Way back in the day.....before everyone and their DOG got into the act....I used to do a weekly blog that I personally emailed to friends and family....some read them, some ignored and some deleted. I did it for me anyway - because sometimes I think I am really funny and want to share and other times I just have random thoughts that should be out there for all to read and.....ponder....or not. In the grand scheme of things does it really matter?

The name on this blog?  I am not the kind of person to give up because I am a certain age. I will be 64 years old this fall - a senior - in a year I can collect my Old Age Pension - and what the hell is that title??? Congrats you have made it this far so we are going to start paying you just for being old. It is a state of mind. I don't feel OLD. I think 90 is OLD, really old, but if I get to be 89 I will probably change my mind. So - when people ask "will you ever let your hair go gray?" I state "No - I am red til I am dead."

So, today I decided to start writing again. Perhaps not on a weekly basis like I used to - just like the Saturday paper, I would turn up - more when I feel like it. Like today...when I looked down at my feet.

Yesterday I bought new shoes because my husband keeps telling me that I need "good walking shoes" for our upcoming trip to England and Iceland. I don't think we will be hiking any hills and dales, more like the streets of Liverpool and tramping our way to the neighborhood pub. But he is a card carrying member of the church of "Our Lady of Sensible Footwear."

Being my mother's daughter, I really wanted to look "good" while on holiday, so I had in mind skinny pants and some nice slouch boots. Alas, I have discovered Summer is NOT the time to be looking for boots after shopping here and in the U.S. of A.

I also need to have something that will stand up in rain (just in case), be comfortable and pack easily seeing as we take only one small bag each. (My husband's favorite quote when packing for a trip is "if you need it buy it."  This may explain why he only took one long sleeved shirt last time we went to England - it was unseasonably COLD - and our daughter took pity on him and ended up buying him a hoodie. But that is another story.)

So - back to my new shoes - yes, shoes, not fashionable slouch boots, sensible shoes. I found them at the back of the store in the On Sale section. They are Clark's and I like the look of them (plus they match my purse I am taking - bonus!) However - they are a size seven.  I have worn a size eight shoe for as long as I remember - so did my feet shrink??

Giddy with excitement I wore them into the office and our partner said "they even look English." I think that was a slam.

Socks??? - well...I am ...breaking them in - remember when your parents used to tell you that the crap shoes they bought you had to be "broken in."????  These aren't crap shoes but I am not taking any chances that I will have blisters when I am wandering the hills and dales of say......Harrods of London!

AND on the same line of thinking ......I used to wear a size ten in clothing but now I fit into a six or eight. I actually weigh about five pounds more than I did a few years ago ....so...what???

Personally I have a theory that 'they' are making clothes with different labels to make all the.....well....larger...people feel better. Come on - the average woman is now a 153 pounds and a size 14 or so! If you can fit into a size '12' you think you haven't gained any weight. But I digress......oh, don't get me started. Have they now started making shoes with a different label for all the Big Foot Edna's out there?

If they have, I know a lot of drag queens who will be delighted.

"You can wear an eleven heel? Gee, I thought you were more like a twelve! Do they come in blue????"

My girlfriend told me she is shrinking in height, so I measured myself and sure enough I am now an inch shorter than I used to be. Good grief, what is next? Eventually will I look like a pale, deflated balloon with a puff of red hair? My mind is boggled......