Lukas is the son of Suzanne’s niece, Rachel. Lukas’ older brother, Liam, has shown up here on TIE O’ THE DAY a couple of times, but I think this is Lukas’ debut. Lukas turned 1 recently, and I snapped these pix at his birthday party. He posed with the prop bow tie and then tried to eat it. His house was full of family and friends and birthday cake all over the floor. I’m sure you already know that birthday cake on the floor is proof of a successful birthday celebration.
Christmas emojis Tie o’ the Day and I got some sticky hugs from Lukas on his bigly day. I washed up and did laundry when we got home, and Tie went to the dry cleaners the next morning. I can’t wait to do it all again when Lukas turns 2.
I’m swamped with holiday gotta-do’s today. I’m finding no time to settle down to create a new post, so here are a few photos for y’all to check out, from December 2017. I ho, ho, hope you are delighted by them.
TIE O’ THE DAY ran across this 1990 gem while sorting through photos of Dad yesterday, and I knew I had to share it. Dad is standing between his brothers, Derral and Wally. Dad’s sister, Shirley, sits on the couch by their parents, Walt and Zola Wright. And not a tie is to be seen.
All the red-and-white, including candy cane Bow Tie o’ the Day, is telling me something. I’m not sure, but I think I’m feeling it’s time to make a drive to Delta to see my fave Delta Rabbit— Mom. That is always on my to-do list, as is “eat ice cream.”
The ice cream recommendations you saw here on this morning’s post seemed to hit their marks. I saw the comments. I heard the chatter. I fully expect some of you will be making an extra trip to the grocery store. Here’s Red Button Eggnog flavor to write on your list.
While you’re at the store in the ice cream section, I will be spending some time going through the pantry to make some space for actual pantry-type items. It was the ice cream containers I used for photos this morning which set me on this task. I’m sure you can’t imagine me doing it, but I save all sorts of “props” for possible TIE O’ THE DAY photos. I had saved a dozen or so empty ice cream containers of flavors I might want to recommend. I try to keep my “props” in The Tie Room, but the room— like June, in the song— is bustin’ out all over. Thus, about a dozen empty ice cream containers have been piling up for months in the pantry. My Big Gulp, 100-oz mini-kegs are in there too. There’s a fire extinguisher; 2 full bottles of generic NyQuil, which expired in 2014; 6 never-opened phone books, sent to our front door from all over the entire Wasatch Front; my personal drinking glasses; and Mom’s red-and-white apron she wore when she was a cook at Delta High School in the late 60’s.
Cases of Suzanne’s store-bought special water fill most of the pantry shelves. It’s not “special water” like the vodka you used to try to sneak into concerts and football games. No, it’s just the only kind of flavored, bottled water Suzanne will drink. And she truly loves her special water.
If I really crane my neck to look in the back corner on the pantry floor, I can see a can of Green Giant green beans. Its label has come unglued with expiration and it hangs, curled, partly off to the side of the can. I suppose 1 can is adequate proof there could have been a whole food pyramid of edibles in here at one point. I don’t remember that far back.
BTW Before you even ask: Yes, I will write a post about why my drinking glasses live in the pantry and not in the kitchen cupboards with all the other drinking glasses. Oh yes, there is a bigly story about that, and Suzanne won’t be happy I tell it. 🙀😱
The first Christmas decor I dust off is usually the crop of Charlie Brown trees in the garage, but I thought I’d change it up this year and lead off with the leg lamps. Leg lamp Tie o’ the Day feels proud to be helping with December’s first X-mas decor duties.
The leg lamps gave Mom such a thrill during the holidays that one season I decided to leave them in the living room of my Delta house all year long. She commented on them and laughed about them every time she wandered over, which was daily. She also touched their stockings a bit too much. And she loves the shoes. I love her.
I get a kick out of my 3-D turkey tie. It is bulky, however, which makes it tough to eat safely and cleanly while wearing it, so I chose a pumpkin Bow Tie o’ the Day to wear for our Thanksfeasting. Last year, we tried BAMBARA’s T-giving buffet feast and it was a hit with our palates and tummies, so we made reservations for this year. It might become a tradition.
Suzanne’s parents’ plans to go out of town for Thanksgiving eats got doomed by weather at the last minute, so I called BAMBARA to see if they could fit two more people into our reservation. Fortunately, they were able to juggle things around and found the space for two more feasters. We picked up Suzanne’s parents and drove through the snow to BAMBARA, in SLC, to eat as much as our little bellies desired. As far as I’m concerned, the highlight of the entire spread was the Bacon & Blue Cheese Potato Squash Gratin. Fanciest. Scalloped. Potatoes. Ever.
BTW The cape I’m wearing in some of these post photos is the latest cape creation by Suzanne. Ain’t it cool beyond groovy?!
Bow Ties o’ Two Events got almost no attention. That fact didn’t deepen my depression, cuz all eyes were on the miracle we call Grace Anne Blackwelder, and that’s a bunch of joy as far as I’m concerned. Last week’s happenings were all about crossing T’s and dotting I’s, and about holy ordinances too.
Tuesday found the Blackwelder family and their fan club in a courtroom, where Bishop Travis and Bishopette Collette were crowned the legal parents of Princess Grace. The adoption is final. Whew! And I say AMEN to that. (I wore my Christmas scottie dogs Bow Tie o’ the Day to the court affair.)
So many folks who love Gracie and her parents were there at the courthouse that I didn’t even get a turn to hold her and take a bow-tied selfie of us. There was a time or two when I considered stealing Grace Anne from Travis’ mom, my SWWTRN, but I didn’t want to break the spell she’s under when she’s holding her only grandchild. I also value my limbs, so I thought it best not to disturb a grandma being a grandma.
And the second magic event? On Saturday, most of the same family/friend characters gathered at the Provo City Center Temple, where Gracie was sealed to her parents— the richly blessed Bishop Travis and Bishopette Collette. This couple counts their blessings fervently. They are grateful for the wee one they’ve been given, as are we all. One day, Gracie will surely know how blessed she is to belong to her parents. Actually, Gracie is brilliant and probably already knows she’s hit the parent jackpot.
For the second time in a week, though, I didn’t get my turn to hold baby Grace. I’m not worried. I’ll get my many turns to hog her. But outside the Temple doors, I witnessed a Mom & Dad and Grace Anne Blackwelder family photo session for all our phone cameras. It was love, and I was happy to watch it play out.
FYI I’m having issues with downloading and editing photos on the website. Sorry for the photos not sitting in the upright position. I’ll find a fix for them ASAP.
I told y’all that a bigly wall of bipolar depression fell on me a couple of weeks ago. It kept me from creating posts. I didn’t even spend time in the Tie Room. I wasn’t having fun, that’s for sure. I tell you about what goes on in my life because it’s part of my life, which is where I get my stories–good, bad, ugly, or mythical. Maybe my exploits can aid someone else. It’s all part of the TIE O’ THE DAY project. I don’t do the pity party thing, but I appreciate the concern my readers express when the posts don’t show up. I’d like nothing better than to say TIE O’ THE DAY won’t disappear again, but it will most likely happen from time to time. If you’re a longtime reader, you’ve been through it before. And the world goes on, whether I’m depressed, manic, or level–as it should. I am very well aware that I am not now, nor have I ever been the center of the universe. And thank the heavens for that! Can you imagine the fashion laws I would put into effect?!
Anyhoo…At the beginning of this last round of heavy depression, I was invited to a birthday party for Bishop Travis (really old) and Gracie (6 months). As hard as it is to believe, I did not want to go to a birthday lunch for two of my favorite people-blessings. Our group of partygoers was supposed to meet in Nephi for lunch, and I was thinking of excuses to not show up to the festivities even past the moment I crossed into the Nephi city limits. My heart was not in it. My head was not in it. My depressed spirit hurt too much with an amorphous, morbid heaviness which no one can ever explain. I’ve been down this road many times, and the only trick is to just show up. Just do it. Put on your Bow Tie o’ the Day and walk into the celebration.
We met at Lisa’s Kitchen. My hubby, Gary, and my Sister Who Wishes To Remain Nameless, brought Mom. Bishop Travis and Bishopette Collette brought their wee Grace Anne. We talked, and laughed, and ate, and couldn’t get enough of The Gracie Roadshow.
I’m glad I didn’t stay home alone. I’d like to say the birthday lunch with family restored my soul to high happiness, but that would not be true. Depression doesn’t work like that. I enjoyed myself. I hope others enjoyed me being there. But I know how depression works, and I knew not to expect bigly transformation of my sorry spirits. I did the best I could to be part of my lunch-eating family party. I’m able to appreciate the experience more and more as I gradually improve into my “level” state of mind, my normal.
The day was an incredible treat. Next, I’ll post about two more magical events of the past week.
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.
I had a swell and busy weekend, full of hair cuts and ballet and current events quizzes. I aim to fill y’all in on the happenings, but this fantastic photo of Gracie showed up on my Facebook feed. I’m sure you’ll agree that Gracie and her head Bow Tie o’ the Day simply must be the week’s first TIE O’ THE DAY post.
