Shannon, I'm so sorry about all these trials and tribulations. As you know, I share some similar issues with you. I have a torn meniscus in my knee, plus I have a bunion that will probably need surgery in the next couple of years as well as a recently diagnosed case of plantars fasciitis that is affecting my arch more than my heel.

The Clarks are lovely, and I'm glad you'll be able to swap out the Mephistos for a different style. Do they have a wider or narrower footbed than Birks? I'd like to get a pair of one or the other at some point. Right now, I need a lot of lateral support, so I'm finding sneakers to be my shoe of choice most of the time, but, since I work from home, that's not presenting too much of a problem.

I've ordered the New Balance Classic sneaks below from Zappos. I guess I'm going to try out the Sneaker Chic look, which actually can work with my style. Adrienne, the blogger who Inge profiled this past week, has a post with some ideas I can work with, at least for the time being: http://www.therichlifeonabudge.....-chic.html. She is both taller and slimmer than I am, but I'm going to see what I can do.

I've also got a couple pair of Alegria shoes. They're in the what I call "ugly or funky" shoe category, but, boy, are they comfortable. Wide toebox, great arch support, and good heel support. Some of their sandals are kind of cute. Kirsten from http://www.barkingdogshoes.com/ profiles their shoes from time to time. The one she recently did, the Carina, is one which I have and really like.

There seem to be more than a few of us looking for solutions. As Angie says, you're not alone. Let's keep sharing what we find!

I forgot: I also got these gladiator sandals, which I'm almost positive I'm going to keep. I think they look even better in person. They seem very comfortable, and the pewter goes with everything. One note: if you order a wide width, the sole is all black. http://vip.zappos.com/softwalk.....ed-leather