Barefoot Tales Revisited

A year ago, I wrote about feet - my feet, how big they are, and how I love going barefoot (those are my bare toes in the above header). I whinged about my lack of options when it comes to attractive shoes in my size, but since then, I've found a few decent online sites which have a fabulous range of shoes for Amazonians like myself. If any readers have similar issues, my favourite site so far is Barefoot Tess. For the first time in my life, the act of browsing shoes is fun. There are whispered possibilities, and I don't end the search in tears of frustration or anger.

I also wrote about Miss Pie's feet, and my struggle to keep socks or shoes on her eleven-month old feet. She was at that age where she just wanted to pull them off, constantly, and it seemed as though every single person I encountered insisted I hear their advice on how to keep her socks on - tying a string around her ankles was one such gem. I still see that woman in our local supermarket, several times a week, and time has confirmed that she is a total nut job.

These days, Miss Pie is less obsessed with pulling her shoes and socks off. She will, but it's usually only when she's been in her stroller for too long and is bored. She's now twenty-three months old, and capable of using those little hands for far more destructive purposes. Socks? Too obvious. Pulling everything off the shelves along supermarket aisles is much more fun.

Miss Pie also happens to be obsessed with her gumboots. Given the choice, she'd wear them no matter what the weather is doing. Being wise enough to know which battles to pick, I just let her wear 'em... and now we're on the receiving end of comments from strangers who think they're super witty and original: "It's pretty sunny today - don't think there's much chance of rain, HAHAHA!" 

She is über cute in her gumboots, though. And yes, being LA, there are rarely any puddles to be found, but she does her best. Mostly, she just encounters wet patches of concrete from hoses or sprinklers, but in her eyes, they are just as good. She squeals and jumps on these wet patches, expecting a big satisfying splash. To her credit, she's never disappointed when the splash fails to materialise. "OOK! PUDDOO!" An optimist. I love that.

As for the barefoot weather we were having last December, I'm not sure what's happened. 30ºC this time last year? So hard to believe, but I'm clinging to hope that it might happen soon. It's sunny, yes, but cold. Last week brought icy Santa Ana winds which destroyed or uprooted many large trees in our area. These winds apparently registered at Category 1 hurricane speed, so the damage wasn't surprising. We're lucky it wasn't worse.

A year ago, not only did I write about feet, but I posted some pictures too. One, taken when the Faery was only three, and the other of Miss Pie's chubby almost-ready-to-walk foot. Bare and in the sun, taken the same week as the post. Her feet are growing at an alarming rate, and so much bigger now - is she destined to inherit my large feet? Poor thing.

It seems only fitting to wrap this up with a photo I took earlier this week of Miss Pie and I, in the leaf-strewn local park. I think you can tell who is who, but I will add that I'm wearing a new pair of boots, and they make me feel pretty damned groovy.

Nothing barefoot about this.

Linking this with Mama Kat's Writing Prompts - Blast from the Past.

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