Last summer, we had some torrential rains, and our downspouts were clogged with leaves. The water poured over the side of the rain gutter on the southeast corner of the house and made its way into an egress window and damaged the drywall and carpet in a basement bedroom. We made certain that the downspouts were clear after that, and I checked as recently as last month and they seemed clear.
On Saturday night, we had a thunderstorm and sure enough, the water was again pouring over the rain gutter on the southeast side of the house, so I alerted husband to come and get the ladder and the nifty, ratcheted downspout cleaner and help avert a disaster. Before he would go out, though, he insisted on finding and donning a certain 40 year old jean jacket. He says it is good for keeping the rain off. So are his other coats, but no, it had to be this one. I was frantic, and he wanted to be dressed for success! We cleared out the gutter in time. I suppose I should be grateful he risked life and limb on a metal ladder on the roof when it was raining and lightening, but honestly!
What article of clothing has or had special significance for you? Averted any disasters lately?
Trail Baboon 
Rise and Shine Baboons,
During the weekend it rained and rained here, especially on Saturday. The rain prompted me to drag out a project I have been circling for months and years. All the genealogy research my mother did, accompanied by 6 lifetimes of pictures (my son, me, my parents, my grandparents, several sets of great grandparents, and 2 sets of great great grandparents).
In all of this I found my mother’s graduation hat from 1969 when she somehow earn her Master’s of Education from Morningside College in Sioux City, Ia. While raising three children and caring for her sick husband, she somehow completed her BA in Education and her Masters. I think this must have been the one thing she could have for herself during this time.
Her parents visited the weekend of her graduation in the summer of ‘69. Grandpa did not have a suit, so before the ceremony Mom took him down to Bowers Clothing store where he found a black suit, On Sale, of course. He purchased it, then mom altered sleeves and pants hems for the big day on Saturday or Sunday. He dressed up for the ceremony then announced to all of us that he was to be buried in that suit. He was about 76 years old at that time. Eleven years later in January, 1980, at age 87 years he died, and he was buried in that black suit.
Mom’s mortarboard and her Iowa Teaching Certificate will go to my niece, a teacher in Iowa.
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I have special fondness for a sweater my daughter got me in Iceland, and an Aran sweater I got for myself in Dublin. In Junior High School, I remember not going anywhere unless I had a blue, floppy cotton hat, like the hat Carley Simon wore on the cover of one of her albums.
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I’d like to hear more about the nifty ratcheting downspout cleaner!
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It is about 2 feet long and one inch wide with ratcheted teeth.
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I’m not getting the ‘ratcheting teeth’ bit. So it’s not just the curved air nozzle, right? Hmmm, I’ll be going to Menards this week; I’ll look it up.
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You can get them at Menards
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It is flat and has teeth on both dides.
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so you push it through but when you pull it back up the leaves catch on the teeth that open up?
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It just pokes and loosens leaves and crud. You hold onto it and poke.
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I’m not into clothes very much, so I don’t have any significant clothing other than golf shirts I’ve bought from the “better” (aka, more famous) courses I’ve played. My favorite shirt is from Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Not only special because when I wear it I always think of that (Golf)heavenly week I played there, but also because it’s a nice color on me (teal green/blue), fits perfectly, and is comfortable and has lasted 7 years. It wasn’t cheap, I recall, but I’m willing to pay a lot for quality just because quality clothing seems so hard to find these days.
Chris in Owatonna
(Who used to have to climb ladders to clear downspouts too, but we installed Leaf Filter gutter guards, which seem to keep our gutters from clogging. It’s only been 3-4 years with them on, but so far, so good..)
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I will pass on the info about Leaf Filter. I want Lou to get these. At age 76 I think he should not risk crawling up to the roof to clear the eaves troughs.
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I’ve talked about my ‘ditch jacket’ before. And I’ve got a ‘ditch chair’ and just recently picked up a ‘Ditch Air compressor’ that seems to work and just needs a little TLC and also a cutting tool that seems to work when plugged in.
I wish I still had the Maynard Ferguson T-shirt I got in 9th grade. It wouldn’t fit anymore, just liked the image.
Beyond that I’m not too attached to my clothing.
Oh wait, maybe that crushed blue velvet tux jacket my brother wore to prom in 1974 or that the guys in the wedding party from my sister in 1973. Complete with huge black velvet bow tie. And the huge ruffles on the shirt!
That was pretty sweet!
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I hate buying clothes, so I’m one of those people who wears their clothes until they wear out. I do have that jumper/sweater that I’ve talked about before and I have a beautiful sweater that I bought in Ireland that I’m very fond of. My big heartbreak, clothing-wise, is the Otvala Mountain shirt from J Peterman. I’ve had many over the years and worn them all out …appears they won’t making it anymore. Bummer.
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E-Bay.
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I have a green cardigan sweater that was my grandfather’s. I don’t wear it often, but it’s still squirreled away in a closet. Also have a t-shirt from the first theater I was involved with – special because of that, and also because it was the “uniform” for the group of us that went to London with that theater. We had three plays we performed there – for one of the three the “extras” wore those shirts. Also came out for any group photos. I was probably Daughter’s size when it last fit – which doesn’t keep me from hanging onto it.
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I currently have a pair of jeans that have been relegated to gardening: great fit, two patches and counting, elastic waist, lightweight, not to baggy in the legs. Only thing that keeps them from being perfect it that there are no pockets. I could remedy this, and maybe I will now that I have time on my hands. (In the olden days, I wouldn’t have spent that much time on something so old…)
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I have a bunch of old Minnesota Folk Festival T-shirts that were given to all volunteers. I never wear them, though most of them probably still fit, but they’re really collectors items (at least to my mind they are), so I hang on to them.
During the summer I wear mostly linen. I love linen. Cool, loose fitting linen, wrinkly as hell, but who cares. I need to find some more linen tops as I have worn holes in the ones I have.
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i run across an old shirt i hung onto from hippy era and realize it’s 59 years old
i really do have underwear older than a lot of my kids friends
i love clothes
jackets pants shirts shoes hats even sox and underwear to a point top coats jackets rain coats winter cashmeres boots and then i got into it and i’ll bet now if i broke out a new one every day til i died i’d still have some left over and when it’s that plentiful it loses the urgency or soeacial pull. i love a sports coat and wear it til the season change then it disappears and i find another i live next time that season rolls around
i have i high end ditch jacket mentality that allows me to realize if i toast the jacket i’m wearing there is another i can replace it with
i have two of those old levi’s denim jackets from the 70’s but my taste in fit has changed , that and a weight gain of 15 lbs since 73 makes them too tight but i ask my kids if they might want em and no takers so far but we’ll see
i’m not throwing them out but i would like a bigger one for my gut
but i feel guilty buying anything specific because i have lots of other choices
gutters
easy to deal with these days
hire it or diy its easy
or call renee’s husband
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shirt is 50 not 59 years old
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What a relief, tim.
I have a hat from Finland that I received as a present from Monica Bergström, my Finnish pen pal, when I was thirteen years old. That would mean that I’ve had that hat 64 years. I also still have a perfectly fine swimsuit from back back when I was a competitive swimmer and diver more than sixty years ago. You know, one of those utterly devoid of any decorative flourishes, dark blue tank-top suits.
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I think I averted a disaster when I released a mouse from a trap recently. It was a mouse that was so enormously obese I was pretty sure it must be on the verge of giving birth. I think I got it out of the house just in time.
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Bless your heart, Linda. Hope you didn’t release them too close to your house.
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All the mice I apprehend are taken to the picnic area at Harriet Island and given their freedom.
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