Instead of throwing them away, last night, I pulled out my trusty roll of duct tape and repaired them myself. Until I wear off some of the tape from the bottom of the boot, it's a bit slippery -- I've removed most of the traction. But I think that if I wear the boots for a few days, it'll wear off to the point where it's OK.
Regardless, any further use I can get out of these boots keeps me from having to buy another pair soon.
After finishing the boot repair via duct tape, I asked
yarbiedoll if there was anything else in the house that needing repairing. I think she was excited to hear my offer until I added "with duct tape." Apparently, there are no pressing duct tapable repairs to be made at Briarcliff right now. 