waterloo - I was defeated you won the war

This is a tribute.

The Sunday before last a stellar young man by the name of Adam Arnesen made some very yum Filipino food in my kitchen and even let me eat some. This alone would be a good post. However, in the culinary frenzy, his necktie didn't quite survive and really (really) was lost. By the time he left we still couldn't find it, but not one minute after he'd walked out the door, lo and behold it was resting on my armchair. That's all. I spotted it from across the room and promptly alerted Steph, who was also in the room at the time.

Being occasionally obnoxious, I opted not to return the tie right away. So, the next day, Steph and I ventured to the Deseret Industries to secure five delicious new ties. And my, was the selection grand. Included in the mix is a yellow one printed with images of men's dress shirts and boxers. Another favorite of mine is one painted with butterflies and glitter paint.

These gems were then tied to Adam's porch railing with a note indicating that "these were all the ties I found in my couch," and would he kindly "select his and return the rest?" So yes, a little laugh, some odd men's clothing accessories, and my job there was done. Beautiful.

Fast forward a week or so to this morning when I am gracefully exiting my apartment as I always do and la dee da, there is a bright yellow gift bag just waiting for me on my doorknob. And in it? Why nothing other than two eclectic placemats. Made from those very ties. Placemats! The ingeniousness of it! I don't really think I need to say I was agape. Even more amazing is that, as I told my mother, they're "cute-ugly," an adjective I hope I never use to describe my children. In this bizarre sort of high-end homespun abstract kind of way, I really like them. Well done. Well done.