Manna from Heaven

As I was rushing into the door of the school this morning - what else is new? - I saw Sharon, Special Ed. Secretary, going out the door with a cart and some muscle (young, strong male employee). Not too much later the door to my classroom opened and in came Sharon with this gorgeous, sparkling, sleek, shining black Singer sewing machine in a lovely cherry cabinet. The machine, built in 1953, a year younger than the Singer I currently call my favorite machine, looks like it's never been used. It was in the home of a friend of a friend who was moving and didn't want it. Sharon snagged it for me! She mentioned something about having a new/old machine for me but that was a while back and I forgot about it. This baby is a real gem. It's bigger than the old Singer I sew most of my bags on. Unfortunately the cord is missing so I couldn't fire it up. I called my sewing machine repair guy in Norwich, Doug Hilts, who fortunately has forgiven me about my pre-Rhinebeck early morning tirade about a machine not working, and picked up a cord from him after school. We'll see how it works on Monday. The pristine instruction booklet says to drop kerosene into the holes to oil it, but Doug sold me a bottle of Tri-Flow, the preferred sewing machine oil. I am totally thrilled with this new machine, which will stay in the classroom for the kids to use until I bring it home next summer. Thank you, Sharon, for your kindness and thoughtfulness.