This March I will be participating in the mont
h-long Slice of Life Challenge. Each day I will be posting a ‘slice’ from my life. This year I am using Natalie Goldberg’s book Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir to provide my sparks for memoir writing. Each post will be a quick write using one of Natalie’s exercises to practice the skill of noticing and remembering.
What have you tried to repair? Go.
I realized I really haven’t had to repair much in my life (and clearly am not very successful). Perhaps that’s a result of our ‘throw-away’ society and the availability of inexpensive electronics and other products. Easier to toss things out and buy a new one. I bet if I asked this question of my parents or grandparents they would have many more memories and experiences. HAVE YOU TRIED TO REPAIR ANYTHING LATELY?
litcoachlady 
I have repaired my toilet and rewired the light at my front door (is that a repair?). In my attempt to clean one drawer/cabinet a week I found several old cell phones. I’m not sure they can be repaired or what to do with them- I brought them in and let one of my students take them apart because he loves figuring out how things work. Repurposed repair?
Oh yeah, I did fix a leaky toilet once. Thanks for that ego boost, Jen. What a great idea for old cell phones!! I think that counts as a ‘repair’ 🙂
Ha- I consider sewing in a button repair, soo what do I know? I am enjoying the prompts and your responses, especially as you “talk back” to your notebook.
We do try to repair what we can, but we have definitely become a throw-away society. It especially drives my husband crazy. He constantly saves old things “for parts” in case he needs them. I can’t remember the last thing he fixed!
That’s too funny!! I can picture that.
I relate to this-I have an old, broken laptop that sits in my closet. It has all my documents / pictures / videos from high school and college on it. I can’t bring myself to get rid of it, but I also can’t bring myself to spend the money necessary to repair it! I just bought a new laptop instead. This got me thinking- maybe I should at least look at repair costs? Baby steps 🙂
Apparently they can ‘slave’ the hard drive sometimes. Worth a try before you throw it away. Just not sure how much it costs.
No I’m not very good at repair, beyond sewing repairs or patching up torn books and semi broken racket handles! I hate to throw stuff out, but like you I have no clue when it comes to technical things and neither does my husband. Fortunately he can repair all sorts of maintenance issues to do with plumbing and electrical stuff, blocked toilet? Over to him!!
Paula, I must admit that I have not tried to repair many things – I guess I am part of that throw-away society. But Ralph helped me glue a lovely swan figurine together that a neighbor broke while watering plants when we were away. There were about five pieces, and I could not part with it – it had belonged to my grandmother. I think Ralph but four different kinds of glue – I patiently held pieces until they stuck together and then added another piece. I still have it.
Oooh I’m sorry the figurine broke and I hope your repair holds the pieces and looks ok for you. It sounds precious!
It’s interesting to consider how much less experience we have repairing than prior generations. You have my mind churning over possibilities. What have I repaired lately? I know there’s such a sense of accomplishment when you fix or repair something–but I still can’t recall the last thing I repaired. I love how you described your husband as a “happy novice.” Good luck with that computer–If you figure out a repair shop, let me know. I have at least two old laptops gathering dust.
Yes, I’ll let you know. Probably take it to the Apple store sometime but I’m sure we are talking $$$$
What a great question! I’m going to have to reflect on this in my notebook!
The last thing I repaired was my favorite pair of black leggings. They had a little split on the seam and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing them. I actually was able to locate my “sewing box” and stitch them up. Mentioned you in my post today, Paula. The book by Natalie Goldberg arrived. Can’t wait to read it!
Finding the sewing box would be a good first step for me! Thanks for the mention!!