Story, Shoefiti, Skies

I have truly only begun to gain an appropriate appreciation for my mother over the last few years. I think part of it included moving out and going to her house just to visit, not be in my space. There's such a special bond between mothers and daughters and I love that my mom and I can travel together, hang out together and just be goofy.


Every once in a while (or quite frequently), I like to plan a mother/daughter day. Yesterday was such a day. Where you put away the phones, and any other distraction, and just enjoy being together, looking for any adventure we could possibly embark on. Part of yesterday included the most amazing lunch, yahtzee in the coffee shop (apparently I must really like yahtzee considering the amount of times I play it...) and seeing 'A Christmas Story' the musical.

I hadn't seen the movie, but now I must. Because I loved the musical! It was a new musical that hasn't been performed elsewhere and it was fantastic. Amazing acting, excellent singing, great songs, and on and on. The children in it where amazing, especially the lead, Ralphie. He was awesome. As I sat there, I let my senses take in the wonderfulness that is in a musical and to get carried away. Through the eyes of a child. It's a spectacular thing. And then it made me feel like Christmas was coming... but then I realized it had already come, but I still drank in every second of Christmasness {that shall hereby be a new word...)

Anyway, all in all, a fantastically wonderful day hanging out with my mom. And to add to it, I get to collect eggs with her all week! Thankfully when I start dancing around in the barn, she joins in... the chickens probably do a little jig too.. because who wouldn't, right?


Today when driving home, I was overwhelmed with the beauty around me. The crisp air outside, the barren trees juxtaposed against the blue sky. The tips of snow crested mountains looking fresh and inviting. I had my camera in my purse and decided to stop to take some photos of a certain tree I see weekly on my walk to the pool.


Whenever I see shoes hanging over a powerline or in a tree... it makes me wonder what the story behind it is. Yes, sometimes I know that it is not for good purpose, but I find it funny and wonder what kind of story that shoe would tell me if it could talk. In fact, wikipedia, calls shoe throwing, shoefiti. It's a sport apparently. It describes is at follows: "Shoe flinging or "shoefiti" is the practice of throwing shoes whose shoelaces have been tied together so that they hang from overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. The shoes are tied together by their laces, and the pair is then thrown at the wires as a sort of bolas. This practice plays a widespread, though mysterious, role in adolescent folklore in the United States^{[citation needed]}. Shoe flinging has also been reported in many other countries."


When I was in New Zealand I read that they have gumboot throwing competitions. Maybe that's what was happening here with these poor little sneakers? Maybe in truth it is actually a sneaker tree that grows shoes. Wouldn't that be handy?


Perhaps one day I shall take up the art of shoe-throwing... but for now I will simply smile when I see a pile of shoes in a tree and wonder who they belonged to and where they had traveled to before they got stuck in that tree.


Hope you are all enjoying the week between Christmas and New Year's. May it be a relaxing time to stop and spend with loved ones and soak in the wonder and joy of the small things all around us.