Shoe Polish

I just polished our shoes. 

My Welsh dad always said you could tell a lot about a man by his shoes. He also taught me how to polish mine, which you can do if you buy real leather shoes. 

I bought this shoe polish to use on my shoes while I was in England. It was just regular polish there for only a couple of dollars but . . . oh my,! I love this polish. It is made in England and makes the leather feel buttery soft. 

 I don’t know if we can get it here but if I can’t get it I’m going to have to get my cousin to send me some.  

 
Such small things make me so happy. A $2 tin of shoe polish makes me smile. 

Living in the City

I’ve always been a country girl at heart and couldn’t ever imagine  anything good about living Ina city but walking Blue in the rain today I thought: “dang, girl . . . I like it. ”

So I thought maybe I’d write down a few of the things I like so if there’s ever a time I get homesick for the country I can just look back at this list and remember, oh ya. 

The Good Stuff List:

1. Walking the dog: 

in the country you just open the door and the dog goes out and does his ‘business’.

Living in the condo with no yard means I am forced to get off my tushy and take the dog out for his walk. It’s a great, cost-less, exercise program with its own very persistent alarm that you can’t just find some excuse not to do. 

Plus it’s this great bonding, one on one time, with my dog when he is king. I love spoiling him and stop to let him sniff and snoop and pee and poop whenever he wants. He acts like he really loves me for it. But then he always acts like he really loves me. 

  
Then there is the other dog people out walking their dogs. I love dog people. We have met so many really nice folks when Blue and the other dog are wagging tails and sniffin butts. (I think Blue’s favorite is the happy puggle pup named Jude. If not, he is my favorite, the kind of waggly happy dog that make you smile just to be around them). 

2. How clean everything stays:

In the country it’s a daily never ending battle with the dirt constantly being dragged in the house. 

Blue never even drags a speck of dirt in. Everywhere we go we are either on pavement or lush green grass mowed by someone else. I probably only have to sweep my floors once a week and that’s because of crumbs or something I’ve dropped on the floor. 

Housework is a breeze. I dust like once a month. 

  

3. Time and Fuel

In the country you always have to consider the added driving time and don’t forget the list so you don’t forget anything while you’re there because it’s a long way back and time consuming or it sucks to do without it. 

Wow, shopping for anything you can imagine takes no time when all the stores are 5 minutes away. I could literally go for fresh produce everyday if I wanted and the car is never out of gas. A tank full can easily last two weeks. 

Then there is the emergency room, which we don’t seem to need much now, a stones throw away instead of an hour’s drive when I did have my cat scratch. 

  
4. Weather:

In the country I always worried about animals out in bad weather, especially in the winter. I know cows are tough but . . . And no having to thaw frozen waterers or chopping ice so they can drink, what a joy that is. 

Even the horses have a lovely barn and the indoor riding arena is great bonus. Bad weather can’t even stop me from riding now. 

  
And the weather would have to be really something to keep me from going anywhere living in town. It’s a whole new freedom I couldn’t have imagined. 

 
Yup, I’m a pretty happy girl living in the city. I would never have believed it.