16 October 23

 I'm wearing my "elegant vine" today to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the very special (unique) wedding of Ben Kleppinger and Amanda Wheeler. I wore this tie to the outdoor ceremony featuring hundreds of floral decorations grown by Beth Kleppinger. Many friends and relatives participated in the service and the reception dinner (prepared by Rachel Haskins and several kitchen assistants!). We have great memories of the logistics for transporting the flowers, people and food.

17 October 21

 This weekend we are celebrating the 11th anniversary of the joyful wedding of Ben Kleppinger and Amanda Wheeler! I wore this "elegant vine" tie for that ceremony, held outdoors at the Indian Fort amphitheater in Berea, KY. Beth grew the flowers that we set all around the semicircle, in more than thirty large pots and planters, which we trucked to the place with the help of Amanda's father Garmon Wheeler. The food for the reception was prepared at our house by Rachel Haskins, who also made the great cake! The ministers were our family friends Clyde David Burberry and Charles Bertrand. Ben and Amanda could tell you much more!

 

16 October 19

This is my "elegant vine" tie, which was first worn on this date nine years ago to celebrate the wedding of Ben Kleppinger and Amanda Wheeler!

17 October 18

Yesterday, 8 years ago, I wore this "elegant vine" tie for the wedding of Ben Kleppinger and Amanda Wheeler!

16 October 16

This is NOT a plain ordinary tie! My "elegant vine" tie features beautiful tones of purple and silver, and was first worn six years ago on this date to help celebrate the wedding of Ben Kleppinger and Amanda Wheeler. They asked me to wear it again for this anniversary, and I'm very happy to do so! (I was the only person sporting a tie this morning at the outdoor "church picnic day" service for Somerset First Presbyterian Church; everyone who asked about it agreed that I was doing the right thing!)

4-5 June 16

My niece Kirsten Rae (Huizenga) Caminiti selected my "chameleons" tie for me to wear to honor her birthday on June 5. We were with Kirsten in Nashville the previous day, to help celebrate her brother Nolan's marriage to Aimee Moiso. For that wonderful event I wore my "elegant vine" tie. I'm including a photo from the evening party where Kirsten played several violin solos, accompanied by her mother (my sister Gloria)!

21 May 15

Twenty years ago today I attended the wedding of Richard (Dick) and Carolyn Kleppinger! Over these years they have lived in Virginia, Florida, Alabama, and now Florida again. They chose my "elegant vine" tie for me to wear today, and Dick asked me to try out the "Atlantic" knot. It's quite elegant, and not very difficult. Happy 20th Anniversary!

16 October 14

Four years ago I wore this tie for the first time, at the beautiful outdoor wedding of Ben Kleppinger and Amanda Wheeler! They just keep celebrating being happy together . . .

20 October 13

My tie today celebrates the third anniversary of Ben and Amanda! They were married on 16 October (when I wore this tie for the first time). They are celebrating this weekend by exploring Carter Caves State Resort Park! They left Mozzie with us to have some good times with Shadow.

16 October 12

Two years ago on this date I wore this tie for the wedding of Ben and Amanda! They asked for it again, and I'm happy to oblige. By the way, my pony tail hair ties are green and purple today for this happy couple.

25 April 12

This is World DNA Day, celebrating the day in 1953 when Crick and Watson and Franklin, et al., published the first structural details about the DNA molecule--including the unexpected novelty of a "double helix" as its foundational framework. My tie, labeled Elegant Vine, shows many spiraling tendrils.

17 May 11

Happy 50th birthday to Irish/Celtic musician Enya (Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin)! One of her most famous songs is "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)." My tie's design is called Elegant Vine, and I think it's very appropriate for the beautiful interweavings of lyrics, melody and harmony in Enya's artistry.

18 October 10

The wedding day tie again! I only wore it for a few hours on Saturday, so I thought it deserved more daylight today.

16 October 10

Today is Ben-and-Amanda's wedding! It will be an outdoor event at Indian Fort Theater, in a nice forested mountain environment near Berea. Beth has spent a great deal of time this year growing plants and flowers to decorate the event; we have about forty rectangular planters and at least that many additional pots (with diameters from 4 inches up to 30-something). It will take several round trips from our home to the theater to truck all the plants and flowers. The stage and steps and rock wall and pathways will be brightened with greenery and purple flowers! I shopped for this tie myself, finding a very suitable pattern called "Elegant Vine" with colors that match perfectly with what Beth is wearing. The portrait photo is not a good one; I will add a photo from the wedding later.