Things Around the House.

 Quite some time ago we visited friends in Minnesota.  They had what they called a "bam bam" clock which sat on their mantle piece and chimed the hours.  I always wanted one.  A friend of mine had one and when her husband died she gave her chiming clock to his family because it had originally come from them.  She wanted to replace it so I took her down to Des Moines to the Amana Shop where they sold products made in the Amanas.  She chose to get an Eli Terry Clock 

Eli Terry, was an American clock maker in the early 1800s, popularized this design. Three top finials and turned posts are trademarks of this clock.  This is also one of the first clock designs ever produced in the Amana Furniture Shop.

**This design has been RETIRED from their shop.  Only available stock will be sold...no special orders will be taken.

- Solid wood bench-made construction

When my friend hesitated at getting the clock, even though I knew she wanted it I encouraged her to go ahead and get it.  I told her she was better off to get something she liked of quality than to get something she would not wind up enjoying as much as she would this one.  I also told her she should spend her money on herself.  So she did and she was happy about it.  When she passed several years later I acquired the clock because I liked it and because it reminded me of her.  

It has a chime that goes off on the quarter hour and at midnight it rings 12 times.  When my sister lived with me I had to shut the chime off as it bothered her.  I love listening to it and at night I sleep right through the chimes.  The sleep of innocence or something like that.  Anyway enjoy listening to the Chimes at Midnight. 

The shelf above the clock is full of what my great Aunts used to call 

knick knacks.  They had a shelf they kept knick knacks on and it was full of little figurines.  I think my Bronze Cocker Spaniel may have come from there.  They were endlessly fascinating to look at...but don't touch.  

The shelf used to contain my mother's small cup and saucer collection but I had to put them away because Miss Cassie likes to knock valuable things over.  Never the knick knacks but when she broke one of mother's cups I put them away.

All this reminds me of a perfectly terrible joke so stop here if you wish.

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her name plate that the teller's name is Patricia Whack.

So, he says, "Mrs. Whack, I'd like to get a loan to buy a boat and go on a long vacation." Patti looks at the frog in disbelief and asks how much he wants to borrow.

The frog says "$30,000." The teller asks his name and the frog says that his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it is OK, he knows the bank manager.

Patti explains that $30,000 is a substantial amount of money and that he will need to secure some collateral against the loan. She asks if he has anything he can use as collateral.

The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny pink porcelain pig, about half an inch tall. Bright pink and perfectly formed.

Very confused, Patti explains that she'll have to consult with the manager and disappears into a back office.

She finds the manager and says: "There is a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000. And he wants to use this as collateral."

She holds up the tiny pink pig.
"I mean, what the heck is this?"

 (are you ready?)
 (are you sure?)
 (here it comes!!!)

The bank manager looks back at her and says,
"It's a knick knack, Patti Whack.
Give the frog a loan.
His old man's a Rolling Stone."

Happy Tuesday!