A NEW PAIR OF SHOES

Confession: I wear Crocs. All the time. And I'm starting to think I'll wear them until my dying day -- even though two years ago, I thought they were the ugliest shoes I'd ever seen.

Anyone who knows me has probably heard me complain about the state of the art when it comes to womens' shoes. The last few years it seems as if they are all either stilettos or big clunky things or 'sensible shoes.' Ugly, the whole works of them. What's a gal to do?

Well, since I live on a boat on a dock, there seemed to be plenty of those Crocs around. So last summer I was convinced to try on a pair ... and I've never looked back. I've had bad feet (read: sore feet) my whole life -- not anymore. They are the most comfy shoes I've ever worn -- and believe me, I've spent a lot of money on fancy-dancy 'women's walking shoes' and the like. They come in a zillion colors...

They're WASHABLE. And ... the best part ... they cost $10.

So I was already a convert when I started thinking, a few weeks ago, that I should really be pulling out my 'winter' shoes. I've changed my mind, though, and two things convinced me: first of all, I realized that even though they have holes in the top (not a good thing when you live in the Pacific North West, aka the Wet Coast), I can wear my knitted wool socks in them! And since I'm now a sock knitter (who'd-a thunk it??) I'll have lots of choices soon.

But the best part? Apparently they now come in a transparent variety-- so you can even show off those knitted socks! How cool is that?

So you can just imagine how happy I was when Michael arrived home from a walk through Chinatown last night with a brand new pair for me -- the ugly winter shoes will be donated to a charity today!