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

Morocco - Wikipedia

Morocco - World Factbook

Moroccan News

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

My primary interest in Morocco, I admit, is culinary. I have had the opportunity on a few occasions to eat at Moroccan restaurants and the food has been fabulous. The experience was very similar at each of the restaurants. They attempt at each to make the eating areas look as much like "tents" as feasible. Each party is seated at a low, round table, on soft stool-like seats or cushions. The first ritual is hand washing. As with everything else, this is done together in the center of the table. The server pours warm water (at one place the water was scented with roses) over a bowl onto the hands of the guests. After the hands are cleaned, they bring out bread and put a platter on the center of the table with various food to eat with the bread. I recall an eggplant dip and vegetables. My favorite part of the meal is a large, round pastry filled with shredded chicken and seasoned with cinnamon. Very good stuff. I think there are three courses prior to the main course. The main course is the meat. The meat is according to the common choice of the guests at the table. I have had lamb, beef and chicken with various sauces and seasonings. Dessert is served with tea and typically consists of a variety of whole fruit. Dinner entertainment is often provided by a belly dancer. Some stay in one place to dance and others come table to table. The meal can take two or three hours to eat and there are no eating utensils provided. While a bit pricey, it is a very fun and tasty American Moroccan experience!

At roughly 33 million souls, Morocco is the fourth most populous Arab nation in the world. With 99.85% of the total population professing Islam, the gospel is much needed and much resisted. The country is officially closed to missionaries. As of 2001, there were an estimated 500 believers in Jesus Christ.

The government officials of Morocco admitted to the international community in 1999 that there were over 500,000 children under 15 in their labor force. They are working toward changing their dependence on child labor.

In short, enjoy their food, pray for their souls, and appreciate their courtesy for removing their shoes in homes!

Foot Lift Anyone?!

Ever consider a face life? Well, for some the foot is the new face. Some women are getting a "foot lift" in order to be able to wear their favorite high heeled shoes. Would you go that far? I know I would not. Would you have a foot lift? Wayne sent me an article from ABC news that I had missed. It is not enough to do the Stiletto Heel Workout. Surgery is the next step.

... just because you can't walk in those shoes is no reason not to wear them. Today more and more women are choosing not to change their shoes but to alter their feet. "The foot is the new face in 2006," says Levine. She told us the same materials routinely used to erase facial lines are now being injected into the ball of the foot to cushion it so you can wear your heels longer. And that's only one way to help women rise to the occasion. A woman named May Ling Lai told us, "I never would have bought these [shoes] if not for Dr. Levine. My first pair of Manolo Blahniks."

Do you really think that Manolo wants women to alter their feet to wear his shoes?

May wasn't kidding. She came to Levine with a crushing problem: Her toes were simply too long to fit into her beloved Manolos. Not to worry. … Levine had a solution. When women come in with toes that are too long, especially if they have corns on the joints, she generally suggests a surgical procedure to cut away the corns — and some of the bone. "It sounds drastic, but it's not," she reassured us. Well, you decide. Levine actually slices through the toes and then removes part of the offending bone. She showed us X-rays indicating the toe subsequently shortened to the appropriate length.

The article also says that the doctor who performs this surgery has also had it done and now has 300 pairs of very high heeled shoes. The fees are stilletto priced. It costs $1000 to plump up your soles and about $3500 to have your toe bones trimmed.

Video here: Going Under the Knife for High Heels!

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

Burberry Fall 2006

I was looking to see what is new for this fall and Burberry seems to be embracing some fur. Fur trim seems to be the trend for winter coats or capes. That is right up my alley. I am all about real fur. I love to wear it. I still love the Burberry icon line. Just a few fall selections here.

Just a few fall selections that I love. (PSSST! They are having a sale too on another page of the site.)

Check Pump $ 345


Check Ballet Flat: $325


Square Toe Pump: $365


Knee High Boot: $695

Now I truly believe that every pair of shoes needs a purse to match. I may talk mostly about shoes but I have over 30 wonderful handbags that go with all my shoes. We women have to be coordinated you know. Some of my bags are multiples in some designs. I have several by Coach, Oroton, Dooney and Burke, Nine West, Anne Klein, Junior Drake, Punto Tres and the list goes on and on. I do not have a bag by Burberry. YET! I have been dreaming of one. Now with the fall lineup, I have found the Burberry bag with the "most!" If you know what I mean.

This is the Burberry of my dreams. 100% pure alligator! Lovely! The price? Well, I will just clean out the bottom of all my other purses! I will be able to get it with change! :) I might have to check the sofa cushions too!

Alligator Bag: $22,020.00

If I cannot have this one, I will be happy with the Manor Bag! No sloppy seconds here! I can use the change in the car for this one!

The Manor Bag: $1680.00

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

A Day at the Beach

I think tomorrow will be a day at the beach. It has been a busy week as I have been the "craftaholic" for vacation bible school. I was just watching Martha Stewart on the tele and she was showing the correct way to eat a lobster. Lobster is one of my favorite meals so I was just salivating watching her. I will be getting some to take with me to the beach on tomorrow. I can't wait. I will go to the grocer early tomorrow and buy two, come back and cook them and pack them up for a day at the beach. The only thing missing will be the bubbly. Bubbly and too much sun do not mix so it will be waterfor me. I plan to spend the day under my beach umbrella, reading and thinking about shoes! (Fall is coming.)

These are some lovely summer shoes. Click pic for more details! These are all by Forzieri! The website link is: Forzieri.com

$365.00

$315.00

$269.50

$439.00

$291.00

$363.00

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

Appalling

In the local newspaper yesterday, there was a photograph of a woman who had her feet propped up on a sofa- with her shoes on! Dreadful behaviour.

Her shoes were jewelled leather flip flops that she could easily have slipped off, but I suppose she probably wanted readers of the newspaper to see her new shoes.