RevGalBlogPals Friday Five: Essentials Edition

Kathrynzj has posted

I'm heading from unseasonably warm temperatures and no snow to a place of GREAT SNOW. Sadly, for reasons that don't need to be boringly laid out here, I am sans decent winter boots at the moment so I need to find some... NOW!

In the meantime I am shaking my head at myself. How could I possibly be without one of the key essentials for living in my environment?

Every area is different. What are the 5 key essentials needed for where you live?

And bonus - what have folks looked twice at you for because you wore it out of place.

As one who has recently moved from cold to warm, and from an area of ‘broad church’ to ‘high church’ in my Episcopal tradition, I have had a rather momentous change in wardrobe over the past year and a half.

1.      Sandals:  Good everyday sandals that can be both professional and comfortable.  First of all, since 1979 my feet have only known fresh air for a short while in CA.  So my feet are not used to wearing sandals period.  And here in TX, sandals are a year around item in the stores, but they are REALLY girly.  Size 11’s aren’t girly…period!  So I end up buying Teva’s on line.  Grrrr.

2.      Black clerics:  I have not always worn clerics in my parishes in the north and east.  And when I have, I have worn blue, white, grey and pink.  But folks down here do not recognize that such colors as ‘legal’.  And if clerics are supposed to be a sign, colored ones don’t seem to speak.  So I decided to buy 2 tropical clergy shirts when I moved here that can be worn with the hem out.  They are like guayaba shirts and are really light and comfortable.  I tried wearing a ‘dicky/janie’ but it was waaaay too hot.

3.      Sleeveless:  I have never been fond of sleeveless attire.  After last year’s summer, I am rethinking that.

4.      Windshield wipers:  I am beginning to remember to change my windshield wipers in September.  We don’t use wipers in the summer—last year we did not have rain for 3 months.  The only use in the summer was to wash the dust and soot off.  But the summer heat destroys wiper blades.  So I will buy cheap ones and change them each fall when the rains return.

5.      Soaker hoses:  We have to water our lawns here.  For those in upstate NY it is not often that one has to do that.  But here we have to water more than our lawns.  We have to water the foundations of our houses so that the slab foundations will not crack.

Bonus:  Boots:  Last winter I went to the Ft. Worth Stock Show, an ancient and venerable tradition in Ft. Worth.  It was cold and very wet so I decided to wear my Bean boots.  Perfect for walking around in cattle barns, right?  Nope.  They weren’t cowboy boots and I really got pegged as an ouslander.