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Friday, April 13, 2018

Iris and Saving Shoes

Image of Tennessee State Flower: Iris germanica



Written last Tuesday

One iris has bloomed, one of the pale lavender ones, and a pink one is ready to burst open. I love iris. We had them in places we lived as a child. Mama loved flowers. We had dozens in our first house. But, when we sold it and moved away, we lived in rental houses for a few years and she never planted any at those houses. Still, there were always a few.

Today, Tuesday, I was rummaging through an old change purse, looking to see what was in it. I found an old KFC coupon for $10 worth of food. This is one I paid $6 to purchase back in January. Usually, these are used for lunch or dinner when exbf is visiting. But, now I use them for when I am sick or exhausted. I was neither today; I just wanted KFC once I found it. While $6 is an expensive lunch for one, it would have been thrifty for two people.

Thursday

Four more iris in bloom.

Exbf came today. I got more sleep than I usually do before he comes. We drove around the lake, looking at the flowers blooming and through a neighborhood that always has lovely azaleas. I hate it when people prune azaleas into balls or square forms!

Lunch was chicken spicy chicken strips on a hotdog bun with leaf lettuce and tomatoes, mustard for him, Miracle Whip for me. He had pineapple.  This was such an easy meal.  

I felt so awful as the day went on that I did not cook what I intended to cook. So, for dinner I put four patties made from ground sirloin, 90% lean/10% fat with onion soup mix over them and onion and potatoes in the same pan, cooking them in the oven. It was delicious, but I suffered greatly from having had beef. Next time, I need to put a little water in the pan. We had Jello/fruit cocktail/apple. Fresh corn on the cob never made it to the stove. The carrots for the carrot raisin salad never made it out of the refrigerator.

His left shoe has holes in the sole. These shoes are practically new, so they needed to be saved. He has trouble walking and never gets his left foot off the ground, just drags it along as he uses two canes or a walker. They will be good to go on Saturday night.  So, we are saving him a bit of money by mending shoes.

I put the Shoe Goo on the sole with a plastic spoon and sort of glued down the flaps that were ripped loose on the sole. At first the little flaps kept popping up. I just used the plastic spoon to keep pushing them down dozens of time. This seemed futile, but then they stayed down. After working with the Shoe Goo for about ten minutes, all of a sudden, the flaps stayed flat and I could no longer smear it around.

Taking a chance, I touched it with a finger. HARD!  Then, I put my hand on it and showed him. I was going to put his shoes in a plastic bag for him to carry home and was glad to know he would not arrive home with the plastic bag stuck to the shoe. I suppose I will need to do this often to save these shoes. He has had them less than six months. His feet, diabetic feet, were getting wet. !!! I know, I know. He will not listen.

I was rushing all day long it seemed in order to get him home for a conference call. When he arrived at home, there was a message that the call was cancelled. ugh!

It was 80 degrees and sunshine and blue skies on Thursday.

Friday
I patched a hole in shoe soles I wear outside when it is rainy or muddy. Holes don't work with shoes.  I did little else today because I was still exhausted from Thursday. Today it was 79 F. Tomorrow is supposed to be a stormy day, possibly with tornadoes.





10 comments:

  1. What type of Iris? I love Siberian Iris, and had a good deal in my former house. Here, I have several Bearded Iris. They are pretty, and a few are actually fragrant, but the blooms don't seem to last long. I also have a few variegated Iris--not sure if this is actually the name, as I can't recall. The foliage is green and white striped, and the blossom is deep purple--similar to a Siberian Iris.
    And, because I love your blog so much, I will share this: My favorite flowers EVER: Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, and Datura Metel, (a.k.a. "Angel's Trumpet) neither of which will grow here in the PNW.

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    Replies
    1. Meg,
      Mine are like the one I posted at the head of the blog today. I don't know the difference between the two. My purple/lavender iris have been here since 1977. I have planted different colors, but none have bloomed and need to be replanted for more sun.

      Thanks so much for sharing! I know both flowers. Did you know that Morning Glories are so invasive that some places do not allow them to be planted? I know of a beautiful wall that has so many morning glories that it is spectacular. It's too bad your favorite flowers will not grow in PNW.

      Delete
  2. I remember my Dad fixing shoes about the same way you did, but he used a clamp to hold them together until the glue dried. He believed in fixing instead of buying new, which is probably why I do the same.

    I remember having both purple and yellow iris that bloomed every year. I always thought they were beautiful and loved them almost as much as I love lilacs.

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    Replies
    1. Vicki,
      This wasn't a place a clamp could be used or I would have used that to hold it together. I just kept pushing it down until it held...lol. My mother always said to resole shoes if they were leather and good quality. I have always done that until my good leather shoes had a sole that was not repairable nor were the heels. My cobbler confirmed that some shoes could not be replaced.

      I love yellow iris but don't have any. A woman was going to give me some of hers that she was dividing, but has not. I want pink and white, too, eventually. It is good to remember past flowers.

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  3. I love Shoe Goo. Have used it for years on kids sneakers, my shoes and my purses too.

    My mom always had purple iris, when they moved from CT to IN she took some. When my father moved to FL my sister dug some up for her house in IN. My in-laws had them too and when my FIL died and the house sold, we dug up some iris for our yard. When we moved to FL and couldn't take them. Our oldest son dug some up for his yard. When he moved to another house he dug some up to take with him. When second son bought a house he dug up some of his brother's iris for his house. Wonderful to see such a glorious, easy care flower stay in the family.

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    Replies
    1. Bellen,
      This was my first time using Shoe Goo. I don't think I ever heard of it until ten years ago.

      Those traveling iris have quite a provenance! I am quite sure they are disbursed because they travel well.

      Delete
  4. I admire your cleverness of thrift.

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    Replies
    1. urspo,
      Thank you. I tried to find another pair of this shoe last fall, but it was discontinued or something. The uppers are really nice looking, leather and not worn at all.

      Delete
  5. Fixing the shoes was great. I've fixed several of ours over the years.That was nice that you helped your friend out. The flowers are so pretty. It is cold and rainy here. Still no flowers blooming. I hoping soon.

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    Replies
    1. Making,
      I thought I was so clever...lol. It was easier than I thought. He helps me, too. But, thanks. I found another type blooming today. You must live far north of me. I have had flowers blooming since January. You know how some flowers are.

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.