Stockings, Shoes, Cats, And Running.

The last two days have been pleasantly mild after last Monday.   Only 11 stockings yesterday and 18 today.  (minus one, add three? who knows the final tally)  With sales that slow, we might as well kiss the Hampton house goodbye.  But hey!  I hear they are building things in Kentucky this time of year. Perhaps we could find a pole barn in some swamp or cave and live in that...  Ah, one can still dream, at least.

And that is the problem with Stockings.   Any number over 30 and we are going to die.   Any number under 30 and we are going to starve.. And die.  We sound like Farmers...  Too much rain, not enough rain.  There is never the "perfect amount" of rain.  But I digress. 

Unless I switch the topic to rain.  In that case,  I can dovetail into how it is currently raining outside and is expected to do so into tomorrow.   Did I hear someone say, "snow?"  It should certainly be cold enough.  But then two days after that,   it is supposed to get warm again.  I'll believe that when I see it. 

We ran today.   The nice thing about having fewer stockings each day is that you have time to run.  And that is good, because fewer stocking sales may decrease your bank account, but it will exponentially  increase your Anxiety! And you will need that anxiety if you plan on running a Marathon some time in your life. ( or two... or three, or EIGHT!)   

We ran in the Trueblood trail today.  It has been under repair for the entire Summer, it seems.   But now it is back to normal and the fall color is dropping fast.   Most of the leaves are on the trail now.  And there are only small spots of color.   The Mid trail bathrooms are closed for the season and the one open bathroom at the turnaround point has been taken over by the homeless. ( They sleep in the bathrooms, and then drink beer around it in the morning.  Doesn't that sound fun!)  At least they are mostly harmless around here in Iowa.

While on the topic of running.   Cheryl got her new Vapor Fly shoes today. I guess the real full name is Nike Zoom X Vaporfly Next% 2.   That sounds like a mouthful.  It is a cool color ( Cheryl likes turquoise blue)  and a futuristic shape.   The laces look like they were designed  for Handyman. But I hear that is part of the tech improvement since  some folks complain that the laces dig into the top of their feet.  Cheryl laced them up and tried them on. 

She says they feel good.  New!  Solid and springy!   She did OK this year with the old ones, but as the picture shows,  the old ones are definitely showing their miles. I told her she should retire them, but not throw them away. They were, after all, one of the big reasons she was able to break all her previous records. It deserves a place along side her trophies.   Perhaps she will find a place for them on her "Tower of Power".  We shall see. 

The cats continue to help out... sometimes.   And by help, that means "getting in the way."  However, Hiro has become quite good at being the shop cat these days.   Perhaps Rocket is setting a somewhat good example for him to follow. Even though Rocket is usually begging to be let outside during crucial moments in Stocking assembly.   It is a good thing we don't pay them...  Unless you count all the food they eat. In that case, we pay them far too much. 

It is late, I have written way too much and I just finally finished the convos on Etsy.  I can hardly wait until the 9 pm question time...  Unless we continue to have dwindling sales.  Then I will have more time to write on the blog about how our world is collapsing around us.  Either way, I get to stay busy.  Who needs to run a Marathon when you have a blog to keep up with... Right?  Thanks for stopping in.