Chuck Brown’s Only Shirt Inspires A Tie

Tie o’ the Day is a wood tie, created by a craftsman in Logan. He named this chevron design “Charlie Brown,” and I was lucky to get it when I did, because the style has been sold out for months, and the dude is probably not going to produce more of this style again.

The second photo here is the same tie, folded for storing when not in use. Wood neckties are fabulous, but most begin to feel a bit heavy to wear after a few hours at a time. I do not recommend wearing a wood necktie for an entire day at work. But wearing one for a dinner date or going to a performance of the symphony will go over smashingly. You probably shouldn’t wear a wood tie to a campfire where you plan to roast marshmallows and hot dogs though, unless you plan to use your tie for kindling.

In fact, you have to be cognizant of the fact that wearing a necktie can put you in peril, in a way that bow ties don’t. Oh, the neckties certainly don’t mean to be dangerous to their wearers, but they simply aren’t the most practical neckwear to wear in certain situations. I’m not just talking about situations like trying to keep your tie out of the paper shredder when you shred your secret spy documents. For example, don’t wear a necktie when you’re doing some downhill skiing. It’ll work its way out of your ski coat and fly up over your ski goggles, blinding you. Before you know it…. hello, tree! Hello, Sonny Bono.

Also, don’t wear a necktie if you’re going to be stirring together the spell ingredients you’re boiling in your witch’s cauldron. The bottom of your tie is bound to accidentally dip into the brew, and some living monstrosity in that goop will most certainly grab your tie and pull you in. Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble. See ya!

There are circumstances in which neckties should be employed more often than they are. If you have a dog who loves to stick its head out the window of a moving car (or ride in the truck bed), for example, allow your dog to wear one of its neckties the next time you go for a Sunday drive. The dog will not only enjoy its usual wind-blown flapping ears and flapping lips, but it will be thrilled to have its very own necktie flapping right along with it. And your mutt’s blowing necktie will also indicate to others that your dog is respecting the Sabbath. Nice doggie.

Bow Ties are almost completely safe from possible necktie dangers. And I vehemently vouch for this next fact: Wearing a bow tie actually makes you safer than not wearing one. You see, bow ties have a cute-factor to them. I’ve told you before that bow ties are kinda charmingly disarming and tend to make people smile. If a mugger is smiling at your bow tie, you can be sure that criminal is gonna pass right by you and go mug somebody else. And if you accidentally cut off a car on the freeway, that driver who’s instantly developing road rage towards you will look at you, see the bow tie, and likely lose the rage. Instead of getting the middle finger, you might just get the peace sign.

More than that– bow ties give you an advantage in the world of finance. Need a bank loan? Wear a funny bow tie to your appointment with the antagonistic loan manager, and not only will you get the loan, even if your credit sucks– you’ll get a couple of thousand bucks more than you applied for. And the loan manager will make sure the money gets into your account on that very same day. You think I jest, but I do not. The power of the bow tie cannot be denied.

I mean no disrespect to neckties. I adore them as much as any neckwear to be found. A necktie is nifty as heck. But a bow tie is a superhero. All hail, to the bow tie!

 

 

It’s A Do-over

Turtle-and-starfish Bow Tie o’ the Day is as eager as I am to expand my palate. The other day, I mentioned I picked up octopus salad at Dick’s Market while I was buying my usual squid salad. The store had never carried octopus salad before, so I just had to bring some home to give it a try. Thankfully, the salad is not made with bigly octopi. Those would be hard to swallow. So I guess that means the salad is made with baby octopi. Sorry, baby sea creatures.

Whenever I fix a dinner entrée for the first time, I always ask Suzanne if it’s a do-over– meaning, does she like it enough to want me to make it again. With that rating in mind, I declare this particular recipe of octopus salad to be a do-over. I would eat it again. Octopus does not taste like chicken (ha, ha, ha). Actually, it tastes almost exactly like the Dick’s squid salad I regularly eat.

While the main ingredient in each of these salads is the sea creature meats, tons of sliced ginger in each salad creates a perfect zippy flavor. Really, the only significant difference I found between the squid salad and the octopus salad was that octopi are chewier. Significantly chewier. I think I had to chew one of the octopi for at least three minutes before it was safely swallowable. They should use octopi to make chewing gum.

The only meat I’ve ever eaten which I would categorize as chewier than octopus is alligator. Yes, I once ate a dish called alligator-on-a-stick, at the Utah Arts Festival in 1987. Alligator is one tough meat, even if it’s skewered and barbecued and sold by a street vendor.

Tasting octopus salad was a teeny adventure. It wasn’t a huge deal, and I didn’t cringe about it or have to muster my courage. It wasn’t on my bucket list (which I don’t really have). In the scheme of things, it was a blip of a new thing to try. But I’m glad I did it. Doing it added a new story to my life. It changed me, ever so slightly. Small forays into the unknown add up to an interesting-er life, I think. The opportunities for tiny adventures are all around you, every day. All you have to do is pay attention to whatever’s sitting by the squid salad.

Stop And Smell The Ties

Sometimes I feel the need to slow down and appreciate my surroundings– without snark, sarcasm, or irony. Since the landscape I live in is covered with neckwear, I usually find myself meditating upon some tie or another. Tie o’ the Day is a sweet-looking piece that caught my eye this afternoon as I was ferreting through my holiday ties to organize them. There Tie was, quietly watching me as I worked on the other side of The Tie Room. It simply hung in the closet, dripping with its elegant beauty.

Tie o’ the Day is unassuming in its paisleys of pale yellows and bright blues. This is a tie that cries out for absolutely nothing else. Its beauty is so self-contained that it does not need to clash with a wild shirt. Tie doesn’t even need to be worn by a person today. All Tie wants is to pose on this clean and ironed white shirt. I’ve let it hang like this on The Tie Room door the entire afternoon. Less is sometimes more, even for ties. It’s perfectly acceptable for any of us to sit and stare at the loveliness of this tie– or any other tie– for as long as we deem necessary to de-stress.

FYI  I sometimes like to fatten up my neckties, as I did here. I add girth to a tie by tying a thick knot, which shortens the tie and gives the illusion it is wider than it really is. Hey, it’s a look. It’s a fat look. But it’s a look, nonetheless.

I Believe In Santa And Ties

Ah, a scarf made of a couple of hundred or so holiday Ties o’ the Day! I pulled them out of their storage bins this morning, where they’ve been hibernating ever since January. It takes a few weeks for the ties to get prepped to show their best selves to y’all. They need to stretch and get used to being in the light of day.

This picture is meant to give you a bit of perspective about just how big a task it’s going to be for me to cull my holiday tie population– to select which lucky ones I will wear this season. (And I’m not even displaying the holiday bow ties here.)

Skeptics are everywhere. You don’t have to look hard to find a person who will even deny the existence of gravity. Or they’ll tell you gravity is a conspiracy, designed to do who-knows-what. One thing I hope you won’t doubt is the existence of my bigly collection of festive ties. That’s why I wanted to show you this photo evidence that I really do own this many holiday ties.

No, I don’t count them anymore. What’s the point in doing that? It takes time, and then I’d have to tell Suzanne an exact number– which is not something I relish doing. Do I ask her how many yards of material or skeins of yarn she has? I would never do that. A lady never asks a lady those kinds of questions. 😉

BTW  I just noticed that in this photo I kinda look like an Oscar statuette. Perhaps I am my own tie trophy. A Tiescar?

The Ties Consider How To Handle The Holidays

November 1st is what I have traditionally dubbed Put-Away-The-Tank-Tops-Until-Summer Day. That’s the sad task I’ve been working on this afternoon in The Tie Room. After the tank-top task, the same day transforms into a little activity I like to call The Gathering O’ The Winter Hats. So here I am in this photo– tankless, but wearing my cold-weather bow tie beanie.

This winter hat thing presents me with a new problem to solve. Since I’ve only had my hearing device for about six months, I have never had to deal with it in the winter. How do I cover my cold right ear with my beanie, while my hearing aid is struggling to hear? Pulling my beanie down over my ear will keep my ear toasty, but it will also muffle my hearing aid– making me deafer than I already am. And I am really, really, really hard of hearing– just ask Suzanne. Just ask her about the TV volume. I dare ya to ask. She won’t have to answer. You’ll see her face in response to the question, and you will know.

Do I actually have to choose between my hearing and a frostbitten ear? I’m trying to invent something to solve this bigly problem, but so far, I am stymied. If it ends up that I must choose one over the other, I will definitely choose to have a warm deaf ear. “What? Hey, turn up the world’s volume, would ya?”

Bow Tie o’ the Day’s candy cane colors are a clue to yet another dilemma I’m wrestling with. It’s an annual dilemma. When is the exact right time for TIE O’ THE DAY to begin displaying the holiday neckwear? To be honest, I have way too many pieces of holiday neckwear to wear each one by January 1st, especially if I wear only two per day. In fact, I probably have enough holiday ties to wear at least one on each day of the entire year. (Don’t suggest I do it, please. You know I do what you tell me to.) Even if I start donning the seasonal ties tomorrow, there’s no way they can all make an appearance in the next two months. I must be selective, and what I don’t wear this holiday season, I’ll wear next year. Or the next year. Tie rotation.

But I have to decide if I really want to go with the holiday neckwear so soon. I usually wait until after Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t let me show off as many holiday ties as I think y’all want to see. On the other hand, if I begin the holiday tie season tomorrow, I fear we might all be holiday-tied out by the beginning of December. Any strong thoughts about it? When do y’all want me to bring out the festive neckwear?

BTW   I’m not being political here. I do not have a problem with saying “Merry Christmas.” I tend to use the word “holiday” because I am not specifically referring to Christmas. I celebrate with friends who celebrate Hanukkah and/or Kwanzaa– as well as friends who observe Christmas– and these annual celebrations occur around the same time. They share a time of year, and they share the same basic values. When I’m communicating one-on-one, I use the specific greetings that apply. It’s not difficult. It’s respectful. It’s just plain polite.

I Ask For A Cape, And I Receive A Cape. Voila!

Argyle Tie o’ the Day is proud to be a part of our Suzanne-sewn Cape o’ the Day’s debut. I’m purposely concealing the other side of this reversible cape, which I’ll save for a separate post. But ain’t this cape beyond funky?!?!

Don’t be thinking my new Suzanne-made cape is a Halloween cape. Nope. Sugar skulls– or any skull designs–  are fashionable every day of the year, and for almost every occasion. Holiday? Skulls work. Birthday? Skulls work. Date night? Skulls work. Church? Maybe not.

The bonus attribute of this cape’s colorful fabric is that Frida Kahlo’s face is repeated among the skulls. Kahlo was an incredible Mexican painter. Some of her self-portraits make me dizzy with sadness. This skull/Kahlo cape material is part of the treasure we found in Albuquerque– at the fabric store Suzanne treated like a shrine.

BTW Frida Kahlo and I share a trait: our almost-unibrow. It was sexy on her. I don’t know what it is on me.

I had to include the second photo in this post so you could get a look at my flashy blue and black-velveted pants, as well as my chicken-theme Sloggers. The lighting sucks where this door mirror is located. And since I seem to have started using the mirror for post pictures, it really ought to be moved to a location in the house where there is proper lighting.

The problem with moving the door mirror is that it weighs as much as my truck. It is not attached to anything. It’s simply propped up against a wall. But you can’t just pick it up and try out how the lighting works with it in different places around the house. There is no possible way we can ever heft the door mirror up the stairs either. It has stood in our entryway since the day we moved in six years ago, and even as I type this, I realize we will never move it. It’s  perfect and handsome right where it is.

I guess y’all will just have to live with the occasional crappily-lighted mirror photograph in a post. I’m not too worried. Heck, a cape this swell can outshine bad lighting any day o’ the week.

What Else Can I Be?

Skitter can’t be in this photo because she’s outside pottying while wearing her french fries costume. She decided she didn’t want to wear any other costumes today. That’s how much she likes french fries. Spooky Tie o’ the Day provides decorative jack-o-lanterns for our Halloweening.

As you can see, I chose to wear a Helen A. Wright costume. How could I not? She claims she’s a witch. She claims Halloween is her day for riding her sharpened broom. She claims she is frightening when her hairs are not did.

Now, let me make some important comments about the finer points of this costume.

First– Mom’s hair. This is the best I could do to imitate Mom’s pre- Hair Day mop, cuz my hairs are now much longer than hers. If Mom’s hairs get out of control before Hair Day, she puts in a few curlers. She uses bobby pins to keep the curlers in place, but I have also seen her use toothpicks to do it when she can’t locate the bobby pins. Mom is creative when it comes to keeping the hairs in line. Don’t get me started on how many cans of hairspray she goes through in a week. And I must add that for some reason Mom always thinks she needs a perm. “My hair just needs a little oomph,” she says. “I need that height.”

The second item I need to explain is this set of reading glasses. I don’t know if you can see it, but the left lens is gone, and the right ear bar of the frame is gone too. This doesn’t mean Mom thinks the glasses should be thrown away. No, they should stick around– just in case. I managed to grab this pair one day when I saw its condition– forcing her to use the new pair I bought her.

Our third item needing commentary is the earrings. I borrowed these from Suzanne to give you an example, but they are not clip-on earrings like Mom likes to wear. Also, Mom prefers to wear earrings with a cluster of big colorful jewels. Mom will choose costume jewelry over precious stones every time. When Mom was still living in Delta, but was too frail to go to church, the ward priesthood guys brought the Sacrament to her at her house. She wore her duster and sat on the porch to wait for the Sacrament deliverers. And she insisted on wearing earrings for them, even though she was wearing a duster.

Fourth– the duster. Except for when Mom gussies up to attend church, I have not seen her dressed in anything but a duster for at least four years. It is her uniform. It’s like my ties are for me. It’s how we roll. BTW  Mom prefers to wear her worn out dusters rather than her newer ones. They are softer. And they are see-through. Sheer makes her happy, I guess.

Fifth– the socks. Although these are my socks, Mom would wear them in a heartbeat. She loves wild, comfy socks. For the last few years, crazy socks have been the only gifts Suzanne and I have given her for Christmas, birthday, and Mother’s Day. We are always on the lookout for bright, busy, soft ankle socks. Mom doesn’t have to wear a matching pair. She mixes ’em up. She doesn’t try to mix-and-not-match up on purpose like I do. But she’s fine with the not-matchy, if she can’t find a sock’s mate.

And finally– that newspaper tucked under “Mom’s” arm is, of course, THE CHRONICLE. It’s hers. If you value your fingers, don’t touch it. ‘Nuff said.

Do You Want Halloween Fries With That?

Jack-o-lantern Tie o’ the Day decided to go with a clever costume. Tie clipped on a bow and declared, “I’m a BOW TIE o’ the Day.” Skitter and I went with the silly vibe costume, using the all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips phrase. We decided we are “all that and an order of fries.” Note that Skitter is so content and patient in her fry costume that she tends to nod off.

These are our morning costumes. We have different costumes for later in the day. But for now, we’re wearing our fries as we fill up the candy bowl. As usual, we had to wait to fill it until Suzanne is at work, because candy isn’t sanctioned on her diet, and she tends to grab any visible sweet that shows its face.

I am always the designated candy giver-outer on Halloween evening. I rule the door. I rule the candy bowl. I don’t care how old you are: you are welcome to knock on our door for a goodie. You are not welcome to come back for seconds. And you are not welcome to ask for extra candy for your siblings who are sick and had to stay home. Yeah right, I don’t think so. Believe me, if you try those ploys, I will give you a come-to-Jesus talkin’ to that will be ringing in your ears until New Year’s Eve.

If Suzanne’s home from work when the little treat-seekers come knockin’, and she wants to sneak some candy, she knows better. She’d have to wrestle me for the candy bowl, and she knows she shouldn’t try that– because she knows that despite my peace-love-harmony nature, I am one tough fighter. And, like any champion fighter, I fight dirty. The fight over candy is over before it starts. I win. TKO.

In the end, I give Suzanne a scrap or two of the sweets. You know the kind I let her have. I give her the “bad” candy that not even kids really want– like those Dum Dum suckers and Bit-o-Honey’s. I always buy “bad” candy as a back-up for in case I run out of the good stuff. “Bad” candy is cheap. That’s how you can tell it’s the “bad” candy.” 👻 🎃 🤖 👽 👾 💀 👹 ☠️

A Skull Is Necessary

Tie o’ the Day presents its skulls, and Cufflinks o’ the Day do the same. We’re all getting ready for the end of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Halloween. Tomorrow we wrap up our pink and orange and black. It’s not like we won’t wear these colors again until next October, but we won’t be wearing them with such symbolic importance. We wish you a merry Halloween on the morrow!

Anyhoo…  I was grocery shopping at Dick’s this morning, and Tie had a couple of conversations with its fans. Lisa, the pharmacist at Dick’s, especially had to acknowledge Tie. She even asked if she could touch it. Fake spookiness, like Tie’s skulls, is what Halloween is all about. We don’t want no real spookiness.

I am not a bigly sushi gal, but while I was at the Dick’s meat counter, I picked up some squid salad, which is yummy even though its squidness might spook some people. And what was sitting right beside my squid salad in the meat case? Octopus salad, which had never been in there before. I bought a teeny-weeny bit of it to try, but I haven’t tried it yet. I’m waiting for Suzanne to be home when I taste it, just in case I choke on it and need the Heimlich Maneuver. I’ll certainly let you know how eating octopus tentacles goes.

Meanwhile, Skitter and I are deciding on our costumes for Trick-or-Treating tomorrow. Skitter has mostly settled on hers. I, on the other hand, can’t decide between a slew of costume ideas. Do I go with a scary costume? Do I go with a clever one? Or do I go with something silly? Inevitably, a tie or two will show up, no matter which costume vibe I choose. Perhaps the neckwear will wear costumes. Ya never know.

Our Last ABQ Sight

Bow Tie o’ the Day breathed the high air with us at Sandia Peak, in the mountains on the outskirts of Albuquerque.

We live in mysteries. Things we do not understand, and will never figure out, surround us. One of the mysteries I live with is Suzanne’s strange motion sickness parameters. She gets nauseous on a jetway. She gets nauseous on some– but not all– elevators. She gets nauseous on a plane if she isn’t wearing her anti-nausea patch. She cannot sit anywhere but in the front seat of a moving vehicle– preferably as the driver, which is tricky when she’s on a bus or train. At amusement parks, she can’t go on any rides that move in circles or turn upside down. But she CAN ride most roller coasters. And she CAN apparently ride a dangling tram up the mountains for 2.7miles, to the top of Sandia Peak. Explain that. Even Suzanne is unable to solve the nonsensical mysteries of which movements make her motion-sick and which don’t. We just accept these parameters as facts of her equilibrium existence. I was simply glad she could ride the tram with me.

Aside from the afore-posted fabric store, Sandia Tramway was the only other ABQ sight Suzanne experienced. She was content with those two adventures. As tremendous as the view from the peak was, it’s a sure bet that Suzanne’s fave thing about Sandia Tramway was at the foot of the tram. It was the touristy gift shop. How do I know this? Because she found four pairs of earrings. How do I know this? Because when I made my purchases there, I discovered I was paying for four pairs of earrings that magically appeared out of nowhere in my items at check-out. What did yours truly find at the gift shop? A hat and a pair of hot air balloon-covered cufflinks. Gift shops are a cheesy, cheapy rip-offs, but they are fun rip-offs.

I, unfortunately, ran out of time and did not make it to the place that I’m positive would have been my fave: Tinkertown Museum. Tinkertown Museum is a collection of one man’s lifetime of whittling projects– thousands of miniatures, dioramas, and animated scenes. Doesn’t that sound like my kind o’ folk art? I was not impressed with Albuquerque, as a whole. If I’d been lucky enough to have had time to see Tinkertown Museum, I wouldn’t care to return. But there is no way on the planet that I won’t go back someday just to go to Tinkertown Museum.

I can envision it now: One day, after Suzanne is off to work for the day, I hop on a morning flight to ABQ; spend a few hours being enthralled by some dead guy’s whittling collection; then fly back to SLC– in time to potty Skitter and make dinner. Suzanne wouldn’t have a clue that I’d even been out of the house. C’mon, you know it’s the kind of thing I would do, if only to be able to write a post about it.