Bubba136

On 9/2/2024 at 1:26 PM, Shyheels said:

I can stay pretty much for free wherever I like as long as I move every 14 days - and with 2000 miles of canals and the ability to work from my boat, as long as I have wifi, it is an incredibly free existence. Off grid, solar power, heat with coal in winter and cook with gas. Life is slow in the canal - about 3mph when you’re moving, but if you’re working a lot of locks in a day you travel about one mile for each hour you’re moving. The canals are all 18th century and working the locks can be hard work. And there is a lovely community among those of us who live on the canals, very bohemian, very diverse and interesting. 

What do you do about water, electricity, sewage, etc.  do most places that you stop have facilities connections?

On 8/25/2024 at 5:43 AM, mlroseplant said:

I definitely went through the thong learning curve late in life. Come to think of it, I don't think I even owned a pair of sandals of any type until I was 40. Which is odd, considering that I'm Mr. Sandal today. I'm probably making up for lost time.

If you stood by your pick up you would disappear from the belt to your feet.🫣

On 8/25/2024 at 6:02 AM, mlroseplant said:

We wound up buying the bike in question, which is nearly identical to the bike I had in my early to mid 20s, and which I rode through 2/3 of this country on. I think I probably had more miles on that bike than all the other bikes I've owned combined. The example we bought is basically a good solid machine, but there are a bunch of little things about it, the main one being that the brakes really suck. That's probably the reason I was able to offer substantially lower than what the guy was asking, and he went for it.

The plan is to sell the 'old' bike to my older son, and I've finally got my own old bike sold, so we'll be down to five motorbikes again. Two around town scooters, one serious road bike, one fun bike, and my big scooter. Let's see.  .  . that's four for him, and one for me. The kid doesn't even have his real motorcycle license yet. What is wrong with this picture?

The lawnmower is out of place?  🤔

2 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Your garage must be interesting! I saw a fellow live-aboard boater who travels with a motorcycle. He had his boat built to accommodate it - a storage compartment where the well deck and water tank would normally be, and a built in hydraulic lift to hoist it up so he could roll it down a gangplank and be off. It must have cost him a packet to have that, but it was clearly important to him - and life on the canals is pretty much about living life your own way 

Tell us about living life on the canal.  Do you move frequently?  The only experience I have is spending a week on a trip though Belgium’s canals with my dad when I was a boy.  We traveled by speed boat that my father borrowed from a friend, living in B&B’s along the way. A quaint experience. Still have the pictures somewhere.

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I had trouble with that also, but it's something that I forced myself to get used to for the sake of style. Part of it is psychological, part of it is physical. Kind of like learning to play the guitar. Yeah, your fingers are going to hurt for a while.

Idiosyncrasies.  Funny how I grew to hate the between the toe wearing of the shower shoes during my aviation cadet program days to a point that I can’t stand to wear them today but my wife chose to wear different styles quite frequently and never with a problem.  Styles like mlroseplant is wearing are almost as popular around here this summer as crocks.  Even the dresser styles, flats and with wedge heels that are even worn to church. (But then, crocks are worn in the same manner by both men and women, even too church).

My wife used to tell me that shoes were accessories. She chose the shoes that matched or accented the outfit she was wearing.  Women’s shoes don’t have to have high heels to look feminine.  In her more mature years, she would often wear very girly styles with kitten heels and look smashingly sexy.  She often told me that she would leave wearing higher stilettos to me because she found them to be uncomfortable.  As for me, I love wearing heels.  In my. 30’s and 40’s my normal shoes had 5” heels and I enjoyed occasionally wearing higher heels.  Now that I’m enjoying my 60’s, I very rarely wear heels higher than 4” anymore.   My main interest has always been “Girls Shoes”, not looking like a girl.  

But, back on point, you’re evolutionary process is probably normal.  Transitioning from pure male appearance to a male wearing female garments in public has elements of your being comfortable at the same time as your overcoming your apprehension about your appearance not being acceptable.  It’s a long process.  Being a female is a complex process.  There is a lot more to think about, especially if you want to appear only slightly feminine.  One step at a time!
 

I’ve never read of any any man being remembered for saying that life was easy.  History is a record of perrel and demise!

And despite the differences, the world still turns. Societies reinvent themselves, civilization after civilization.  

12 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I have been reassigned. Starting today, I will be on a project which may turn out to be the most boring job I've ever done in my life. I hope I'm wrong about it, but it does not look promising. At least it's close to home.

You are aware, aren’t you, that supervisors only assigned the most boring jobs to their most capable employees because they have proven over time that they can be trusted to do a good job under any circumstances.  For the most part these tasks require the least effort that is why they are so boring.  Be happy that they pay you the same rate as they would if you had the hardest job.  Go with the flow and enjoy the lighter load while it lasts. 😕

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Now that I have to get back to real life, note that I did ride my motorbike to church yesterday in these heels, and I did not crash. Nor did I draw any attention from the police, at least not to my knowledge.

I hadn't worn my Miu Miu sandals in quite a long time, and I'm doing my best to spread the love to all the shoes I've decided to keep. Once again, I have no idea how I managed to walk in these things when I first got them, but I must have done so somehow. I wore these shoes for about 5 hours yesterday, and they were all right despite their extreme height. For whatever reason, Miu Miu brand seems to fit me just right, I only wish they weren't usually so expensive.

I really like those sandals.  I have a similar pair that I bought a long time ago from Jessica Simson, only the heels aren’t quite that high.  I haven’t worn them yet this summer. I’ll have to dig them out and see if they still fit.  I think I’ll wait until after this storm passes, though.

Three cheers for the picture!  One for the shoes and two for the bike!!  🤩

I love the shoes but sell them off of of my feet?  I believe that I would have.  Sold them and taken the money and purchased the same style in a black  or red.  Pink isn’t a color that I would hardly ever wear in public.

On 6/11/2024 at 5:42 AM, mlroseplant said:

I wasn't looking for a new pair of shoes, but I have always wanted a pair of high heeled penny loafers. I thought I had found such a pair a year ago when I bought some New Religion shoes of that description, but they had a fatal flaw: No matter how many fitment devices I used, I walked out of them every other step. So I got rid of them. Then, a few weeks ago, these Stuart Weitzman Mocup loafers in olive green suede appeared in my Poshmark feed. Not my first pick of colors, but a unique addition to my collection. The seller kept dropping the price over a period of time, and by the time the price got down to $27, I couldn't resist. And this for Stuart Weitzman!

What I did not realize is that these shoes have evidently never been worn. Not a mark on them anywhere, top or bottom, even though they did not come in a box. They are rather more attractive in person than I thought they would be from the photos. Their appearance is super narrow, even though they don't necessarily fit that way. They have a 5 inch heel with a 1 inch platform, which at one time was a staple of my collection. The heel is 3/4" wide, and is simulated stacked leather.

I wore them outside right away, which is something I used to shy away from doing until I vetted them properly. I can kind of tell fairly quickly nowadays. I wore them for several hours with nothing negative to report.

Have you worn this pair lately?

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I should probably stay out of this, but I never had much common sense. Let me keep this brief and free of f-bombs. As a Christian myself, I am very tired of outrage in general, and especially this. Let's pretend for a minute that this was, in fact, a depiction of the Last Supper, which it's not at all clear that it was. That Da Vinci painting was merely a depiction itself. Does anybody really believe that's how it happened in real life?

I have no time for fundamentalist nonsense anymore. What does it say in the Bible? Last time I looked, Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. Love your enemies. Feed the poor. Spread the wealth. Welcome the immigrant. You know, things like that, plus a whole bunch more stuff so-called Christians don't really want to do. I don't recall where it says get outraged at every perceived slight to your sensibilities.

Persecution of Christians is a historical fact. What Christians believe is forgiveness for the persecution and pray for the persecutors.  Being a believer isn’t easy!

4 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Not only would their be violence but the seem people who are so delighted about the drag performance of the Last Supper would be falling all over themselves to apologise for such insensitivity. 

That is so true.  It has happened that way in the past. But then again, you’ll do anything to save yourself when someone has a knife at your throat.

If they insulted Muslims as bad there would be open warfare in the streets of Paris.  Not that there won’t soon be anyway.

Can you believe that every one is upset about the drag parade?  

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I will be absent from this group for a few days. This very morning, I will be traveling by motorbike(s), with my 15 year old son, to visit the wonderful Twin Cities of Minnesota. During that time, I will see my best friend from university, whom I have not seen in the flesh for 34 years! I will try to take some photos to share after I get back.

If you transit through Tracy tip your hat and say hello for me. I used to visit my grandmother there when I was a child. Everyone is long gone now but I remember the day.

In our younger years, when we were first married, my wife wore spike stilettos quite frequently. As years passed and the three children came along, the heels grew lower.  The shoes were still fashionable accessories chosen to blend with her outfit and enhance her feminine appearance. Their was no mistakeing that she was a proud woman that took great pride in looking all woman.  I believe that her entire fashion philosophy was to be the best “feminine” female that she could be. (She was a true southern belle) My two daughters are exactly the same.

A few will live to regret it.  The rest won’t care

6 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I’d love to see someone try the triple jump in stilettos - I’ll bet that would rate high, an Olympian version of Funniest Home Videos. Or weightlifting in stilettos. Can’t you just see the front row of judges scrambling out of their seats as a super heavyweight lurches towards them with 240kg nearly over his head? It would be brilliant TV

Oh yeah!  How about the 12 mile hike in 5 inch high heels 👠? That’s  more along my line.  Interesting time trials?

8 hours ago, Cali said:

I was wondering if you notice how many men in high heels are part of the openning ceremonies. From 3 men running through alibrary, to men on a fashion runway on a bridge.

 

Is men in heels a new category in this year’s Olympics?  If it is, I wish I would have known, I would’ve tried out!

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Man or woman, I am noticing lately that I am the only person wearing heels, period. To be fair, I don't get out much these days. Since we lost the "big" farmer's market gig for this year, I really don't get out much. During the summer by nature, church services are even more casual than they normally are, and they're pretty casual these days. There ain't no such thing as "Sunday Best" anymore. That's pretty much gone to "Easter Best" or "Christmas Eve Best." My counterparts in the other band, who play in the service before me, could always be counted on to wear heels, even if they were only 2 1/2". No longer.

At any rate, I have been remiss. I have forgotten to post church outfits for two weeks in a row. Here they are. The pink-ish one features cheap Chinese mules by a company called Bella Marie. Maybe I'll talk in more detail about those later, because there's a story. The purple shirted one features Michael Kors Oksana sandals, which I have owned a very long time, and am barely competent at walking in them now. I wonder how awkward I looked 10 years ago wearing them.

I have noticed that it is mostly the older ones that are more nicely dressed in church these days.  Even the pastor dresses more casually.  It must be the summer heat. I Noticed a couple of articles posted on the internet about the last two days being the hottest ever recorded.
 

I was wondering why we haven’t seen anything about the Farmers Market yet this year. How did you loose the farmers market?

9 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I’ve often thought that if we read about a South Seas island tribe with such strict taboos about styles of footwear we’d smile and find it quaint - how curious that in our own society we regard our taboos as though they had the force of natural law, something encoded in our chromosomes. Women wear heels, men do not.

It’s nothing but smoke and mirrors or perhaps the difference between the way men and women pee?

On 7/23/2024 at 5:49 AM, Shyheels said:

Mine are definitely bigger in the afternoon. I recently had an assignment where I was out and about or on my feet literally for 36 hours - getting my boots off after that, when I was finally home again, was a twenty minute job

Didn’t boot makers start putting zippers in boots just to make putting them on and taking them off easier?  😳

I believe that this is the only place that I frequent that looks at shoes 👠 as something other than a covering to protect your feet.  Wondering back, when in the course of human history did man discover that covering the foot with something not only kept them from freezing but aided in walking by protecting the bottom from injury?  Going forward, at what point did humans begin to decorate their foot cover?  Then, when did they decide to make their foot cover gender specific?  And so on and so forth.  
 

Back in the day when I was still circling the globe, I remember driving from the airport to a hotel in Zambia, where I noticed a man sitting beside the road cutting apart worn out automobile tires, putting threads through the slabs and turning them into foot covers.  How ingenious, I thought but how could he tell which pairs were made for females?