In Which I Go Shopping

I believe I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of shopping. I particularly dislike shopping for shoes, due to having spent years growing up when it was almost impossible to find shoes which fit (I have very wide feet, and high insteps, my big toes stick up, and I walk on the sides of my feet and have weak ankle, which means wearing heels can be a problem) and it's often very hard to find them even now.

But it has to be done. And often when I do make it to the shops I tend to buy a lot, as then I don't need to go back for ages.

When I made my great mattress-buying trip I had originally planned to do some clothes shopping as well, as I needed things such as a plain black suit jacket (for work) and some new shoes (also black, also for work) as in both cases these things seem to wear out, and you have to replace them from time to time.

So today, having nothing else very pressing to do, decided to brave the shops once more. This time, I went to Bath, where, although it is sadly often rather full of of Other People, you are at least not stuck inside a mall.

My shopping trip was successful. In fact, it was more successful than anticipated, as it seems that it has reached the time of year when all the autum/winter stuff is available.

My haul?

• A pair of black, laced ankle boots with a kind of Victorian vibe going on
• A pair of black, strappy court shoes
• A black suit jacket
• A grey & white dress which should be suitable for work and can be dressed up a bit as well.
• A lightweigh coat / jacket - double-breasted, vaguely military look

I particularly like the boots; I think it is the fist time I have found a pair of boots which fit me (and I could afford) which made me go "wow, love the look" rather than " yeah, they'll keep my feet warm and dry". And as I've had M&S 'footglove' boots & shoes in the past I'm optimistic that they will be comfortable for long-term wear as well.

All in all, I'm happy with my shopping trip.



While I was in Bath, I got a call from the optician to say my new specs had arrived, so I went home via Frome to pick them up.

I still like them, which is good. You can't tel from the pic, but the sunglasses have tortoiseshell-look frames. The 'normal 'specs are almost identical to the old ones - the frames are a v. dark grey-green insted of black, but you can't tell from a distance.

Finally, I headed for the farm Shop, hoping to pick up some of their frozen croissants (they are sold unbaked - you leave them to defrost & 'prove' overnight, pop them in the oven, and yet yummy freshly-baked croissants for breakfast.

Sadly, they'd run out of croissants, (although I did pick up some pains aux raisins to tide me over) but they were selling 'beetroot bread' - bright red! Who could resist?

I think the bread was made substituting beetroot juice for the water/milk - it tastes very nice, but I am not sure you'd know it was beetroot-y if it weren't for the colour.

I also have some blackcurrants, so I may have a go at making some jam tomorrow, if I'm nt to knackered.