And more accomplishments

 But first: here's a photo of how far I am on Chalcedony after today. (I gave an exam and knit more on the sleeve)

It's probably between 1/3 and 1/2 done. I like that the sleeves are knitted on; there's no seaming with this and no fiddly sleeve caps with decreases to make the curve in the top. (You do decrease underneath the sleeve, two stitches every four rows, to make it taper.)

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I got my tax paperwork into the CPA today, so that will be in process. It's worth it to me to pay someone to do it; saves wear and tear on me. 

I picked up a piece of mail (OH! which I never opened yet, it's still in my purse) that had a little postage due on it

And then, I went to Marie's. This is what I think of as the "stylish older woman" store in town; a lot of people swear by it for clothes. I've never shopped there because it's generally more expensive than what I can comfortably afford but my friend Mary from church told me that they had "orthopedic like" shoes that were very comfortable (and cute! she had a pink pair) and while I'm healing this knee I need something with more support. And, heck, I probably need to start wearing more stable shoes anyway so I don't mess myself up again.

I was prepared for the disappointment of "oh we had those for a while but they all sold out and we're not getting more" but the woman enthusiastically showed me a whole display of them, in several different colors (and a couple other finishes, there was one that was almost a velvety looking brown). I wanted the sparkly ones if they had them in my size, and I wanted something for brown clothing - I don't have any comfortable/safe for my knee brown shoes, so I'd been leaning heavily on the things that went with blue or black

But she had them! Brought out several pairs when I said "I take anywhere from a 7 1/2 to an 8 1/2. (As it turns out, they are Euro sized; if I'd known I'd just have said "38" to start. And that was the size I took).

They are sparkly. Those aren't exactly rhinestones; they're more like bedazzler gems. I hope they're well-attached but given the shoes were fairly expensive, I would hope they are:

they're cute enough to work with most of my more-casual skirts/dresses. And anyway, now, when I'm injured? I think I get a bit of a pass on shoes. Hopefully these will help, they're definitely more supportive and don't slip around on my feet like the ones I had been wearing. 

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I am feeling better yet again today - stood up for much of one class (the other I was giving an exam and sat), walked around the building a bunch, parked and walked about a block to Marie's and back (did stop off at Sundrop Books going back to my car - I wanted to go in but also my knee was screaming at me and I needed to sit down for a minute, and they have chairs). I did buy a copy of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (I have never read it - all I know is it's a good bit different to the movies, the monster is actually thoughtful and philosophical rather than just a shambling beast. (I think it's also supposed to end somewhat sadly? Oh well I'll deal with that when I get there). I also talked with the owner who knows me slightly  (she was in one of my classes once, and I've been in there a number of times). She had left school with an uncompleted degree, and then found out she only lacked **one** class - and that class can be done online, while she is working. So she's going to earn her degree after all, which is nice for her. 

Also, I might go back to Marie's when I have a little money and want new clothes - they do have nice things AND like some small shops like that, the people working there are very cheerful and enthusiastic and welcoming and I admit even though I felt a bit like the "country mouse" (I am NOT as fashionable as a lot of the things they sell), they didn't make me feel like anything other than a valued customer. And it felt.....weirdly familiar and nostalgic to me? There were shops like that in the town where I grew up, one or two where my mom shopped for clothes, and the people there were always very helpful and friendly and interested in the customer in the way people in larger stores don't (especially now, in places like Kohl's you'll be lucky if someone points you to the right department if you ask where the shoes are or whatever). And yes, good customer service works on me; I'd rather save my pennies and pay a little more for a nice item sold by pleasant people than get the rock-bottom price in a dimly-lit, warehouse-like store. 

For that matter, if they continue to carry those shoes? Maybe at some point I get another pair in a different color or in one of the plainer styles.