The Friday Feet... Er, Five

1. What size shoe do you wear? A women's 9 1/2 or 10, or a men's 8 or 8 1/2. (Those are American sizes, of course. I have no idea how they translate to the rest of the world, except that anywhere you go, I still have big feet.)

2. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Um, well... I have this bad habit of very rarely throwing out shoes that have worn out or that don't fit or that I never wear for one reason or another (like the purple pumps I was forced to buy when I was a bridesmaid in my sister's wedding), so the actual number of pairs of shoes I own is probably up over a dozen. As for shoes I actually wear, let's see... There's my sneakers, a pair of ankle boots (Is that the term for them? They're boots, and they come up to just over my ankles), a pair of hiking boots, and, if you want to count them, a pair of slip-on sandals. So, four.

3. What type of shoe do you prefer (boots, sneakers, pumps, etc.)? Sneakers. I quite like hiking boots, too, but it's very hard to find ones that fit me properly, because I have really weird-shaped feet. (Wide feet, really long toes, high arches, and bunions. Since I'm sure you were really desperate to know.)

4. Describe your favorite pair of shoes. Why are they your favorite? Favorite shoes? I'm supposed to think about shoes enough to pick favorites? I guess my sneakers, 'cause they're comfiest to walk in.

5. What's the most you've spent on one pair of shoes? I think I paid about $120 for the Gore-Tex-lined waterproof hiking boots I bought for my trip to Ireland. And worth every penny they were, too, for keeping my feet dry while slogging through the bogs.