We drove up to Anderson, SC, today, to the Russell Stover outlet store. It takes us about the same time to get there as it does to James' mom's house in Warner Robins. They sell the Russell Stover sugarless candy packages in various stores here, but it's always the same three flavors and James was hoping for a little more variety. We bought several packages of three other flavors that aren't sold around here; also a case of 10 packages of the peanut butter cups for $3, making them 30 cents each. (They are about $2 per package retail.) This will last us until November when (knock on wood) we go by there on our way home from vacation.

On the return leg we stopped at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Commerce since they had a Reebok store. We almost didn't make it there before they closed: first we stopped at Book Warehouse. These places are variable on book quality, but this one had some great choices. So I am presently with new books again, along with Road Trip USA and Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii, which I bought yesterday: I found You: An Owner's Manual, which I understand is a good health reference; Ralph Helfer's Zamba, Paul Ford's Companion to Narnia, which is the definitive guide to the books; a volume of Robert Heinlein short stories that are not in his Future History series; and a travel book called Historic Walks in Old Boston, which is full of wonderful historical goodies. James got three books and picked up a Christmas present for a friend, so had four in total. The books were buy four, get one free, so he also got another book for me, one I was looking at at the last minute, a British annual called The People's Friend Annual 2003. "People's Friend" is apparently a Scots magazine that contains recipes, household hints, and little romantic or uplifting stories. It looked kinda neat.

We also found a Christmas shop going out of business because it was moving to South Carolina, so for $20 I got some adorable items: three small ornaments (a fox, an owl, and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer on a jingle bell); a dog ornament that reminded me of Willow (it had its food bowl in its paw); a collie ornament that I'm using as a statue, and four fall-themed ornaments that are now in the foyer: two autumn angels with maple leaves for wings, a bird sitting on a berry, and a moose made out of various fall things: an acorn muzzle, a ruff of autumn leaves, branches for legs, etc.

We then decided to go to the Denny's diner before we crossed the freeway and went to the shops on the other side, where the Reebok outlet is. It was then only four o'clock and we had plenty of time to eat and then get to the store before it closed at six. Well, it took us over 45 minutes just to get served! James and I, plus a man at another table who still had a four-hour drive ahead of him were getting pretty ticked until the waitress explained that they had had a rush of customers earlier, 22 orders in all, and the two cooks took that opportunity to walk out on them!

But we did make it to the Reebok outlet and—oh, my stars and whiskers!—they actually had my shoes!

[skip this if you've heard my shoe rant before] I have small feet, but they are wide and have a high instep. I wore 5 1/2 wide Hush Puppies for years and then went to 6 wide while Hush Puppy still made them. Then HP decided that women with feet that small couldn't possibly have wide feet and discontinued W in small sizes. To wear a Hush Puppy now I have to get a 6 1/2 medium and the heels always feel like they are falling off my feet. Nothing I have ever tried in a woman's shoe fits me properly; they hurt and leave blisters and then corns on my toes. I hate buying shoes because of the trouble I have finding ones to fit. Usually I come out of a shoe store without shoes and frustrated and angry.[done]

What fit me best are Reebok classic all-leather shoes in what used to be called a boy's shoe; they are now large "kids sizes." They are wider and have a taller instep than a women's wide shoe (I tried the 6W women's shoe on again today and even with the laces loosened the insteps hurt and they were not as wide as the kids shoe; the 6 1/2 instep hurt, too, and the back of the shoe fell off my heel.) Last time we went to the Tanger Outlet south of Atlanta, they had none of these shoes. Weekends were really starting to hurt my feet, because I stretched and abused my weekend Reeboks when we moved, and I couldn't find a replacement pair.

Well, we found five pairs of the 5 1/2 size kids shoe, in black, which I wanted, in Commerce. I bought four of them. (Heck, when you finally find what fits you, buy them!) The kids shoe is $20 less than the woman's shoe, despite the fact that it is the same style, and they were buy one, get the second half price, so they cost me less than $100. I have put two of them away and will wear two of the new ones to work. The black ones are very handsome and look a little like plain black Oxfords which are quite appropriate at work. By alternating the old two pairs, they have lasted longer than one pair would have. I will take the old pairs and alternate them on weekends.

This is a great relief to my toes!

There was construction on the freeway heading home, so it took us about 45 minutes longer to get home than it should have. Yeesh.

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 9:32:00 PM

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