JeffB - I have been improving for several months but it still catches me off guard when the ankle stops working.  I walked through Costco just to explore the store.  I was wearing a new pair of boots with 4" stiletto heels that I thought would be a safe bet.  I got halfway through the store and my ankle gave out and I had to awkwardly make my way back to my car.   <--these boots As my 102 year old aunt used to say, "Quality work takes time".  I do have an incentive in that I have a lot of heels that I love to wear.  However, I have been buying boots with flat heels just so I can go out wearing boots. Last night I played in a jam at the Old Milford Opry where I wore a pair of knee high suede boots with 4" bock heels.  I play there almost every week and I always wear some kind of boots (only knee high so far, some with flat heels, some block, but some stilettos) and the folks have come to expect me to be wearing boots.  Imagine the setting, a bunch of old guys in flannel shirts with guitars, banjos, and fiddles (not quite Deliverance) and me with a sweatband, knit top, jeans, and boots.  I also play music that most of these folks have never heard before so I'm surprised at the warm welcome I receive, but they really are great folks. Thanks for the kind thougts.