Go Explore...

My friend Budi Tulodo on my mare in a nice pair of dress boots. To be a perfect fit they'd have to be 2" taller. (me being nit picky)

My mother’s ringtone is the “Imperial March”. I would fear her more than I fear Emperor Palpatine. I’m sorry Sith don’t scare me, but an angry Korean mother makes me quake in fear. I love my mom, despite her crazy ways, she is a great mother and she has taught me invaluable lessons over the years.

Last year, my father and I got my mother an iPad. This was her first non cellphone device she’s had since Ninento handheld. She discovered youtube which she watches all her favorite Korean comedies and soap operas on. She told me she clicked on a link looking for a tv show and she found her first pornography website. Then her newest discover has been recipes.

The internet is a powerful tool. I mean just look at the wealth of information you can get from just typing in a few simple words. You can do comparison shopping. You can find reviews. You can be like my mother and discover porn and recipes.

But you can discover 800 million recipes, but unless you actually try to make it, it’s just another browser search. I have tons of recipes on my pinterest site, but I’ve made like two. While boot shopping online is convenient for most costumers because they don’t have to go into the shops, I think you need to go to the stores and try on boots.

I think many folks are embarrassed. Honestly, don’t be. Most tack store owners are used to hearing people coming into their shops for variety of different reasons. When I talk to the local tack shop, she said she’s heard some crazy plans for the stuff she sells. And when I told her about the 501st, she was completely enthralled. She thought that what the 501st does was completely cool.

And honestly you don’t have to tell them what your plans are. You can just say you’re in a market for a pair of tall boots. Most stores are willing to help you out.

Support your local tack shops. Most of them are locally owned. Many since the economy has tanked aren’t doing as well as they have in the past. And if you’re on a budget, some still offer layaway plans. If you have stores like where I live, they can find things in their catalogs that they may not often carry, but they can still order.

update

Gasp! An update. I know. Life grabbed me, put me in a blender, and pushed crazy. There are a few sales going on. Dover Saddlery is having a summer sale at the moment until August 31st. So check them out. They also have retail stores if you prefer going to the stores and trying your boots out.

pain 1 me 0

So my left hip has been causing me some pain tonight. I've been in a half sleep state since midnight. Finally just gave up.

I'm worried that it being so nice temperature wise, that Feb is going to be in for us. I'm moving my mare to a facility that doesn't have a barn yet. So I'm doing some online shopping.

Found some of these open box deals from Horse Lovers.
Open Box Deals

If you have a skinny skinny leg and small feet, may work out for you.

Exciting news...

I was at my local tack shop, Double L Tack, and I was talking to the lady there. I feel bad because I'm horrid with names and she knows mine. Anyhow. I told her about the blog before and she shared some good news. Ariat one of the best boot companies has finally decided to start making more calf size options. I guess enough people have finally complained so they are adding gussets and are going to include bigger calf sizes.

They had wanted to launch the new line last Christmas, but it won't be launched until this fall.

Happy New Year

A couple days late.   I hope you guys had a great holiday season.  My dad got me a new camera that I can't wait to use at cons.

If my horse and I qualify early in the season, I hope to head too three Celebration 6.  I want to do Dragon*con, but Sept is way too busy for me horse show schedule wise.  My students are keeping me extra busy this year.

SALES!!!
This is the time of year that horse catalogs get rid of old inventory, so.check oout your local tack stores or online shops.

Museum Replica Boot Review

kiyotei from the Imperial Officer Corps bought the Musuem Replica boots. If you're not aware Musuem Replica uniforms have been 501st approved (but a few mods), so it is an option, but here's one review on their boots.


I ordered a pair from Museum Replica's and was very excited to get them. When I opened the rather small box, I found that the boots had been rolled up and bound with a rubber band. This created a horrible crinkle pattern in the leather of the shaft of the boots. I considered the boots unusable at that point. They looked terrible with all the cracks. I did inspect the quality of the boots and was very disappointed. The black leather outside is just a thin veneer of black leather glued over some other material (not sure what, leather, vinyl?). I returned the boots. I'll stick with my more expensive equestrian boot.

-End Review-

My take: If you know leather you can tell the quality of the leather by a picture. Good leather looks good. There are a few companies that use leather made/tanned in India. This leather is usually brittle and cheap. And just by glancing at the picture, I wouldn't spend $225 for these boots.

Thanks kiyotei for the review!

it's been awhile

It's been awhile.

My tunic arrived, but there were some issues. I wanted olive green and she made black. Not a big issue, but oh well. I guess my brain reasoned that the pictures were all dark, but after getting it I'm like it's definitely black.

There are a few other issues, one my fault: I gained weight. -_-
It needs another pocket for the code cylinder.

That's about it.

I also have come to the realization that my custom riding boots, actually suck for riding. They had been resized and still just were uncomfortable. I finally realized what the problem is and it's the edge of the back of the boot. It's too high. It's suppose to support (I'm guessing) the back of your foot and hit right about where your foot bends (it's hard for me to explain), but it's far too high for me. I'm not sure if Dehner will re-do them, but I guess I can always ask.

Since I lost some weight I think I'm going to start the search for boots to ride in and my custom boots will be for trooping. These boots cost more than my tunics. So I need to get my money worth.

I bit the bullet and ordered from a lady who is known to make 501st approved tunic. No chances the second go around.