time pieces

 "As with joyous steps they sped

 To that lowly manger bed,

     There to bend the knee before

                                                      Him whom heaven and earth adore;

                                                     So may we with willing feet

                                                     Evermore seek Thy mercy seat."

                     ~As With Gladness Men of Old, second stanza

William C. Dix

As I have set out to create the atmosphere of this home most of the things I had in my previous home have laid the foundations for each room. It is truly amazing how much of my furniture and things fit into this old "new" house. Making this house a home takes greater devotion and purpose and more time in knowing just what things are still needed to give this house what it might still be missing.

For years I've entertained the thought of having a clock of prestige in our home. Of course, we have always had a few necessary clocks such as a bedroom nightstand clock, a battery operated wall clock in my sewing room, and a few digital clocks in the kitchen...one on the stove and one on the coffee maker. Fairly common clocks that certainly did their job of keeping me in the know of the current time.

But I desired a clock that was serious. One that was fashioned by the hand of a clockmaker and would create a statement in the clock world,  not just in its utilitarian essence but also in its aesthetic essence. Years ago I considered a cuckoo clock because some are beautifully crafted and I see them as whimsical thinking children, or an adult for that matter, would find fascination in it.

Then one day in November we met the Clockmaker.  MC does not make clocks per se, but he has collected clocks for over forty years. He works on all clock types and repairs them, even to the point of making pieces that have broken and need replacing to make the antique clocks run again. MC knows the history of many clocks, the countries of origin, the dates and the clockmakers of yore. He is seventy-nine years old and his art is sadly dying out. He has so many calling him for clock repair from all over that he has limited his work only to those who purchase a clock from him.  I am glad we stopped by his antique shop just down the road from us housed in an old log cabin one Saturday. He has made a true clock lover out of me. I am more focused now with an eye of interest longing to know more about various clocks.

This Christmas my husband and I have gifted ourselves ourselves with two of his clocks and they arrived on Tuesday. MC came to hang them and set them to ticking in their designated places. 

Now to my home has been added two new things that I felt have been missing. A handsome gentle  ticking clock in the back hallway from Vienna and a merry click-ticking blue-plated clock from Germany in the kitchen above the doorway entering into the scullery. Both of these clocks were made by men with the first name of Gustav,

 and both are non-strikers.

I have now added the winding of two clocks every eight days to my  home tending.