Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Mending - always mending

I have a friend who says things like "That needs mending" or the "dog needs walking" - I don't know where that sort of idiom originates - the use of the gerund instead of the passive infinitive (ie., 'that needs to be mended' - 'the dog needs to be walked') - I know I'm a linguistic geek...

...but that's what I thought of as I was mending my shoes...

...Scout and I can wear the same size shoes now - we found this out when I gave him an old pair of my shoes to wear while mowing - not these - some proper lace up ones -- and although I think crocs are pretty hideous - I do own a pair because they are perfect for slipping on to walk the dog (when he needs walking - haha) - and for working in the garden for their hose-ability...

...anyhooo - Scout wore my crocs (I know they're not really crocs - but some off-brand - still...) and broke them - how did that happen??? - and now they need mending...

...so of course I mended them - that funny little curved needle came in very handy here...

...as good as new...

I never wear them with the strap at the back - obviously Scout does or it wouldn't have broken - I think they're still too big for him and his foot sliding out of the shoe is what broke the strap - he had his own pair of crocs - but he left them at one of our (many) stops on the river and there was no way to go back and look for them - we are so sorry about our inadvertant littering - I guess we failed at 'Leave No Trace' this time...

5 comments:

  1. My brother and I were just talking about how we always lose shoes if we take them with us when we go on the river.

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  2. i think you're excused a few time for inadvertent littering....you've saved more from the landfill than you ever left laying on the riverbank, i'm sure....besides - some lucky canoeist might have gotten a surprise when they stopped at the same lovely spot!

    love, k

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  3. "the use of the gerund instead of the passive infinitive". I lived in Northern Ireland for 2 years and heard this all the time. When I came back to Canada it took me a little while to get out of that habit.

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  4. Anonymous1:58 PM

    How did it hold up using thread through the plastic?
    I admire how well you mend things. It makes me realize how much we now just rely on buying something new when an item breaks, but really we should just fix it! :)

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  5. and you, always fixin' whatever needs fixin' . . .

    you make me smile. :)

    my little guy is forever leaving his shoes odd places . . .

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