To shape or not to shape, that is the question

I recently read someone's blog (I'm sorry, I don't recall which one) and she was commenting on how her toes are oddly shaped. She wondered whether she should make "anatomically" correct socks to fit her toes. Someone responded that anatomically correct socks wear out faster. Well, I'm adding my two cents to the discussion. I have weird feet, according to the common sock shaping. After making dozens of pairs of socks, I have concluded that my feet prefer shaping that reflect their idiosyncrasies. I dislike socks that pull on my toes, as do all store-bought ones. Plus, I figure that if I take the time to make socks for MY feet, they should fit perfectly.
Therefore, I shape the toes for my right foot,

and for my left foot. And, after four years of doing so, I can attest to the fact that they do not wear out any more quickly than non-correctly-shaped socks. I use wooly nylon under the ball of the foot (running it along with the yarn) and then, once I begin shaping for the asymmetrical toes, I hold the two together for the entire shaping. No problems. And my feet love them. (by the way, these socks were made with Regia ocean color, the cotton/wool/nylon yarn, using the feather and fan pattern from Socks, Socks, Socks.)

Last post I talked about the neighbor who has brain cancer and is undergoing both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Her spirits are high and she even walks to the hospital for treatment!!! Now, that's a dedicated woman. Here's the chemo hat I made for her. It turns out that on the very same day I gave her the hat, another friend gave her a lime green blouse that matches!! Who says knitter's aren't karmic??

PRAISE THE LORD, IT'S SUMMER!!!

Oh, I love the flowers of summer. We have spectacular botanical garden in our city, that has been named one of the best botanical gardens in the U.S. I took my mother there yesterday. The acres and acres of gardens are all handicapped accessible and the center makes battery operated "scooters" available, at no charge, to people who otherwise couldn't visit the gardens. My mom opted to wait for the scooter, rather than be pushed in a wheelchair. My youngest daughter, age 14, looked at all the displays through the lens of her camera. Can you guess what this is??

Does this next photo help?? Yes, it's a photo taken through the kaleidoscope situated over a revolving basket of flowers!! We could spend all day looking at the everchanging views!
This is a splendid little white flower, name unknown. It looks as if some embroiderer found a plain white flower, and added a little embellishment!!
And these bells! Every exhibit takes my breath away. Next week I plan to take my knitting to the garden, to simply sit in the splendor and meditate while knitting.