Bright as a button?

Bright as a button? Not me! I've only just realized that it's just over a year since I started this blog. In that time I've posted 68 times, which at over one a week, is okay I'm thinking.

I started it with the intention of giving my English family and friends, or any anyone else for that matter, an idea of what it was like for this English "traditionalist" to adapt to living in a new country. It was also intended to give my American family and the many wonderful friends we have made here, an idea of the differences between English (East Anglian) and American (Southern) culture, food and language. I've strayed many times from that original idea but, hey! what the heck?

Many of these differences are very pronounced, some not so. As an East Anglian (Norfolk) boy, I'm used to the rest of my homeland calling us "Carrot Crunchers", "Tractor Boys", "Country Bumpkins" and the like (even though I was raised as a townee). A similarity here is that "Southerners" have traditionally been treated the same by those from more "sophisticated" states.

The differences in language are again sometimes not so great. When growing up in Norfolk, it was common to call a respected person "a good ol' boy". Here in the South, the same was and still is true.

In England the true Norfolk and Suffolk culture is being diluted by "invaders" from London and the Home Counties as well as from Europe. The same is happening here, especially in the Triangle of North Carolina, but this time the "invaders" mainly hail from the North-East. In fact a nearby very fast-growing city, Cary, is said to be an acronym for "Collection Area for Retired Yankees" (only joking). So many similarities exist.

One of my favorite blogging themes has been "my catholic musical taste". If anything this has widened and I spend many hours each day listening to various genres (I'm currently listening to Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No. 5). I have had the immense pleasure of introducing our wonderful Vicar to jazz. She happened to mention that she wanted to learn and listen more, so I have "trickle-fed" her with the likes of The Modern Jazz Quartet, Art Tatum, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and many more. Overhearing her recently telling someone that "Mick is teaching and helping me appreciate jazz", did wonders for my ego. Fancy me becoming a "rabbi" to my priest!

Another thing I realized is that, whilst updating my database of music collected, is that, yes, I am a Romantic! This hit home when I was trying to compile a list of my top ten composers and noted that 70% were of the "Romantic" school - Brahms, Berlioz, Bruch, Chopin, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky and Verdi.

I wonder if Gail thinks of me as a "Romantic"?

The Singer, not the song - 2

I've had a busy couple of days, but have managed to nearly finish off the table of G8824661.

After completely drying, following the application of the oil soap, I used a liberal application of dark Old English Scratch Remover to do just that. Then, having given it time to soak in and cleaning off the surplus, it was down to using Howard's Restore-a-Finish Golden Oak. This is basically a mild stripper and I needed to repeat this before moving on to wiping any residue off.


Things were looking much better now, so it was time to apply the Howard's Orange Feed and Wax. I did this twice before reassembling the major cabinet parts. I will repeat this several times over the next few months to build up a good and lasting finish.



Following a thorough clean and greasing, the treadle mechanism is in great shape, so I'm now ready to tackle the crucial stage - the machine itself. After ninety years of accumulated grease, grime, lint and fluff to remove, moving parts to clean, re-lubricate and adjust, this will likely be a lengthy and fiddly job. It is the most important though - after all, Gail wanted a working machine, not just a piece of furniture.

You can click on the photographs to enlarge. Okay, I'm now off to the auto parts store. I'll let you know why in the next post.

The Singer, not the song

As mention in the previous post, I regret not taking a "before" photograph. I shall, from now on, take a few for the records. These photos are after taking the actual machine out of the table and spending some time removing the grime, oil and dust accumulated over many years.

After brushing, I used Murphy's Oil Soap on the table and most of the wood. The drawers (not shown) and their runners looked to have been treated with some type of shellac many years ago. They cleaned up reasonably well so I decided not to strip this off.

The effects of the oil soap with copious amounts of "elbow grease" made a remarkable difference.

Although I'm currently concentrating on the table and the treadle mechanism, I did take some tentative steps on the cleaning and de-greasing of the actual machine. Using Formula 409 I gently cleaned the steel cover plates and then, even more gently, tried the main body taking extra care over the decals. I am pleased that these seem to be in good condition under the layers of grime, although more work on this is required after I finish off the woodwork.

My first research into the date of manufacture was incorrect. I have now discovered that serial number G8824661 was manufactured c1922. Still, it's getting on for 90 years old and is a credit to American manufacturing. After all, the Singer sewing machine was very likely the first " home appliance."

At last, another post

I've just realized it's over a month since my last post. It's not that nothing has happened worthy of posting, indeed just the opposite.

With colder nights, including some which resulted in early frosts, our thoughts have been with those who have no homes. Gail and I have gradually become more aware of our good fortune in having a roof over our heads and food in the pantry, something which many do not have. This can be for a multitude of reasons, which, to be fair, many of us cannot (or do not want to try) to understand.

I've started a new project. Gail was given a Singer treadle sewing machine, a model similar to the one she learned to sew on by her mother. She has been hankering after one of these for some time, not only as a "piece of furniture" but for a more practical reason - she has never really got on with electric sewing machines. We had looked at previously "restored" models for which the sellers were asking ridiculous prices as well as wrecks which would be beyond my capabilities of restoring. This one, built in 1910, is a little beauty, it's just in need of some TLC. I spent ages on the Internet researching the practicalities of restoring it before coming to the conclusion that, "Hey! I can do that". It will not look like new (I've watched too many "Antiques Roadshows" to fall for that), but will, I hope, look like it has been well used in it's nearly hundred years, but also lovingly cared for. Long story short (that's a first for me) - I'm hooked! I have, however, made a huge mistake - that is I didn't take a "before" photograph. As it is now all in pieces, it's a mistake I regret, but I'm going to have to live with. At least we can remember what it looked like.

I appreciate that blogs can only be of interest if (a) they have something interesting to say; and (b) they are updated regularly. I cannot help it if the former is not to every one's taste, but I'm going to make more effort to make sure that latter happens. There - it's in writing.

And for the record - Gail's Doll House is still "work in progress" (albeit slowly).