Month: November 2021

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The First Post-surgery Night Out

I didn’t go “black tie.” This is the wardrobe I settled on for a long-awaited, much-needed evening in the City of Salt. I doubled-down on paisley with a baby-blue paisley shirt and a paisley wood Bow Tie o’ the Night Out. My floral jacket clashed sweetly with my paisley. Note the polka dot necktie lapel pin on it. And I topped off my outfit with a friendly Face Mask o’ the Evening. I wore my Suzanne-made black cape to the theater instead of a coat, but I forgot to snap a picture of it. (That’s not like me. Sorry.)

We went to a reading by the NYC writer, David Sedaris at the Eccles Theater. He’s a smartly funny guy, and both Suzanne and I are smitten with his humor. This was our second time seeing him read his stories. If he comes back to SLC, we’ll be in the audience again. He doesn’t tell jokes, he tells stories dotted throughout with humor that makes you laugh all the laughs of the rainbow—from chuckle to giggle to snort-laugh. His observational stories about his experiences during the pandemic were masterfully clever and on-target. It was a joyous night out. Until this morning.

Suzanne and I were out of the house a grand total of three hours last night, and my body seemed to handle the goings-on without any problem. However, when I woke up this morning, I almost immediately fell asleep again and didn’t wake up until after noon. I then got up to potty Skitter. I then pottied me. And then I fell asleep again, for another two hours. I am currently watching Judge Judy AND writing this post, and I feel my eyelids getting very heavy. Got stamina? Jeez, I apparently don’t have much. I’ll sleep on it. 😴 🛌

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I Can’t Decide What To Wear

Yes, I did get my head hairs shaved this morning. It was time for a trim. We’re going out for some artsy entertainment tonight, and I haven’t dressed up in soooo long that I’ve almost forgotten exactly how to select fancy evening attire. I’m debating betwixt a slew o’ jackets. I’m looking through capes and earrings and shoes. I doubt I will wear this ocean-y lighthouse Tie o’ the Day this evening, although I’m enjoying wearing it around the house. I’m thinking I might even go “black tie” for the event, which—for me—usually means a bow tie with at least a subtle hint of black and/or white somewhere on it. It doesn’t actually have to be clearly black or white. I’m fastidious about what I wear, but not too literal about the rules o’ anybody else’s froufrou, high-society fashion. 🎩

FYI I purposely didn’t tell y’all where we’re going tonight, but I’ll definitely let y’all know in a post tomorrow. Sometimes I like to keep you guessing. Practice your patience, please. [That FYI was purely for my sister, BT, who will read this post two minutes after I post it, and then immediately text me to ask where we’re going for the evening. Hold your horses, BT. You can be patient, too. 😘]

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Planning For The “Thanks” Day

We have chosen to stay home for the bigly holiday feast next week. Suzanne is exhausted because she has been working her butt off at her office recently—working late even more than is her usual OCD work habit. And even though I am recovering well, I am in no shape to share a dinner table with any of the various bad germs that will surely accompany some of my friends and family at this time of year. I’m in no mood for any germs, no matter how much I love and appreciate the people o’ my life. TV dinner Thanksgiving Tie o’ the Day has given me an easy-peasy idea for next week’s holiday dinner: maybe I should keep it extremely simple, and just microwave a couple of frozen turkey dinners from the grocery store freezer. It would be an effortless, quiet change o’ pace. Of course, no matter what I finally plan to serve for our two-person Thanksgiving feast, I will most assuredly be making Mom’s traditional cheese bread in the traditional way. It is not advisable to cut corners on THE cheese bread, and it would not be a true T-giving without it. In fact, I should probably make two identical loaves of it, so we each have our own personal loaf. I wouldn’t want any knock-down, drag-out mayhem to occur over who got more of the precious cheese bread on a holiday which is meant to celebrate both gratitude and—apparently—gluttony. 🦃🧀🥖😜

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Another Day, Another Zoom Appointment

I donned my pajamas and a slightly over-sized, polka dot Bow Tie o’ the Day for a recent Zoom appointment with my crazy-head doctor. She wanted to check on how my bipolar noggin was dealing with my surgery adventure. I have been a patient of hers for years, and I would recommend her to anyone who needs guidance in dealing with their bipolar brain. It is an added bonus that she is the spittin’ image of a sock monkey in the great outdoors. 🐵🏔🤡

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Last Time’s The Charm. I Hope.

I had to meet with my surgeon at Huntsman Cancer Hospital a few days ago for my post-surgery follow-up appointment. I chose to wear a bow tie-covered wood Bow Tie o’ the Day and my “Vaxxed And Masked For Your Protection” Facemask o’ the Day for my brief hospital visit. According to my doctor, I am still not allowed to lift more than 10 pounds for yet another month. Other than that, I passed my evaluation with neon flying colors. My scar is healing well, my pain is receding, and I didn’t lose an unhealthy amount of weight during my ordeal. I thanked my surgeon for her help and skill, and then I told her, “Don’t take it personally, but I hope I never in my life have to see you again!” She completely understood.

BTW Merry birthday to my nearly-elderly nephew, Travis. Even though he’s now a highfalutin’ Stake President, he still freely admits he loves me. As a birthday gift to him, today I will not tell any embarrassing anecdotes about his caped escapades as a child. But trust me—they were legendary. I even saw him fly (in his Batman cape) from the window of a moving $50 Rambler once. But—like I said—for his birthday, I won’t tell that story about him.

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The Early Bird

Thanksgiving turkey Tie o’ the Day is showing up to gobble at ya a couple of weeks early this year. My Cranky Hanky Panky surgery and subsequent recovery have been made more bearable due to so many people who have sent me their prayers, good vibes, comments, texts, cards, and care packages. I have known some of y’all most of my life. Some of y’all I hardly know at all. Taking your valuable time to reach out to me with your encouragement and concern is nothing short of you taking the time to love your neighbor—me— in the most meaningful of ways. I’m humbled and beyond grateful that so many of you consider me a neighbor-to-be-loved. Thank you, from the bottom of my turkey Tie o’ the Day.

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A Field Trip To The Holiday Dog Toys

Post-surgery, I’m spending so much time napping, nodding off, and dozing lately that I haven’t been getting out of the house much. I am now trying to get in the car and haul out of the neighborhood at least once a day, even if it’s only for an hour. Here I am browsing in the shops at Station Park on Saturday. I chose to wear a snarky, conspiratorial Face Mask o’ the Day for the brief outing. You are also witnessing a rarity of a Bow Tie o’ the Day in this selfie: a solid-color bow tie, and in gold. Two things you can count on me usually NOT wearing are solid colors and/or the color gold. It is my not-humble opinion that solid colors don’t try hard enough to entertain people, and the color gold tries too hard to be oh-so important. But some days you just have to step out of your comfort zone and do something not-you. It makes you relate to the world differently, and it makes the world see you in a slightly different light. The discomfort of wearing something which is not-you helps you remember who your deepest soul really is, and it’s certainly important that you never forget what your singular soul is all about. After all, you’re the only you we all have. Don’t betray yourself by trying to be somebody else.