Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Day 85: Just kicked back and enjoyed a relaxing day......

Another morning of darkness.....i.e. thick gray clouds. Same as yesterday, I crept quietly downstairs to find the repeat of yesterday.......a dreary day, only this time it had rained briefly and things outside were quite wet. Morning rituals completed.....I enjoyed a couple of cups of Fr. Roast coffee.....and then the 1st Lady made some muffins this morning for our mid-morning breakfast.



By this time.....it was STILL cloudy with light moisture falling silently all around us....enough to make it dreary and gray!!! Sooooo, we decided to go into town after lunch.......to visit the SAS Shoe Factory. The 1st Lady spent the remainder of the morning preparing some billing statements that needed to be mailed for our son-in-law's business accounts......a task she does several times each week.

Driving into town was a breeze as Garmin did an super job of getting us to the correct address without a hitch!!! Pulling into the parking lot we were a bit taken back as it looked sort of like a movie set......old paint-peeling buildings with antique cars sitting around, a tourist trap looking place. Well, upon entering we were taken back by the various areas of this shoe store.....from candy sales to various canned foods, to more antique cars......and then we saw that there was to be a tour of the shoe factory at 2pm. Checking at the check-out counter, we signed up for the free tour and then began to wander around the large store.

Tons and tons of their shoes were for sale......and with shoe sales clerks that actually measured your feet.....something that reverts back several decades when shopping for shoes. Many people were inside..........and all of a sudden I realized that SAS Shoes stands for San Antonio Shoes.......hahhaa!!!! All of the many years that I have seen these shoe shops I thought they were some European brand!!!!!! Wow......how I could not have know that?????!!!!!

Soooo, along with several othe people, we boarded a small van and before long were at the 1st Factory. We visited that factory and the 2nd Factory......all of which have many, many people working for them, making the shoes from the very beginning by cutting out the leather for the style of shoe that is being made.......and then we progressed through each of the various stages of putting/sewing/molding the shoes into an article to be sold. They also were making ladies purses from leathers of different colors and textures. I found this hour long tour quite fascinating.........and amazed that here in this high-tech age, there are still shoe factories here in the states that is not robotized, but that humans actually are making these shoes by hand!!!!

Now...having said that, these shoes being made are 90% for women........they are EXPENSIVE!!!!!!! And, the shoes for men are about 5 or 6 styles....and mainly would be worn by OLD men......those guys who are 60 years old or more.......whoever those kind of men are??!!! And, they are also expensive!!! Oh well..........times are changing and so are prices, aren't they???

It was as I said......a GREAT tour.....and I learned soooo much!!!!! We spent about an hour in the store after the tour....and, of course, the 1st Lady bought a really cute pair of leather sandals.......for only $68 ......a REAL bargain!!!! As I call her the 1st Lady......I am beginning to believe that I can also refer to her as 1st Lady Marcos.......in honor of the wife of the former President of the Philippines who had 3000 pairs of shoes!!!!! MY 1st Lady must be about to catch up with her........may have to get a larger truck with more guts inside it in order to get TheHowserHouse with all of the shoes in it back to Missouri!!!!

We did a bit more shopping afterwards,....again thanks to Garmin!!!! Went to Sam's for a few things and then to Best Buy to check on an external memory for the computer.....and we did buy one of them today.

We grabbed a couple of Whattaburgers.......our first time to stop at one of those fast food places here in Texas. Took them home.....and quite frankly, they were really quite good and tasty!!!! Might have to have another one someday!!!

American Idol???? Well, the blond with the tattoo and the heavy set guy should be voted off without a doubt!!!! Not sure of their names as this is the first time I have caught this show since they were just arriving in Hollywood.....so I am not familiar with them, but they were really not good at all!!!!! All the time the tattoo blond was singing I just kept seeing a visual of her when she reaches her 60's and all of that tattoo flapping around as her loose skin sags from her bony arm.......NOT a pretty visual!!!!! HAHAHA........after all I am the one who has the sagging skin/chin(s).......right M Goldsmith?????????? (Facebook???) HAHA!!!!

Speaking of Facebook.......I am finding myself not checking it nearly as frequently as I did previously due to their change of format/structure and I really do dislike it!!!!! Oh well.......guess all things change, but why try to "fix" something when it was not broken???? Hey.....guess I am just getting old(er)....right.....oops!!! The calendar says I am getting older in a few days.....SHIT!!!

Ok....think I have talked the 1st Lady Marcos into staying here until Sat morning. Nothing in concrete yet....as she will always change her mind.......a woman's perogative, isn't it? But.....we are discussing it a bit now......

And so...even though the sun came out for a few short hours late today.....it was not a good weather day here in San Antonio. Hopefully tomorrow will be bright and sunny as I do want to visit La Villita....a small artsy shopping area along the Riverwalk....and a place I really enjoyed a couple of years ago when I was here last.

As always, even with gray weather.........it is still a certainty that........

LIFE IS REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!

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