Happy Feet

Sometimes the cosmos just shines, the planets are in alignment, and all the lights are green. That's the way my shoeshopping expedition with Grammy was yesterday.

After lunch, we headed for Shoe Pavilion hoping to find a replacement for my old, comfy, well-loved Dexters. It's not uncommon to spend an entire kindergarten morning on my feet, moving constantly and my pedometer can prove it. So my shoes have to meet some stringent teacher-shoe standards. I'm quite capable of walking away empty-handed (or should that read bare-footed?) when I'm looking for shoes.

Instead I found four fabulous shoes that have wonderful arch support, nice leather, fit perfectly and at a reasonable price. I exercised great restraint and only bought three pair.

First, I ran across some Avia running shoes--my old runners are way past their expiration date, so these were a needed item.

Then the Clark's sandals caught my attention. I became a Shoe Pavilion fan when I found my wonderful blue Sunbeats there two years ago so I was thrilled to find these tan babies to add to the collection. I mean, the blue matches almost everything, but tan is so wonderfully neutral.

Then Grammy pointed out a brown, MaryJane-style Ecco shoe that fit wonderfully so we grabbed our shoeboxes and were waiting for the customer ahead of us, when I remembered that the front window had some shoes that caught my eye earlier. What a dilemma when I found the cute brown Dexters!

Did I need two brown pair? Not really, but how often does one find two shoes that fit and look great?

Which one felt more comfy? The Eccos were quite comfortable and the Dexters were pretty comfortable. Either would work.

Which looked better? Grammy thought the Dexters were cuter and I had to agree. I really liked the Eccos, but they might have been just a tad clunky for my admittedly teensy feet.

Which were cheaper? Sometimes a girl just has to ignore price and make a decision based on what's best for her feet.

In the end, the Dexters won and I somewhat reluctantly left the Eccos behind. I feel like I won a jackpot with my three new shoes. Just like any kid, having new shoes makes it seem easier to face going back to school!

p.s. I might have come away with three pairs of shoes, but I got my sweetie SIX pairs of socks! He really came off best. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Holy Smokes!

My baby has turned 24! Don't know how time sped by so fast that I know have to dabble in subtraction to figure out how old my kids are.

We spent 45 minutes looking for a good birthday card. I'm more likely to be drawn to the silly cards about heredity (good looks vs. intelligence), or the nutty things all moms say. It's easier than getting all weepy over the sappy verses extolling pride and love. I pretended that my allergies were acting up yet again as I wiped my eyes.

Naturally we chose the sappy (but totally true) card about loving a tiny baby, a little boy, and a tall young man. We are so blessed to have two incrediblewonderfulcaringkindhandsomeintelligent sons. Love you both!

Pins and Needles

It's the main reason that there have been no recent posts--it's hard to type when I can't feel my fingers. I have carpal tunnel in both wrists (note to self: next time you want to start distance training runs, make sure your bike is perfectly fitted to you). The doctors and therapists call it "tingling", but the truth is that my fingers have felt as though they've been asleep for close to two months now.

They are gradually feeling better, sort of half asleep. That's from a combination of therapy, wrist braces and letting the nerves rest.

Resting is pure torture when you are as active as I (usually) am. I can live with not using the shovel and pick as I re-landscape my front yard. I found that I can get Erkie to come over and he's great about taking directions from me and I'm happy with any sort of progress on the landscaping that got derailed by carpal tunnel.

Unfortunately, resting also includes a ban on fine motor activities. Just try and find something that doesn't use your hands. Can't use scissors. Can't hold a pen or pencil for any time at all. Even reading is frustrating. Paperbacks are bad enough; trying to find a comfy way to hold the last Harry Potter (all 759 pages of it) was nearly impossible. The solution turned out to recline the sofa, hold the book open on my lap and only use my hands to turn the pages.

Oddly, using the keyboard is one of the easier things for me. I can't do it for very long, but at least it doesn't make my fingers swell or my hands hurt. So...short posts. Like this one.

Over and out.

Sneak Peek

Yeah, I've been on vacation. Still am.

Plus it's been way too hot upstairs in our house, not to mention in our computer room, to want to be there. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

But...I just went on a Pond and Rails tour locally and just can't resist sharing photos of some really wonderful ponds. I was inspired.

Enjoy!

May Day plus One

Number me among the folks who are astonished that April is finished.

I do love May Day though. I wish that filling baskets with flowers from the garden and leaving them on the doorknobs of friends and neighbors was still a tradition. More, I wish that I had the time to continue such a tradition.

At least the flowers in springtime are not rushed. It's a peaceful feeling knowing that cell phones and soccer practice and alarm clocks have no influence with any flower in my garden. My bulbs are aware of the earlier dawns and later sunsets as the season progresses away from the short winter days. The pansies and johnny-jump-ups set their blossoms as the daily temperatures gradually warm and my tulips quickly close if one of our typical Sierra snowstorms blows in. Patiently the dogwood sepals unfold, biding their time through false springs, blustery winds, and unexpected frosts.

Then May Day comes, the calendar changes pages, and the various garden residents all rejoice in the welcome warmth and celebrate the mercifully sunny day with an explosion of color.

My flowers are good teachers. I've learned patience as I plant a gallon-sized oak tree and been rewarded with increasing shade each year that makes my backyard a haven in the summer. I've been tolerant as I paid for the shade with more and more acorns sprouting in my lawn which I hand-pick diligently. Friendship has its price--the birch has beauty and catkins currently spread in every nook and cranny of my yard. Rhythm, the rightness of seasons, a time for the peonies to die back, a bounty of fresh sun-warmed peaches, a lone viola peeking through a snowy bed, the danger of a rose leafing out too soon and blackening from frost. A garden is a lot like life. It takes a bit of experimentation, a touch of serendipity, some advice here and there, a helping hand once in a while...

I enjoyed the warm weather much like my garden. I relaxed and unfolded some of my petals in the sun. I ignored the weather reports. Sometimes you have to live in the moment rather than dreading what the future holds. My flowers aren't worrying about tomorrow's projected storm and neither am I.

Half-empty?

The bad news--my washing machine is currently sulking/on vacation/deceased.
The good news--I might be able to fix it.

The bad news--it flooded the laundry room.
The good news--it was on medium fill instead of high.

The bad news--it soaked the underlayment for the linoleum.
The good news--I am lobbying for tile instead of linoleum and buckled underlayment helps my cause.

The bad news--it happened right before my in-laws arrive for their first visit since 2001.
The good news--it happened on the last load of laundry.

The bad news--I see the laundromat in my future.
The good news--my dryer still works.


So...I have a fence that is currently held up by a rope, a large truck tire and a log to keep it from moving in the stiff winds that keep blowing through. I have a washer that is on life support. Can you say "deferred maintenance"?

I have a three-car garage that is filled with stuff when my husband's old office closed and I lost a guest room when he created a home office. The guest room I do have is now my hurling room (filled with things that have been hurled inside when the garage and other guest room were taken over by the alien invaders). Can you say "Mom is frustrated just a little"?

I have in-laws coming on semi-short notice and I have a school function in the evening and then soccer practice the next afternoon. I'm inviting them to see the Taiko drummers and Polynesian dancers performing at our Multicultural Night but they also have the option of going to Grammy's to see her new place and having dessert there. Can you say "Thank heavens they came primarily to see my sweetie and will understand that I have other responsibilities"?

I also have a nicely mown lawn and the yard is filled with Spring color. Our pink flowering dogwood is also near its peak. My sweetie helped vacuum and straighten (wise choice since it's his family).

All in all, it could be a lot worse. Of course, it could be a whole lot better. I'm undecided.

365 Days of Good Kharma

Just remembering...

• the instant we saw her for the first time and just knew

• the trip home in the dark with our puppy in her crate

• when she was so tiny she could crawl underneath the passenger seat between the front and back
• how she liked to lie by my feet and let the air conditioning blow on her while she tugged at my shoelaces

• how her first tiny collar was still too big and had to be rubberbanded to hold the end down

• watching her step on grass for the first time and try to figure out what it was

• having her sleep on my tummy as I finally got some sleep on the sofa

• sneaking her into bed one morning when she was tiny

• how worried I was when she stopped eating and lost a quarter of her puppy weight

• and coaxing her into eating by dropping pieces of toast smeared with peanut butter or "accidentally" letting Cheerios fall on the floor

• how quickly she learned to sit and lie down

• how it took ages for her to learn not to come upstairs

• potty breaks on rainy Spring nights huddled under the incense cedar where it was always dry

• those sweet pink paws and round baby tummy

• watching her grow cinnamon-colored eyelashes

• how she teethed on metal objects--shovels, trowels, picks--and left our shoes alone

• the days of blogging with a sleepy puppy on my lap.

Lord grant us many more years with her.