An Obsession?

There are far too many clocks in this house.  Especially if you count the ones on the appliances.
My affinity for timepieces seems to have come from my Pop.  He always liked clocks, too.  My friend Melodie can't stand the sound of ticking clocks.   Needless to say, she doesn't spend much time at our house!  There are at least 19 clocks in this house, if you count those on appliances.  Many of these are analog clocks that tick.  Some of them must be wound daily.  (At  least the cuckoo clock is no longer with us.  I loved it, but I did get sick of that little bird and hearing "Happy Wanderer" every hour.) 
Perhaps I am obsessed with the passing of time?  I always have a lot of calendars in the house, too.  Many of those I buy for the changing artwork as much as for their function as a calendar.  Many of my clocks are artwork of a sort, also. 
It's just that for all this attention to keeping track of the here and now, I find that time escapes me somehow.  Years have flown by, and I can't for the life of me imagine how so many of them have gone.  How can I possibly be in my 50's?  I still feel like I'm about  25 or 30, at least mentally.  Physically sometimes, I am pretty worn out.  But not always.
At any rate, here is a random tour of the timepieces in our house:

This is the bird call clock in my office.  When there is enough light to trip the sensor, it plays a different bird call each hour on the hour.  I've had this clock for more than 15 years now, I just realized. 

This is the clock in the hall between Matt's office and mine.  This one replaced the cuckoo clock.  It does not chime.

This clock is one Matt ordered with the logo of his Barbecue Competition on it.  It's in his office.

This little clock is in the main bathroom.  On the vanity, so I can see it when I am getting ready to leave for work.  I thought it was a neat little clock.  Bought it at a neighbor's garage sale.

This is one of the hand-wound alarm clocks I use mainly as decoration.  I often forget to wind it.

This clock is on the end of the pantry that separates our kitchen and dining area.  This clock has been in our household since before Matt and I were actually married.  It was beside the front door of our first house, in the dining room in the German apartment, and has been on this wall since 1993 when we moved here.  It still keeps excellent time, and I check it often when getting my breakfast to make sure I am not running late.

This clock is a reproduction of the face of an antique grandfather clock.  I bought it to put in the entry hall of our German apartment, and now it is in the entry hall here.  Again, since 1993 when we arrived here.  Still keeps pretty good time.

This one was a kit that I stitched and assembled.  I bought it in Germany, but made it up after we got here. (It's the one I forgot to set last night.)  Matt uses it to keep himself on schedule when assembling himself for work in the morning.

This anniversary clock is one we bought on sale at the BX at Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfurt, Germany.  It used to live on our dresser, but since the Westminster Chimes that it plays are a little much what with the train noise around here, we put it in the living room.  It only chimes on the hour, and strangely enough, is not terribly noticeable when watching TV. 

This one is now in the hall on the other end of the house.  Purely decorative at this point, but it does still keep good time.

This is the clock that now lives in the laundry room.  I chose it because it is easier to read when you stick your head in the garage door to check the time while working out there.

Of course, this is the alarm clock that wakes us up every morning. 

And here is the clock that recently died.  It is in the dressing area of our master suite.  I liked it, but had to get a very plain replacement for it.  Will have to find something more suitable eventually.

And finally, here are all of my watches.  I don't wear them any more, mostly because every last one of them needs a new battery.  I really like my watches, but I seldom NEED a watch anymore. 






So, you see, in our house there is no excuse for not knowing what time it is.  (And this doesn't even include the appliances with clocks, or the little extra clocks scattered around that are often used as timers.)  Perhaps I am just paranoid about being late.  My Pop was ALWAYS early, everywhere he went.  (He even died early, if you ask me, but perhaps there was a reason for that, and God didn't ask me, in any case.)  I picked up on his sense of urgency about making appointments in good time.  Hence, I, too, am often early to places I am supposed to be. 
At any rate, twice a year, I hate myself and my clock obsession.  It is worse in the Fall, since it takes longer to set clocks back than to set them forward, but there is the added bonus of getting that hour"back" that helps ease the inconvenience.
Since the clocks around me are now telling me it is Midnight, I guess I had better call it a night. Ugh.  Monday.  Oh, well.