ribbons

She had a big special brush for it, too (like a bristled broom without a handle). She didn't want the "soot" tracked into the apartment at all, even if just inside the door. I remember quite well her referring to it as "soot". And my soot-y shoes had to go in a separate box, away from the family's shoes. I think she was rather germaphobic. They lived in a very densely populated, high-traffic neighborhood of the city that wasn't terribly clean, so I think she was super-worried about impurities brought into the house.