Next time I try to buy clothes for someone for a Christmas present, I'm just going to buy all available sizes, and they can just return the ones they don't want. Or burn them, whatever.

Nashville in May

*ears perk up* I'm sure you'll be busy, but let me know if you want to meet up!

One of my ankles hurts, chronically. It could be related to my fallen arches issue, or maybe it is simply the pain of being fat and middle-aged. Generally I can manage the pain with topical capsaisin. But ever since I had that stomach bug last week, it has been waking me up at night with muscle cramps and spasms. I've tried increasing intake of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and water, but that hasn¡t resolved it. Are arthritic muscle spasms a thing?

Maria, I want to be on your dancecard for Anaheim!

some have two nipples.

If they had three nipples, then we could call them Chandler Bing Cookies.

Do different shoes help at all Windsparrow? Maybe massaging, light compression, and/or heat would help at night.

My ankles and feet hurt horribly until I switched completely to sneakers with added heel and arch pads. They still hurt occasionally, but I can at least stand up from a chair and walk immediately.

The shoes I have are the best I have ever found (New Ballance 628s outside and Crocs Bistro for inside shoes at work, and Birkenstock sandals at home) as witness significantly less pain in my actual arches on both feet. I could try rolling my foot over a can or somthing to massage it. That's a good idea, aurelia.

I can definitely say that my foot fit and support needs are some of the reasons I very much appreciate the old-fashioned shoe store here in our little town. All the salespeople are very knowledgeable about shoes and feet, and they have a guy on premises who custom-makes orthotics. Orthotics guy has sometimes added support and cushioning to my insoles when I needed just a bit of a tweak. They really all take a lot of time over making sure that I get the support and comfort that I need to be able to do my job and live my life.

We lost our shoe store that focused on supportive shoes recently. Still plenty of store fronts with 6" heels and the like. But most people I know (who, granted, lean toward the middle-aged, f— your patriarchal beauty standards, end of the spectrum) would much rather get to try on new Danskos and Reickers.

Good shoe stores make a big difference. My heals everything BIL told me to soak my achy bits with coconut oil and I did so while rolling my eyes. The arthritis in my fingers was such that I couldn't bend my index fingers at all so I was willing to try anything. Damned if it didn't work! I soaked a piece of gauze and wrapped the knuckles with sports tape and all bendy now. He said it would work for my ouchy knee too, but it takes longer because it has further to soak into the joint.