Accessorize

My sister-in-law Sandi called this morning to see how I was faring. Actually, Sandi's my ex-sister-in-law but we adopted her early on in her relationship with my brother Pete so she's remained a member of our family in spite of their divorce.

But that's another story. This story is about color.

Being a quilter, color reigns on the top of my favorite-things list so I'm pretty aware of my likes and dislikes. I adore greens and blues and coppery browns, deep reds, yellows and oranges. When in a quilt shop, I have to mentally grab my shirt front and propel myself to the neutrals just so I have something in the stash cupboard for contrast.

My Mom's favorite color was pink followed closely by purple. Sandi related how her whole closet is devoted to black and white with some gray thrown in for contrast.

Now, I'll wear pink sometimes in a shirt or a sweater. I have one pink summer dress which I've worn once. I like it as an accessory but the pink pile in my stash cabinet is minimal. I once made a baby blanket with pink and had a very difficult time designing it. It's just a color I resist using.

But I've been making a point of wearing something of Mom's each day since I got home or doing something I think she'd get a kick out of. That's how these shoes got pink shoelaces.

Jay bought these Rockport Walkers for me several years ago. The tops have worn well but the soles are dry and can get slippery. They are now my gardening shoes and one of the laces broke just before I left for the Cape. I retied it but, of course, it became much shorter than the other so one shoe flopped around on my foot. Annoying.

I'm still trying to catch up with work and family stuff and yesterday became an errand day, including a trip to a shoe store for laces. I spotted these hot pink numbers and snatched them up.

By the time I pack up the garden shed for the winter, they will be something less than the pink they are now. But I have to admit that when I laced up these shoes, I laughed out loud because I knew Mom got a kick out of them.