seattle makes my feet hurt

the thing that has changed the most in my life since moving to seattle is probably the amount of walking i do. i walk every day, often more in a day than i would do in a week in denver. i probably walk 10-15 miles a week, excluding dog walks and regular walking around the house/office. when visitors come, it's more like 20+. it's just a part of life here. the vast majority of people have bus trips and walking in their daily commute. unfortunately, my feet were not built for so much wear and tear. somehow, evolution did not favor me on this point. my feet are constantly in pain, and as a result, my knees and hips are often in pain. i once worshipped the high heel. now, i wear flats everywhere. and not just any flat, ugly supportive flats. flats with built-in orthotics that cost $200 and still leave my feet swollen and throbbing after a 3-5 mile day. i have gone to see my podiatrist 4 times now in the last 2 months. apparently, my feet are unusual to even him. i've gotten orthotics that took 6 weeks to make because they had to keep sending them back to increase the arch support. and so this is my life as a walker. it essentially prevents me from becoming a runner and doing most other forms of exercise that involve use of my knees. too bad i hate yoga and can't commit to buying a swimsuit and using a pool on a regular basis.

anyways, the point of all this is that over the weekend i was reminiscing about my beautiful shoe days and was inspired to create an homage to my once passion. (on the left is a picture my dad took of my feet. large center is a painting by a once alzheimer's patient i worked with. right is a picture of my wedding shoes. and small right center is a card i bought- close-up above.)

something else i did over the weekend was the urban wine tour (please note the tour is actually 3 hours)! it was incredible! we visited ward johnson winery in interbay, the wine outlet (which has another location a few blocks from our new place!), and laurelhurst cellars in sodo. much of the tour included food pairings (amazing cheese, nuts, meat and fruit). i bought a bottle of syrah (usually one of my least favorite varietals) called randall harris. one of the best wines i've tasted and the bottle cost $8. i never would have even considered trying it if i weren't offered the glass on the tour. anyways, seattle also offers a number of food tours, so it's worth looking into the next time you visit.

a garden update... sadly, our strawberries have been ravaged by the squirrels or birds. we are considering taking the plant indoors, but aren't sure how well it will do. however, i was very excited to finally see some little tomatoes coming in! lots of them! and our apples have almost tripled in size since i last checked! i guess all this june rain has its benefits! (i learned that june is a typically gloomy month here and the estimated unofficial first day of summer is july 12th. cliff mass recommends that events be planned for late july through august. come visit!)

and most importantly, on saturday my niece lilliana turned 5 months old. i got her this little at a home goods shop in seattle (one of my favorites). it comes in a bag that is sewn closed, so you have no idea what it will say until you buy it and cut it open. i'm pretty thrilled with the result... it says, "mysterio predicts i will be a dount tycoon"!

stay tuned for the verdict on our soon to arrive produce box!