A second beautiful day in a row! Had brunch with Landlady and S&L, then wandered home to catch up on laundry.
Water in the cistern is still a little cool but not painfully so, and by late morning it was t-shirt weather! All hail April.
But that’s not what I wanted to show you. Last time I went to the big town about 50 miles away I looked three different places for some new boots and struck out. Which, since you must remain decently shod no matter what else you scrimp on, forced me to do something scary: I ordered boots online.
Landlady pointed out that I should be the easiest person in the world to fit: Don’t I have a foot that came off a rack same as boots do? Yeah, but see financially I have to take what I can get. And this foot started out half a size bigger than my meat foot. Which means that – unless I shop very carefully – I have a choice between a boot that’s too big for my meat foot or one I can’t get on my plastic foot at all. It’s not quite the big problem it used to be, because the plastic foot is so broken down now that it just sort of slides back and forth on the carbon fiber keel. But still I’ve ordered boots online twice before and had to send them back twice.
This time, though, I pretty much scored. Sort of.
I didn’t even know Rocky made desert boots. They used to make my favorite walking shoes, back when I was a votech teacher and spent all day on my feet. Amputees tend to prefer lightweight shoes for fairly obvious reasons, but teachers need stout shoes that won’t break down in a month. These specifications are often contradictory. Rocky made shoes that came as close to meeting them both as I ever saw, and I grew fond of them.
Of course that was many years ago, and so far these boots don’t live up to the memory. Both of them need slight modifications, but at least they fit.
While I was being materialistic, I weakened and bought another tin sign for the Lair. It’s the last, I swear. But I liked it…
And I was going to hang it on the wall when I thought, “Yeah, but I need some small black screws first.”
Huh? Manly Man Joel harrumphed and wanted to know who let Girly Joel out of his cage. All the other signs are up there with whatever screws happened to be close at hand, which – I do admit – has made for some pretty ad hoc – looking installations. Maybe a package of small black screws wouldn’t be that bad…
Ghost had himself a big weekend. Disappeared first thing to spend most of yesterday with Mom, and then went with us to visit with S&L, eat sausage and of course spend the night. Then back to Mom’s this morning. By the time she dropped him back off at the Lair he seemed content to call it a weekend and stay, rather than moping and bitching about his sad, deprived lot in life.
Yes indeed, I’ve tried to buy shoes and boots on line a few times, but they’ve always been a disappointment and had to be (or should have been) sent back. This last time, however, I got pretty good boots and they fit OK. I can even wear them all day… something I’ve not been able to do since I quit wearing nurse’s shoes. The only problem is that these are the “man-made” pseudo “leather” and they are not going to last very long. $39. and free shipping from Amazon, so not the end of the world, but next time I go to the city I’ll be looking for something better, and will reluctantly pay more for them… if I find any. I wonder if there are any honest to goodness shoe stores in Rapid City. We shall see.
Ghost indeed looks a bit sad, but not in the least deprived. Sausages? 🙂
I have bought shoes on line that I liked, but I have duck feet (E width). The only option I have found in regular stores is Birkenstock. The other option is the boys section. Evidently I have miniature versions of my dad’s feet.
Check out Zappos. Shipping is free both ways and delivery speed is astonishing. Read the reviews of anything you are considering buying. I’ve found the customer reviews to be very factual and honest and make my choices based on them. Can’t buy shoes that fit where I live and no brick and mortar store can match what an online source stocks or can get.
There are web sites and organizations that sell shoes for people who have a half size difference between feet. It’s not uncommon for two meat feet to not be the same length. Choices may be limited but at least the shoes will fit.
That’s not been my experience, Zelda. There is a large difference in actual size/fit between manufacturers, and even between many different styles. I have always had to try shoes on to see if they fit, no matter what size they are marked. Add to that the fact that my feet are extra wide, and most shoes/boots these days are not available in either narrow or wide, only “medium.” Having a half size doesn’t help there. I just got lucky with the last boots I bought, that’s all.
Boot sympathy . . .
All-time favorite footwear are the gen-u-wine black all-leather combat boot (with molded-on sole) from the ‘sixties. These were made by Altama for the gummint, but Altama has gone out of business. Nothing currently available comes even close in design and construction, and even the online sources have dried up. I’m down to my last pair of “good enough for polite public wear” and a couple of pair of beaters that still serve for rough wear. Grumble.
Ghost always looks like he’s thinking “One step closer with that damn ‘phone and your other foot is coming right off!”
I managed to luck out once about 8 years ago and stumble on a decent boot at a local semi-chain outlet. The Carolina (Essentially a poor-man’s Red Wing) brand 8″ logger boots come in D, E, 2E, and 4E here in standard, steel toe, and waterproof insulated versions. My first pair was made in the US, but subsequent ones are manufactured overseas (Vietnam, and I think Cambodia). They must have duplicated the lasts, because they have all fit the same. They last about 5-6 years, but I keep at least three pairs in rotation. Oh, and they come in black or oil tanned brown. My particular favorite is the 1821 steel toe in brown. The steel toes suck in winter, but are required for work. I keep a pair in 2E for heavy winter socks to help with that.