Shop till you drop...and the truckers

?Recently I took some time to re-visit my mother's pile of costume jewelry.  She never had her ears pierced, so her earrings were/are all clip-on's.  But most were gold plated over base metal, and many years old, thus the finish is discolored and tarnished.   She hasn't worn them in ages.  And in their condition, I can't either.

I found one bright silver-colored hoop earring about 1-1/2" in diameter - which, unfortunately, was missing its mate.  That one was very comfortable, and I would have worn it in a heartbeat. Maybe the missing one will eventually appear?  I also found a pair of pinkish-red plastic button earrings - a rather unusual style.  I pulled them aside and will try wearing them with red blouses.  Downside is that I don't have any red necklace or bracelet!  Silver will have to do, I guess - until I find one.

There was also an unusual pair of pink earrings.  They're huge, and I do like them.   But they felt a bit uncomfortable.   I might be able to wear them with my pink floral blouse for short excursions, and maybe they will get more comfortable over time.  A picture follows:

Old clip-ons - interesting appearance

With my wife still out of town, I have a number of errands to run (including a couple just for Mandy) on the other side of the bay, including visiting the phone store with questions about my new phone.  Thursday was the day for the next one, and I debated the eternal question of "what to wear."

I was contemplating my denim midi-skirt with blue floral top, pantyhose and Mary Jane heels.   But I considered Pat's earlier suggestion about the pink floral top and shorts, with a knee length black skirt over the shorts.   Most likely it will be my summer weight denim skirt (without shorts) and the pink floral blouse.  I'll wear my flats for the first couple of stops (till about 10:30), then change to Mary Janes for the rest of the day.

Needless to say, I was leaving the house in a skirt and blouse, with all the accoutrements, and had concerns much the same as other day's, about being seen.  But since I can get in the car in the garage, then open the door, I decided to take the gamble.  And it paid off.  Nobody was outside.  It was an uneventful trip westbound...no traffic problems on the bridge.

At the mall, I was able to get a couple of pictures of my outfit for the day (As you can see, I settled on option 3 above!)

In front of the Macy's store...

Don't you just love well-placed mirrors?

And so, my little excursion worked out "almost" according to plan.  But not quite.

One of my chores was to find a solid black summer weight short sleeve blouse to wear with my red and black animal print skirt.  Surprisingly, nothing in solid black in my size was available at the half of the mall I walked in heels.  (Not bad for the first "real" day in heels, but my calves and arches can certainly feel it tonight!)  Though I sense that my gait is improving, and wearing them feels more natural, I still need practice.   Nor could I find anything suitable at thrift shops I tried around lunchtime.   As I was wrapping up at the last stop, ready to head back across the bridge, I heard on the radio that there had been an accident closing the eastbound side of the bridge, and eastbound traffic was backed way up.  This was NOT part of my plan.  And thank heaven it wasn't Friday night - it would have gotten worse all evening with eastbound beach traffic.

Being averse to sitting in traffic at zero miles per gallon, risking overheating (due to running the air conditioner), and with no reason to "have" to be home at any particular time, I made the executive decision to keep shopping for a while, as opposed to driving north to Wilmington and south on the Delmarva - a three-plus hour journey and well in excess of a hundred miles, also with two significant bridge tolls.   I located several previously unknown (to me) thrift and consignment shops in the area, and kept on shopping.

At my last stop, a Goodwill store, there was a simple blouse, for $5.00.  I tried it on (a huge advantage with thrift shops - no problem using the dressing rooms) and it fit loose enough that it should work.    I'd probably spend $35 or more (plus shipping) for something like it "on line," but with no guarantee I could even get into it, when it arrives.  Of course I may not like the fit when I get it home, but if that's the case, my expenditure is limited to $5 - less than the cost of returning the stuff I buy on line.   I'll try to get a picture of my outfit for the next chapter.

For my entire shopping trip, I was either addressed correctly or gender-specific terms were avoided.  My presentation was far from perfect, and it took me a while to get the hang of walking in my heels.  But the only way to learn is to "do it."  And that doesn't work nearly as well around the house.  At a mall, the floor is uniform, and there was nobody around who knew me.  Thus it was a wonderful learning experience, very worthwhile, and not hearing the dreaded "S" word at all was a real treat.  I'm ready to go again...and my prediction is that the chance will come next week. 

My trip home was uneventful - traffic had completely cleared.  Well, uneventful except for 18-wheeler drivers frequently looking down at my legs at every stoplight, or as they passed me.  In the car, that particular skirt rides up and shows over 6 inches of thigh.  And there's not much I can do about it...except blush. ( I did a lot of that while driving yesterday.)  If I pull my skirt down a bit,  it simply works its way back up again.  So I just gave up trying to keep my thighs completely covered.

Was I flirting?  Perhaps, but not intentionally...and the truckers didn't try to flirt either. They simply were "checking out the seat covers."  That's something cisgender girls get used to early in life...and I admit it was fun to know that I looked good enough for guys to actually check out!   (Or does that make me a "10-footer," like the '91 model car we traded in?) 

I decided to go get my nails done on the way home...but that's something for the next chapter.

More later...

Mandy