Positively Good Shoes

by Mauverneen

"Good shoes will take you to good places."

A friend of mine wrote about shoes the other day on her blog. She is a fan of K-Dramas, and the quote came from the one she is currently following - "She Was Pretty". 

Now, I've never seen that show, but this particular blog interested me because it brought to mind a dream I had, years ago. In the dream I was shopping for shoes and was in a shoe store, trying to decide on a pair of new shoes for myself. I was totally enamored of a pair of heels - fun, pretty, frivolous. But then there was a pair of no-nonsense, ordinary looking pumps. I was all set to buy the practical pumps, (after all, I am a practical person). Perhaps it was the sales clerk who changed my mind, but I heard myself say "No more boring shoes for me!" 

A couple of days, or possibly weeks later, I went shopping downtown and passed a shoe store, with a great sale. Seeing as I actually needed shoes, I went in. Well, guess what - I found my practical pumps but I also found a great pair of fun, pretty, frivolous heels. I remembered my dream and exclaimed - out loud - "No more boring shoes for me!" 

Now, I'm not saying one needs to spend hundreds of dollars on a single pair of shoes, or that I wear heels out in the garden. That would simply not be practical, but downright foolish. But neither would I wear my gardening clogs to dinner. So I have both. I've occasionally carried that mantra into other areas of my life and perhaps should do it more often. So, thanks Denise, for reminding me. Why settle for boring when you can have fun!

The moral of the story? I don't know if there is one, but practicality has its place, its purpose. But so does fun, and the impractical. Once in a while, we need to step out of our comfort zone and be frivolous and say "No more boring shoes for me"! 

 And pretty shoes? Well, they definitely have their place. In my closet.

Check out the price of those shoes - I never throw anything away. Especially not shoes!

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.

However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!

Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com

See more photos at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively Timing

 by Mauverneen

So, here it is, 9 o'clock on a Tuesday morning and I don't have a blog. I slept late and I'm still groggy, despite numerous cups of coffee. Blame the time change. 

This past weekend - we all sprang ahead (or was it sprung?). I like that we get more light at the end of the tunnel, I mean the day, but I need some time to get used to this new time. I don't like sleeping late. I mean, it feels good and all but that means my day is shorter, hence I try to compensate and stay up later and end up sleeping later. 

I don't like it. I think we should just leave the clocks alone. It's easier to adjust when you have to get up, to be at work at a certain time. You set the alarm. I'm retired. I have no need for an alarm. I don't even have an alarm. There's probably only one way to fix it - I need to go to bed early, so I get my usual amount of sleep and hopefully wake up at a decent hour. 

Guess I won't be having a nap today. That would just make me less tired. 

 “Daylight saving time: Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.” -- Anonymous

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.

However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!

Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com

See more photos at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively Women!

 by Mauverneen

Today is International Women's Day. " A global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality."

There have been some amazing women in the course of history - generally they were women who broke the gender barriers; in science (Marie Curie), politics (Jeannette Rankin) and exploration (Amelia Earhart). And there were those who just broke barriers (Rosa Parks). 

Today I think most of us find it mind-boggling that women were treated as less than men, that they weren't considered able to think logically, govern, drive, vote, inherit, and on and on. Women writers published using men's names. To be fair, there is an International Men's Day in November. And great accomplishments are great accomplishments and should be recognized. 

Always interested in art and fashion, after high school I applied for a job at a local department store, in the advertising department. (Back then everything was done by hand - drawing, lettering, cut and paste...) I had taken a course in Chicago, riding the bus back and forth every day, so I felt qualified for this very low level position, but full of confidence that I could do it and learn along the way. Apparently, they felt I had some merit as I did get an interview. However, at the end of that interview I was asked if I had a boyfriend. I did and admitted it. I was then told that I would probably get engaged, get married, get pregnant, and have to stay home and raise my family. Final verdict: sorry, but no job. I guess some teenage boy got the job. I hope he did well for himself.

I'm not bitter about it, but it does hit me how times have changed. If anyone would be told that today, there would probably be a lawsuit for discrimination and I would end up owning the store. 

In the end, I did get married and raise a family. But it was by choice. MY choice. I CHOSE to be a stay-at-home mom and looking back I have to say it was the best job I ever had! 

So today, we should be proud of how women have progressed. We should ALL be proud. And today, I think I'll do something I usually only do on my birthday - I think I'll wear my tiara.

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.

However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!

Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com

See more photos at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively A Little Mardi Gras

 by Mauverneen

As they say in New Orleans: laissez les bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll)

Today is March 1st. Two months have gone by already. It seems to have gone rather quickly, even if most of it was spent holed up inside against the snow and the cold. By now we should all be used to writing 2022 on our checks. Although most people don't write many checks any more I don't think.

Today is Fat Tuesday, or to make it sound better, Mardi Gras. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the start of 40 days to make up for today’s transgressions. 

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Carnival. 

Hurricanes, Paczki, Pancakes or Crawfish. 

Same tradition, different names, different foods. Of course the idea is the same; eat, drink, and party, because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the day we are supposed to give it all up - no more fun until Easter. But it's only two weeks to St. Paddy’s day to give us a break - just about enough time to sober up for another round of partying.
 
Fasting has merit, even if you're not religious. It never hurts to put aside over-indulgence. Give up smoking, drinking, swearing, or some bad habit and maybe, just maybe, by Easter Sunday we will have kicked at least one bad habit. 

This is Positively Tuesday after all. Can I give up complaining? For more than just Tuesdays, maybe for all 40 days.

No offense to the Paczki, but I sure wish I had a beignet right now! 

     “Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty... ” ― N.T. Wright

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.

However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!

Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com

See more photos at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html