Tuesday, May 8, 2007

City Views, Country Dreams

Good evening from New York.

First, please accept my apologies if I have not been able to rid the mother ship site of a blog (not unlike the one that I write now) that I mistakenly laid there.

Second, let the record show that the acronym for the Museum of Modern Art is MOMA, not MOMO, as I recently wrote. (Thinking those country dreams, cows, etc., but truth is that I type fast and do not proof read, much.)

So, with the air cleared, let me say that I slept much later than usual this morning, after a very long day yesterday. It was a beautiful day weather-wise, and a real pleasure to be out side, tending to various matters, including buying and sending off to my mom in Virginia, a gift for our American Mother's Day, this Sunday.

Yesterday was so full-bodied. My stockroom assistant had the day off, seeing his father off to his home far, far away (a Tibetan in China.) So, I got to wear his hat (not a beautiful Tibetan hat, but rather one to wear while processing shipments, receiving shipments of inventory, etc.)

But the highlight of the day was attending, on behalf of the shops, a meeting at the company's Seventh Avenue showroom regarding a potential additional line of shoes to be sold in the shops.

I love shoes, have small, wide feet (35 european) and used to buy expensive shoes at sale. My weakness, second only to books. Now that I spend so much time standing, comfort has overtaken style in my shoe evaluating, and mostly I wear shoes that never before would have interested me at all.

Anyhow, I do love shoes, and it was a treat to attend this meeting and make the acquaintance of several reps of the prospective shoe company. The gentleman was the actual founder of the shoe firm, and developer of the patented sole construction that takes its comfort from pillows containing flax seeds. Apparently the seeds can shift around to assure that one's foot can find a comfy resting place at any time of the day.

I got to sit next to this shoe man, and we got on well. After my return to the shop, my colleagues asked me if the shoe man was married. As usual, I was too busy being friendly, and taking notes of shoe info, to try to determine his status. It is so rare for me to meet any men, remotely my age, who I find remotely interesting that I have sort of lost my detective skills!

At any rate, he was fun to meet with, and it is possible that we may have contact again sometime. The shoes are flat, made with deer skin, lined with deerskin. (I am thinking of Jane and deer in her Walker book, wondering if it is good for a human to walk in deerskin.)

Tomorrow I begin a span of numerous days at the shop without a break, but will try to find time to write a bit here and there. I want to use some spare time to paint rather than tapping and clicking on the computer, but for me, painting takes more of a warm up session. Writing, especially without proofreading, can be almost automatic.

It is such a delight to read your blogs, and to vicariously enter into the country. Some days I do wonder how I have chosen to live in this city, but then something swell happens to remind me that this environment also has its charms, even if most are quite artificial.

I wish everyone very pleasant dreams.

18 comments:

  1. What tiny doll feet you have! I hate shoes, well love the look of them but prefer bare feet and never find any shoes that conbine comfort and elegance !

    Glad I am not the only one tho does not indulge in too much proofing...AND I do love the Museum of Modern Art on line even if neither of us got the acronym right!

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  2. I was born with feet like plates and I dont care what anybody says you cant get pretty shoes for big feet! Yes I know you can see them about in a size 8 - but you put them on and 'pretty' looks even bigger than normal and it draws attention to them - Oh just give me a long skirt!
    Lovely blog though.
    mmmm deerskin and flax seeds sounds almost immoral!

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  3. What a highlight for you ! All thoses shoes! Daughter Sophie loves shoes , we can't go past a shoe shop without going in and no doubt she has to buy a pair!!

    I went to MOMA the day after it reopened in Nov 2005,(was it 05 or 04 my mind gets fuzzy) very impressed.

    Warm wishes from Sussex, the Bluebells have gone over now, but the Rhodadendrons are coming out and the Wisteria looks lovely.

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  4. How lovely to have dainty feet. Mine are like plates too. The shoe man sounds interesting! City life may sometimes be artificial, but it's fun too, and if you're going to do city life, you may as well be in Manhattan I would think!

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  5. Deerskin is beautiful so soft and supple. The Indians used to ask permission to use the meat and skin and felt that permission was given from their 'brother' the deer.
    I love shoes too, Frances, and have far too many.But mine are such a standard size that there are never any my size left in sales. -- loved imagining you in a Tibetan hat!

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  6. My daughter Sophie like inthemuds Sophie loves shoes she has hundreds of pairs, in fact whilst looking for a pair to wear the other day when she was visiting she took 35 pairs out of her car!! Me I like wellies but I do love second hand books.
    Blossom

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  7. I have meduim size feet and love the sound of deerskin shoes - then again I could pretend I was an American Indian. I love American Indians and their whole ethos. For me it was bliss when daughters feet stopped growing at the same size mine were and I could borrow/steal her shoes . . . she never seemed to want to wear mine though!

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  8. I was rather taken with the hat idea... I think you should aim for the Tibetan number.

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  9. What little feet you have - daughter-outlaw is a 2 here - teeny little baby feet.
    Those shoes sound so comfortable - I too have a shoe thingy - I am a 4/37 - I buy loads of shoes when I am in US. Now we must educate you in the "chatting up an available/or even unavailable man"
    business - especially a shoe man - oh my god, heaven or what!!

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  10. frances i love your blogs i like to chat about clothes and shoes i own about four pairs and wellys i am saving up to get some snugg boots they look cosy x jep

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  11. my mother had little feet and i used to say "they arnt feet they're trotter's"and she'd reply " yours arnt feet they're legs turned up"..thanks for the memoryx...dishy guy selling shoes sound nearly perfect....xxo

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  12. Hello Frances,
    What dainty feet you have, I love shoes, it is one of my weakness apart from books and artwork, oh, and rosebud china. Can just see you in that Hat Frances.
    Warm Wishes.
    Camilla.xx

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  13. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20070510a1.html

    Thought you might enjoy this take on the french elections.

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  14. Hello Frances,
    Eventually discovered my way to your blogs. Lovely to read about NY life again.You sound so busy at the shop. Hope you find more time to relax, more time for yourself. Now I have found you I will be able to catch up with you .Best Wishes ,Milly x

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  15. Good afternoon Frances(well, it is in Scotland). I'v just had a lovely time catching up with you. As always, you sound ever so busy, I'm amazed you have any time to blog at all. I really hope that the shoe man does turn out to be single, but if he doesn't at least you have made a new friend.

    I hope you don't mind me being nosey but I'm sure I read a reply to one of your blogs mentioning a website which showed your shop. If I have remembered correctly, I would love to know what it is, so that I can picture where you work in relation to all the other things you speak of so well.

    Don't work too hard over the next few days, take care - Jacqui x

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  16. As a typical Piscean, the feet are permanently at war with me...so forget the feet, what about the shoeman? Keep us posted pleeeeese! Love your blog; you are lucky to have such tiny feet.

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  17. Well, thank goodness you do live in the city, Frances, otherwise I wouldn't get my regular fix! Just grabbed some moments to catch up - yet again - after the bank holiday weekend xxx

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  18. Well, thank goodness you do live in the city, Frances, otherwise I wouldn't get my regular fix! Just grabbed some moments to catch up - yet again - after the bank holiday weekend xxx

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