Mom’s whole face beamed when she saw me. I was wearing my mask, and Mom had no idea I have shaved my head to the nubs, but she still managed to recognize me. I am always glad for that. It is something so basic, but it has become incredibly important to me now. I need Mom to know me. (So far, it was only that one instance when she didn’t recognize my voice on the phone.)
In Mom’s room, Skitter jumped up on her bed and curled right into Mom like she always does. Mom absentmindedly stroked Skitter throughout our visit, as is her usual way. Mom was in high spirits, as she always seems to be. She says she’s sleeping well—”like a log”— and she’s snoring well. This is true. She says she is in no pain. This used to be true until quite recently. But it’s not true anymore, and she will not admit it. She maintains her playfulness and penchant for humor. But she is also quieter than I have ever known her to be. We left her a stash of peanut butter Snickers and candy corn pumpkins. Mom is beyond pleased when we pretend on occasion that she doesn’t have to watch her sugar. 😉 We can’t wait for our next visit with her.
As you have probably figured out, my comic book-design shirt is my fave-rave this summer, which is why it’s regularly showing up on TIE O’ THE DAY. I suppose I should refer to it as my Shirt o’ the Summer o’ 2021. I wore it again yesterday, when I chose to don my wood guitar Bow Tie o’ the Day in honor of Rowan’s 24th birthday. Rowan is a guitar aficionado and player. For his birthday, we took him and his flame, Cameryn, to brunch in SLC at the Copper Onion. We had a lively time on the patio, much to the amusement of the strangers dining around us. Our animated conversation made an entertaining floorshow for our fellow diners.
When I stood up to take this photograph, Suzanne said, “Get the waiter to take it of all four of us. Nobody wants to see your big bald head in the middle of the photo.” But I put my bigly bald head front-and-center anyway, and took the snapshot myself. When we got home and I finally looked at the picture, I realized Suzanne had probably been right, as per usual. But trust me—I’m not losing any sleep over it. 🤡
When it comes to neckwear, you know I can’t get enough. More is more. And I often get an itch to wear both Ties o’ the Day and Bow Ties o’ the Day simultaneously. Fortunately, I have enough “bow tie ties” and “tie bow ties” in my collection to be able to indulge myself in whims such as this.
TIE O’ THE DAY has been up and running for nearly 5 years (plus another two years before the website was established), and in that time very few ties/bow ties have shown up in a post more than once. That excludes holiday pieces, which I think of nostalgically as I repeat them during each passing holiday season. It is true, though, that as I have naturally slowed down my acquisition of new neckwear, I now occasionally repeat a tie or bow tie. I suspect I’m choosing my favorites. Don’t get me wrong—I love all the critters upstairs in The Tie Room, but I freely admit that I do prefer the company of some of them more than others. And all the ties/bow ties probably feel a similar way about me. I know dang well I am not everybody’s cup o’ tea. I doubt there’s anything wrong with that. I know that as I get older, I find I have less and less patience for spending my ever-diminishing amount of life left dealing with folks who are not in my tribe. To belong to my tribe, nobody has to believe or act like me. That would be uninteresting and unenlightening. However, to be in my tribe, a person does have to value thinking and live in empathy—and have a good time while doing so. I’m not making a judgment of anybody’s worth: there’s a tribe for everybody. It’s just that I, personally, don’t want to waste any more of my fleeting time not feeling at home and content with the people I encounter. I’m done with contention and egos and pettiness. I just wanna be.
Bat signal Bow Tie o’ the Day seemed an appropriate piece of neckwear to be the cherry on top of my Superman tank and my Suzanne-made harlequin cape—along with my madras shorts. My cow Sloggers boots are deceptively fast. Even as an old broad, I can run fast enough in them to cause my cape to fly. If you put together a truly fantastic outfit, you’ll be amazed at the powers you can utilize. I learned this fact one morning when I was 12, when I woke up late for softball practice. Practice was at 8, and I woke up at 8:07. I scurried to get dressed and grab my mitt. On the way out of the front door, I was putting an old, broken set of spurs on my tennis shoes—just for the style of it. Spurs on, I jumped on my bike with all my fashion superpowers, pedaling so fast to the softball field that I was able to get there at 7:59. I kid you not.
Tie o’ the Day pops out from the otherwise bright colors I’m wearing. I don’t know if this pose says I’m ready to run, fight, or wrestle. But I am ready for whatever approaches. Here’s another fashion hint for y’all: A tie-dyed t-shirt is never out of style. A tie-dyed t-shirt exudes cosmic good vibrations, and evokes a soundtrack of songs like “California Dreamin’,” “Don’t You Want Somebody To Love?,” and “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy.” Now, that’s a dandy soundtrack to have stuck in your head. The late-60’s are not dead, as long as we can hear that music. Personally, I think every summer should be the Summer of Love. I also say that cowboy boots are a must. Keep on truckin,’ and peace out. ✌️
Since I make it my business to keep myself perpetually amused, I must always come up with new tricks. The neighbors who passed me as I walked to the mailbox yesterday were so gleeful about the outfit I was wearing (as seen in the previous post) that I was inspired to set myself this new gimmick: To explore what shirts and ties I can put together in my style with the same pair of madras shorts for an entire week. Here’s Day 2’s attire, complete with madras Tie o’ the Day. Fret not! I will wash my shorts daily.
FYI For anyone trying to catch me fail in my sobriety, please note that the Bud cans you can see behind me are from my Budweiser Zero, which contains 0% alcohol. I’m still behaving myself.
