2025 Life Logs, Day 16: A Little Field Trip to Boston
Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025
Weather: Sunny AM, Partly Sunny to Cloudy PM; Temp 31, Low 23 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
My search for a vintage watch for Coco continues. A woman in my book group that lives in Cambridge half time, suggested that I go to the Swiss Watchmaker on Church Street in Harvard Square. So, I took off this morning to do that, and to do a little reconnaissance in Chestnut Hill for a Newcomers/Encore upcoming field trip to a Mary Baker Eddy house there in late February. I took two watches that Heather gave me for Coco and two that Jane Woodin donated to be assessed to see if adding a battery would get them running again. I scored two out of four, but I had only one battery changed today. It costs $25 to have a battery replaced and $25 for some sort of high-tech cleaning. The watchmaker told me one of the watches from Heather and one from Jane are not battery watches. They are wind up types and the initial cost just to look at them is $50, so I skipped those even though one of them is perfect for Coco. The young woman at the desk at the watchmaker shop admired it and said it was ‘very’ vintage. She told me lots of girls wear vintage watches even if they don’t run. I think that is the watch I wore when I started teaching in 1969. If that is correct, it certainly is vintage! But it looks brand new and will make a nice bracelet. I should have had the band shortened on the one that got the new batter today, but at the time I was not sure just how much to have it shortened. Plus, shortening the band was going to take all afternoon. I will check to see if a jeweler here can shorten the band. If not, I will return when I can spend all day.
While I was waiting for the watch battery to be changed, I drove about 20 minutes from Harvard Square to Chestnut Hill to check out the location of a Mary Baker Eddy home and museum, and to see if there was free parking available near the restaurant that was recommended for lunch on the day of our field trip. There was easy and free parking at all three locations. I knew this from calling, but since I was in the area, I wanted to check it out in person before recommending the trip. The house is in one location and the museum is about a mile from the house. Then the restaurant is a mile from the museum. It is easy to get from one place to the other and will make a great little mid-winter adventure. Now I just have to learn something about Mary Baker Eddy. All I know is that she founded the Mother Church of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston.
