shoes, shawls, and repeat offenders

I really really like shoes. There is a pair across the street that are gorgeous, that are comfy, that are now half price. But even though they sing to me through the walls, I walk by every day without going in. I'm being a good girl.

And, truth be told, my mad money has been spent . . . and I feel really really guilty . . . because I did it again! I commit my most common knitting mistake--buying yet more yarn for a shawl I will never wear!

How did this happen?

• One gorgeous yarn shop, 
• three aisles of hand-dyed fingering yarn (that I cannot buy at home),
• easy access to a credit card.

This shawl (knit in two days but too short in the tails and too deep in the centre) will be ripped out. The yarn is gorgeous so shall not be wasted. All I need do is create a shawl whose shape I will actually wear. That should keep me busy--and out of the shoe store.

 But in the meantime, I've been wondering . . . Why did I do this? . . . Why repeat the same mistake with as much eagerness as the first time I made it? What is it about this accessory that makes it such an exciting and repeatable mis-step?

And I've decided that buying yarn for a shawl is like buying another pair of shoes. I make a purchase, without getting naked, that I imagine will miraculously fix my wardrobe (and, by extension, my life).

I suppose there are worse delusions.

And did I mention that the shoes and the shawl match?