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...