The little heel that didn't wanna

I usually try to have a small project and a large project on the needles. The small project is usually socks, and of late, the larger project has been a sweater. My father's christmas gift is done, finito, except for the zipper, which i haven't purchased yet. and I'm guessing, that the length I need does not exist in the real world and there might be zipper surgery in my future. We'll see what the local Joann's has to offer. Photo after the click.
I have a plethora of sock yarn, and occasionally will follow a pattern, but i have weird skinny little feet and rather high arches, so my gauge and the gauge of a sock pattern don't always jive. and i like knitting the foot in stockinette...the better to fit in shoes, my dear. And i have knit a number of socks in my knitting lifetime, enough, that you'd think i'd know where my heel needs to begin and if i need gusset stitches etc. etc. but apparently that information is deleted every time I finish a sock. the sock you see before you...
got 5 heels before it was done. That's right, i knit a heel and ripped it out FIVE times before the darn thing fit properly. I knit it all by itself because i figured i'd have this problem (see, i kinda learn from my mistakes...but not really). yet i didn't write any of this information down. I'm relying on my sieve of a brain to keep it all for when i start the mate. Sigh.

PS. started mom's christmas present. i don't think i'll have it done by dec. 1, which was my goal, but i'm thinking it'll be done by christmas (fingers crossed).