A large-footed woman's hunt for fabulous shoes

It did not go well, as one might expect. I may have to attend a formal dinner in dull, ordinary flats. Either that or risk the dreaded Black Toenail of Doom (which later falls off - not that you needed that gory detail) on my left foot, which is oh-so-conveniently over a half-size larger than my right.

I lost the second half of last sandal season when I wore my only shoes with heels (which were the largest the store carried but still a smidge too small) to a job interview without realising that after taking two buses I was still a brisk fifteen-minute walk from my destination. By the time I hobbled back in my front door hours and hours later the carnage was alarming. To add insult to injury I didn't get the job, although I had already decided the commute wasn't worth it.

As you can see it was a lovely day in Oxford. Christmas shoppers tend to be jolly when there's a gentle sprinkling of snow coming down. But when it's rainy, grey, and getting dark at 3 pm, and all the stores are closing at five, at which point you'll have no chance to do your errands until the following weekend, things get a little ugly. I have only a week before holidays now, and feel vaguely nauseated at the thought of everything that has to happen at work this week, around a plethora of Christmas lunches and other festive company events. I'm all for holiday spirit, but I wish that project schedules would take it into account. Not participating looks misanthropic, but attending means working quite late to catch up. It's a dilemma.


I'm having fun making lists of everywhere I want to visit back home. Our old 'hood, Little Italy (not sure I can bring myself to walk by our old house though), Aunties 'n' Uncles, Kensington Market, St. Lawrence Market, Queen West, Sephora, my old workplace, as many Second Cups as possible, cheap sushi places ... basically I just want to walk and walk, and soak up the city. And of course I can't wait to get back to the hometown, for cosy pubs, driving the Volvos (they have seat heaters!), tree decorating, brunches, crossword puzzles, and my parents' habit of starting dinner with two bottles of wine. (Dinner for four, I should add ... they stick to one when it's just them. I'm probably in trouble now.)