Just in case you've been wondering... yes, I'm still barefoot in my free time - thanks to quite mild conditions. In the last few days, early morning temperatures were in the high 40s Fahrenheit (between 7° and 9°C), allowing me to bare my feet and also to show the world my newest items in toe jewelry...

I have purchased five new toe rings online, and have begun wearing them (and also including them on a new foot jewelry page of mine... who knows, this might be a nice online portfolio to make me start a new career as a male foot jewelry model.



Two of those five new toe rings, together with a daisy
(which wasn't harmed while taking this picture!)

My next stop on increasing my stock of foot jewelry will be a market stand at the pre-X-mas market in the neighboring city, since they sell clothing, jewelry and other stuff from India and Nepal... just the right venue to purchase some raw materials (beads and bells) to manufacture some new anklets from.

Wiggling bare toes, enjoying mild late fall conditions,

~*Txim Asawl*~

__________________

Si'ekong te'lanä, te'lanä le-Na'vi, oeru teya si.
And the beats of the hearts, the hearts of the People, fills me.

Kaltxi Na'viyä lukpena venu (hello, barefoot people),

yes, it may be winter, on the northern hermisphere of this planet, at least, but it's still mild enough in my region to bare my feet to the ground as often as possible... even an inch of snow falling before the holidays (on the early morning of Dec. 20) couldn't stop me... quite on the contrary, it motivated and lured me into leaving some footprints in it:





That snowy interlude was a short-lived one, though, since the temperature was just above freezing level, and raindrops were mingling with the snowflakes, turning the fluffy white snow into slush in a matter of a few hours. On the way to work, I walked barefoot from the destination bus stop to the office, having cold slush squelch up between my toes... only about two hours earlier, the snow had felt delightfully soft, later it felt like I was walking on a frozen dessert.


But back on topic: barefootjoy day - remember this one...? A Facebook group called "barefootjoy" has defined the last Wednesday in the solstice and equinox months as international barefootjoy day - a day to celebrate barefooting and to walk barefoot wherever possible. And this winter's rendition of this barefoot holiday is today! So, in addition to having the last week of this year off, giving my bare feet the freedom they deserve and love, I will also take a nice and long barefoot walk in the park in mild weather (7°C/45F, cloudy sky).

Enjoy your barefootjoy day!

Ayvenzek alukpen rikx,
(literally: "toes naked move" -> wiggling bare toes),

~*Txim Asawl*~

__________________

Si'ekong te'lanä, te'lanä le-Na'vi, oeru teya si.
And the beats of the hearts, the hearts of the People, fills me.

Snow

I'm hoping it will snow here... I didn't get a chance to go out in it without shoes last year, but my feet should be up to it this time.

__________________

Things change, but Avatar is always a part of us, our inspiration and our dream. We all follow it differently, but remember how it brought us together.
\m/ \m/

Living isn't easy when you're far away from home...

At my place, we're quite far away from snow... we had 13°C (55F) on Sunday... quite balmy for winter, really...

Since it was drizzling, too, it felt almost like a cool day in the tropics. So, I donned some trademark hippie outfit and went barefoot to my favourite park to take a nice stroll in the rain. I recorded my steps on sandy paths, splashing my feet in muddy puddles, then walking on waterlogged wet grass, while muddy water squelched up between my toes.

It was pure barefoot fun, and a nice way to start the barefoot new year, too...

Here is the clip I made - the music is the same Ambient track I listened to, while barefooting the park. So, aside from actually feeling the wet Earth beneath bare soles and cool drizzle on your face, you can share the view and sound of my experience...







Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

__________________

Si'ekong te'lanä, te'lanä le-Na'vi, oeru teya si.
And the beats of the hearts, the hearts of the People, fills me.

Despite the current cold conditions in Germany, I had the opportunity to take a short barefoot stroll around the house on a sunny afternoon, temperatures as "high" as -4°C/25F... it took only five minutes, but I just had to gather a little energy from the Earth, after having been cut off from it by wearing shoes for more than a week outdoors now... I have put details into my barefoot diary.

Wiggling bare toes (from the warmth indoors),

~*Txim Asawl*~

__________________

Si'ekong te'lanä, te'lanä le-Na'vi, oeru teya si.
And the beats of the hearts, the hearts of the People, fills me.

I love reading your barefoot diary Txim. It motivates me to get out there and get in touch with our Mother. I took your advice on the bag balm and got it but haven't had the chance to apply it to my feet to see how it protects it against the cold. It's been between 30-40 degrees here and I can take a 5 minute stroll without much discomfort but any longer than that requires hurry indoors to get them warm again. Hopefully the bag balm helps and lets me stay out there longer.

Well, the "warmest" here in the last ten days has been -4°C/25F on last Sunday... it's just too friggin' cold to safely walk barefoot at the moment. Last night, we had frost down to -12°C/10F - and that's without wind chill. Considering the wind, temperatures felt as low as -18°C/just below 0F.



My feet are yearning to touch soft soil, grass and sun-warmed ground again. And I am in the "milder" region of Germany (central west)... I bet those barefooting Avatards closer to the Alps down south or around the capital (Berlin) are shivering even more with cold, thinking about anything but walking barefoot at the moment.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

__________________

Si'ekong te'lanä, te'lanä le-Na'vi, oeru teya si.
And the beats of the hearts, the hearts of the People, fills me.

__________________

I wish there was some snow here...

__________________

Things change, but Avatar is always a part of us, our inspiration and our dream. We all follow it differently, but remember how it brought us together.
\m/ \m/

Living isn't easy when you're far away from home...

Haha. Last sunday I and my flatmate got a brilliant idea of running around the neighborhood half naked. We were supposed to have shoes but he accidentally dropped them before we got out of the yard. Since he dropped his shoes I did too.

My feet didn't freeze at all as the skin is still kinda thick from last summer's barefoot walks. But my flatmate got one burn like thingy. :/

__________________

Well, wait until you reach the entries wth the nude pictures of me...

Hey, the Na'vi are innocent about their bodies, so it's a good thing to emulate that, too. Maybe we should have a naturist Avatarsds group...


Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

__________________

Si'ekong te'lanä, te'lanä le-Na'vi, oeru teya si.
And the beats of the hearts, the hearts of the People, fills me.

Wasn't bothered by em. I'd be similar if I had the courage to do that/and/or a place to "free" myself.

Ouch.

I'm sad I didn't get any snow here, wanted to make some footprints around.

__________________

Things change, but Avatar is always a part of us, our inspiration and our dream. We all follow it differently, but remember how it brought us together.
\m/ \m/

Living isn't easy when you're far away from home...

I've never had the opportunity to walk barefoot through snow, but I have to say, it sounds kind of miserable.

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Oh, considering the different textures you can encounter while walking on snow, I'd say, it's a very interesting experience... it ranges from fluffy, freashly fallen snow, feeling like cold feathers over hard-packed snow, crunching a little underfoot while standing and walking on it to old snow, glazed over with a little ice, feeling like frozen grit...

The crucial thing is not to overdo it, since frost damage to bare toes is not a nice thing, really. But a short barefoot walk on/in snow is great for resreshing and waking up, getting the circulation going full-throttle. You'll end up with nicely pink glowing bare feet after a few minutes in it. On snowy days, I go out in the morning to get that extra refreshment as a back-up for my (necessary) mug of strong coffee... caffeine fuels my motor in the morning and snowfooting is the turbo.


Plus, leaving bare footprints in snow is plain fun, since it'll boggle the minds of other people walking where you left them (see above).


Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

__________________

Si'ekong te'lanä, te'lanä le-Na'vi, oeru teya si.
And the beats of the hearts, the hearts of the People, fills me.