I have noticed some strange goings on in the past few months, ever since my Mother died unexpectedly. Nothing major, just a little thing with watches and clocks. I know, it could be my imagination, right? But it's still bizarre. Check this out.......
First, I had traveled back to my parent's house to help Dad clean up and maybe snag a few of Mom's possessions before the rest of the relatives showed up and everything of any value disappeared. It still took me a week to get there, involving an 18 hour road-trip, and I had heard Dad had already tossed out or gave away a bunch of her stuff already. God only knows what had already disappeared, but it's not like I can store a bunch of stuff anyway.
I just wanted a few minor things to keep her memory alive. Most important to me was getting her recipe book, because she had been a legendary Italian cook. Maybe I could get my girlfriend to cook something for me out of the book sometime, or learn how to cook some things.
The first couple days I picked up some nice crystal glassware from her collection and some costume jewelry, and some old sketches and paintings from her art-school days. Okay nice, but I could not find the recipe book, anywhere.
The second to the last day I was there, I got lucky and stumbled upon her main recipe book and her recipe box in the back of the pantry next to the fridge. I had been in the act of pillaging some baker's chocolate off the top shelf, something I used to do when Mom was around too.
I knew it was her main recipe book because it was tattered and beat up, and stuffed with notes yellow with age, and hand-written notes on many of the pages. The recipe box too, was packed with old recipe cards and notes. This is it! I had found the mother lode, so to speak.
Back in the day, it seemed like my Mom was always in the kitchen, and if I touched anything or tried to remove anything she would throw a fit. It was her territory and she let me know it. This thought crossed my mind as I fished out the big find from the back of the pantry. Mom would so not be letting me take this......as I carried my haul in my hot little hands back to the guest cottage and stuffed it in my suitcase, feeling like a bandit.
I then went back to the main house, through Mom's kitchen again and upstairs to catch a football game on the tv with Dad, who was passed out in an easy chair. Downstairs the kitchen was dark and quiet at around 8:45. Around 9:08 I heard the oven buzzer-timer go off...........even though nobody had used the stove that day or even that week. In fact, nobody else was in the house. I went downstairs into the darkened kitchen and shut the timer off. It is an eighties-era stove, with the analog timer on the upper part. I then went back upstairs, woke Dad up and asked him, "did you set the oven timer?" "No" he said, with a strange look on his face, then went back to sleep.
First, I had traveled back to my parent's house to help Dad clean up and maybe snag a few of Mom's possessions before the rest of the relatives showed up and everything of any value disappeared. It still took me a week to get there, involving an 18 hour road-trip, and I had heard Dad had already tossed out or gave away a bunch of her stuff already. God only knows what had already disappeared, but it's not like I can store a bunch of stuff anyway.
I just wanted a few minor things to keep her memory alive. Most important to me was getting her recipe book, because she had been a legendary Italian cook. Maybe I could get my girlfriend to cook something for me out of the book sometime, or learn how to cook some things.
The first couple days I picked up some nice crystal glassware from her collection and some costume jewelry, and some old sketches and paintings from her art-school days. Okay nice, but I could not find the recipe book, anywhere.
The second to the last day I was there, I got lucky and stumbled upon her main recipe book and her recipe box in the back of the pantry next to the fridge. I had been in the act of pillaging some baker's chocolate off the top shelf, something I used to do when Mom was around too.
I knew it was her main recipe book because it was tattered and beat up, and stuffed with notes yellow with age, and hand-written notes on many of the pages. The recipe box too, was packed with old recipe cards and notes. This is it! I had found the mother lode, so to speak.
Back in the day, it seemed like my Mom was always in the kitchen, and if I touched anything or tried to remove anything she would throw a fit. It was her territory and she let me know it. This thought crossed my mind as I fished out the big find from the back of the pantry. Mom would so not be letting me take this......as I carried my haul in my hot little hands back to the guest cottage and stuffed it in my suitcase, feeling like a bandit.
I then went back to the main house, through Mom's kitchen again and upstairs to catch a football game on the tv with Dad, who was passed out in an easy chair. Downstairs the kitchen was dark and quiet at around 8:45. Around 9:08 I heard the oven buzzer-timer go off...........even though nobody had used the stove that day or even that week. In fact, nobody else was in the house. I went downstairs into the darkened kitchen and shut the timer off. It is an eighties-era stove, with the analog timer on the upper part. I then went back upstairs, woke Dad up and asked him, "did you set the oven timer?" "No" he said, with a strange look on his face, then went back to sleep.
Mom's recipe book from 1958
Okay, so that was weird. The timer went off...........so what. Probably nothing to it. Maybe it goes off every day at that time, but it's analog. It has to be reset...........
Before I left Dad asked me if I wanted to trade my 12 year-old Toyota 4Runner for Mom's 10 year-old Toyota Sequoia. Shitty gas mileage, but a huge vehicle; so I said okay!
Then, after I had left town and gone back down South in Mom's car, I noticed that my cheap but normally reliable Armitron digital watch started beeping every hour at 8 minutes after the hour. It wasn't at exactly 8 minutes either, it was more like 8 minutes and 50-51 seconds...."beep". Every hour, all night, all day. I couldn't shut it off, couldn't change it. The alarm signal was turned off. The hourly signal was turned off. So I figured, "Cheap watch. Must be finally breaking down."
Armitron Watch - Beeping at :08 after....
So this morning I tossed the Armitron in a drawer, with a number of other old watches, because I can't throw these things out for some reason. I then put on a newer watch, one I hadn't had the chance to wear yet. It's a tough G-Shock that will probably serve me well anyways, because I'm hard on watches. It had been sitting in a basket on my desk for a few weeks now.
It's a beauty, with big digital numbers and an armored, square face. I headed out in my Mom's truck, headed to the grocery store. I went there, got some things, headed home. On the way back, I heard a beep. I looked at my shiny new watch........8 minutes after the hour.
It's a beauty, with big digital numbers and an armored, square face. I headed out in my Mom's truck, headed to the grocery store. I went there, got some things, headed home. On the way back, I heard a beep. I looked at my shiny new watch........8 minutes after the hour.
New G-Shock - Same Problem
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment