Winter coat saga

I was in Rochester for Thanksgiving, when my mom asked, "Did you ever get the zipper fixed on your winter coat?"

I had no idea what she was talking about, as I hadn't had my winter coat out of the closet yet. After thinking about it, I realized that she was referring to my fabulous green jacket, a down ski parka I got from Freecycle a couple of years ago. I vaguely remembered that the zipper had broken late last winter.

When I got back home, I checked it out, and saw that the very first tooth on the left side of the zipper was bent, preventing the zipper pull from doing its job.

After trying to bend the wayward plastic tooth back into position, I got the bright idea of just snipping it off. This worked very well. The zipper closed, and it was great until I started moving around. The zipper promptly split from the bottom.

This would not do, with a Boston winter coming on.

So, being frugal (or so I thought) and always preferring to repair rather than replace, I took the jacket to a local seamstress. She informed me she wouldn't take the old zipper out, explaining that the feathers from the jacket would get all over the shop. I had my doubts, but she knows sewing and I don't, so I took her at her word. She said she could "shave off" the teeth of the old zipper and sew a new zipper on, probably for $30 or so.

Oh, and I had to go get the replacement zipper, since she didn't have time.

I cheerfully took down the name of the tailor supply store in Dorchester, and fully intended to get there, find a zipper (hopefully for a reasonable price) and bring the zipper and jacket back to the seamstress, who would shave the old zipper and sew on the new.

What actually happened was that I drove around with the jacket in the van for at least two weeks before I finally faced facts: I wasn't about to go to Dorchester, buy a new zipper, bring everything back to the seamstress and pay half the cost of a new jacket for the privilege.

I reluctantly decided to start looking for a new coat, and made a cursory investigation at BJ's, but didn't find anything I liked. I wanted a longer coat than a parka, preferably black, and absolutely needed a hood. BJ's had nothing of the sort.

I kind of brushed it off, until I heard the weather forecast a few days ago, which promised very cold temperatures this week. I put a shopping trip to Marshall's in my calendar, and off I went yesterday.

I found only one coat there I liked, but it turned out to be perfect. Car-coat length, black, down, with a wonderfully warm hood with (faux) fur trim. I feel like an Eskimo princess with all that fur around my face. It's a wonderfully cozy coat, and I drove directly from Marshall's to a clothing drop-off bin and sent my Freecycle green parka off to someone else, who hopefully will be able to find a way to keep it closed, and enjoy its warm wonderfulness this winter.