Shoe Weirdness

Did you know I wasn't quite normal?

Perhaps wishing for a chicken plucker for my anniversary gave you some clue.

Here's another clue:

When it comes to shoes, I'm not your typical woman.  I sit in on conversations with friends and family where they discuss their latest shoe purchase (and I'm not even talking about crazy shoe shopaholics, even), and how fabulous this or that sandal looks with whatever outfit or accessory, and I smile and pretend to be busy cleaning the garden dirt from under my fingernails.

Or, I listen on the radio where some radio host is talking about the *insane* number of shoes his wife has collected, or whether she's a cheap-shoe person, or a name-brand woman.  At least I don't have to pretend to be busy at this point; usually I am.

Sometimes I run across a blog post about someone's shoe purchase, or choice of shoes for the day, and I decide I'm missing certain wiring in my brain.  Which is likely good for our family budget, I suppose.

I hate shoe shopping.  HATE it.  I also rarely wear shoes that are *just right* for some outfit or accessory.  I tend to have one pair - which I wear around the house, running errands, in the garden, tending critters, to church, wherever.  I do try to make sure there's no chicken manure on them for church. :)

(I do have a pair of tall black boots I wear a couple times of year when appropriate, and a small box of random feet-killers I usually bought when I was out of town for a wedding and had to buy something in a pinch.  And I do mean pinch.)

Obviously most cheaply made shoes wouldn't hold up to this schedule, and my feet probably wouldn't hold up to them.  Which may be why shopping for shoes is so miserable.  Spending the necessary money for a quality shoe (which may or may not work for me in the end) is a hard step to take.

For the past couple years, I've been blessed with a great pair of shoes.  They're like these; in dark brown.  Looking at their retail price tag, I can see why they're so great.  By the way, I didn't buy them.  Gi-gi's friend's daughter is an ob-gyn (who obviously needs, and can afford, quality shoes) and was getting rid of them.  Somehow I ended up with them.  They fit perfectly.  I started wearing them that minute.  They're comfy on my feet.  There's not a whole lot of traction on the bottom to track in... stuff.  I don't even have to be able to reach my feet to put them on!

Alas, they're wearing out.  The right shoe has split an entire seam across the foot, and every time I splash water on them, I get wet feet (this may sound odd, but it happens ALL the time.  In the kitchen, tending the animals, etc).  I haven't looked hard enough to see if I can hand-sew it back into shape.

I'd buy the ones I linked to above, but my size only comes in salmon orange, and that's a little bold for me.  

There are others I like, but would they work?  These are cute, but would they be ruined in the garen?  Fill up with dirt?  These are interesting, but all about 'eco-friendliness' - which I think I have, but I'd hate to be mistaken for a liberal (haha, 3 kids and pregnant?  That's unlikely, isn't it?).  These have a good gardening-name, but yikes, what a pattern.  Hey, these look like fancy birkenstocks.  Aw, but they don't have my size.  Did you ever have birkenstocks?  I didn't.  Hmm... These might do it.  In the dark brown.  I wonder if the wool would make them too warm?

What do you think?  Any opinions?  Advice?  Hand-me-downs?  Do you collect shoes like I collect poultry, or are you weird too?

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Also, the site I've been linking to, Sierra Trading Post, has served us well.  I bought some WARM, waterproof, lace-up wintery boots last year (those Dansko's I wear don't cut it in deep snow/slush), and they're great.  Little Artist got a pair of clearance rubber-boots for like $5, and they've held up better than all those Target specials put together.  We've bought a handful of items there, and have always been pleased with the quality and service.  And the prices aren't bad, considering regular retail.