On the Farm. At the Opera. On my Feet.

Yesterday we had a family birthday party for Cora, Vaughn (Jake's dad), and Becky (Jake's aunt). It was held at Jake's grandparents' farm in southeastern Oklahoma. It was such a good day. The weather was a little cold, but nice in the sun, and that's where we spent a lot of time. Peepaw (Jake's grandpa) has about 15 calves that were just delivered. We spent time oohing and awing over them. I think little baby anythings are sweet, except for maybe baby spiders and snakes. We spent our time with the calves watching where we were walking, if you know what I mean. A few steps out of the pen, I stepped in on something squishy. And a little crunchy. I was certain it was poop, but it wasn't. When I looked back, I saw that I'd stepped on a dead mouse. A DEAD MOUSE! Not poop. Squishy dead mouse insides and crunchy little bones. I screamed a little and "ulched" a lot. Peepaw had found the mouse dead in a water trough that morning and threw it out where I would find it later that afternoon.

While we were sitting around, we saw that a calf out in the field was on the wrong side of the fence. About the time we all saw it, a big black cow went running across the field toward the calf. I went with Peepaw to let the calf back into the pasture. The mama and baby cow were mooing to one another, and as soon as the calf got back on the right side of the fence, it ran over to its mother to eat. It was sweet. And I'm so sentimental/sensitive that I felt sad for the other calves that had just been delivered - that they could't hear or see their mothers mooing for them on the other side of the fence nor run up to them for a comfort feed. If there's something about babies, there's something even more about babies and mamas.

The girls stayed the night with Vaughn and Tracey, and Jake and I came home to see The Barber of Seville. It was wonderful, even if it was almost 10 when we were going into intermission. That Rossini - brevity wasn't really his thing. Let it be known that David Herendeen is an amazing director. For a show [an opera!] that lasted that long with the longest scenes ever, there wasn't a moment where I wasn't caught up in the singing and the story. Props to everyone involved in the production.

While at the opera, I was thinking about my shoes. I wear shoes until they shouldn't be worn anymore - maybe a little longer. Like until there are holes in the soles. My current favorite pair of shoes are green velvety flats with an ankle strap. I got them at Ross almost five years ago. It took three visits before I bought them. The last time I went back, I went in knowing that if the shoes were still there, they were going home with me. They were there, and marked down. I think they were 8.99, and I for real don't know how they lasted at Ross for like two weeks.

Yes I do, we were meant for each other.

They were an occasional player in my wardrobe until several months ago. Now I wear them almost every day. Running errands, to church, through rainy streets in Chicago, on the farm [stepping on little mouse carcasses], to operas. They're holding up quite well, though fading a bit around the toes, and the insides are quite worn where the balls and heels of my feet rub. The soles are still intact. I think they have a good year left in them. I was lamenting the thought of the day I could no longer wear them, so I looked up the brand - Seychelles - in hopes of having a replacement in mind. I was happy to see some cute flats with ankle straps, and I hope that every season they offer something similar. And I was happy even almost five years later that I paid $9 for my pair because they are really ten times as expensive. But now I know they're worth it. I like Freesia in nude and navy, and I like Model Citizen in stone and whiskey.

Since I don't know the official style or color name, I'll just call them My Faves:

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