New Feet

 Maybe this post should be called 'Funny Feet', because I think these are pretty funny looking; they put me in mind of ape feet:

If you haven't seen them before, these are 'Vibram 5-Finger' shoes, all the rage in the barefoot movement.

They actually have a Vibram sole:

The sole is thick enough that it's no big deal to walk on gravel, but thin enough that I pay attention to where I'm putting my feet when walking on gravel.

I don't have to worry about glass or other sharps, but I still get the happy, care-free feeling of barefooted-ness. I'm hoping there's some truth to the idea that going barefoot can help your entire body stay in proper alignment. I sit on a ball when on the computer and it's much better for my back than a chair, so I suppose the same concept could apply for shoes (or no-shoes, as the case may be).

I just got these yesterday evening. I put them on right away and went tromping. I did my usual walk-loop, but made sure to wade through all the puddles instead of walking around them. Usually shoes feel pretty ick-y when wet and, with most sandals, my feet end up sliding around a bit. In these it actually felt GOOD to get them wet: no sliding around inside them. 

They are definitely odd-looking, so if you don't want people staring at your feet, these are not going to work for you. I've had a few comments today, but they have been positive and curious comments.

I've been curious about these shoes for a long time and happy to finally have a pair.

So far, so good. Nothing negative to report yet, but I don't have enough time in them yet to tell how I'll adapt to them. I'll update in a few weeks...

I have a marathoning friend who couldn't get past the odd look of these 5-Fingers and ended up with another style of 'Barefoot Shoes.' (Okay, she called them -with vehemence - ugly, but I think they're more odd than ugly. However, it's very likely that my sense of style is warped non-existent.) 

She's had them for a few weeks now, so maybe she'll jump on here and tell us how she likes them so far....

Lazy Pictures

(I took the picture and then uncovered his head so he could breathe.)

I have a few reasons for posting these lazy pictures:
1. I couldn't stand the Chicago River being the first thing I saw when I came over here.
2. I'm shaking my head over Dick Cheney's little joke about West Virginia and vowing not to waste my time addressing that idiot's comments. Except to say it's obvious he's not from here. Thankfully. (Okay, stopping, really.)
3. I just came in from playing in the garden and a nap sounds pretty good right now.
4. It's going to rain -again!- and that makes the nap sound even better.

Spring = Mud

Spring = Mud
Anyone who lives outside the realm of concrete and asphalt knows this is true.

This is one good reason that I am the queen of practical footwear. 'Practical' really means sturdy, comfortable and waterproof:



Screech, however, is not so practical.


To her, springtime means freedom from footwear:



Minimal footwear:



Or cute, pink and girlish footwear:



Screech may not be practical, but she is stylish.

Tracking mud into school is apparently not stylish (maybe someone should have told me this before now).

So, rather than succumb to her mother's boring and mundane solution (boots), she has come up with her own ideas about how to keep the mud off her feet between here and the bus stop:



[Look closely at these pictures and you'll see that I have not been as inventive in the quest to keep the mud out of the house.]

Screech demonstrating the tying-plastic-bag-handles-around-ankle technique:



And the not quite stylish results:



If it doesn't warm up soon, I may suggest adding some sort of practical insulation to these bags to prevent frostbite.


I just discovered a new site -Picture West Virginia- and their current topic is 'Spring,' so I decided to submit this post over there, too. Go check out the robins eggs and cherry blossoms (and if this muddy post gets linked, I'll let you know).