A bit of yearly review.

In the town where I work, there’s a shoe repair man. He’s about 80 some years old and all hunched over from years working at his bench. He’s a bit crotchety, too. He reminds me an awful lot of Pinocchio’s dad…what’s his name. Giseppe? Gipetto? Gelato? Anyway, you get the idea.

Last week, I took my clogs to Al to be repaired. The ones with the split right down the center. He braced the seam with a strip of leather from the inside and sewed the seam shut. It’s not the steadiest or straightest sewing I’ve ever seen, but, it saved my clogs for a while longer, I saved myself a few dollars and I was inspired.

I dug an old pair of hubs shoes out of the back of his closet and took those in next. I am happy to report the things have new soles and insoles and look almost new. Thing is, hubs is really hard on his shoes and he needs shoes that are good, solid, comfortable as he is on his feet all day. All day. Man never sits down, I swear. We have been looking for replacement shoes for a while but haven’t found anything he liked as well and of course, they no longer make this style. So, this was a happy solution until we do find the next pair. Now, I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t cheap to do all this repair ~ almost as much as a new pair of shoes. But, we have not put the old ones in the landfill and he’s good for the winter at least.

Something that has started to gnaw at me…the things we throw away and never wonder what will become of that item. One of the things that really bothers me is when I see a big rubber garbage can all torn up for some reason or another and it’s getting thrown out. Now I don’t have a solution, mind you, but it bothers me that the big rubber garbage can is in the landfill. It’s the same reason why I hang on to my T*ware that hubs has melted in the microwave. I can’t stand the idea of them in the landfill for generations. Remember all those diaper pails? Where are they now? I mean, I didn’t keep mine, did you?

In the past I’ve told you that I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions but do a birthday review. I’m going to try to be more deliberate with what I purchase and what I toss out. I have a lot of tossing to do around here but I will try to repurpose before I do. I’m going to be a better citizen of the world, of the universe even…somebody’s got to, so why not me. In fact, why not all of us?