I’m sure you know the snowman/dog Tie o’ the Day is my fave of these Christmas tree-theme ties. It’s also refreshing to see decked-out cacti and palm trees. Even the table-top tree is represented with the Christmas tree-in-a-red-Solo-cup, on the darkest blue tie. Santa’s lugging his tree home.Thanks for the 7th Anniversary wishes yesterday. I relayed them to Suzanne, and she sends her thanks too. I know I said I would regale y’all today with the details of our celebration, but our schedule had to change at the last minute, so we won’t be finished with what I had planned until next week. We had a splendid day together anyway, as per every day. I’ll update you as soon as our anniversary mission is accomplished.
7 years ago, we were finally able to get legally hitched. The minute we could, we did. Our very own American Gothic—here we are now! Some people believe in guardian angels. I believe our guardian angels are winged pigs in flight, and I appreciate each one hovering over us.
I’m taking today off for our 7th Anniversary, but I will post our celebration exploits tomorrow.
Honestly, I am pre-occupied with more than my holiday Ties/Bow Ties o’ the Day today. It’s our 7th legal anniversary tomorrow, and—for the first time—we won’t be going out on the town for a high-falutin’ celebration. It will be a low-falutin’ pandemic anniversary, and I am busy putting together what I hope will be a memorable menu and floorshow for the occasion. Wish me luck, y’all.❣️
Helen’s Holiday Tie Tally: 171 Neckties. 70 Bow Ties.
Here’s one of my two A CHRISTMAS STORY bobblehead figures: The Old Man and his leg lamp “major award.” Tie o’ the Day is all Ralphie in his new pajamas.
It appears to me that Skitter has possibly gotten into some neighbor’s medical marijuana. She’s awfully mellow, and she can’t quite fully open her eyes beyond these slits. She has pot eyes. She is, however, adding three of her four ties to her holiday total. (She wore the white tie last week, so it was counted already.)
Helen’s Holiday Tie Tally: 160 Neckties. 67 Bow Ties.
Our three Ties o’ the Day are here this Sabbath-before-Christmas to remind you to not get lost in all of the seasonal hoopla. Be joyous and have a ball, of course. But don’t forget the real reason for the season.🎄
Naughty/Nice/I Tried Tie o’ the Day and I were up early this morning, writing down my day’s TO-DO list. One item was of particular peculiar interest. A friend of mine has a recipe for fruitcake that requires the cake to be soaked in brandy. She’s getting ready to make the fruitcake, but she is askeered to walk into a liquor store—probably for fear someone will see her there and trash her spotless reputation. I wish I’d known she needed brandy a few days ago when I was at the liquor store picking up Suzanne’s Christmas break libations.
Anyhoo… I volunteered to go fetch the brandy for my pal. With it being less than a week until Christmas, I knew there would be a line at the liquor store. However, I did not know that getting to the store just a couple of minutes after it opened would put me 26th in line. And five minutes later, there were at least that many people behind me in the line. Everyone was masked and cordial. Everyone minded the social distancing rules. It was the longest line I’ve yet been in during this holiday season, but it turned out to also be the speediest line I’ve been in. I watched Judge Judy episodes on my phone while I waited for my turn to enter the store, so I was completely content to wait. My reputation—whatever it is—remains intact.
Here’s the Tie o’ the Day which is hidden from view under the Santa/reindeer/wrapped presents Tie o’ the Day in the first snapshot.
I called Mom this morning to see how she’s doing at MCR. I ascertained from the shortest phone conversation I’ve ever had with her that she is swell and well and dandy. She didn’t have time to talk to her 56-year-old baby because she and the other residents were preparing to watch a movie together. I don’t know any of the specifics—like the title of the movie they would be viewing, or what the care center’s social distancing plan was. I trust MCR to have figured out all of the safety details. All I know is that while conversing ever so briefly with Mom, I could hear joyous chatting voices in the background. Helen Sr. sounded as happy as the proverbial lark. Mom sounded safe and comfortable and excited for her oncoming day. Although I felt kinda cheated out of the conversation we weren’t able to have because she was so busy living her life at 90, I must admit that I was thoroughly pleased with the situation to my core. What more could a 56-year-old baby girl ask for? Mom was comfortable and exuberant, so I guess you can say I already got my Christmas present for this year. If Mom is happy, I seriously do not need one other thing.
Here’s a 1-Bow Tie, 5-Tie o’ the Day salute to my dad’s mom, who we’ve always affectionately referred to as Momo. (The Santa-hatted Scottie dog bow tie is one of my all-time faves.) I have continually been in awe of Momo’s unending crafty creativity. She could make anything out of anything.
Here are what I believe to be her two most famous Christmas tree ornaments: milkweed pod renditions of the Nativity scene. The two white critters at the foot of the three-pod ornament are lambs. I particularly like the golden deer/dog at the bottom of the one-pod ornament. (You should see the dog she included in her diorama version of the Garden of Eden!) I do not know exactly when Momo created these ornaments, but I remember them hanging on her Christmas tree annually, in even my earliest memories—so they are at least 50 years old. They are so fragile that I rarely bring them out for public viewing. I cannot dust them for fear the glue that holds everything in its place will break. Occasionally, I find that a component of an ornament has fallen out of its pod place. I do my best to re-glue it to its authentic spot.
Anyhoo…Last week, Suzanne came home from work and said, “We’re having an office contest for Most Interesting Christmas Tree Ornament on our tree. Can I take those ornaments Momo made?” Momo made many X-mas tree ornaments, but few still exist. Of course, I knew precisely which ornaments she meant, and I knew their whereabouts. Despite the fact that I rarely say NO to Suzanne, I seriously ruminated over her request for hours before coming to a decision. Suzanne was allowed to take them to her office only after I issued a Special Dispensation, and made her sign a lengthy contract in which she promised to guard them with her life, as if she was a member of the Secret Service and they were POTUS. Guess which ornaments won the competition, hands-down? I knew they would be victorious in any ornament contest. Why? Because Momo made them. GAME OVER.
