These boots are made for …

Half a tank now seems to last forever in the Prius.

For 24 years we lived the rural life near Yosemite National Park. We loved the neighborhood and seemingly limitless space for our kids to play. We also thought our budget benefitted from the low “temptation index,” or a lack of nearby restaurants and stores.

After the kids were gone and we stopped working, we found ourselves behind the wheel for two hours to go to Target or to a movie. It was 40 miles roundtrip to Von's. We soon realized that was not how we wanted to spend our time and money.

So we moved to the city (Ashland, Oregon). We were wrong about the “temptation index.” We live steps away from almost everything, including many good restaurants. However, we eat out less often, but enjoy it more when we do. We have found lots of inexpensive or free things to do.

Now, for the cars. The Prius sat unused in the garage for the month of February. We drove the Subaru to shop in nearby Medford several times, for a total gasoline bill of $20…for the month!

So, the wallet is better off, but as for the shoes…stay tuned!