As Kermit said ...

... it's not easy being green! Well, most of the time it isn't so hard. I've had many years of practice. Back in January I decreed 2012 my buy nothing year and so far it has gone well. While I have bought a few tangible items (two books including this one, one pair of shoes, and two vintage skirts) I've also been really conscious about not buying anything unnecessary or wasteful. My partner's birthday is coming up soon, so I asked him what gift he'd like. He couldn't think of anything he needed or wanted (we're both pretty frugal) but he damaged the strap on his newish watch a couple of months ago so I offered to get it fixed for him.

Well – what an adventure! At the first place I visited, they were helpful but said they didn't have a suitable strap, so if I could buy one direct from the watch manufacturer they'd be able to fit it for me. Fair enough. The second place I tried warned me off even trying to get a replacement strap from the manufacturer, as they said they'd had bad experiences (long waits and overcharging) with them in the past. The third place I went (ironically, the store the watch was originally purchased from) just flat out said they didn't do replacement straps. By this stage I was feeling pretty dejected. Were we really going to end up discarding a perfectly good watch, just because the strap was slightly damaged? At the fourth place I went, the guy commented what a nice strap it was, and that it would be a waste to have to throw it out. Then, to my delight – he repaired it! On the spot. It took about three minutes and is as good as new. I'm really glad I persevered, but can see why less (obsessively) green people might not.

Anyway, the laser engraving dude at Westfield Belconnen is my hero! It was refreshing to find someone willing to help me in my quest to make do and mend.