Thursday, January 15, 2009

my ladyfriend Kate




(My buddy Kate digging through the guts of my watch, the Ithaca Clock Museum)
As longtime readers will remember, I collect Elgin pocket watches. They represent the best of American manufacturing 100 years ago. The parts are available and they can be fixed, if you know a watchmaker. I do. I know Kate, bless her.
Kate is now hanging around every week at the Ithaca Clock Museum, and I went over to look at the hundreds of clocks (OH JOY! I love timepieces) and have Kate start work on the gorgeous 1889 Elgin pocket watch Heather gave me for Christmas.

The prognosis on the patient is good. It has had the equivalent of, say, a mild heart attack, and Dr Kate shall do a little surgery, fiddle with the screws here and there, adjust the spring and whatnot, and the watch should be good for ANOTHER 120 years. Or 300 years, if cared for nicely.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

What a deeply satisying diagnosis, Gary, and thank your luckiest stars to have someone like Kate with the know-how to put that unbelievable wonderful gift of yours into A-one, tiptop condition. Long may all concerned keep ticking smoothly!

Miss Heather said...

YAY for only mild heart-attacks!! I hope she gets it in tip-top shape. :)

You never posted getting your other watch on Christmas... show us pics! (It's the one you bought... for yourself!)

KaiBlue said...

Aloha, my dad fixes watches back in England, it's quite a skill to have and you're lucky Dr Kate has your patient up and running!!
What a wonderful collection you must have.. photo's perchance?
peace, Kai and Dan

Susan as Herself said...

You may know that I ALSO have a "thing" for watches and clocks... LOVE them, and I am embarrassed by the number of watches I own... But I just think it's such an amazing invention, and they are so lovely...and the nice old ticking sound of a great clock is fabulous...

Farmer*swife a/k/a Glass_Half_Full said...

I saw the first picture and at first I thought it was a petri dish and I was like, OMG! There's tons of stuff growing in it!!

Then, I scrolled down. Nice watch! Nice Friend! Glad no petris.

:-)