A Tale About A Clock and FBM

 Hi Dear Folk,

I am taking a cosmopolitan respite or my neurons will go into meltdown.  So I'm going to tell you a tale about a clock and FBM (Facebook Marketplace.)  

Once upon a time a lady saw a very pretty clock on FBM and decided that it might be a nice addition to her clock collection that had languished for many a year.  A price was negotiated and an agreed price set.  The clock in question that caught her attention was a Citizen clock, a good make, battery run but quite eye catching.  See said clock in question.

Pendulum, etched glass and quite appealing.

I could see that the person selling the clock was quite young, early twenties and I thought maybe she was selling it for her grandfather, possibly it had been a retirement clock, it seemed the type of clock you'd receive as a retirement clock, in the day.

We get the address give a time of arrival, I Google the address, I know it's in a pretty upscale area, Mr. B. drives and off we go, said cash in pocketbook (handbag.)  It's almost an hours drive but with the help of that wonderful technology GPS we find it quite easily.  Not a big thing these days, it's an event to go out.

Sharp little turn into the drive out in the country, but with houses around.  Typical old Pennsylvania stone house, with a big deep front porch.  Some barn buildings at the end of the drive and just a very nice house.  We go up on the porch and I see a package about the right size, but it turns out to be an old pair of sneakers in a box.  Nothing on the porch.  In this time of Covid, most things are contactless pickup and leave the money under the doormat.  

I walk up onto the porch and knock on the front door.  Big old heavy door knocker, where you know you will be heard.  A few minutes go by and a man comes to the door, he looks at me like who in the earth are you?  I said the address and the name of the contact person and he said, "Yes that's right." I said "I'm here to pick the clock up."

He turns shuts the door and I'm left standing there, wandering what to do.  A few minutes later a lady comes to the door, the man and woman were approximately both in their mid fifties and I guessed were probably the girl's parents.  She has the clock in her hands, hands me the clock, not packaged or anything, I give her the cash, she closes the door.

Mr. B. had been standing on the path between the front door and the car.  He said well we need to take the pendulum off and that's when I notice the clock had not been running because it was set to the same time as the photos on FBM, so I thought let me check the batteries and they were absolutely corroded, so I knew the clock had not been running for a while.

We got in the car and I said to Mr. B.  I don't want the clock if it's not running, because the girl said it had been running.  I get out of the car with the clock, knock on the front door, Bang, Bang, Bang, it was a very rewarding door knocker.  The man comes to the door again.  I say, the batteries are all corroded and I would like my money back please.  He takes the clock, shuts the door and I am left there for an age.  Back comes the woman with my money and the clock.

"Here," she says "Take the money and take the clock."  I said no "I just want the money."  She said you wanted the clock didn't you?"  I said "Yes"  "Then take the clock, I don't want the clock, take the clock."  So I took the clock.

It was all most bizarre, I was trying to work out a number of scenarios as to how the daughter came to be selling the clock, which I feel was her parent's clock.  None of them were a totally satisfying answer.  

When we got home Mr. B. took out the old batteries cleaned the area and put in new batteries and it's been running like a top ever since and I do like it.

Unbelievably the clock is still up for sale on FBM, they have never taken it off.  I never sent any messages to the girl, she never sent any to me and that's where I left it, the least said the better.

And that's my peculiar tale.

I have another FBM tale, but it is not to do with the purchase just the journey.

My concluding remarks to you all are breath deeply, have a lovely cup of tea and stay calm, as we Brits say.

Christine

PS:  Thank you for all the lovely comments left about my Mum's cookbook.  I will be revisiting that.

Mazda Miata Engine Swap, Honda K Motor

Dear Folk,

The Boys creation.  My, he has put some work into this.  Last thing was adding a roll bar, which made mum and dad happy.  He has a clutch problem to sort, but I know he will.  He is totally self taught.  Long conversations with his dad and I do wish his grandfather had known him, coming from that aircraft engineer background.

He added the front bump to cover the bigger engine.

All the dash-board and door panels have been covered in kid leather, he did all that.

New Honda engine.

Christine

Day 28 of Social Distancing

Hi Dear Folk,

I was watching a movie, they're driving along Route 66 and stop off at a Diner and order a cheese burger and fries.  Who would have thought that just such a simple picture would conjure up such longing.  The thought of ones big escape and the simplicity of just eating at a Diner, yes we all took that for granted, who could have pictured this day, except for on a movie.  All the brave health workers and volunteers brings a tear to your eye.  I hope they get all the protective gear they need.

I made some face masks the other day and will make some more.  You are meant to have at least two one in the wash and one out.  I posted my pictures on Instagram and have linked the video below for the pattern that I used.  I had rather a thick fabric so I hand sewed the side pleats in.  Used a coffee filter in the pocket and folded up foil for the nose piece, which works well.  Mr. B. tried it out today and he says he can hardly breath in it, so I guess it is not porous, which is what you want.

Going back to my love of words.  The word Influenza sounds like the word Influence, and is from the Italian, where it derived from the Medieval Latin word influentia.  People attributed the disease to the influence of the stars.

With all this time at home I want to increase my skills.  One is I want to relearn knitting, as you know I crochet and absolutely love it, but have thought that I would love to learn to knit.  The way I was taught was the English way of knitting, but since I've got to relearn, I am going to train my fingers to knit the Continental way, which I think will be easier for me, as I already hold my yarn for crochet on my left index finger and I've heard it's quicker, not that that's a problem with all the time we have on our hands.

The other thing I want to master is my camera.  I do have a really nice one Mr. B. treated me to a Sony 6000 mirrorless, which even my son has taken on some jobs he's shot.  The thing is you are not using it to its full potential if you don't spend the time to learn how to use it.  Also since I got my iPhone I've become rather lazy camera wise and I never was before.

So two things I'm going to work on.  Plus I have several crochet projects on the go.  Two shawls in different colour yarns and a capelet pattern I want to try.  Plus my UFO (unfinished object) or PHD (projects half done) a felted hat I never finished from last winter, that's on the back burner though.  Also have a crochet bag I've finished and need to line.

I am going to post the video on how to breath if you catch the Covid-19 virus, comes from Queen's Hospital, Romford, UK.  You never know you may need it and it could help save your life.  J.K. Rowling used this technique and it helped her.

Keep well.

Christine

Part 3 Little Engine Used to Churn Ice Cream

This engine was built by the women of the "Rosie the Riveter" group in Chicago, during WWII at the International Harvester Plant.  It has no brass or copper since they were all used for munitions for the war effort.

It was shipped to Sough Georgia, where it pumped water for more than fifty years.

The timber is central Florida swamp wood.  Wheels from an old saw mill, and churns from white Mountain, New Hampshire.

Chrstine

Part 2 Little Engines Used on Farms, Husking Corn

Here is a different engine connected via a belt to a corn husking machine.  They all have their own sound.

Christine

Part 1 Little Engines Used on Pennsylvania Farms

I have just figured out how to download video from my new camera, it seems that Apple is not totally compatible with it.  On my old Sony camera the videos just automatically downloaded with my photos into Apple photo.

This is one of the little engines we saw at the Kutztown Folk Festival, you connect them with a belt and they will run anything.  Churn your ice-cream, husk corn, run you washing machine, grind your wheat to make flour.

I love the consistent little chugging sound.

Christine

Ran Into An Old Freind

Hi Dear Folk,

Yesterday while visiting the optician for a check up and to order a new pair of glasses, I thought I'd get it all in before I do not have health coverage anymore.  I ran into an old friend who I had not seen in at least fifteen years, because they had moved to Alabama and we did not keep in touch with them.

Regina had brought her mum in for a checkup and recognized me, or maybe recognized my voice and when she said her name of course I remembered her.  Her son Timothy and my son used to play together.  They have decided to move back to Pennsylvania as both Brad and Regina's mothers are getting older and they want to be around to help them.

So I asked how was Timothy, he was about three years older then Rob, and she said that he died three years ago.  I asked if it was an illness or a tragedy and she said a tragedy and didn't elaborate and I didn't ask.  It's just been weighing on my mind.  Just so sad.  Plus the tragic shootings last week and all those young faces.

On a happier note we said we would get together and we had a lovely long chat.

My son urged me on to get a new camera, truth be I didn't need too much pushing so I settled on an a6000 Sony with the new lens that just came out for it 18-135 mm.  I already had a Sony so some features are similar but there is a lot to learn.

I treated myself to this camera then Mr. B. came to me with a surprise of, half towards the camera, his gift to me.  I will put it towards my trip to the UK.

Here are some of the photos I took with my new camera.  We will keep my old camera in the family as I always liked it.  At eight years old you would not get too much for it.

Saturday morning was bright and sunny so we headed over to our local park.

This tree, so gnarled and a wonderful shape as if it came right out of a fairy story.

After this Mr. B. and I went over to Jem's for lunch, a fifties retro diner in a small strip mall shopping area, it's been a family business there for a very long time.  The usual comfort diner food.  I had a cheese steak Zep with salami, American and provolone cheese, onions and tomatoes, a little different from the usual and Mr. B. had French toast and a side of bacon, he always gets a side of bacon.

On to a little thrifting, small silver and amber necklace $7.99, very dainty and pretty, lovely eighties style mohair jumper and a French bowl which I knew was old and turned out to be late 1800's.

Later in the evening it snowed.  I was a bit concerned about the snow as Rob went to Cape Ann for the weekend, but the next day it all melted away.  He said he had trouble getting out onto the main roads, because Tierney lives down many side roads, but once on the main highways they were all dry.

The Boy said they went for a beautiful walk on Sunday morning.  It was a very heavy wet snow while it lasted, so a dense coating on everything, and of course it's always colder up there in MA than PA where we are.

Rob bought us back a cannoli each from the famous Mike's Pastry in Boston.  I must say I think it was the best cannoli I've ever had.

The French bowl.  Before I even picked it up and turned it over I knew it was French by the shape.  When I was sixteen I visited France with a friend of my mother's, Renee, visiting from the USA, but her parents and all her family were from France.  Originally they moved to Montreal, Canada then moved down to Pennsylvania, which is how I landed up in Pennsylvania, but that's another story.

Renee wanted to visit her uncle who lived in Paris, while over in England and I had a current passport and was able to go over with her.  I remember that every morning we would pop down to the local bakers and buy fresh croissants and her old uncle Gab would brew up a fresh pot of strong coffee, which he would serve in a bowl the same shape as the one above, with heavy cream and we would dunk our croissants in.  Not sure if this is a French tradition but that's what he did and we did.  It was delicious.

Christine

Camera Shopping and Lunch

Hi Dear Folk,

Where has the week gone? I don't know and here we are at Friday which is a sunny cold day here.  Reaching back a week to last Saturday The Boy and I went out to look at cameras for me.  Rob said "mum you really need a new camera"  mine is about ten years old, a nice one at the time, but technology moves on.  He had looked at two online that he thought I might like, but we wanted to actually see and hold the models.  Very glad we did, because one I thought was too small and the other too big, so I have settled on a mirror-less camera with lens.  There are so few actual camera stores left, we went to Cardinal's in the mall, everything is online now, but that does have it's tactile limitations.

Sony A6000 with a Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens 

Here's Rob looking up some camera specs on his phone.

I said I'd treat Rob to lunch, here we are together.  I had a lamb burger, in a brioche roll, Rob had a chicken salad sandwich.  He treated us to drinks, his was a cider and I had a pomegranate shandy from Chippewa Falls, Leinenkugel's very good.  I'm going to get some from a beer distributor.

Taking the moment with my boy is what it's about.

Have a great weekend,
Christine

Mr's Magic

Hi Dear Folk,

We are having a lovely long sunny autumn.  With everything that has been going on I have not got out and really enjoyed it as I should, at least a walk in the park, but such is life.  Today though is windy and a sharp frost tonight, so that may be the end of it.

Mr. B. worked his magic on this old record keeper that I bought off eBay, cleaning up the metal and polishing the wood.  He is very good at taking old furniture that looks dull and lifeless and making the wood live again.  He has done this with several pieces in our house over the years.

I am going to use this for another journal.

Rob has always been interested in bikes right from when we bought his first teenage bike he has worked on them and added parts to make them better.  A few months back he bought a second hand bike which would have cost several thousand dollars originally, and has since then been doing it up and adding his stamp on it.

Parts for this bike seem not to be found in all of the USA, so are coming in from all over the world.  Here is something that came in from New Zealand, and another part from Finland.  In fact the part that came in from Finland was hand made by this man, for this particular part that Rob wanted to replace.  A long correspondence back and forward was held on this.  He had had the same problem on his bike and had made two, one of which he sold to Rob.

Rob said the expense of buying bike parts, in ratio, is like buying parts to a Bugatti.

Christine

Favourite Gadgets

 Hi Dear Folk,

One of my favorite little tools to use in the kitchen is this.  My friend gave it to me because she had never used it, it was a 1980's wedding present.  The colour of the time cream and brown.  It's just the right size for a dinner for three or four.

I made this on a Saturday. Mr. B. got out of work early and we went over to a new shopping, restaurant and apartment complex, they have built on an old golf course. It's been there several years but we had yet to visit, even though just a few miles down the road. There is a Wegman's there too, my big splurge a $0.99 box of Stash Acai Berry Tea on clearance, which is very good and wish I had bought more.  Mr. B. treated me to a chai latte and coconut macaroons, just for me, he hates coconut.  I found a take out Indian Restaurant called Choolaah, it has these giant kettles which I assume are full of curry, you can sit and eat there it has seats in and outside.  Will try it out another time.  Have to go with Tierney and The Boy, because Mr. B. does not like curry.

It was nice to come home to the smell of a cooked dinner.

My intense little girl.  I have never known a cat who can so stare you out, I know she's working on her mind communication skills.  I like this photo, her little paws are perched right on the very corner.

Christine

Mission Accomplished

Hi Dear Folk,

Mission accomplished in the kitchen.  Lasagna made, peeled and froze the apples and pears, that Mr. B. picked up and made a Jewish apple cake.  Our family go to cake, always nice and moist with the apples and cinnamon.

This Sunbeam mixer is as old as Mr. B. 1956, 61 years old, and works beautifully.  I do have another Sunbeam mixer that was a wedding present 1981, 36 years old.  I like the sputnik type look to this one.  The early eighties colors were cream and brown.

Two frozen bags of apples and one of pears.  That will be nice to come at in the winter.

Christine

Mountain Bike Mounted on a Miata

Hi Dear Folk,

I looked out of my Simla window one day to see my shepherds hook in the middle of my lawn, with something red hanging from it, I thought what in the earth is that?  It was Rob using my hook to hang his mount on while spray painting it in red.  It was sprayed with quite a few coats.  I said there better not be red paint spray on my hook.

The Boy has been working on this project, how to carry his mountain bike on his Miata.  First of all he bought a rack off eBay, but didn't like that arrangement, so sold that and came up with this idea.  The red and blue handle which he has bolted into the back of his car.  He takes the front wheel off his bike and mounts it through the front fork.

The back wheel is held down with a suction cup mounted on the trunk.

He's pretty happy to try out his new camel back hydro pack and riding shorts, which arrived from where else but Amazon,  and off  he goes with his whole new ensemble, mountain biking.

Christy

Tins and Things

Hi Dear Folk,

Mr.B, sometimes take a drive out a little further into the country, although every where there seems to be building going on so hard to totally qualify it as country, but it used to be and it's further out from Philly.  We have four fav thrifts and book shops that we hit at the same time.  Followed by a Wendy's $0.50 cent ice-cream, yes we are big spenders.

I love to collect a little something different in the cuisine area and this slotted into that spot.  They have to be made in some country other than China, unless authentically Chinese.  This fit into that criteria, made in the USA.

What do you think it was used for?  Almost reminds me of an old English blancmange shape, but they were usually glass, and you could not actually stand this.  Any ideas?  Please do offer them.  The bottom pulls away from the top as you can see has a handle on the top and the bottom.

An English tin with hinges.  Have you noticed a lot of tins are not hinged anymore, except small mint tins.

This crochet pattern caught my eye and it has a very simple construction.

Christy.

Old Record Players - Connecting With The Past

Hi Dear Folk,

Isn't it fun to connect with the past, especially when it's ones own family.  For years we have had Mr. B's dad's record collection as I'm sure so many do.  In any case while I was up at Ithaca visiting a stereo store with Mr. B., I fell in love with this old record player in a case, circa 1955 I think, so as a splurge I bought it, a girl toy.

Here we are Mr. B. is pulling out of the garage many of the old records his dad had.

Fast forward, two months,  Mr. B. phones me at work and says there is a surprise in the sitting room for you, and here at the thrift he found this.  A Crossley Stack O Matic a reproduction made in 2005 of an old style.  This is a little easier to work as it is automatic and you can stack several records to play one after the other.

We're having a lot of fun just listening to what his dad listened to from the forties to the seventies, that's the time span of these records.

Christy

My Anniversary

 This week was our Anniversary, 31 years.  I don't know where the time has gone, it seems about 15.  We've done our life in reverse I think.  13 years BR before Rob and now 18 years with Rob. 

 I loved something that I saw on Catherine''s blog about a couple who had been marries 65 years and they were asked how did they manage that and she said,

 "We were born in a time if something was broke you fixed it ... Not throw it away."

My lovely flowers, roses, alstro, campanula and cleome.  I do so love the campanula, little bells.

 

Mangione where we had an Italian dinner.

Followed by cappuccino and a delicious chocolate mousse cake.

This was my surprise and it was quite a surprise.  Mr Bit Brit has a part time what I call fair weather job and he saved for this out of his tip money.

My new iPad.  WOW!

Pink cover, what else is a girl to have.

Little case to put it in, True Love.  I just love this carrying case.  Little bugs and hummingbirds.

So that was my anni, not so simple and I think frugality went out the window, but life can't all be austerity, it's a balance.  You do what you can when you can.  Last year we didn't do anything, this year we can and did.  That's life a roller coaster of up and down and in the middle.

Take care,

Christy

P.S.  You've got to keep someone who gives you a foot massage almost every night.