Keeping a 90-year-old upright in tune

Spent the early hours coaxing a 1920s upright back to pitch after a humid week. The middle register was a full semitone flat, which is always a gamble, but it came up clean—that moment when the last unison locks in and the whole cabinet stops rattling is still the best feeling in this trade. The owner never asks questions; she just listens with her head tilted, and I like that about her.