Warholabilia Shoes Up For Auction

On June 22, Christies will be auctioning off some of Andy Warhol's shoes. (Oh, if only I had a million dollars or two or three!)


The items, included in a sale of celebrity memorabilia announced by Christie's on Monday, were culled from gifts that Warhol bestowed on Jeffrey Warhola and his other nephews when they visited their famous uncle from the late 1960s until his death in 1987.

Pre-sale estimates are as low as $600 for the belongings of the Pop Art icon, whose subjects included Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the famed red-and-white soup can.

The market for Warhols has been especially hot in recent years, with his art works regularly selling for several million dollars.

The auction, set for June 22 in New York, features his clothing, roller skates, cowboy boots, sunglasses and neckties.


This lot includes 2 pairs of his cowboy boots. Check out and bid here.




This second lot also includes two pairs of coyboy boots. I like these green ones. Bid Here!



Wow! This pair is paint spattered. (Bid here!) I would love to have these. They are Ferragamo.








What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Devi Kroell Shoes

Devi Kroell spent her childhood as a modern-day gypsy moving from one exotic country to the next; Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Israel, France and Italy to name a few. This unique upbringing, combined with her personal style, has resulted in a sophisticated eclectic luxury synonymous with her namesake collection.

THESE are some lovely shoes. I am all about snakeskin and python so these python shoes are right up my alley. They are all beautiful! I want them all!


Strappy Python Sandal: $ 750


Rust Thong Sandal: $1790


Copper Python Flat: $750


Python Wood Clog: $645


Long Python Boot $1950


Olive Pump: $850


Off-White Bleached Python Sandal: $ 620


Green Clog: $695


Ankle Strap Sandal: $680




What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Renter's floors

I am a renter. I do not own my living quarters, so I do not own the floors. There is a temptation with non-ownership to not take care of the floor as we might with floors we own. Not long after I moved in to my apartment my landlord came by and did not want to walk through my apartment because his shoes were dirty. Being found then still in my BSO* days, I showed no objection to the dirty shoes on the floor, because the floors belong to him, not to me. Since then he has felt free to walk across the floors with his shoes on at pretty much any time. I gave him license, so why not? It has since started to bother me, but I am moving next week and now is not the time to make an issue of it.

How does a renter handle the situation of the landlord walking through the apartment or house with their shoes on? This is a question that I would like to pose for the readers here.

There is another problem with the above situation, however. I was far too ready to disregard what happened to the floor because ultimately it wasn't mine. I was not being a good steward of the things entrusted to me in that situation. We really do not ever own any material possession. The earth is the Lord's and all it contains. It all belongs to God and He grants us stewardship of property regardless of whose name is on the deed. I think that taking care of what we own is a good way to show appreciation for the things God has given to us. I do not do a good job in this area, but I will start by trying to take care of my floors. Help me be a good steward and take your shoes off at my door. I would appreciate it.

*Before Shoes Off

Hayfever

Hayfever season is going to be here soon.

If you or others in your family suffer from Hayfever, one of the things you can do to reduce the suffering is to remove your shoes at the door and ask family and friends to remove their shoes.

If you keep your shoes on, you are going to bring pollen into the house and eithre rub it into the carpet, or if you do not have a carpet, allow it to collect in corners of your house.

Yahoo Answers: Party and shoes. How do I tell people I don't want them walking on my carpet?

Yahoo Answers: Party and shoes. How do I tell people I don't want them walking on my carpet?

This Week's NATIONAL ETIQUETTE AWARD goes to... Armenia!

Armenian Page in Wikipedia

World Factbook: Armenia

Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs


I hereby grant the National Etiquette Award to Armenia, as it is the norm in that country to remove shoes in homes.

Hitler once sneered, 'Who remembers the Armenians?' Indeed, most people in the west know little of Armenia. What is most known about Armenia is the applling genocide that was carried out by the Turks against the Armenians between 1915 and 1918. Over a million Armeninas are thought to have died according to some. The Turkish government officially denies this was genocide, maintianing that it was the inevitable consequence of civil war. Armenians have been campaigning for 30 years to secure recognition of the genocide. The majority of historians maintain that documentary evidence supports the Armenian claim.

Armenian was the first officially Christian country. The Armenian Apostolic Church is distinct from the Orthodox Chruches of Greece and Russia, being part of the Oriental Orthodox tradition. This goes back to the Monophysite controversy in the early centuries of church history. Armenia gave America one of the more controversial Reformed theologians of our time in the form of Rousas Rushdoony, the great advocate of Theonomic Reconstruction.

Armenia has an ancient tradtion of wine-making and other alcoholic beverages are very popular in Armenia.

The Armenian disapora is very large; there are Armenians living all over the world, including the USA.

Public Toilets

I do not know about ladies' public toilets, but the floors in mens' public toilets are always disgusting. They smell, they are wet, there is likely to be all manner of dirt on them. Not just the obvious, but cleaning chemicals and mud. You definitely would not want to touch the floor of a public toilet with your hand.

Now imagine somebody goes to a public toilet. He then visits your house or apartment and comes in with his shoes on, walking on the same floor on which your children play. See what I am getting at?

Katherine Dunham: A Pair of Legendary Shoes



Katherine Mary Dunham (22 June 1909 - 21 May 2006) was a dancer, choreographer, songwriter who was trained as an anthropologist. Dunham was an innovator in African-American modern dance, and a leader in the field of Dance Anthropology.

Dunham was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She studied both dance and anthropology while an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Chicago during the 1930s. She showed great promise in her ethnographic studies of dance and studied under the great anthropologists of the day, Robert Redfield, A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, Edward Sapir, and Bronislaw Malinowski. In 1936, she was awarded a Rosenwald Travel Fellowship to conduct ethnographic study of the Vodun in the West Indies, a path also followed by fellow anthropology student, Zora Neale Hurston .





While working on her masters, she was told by her advisors that she had to choose between anthropology and dance. Much to their regret, she chose dance, left her graduate studies before finishing her doctorate, and departed for Hollywood, where she made a number of films before forming her own company.

Dunham married producer John Thomas Pratt, who managed her career. She also began the Katherine Dunham Company, a troupe of dancers, singers, actors and musicians, which was the first African American modern dance company. The company toured worldwide and in the then segregated South, where Ms. Dunham once refused to hold a show after finding out that the city’s black residents had not been allowed to buy tickets for the performance.




Dunham later directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York City and was an artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University. Dunham was also known for her anthropological work in studies into Haitian and Caribbean culture. In 1967, Dunham opened the Performing Arts Training Center (PATC) in East St. Louis, Illinois as an attempt to use the arts to combat poverty and urban unrest. The PATC drew on former members of Dunham's touring company as well as local residents for its teaching staff.

Known for her many innovations, the Dunham Technique is now taught as a modern dance style in dance schools, including at the Harkness Dance Center of the 92nd Street Y.

Katherine Dunham passed away in her sleep in New York City on 21 May 2006.



What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Da Vinci Shoes

The Da Vinci Code opens world wide today. I plan to go see it. I loved the book and read it 2 times. I know the Opus Dei is up in arms but it is just a movie. It is not an alternative to mainstream beliefs that is supposed to be true. It is a made up work of fiction with some facts about real people and places thrown in. Rioting in the streets? Boycotts? Ridiculous. If you do not want to see the movie just don't go. And then stay home! No protesting. You people have too much time on your hands. It is JUST A MOVIE---PEOPLE! A MOVIE!

Do you think Opus Dei is just a little defensive? How many topics from the DaVinci Code can they try to clarifiy? Way toooo many! I think you protest too much. This book is a great mind diversion full of mystery and intrigue. It is a good read. Try it!



In honor of The Da Vinci Code, my focus today will naturally be on Da Vinci shoes. Yes, they do exist. These lovelies can be found at Da Vinci Shoes of New York. Some are really cuties! They are fine italian leather shoes imported from Italy. The prices are not too bad.


$135.00


$139.00


$129.00


$109.00


$99.00


$155.00


$169.00


$189.00


$189.00


What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Put off thy shoes from off thy feet

Exodus 3:4-5
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Moses was asked to remove his shoes to show reverence for the place where he stood. Do you revere and respect your host’s home? It may not be holy ground, per se, but how better can you show respect than by removing your shoes at the door? As a host or hostess is it too much to ask your guests to respect your home? I do not believe so. Let us show respect for each other’s homes and take off our shoes.

This Week's NATIONAL ETIQUETTE AWARD goes to.... Bulgaria

Bulgaria Page in Wikipedia

Bulgaria.com

Welcome to Bulgaria

I hereby grant the National Etiquette Award to Bulgaria, because it is the norm in that country to remove shoes when entering homes.

Bulgaria is seeking membership of the European Union. However, it may be a long time before it is accepted into the paper curtain; it has been given pretty big targets to meet in terms of dealing with corruption. Bulgaria suffers froma good deal of organised mafia-style crime.

Most British people know nothing about Bulgaria; they are moree likely to associate the name with the Wombles than with the country of that name. However, Bulgaria is acheiving some popularity as an inexpensive ski resort.

Bulgaria geographically corresponds with parts of the Thrace and Macedonia of New Testament times. Its people speak a Slavonic language, but their ethnic orign lies primarily in Central Asia.

Bulgaria was under Turkish rule for hundreds of years. When it was freed from Ottoman Turk rule, it became the centre of much diplomatic feuding between the Great Powers of the 19th century.

The former king hopes to reclaim his throne. He has been actively involved in the country's politics and served as prime minister until 2005, when a Socialist government was voted into power.

I met a Bulgarian girl who was doing a PhD in economics. I think she found me thoroughly patronizing. I knew a former private school pupil who was a bit of a fantasist. When he was at university he claimed to be dating a Bulgarian princess, though he often told similar tall tales.

007 Shoes

Shoes to kill! This was an interesting article sent to me by Wayne. These are shoe with a built in stun gun for safety. There would be good for going out late at night! They are not too bad looking either. The only drawback is that it is for one time use only.



The Electric Cinderella shoes idea began as part of Simona Brusa Pasque's thesis at the Interaction Design Institute in 2002 and was inspired by a beautiful woman who Simona interviewed for her thesis who wanted to be able to “intimidate her intimidators.” She wanted to be empowered without losing her femininity, to have the freedom to be sexy without fear. The shoes certainly achieve that, offering 100,000 volts of high fashion stun gun power which can be activated by a control on the matching necklace. The weapon is hidden and when the wearer taps on the matching necklace an electric spark is displayed in the transparent tip, warning the would-be assailant to back off.



The weapon is designed for a one time use, in case of emergency, by breaking the tip of the shoe. The shoes have now evolved through several prototypes with earlier versions exhibited at SIGGRAPH 2005 in Los Angeles, at Nemo Museum, Amsterdam, and at Pica Museum in Perth, Australia with the latest incarnation getting its debut outing at the recent CTIA Wireless Fashion Show in Las Vegas.

“These shoes were designed to transform the self-perception of the wearer. The act of donning these shoes and the matching necklace is comparable to the ritual of wearing a mask; once they are on, they empower the wearer to express her hidden powerful personality.

The scenario of use is any day or event in which the wearer wants to feel in control, displaying power with irony and style and using it only in case of a real emergency.



More here: Gizmag

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Feuding Shoes

What happens when my shoes discover some wrong things that finishing shoes had done in some files of mine? We become feuding shoes. Well not really. She got busted and now she is mad at me for something that she did wrong. Now how does that make me the target of her displaced anger? Why is she not mad at herself for doing the wrong thing?

What is it all about? Well, I was on vacation a few weeks ago and she happened to work on one of my files and completed it...or so it looked. She completed one portion and just closed another portion without completing it. She changed the file to her name so that she would get credit for that file completion for the month of April. Well, the first day of May she changed the closed fileback to me...incomplete of course and it came up for review and was pulled in a batch for review. I in the meantime get a call about the incomplete portion, see what has transpired and the dates and know that if it is reviewed, the big wigs would think , I did that. Hell now! I checked the dates, I was on vacation so it could not possible be me! I wrote that in the file and requested the file to work on the imcomplete portion.

The bigwig who pulled it had to give it back to me. Finishing shoes got called into a side room for that. Now she is not speaking. She sits in the same pod as me. The thing is it does not matter. She seems to think I am greatly affected by her not speaking. I am but not in the way she thinks. I have silence, I can work in peace. I do not have anyone finishing my sentences.

She is an associate, a coworker, not a friend. People at work do not have to be my friend. We only have to be civil and work together. That is all. So people being mad and not speaking is waaay beneath me. It is childish and petty. I do not have time for it. This works for me because the new girl who never stops talking sits nearby as well so she is a chatterbox that never shuts up. Between the two of the, I am constanly interrupted. So, to me it is all good. Silence is golden! I hope she keeps on those feuding shoes for at least a month more!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

"Shoe Crazy" Leads to Jail!




Two women stole several pairs of handmade Italian shoes from a boutique and led police on a high-speed chase during which they tossed the spiky-heeled footwear at pursuing officers, authorities said.

A clerk from Rangoni Shoes in the upscale La Jolla neighborhood reported the theft of $700 worth of shoes Sunday afternoon, said San Diego police Sgt. Bob Dare. A responding officer found a suspect in the store and asked her for identification.

The woman said her ID was in her car and left her keys with the officer to ensure her return. She apparently had a spare set of keys, however, and sped off with her friend in a 1997 Honda Civic, police said.

They fled along two interstates at speeds of up to 100 mph and sideswiped several cars, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers stopped the women in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon by ramming their vehicle.

The women, ages 31 and 35, were arrested for investigation of theft and evading arrest, police said.


What shoes were worth stealing? What was all the fuss about? These are the shoes worth going to jail over! Rangoni Shoes! Rangoni Shoes!


Harley $173 ______________ Prior $163


Taras $172 ______________ Gal $173



Gloria $178 ______________ Ginny $171


Hadley $193 ______________ Date $202



Dysa $178 ______________ Heile $178



Gaya $190 ______________ Clay $197


What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Children

I am always a little surprised when I see children wearing shoes at home, whether on television or in person. It surprises me because when I was a child, my parents expected me to remove my shoes at the door. When I visited my friends' homes, their parents often expected me to take my shoes off. So it always seems a little strange when I see children keeping their shoes on at home.

The practise of removing shoes was expected until I reached the age of about 12. My parents became less stringent about it as I got older. Occasionally this house rule would be revived in later years. It was restored when I was 21 when my parents and I moved to a house with cream carpets, though they were not consistent in keeping to it.

There are some homes, in the UK, where the hosts will expect the children of guests to remove their shoes, but would not expect it of adult guests. Some guests will insist that their children remove their shoes without removing their own. I can understand why some people may be more concerned about children's shoes; children do tend to be less careful about what they step in and are more likely to run around in long and wet grass. However, adults should never forget that their own shoes pick up an awful lot of less noticeable dirt. There is also the fact that children learn to follow rules better when adults act consistently. There is a certain amount of 'do as I say, not do as I do' in the requirement of shoes-off for children only.

Many childcare experts are of the opinion that children should wear shoes to the minimum necessary and therefore recommend shoes-off indoors for health reasons.

More than feet touch the floor

A couple of months ago I invited some friends over for dinner. There was still a lot of snow on the ground from a significant snowfall we had a few days earlier. Shoes came off at the door out of courtesy and habit. We ate dinner at the kitchen table (alas! I have no dining room in my apartment) and then adjourned to the living room for a little social time. We watched a movie together and then one friend and I decided to play on the X-box for a little while. We sat on the floor to do that. I remember thinking how embarrassing it was to have a guest sitting on my dirty carpet. The shoes may have been off then, but they had not always been in the past, and the carpet shows it. I doubt that my friend really thought about it, but it was not a pleasant thought for me. If feet were the only thing that ever touched the floor, dirty carpets might not bother me so much, but they aren't. When one sits on the floor, hands end up on the floor, too. Dirt from the floor can come off on clothes as well. I will now ask my guests to remove their shoes for the sake of my guests who sit on the floor. It will help me be a hostess with a good conscience.

The Decline of the Dinner Party

It seems the popularity of the dinner party is declining. The British golden age of dinner parties in the Seventies is long gone. No more are the evenings of Prawn and Avocado cocktails and Bonoffi pies.

The reasons for the decline are obvious. With women working longer hours than ever before, it is not easy for them to put together an elaborate and impressive feast.

There is increasingly an ever-expanding range of restaurants in which to dine. Why cook for your friends when you can take them with you to a restaurant?

I think the middle-class aspirational culture behind the dinner party has changed quite a lot as well.

The decline of the dinner party is unsurprising, but it is rather sad. I do suspect, however, that it may lead to more people adopting the shoes-off rule in their homes.

A family who regularly entertain guests might feel under social obligation to accept lots of shoes trampling their home. However, with the more contemporary culture of entertaining being done in restaurants, it is likely that the home will become a more sacred domestic sphere. Those who go out to have their social life may be more inclined to be jealous for the cleanliness of their home when they are there. They may well expect the guests that they do welcome to remove their shoes.

I do hope so anyway.

Feet That Only a Sandal Could Love!

And even with that, I think it would be hard. What kind of foot fashion sense got into them? I just know that I do not want to look like this!













Is this the "new" trend for spring? I swear I have never seen anyone with toes that looked like those in a pair of sandals.


What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

This Week's NATIONAL ETIQUETTE AWARD goes to.... Romania!

Romania - Wikipedia

Romania - World Factbook

Romanian News (Bucharest Daily News)

Centuries ago the Roman Empire granted land to nobles in what came to be known as Romania, a country of Latin people in the middle of the Slavic world. Romanians claim that their language is closer to the Latin of the Empire than any other Romance language spoken today.

Romania is a beautiful, lush, mountainous country. Driving through the Carpathian Mountains or Transylvanian Alps in the summer is breathtaking and affords a wonderful view of quaint Alpine houses resting on a carpet of wildflowers. People living in small mountain villages often own cows that they send out in the morning to graze where they choose. In the evening the sound of cow bells signals that the cows have come home. Romania still maintains a very large rural population and some of the mountain villages are populated by Gypsies.

After World War II, Romania was under the control of the USSR. It became and remained a Communist state until December 1989. The Communist government under Nicolae Ceausescu successfully impoverished the Romanian people and hindered industrialization. It also contributed to a disturbingly large population of orphaned and abandoned children who live in underfunded orphanages or on the streets. The government actively persecuted Christians who did not follow the state-controlled Romanian Orthodox Church. Even within the state church there were many persecuted for dissent. Today over 86% of Romanians officially belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church, which effectively serves as a hindrance to the growth of Evangelical churches. Ceausescu set up an improved system of education, so the Romanian people have a very high literacy rate, but that seems to be one of the only positive contributions made by the regime. Romania is making slow progress, but the poverty rate is still very high and the government is still very bureaucratic and highly susceptible to corruption.

Romania has some very lovely historical buildings for tourists to visit. In Transylvania one can visit Bran Castle, the castle Bram Stoker used as the basis for Dracula's castle. In Sinaia, in northern Wallachia, King Carol I's Peles Castle is open to tourists. Visitors are welcome to use the public restroom - a Turkish toilet - and they will kindly provide you with a very small amount of toilet paper for a fee. Inside the Peles Castle all visitors must wear felt slippers over their shoes to protect the hardwood floors and beautiful rugs. Both castles provide opportunity to purchase lovely handmade table cloths, runners and doilies and other local handicrafts from merchants. They will initially ask for much more than the merchandise is worth, so it also provides a great opportunity for improving one's haggling skills.

Although accustomed to poverty, the Romanian people are some of the most hospitable people I have ever met. What little they have is gladly offered to their guests. Romanian food is very good, too. (I was pleased to discover that they sell the same Fanta formula in Romania as they do in the Middle East. The European/Middle Eastern Fanta is far superior to the overly sweet and syrupy stuff bottled under the same name in the United States.) Experts in hospitality, Romanian hosts in Romania or abroad will not hesitate to ask you to kindly take your shoes off at the door, please.

Daily Traditions in Kyrgyzstan

Daily Traditions in Kyrgyzstan

I am a Bit Timid

Job 32:6
"And Elihu the son of Barchel the Buzite answered and said, I am young and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid and durst not shew you mine opinion."


At the Preachers' Fellowship today, a couple of guys were talking about beige carpets. It would have been a great opportunity to proselytise in favour of the Shoes-Off rule, however I was just too shy to give my opinion.

Why can I not be more bold?

Dancing, Prancing Corporate Shoes





Well the time had come. Today was a day of "organized corporate fun." A day at park, a company picnic, a day for all of us to leave the computers, phones and clients behind and kick up our heels at the park. You would think that people would want to get away from the office. I mean we only have a company picnic once a year. Maybe two if we are lucky. Well of course you know there are the conplainers, they do not want to do that, or this or participate in any team games. Finishing shoes is one of the worst. Complain, complain, complain. Gosh I made sure I did not sit near her.

I was one of the organizers of the outing so it was all good. Very good catered barbeque, hamburgers and hotdogs. We ate before the team games. We have to have team game whenever we have an outging for "team building." It is the way of our company. The entire office is devided by manager. 7 managers so 7 big teams of about 12 people each. Now I sent many an email out before the shindig, so everyone knows we will be running around. Now why did I see people in heeled sandals. I asked one lady , let's just call her bible shoes. (When she gets stressed, she takes out her bible and reads it.!) I asked bible shoes why she was wearing heels for the relay race and for tug of war. I asked if she was going to take those off. She said no, she has skills and will be able to do tug of war in heels. Can we say workers comp claim?

One other woman wore a miniskirt suit. Where were her casual clothes? We got an email on yesterday from the big boss we could wear jeans into the office, just for today. I asked her before we left the office how on earth was she going to do a tug of war in a miniskirt? She said she could and it would be fine. She would be on the end. The end????! Isn't the end where you are almost sitting on the ground with your legs open at odd angles? We would all be able to see her private parts! I told her I was not going to put her on the end. She would be at the beginning. Later she came back to me and said she would run somewhere and get a pair of shorts. Thank god she did!

During the tug of war, one of the managers was tugging so hard she pulled the sole off her tennis shoes. How OLD were those shoes? They must have been bobos because she spent the remainder of her time having to flip back the sole each step before she could take a step. I looked at those shoes and they were not a name brand. They were no name tennis shoes.

The craziest thing that happened today was during the fish or bait challenge. 14 people had to be picked from all 7 teams to participate in this eating challenge. 7 people ate bait--sour gummy worms and 7 ate fish--sardines. It was crazy. The people eating sardines had to have water and mustard in order to get them down. We had a winner. Who? The sardine lady won. The sarding lady eats sardines at her desk everyday and stinks up the whole office. Just like Classic Court used to do in the Sardine Wars.

One woman just grabbed all her sardines.. Each had 2 cans open in a bowl..she grabbed a big handful and smashed then into her mouth, mustard and all. The bad thing is she did not swallow. She had too much. While sardine lady was eating and swallowing her sardines and mustard, the other girl was just cramming in and not swallowing. Then she began to gag and held it in for as long as she could. Two minutes was the time frame and at the end of it, Sardine Lady won. The prize went to her, the woman with the sardine shoes.

As for the woman who had stuffed her face, her cheeks were puffed out with sardines and mustand, so full she looked like a squirrel with a face full of nuts, only it was sardines with little pieces of sardines and mustand leaking out the side of her mouth. She had so much packed in there, that she could not even spit it out into a napkin when it was over. She had to go over the hedges near the edge of the woods and spit it out. I do not know if she was spitting or vomiting. I did not want to know!

After that it was the challenge for those eating bait--the sour gummy worms. One bag per person with about 40 in each bag. One of the new hires did that challenge and she was amazing. As it turned out, sour gummy worms was/is her favorite candy. So, she crammed those worms in, swollwed and showed me a clean mouth and an empty bowl in 1 mintue 30 seconds. She was good. Noone else was really close at all. And, one of the woman who had just competed in the sardine challenge did the worms too. Can we say cast ireon stomach???

My team won the tug of war and the relay race. It was a day away from the office. Why are people complaining about that? They are the ones who complain in the office about this, that and the other. Why would I think a day away would be fun for them? What was I thinking???

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Guests Bringing a Change of Shoes

I would advise those who insitute a shoes-off policy in their homes to inform guests in advance that they require removal of shoes. That way the guests are able to bring some slippers with them. I think this is likely to be more accpetable than the custom in some countries of lending guests slippers (people are often uncomfortable about wearing somebody else's footwear). I would say something along the lines of "You may want to bring some slippers with you." I think this sends a clear message.

However, what if guests turned up with a pair of shoes to change into on arrival? In Canada and Scandinavian countries, people have indoor shoes that are strictly for wearing in offices and schools that are not worn outdoors. However, in the United Kingdom, it is very unlikely that people own a pair of shoes that are only worn indoors, unless they regularly attend a gym or do ballet (and they are not going to wear that sort of shoes to a dinner party).

What should the 'no-shoes' host or hostess do in that circumstance?

If the change of shoes had high heels, I would simply say "I am sorry would you mind not putting those on, heels are not very good for the carpet/ floor". They might step on somebody's shoeless toes and do some damage, as well.

If the change of shoes were low-heeled, that would be a different matter. One could ask if they had been worn outdoors, but I think this suggests a lack of trust. The simple thing to do is to put up with this and not invite this person again if the floor looks a bit dirty afterwards.

There are a number of subtle ways of dealing with this situation. One could ask "Do you buy those shoes today?" Or more to the point, "You do not have to put those on, we are very casual here." You may not be very casual at all, but it might put them off putting on their silly change of shoes.

This dilemma might present itself in summer, when somebody might prefer to wear flip flops rather than go barefoot. That is a little awkward, because one has no way of telling whether the flip flops have been worn outside or not. I suppose that situation might have to be suffered.

At the moment in Britain, it is very fashionable for girls to wear shoes that look very much like slippers, so it is not all that easy to tell the difference between shoes and slippers.

At the end of the day, you will invite some people back and some guests will not be invited to return to your home.

This Week's NATIONAL ETIQUETTE AWARD goes to.... Guyana!

Guyana Page in Wikipedia

Guyana News and Information

Guyana Online

I hereby grant the National Etiquette Award to Guyana, as it is customary in that country to remove shoes when entering homes.

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America.

The practise of shoes-off in homes is a result of the large numbers of people there who originate from the subcontinent of India. These were orignally agricultural labourers who were brought in by the British to replace the freed African slaves who no longer wanted to work on plantations. In the past there has been a good deal of racial tension between the Black minority who were politically and socially domminant and the Indian majority, who were politically marginalized.

Guyana is a very poor country. Its economy suffered the negative effect of Marxist rule for a long time.

There were some severe floods in Guyana a few years ago, a hazard resulting from its low-lying coastland.