Rustic Cyberpunk

Thanksgiving was excellent. Still the same standard affair with my roommate and I seeing the neighbor and getting treated with her homemade apple pie. It also reminded me of how far I have left to go to become a better cook.

Only a couple of weeks afterward, I made a new discovery; I could have sworn I had a few hundred miles left in these. I didn't realize this was their state until I felt a slight tinge of dampness on an otherwise relatively dry walk.

I'm sure leaks have happened before, but I was just too busy to notice. I already have my pair of winter shoes ready so this isn't exactly the end of the world.

I got this pair of shoes more than a decade ago and have put them through countless textures and probably 10K miles. They already survived a couple of trips to Sri Lanka, which isn't known for the smoothest sidewalks even when those are available. They've been my air-travel shoes for quite some time since I gave up on laces at security screenings.

Most of my clothing tends to be older and I'm of the type to run them to rags before getting new ones. Shoes are generally retired earlier since those are often the first to be noticed when meeting people and it's very easy to hurt yourself in a bad pair. Frugality shouldn't come at the cost of common sense.

I briefly considered what it would take for me to make my own shoes at one point, but it's hard to actually experiment without suitable material. I did see a few hand operated sewing machines used for leather work on eBay, commonly called "Cobbler Sewing Machines" or similar. But those are well outside my budget at the moment and I need to focus on building up my savings again for immediate needs.

My new sewing machine does have a strong enough gear system to make quick work of thicker material, but I don't know how it would fare long-term with that kind of use.

Right now, I'm happy with being able to mend my existing clothes. I ran a few strips of cloth through the new sewing machine as soon as it arrived and I can already tell it's going to get a lot more use in the coming months. I may have a chance to do a proper expansion on it when I have time.

Meanwhile, I'm getting things ready for the winter. One of the great things about getting older is knowing when this machine needs maintenance by just the noises it makes, especially when sitting down or getting out of a chair. I'm about to spend extra time on my winter reading list for that reason and more.