It's about time!

It was a good 10 degrees warmer Wednesday morning than it was the same time on Tuesday. In fact, it was supposed to reach a high of 61 degrees.

Before I left for work, I lugged that trundle bed frame and a broken chair out to the road for my $60 "Large Item Pickup."

As I said, I checked for the leaf guards online and found that they only seem to be available at Costco around here. So, I called Costco to see if they had any. The lady I talked to said they were just a Fall item, but the computer showed they still had six boxes left (I need four).

So, I went to Costco at lunchtime and paid $55 for a one year membership. Then I went and grabbed four boxes and paid for them. Even with having to buy the membership, it worked out to be $1.42 per linear foot for my leaf guards (not bad compared to the metal ones and I am hoping the installation is easier).

I treated the cats and unloaded the car, and then I ate a sandwich for lunch.

Back at work, I called Ken Clock Service (antique clocks and grandfather’s clock service – 586.871.8223). I know, I know, it should have been Ken’s, but he’s Asian – give him a break. He eventually called me back and we discussed the mantle clock.

Now, regarding the mantle clock, this is an antique Seth Thomas and was a wedding present to Luanne and me from my Mother. She either inherited it or was given it from my Grandmother (Mamarene). Years ago, it stopped chiming the half hour and hour and then the front curved glass bezel broke off at the brass hinge.

I have been using it ever since, though, winding it by carefully taking off the bezel and ignoring the fact it didn’t chime (I thought I over-wound it). So, I’ve checked around for people nearby who could repair it. But, they were few and far between and most of them begged off when I mentioned the hinge.

However, I really want it fixed before I die. LMAO, I just realized that my “bucket list” (unlike Lu’s – who has a list of things to accomplish and have fun, like ride a mule down into the Grand Canyon, go whitewater rafting, etc.) consists of things I feel I need to get done. I am truly my Father’s son...

Anyway, I am the only one (I think) who knows how to take the front bezel off to wind it, without breaking the bezel (curved glass). And, when I die, it will go to Lu (it was our wedding present, after all) and, I fear, she will end up accidentally breaking it the way it is.

So, Ken called me back and said he could be here at 6:00 PM. I said I’d be out front, cutting the lawn.

Back home after work, I looked out the kitchen window and saw gutters on the addition! I went out back and saw them on the main house, as well (these have been missing since I moved in). I went out and took some pictures (and if I can remember the new way to post them, I’ll show you). Jake didn’t document the new way (as he did the old one) so it’s memory recall or nothing.

I changed clothes and went out front to cut the grass. I saw my neighbor and shut the mower off. I asked him what I owed him and he said the materials cost $150.00. I said, “So, I owe you like, $250?” He said, “Naw, that’s too much. How about $200?” I said, “That’s too cheap. Let me give you $250!” He said, “No, just get me $200 whenever you can!” I said I would give it to him tomorrow (I never keep that kind of cash in the house or in my wallet – it’s a security concern).

I mentioned buying the leaf guards and he said I didn't need to do that. He said he would have climbed on my roof and blown them off (like Jake and Carla used to do) when he does his. I thanked him for the offer, but told him he had his own stuff to worry about.

I got the main front lawn cut and was just starting on the side lawn when Ken showed up.

He was a very nice, knowledgeable man. I did ask where he lived and he said Canton. I asked about the 576 area code on his phone and he said it was a cell phone and he got that because he does a lot of clock repair for people and jewelry stores on the East side.

He said his wife owns a beauty shop across from my barber which is why his flyer was there. He said he has a full time job and does this clock repair after work (most of them do, I’ve found).

He said I didn’t over-wind the one spring. He said that you really can’t, despite what most people think. He said it got stuck and didn’t unwind because it was dirty and needed oil.

He took the guts out in, like, seconds flat (he had a large tool box with tiny tools with him) and showed me where the last guy who repaired it cheated me. Instead of replacing the tiny bushing on the rear plate, he used a punch on the brass plate to tighten them. He showed me the tool marks and how it had bent the plate a little. Interesting...

He explained that, while he could solder the hinge back together, there is a risk that the heat could discolor the clock face in that immediate area (which is why nobody wanted to do it). I said the damn thing’s a hundred years old (at least) and a little discoloration is better than somebody dropping the bezel and breaking the curved glass. I told him, “Do it.”

So, he’s going to take it apart, clean it, replace the bushings, oil it, weld on the bezel and put it all back together sometime in the next two weeks. He said then it could easily last another 100 years.

His written estimate? $160.00!! I had higher estimates in the past just to clean and oil it and get the chime to work. We shook hands, he left and I finished cutting the side lawn in the dark.

I fried up some Yukon Gold potatoes, onions and sliced smoked sausage for dinner. I watched a taped movie (I’m way behind on my taped show watching, because of the reading) and then went to bed at 10:30 PM.