anyone past 50 on here?

[will123]

Here in Ontario we wore running shoes in teh summer and boots in the winter, so it wasn't like we wore the same shoes year round.

[daveb]

2 hours ago, pickles. said:

This. does. not. compute.

 

I remember you being fairly tall, which probably means you had growth spurts in both overall height and shoe size.  My son (who grew to be 6'3") had years of outgrowing his shoes long before wearing them out.  They were in pristine shape to pass "down" to my husband.

I don't recall ever outgrowing my shoes before getting a new pair for the next school year, but that was a long time ago.  

I would not have wanted my older brother's used shoes! 🤢  (among other things, he was a cross-country runner on the track team in high school)

 

(I just ordered myself 2 new pairs of shoes - and have quite a few shoes, but many of them I don't wear often)

[ryn2]

16 hours ago, pickles. said:

Did you wear flipflops from June until the start of school

Once I was school-aged I mostly skipped shoes in the summer.  I had a ratty pair of sneakers (required for gym class) knocking around at any given point if I had to go into a store or whatever.  As a teen I wore Dr. Scholls, which were quite cheap (at the time), available at a pharmacy within biking distance, and fairly flexible sizing-wise because they just had the one adjustable strap.

[Tja]

At the beginning of each school year, we'd all get new shoes from Buster Brown. 

 

I'm on my feet a lot, so my sneakers/trainers wear out yearly.

[Muledeer]

Has anyone else's feet grown larger as you approach old age?  A couple of years ago, one of my feet grew about a half size and then the other foot caught up.  Like @daveb, I have several pairs of footwear that I only use occasionally.  Now, sadly, most of them no longer fit. 

And another question, @daveb, how on earth can you "order" shoes without at least trying them on first?

[ryn2]

50 minutes ago, Muledeer said:

Has anyone else's feet grown larger as you approach old age?

Yes, and this is common.

[Tyke]

2 hours ago, Muledeer said:

how on earth can you "order" shoes without at least trying them on first?

I asked this question to a younger friend of mine recently. She replied that she'd ordered 4 pairs and would use the free return service for the ones she didn't want to keep (she only wanted one or two new pairs), or any that didn't fit. Youngsters!

[Tja]

4 hours ago, Muledeer said:

Has anyone else's feet grown larger as you approach old age? 

I've actually shrunk, though not due to age. After dramatic weight loss I've gone from size 13 to 11.5.

[will123]

I think some businesses have cut back on the free returns. T shirts and jeans I'll buy online. Shoes or boots, I've seen wonky sizing, so I'll buy in person. I'm have a billion pairs of Mechanix gloves in different varieties. Some are available in stores and others you have to order them online. They sizing seems off as I have found the size/fit varies depending on where they were made...

 

 

[daveb]

7 hours ago, Muledeer said:

Has anyone else's feet grown larger as you approach old age?

Not as far as I know, but mine have always been a bit wonky (nearly a full size difference between the two).

 

7 hours ago, Muledeer said:

how on earth can you "order" shoes without at least trying them on first?

In this case they are from a company I have gotten other shoes from (which I did try on in a store, and which fit just fine), so I just hope they are consistent.

[Skycaptain]

My job means that I still wear through two pairs of hiking shoes a year

I've definitely grown a shoe size in the last decade. 

[Myssterry]

Had a soaking wet dog walk and now off to my venue.  Saw a pair of lovely grey wagtails in the alleyway, and the daffs and wood anemones are in flower in the park.

 

I always order footwear from the same maker, direct from their website.  It always fits, though I sometimes have to add an extra inner sole to make the fit snug.  I have slightly narrow feet, but narrow fittings pinch.  Their standard width in ankle boots and sandals fits OK, and the straps on the sandals enable a good fit.  I have ordered size 6 (UK) for years so I guess my feet haven't grown any bigger.  My big problem is buying shoes as they literally never fit, so the current fashion for ankle boots in the winter and sandals in the summer suits me well.  I buy very little footwear and wear what I have for some time until it needs replacing.

[Tyke]

I do buy walking boots on-line. I've been buying size 44/10 for years. I'd have to make a trip into the city to get a decent selection to choose from, whilst on-line the options are endless (and a fair bit cheaper).

 

But 'proper' shoes I buy at the one good shoe-shop in my town. And make them last for years. I typically own 6 pairs, trainers, solid winter and lightweight summer in each of brown and blue/black. Some of those are over 10 years old. The walking boots last maybe 2 years? They get a lot of use and on rugged ground a lot of the time. The recent trips to the Canaries have been boot wreckers. Volcanic rock formation is typically lumpy and sharp.

[daveb]

5 hours ago, Tyke said:

The recent trips to the Canaries have been boot wreckers. Volcanic rock formation is typically lumpy and sharp.

I can imagine. I went to Craters of the Moon one time, with a friend here, and could see how that sort of terrain could be tough on shoes.

[will123]

1 minute ago, daveb said:

I can imagine. I went to Craters of the Moon one time, with a friend here, and could see how that sort of terrain could be tough on shoes.

The Nisgaa lava flows north of Terrace BC are similar. Imagine our surprise in '99 when a friend and I were travelling thru there and a local told us about it. We had never heard of volcanoes in Canada. I think the last eruption was during the 1700s.

[daveb]

6 minutes ago, will123 said:

The Nisgaa lava flows north of Terrace BC are similar. Imagine our surprise in '99 when a friend and I were travelling thru there and a local told us about it. We had never heard of volcanoes in Canada. I think the last eruption was during the 1700s.

Cool

Are there lava tubes there?

That was one of the cool things at Craters of the Moon. Huge lava you could go inside. Some of the ground was really rough. But it was fun to visit.

[will123]

5 minutes ago, daveb said:

Cool

Are there lava tubes there?

That was one of the cool things at Craters of the Moon. Huge lava you could go inside. Some of the ground was really rough. But it was fun to visit.

No, it was just a vast area that looked like jumbled rocks. Some scrubby brush growing amongst it.

[daveb]

8 minutes ago, will123 said:

No, it was just a vast area that looked like jumbled rocks. Some scrubby brush growing amongst it.

Ah. Yeah, Craters has areas like that, too. And I have seen similar areas in parts of the US Southwest.

[Tyke]

There are accessible (with a guide) lava tubes on Tenerife which we visited in January 2022. They were interesting and educational. We passed up the chance to see further tubes on Lanzarote this time, thinking they would be somewhat similar.

[ryn2]

On 2/21/2024 at 8:29 PM, will123 said:

I think some businesses have cut back on the free returns.

That’s definitely been true here, post-pandemic.

[ryn2]

15 hours ago, Tyke said:

The recent trips to the Canaries have been boot wreckers.

I had this problem in Hawaii.

[Skycaptain]

Getting sand out of footwear is another issue. My hiking boots are still discoloured by desert sand, despite it being two months since we returned, and I've worn them almost every day. 

 

The tax office and I are having a falling out. I had some untaxed income, which I correctly declared, and this has been acknowledged. I went to pay it, and they say that I have a £four figure sum in credit. They've obviously made an error, but until it's resolved I can't pay them the amount I owe 

[ryn2]

11 hours ago, Skycaptain said:

Getting sand out of footwear is another issue. My hiking boots are still discoloured by desert sand, despite it being two months since we returned, and I've worn them almost every day. 

…and luggage.  A few months ago I threw out an old carry-on that was falling apart and it still had sand in it from a 1998 vacation.

[daveb]

11 hours ago, Skycaptain said:

Getting sand out of footwear is another issue. My hiking boots are still discoloured by desert sand, despite it being two months since we returned, and I've worn them almost every day. 

 

1 minute ago, ryn2 said:

…and luggage.  A few months ago I threw out an old carry-on that was falling apart and it still had sand in it from a 1998 vacation.

[Muledeer]

Here's a view of Mt. Olympus through my dirty windows.   Near the summit, the trees still fave fresh snow on them from yesterday's snowstorm.  The dark marks on each window are from bird strikes.  

[will123]

Wow, is that normal that you wouldn't have snow on the ground where you live? We've had a crummy winter here. Good news is that I'm off to northern Ontario (Cochrane, south of James Bay) for three days of sledding on March 3rd.

[Muledeer]

@will123 We're having an early spring.  The grass is already turning green and starting to grow.  We've had an unusually mild and rainy month of February, so far.

[will123]

1 minute ago, Muledeer said:

@will123 We're having an early spring.  The grass is already turning green and starting to grow.  We've had an unusually mild and rainy month of February, so far.

Sounds exactly like southern Ontario minus the green grass.

[ryn2]

36 minutes ago, will123 said:

Sounds exactly like southern Ontario minus the green grass.

Same down here…

[will123]

8 minutes ago, ryn2 said:

Same down here…

Where is the 'Unlike' button?