Learning To Tie A Bowtie...Finally

The costumer Alina, tossed me a tie. "Here, wear this as Sam when you're talking on the phone. I love that tie. Can you tie a bowtie?"

"Actually..." I said

"Can you?" she said.

"I'll watch a YouTube video. No worries," I said.

"Great. That'll look great," she said.

She was right--the tie's fantastic.

I was wrong--I was worried.

I've worn bowties for decades, high school, college, a little after college. Of course, I only wore bowties when I wore a tuxedo and I wore a tuxedo a lot because I sang in high school, sang a lot in college, and have sung in organized choirs a little after college. The black bowtie was mandatory. But every time I wore a black bowtie, it was pre-tied. I tried learning how to tie one before. I never really picked it up.

Maybe it was the pressure of being in a show and needing to have that thing tied for my scene that caused me to finally learn how to tie that tie. But, we all really know it was YouTube that finally got me to where I can, with confidence, tie a bowtie. Today, two of my sons and I donned our bow ties and went to church. I tied mine, theirs were already made. I know it's a small thing, but I thought it was really cool to finally learn how to do it.

A Night of Snow, Singing, Arctic Birds, and a Little Mime...

Just your basic Thursday evening...

A few days I got a call from our neighbor Carolee who is in charge of our stake's Easter program. We are lucky enough to have her available for some amazing musical productions. Carolee was in a near panic--one of her groups was not going to sing for the show that takes place this weekend. We planned and thought of alternatives for the musical number. We decided to rehearse tonight.

The time came and I left the house (I have probably not included this piece of trivia, but a seldom-used nickname for our house is The Cottage), so I left The Cottage and took some pictures of Snow Falling on Non-Cedars...

We were welcomed--literally--by penguins. Carolee has been involved in music for many, many years. When they moved into the neighborhood they remodeled the house and put in a beautiful music room, complete with two grand pianos.

We rehearsed and I came home. I know this is a bad picture, but this is how The Cottage looks tonight wrapped in a blanket of snow.

Once inside, my son wanted to show off his newly acquired talent. The visuals speak for themselves....Oh, and that's Brian Regan pontificating in the background.