She descends! I can resume my regularly scheduled checking of the front porch every five minutes all day long.
Good news on the Birkenstock boots front: I had reported yesterday that the left boot was putting some pressure on the bunion on that foot. I kept wearing the boots, however, and after a 2-mile greenway walk and an evening at the pub, the leather had flexed noticeably. It's a lot softer and lighter than the leather of which the Vasque boots are constructed --- or else there's something about the construction of the Vasque boots that keeps them pretty rigid, even after thirty years of wear. The Birks are a good bit lighter overall, but still plenty sturdy, if I know anything about Birkenstock footwear. The cork footbed is the same Birkenstock standard.
As much as I love to wear barefoot shoes --- and I do wear them a lot --- I like Birks as an alternative. I think it's probably good to switch back and forth between the sets of benefits these two types of shoe offer. As I age, I REALLY want my feet to be functional and healthy. I like that the barefoot shoes offer a chance for my feet to strengthen themselves and feel the ground. But sometimes I appreciate more support. I find that I start to get a little Achilles-tendon pain if I go too many days in barefoot shoes without some changeup.
So . . . my ongoing review of the Birkenstock Jackson hiking boot is that I am really glad I have them. I'm especially glad that I paid a hundred dollars less than the standard retail price, but I also feel that I got a very good bargain. The "narrow" width fits my not-unduly-narrow feet just fine. The leather is exactly what I wanted. As an overall boot, these are exactly what I wanted but didn't think existed. I was loath to buy an expensive pair of light hikers that didn't stand a chance of lasting ten years, let alone thirty. But for less than I would have paid for a pair of those hikers, I have these.
One thing I discovered in cruising the resale site for these boots: you can get them in suede, and in colors like mustard. Now, WHY you would want mustard-colored suede hiking boots---or really, suede hiking boots at all, in any color---is a complete mystery to me, but if you did want them, you could find them. I am really happy that I have the ones I have. They're good-looking for hiking boots, but they're also hiking boots, such as you'd really wear on the trail.
Yesterday and last night, it rained and rained and rained. We had a good time sitting cozily in the pub listening to the trivia game and chatting with people. My husband struck up a conversation at the bar with a man who admired his cashmere coat. It is a very nice cashmere coat, inherited from a man he used to visit, more than fifteen years ago, as the man was dying in the home of church friends who had taken him in. I can't remember now why they had taken him in, and they're both dead now, too, but in any case they did give him a home to die in, and my husband, at the time an Episcopal priest, used to go to see him regularly. When he died, his hosts invited my husband to go through his unbelievably extensive wardrobe --- he liked clothes, they said. I don't think anything else fit or was suitable, but my husband came away with this beautiful charcoal cashmere coat and has worn it ever since. It replaced a wool greatcoat which he'd bought in the market in Cambridge, and which both our sons wore in turn. It's still somewhere . . . I should probably make sure it's still in good shape and hung up properly, because that too is an excellent coat and kept my husband warm and dry on his bicycle through four English winters.
Anyway, the man at the bar admired the coat, so my husband told him the story behind it and wound up hearing the man's life story in return. He had been an altar boy as a child, in Danbury, CT, I think, and told my husband that he used to serve whole weeks at the 5 a.m., 6 a.m., and 7 a.m. Masses before scuttling across the street to school. All this time, I was sitting at our table wondering why it was taking him so long to get two beers --- that was why. Next time I'll just go with him to the bar so I don't miss anything.
It's 9:30 in the morning, and the new dress isn't here yet (I checked), so I shall have to put something on to walk the dog in.
In the thick of Our Mutual Friend. I think I know who "Our Mutual Friend" is, though why he is dissembling under assumed names is a matter for speculation. I can think of some reasons, and also some outcomes. If you've read it, don't spoil it for me! At any rate, it's good fun so far.
I hope today to pick back up with Understanding Poetry, too. It's been a busy week, but now I've finished my five essays for the next two weeks at the Sun, so I can relax a little today.
What I did put on to walk the dog in:
Tonal blues, plus hikers. Wool& Camellia (dyed royal blue) + thrifted Liz Claiborne cotton pullover + fairly old cotton-blend leggings + wool socks I got at Aldi several years ago + the Birk hiking boots.
Better leggings today. I think these are at least a year younger than yesterday's, which I'm ready to relegate to sleepwear.
They even say "Birkenstock," just like the shoes! I really love them.
And so to walk.
POST-DOG-WALK:
We spent about an hour at the dog park, inclusive of the 1.5 mile walk to and from. And when we came back, ALL the mail had come.
I am always dubious about new glasses. If not actually demented.
These feel . . . kind of extra. But they're fun. I seem to be able to see through them all right. I think I'm glad I now have a little wardrobe of glasses that work for me, because I don't think I'd want to wear these all the time, everywhere. But the bigger lens definitely helps with trifocaling.
Aaannnnnnnd:
Willow is great. Totally worth the wait. This is a medium regular --- I'm glad I didn't get a long. I love my medium long Maggie, but my least favorite thing about her is the long part. This length is perfect for a swing dress. I can see dressing her up and down in all kinds of ways.
And the color is perfect, exactly what I had hoped for. It's definitely a purple. I wouldn't confuse it with lapis blue, for instance, though they're in the same tonal family. But this is a lot . . . purpler . . . than that. Just a lovely, blued, dusty purple, good for my coloring, and wearable with virtually anything in my wardrobe. As you can see, it goes well with navy and other blues. It'll work with teals and aquas. It'll work even with red --- that's the good thing about its not being a plummier color, with red undertones. It's cool enough to work with the reds in my closet, including my red shoes. It'll work with greens, like my moss-green blazer and my emerald/forest-green cotton cardigan. It'll pair well with grays, of which of course I have a lot.
I also love the v-neck and 3/4 sleeves, which with the lighter color will make this style easy to wear into warm weather.
Anyway, I'm very happy. All of this was worth the wait, and it gives me a lot to play with during my no-buy month.