Rosie O'Donnell and Ireland

I'm not upset about Rosie O'Donnell moving to Ireland. So many people are trying to get into the U.S.A. that will make just one fewer ungrateful person and more space for someone to succeed. I'm not sure I'd even blame her hatred for Trump. She hasn't had a happy life, always sarcastic and complaining, so maybe a change of scenery will help her.

We've visited Ireland in 2007 and loved it. The Irish have helped populate Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand, they contributed so much to their adopted countries and they did so in part because they were oppressed by England. My Irish beat the crowd and got here just in time to fight in the Revolution. I'm probably 8th generation thanks to my Irish.

A bit off topic, but as I look at this photo taken in Ireland, I remembered the shoes! Marti Alt and I went to a Christian Writers festival at Calvin College in Michigan and why I don't know, but we went shopping and I bought these shoes! They must have been comfortable enough to hike in Ireland's very rough terrain. The white rain jacket was "merch" picked up at a library convention probably in the 90s, and I still have it. I checked my blog and I'd written about the Festival in 2004. Looking through it, I found that in the same paragraph that I wrote about skipping meeting Joyce Carol Oates I included the shoe story. They were Naturalizers.   https://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2004/04/308-festival-report-2there-were-some.html?

     

From shoes to uncles

There's an editorial in WSJ today from a woman who had been told by her doctors she had to give up high heels. There's a pay wall, but I know she finally opted for good health rather than be crippled. I was never a shoe fanatic, but I did wear high heels, probably 3" in high school and college, then 2" in my 40's, then sort of wedgies, and now flat Mary Jane's. After I retired in 2000 at 60 I was always well dressed when I went out in public--like to the coffee shop, grocery store or various club meetings. Until about 2010, I always wore high heels with my slacks. After exercise class I would go home and change clothes rather than appear in the grocery store in my athletic clothes. Somewhere after 70 I decided that was probably wasted energy. These memories are included in the blog I wrote in 2015 about "What I used to do and don't anymore." If I hadn't written it, I might not remember I ever wore high heels.

My grandmother Weybright held out as long as she could. Born in 1876 she was still wearing sensible high heels and a nice dress when I would drive her to cattle sales or the state fair (she managed her farms) in the late 1950s. Women were stronger and smarter in those days. I think she also wore a hat in public.

In the photo below (1949) my grandmother is in the back on the right and I can see she's wearing heels with a strap; her sister-in-law, Alice Jay, who was older is seated on the left and is also wearing heels. It was a terribly hot sticky day, and I was very uncomfortable as I can see from the look on my face.

  

The person taking the photo was my uncle, J. Edwin Jay, the retired president of Wilmington College in Ohio. I decided to check the internet, and found that a younger faculty member had decided to publish in 2015 Jay's story of his years at Wilmington on the internet from a typed manuscript he found in the library. So I looked up Prof. McNelis who had retired, and sorry to say he died about 6 months ago, so I can't thank him for that nice gesture. Uncle Edwin and I corresponded for years, and I made a special trip to see him before he died in Detroit in 1963. And we know all this because some journalist has given up her painful shoes.

James I. McNelis, III, Ph.D. (teachingtolkien.org)

James McNelis Obituary (2023) - Eureka, CA - Times-Standard (legacy.com)

History and Tradition - Wilmington College (Wilmington, Ohio)

Here's What "Trendy" Shoes Looked Like In Every Decade Of The 20th Century (ranker.com)

Advertising that demeans women

Is it sexist, racist, homophobic or just anti-woman to show women in mental confusion in various stages of undress and their underwear having a bad hair day in a wind storm over shoes?  I love Clarks; wonderful shoes with styles that still include Mary Janes of all types, decent athletic shoes, loafers, and sensible heels, even if you have to scroll on by the platforms and tipsy topsy strapsy stuff.  But why make women look like anorexics who just escaped a concentration camp without a hair dryer or make up?

Yes, in our era teens all dressed a like

 
We just had prettier clothes in those days. 

I hope they fit

I've ordered a new pair of shoes.  Last year was my first try at ordering shoes on line.  Worked as well as buying them at the store and finding out later they didn't feel that great.

Shoe buying isn’t as easy as it used to be

Some time in the late 1990s, I bought several pair of summer sandals, all costing about $5 each at K-Mart.  I think I still have one pair. Over the years I’ve tried several different styles, sizes, but have never found any summer foot wear that worked for me.  I’ve had some luck with Clark brand, and occasionally can find an 8.5 narrow (usually I have to settle for an 8 medium).  So today I ordered this, not my preferred color (white), but the only one in my size.

Clarks call this style Saylie Medway. I’m hoping those buckles are real, and not just Velcro. I had sandals like this in the 70s and 80s, as I recall, and they seemed to last forever (or because they are summer only shoes just seem that way. I would have preferred a beige or denim, but we’ll see how this works and how many hours I can actually wear them.

As someone wise once said, take care of your feet and they’ll take care of you. And I actually found a blog that says that.

Since the feet are the foundation of the body, they have a direct affect on most aspects of your health, particularly if you are a diabetic of have Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). But even without these chronic ailments, your feet play an important role in your everyday life and health. They are on the front lines of everything you do and your feet’s skin is the first line of defense.

Looking for a comfortable, casual shoe

I have a pair of Clarks and like them a lot.  These look good. About $65 on sale. Style is Ashland Rivers.

The shoe hunt

I drove to Tuttle Mall today to look at Ecco brand shoes. The Walking Company had four, none in my size and in bizarre colors. So I browsed a few other brands and had my feet measured. I have extremely high arches and according to the picture, no toes on my left foot. Anyway, the only pair that didn't slip or rub was $189. So I left the store and walked over to Sears. I bought a pair there that cost $20. Not any more uncomfortable than all the $120 styles I tried on in the other store. It looks a little odd in the photo because it is a soft fabric and sort of folds if your foot isn’t in it.

Today’s torturous ultra-high heels remind me of Chinese custom that lasted over a thousand years

"The practice of binding feet was originally introduced about a thousand years ago, allegedly by a concubine of the emperor. Not only was the sight of women hobbling on tiny feet considered erotic, men would also get excited playing with bound feet, which were always hidden in embroidered silk shoes. Women could not remove the binding cloths even when they were adults, as their feet would start growing again. The binding could only be loosened temporarily at night in bed, when they would put on soft-soled shoes. Men rarely saw naked bound feet, which were usually covered in rotting flesh and stank when the bindings were removed.”  Jung Chang, Wild Swans: The Three Daughters of China

Beginning at an early age, the bones in a girl child’s feet were crushed as toes were bound and arches were destroyed.  She was in constant pain, but her bound feet were her greatest asset. I suppose corns, bunions, callouses and broken ankles plus being unable to walk or run  is less painful, but it still amazes me that women  still do this to appeal to men.

"I regret binding my feet," Zhou says. "I can't dance, I can't move properly. I regret it a lot. But at the time, if you didn't bind your feet, no one would marry you."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8966942

Gay men thinner than heterosexuals

Some stereotypes are true. Actually, most are based on fact, like the one about librarians not being fashionable and wearing funny shoes.* Seems gay men are skinny and lesbians fat.

"In a study published in American Journal of Public Health, researchers determined that while 21 percent of straight men were classed as obese, only 14 percent of gay men were. The opposite was true of gay women. 26 percent of lesbians were found to be obese, as compared with 17 percent of the straight women."

Study: Gay men thinner than heterosexuals, lesbian heavier (ChicagoPride.com)

Kerith J. Conron, Matthew J. Mimiaga, and Stewart J. Landers, "A Population-Based Study of Sexual Orientation Identity and Gender Differences in Adult Health," June 1, 2010

*When I worked for the State of Ohio in the 80s, I had to dress much nicer than when I worked in a library, and I always wore high heels. But, being me, they were sort of chunky and sensible heels--not over 2". One of my co-workers observed, "So, it's true that librarians wear sensible shoes."

Bare foot walking, pt. 2

My feet and legs felt good this morning, so I took two more walks bare foot, one in the morning and in the afternoon, then decided to look it up. Google found some interesting stuff, keeping in mind Google can find something good to say about every imaginable health cure from eating bugs to amputating limbs.

But according to my limited research, I was correct in sensing that my body aligns itself very differently in bare feet than in shoes. This very interesting article in New York Magazine contained some references, interesting snippets, and some great photoshopped pictures of feet.

The sole of your foot has over 200,000 nerve endings in it, one of the highest concentrations anywhere in the body. Our feet are designed to act as earthward antennae, helping us balance and transmitting information to us about the ground we’re walking on.

For all I know, other areas of the skin are also well endowed with nerve endings, but after a few strolls in the back yard my arches, ankles and toes were starting to feel more alive. I wouldn't call it a tickle, but they definitely had been in prison far too long.

Try this test: Take off your shoe, and put it on a tabletop. Chances are the toe tip on your shoes will bend slightly upward, so that it doesn’t touch the table’s surface. This is known as “toe spring,” and it’s a design feature built into nearly every shoe. Of course, your bare toes don’t curl upward; in fact, they’re built to grip the earth and help you balance. The purpose of toe spring, then, is to create a subtle rocker effect that allows your foot to roll into the next step. This is necessary because the shoe, by its nature, won’t allow your foot to work in the way it wants to. Normally your foot would roll very flexibly through each step, from the heel through the outside of your foot, then through the arch, before your toes give you a powerful propulsive push forward into the next step. But shoes aren’t designed to be very flexible. Sure, you can take a typical shoe in your hands and bend it in the middle, but that bend doesn’t fall where your foot wants to bend; in fact, if you bent your foot in that same place, your foot would snap in half. So to compensate for this lack of flexibility, shoes are built with toe springs to help rock you forward. You only need this help, of course, because you’re wearing shoes.

Other articles made reference to the coolness of walking bare foot, which was true if I was in the shade, but some areas of the lawn are already dry and crusty from the current heat; other articles get close to spiritual--in touch with the earth, being grounded, etc.

Another mentioned it as a natural form of reflexology, with the manipulation of joints and tendons in the foot and toes.

"[Reflexology is] A type of massage applied to the feet to compensate for the lack of barefoot-walking on uneven ground. Small rocks and roots would randomly work with your body weight, stimulating the release of static charged channels of trapped energy linked to other areas in your body. Also stagnant blood and lymph flow is discharged as the renewal of oxygen fresh blood is supplied, stimulating tissues at a cellular level. Similar to acupressure principles, reflexology works with the body’s energy flow to stimulate self-healing and maintain balance in physical function. This technique reduces pain, increases circulation and thus relaxation." Some kind of sanctuary

I don't know about energy flow, but nothing is more boring (or hot in June) than walking or running along an asphalt road, and nothing more punishing to the knees and feet than walking long distances on concrete. At least walking in the grass is low impact and fun. I had none of the usual shin splints. The real test for me will be when I put a pair of sandals on--stay tuned.

She tried to walk home from church bare foot.

Men buy, women shop

For our upcoming trip, we both needed new shoes, and time to break them in. I saw there was 15% off at Kohl's today for seniors so we made an appointment for afternoon. But before I went to volunteer at the lunch room, I swung by Kohl's just to take a quick peek (an hour) and get the lay of the land. I found a pair for me that wasn't clunky and ugly trimmed in strange colors, a white tie Nike with a small band of light gold trim. I know we'll be doing a lot of walking, so there really aren't too many options if you need good heel support. I also browsed the sale items for women without purchasing anything, because all the good buys were winter clothing, and it will be hot in Israel and Egypt.

When we went together after lunch, we selected 3 brown/beige in Skechers for him to try, to replace his casual pair that is starting to show the wear of our trips to Ireland, Italy and Haiti. Because he wears an 8, he can usually find a good selection on sale. Two pair fit really well--he didn't want to choose--so he bought both. While he was checking out, I grabbed two short sleeve T's, white and blue (for me) I'd seen in the morning and tossed them on top of the shoes. In and out in about 15 minutes.

Home made soup

As soon as I read her blog about pea soup (and said yuk) I went to the kitchen and made a big pot of broccoli soup, one of my favorites. I didn't know e-Bay had blogs, but that's where I found these wonderful tips on making money, instead of spending money, with children. She's primarily a seller, not a blogger (once a month? what's that?)

I didn't breastfeed, or make my own baby food, but in the 1960s-1970s, we lived on one income, with one car, had play groups, washed diapers and did most of the other tips that this one-income family does. Snacks at our house were sliced vegetables or fruit. Oh, and we didn't have e-Bay in those days, but we had lots of fun at garage sales, which must be falling on hard times these days with everyone selling on-line. I could give the kids a quarter and they could "shop."

I think I saw her name at a discussion on coupons (I don't believe in them--in the long run they don't save you money because they are a marketing device and lull you into the something for nothing mentality).

The IRS gives wonderful tax incentives to those who have children. We got a child tax credit of $1000 this year, plus a tax deduction worth a fair amount of money by having an extra person in the family. For my family, if we can spend less than $1500 per year on our child, we are making money. Here's how to spend less than $1500. [Note: the family of the 1960s and 1970s got a much higher percentage of income personal deduction. I think it was around $500 per person in 1961 or about 10% of our income.]

1. Breastfeed.

2. Line dry cloth diapers and reusable baby wipes (cheap dishrags or cut-up old towels make great wipes). If you think you might like to use cloth diapers, think ahead. This summer, when you go to garage sales, ask proprietors of sales that have a lot of baby items if they have cloth diapers. Many people have at least a couple that they thought weren't worth putting out. These can be gotten for $.05-$.25 each, and are usually better quality than the Gerber 12-packs regular stores sell (for about $13). Plan on at least 30 diapers. Also, read prior post about how to save on costs of laundry, because this will be important to you if you use cloth diapers.

3. Never, ever buy prepared baby food. We have a pressure cooker in which we cooked veggies or fruit (just add a tiny bit of water to the bottom, and cook for a little while, and they'll be steamed). Run the stuff through the blender and put in freezer containers (or an ice cube tray, then bag the frozen food cubes). It's not difficult at all. If you don't have a pressure cooker, just use a regular pan; however, pressure cookers can be found at garage sales, and they save energy because stuff cooks a lot faster in them. Also, we found that our son would eat anything, even pureed asparagus, if we added applesauce to it.

4. Don't buy snacks, except Cheerios. Those Gerber snacks are overpriced, even with a good sale. A large box of Cheerios doesn't cost much, and they'll last a while; moreover, they are not yummy enough that parents or siblings will be tempted by them.

5. Skip preschool. Sure, kids need some socialization. Join a church mom's group which has kids activities (Coffee Break, MOPS, etc). If you can find a group or two that meets weekly, your kid will get socialization, and you might find some new friends, too. This could save $1000/year.

6. Quit your job if someone else in your family has an income, and save money on child care. To do this, you'll need to find other ways to save money. For wonderful ideas, read "The Tightwad Gazette", by Amy Dacyczyn (available at the library). Creative ways of hanging onto the money you already do have are as good as earning more.

7. Use the library instead of buying books.

8. Use the playground instead of Chuck E. Cheese.

9. Don't buy unnecessary things (such as shoes for babies who aren't walking yet, cute little impractical outfits, etc.).

10. Anticipate baby's needs. You know he'll eventually need size 10 shoes, so don't wait to buy them until he grows out of his size 9.5's. If you wait, you'll find yourself at Wal-mart paying $6, when a $.50 used pair would be far better quality. You know he'll eventually like to have Legos, so don't wait until Christmas to buy them new. Pick them up at the garage sale where they're $1. Kids don't care if stuff is used unless you condition them to care. (You condition them to care by acting like new stuff is superior. Ever say, "It's brand new!"? Phrases like that condition them to think of used items as inferior.)

11. Hit the end of church or school 2nd Best sales. Often they'll have a bag sale, where you can fill a bag with anything you want for $1-$4. This is your opportunity to stock up on whatever you need. If you need it right away, don't be too picky, but if it's something you'll need two years from now, only take the really good or hard-to-find stuff. These sales usually occur in the spring and fall, so watch the newspaper classifieds or Craigslist.

11. When we acquire something, we make it our goal to be able to sell the item for a profit when we're done with it. For instance, we found a very nice stroller free on trash day which we used for a few years, then sold it for $12 when we were finished with it. We bought a newer, but dirty, baby carrier for $.50, cleaned it up nicely and laundered the pad, and were able to sell it for $5 when we were done with it. We trash-picked a crib, gave it a paint-job, and sold it for $40 when we were finished with it. We have routinely sold toys, and even clothes, for a profit at our garage sales. I know there are those who say you shouldn't buy a used car seat, but talk to the person you're buying it from to see if it's been in an accident, call the manufacturer to see if it's been recalled, see if it's not too old, and use your common sense. And with cribs, you have to make sure a used one meets current safety standards. That information is easy enough to find online. But generally, used things should do just fine. I'll write an email in the spring about how to hold a successful garage sale.

12. Have patience. If we feel like we need something for our child, we try to wait. Needs have a way of either going away, or being met cheaply if only one has sufficient patience. Go to those garage sales (but stay on task, don't buy a bunch of junk that will just sit around your house), see if anyone will loan you what you need, keep yours eyes open for discards on trash day--you'll be surprised at what very nice things you can get free or for pocket change.

13. Because you'll essentially be earning money on this baby, check out savings accounts for kids. Often these are better deals than the adult ones (no fees or minimum balance), and the parents' names can be on the account. Just putting the kid's name on the account helps, even if only the adults use the account.

She has some wonderful tips; but isn't old enough or experienced enough to know this frugality will make no difference at all once her children get a hold of a credit card. And btw, don't ever put your child's savings account under her/his own name and social security number. They'll know more at 25 than 18.

Oddies, Endies, and Undies

Yesterday I noted that my husband squeaked through on registration to tour the new Dublin Methodist Hospital to get 3 credit hours in health, safety and welfare for his continuing education requirements. At supper last night (homemade pizza) he couldn't stop raving about the design, creativity and planned well-being for patients. So it is definitely a winner, all around. You folks who live in Dublin and surrounding areas are going to have one super community hospital.


As I was settling in for a nap (one of my favorite events of the day) about 2 p.m. I heard a loud crash. I was a bit groggy, but realized the roof was not above me--the master bedroom is there. So I walked upstairs carefully, thinking perhaps a mirror or painting had fallen. When I got to the master bath, I saw that all the marble trim tile had fallen off the edge of the vanity. If anyone had been standing there in bare feet, he would have had a broken toe. I walked downstairs and told my husband (he uses that bathroom), and he said he wasn't surprised, that it was noted in the inspection in 2001 when we bought the condo, but hadn't been fixed.

So I settled in again for my nap. The phone rang and my husband picked it up from the kitchen. I opened an eye and looked at the TV screen. A name and phone number appeared. The conversation was with the buyer of one of the condos that has been for sale for a year. My husband is president of the association, and this purchase has involved many meetings of the board. When he hung up he said the purchase was final. I asked the buyer's name, but he couldn't remember. Was it--and I mentioned the name that had appeared on our TV screen, and he said Yes. Now that's weird. We assume it is something in her phone, because to our knowledge, this has never happened before. Has this ever happened to you?

A nap was definitely out of the question after two interruptions, so I decided to go Christmas shopping. I had four cards from Macy's. Two for $15 off a $50 purchase, and two for $25 off a $100 purchase. The problem was Macy's was also having a one day sale--something like "take another 20% off the already 50% markdown." I'm math challenged. So when I got my carefully totalled gifts (in my head) to the head of the check out line (waited 10 minutes), they only came to $82. So I'm refiguring what we'd agreed on, and go back and pick up an item that was $18 (although the $9 would have done just as well). See, that's how they trap you. In my head, I'm deducting the $25 off my son's gift, so it evens out with my daughter's and son-in-law's, but the receipt shaves each item--and actually totals $26 and not $25. I'll stick with my head on this.

I still have two cards left, so I browse the ladies lingerie department--not for a gift, but for me. My favorite brand of undies (which always seems to be on sale) has a buy 3 get one free (ca. $18), although because of the sale, I have no idea what it will be when I get to the register. So I go down stairs and look at shoes to see if there's something in 8.5 AA, and I select 2 Naturalizers and take them to the desk (no one comes to you these days). You would have thought I'd asked for the moon. "We have no narrow sizes in any style," she sniffed (She was quite large, and I think that's why narrow sizes are disappearing). You see, I thought if I bought a pair of shoes I didn't really need, I'd get the panties I didn't really need almost for "free." Saved from consumer hell by a shoe width.

3896

Thursday Thirteen--Out damn'd spot, out I say

Thirteen things about spots in Norma's world

1) Lady Macbeth was hallucinating when she said that, but I wasn't. There definitely were rust-colored spots on the front of the on-sale, pale yellow, pants suit that fit me perfectly.

2) It sort of looked like small drops of blood! Just like Shakespeare!

3) A friend was in the store at the same time and I showed it to her. She suggested Tide to Go--said she'd had good luck with it.

4) I reluctantly put the suit back, but that day I bought the little instant stain remover that looks like a pen and is small enough to sit on the bottom of your purse and sneak back into the dressing room.

5) I returned to the store, went into the dressing room and applied a little to the smallest, least noticeable spot. Wow. It disappeared, and left no outline on the fabric!

6) I took the suit to the cash register along with a moss green blouse with yellow petal appliques.

7) The first time I wore it (pale yellow) I brushed up against something and got a much larger spot on the knee. I sat down with my little Tide to Go, and poof it was gone.

8) For several weeks I've had my eye on a pair of brown stacked heels at Meijer's. They were on a mark-down table because (I think) the right shoe had some really odd spots on the leather--maybe a mold.

9) Each week I looked at them when I shopped for groceries. I had the exact pair in black and they are the most comfortable shoes I own.

10) So yesterday I dug around in the laundry room and found some brown shoe polish. I put a small amount on a piece of cloth, put that inside a plastic bag which I placed in my purse and went back to the store.

11) The table had been moved and at first I thought the shoes were gone, but after walking around awhile, I found them. I slipped the piece of cloth out of my purse and wiped it on the spots. They did not disappear, but they did blend into the texture.

12) Because I had shopped there the day before, I had a coupon for shoes and jewelry (not cat litter which I really needed or a digital camera that I really wanted). So I bought the shoes that fit and look nice (and shiny) for $5.40.

13) Shoe polish doesn't come off your fingers quite so easily, so I probably looked like I'd just changed a diaper when I got to the check out, but I keep alcohol gel hand cleaner in the car, and that took care of my newest spots!

3670

Ugly shoes, ugly feet

Oh goodness. Someone was raving about this site, so I took a peek. $280 for a pair of shoes that don't even come in a narrow width and look like Mary Janes with a heel? No thank you. And ladies, please put on some hose. Your bare naked feet just aren't that pretty. Who told you they were?