So, with that in mind, I rushed to get the rain barrel in service. I'd put off drilling holes in the beautiful new barrel and the aluminum downspout out of fear of messing them up forever. I got this neat kit with everything I needed to get it done, except courage.
The old barrel was shoved aside as being too ugly to use and probably a dumb idea for a support. Sometimes, I have to think these things through for a couple of months before slowly getting into action. The old wash tub rain catcher was overflowing, so I dipped some of the water out of it to give the barrel enough weight that today's strong winds didn't budge it.
That should put an end to those nightly showers. Also questions about why I had a barrel in the living room.