I've been working on an old 8 day shelf clock. It had belonged to my wife's grandfather and we estimate that the clock was 70 yrs old when he acquired it. I have completely refurbished the mechanism. It was taken apart, chemically cleaned, shafts straightened, 10 bushings installed where pivot holes were worn, reassembled, lubricated, and a couple of timing parts adjusted (by bending - It was designed for this), new weight cords installed, and finished adjusting the pendulum a couple of days ago. Its now running like new and my instructor says it should be good for another 50 years. The mahogany case has many cosmetic issues and I need to fabricate keys for the doors. These were lost long ago and replacements are not to be found. I have plans for repainting the glass windows and my nephew (the cabinet and wood worker) is willing to construct the missing top decoration if I supply him with plans. This clock is a "Jared Arnold, jr" built in 1830 in Amber, NY. Many clock makers of that period bought brass strap movements from Bristol, Connecticut and put those into a clock cabinet of their own design. However, the authors of a clock book thinks that Jared Arnold made his own gears based on comparing Gear teeth counts to known Bristol movements. Arnold made this clock style for about 3 years and then sold his business to his partner. The case design changed at that point. Therefore, I can date this clock to within 3 years. An appraiser thought it was one of the first year's production based on the penmanship of the hand lettered clock face. The pinkish smear and light area on the clock face are artifacts of light reflections and are not part of the face. The face is in better condition than it appears here. Its old enough to be an antique.

Annie, when we were through there again a couple of years ago, we had to wait for a tour bus to ease through the Needle. The driver obviously had a sense of humor. There was a sign in the window ‘Driver in Training’. Gray rock cairns in Ireland near Inverness. The sign explains some of their purpose, most of which is unknown. Some may have been for food storage, and later use some portions may have been for burial ceremonies. There were several mostly intact.

Here's a photo of me in my Easter outfit (which coincided with my brother Mike's birthday), which included a pink silk parasol, to protect me from the brutal Texas sun:

purple collar girl, eden, loved to drink out of the outdoor fountain.