I Just Wanted a Nice Pair of Boots

Every once in awhile, I decide there's some item I actually want badly enough to make a foray into a department store or two. A few months ago, it was boots. I wanted a pair of non-Western-style boots to wear with skirts on the occasional colder days. I thought my requirements were pretty simple: leather, moderate-to-low heel, side zipper, attractive design suitable for work. Below is a small sample of what I found.

Here's the "break-a-leg" boot, perhaps for aspiring thespians.

And the Harley girl biker boots.

Neither of which are made from anything that's ever been near a cow.

And then there's these lovely open-toed pumps in an array of colors to match any ensemble.

Ok, I realize the last couple of pictures aren't of boots, but shoe departments any more are like sartorial train wrecks - absolutely horrible, but you just can't look away. When I was 20-something, heels this high were referred to as "hooker shoes". I would feel way older except that my now-20-something daughter agrees with me. 

I still don't have any dress boots.

Banana Babies

Many years ago (damn it!), the Dairy Queen that was on MacArthur Blvd., one block away from MacArthur High School, would freeze bananas on a stick and then dip them in the chocolate shell they used for dipped cones. This process turned an ordinary piece of fruit into something of surpassing wonderfulness.

When I was extremely pregnant with my daughter (also many years ago, damn it!), I went for a check-up on a Monday, and was told something to the effect of: "Wow - you could have this baby almost anytime! Come in tomorrow for an induction so we can be sure you won't be delivering tomorrow evening in Houston rush-hour traffic. And don't eat anything after midnight." The local Dairy Queen drive-through closed at 11:00 pm, so I went up there at 10:55 pm in order to have my very favorite food item just before going NPO at midnight.

As the independently-owned Dairy Queens across North Texas were closed or bought out by a large conglomerate that marketed only DQ-branded items, frozen chocolate-dipped bananas became harder and harder to find. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in the outlet mall in Terrell sells them. I guess the one in Grapevine Mills probably does, too. And you can sometimes find them at county and state fairs, but it's not a regular or reliable thing. And since I moved to Tampa, none of those places have been available. *sigh*

But - a couple of years ago, I discovered Diana's Banana Babies! Right in the freezer at my supermarket! Half a banana, frozen on a stick, and dipped in chocolate! With choices! Milk Chocolate! Dark Chocolate! Rolled in Nuts! So yummy. So simple. And I no longer get those crazy looks from the kids at random DQ drive-throughs from my wistfully asking if they have frozen chocolate-dipped bananas.

Life is good.