Tick Tock

Good day yesterday, except for Kristi being sick with (we think) a strong allergic attack that had her knocked out all day. I had a followup dental appointment to check on my progress since having four root planings done in March; my gums seem to be healing up faster than anyone really expected. People started calling back on some of the cold calls I did last week. However, the really good news was finally closing on some real business: our first really solid new client of the year, as well as a really big chunk of work and a major success with a long term client. In one day we went from a worriedly slow April to a banner month. And after the rocky first quarter we’ve had this year, it was far more than welcome.

In other news, this morning we got the clock working again. Click through for photo and story.

After Virginia passed away, Bob (Kristi’s grandfather) moved in with Don and Kathy, and contents of the house were mostly distributed among the various family members. We ended up with a number of items here: a chest freezer, a new set of living room furniture, odds and ends. And the grandfather clock, a beautiful timepiece of indeterminate age that had been standing unmoving and dormant in the corner of their living room for as long as Kristi could remember. We adopted it and today the clock stands a nook near our front door.

Dave Vance came by today to tell us what would be involved in getting the clock running again. He pulled it apart, checked it out throughly; we learned that the clock is at least 25 years old and that he probably was the one to install and service it way back when they originally bought it (he found a pencil note inside the case that he recognized as his own notation).

The workings are in good condition (as it’s spent most of its life not running), but the gears have a lot of old grease and dust caked in after all these years. He was able to get the clock working, set and wound, but bringing it back to like-new condition (i.e. with working chimes) is going to require a disassembly, probably a few new parts, and a few months in the shop. And a hefty price tag we can’t really afford right now. Hopefully later on in the year – we’ll have to see how things continue to shake out.

We’re just glad to have it running again. Glad to be able to give it a home.