More walking and new shoes

Within a few days of moving into this house just over four years ago, I went for an early morning walk in the Salt Lake park, taking six-month-old Helen with me in the Ergo carrier. I thought I'd go regularly, but I didn't, and don't really know why I didn't. I enjoyed every walk I took, but only took two or three a YEAR my first three years here. Last year in April I got new shoes and went a few times, and as of May 18th, started walking every single day, with extremely few exceptions. Those shoes I bought a year ago were my first tennis shoes in at least ten years, but they are very near the end of their useful life, so while in Germany last month, I bought another pair of tennis shoes, and started wearing them last week. So here is an ever-so-exciting photo of both pairs of shoes:

The pair on the left is (obviously, I hope!) the new pair, worn three or four days by the time I thought of taking a photo. Most days I get a stone or two caught in the tread--something that is impossible with the old pair now. No blisters or sore hips or anything negative with either pair: the first pair were cheap ones from Aldi, the second cheap ones from Deichmann! The old ones are still actually quite comfortable, but little rocks keep getting in through holes around my toes (can't see them in the photo), which on the packed-sand/dirt path is rather impractical.