Patch Mad

For it or agin it? Either way blame the guy below, on the right. He is credited with inventing patch madras. His name is Sidney Winston, and he was tailor to the man on the left. Mr. Winston is also credited with several other preppy wardrobe staples. Embroidered corduroy pants and

the god awful 4 panel pants.

That sound you hear is that of our British friends leaving about now.

I was well into my dotage before encountering patch mad in the wild. The spring before Katrina, I attended my bonus son's Tulane University graduation. Outside, in the smokers section was a Ted Turner looking guy. Good looking in a way, appeared to know his way around a beer bottle and probably a G&T or two. Looked liked the sort you see hanging around the bar at the country club.

He was wearing a well used pair of khakis, polo shirt and a patch mad blazer. I thought he was the best looking guy I had ever seen. Having never seen a patch jacket before, I had to have one for myself. NOW.

It wasn't to be. Took me a season to find the name of what I was looking for. Longer to locate one.

Mine is the one above. Its an off the peg Jos Banks. Took a lot of fixing to get the Banks out of it, but I get lots of compliments every time I wear it. Naturally, I wear it a lot.

Deep down I suspect PM is really for the young, trim, and tanned. Looks especially fetching on young trim, tanned girls. Actually, all girls look better than all boys in PM.



Unfortunately,as labor cost for a cheap cotton jacket are the same as that for a fine wool, it doesn't pay to have one made, so blazers are catch as catch can.

If you are crafty the following sell the cloth.

Just Madras

or


http://store.fabrics-textiles.com/index.php?cPath=42&osCsid=27fde0ef8e7779af4758cfc70a0bfe48

I take a size...

Toad

A red letter day X 2

Desperately in need of good news I present for your consideration our family's red letter day times two.

First, today marks the annual celebration of th birth of my beloved son in law, darling daughter Katy's husband, Gary. Better known to many of you as the chap who saves me from myself on blogging issues, especially correcting white fonts on white backgrounds. He is the tall lad in the white shirt. Happy Birthday to Gary.

More importantly today is also Katy and Gary's third wedding anniversary. They were married in a beach side service in pre-flu infested Cancun, Mexico.

On that most special day I wished them much happiness, and hopes for many splendid years together. I redouble those wishes today. They make a cute couple,and since each knows they are in charge, they should be happy for many years to come.

Happy Anniversary to two of my favorites. They always make me smile.

Toad

All ideas gladly accepted

Choosing to ignore technology does not make it go away, it merely postpones decision making. So once again friends I solicit your help.

I need to replace our CD player, why do they only last a year? I don't necessarily need to replace it with a CD player though.

The new device has several requirements.

1. Needs to be fairly cheap.
2. I need to be able to connect it to our A/B box, so I can hear it wherever I want.
3. A shuffle feature would be nice.

Sounding to me like I finally want an IPOD, but do they hook up to external speakers? Would magic box 442 make it work?

Sorry to be back to the well so soon, but y'all seem to know everything.

Toad

Grumble

So I'm laying in bed, mentally preparing for the day.

As beloved granddaughter Paige says, "it's a beautiful sunshiny day".

Working through my mental list. It's dry and I can hear the grass grow. Why not start by cutting the grass. Sounds like a plan.

So I spend an hour catching up on my friends and then mosey down to the barn, open it up. Seems unnaturally bright. The mind reels. Did I leave the light on again? No. Why is it so darn bright?

Then it hits.

Yon tree has tumbled through roof.



So then the litany begins. What's damaged? How's the Bentley? (first things first) Everything seems OK. Then I see the jeep. Suddenly, I'm wishing it was mine, so I wouldn't have to call the owner.







Owners are not as understanding when your cars are ok.

Toad

Nupts-An irregular series Part 1

Does this count?

From Sunday May 10, 2009 New York Times

Toad

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Wanna liven up your party mix? Getting tired of Roy and the Buena Vista Social Club? Jimmy Buffett sounding tired around the pool?


The most popular band in the world is one you may have never heard of. It's Los Fabulosos Cadillacs


They are a 9 piece South American band from Columbia, Argentina, and Brazil. Tunes are a mix of ska, rock, big band, and traditional Latin music.


In Spanish and Portuguese speaking locales these guys are the bees knees, yet obscure enough in the US to impress your Hispanic friends.

Follow the link and try out the LFC radio channel. YouTube has disabled the enbedded link so I can't post a video, but I think you'll like it. If nothing else I think you'll find the upbeat music will brighten a gloomy day.


Toad

Shopping

I'm rarely allowed in grocery stores. Mrs. T contends she would rather supervise a kindergarten field trip to the store than go with me. That my friends, as Mark Twain would say is a statistic.

Grocery shopping is a competitive sport for Mrs T and her family. Her mother is out at the crack of dawn. She'll then call her 4 children to let them know what's on sale today. A day without the grocery is like a day without sunshine.


While I am not allowed to go, I do get to hear about it though, and for the past year, a constant refrain is how much soda has gone up. I've figured out why.

Let me take you back to the summer of 2007. Everything was expensive. Gas, milk, soda, corn, beef. Much of the grain and beef prices could be laid at the feet of the ethanol debacle. Farmers grew fuel instead of feed.

So all the sudden sugar is cheaper than corn. Want proof? Notice the soda ads lately. Pepsi Throwback, Mountain Dew Throwback. Snapple with better stuff? Pop is being made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.

For years Mexican markets have run a gray market for Mexican bottled Coke. Those bottles have always been made with sugar.

It is hotly debated and vehemently denied by the corn syrup makers that fructose turns off a receptor that says I've had enough. That is one reason Super Big Gulps are possible. It's possibly another reason why we are as big as houses.

I prefer the taste of sugar, and hope it hangs round a while. Happy Mother's Day moms.

Toad

Tree Art?

Tree faces are a popular method of adding whimsy to an otherwise staid garden setting. My grand daughters gave me one for Christmas, and we spent an enormous energy selecting just the right tree to become king of our Ents. It was worth the added effort, and now we know who is boss.

Yesterday, I was enjoying breakfast, minding my own business, thumbing through the Plow and Hearth catalog and came across these little items. I have a whimsical side, and believe in fairy gardens, unfortunatly this particular need passed me right by.

If you have the need, and your trees are look a little bare, you may want to pick one or two of these little treasures. If you have enough trees, perhaps one for everyone. It would be like having your own hobbit village

I haven't a clue how to decide, and no, my granddaughters are not available to help.

Toad

Wedding Season

Remember the first time you did hand to hand combat with champagne?

Probably someone's wedding reception. Had too much didn't you? The smell, the bubbles. Took years to overcome the memory of the memories. A couple of years at least before you could go back to the well.

Mayhaps, you tip toed back into the fray via Cold Duck.

Cold Duck was the unholy marriage of NY sparkling wine with California red. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. Went down easy, came up fast. Fortunately, I haven't seen it in years.

So now it's wedding season. You're big and supposed to enjoy Champagne. The drug of choice for celebrations. Only in moderation for me please. The memories come back when I least expect them.

Toad

Scream

Its been said that theatre goers who heard Olivier's scream as the blinded Lear were haunted by it until their dying day.

The Man in Black's scream, the sound of ultimate suffering, was heard across the sea.

Trifles my friends.

The scream of Toad, who woke to find his prized deciduous Azaleas, eaten to the ground. That was screaming which will forever set the standards of screams. Did I mention they were a day of two from flowering? Did I complain about the hundreds of eaten hostas? No. Nibbles on the peonies. Hardly.


This photo is from the world renowned Exbury Gardens. It shows the effect I was going for. Now imagine mulch where the bushes are.


Toad

Let us Remember

Gentlemen, let us remember that Mother's Day is Sunday.

Shirts part 3

I suspect you would have never guessed me as a man of pet peeves. Well, you'd have been wrong.

I seem to acquire them every wherever I go.

Last week Kathy asked how I came to know so much about clothing. The real answer is I have pet peeves.

Look closely at the picture above. My second greatest clothing pet peeve is shirts that ride out of a waistband as you stretch, sneeze, shift,reach and grab. There are two reasons this occurs, and each have to deal with sizing.

The two shirts in the picture above are the same size, and are hanging at the same length. But the gingham shirt is 2 inches longer. Why? The manufacturer cares. Longer tails stay in place.

I have only found long tails on American shirts through bespoke shirt makers. Lands End custom does a very good job. The white shirt is off the rack Brooks Brothers OCBD. The gingham is British shirtmaker Harvie and Hudson. English shirts come this way. They are a pleasure to wear. I'd happily pay a couple of extra bucks for a shirt that stays put.

As you can tell, Harvie and Hudson came through, customs received their duties and the shirts arrived Saturday. Well made, good fabric, nice details, no fit.

Returned on Monday. I was impressed enough by the quality to consider their bespoke service, but not soon.

Toad

The Mint Julep

Some people just love their work. While its hard to hide incompetence, a professional can never hide his light under a barrel.

Watch this pro, the barman at the NOLA Ritz Carlton at work. Being Cinco De Mayo the video has some excellent tips to improve your Mojito, as well.



Toad

Nupts

This weekends paper was a bit thin, but I have several observations, I'd be happy to share.

1. I'd hate like hell to have planned a Mexican wedding for this month.

2. Is anyone married in Churches any more?

Toad

She may be on to something

I suspect that this may be more of a girl thing, at least socially. Boys don't operate this way. Business maybe. Boys night out-NO.

Immediately follow the link to News Reading Wife I'll wait.

Sign up genius might save your day.

Toad

Ya buy him books...

The dog is not bright.

For 3 years he's been warned almost weekly.

Ted, there are 3 things you are not to mess with. Turkeys will kick your ass, so look up periodically. A roosting turkey leaping from a tree limb will knock you cold.

Number 2, if looks sorta dog like but not really keep away. It's probably hungrier than you, and maybe willing to take a nip. You wouldn't care for it much.

Lastly, not only are owls our friends, they can be mean. Don't attempt to come between an owl and its dinner. You'll lose.

So what does he do?

He snatches an owl.

Without explaining what "it" is. Owls do it. Somewhat territorially. Whoa be the owl who elects to do it, in another owl's territory.

This little guy tried. The big guy in the first picture would have no interlopers while he "ited", and whupped this lad right out of the sky. That's when Ted the Wonder Dog got him.

The whole event was over in seconds. The trespasser had the wind knock out of him and came to, in Ted's caring mouth, then let out a screech that sounded profane. Startled Ted let him go.

After bragging to his friends for a bit, he quietly went to the back of the barn and spit feathers for several hours.. Both the owl and Ted survived. The pecking order understood. Ted is a wiser dog.

Toad

Why did I ask?

Thank you all for your comments. They helped the discussion a great deal. Mrs. T and I are meeting with the dutch uncle who manages our investments Friday.

At the beginning of 2009 the DJIA fell from almost 9000 to the mid 7000 range, rose to almost 9000 fell and rose again in the same range. I made a very expensive wager when the Dow was at 8900 the second time, that we would see the Dow at 6500 before we saw 9500.

I won, although I'm not terribly proud of that. Now the Dow is back in low 8000 territory again.

In my view of the world, the big banks are still broke, massive layoffs are still occurring, another commercial real estate lending shoe is about to drop, housing prices still fall. The historian in me remembers that during the Great Depression most folks didn't go broke at the crash. Shortly after the crash, the NYSE rallied for almost 8 months. Then the bottom fell out. Not likely to happen again, but...

For the time being I am unhappily content to sit on the sidelines and watch our humble cash reserves dwindle. Mrs. T feels we are missing great investment opportunities.

I badly want to play, but needed a reason to. That's where you came in.

Toad.

How's Your World?

Today's topic is somewhat self serving. Mrs. T and I are trying to come to an investment decision and fundamentaly disagree on our world view.


Lest I cloud your opinion, I'll wait until tomorrow to describe my view of the world.


So how are things in your part of the world? Any signs of housing improving? Is anything being built? If you had a truly great idea, could you get a loan to implement it? How are things at work? Company growing? Do you fear for your job? Are your kids working, plan to this summer? Is your local newspaper full of doom and gloom, or is everything coming up roses? Are you shopping? Malls full? Rents holding up? Farmers happy? Restaurants occupied?


You get the point. I seek your biased view, of life in your town, wherever that may be.


Feel free to respond anon, but give a general idea of where you live.


I appreciate your responses.



Toad

Snuffed

There is nothing even remotely funny about this story.


From every angle it's a tragedy, personally, for his family, for the community.


On the other hand, he was a believer, if it was OK by God, it was OK by him, and his God wanted him dead.

NOW.


Through some flaw in my character, this story just cracks me up. My condolences to his family.


http://cjonline.com/news/local/2009-04-25/biker_killed_by_lightning_idd

Toad

Vanity Cards

Do you know from Chuck Lorre?

Chuck is the creator, producer, god, of such television staples as The Big Bang Theory, Two and a half men, Dharma and Greg, Cybil, etc. etc. etc.

At the end of each program, after the credits he publishes a vanity card. You never see it because your TIVO stops too early, or you think its all the legal stuff and don't pay attention. You are missing a lot.

Chuck is twisted. Painfully. His vanity cards are a brief look into every guys mind. I recommend you pay more attention in the future. Or find your favorites here.

Toad