We traveled down to visit James' mom for Mother's Day. Dark clouds had come rumbling in while we were getting gasoline and we fought rain on and off as we drove south. We stopped at the flea market at Exit 221 so James could look for leather belts; he found them, too—much better quality than the usual ones found in department stores and a lot cheaper, too! Two vendors were selling puppies and we smiled over the antics of two Chihuahuas and a pretty red Pomeranian was very tempting!

We also stopped at Books-a-Million and I not only found the Reminisce I missed due to not advising the Reiman Publication people that we'd moved, but the latest issue of Variety Crosspatch puzzles! Yeehah! They didn't have any the last time we went and I figured they'd quit carrying them too. I love crosspatch (also known as crisscross) puzzles and Books-a-Million, now that the newstand on the South 120 Loop has closed, is the only place that carries them. Everyone has fill-ins, which I loathe, but nobody has crosspatches. There used to be several different crosspatch magazines and Variety's is the last one left.

I also found a Password game—many sweet memories of watching this game show with host Allen Ludden.

Before we went to the house we stopped at the cemetery to put some Memorial Day flowers on James' dad's grave. I had made a little arrangement from red-white-and-blue carnations, a red-white-and-blue mini bucket, and a little flag froufrou we had purchased at Michael's and James also got a red-white-and-blue pinwheel to put at the grave because James' dad loved pinwheels. (We found out from his Mom that it probably wouldn't stay there because the cemetery people have been throwing away all personal memorabilia left on graves, even little dolls and teddies left on children's graves! They said it looked "messy"! Well, excuse me. I guess it's more important to have a picture-perfect cemetery than help people assauge their grief! So much for the fake sympathy the cemetery people pass along when your loved one dies. Once they have the money, there goes the sympathy!)

We were supposed to stop at the Tanger Outlet Mall on the way down, but the jerk in the right lane wouldn't let James get over. So we hit Tanger on the way home, picked up the required underwear, and then I went into the Reebok store.

I absolutely loathe shopping for shoes and this was just frustrating. I like the classic leather Reebok. But the women's version that is actually my size is too narrow. I tried on a 7 with some sort of weird forlorn hope that perhaps as I'd grown older my foot had increased in size lengthwise. The 7 not only fell off my heel, but it was still too narrow.

What I have been wearing for years has been what was called a "boy's shoe" and is now called a "kid's shoe" (I guess "boy's shoe" was sexist or something?) in a size 5 1/2. Last time we were there I wandered fruitlessly around the store for nearly an hour, then James found where the Classic style kids shoes were being kept and I bought three pair (it was buy two get one free).

This time I found one, count 'em, one Classic in the kids' size in white, which I didn't want, and when I went to try it on, it was still too narrow. We finally walked out and I am furious. My white weekend shoes are shot from when we moved and I need new ones, but I'm not going to buy uncomfortable shoes just to have new ones.

I can't see why anyone sees buying shoes as a pleasure. Maybe it is when your foot is a standard size like James' feet are and you can just waltz into a store and buy a size and not even have to try them on because you know they will fit, but all it is is a misery to me.

As a bit of a respite I found the cutest book in the remainder store. Apparently when Elizabeth Taylor was a teenager she had a pet chipmunk named Nibbles. She wrote a little book about it and it was illustrated with her own drawings of the chipmunk. This little book, Nibbles and Me, was reprinted with her text and drawings, and several photos of her from the movies she was doing at that time (Courage of Lassie and also one from National Velvet. It's an adorable book.

James also bought me a Mother's Day gift from the fids: the Trivial Pursuit Book Lover's edition, which has special metal game tokens: a typewriter, a pile of books, a book bag, and a coffee cup!

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 11:20:00 PM

Comments:

It's a chore for me to buy shoes too; I wear a size four. Four! So you can imagine. And I love strappy, dainty heels. Finding a pair is like coming across the lost treasure of the Incas.

# posted by  Tina : 10:30:00 AM

 

Let's see. Size 11R combat boot, size 10 1/2 low quarter, 13 in Nike (and they're too narrow), 12 1/2 in New Balance, 11W in whatever the cheap brand Wal-Mart sells. So I feels ya pain. Hate to say it, but you might just have to abandon the Reeboks, because they've abandoned you....

# posted by  Anonymous : 11:37:00 PM

 

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