Croc-a-doodle-do

So for years I have done nothing but bash anything and everything to do with Crocs. They look clunky and plastic-y, they're really expensive for being made of plastic, the originals came in such garish colors, and it seemed like the only people who wore them were soccer moms and their toddlers.

Well, this past week I've learned that I'm going to have to eat my words.

Since I started my wonderful new job playing with puppies and kitties, I've had issues with my feet. At first, I thought it was because I wasn't used to being on my feet for 9 to 10 hours at a time. Then I thought the pain might be caused by the $10 shoes from Wal-Mart. Well, I upgraded to a decent shoe, and the pain still didn't go away.

It got pretty bad. I would soak my feet at night after each shift in hot water with epsom salts, then again in the morning. My feet, especially my left foot, would cramp horribly overnight, making any midnight trips to pee excruciatingly painful. I would be limping by the end of my shift. I lived with the pain, took the occasional advil when it got really bad, and just kept hoping it wasn't a sign of something really bad like a stress fracture.

I got the idea for the crocs weeks ago when a downpour flooded the building. The owner showed up in a pair of crocs, and after I got over my habitual reaction of OMGUGLYOMG, I realized those were probably pretty handy shoes for a flooded warehouse. I spent the rest of that shift in my soggy sneakers and socks. Then went home and soaked my foot.

Lately Garm has been suggesting that I might see a doctor about my foot. I don't really have an aversion to doctors, but if I don't really have to go, then I'd rather not. The crocs popped back into my head as another delay tactic for a doctor's visit. But the problem with the crocs is that they're really really expensive. And although I've always heard that they are comfortable, I didn't know how orthopedic they would be.

I finally made the decision to give the buggers a try. I went to three stores to find a very manly pair of black crocs with an adjustable heel strap. I spent the vast amounts of monies on them, and I decided that for the money I paid, they had better sex my feet along with the other, expected shoe-type functions.

Well, they come pretty damn close. In addition to not having to wear socks (an unconsidered benefit) the shoes gently massage my feet while I'm tromping around after puppies. We were graced with an unexpected summer thunderstorm (yay Georgia summers) that dumped a ton of water on us much too quickly, and although on the drive home my shirt, shorts and skivvies were still soaked and clinging to me, my feet had thoroughly dried out again. I've been wearing them all week, and for the first time since I started working this new job back in April, my feet do not hurt!  They're still a little sore after a 9 hour shift of lots of walking on rough ground and a good bit of heavy lifting and carrying, but there is no pain. None. I'm still cringing at night before I get up to pee at 2 am, but I don't have crippling pain when I put my feet on the floor.

Conclusion: in a week's time I have come to love these ugly, plastic, over-priced shoes, and I will finally stop saying how stupid they are. (But they still look stupid, no matter what)

The Antics of Easter

He doesn't look like much in this photo, but my dear little cat Easter is many many things throughout the day.

He begins his day as the the fuzziest alarm clock in the world. He's usually snuggled up at my feet before we all start waking up, so it's a good thing I don't thrash my feet around too much when I sleep. Garm found out just how serious Easter is about Blanket Monster -- you know the monster that lives only under your blankets that cats just HATE? -- and has the scars on his feet to prove it. Since Garm gets up before me, it's usually just Easter and myself until Easter decides it time to get up. Never matters how late I was up the night before, or how hard work was, or if I have a headache, or if I'm in the middle of a really, really good dream .... when Easter decides it's time to get up, it's time to get up.

He starts by kneading my face. Sounds cute, right? I still haven't had him de-clawed. So after shoving him off the bed the first couple of times, he stops jumping lightly back up, and starts launching himself into either my back or my stomach, from which he will jump up onto my shoulder and start kneading some other sensitive part of me. The only thing that will stop him are vigorous tummy rubs, and by this point I'm so awake that sleep, and whatever wonderful dream I was having, is but a distant memory.

Usually Easter just wants breakfast. So after all this effort, I will feed him and he will eat about 3 pieces of kibble. He will be happy. I will be awake.

Easter is a Ragdoll, which is a unique breed of cat developed by a crazy lady. They're also called Puppy-Cats, which is an accurate descriptor for Easter. He will spend the morning following me around the house, mostly getting in the way of whatever it is I'm doing. If I'm on the computer, so is he .... literally. I'm constantly shoving him off my desk when I'm working on something. Making the bed means he's looking for Blanket Monster. Folding laundry means he's playing with the rolled up socks. Cleaning the bathroom means he's sniffing the 409.

He's also very good at entertaining himself. He loves tennis balls. If you throw a tennis ball across the room, he's good for 20 minutes. He'll catch it, play with it, throw it for himself and chase it again. He's also very fond of playing with pens, small rugs, and bathtubs. Yes, bathtubs. He likes shower curtains as well, but he will climb into the big garden tub and play with the shiny chrome drain for 10 minutes at a time.

All this play means that some serious naps are in order to keep up his strength and cuteness. Both animals have scheduled mid-morning and mid-afternoon naps. Easter has a favorite spot for sleeping: on top of the kitchen cabinets. He can only get to the ones above the fridge, but he has claimed that territory inarguably as his own. He's also been known to sleep (or try to sleep) in the dryer, in the bathroom sink, in whatever patch of sunlight he can find, under the bed, on Wester (this didn't last long) and in the pantry. He hasn't tried the pantry since the last time he got forgotten in there. Oops.

It's a good thing our Wester is so patient. We'll give Wester one of his teeth cleaning treats. They're designed to take a while for him to chew on, and in the process his teeth get cleaner. Well, as soon as Wester has something potentially tasty in his mouth, Easter is all over that. Poor Wester, we've seen Easter almost stick his head inside Wester's mouth trying to discover what is being eaten. It's a good thing Wester isn't food aggressive AT ALL or we might have a headless kitty. Wester has decided that some of his tastier treats, like his Frosty Paws ice cream, ought not be left out to tempt the cat, so Wester will eat it all in one massive CHOMP. I hope dogs don't get brain freezes!

Wester is allowed to do one thing that Easter isn't: go outside. The terms of Easter's adoption specified that Easter was to be an indoor kitty only, and Garm and I were just fine with that. Easter wasn't. Any time we're outside, Easter is at the back door, trying to get out with us. I got him a harness, which he hates, but I've taken him out with that. Once summer is over and we can stand to be outside for more than 4 minutes at a time I'll take him out more.

Easter is a morning kitty, and has lots of energy to run around the house, most of the time without any visible provocation, all morning long. But lately, he's had an excuse to be active at night: bugs. Apparently, we have more bugs in the house than I could have ever imagined. And Easter will find, stalk, catch and eat them all. I guess this is a good thing.

So that's my little Easter. And thanks to my wonderful Garm for helping me adopt him. I'm definitely more the cat-person in the family. But I think it's just that Easter knows who cleans his litter box. (Which reminds me, for all you people out there with cats, I highly encourage you check this out. Completely worth it!) So whether he's face-planting himself into the bathroom window (hilarious!) or just snuggled up on my lap and purring, his antics make him a wonderful addition to our happy little world.

British Bluegrass??

So there's this great new band out there. I found them on Dave FM, and got hooked listening to the one song they played. So of course I did what any new fan would do: I got the album and set up a new Pandora station.

According to Wikipedia, Mumford and Sons began playing together back in 2007 and released their first album, Sigh No More, last year. It crossed the pond this year and has frolicked (do the English frolick?) its way up the charts and into our radios. The single I fell in love with, Little Lion Man, has a catchy chorus that isn't inane (coughkatyperrycough)  like so much new music out there. Also, who is rocking a banjo nowadays? Not enough artists, that's for sure.

M&S are listed as Indie Rock or Folk Rock, but the combination of instruments is begging me to call it Bluegrass Rock. But they're more than just the instruments. The lyrics and harmonies are darker and more serious than you'll find over the traditional airwaves. Broken hearts, revenge, regret and the state of your soul are all themes in their music. And yet there's something hopeful in the songs as well: "Lead me to the truth and I will follow you with my whole life."

All in all, this is a great new sound, and I recommend that if you're sick of the same 20 songs on the radio, which all sound the same anyway, to give these guys a listen.

Paper, Ink, Glue

Almost $500 worth of wedding invitations. Certainly more than the sum of their parts. . .

Goal = Achieved!

Wow guys! Thanks!

The first goal of my blog was to increase my readership exponentially from one (my wonderful Garm) to five. This was a difficult goal, since 1 to the 5th power it still one, but we DID IT!

Damn. Now I feel obligated to actually post something. Hmmmmmm .....

some time (and some cookie-cake) later

I've just finished a most delightful book. It's a newer book by a lady who has been my favorite author since my freshman year of high school when a classmate first loaned me the book The Blue Sword (I chose to read it because it has a horse on the front. PONIES!) Robin McKinley writes in such a way that it simultaneously inspires me to write stories of my own, and discourages me from ever finishing anything because there is no way I'll ever be THAT GOOD. The Blue Sword has lived unchallenged at the top of my favorite books list since I read it that first time. And is re-read every year and every time I get sick. It's one of those books where I feel like I'm going back to visit old friends every time I pick it up. The prequel to The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown is a Newberry Award Winner (although I thought Sword was MUCH better). Over the years I've collected McKinley's books and devoured each and every one. Her book Beauty is an absolutely perfect re-telling of the story of Beauty and the Beast. She eventually followed that one with a longer telling called Rose Daughter which is a lovely story, but lacks a something that Beauty has.

A Door in the Hedge and A Knot in the Grain are both collections of shorter fairy tales. McKinley is more than an author, she is a storyteller. My senior year in college I was at a B&N with my roommate and we came across her book Sunshine. It was just out, so they only had hardbacks. I NEVER buy hardbacks, unless they're marked down to super-duper-red-dot-never-saw-the-bestseller-list clearance for under $5. I didn't have twenty dollars to spend on a book, (and I literally didn't, Amanda had to loan it to me) but I had to have that book. So glad. McKinley wrote the best vampire book most teenagers will never read. I remember not sleeping until I finished that book. I finished that book before I found time to get to the bank so I could pay my roommate back.

After Sunshine I learned to stalk her website so that I would never again be caught unawares. So when Chalice came out, I knew about it and had already steeled myself to wait until a paperback became available. I periodically checked back on Amazon's website, and finally there it was! When I needed to round an order up to $25 for the Free Super Saver Shipping! that was the first item on my wishlist I clicked on. Chalice is not a retelling of a well-known fairy tale, such as Spindle's End. As far as I know, it's not a retelling of an unknown fairy tale, such as Deerskin. Chalice is a new creation of McKinley's own imagination, and it was truly delightful.

Her next book, Pegasus, is due out in November. You can guess what I want for Christmas!

Introductions

As I was sitting at my desk watching the deluge outside, I suddenly became inspired to write again. Now, I've tried blogging before, but with no great success, so only time will tell if this is another failed attempt or if it turns out to be a rave success. I begin with an audience of one, my wonderful fiancee, who will be sure to point out all of my typos, but will still tell me my stories are wonderful no matter how bad they may truly be. Wonderful man. After some creative emailing, my goal is to get my readership up to 5 by the end of the week. Lofty goal!

There is no overriding theme to this particular blog. I'd like to tell stories from my time spent overseas, stories of the antics of our wonderful dog Wester and our wonderful cat Easter, recipes and crafts I attempt, books I read, and other little vingettes that pop up in life. No drama, just stories.