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Out of the Ordinary

Month: February 2014

  • Garage sale treasure: pocket watch stand

    IMG_7573I had no  idea what this was when I saw it on a miscellaneous table at a garage sale;  sometime the objects surrounding give a clue; not this time. I had to inquire.

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    The side view was as interesting as the front.  At this point it reminded me of something nautical.

    It was solid to the touch. Worthwhile.  Weighty.

    I had just come from a garage sale where the person did not know what an item was or where it had come from and seemed a bit cagey about my inquiries (this happens often enough to make me increasingly curious about the whys and leads to some interesting speculation in the weekly church sale line-ups).

    However the seller knew exactly what this item was.  A pocket watch stand!  

    Well, being immersed in Downton Abbey, film and  book, I could immediately  'see' that stand on one of the gentlemen's bureaus.  

    "Are you interested?" the seller asked as I was admiring it.

    I told him I  had no use for it but it was very lovely and likely had quite the history.

    Then he gave it to me.

    I accepted it with gratitude, saying I was not sure what I would do with it beyond admiring it, thinking that perhaps this was yet another incidence of being a 'catalyst'.  He said that was fine.

    It sat in the living room for a few weeks, being admired …. waiting ……

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    It was waiting for me! 

    The pocket watch without its band (I forget what happened to it; have some notion that I also got it at a garage sale years ago without a band) which has been leaning against the kitchen window for years,  suddenly ticked or blinked or whatever watches do to catch one's attention and…..  some black twine got attached as a hanger ….. it now 'stands out'.