May chitchat

[Virginia]

I am still here, just in case anyone is interested. I haven't been around as much lately due to family circumstances which have had me bogged down in "almost no sleep mode", which in turn keeps me from doing anything. I am alone but when something is going on in the family I try to be there, even if it's just on the phone or keeping up my end by worrying. lol

I still get Momentum and found the conversation about this magazine interesting. I had been feeling that I might be the only person who most often doesn't even open it. I long ago got tired of reading about healthy people in a magazine meant for people who are often disabled or having a hard time financially. I do not begrudge these people their good fortune, however I just don't feel the magazine presents MS as it truly is. I wish I could just bequest mine to Ikoiko, but it doesn't work that way.

I use to like hummingbirds. Well, actually I still like them, but after having two hummingbird feeders which drew bees I no longer try to get them to come around me.

[agate]

Of course we're interested, Virginia!

I never know whether to ask questions about people who haven't shown up in a while, and more often than not nowadays I don't. People do perceive that kind of question as pressure, as if my subtext is really, "Why in the world aren't you helping out more on the MS board?" and I really don't want to pressure anyone.

But you've been in my thoughts, particularly since you've been having quite a few sad family situations lately, and those aren't ever easy.

Sometimes all we can do is keep up our end by worrying! I like that whole concept. Sometimes I sit and play a dumb card game online and worry, worry, worry. Eventually I realize that I'm accomplishing absolutely nothing that way. Now I can at least feel that I'm doing something, even if what it is is worrying enough for all the rest of the family put together.

[Ikoiko]

Virginia, wishing peace to your family in this hard time.

[Virginia]

Thank you Agate and Ikoiko.

[flatcap]

Were you ever taught when you were a kid to do some mundane task the wrong way, only to learn much later in life the right one?

I went over fifty years tying my shoe laces the way my mother taught me. She said I was supposed to tie one lace over the other, then tie the loops together in the same direction. She showed me how to do it, and that was that. From then on, I thought that was the way normal people do it, and other than saying "Good boy," none one ever said anything about it.

It takes my until my teacher notices one day my laces coming apart all the time and sends a note home with me revealing my grave insult to humanity.

So what does my mother do about that? She says I have to make a "double knot" by tying the loops together again, also in the same direction.

That did it. That contraption wouldn't come apart if you set off a nuclear weapon under it.

It isn't until I'm going on 60 that I find out I am tying my shoe laces the wrong way. I learn from some random internet source that I have been tying a granny knot from the start. I didn't know there was such a thing. The webpage says it's a square knot I am supposed to be tying, not a granny knot, and that a granny knot will not stay tied. The site has helpful illustrations on how to tie a square knot, so I can't miss.

It's like a revelation. My laces stay tied without starting WWIII. The world is spared Armageddon and no one even throws a party.

So all you get is this.

That is all.

[agate]

Now you're all set, good to go, flatcap!

I'm going to be refreshing my memory about shoelace tying very soon because some new diabetic shoes that just arrived have elastic shoelaces. The shoelaces hurt my feet, and so I'm going to switch to the ordinary shoelaces that were helpfully provided with the shoes.

[flatcap]

I don't know if they would work for a person with diabetes, but I wear shoes from Vivobarefoot.

I gave up wearing what are often referred to as running shoes or hiking shoes (not boots). I was experiencing a lot of numbness in my feet and couldn't feel the ground through the sole of my shoes. This exacerbated the problem I was having keeping my balance because my brain wasn't getting enough feedback from my feet.

Almost by accident, I found some wool slippers with boiled wool soles and no arch support or any other nonsense going on inside. The combination made for the most comfortable slippers I have ever worn, so I tried to find shoes like them with soles suitable for wear outside.

Vivobarefoot and other brands now make what are sometimes called minimalist shoes that have the characteristics I was looking for: A wide toe box, a high degree of flexibility, a flat sole, and no so-called orthopedic inserts that don't fit unless you go to a podiatrist and have a custom pair made for you.

Even if you go with shoes having custom-made inserts, you still wind up with shoes with soles so thick that you have little or no sense of what is under your feet. Vivobarefoot shoes have very thin soles, and you can feel everything. It took me a little while to get used to them, but I would hardly wear anything else now.

They look kind of funky, but they work. A few times people have complemented me on their appearance, one saying they looked "very European," whatever that means. Maybe they were really thinking "You would never catch me dead wearing those."

Anyway, I have found Vivobarefoot shoes to be a simple but brilliant solution to the otherwise unfulfilled need I have for shoes that work well for me. At first I felt every little thing going on under my feet, such as walking over a small pebble, and sort of overreacted to it sometimes. I still feel things like that, but it no longer causes me any issues. My feet compensate for the pressure, and I get the benefit of being better able to keep my balance.

Vivobarefoot shoes are not cheap, but they are well worth it to me. If you are looking for durable, comfortable shoes with at least a modicum of style, I highly recommend them.

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