Sunday, February 14, 2016

Valentine's Day

Another commercial feeding frenzy is upon us. Valentine's Day.

Like most holidays, Valentine's Day is steeped in mish mashes of strange beginnings.  From the Romans who celebrated the festival of Lupercalia featuring the beating of women with the skins of animals men had just sacrificed.  And the women lined up for it.  The names of young Roman women were put in a jar and young men would draw a name and the two would be coupled for the remainder of the festival.

Valentine, a priest, became involved in the history when he opposed a Roman decree that suspended marriages, so that more men would want to join the army and go off to fight (and die) for the empire.  Valentine allegedly offered secret marriages.  Valentine was put to death for this.  However, there are other versions of why Valentine became the namesake of the holiday.

You can read about Valentine's Day history here.

It was widely thought in France and England of yore (love the word "yore") that birds begin to mate on February 14.

The opposite of Valentine's Day is SAD (Single Awareness Day).  Some celebrate this, wearing black or green, as opposites to red, to mock the hyper commercialization of love on February 14.  But others observe SAD because they indeed are alone, some by choice, others not so much.

This year, seems to me, the media has been extremely zealous in pumping Valentine's Day and its guilt drive obligation to buy something for one's partner.
On this block, besides the three empty houses, there are six married couples and five singles living alone.   Almost 50/50.

I don't mind living alone but I sure wish I had friends to do things with.  Gets to me being alone pretty much all the time.

I've decided to start making my own shoes.  I have oddly sized feet and have terrible trouble finding anything that fits.    So often I wear the same pair of shoes for years.  Until they literally fall to pieces.

Those shoes I had to throw out after their contamination with distemper virus has put me into a realization, not finding any shoes my size in town, that I have to find a way.   They probably should have been tossed a year ago anyway they were that worn down and awful looking.  I had bought two pair when I found them, shocked that I'd found something that fit, on sale two for one anyhow.  Now I am wearing the "good" pair, that I had saved to wear for occasions when I had to not look like a total bum.

Going barefoot or wearing sandals when its pouring or freezing doesn't cut it all the time.  In the summer, I'm good, going barefoot or wearing sandals so I can save wear and tear on my daily shoes for winter.

I've been back on YouTube, re-watching videos on how to make shoes.  The hardest part is finding or making the "lasts".    You have to have a "last", as your mold to build your shoes around.  Wood is best, as you can tack into it, but finding them in my size is the problem.  So I'll probably make them of permastone.

Might be a fun hobby.  My problem will be the sewing.  I'm not a sewer and my hands have been over used in life, so I get osteo arthritis knobs on my joints, if I even type much.  But maybe if I go slow, don't do much sewing on any one day, I can manage it.

I am also trying to come up with ideas of something I could make to sell to fund the nonprofit.  I get very few donations.  Not enough to cover the cats food even most months.  Since I don't take in cats, unless I have somewhere else they can go, having plenty already, or adopt them out, I am not visible and do not make money on adoptions that might offset costs.  I also hate begging.  My self-esteem issues don't help and make me hate donation appeals even more.  Be better if I could figure out something to sell to fund it.  Otherwise, am thinking maybe I should close it.

Taking on the feeding of the farm colony was not something I was prepared to do.   They had promised to feed them.  But they don't, so I do feed them, but  I need to get them out of there, to eliminate that expense.  Sounds impossible, finding homes for 14 wild things, but I hope to do just that.  Four of them are now tame enough likely I could seek out house cat homes for them.  I'll start with those four.

In some good news, Tink, the little girl kitten, from the farm colony, who launched herself, crying, out of the rain and dark, into my arms, got a home.  I had taken her up to CATS (Cat Alliance Team Sanctuary).  Good luck, Tink.  I hope Char, from the same place, gets a home soon.  He's at Heartland waiting.

CATS has taken in five cats from me and four of those five are in homes.  Winter, one of the three wild things from the berry vines near I5, is the only one of the five still waiting.  Those now in homes, whom I took to CATS are:  Dandy, the big injured FIV positive Albany boy; Mystic and Tonka, from the berry vines, and now Tink, from the farm colony. They do such a great job of getting them needed vet care and then out and into homes.  THANK YOU CATS!

Guess I'm heading off to do a cat pick up west of Salem then taking them to Portland.  Over three hours of driving.  Ugh!   But no one else was available.


6 comments:

  1. Good luck.
    Shoes? A nightmare. My feet are difficult to fit too. I am not about to go down the shoe manufacturing path though. Good luck there too.

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    Replies
    1. Oh why not, EC? You would be good at shoe making. I hurry things too much and my home made shoes will look like crap. Maybe I should just resort to stealing shoes til I find a pair that fits. Oh I wouldn't do that. But my frustration mounts.....

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  2. I hang onto shoes also. I have issues with my feet, so new shoes always hurt no matter what kind. So when I finally get a pair broken in, I keep them forever--way past their useful life. Making shoes will be an interesting experience or maybe occupation for you. Keep us up with your progress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So hard to find shoes that fit well anymore. Sizes vary by shoe too, nothing sacred and gone is the foot measuring device that used to be in every shoe store. I think its an international problem. I think the Presidential candidates should be bringing up what they would do to address the bad fitting shoe problems of Americans.

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  3. Anonymous4:22 PM

    Strayer the cobbler. Don't forget the benefit of a thimble to push the needle through. Drive safely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, the thimble, to get my thumbs from becoming pin cushions. Excellent reminder. Lol.

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