Hickory-Dickory-Dock-How Much Did I pay for the Clock!

Before we had decided to go ahead with updating the kitchen I had purchased several inspirational decorating publications to help me decide how to proceed. I knew what I wanted, I just wanted to see what other options there were so I would be certain about the look I wanted. There was a photo of a kitchen that would have been my dream kitchen had we wanted to spend zillions of dollars, but that was not our budget. . .there was however another photo which was more what we could afford and the look I wanted. The photo showed the range, cabinets, counters and decor. Above the range was a huge clock, a BIG clock, a BIG White/Black Clock and I loved how it looked above the range, I had hoped to find one like it so that became my goal, to find a clock like that one or very similar and I did, but did not purchase it when I did find it because it was too much $$$. As the kitchen neared completion I tried different "looks" above the range but I knew that I had to have THE CLOCK. I went to TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Bed Bath and Beyond, Linens and Things and various other stores hoping to find THE CLOCK. . .I could not remember where I had seen it and then thought maybe someone else bought it so gave up on my search. The other day our Pug, Zoe, needed her special dog food so I was on my way to pick it up, my head in the clouds, my mind a million miles away when I realized that I was heading in the wrong direction. This was not going to be a problem however because there was a pet store in the strip mall where I was heading so no need to turn back. Also in the strip mall was Marshalls, so I went in to look around and there was THE CLOCK! I picked it up and saw that it had been marked down to $20.00, a price I could afford! Now for certain I was positive that it was meant to be mine, my brain fog led me to my CLOCK and it was almost exact to the one in the photo. I made my way to the counter to pay, holding it close to me not feeling its heavy weight, it is made of metal. I could not wait to get home and hang it up, on the drive home I started to panic thinking maybe it would not fit above the range. After putting away Zoe's food I set about to hang my clock. I needed something that would be sturdy enough to hold it, I had some of those hooks that could hold up to 50lbs so I was set. After putting 4-5 holes in the wall I had the right height so I went to hang it. The weight of the clock made this task difficult for one person to do alone, but I am not one to wait around for help so I kept trying. . .finally I realized that if I removed the exhaust fan's grease filter it would give me more room to lift the CLOCK and set it on the hook. I placed the clock onto the counter and removed one filter, no problem, went to remove the second one and by now my hand was getting numb and I dropped it! It fell between the wall and the range and there was no way to reach it, I tried all types of inventions and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to reach it. The next day it was the same thing and finally I went to Home Depot to replace it, but they did not carry that style. My last option was to find one on the Internet, it seemed that the model number was hard to find and even the GE replacement site did not have them! (I bet you are all thinking, why didn't I move the range. . .it is bolted to the wall so it will not tip and a special tool was needed to reach the bolt and we did not want to pull it to far because of the gas pipe, etc. ) So, I finally found a website that had a little screen to click on to get to speak with someone online, after about 15 minutes they located a replacement part for me, yippee! So, my lovely bargain clock ended up costing over $100.00, yes. . . not waiting for someone to come home and help me hang it ended up costing me 5 times and then some the price of my on sale CLOCK! I still love THE CLOCK, but next time I try and do something that needs four hands I will wait! (No pun intended) Now I am going to go see if I can find that magazine that started all of this!

Martha