Tie a Day, Number 39

This is the only Thanksgiving tie that I own. Really it is a Tabasco tie with a Native American on it. I am not sure how an Indian and hot sauce go together, but I am sure the relationship is as defensible as my association of a plains Indian chief on a Tabasco tie with Thanksgiving.

You can just make out the Tabasco logo in a watermark kind of thing (how do they do that in silk?) patterned in the background.

I only wore one tie this past week and I will wear one next week after the holiday break. I will be at the VSTE conference in Roanoke, VA on three of my normal school tie days. I will not be wearing ties there, but maybe a mullet!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tie a Day, Number 38

This tie is one of my favorites. I like it so much that I even gave it a name, “Red Hot Chilli Peppers.” Not very original, I know, but appropriate for the tie.

Today I wore this tie like a Coral Snake wears his colors, as a warning. The peppers tie could be interpreted as – Handle With Care.

I have been a bit fired up lately and feeling ultra protective of my family. This has altered my mood and made me less than pleasant in social situations. It is not good to be on red alert for an extended period of time.

I am sure that my disposition will change soon, but sadly, I am not convinced that I have ever truly been pleasant to be around.

Tie a Day, Number 37

Today’s tie is fruity, and by that I mean it has lots of fruit on it. I don’t normally like fruits, vegetables or even plants on my ties, but this tie is ok. I do think it is odd that the fruit is all leaning to the right but somehow that doesn’t attract the eye as much and leaves you with a feeling of color rather than shapes.

Another late 80’s Countess Mara tie made of fine silk with an unexpected thickness to it, I imagine that at one time this was an example of fashionable men’s neckwear. Sadly, this tie hasn’t escaped my closet in at least 12 years.

Not normally a tie I would choose to wear, but it worked for me today. It is surprising how many ties I have liked that I would not have wanted to wear except for this silly tie a day gig…

Now if I could only get my little photographers to line up the pictures vertically. Lately my pictures seem to lean a bit.

Tie a Day, Number 36

In celebration of the Redskins dominating win over the Broncos yesterday I wore my last football tie of the year. This football tie looks like a football. It even looks like it has the grippy, bumpy texture of a football. The only problem with this tie is that it is a college football (the white stripes).

I was totally shocked that the Redskins played such a great game against the Broncos. The two glaring mistakes that the Skins made were in coverage on Brandon Marshall. How they made the same mistake twice I have no idea. The man is huge, fast and has awesome hands. Why isn't your best cover man on him all day with safety help?

The turning point in the game was when Brian Orakpo tackled Kyle Orton and twisted both of his feet under him. Orton couldn't play after that and Chris Simms couldn't win the game. Simms was rusty and out of sync with the rest of the team. Orakpo is my new favorite player (Not that I like people to get hurt, I don't. He just proved to be the difference maker).

If you are not a football fan, or a Redskin fan, I am sorry, but Skins fans have had nothing to get excited about all year. Let me have my day!

It would have been the best football day ever except my fantasy football team lost. At least Maurice Jones Drew gave me a personal apology for not making my team tie with those 6 points he left on the field. Smart football play, but you don’t get smart points in fantasy football. Thanks Maurice for the personal message, you are forgiven! Don’t worry, I won’t bench you.

Tie a Day, Number 35

Tuesday I wore this little number. I guess it is ok. It looks like a bunch of ninja throwing stars in an Escher pattern.

It is funny how I notice little things about each tie. On this tie on the bottom left side right where the angle turns from a almost vertical line down to the point of the tie, there is a small cut in the fabric. It is a clean straight cut that was probably made by scissors.

When I taught Kindergarten I was expected to wear a tie just about everyday, and as you can imagine I used scissors a lot. I probably cut it myself and never noticed. My ties always did get in the way then. I always just slung them over my shoulder to work.

People always asked me why I never got a tie clip- I hate them. Nothing personal against the little clips, I just never thought they were for me. I believe in free range ties!

Tie a Day, Number 34

Today I decided to do something bold, out of the ordinary and quite frankly, a little crazy. It is just the way I roll with it. Flouting convention, I did what I knew to be wrong, something others said should never be done.

And I pulled it off!

Stripes and dots, together- mixing and mingling in the naughtiest of ways- right on my chest.

I thought for sure someone would call me on it, but no, it was as if I was wearing a protective shield. Perhaps this was the day when I could do no wrong and I wasted the magic on a stupid shirt and tie combination instead of the lottery.

Or maybe no one cared...

It doesn't matter. When I tell this story, and I assure you I will, it will be a magical story of conquest over the fashion masters. How I screamed at the world, "Freedom!" with my face painted blue while riding my horse off to work.

Of course, I still can't top the horizontal red and blue stripped shirt with the green and white spotted camouflage pants combo my 5 year old wore out of the house today.

Tie a Day, Number 33

Today was, "Fight the Photographer" day. My 5 year old, Sammy, was dying to get in on the picture taking, so I tried to give a little extra time to get a good shot while I was coaching him.

"Hold the camera like this and try and get the top and the bottom of the tie in the picture. Ok?"

"Ok!" He says as he attempts to get one at an odd angle that includes the dog.

"Sam, you need to hold it like this so you don't block the flash."

"Ok, Daddy!" as he turns the camera at a 33 degree angle that captures his own hand.

I then try to hold the camera with him at the right angle while pointing out how he should get just the tie in the picture.

Flash!

"Alright buddy, that's good enough. Thank you!"

It is a good thing I crop these photos...

Tie a Day, Number 32

This tie has always been one of my favorites, maybe because it is black. I have always loved black, but since I was a teenager purple moved into the lead. I attribute this to a change in overall attitude.

Black is one color. Purple is a mix of two. I guess that means that as I have grown older I have come to accept that there is a duality to all things.

Or it might just be a thing I tell myself so that I can believe that I am complex and deep, when the reality is that I am totally full of it.

In any case, I have always loved this tie. Since the early 90's when it came into my possession, I have looked forward to wearing it. Now it is out of style and I still enjoyed our time together.

Yes, I am a dork.

Tie a Day, Number 31

The tie I wore on Monday was an interesting blue tie with a peacock feather design. Revenge of the 80's ties! I did not have to wear a tie at all on Tuesday- a tie day off.

This blue tie is not really one of my favorites, and not even a tie that I think I have worn before. This tie was only a space filler, although I have to say that I did select a good shirt to go with it.

I have taken an interest in ties lately (obviously) noticing the ties that people wear around me, and on TV. Combining this interest in ties and my love for football and I have really been noticing the football analysts ties.

One man beyond all others stands out to me. Not because of the ties, but the knot he uses. Merril Hoge has the largest tie knot I have ever seen. It is easily 5 times bigger than the knot I use every day. This thing is massive! It must take half and hour to get this thing right. I contacted him through his website to find out about this impossibly large knot. Hopefully, I will hear back soon.

This curiosity about Mr. Hoge's knot let me to investigate knots in general. I never knew there were so many different knots out there! I should have known, between sailors and their knots and Boy Scouts and all of theirs, somebody was sitting around thinking of new knots to tie ties with...

I found this nice site that explains how to tie a tie in different knot styles, and I realized that the knot I was using is not on the list! I thought I was doing the Half Windsor, but not so. I kept looking on the list and it is closest to the Simple Double knot but with only a single loop in there.

Seeing as I do not have a name for my personal tie knotting system, I have taken it upon myself to name my own knot. Because of my simple White Trash background, and the single loop that I use in my knot, I am forever naming my knot the "Simple Single Redneck."

Have you ever seen a knot as big as this? I think it is the Atlantic Knot...