Retail Therapy

We were only going to go to the shoe store to look at a pair of shoes I saw in the newspaper. I probably would have paid $350 for them if they had fit like a glove but they needed an insole and they had just sold their last pair and given the tariff games they didn’t know if/when they would get any more or how much they would cost if they did get them.

Meanwhile, Dana was wandering around the store picking out shoes for me to try. I had bought two pairs of shoes and four pairs of socks (for less than $350) when Dana found some shoes she liked.

50 years ago Healdsburg was literally a one horse town with dirt roads and surrounded by prune orchards and sheep ranches. 25 years ago it was a pleasant town with a lovely central square surrounded by vineyards and wineries. When they built an upscale hotel on one side of the square, it became a tourist destination. It is now one of the better places to shop for clothing in Sonoma County.

By the time I had tried on many pairs of shoes and taken on and off my tennis shoes a dozen times (because I thought I was finished) we had our second wind and moved on to a clothing store across the square where Dana wanted to buy a hat to wear to Bottle Rock, a three day concert fest in Napa next month. She found the perfect hat for a beaded hatband she got in Mexico and I found the perfect pair of jeans.

Trying on jeans is almost as bad as trying on bathing suits (a friend once said she’d rather go to jail than try on bathing suits) Flushed with success, and with help from Dana, I tried on and bought several more things. And took off my tennis shoes about a dozen more times. Note to self: next time wear slip ons.

It was a much needed outing and we both had a good time. Dana is my practical side who reminds me not to buy the pointy uncomfortable sparkle shoes however cute they are ‘because you will never wear them’.