And Even More Shoes!

These are totally unrelated to the wedding, though I did consider saying I'd changed my mind just to see what people said. Anyway, last week I read this article (courtesy of Chris, who in turn got it from Chappysmom), which is basically about how bad shoes are for us biomechanically and we're better off going back to barefoot as much as possible.

Given that I already preferred wearing as little as possible on my feet during the warm months and given all my musculoskeletal issues, plus the fact that the article was backed up with hard data, I was an easy sell. The Vivo Barefoot line profiled in the article is pretty much all sold out at this point, so bought myself a pair of these at half the price:



Because they shipped from just outside Boston they were delivered the next day - Friday afternoon - literally a couple of minutes after I left for work. I think the UPS truck deliberately waited around the corner for me to leave, just to be spiteful. David will attest that I called him several times that night to see if he'd touched them or tried them on (He didn't. The toes scare him.) I tried them on briefly on Saturday, but it was too cold to wear them for long.

Sunday was little different, except that it was wetter. So today they got their first real breaking in. I had a few errands to run then spent the bulk of the afternoon working on the garden beds and getting seeds planted. The website doesn't say anything about them being good for moving wheelbarrows full of partly-composted manure to spread on the garden, but they worked quite well. And when I was done, I just tossed them into the washing machine.

I think I may get another pair for the gym and maybe, possibly a pair for work. I think the Vivo Barefoots might freak clients out less, though. When they're back in stock, that is, and assuming I can spare the pricetag.

Other Stuff in the Mail

I did get one package before I left for work on Friday. It was my prize from VUBOQ that I won from entering his 10% Tax Refund Challenge and donating 10% of my refund to a charity of my choice (and getting my name drawn out of a bag.) Unfortunately, when I picked it up I heard a faint *clink* that didn't bode well.

Inside was a pair of handmade pottery mugs, but the handle of one is in about four pieces. Eventually I shall take a tube of epoxy to it, but it was sad because I know VUBOQ put a good bit of work into them. The other mug, at least, is in perfect condition and very lovely.



The Rest of the Weekend

Saturday was quite a big day around the farm. It was David's 40th and Landlady Paula's 60th birthday, so we had a big 100 year birthday bash for them in Paula and Wendy's brand spanking new barn, complete with live band, lots of food, and lots of booze. A good time was had by all, though the size of the crowd was a bit overwhelming.

On Sunday, the main order of business for us was setting up a wedding registry, as friends and loved ones have been asking us more and more frequently. Now, we're hardly just starting out in life, so our needs are relatively few, but one thing we really need is some coherency in the dinnerware department. David had been living in single mode for a decade when we started dating, and I had come away from the relationship with S with his old hand-me-down med school dishes - leaving behind the nice dinnerware set our parents had chipped in to get for us.

So we agreed on putting together a multicolor set of Fiesta® ware, which meant a trip to the local Macy's to get a better visual idea of some of the options available and a couple of hours of discussing which pieces we actually want and what colors were available in each piece - not a straightforward task when you're trying not to have the exact same color grouping in any two pieces. Eventually, though, we managed to put together a list that will give us some nice multicolor place settings but give our guests some inexpensive gift options.

I also added on a few bigger ticket items, just in case anyone is so inclined. After all, that's what wedding registries are for, and I really could use a decent food processor. And a workbench, and a handmixer, and....