Pickles by Brian Crane for December 04, 2023

It’s for when he gets her a new vacuum.

Does the furnace take a different size, because it gained weight?

Practical gifts sometimes are the best.

I IMMEDIATELY knew what Opal was talking about as I just changed ours. That’s a HUGE filter for a large HVAC system. Is their house that big? Much more common size would be 16×20×1, or 14×20×1. I needed a new filter, and our local store was out. A neighbor tossed one that required minimal clearing with an air compressor. But it was 16×24×1, so I cut off 4 inches, and taped it all back together. And filters have gotten REALLY expensive. Thanks Joe Biden. So will Earl get Opal a lint brush or something such?

He’d probably prefer a 2 door sports car, but I guess the filter will do.

We’ve been touring homes lately, ramping up to a probable move into town. I know what size our furnace filter is because I remember it. But most places I’ve looked at have a latched cover for the filter… and a very plainly written filter size specification right on the cover.

WOW, I gotta change mine!

I’m sorry to say I knew right away that she was talking about furnace filters. And, yeah, I gotta change my filter too!

When you’re Hot you’re Hot

The Christmas we got engaged, I gave my fiancée a gallon of anti-freeze among other gifts. She still married me.

best investment i made with my house is to get reusable furnace filters good for 10 years. I got a set of 2 merv 13 filters so one can be cleaned while the other is in place. yes they are like $40 + a filter but with 10 years of not spending $5 or so per month on a filter the saveings are worth it.

It’s our 25th anniversary today, got married back in ‘98 just a few days after turning 18 (yes my 43rd birthday was last week) It doesn’t feel like a quarter of a century has gone by! I think my husband would prefer something other than furnace filters for a gift lol

Wow, I would be underwhelmed to the max.

Are the furnace filters Opal’s way of “turning up the heat”? :D

That was the first thing I thought of when I read those dimensions.

Romance is deader than a door nail in that house.

Wowwwww … Opal is walking Roscoe .

At their age, get what you need and/or can eat. You probably have everything else.

The gift that keeps on TAKING (particulates out of the air).

And Earl got her a case of Depends

We took a picture of our filters when we first started buying them so that we made sure that we got the right size…

I hope Earl gets her a new pot holder.

I knew what it was! Go, me!If Earl lived alone and couldn’t afford one, it would be a good gift. But, because Pearl lives there, too, and will benefit from it, it’s a terrible gift. It would be like him getting her some dish soap.

It’s the thought that counts. She’s just not thinking.

I have two kinds of filters: MERV 13s which are my everyday filters and activated charcoal for when there’s a wildfire.

Thanks for the reminder, Opal.

Mine let me know when it is time to change them. I get a report on my phone

Surprised she could even REMEMBER that.!!!

Men are easy. Present it with the promise of a pan of brownies when he actually changes the filter. A little ice cream when he disposes of the old filter.

Was I the only one to noticed it was a filter size before the punch line? mine are 20X20X1.

Only Opal would think of such a unique gift to give!

Get him a Glock 9mm.

I immediately knew what it was the minute I read 20 × 30 × 1 in the second panel! That’s our size.

Mine’s a FOUR by twenty by twenty! (sniffs)

I’m embarrassed that I knew exactly what she was referring to in the second panel.

I might as well follow Opals example. My husband doesn’t drink or play golf. If he wants something then he will go ahead and get it. Thinking about a camera drone but don’t want to spend a lot of money on something he will play with for 30 minutes and then give away. (Sigh).

Weird.. that is exactly what I’m getting for my wife, different size though, she’s a 4x

I caught heck for giving my wife a food processor for Christmas one year. After that, I never got her anything “practical”.

After that kind of gift opal deserves a mop

Actually I’ll take the 20×30.

Cool, now I have something else to add to my XMas list!!

For the man who has everything.

Opal’s response to Earl’s comment, “Just because there’s snow on the roof doesn’t mean there’s not fire in the furnace!”.

Is it a good/bad sign that I thought Furnace filter as soon as I saw those dimensions? Does that automatically make me a Plugger?

Be still my beating thermostat.

Can’t you just look on the furnace to see the size? (Or check the current filter?)

JUST MY SIZE! Love them!

Earl will be getting Opal a dustbuster.

I prefer the six inchers, myself. A daughter bought her adult kids LEGO® Advent Calendars … very pricey.

BEST WIFE EVER!!

Ha! Earl has no filter.

Ah! I knew she was headed there right away! (cuz mine is a 20×25×1…lol!!)

Real men use a 20 × 25 × 4 HEPA.

20 × 24 × 1 is our size & it’s hard to find

What, your filter or your wife?

He should buy her a set of kitchen towels.

When you’ve been married too long . . .

Mines a 16×25×4. Did I win?