Author: peterb51

20th June 2023

After another difficult night we both tried to make the best of a beautiful day.

Kelli had found a small desk for sale that we could convert to side tables. So we drove out into the Michigan wilderness to find the place.

When we got there the barn was full of stuff including some Action Office and Steelcase panels stacked on the floor. The desk itself was okay, a little beaten around the edges,but nothing we hadn’t seen before.

We heard back from Lakeside Surfaces about our worktops, they proposed to remove everything and return it to the factory for rework for six hundred bucks. That went down like a fart in church with Kelli, I was not a fan either. That would mean losing the sink and tap for about three weeks, not to mention the possible damage to the wall ripping it out.

So we went back to Stacy to find a local person who could make the modifications on site.

In the meantime I started sealing the beech worktop with the first of many coats of wax oil.

It was a great afternoon for floating in the pool, the water was warm, so no instant heart attack getting in to it.

We had delivery of a package of live ladybirds.

These are an attempt to rid us of aphids that have infested the cherry tree. Apparently ladybirds feed on them, I found that I could get them on Amazon, so I thought I’d give it a try.

I opened the box and inside was a pouch of the little beauties. We waited until dusk and released than at the base of the tree.

It was fascinating to watch them scurry about climbing anything they could, hopefully they would find their way to where the aphids are.

19th June 2023

It was an interesting night, Kelli had problems going to sleep, I,on the other hand, had an issue with staying asleep. The reason, was the air conditioning. Kelli likes it cold to sleep, I don’t. I like a bit of cooling but not to the extent that I have to put woollens on.

The temperature did soar to close to ninety F so it was great to work in the shade, and it gave my legs a chance to get some sun, but to then freeze to death coming inside was not pleasant.

Kelli thought that her sleeping problem was due to us have potatoes for dinner. For reasons of health, initially to help reduce my blood pressure, they have been off the menu and replaced with sweet potatoes. We both thought that we could have some as a treat, but when she checked with her doctor, he said that could have been the reason, however for me it was the bloody cold.

Being nice and hot was the excuse we needed to use the pool, it was great, watching the birds washing themselves in the small pond whilst we were doing a similar thing in something considerable larger was a wonderful indulgence.

Then it was back to work. Kelli was working on the large dresser, and I was finishing off the last few drawers for our kitchen.

Our friend Jill and her hype daughter Morgan came to collect the dresser we had just finished, output and sales have been slow this month so anything was welcomed.

18th June 2023

Father’s Day USA started with messages from Damian and Ryan, so they hadn’t forgotten me at all.

We had a breakfast of French toast made with cinnamon bread, on the deck. The air reminded me of holidays as a kid, there was a smell that was different, and here it was again.

We decided to do our shopping today, mainly because we were out of everything.

It was not a day to work on, I did a bit of polyurethaning, but that was it. There were the plants that we got yesterday to put in the metal bins, but first we had to remove the pebbles that were in there. It was a lot easier to pour them in than to take them out. At times were we’re removing them one at a time, but after a time it was handfuls, dead leaves as well.

There were eight bags of new dirt to fill the bins with, and even that wasn’t enough.

There was also an appointment to go to Kelli’s mum for a Father’s Day dessert with Matt and Brenda, and Greer and Dylan. Greer gave me a card that was lovely and had a touching message in it.

Afterwards we rode our bikes back, this was our ride for the day, then it was back to the planting.

We both managed to sit on the deck at the end of the day, very rare, but it was nice to have nothing to do, listening to the cars and the birds, a Sunday treat.

17th June 2023

Walked around the garden centre this morning looking for plants that would brighten up the three galvanised bins that we have at the front of the house. Originally they contained wild grasses, but recently I noticed that some of them looked a bit sad. So we decided to spruce them up a bit, and take out the sad grass and move them into intensive care and see if they can be rejuvenated.

You can never go to these places and spend just a few bucks, oh no, it alway much more than that.

Kelli made a start on the big dark beast, sanding all the surfaces and filling all the nicks and scratches, whilst I inspected the drawers from the other dresser, and knocking apart the half eaten one.

I think we have sold the latest dresser to Jill, our regular customer and new friend. Kelli had been making subtle hints to her as it would be a great addition to her Bristol Cottage collection.

Then we took a bike ride and visited a community garden set up by a local church. These buildings usually have bags of land, and it’s good to see some of it going to good use.

16th June 2023

It was clearing the poison ivy from our borders day. I cut all the stuff growing through the fence, and Kelli was digging up all that had taken root in the bed.

We had a late start to the day, mainly because it was Friday.

I had stuff to spray on the grass, Kelli finished painting the two unit cabinet.

Larry was having a second yard sale, so people were turning up at various times.

He then gets into his truck and drives off, only to return a few minutes later. We hypothesise that he’s getting change, paying a drug dealer or repaying a dept. Whatever it is he must be spending any profit he’s making on petrol.

Kelli is so curious that she threatened to ask him.

We made a trip to Kelli’s mum to collect another large dresser that had been stored since last autumn, a heavy bugger with a dark finish and laminate top. The body looked like it had been attacked by hordes of cats covering the every surface.

I pull the three drawers from another dresser that I knew, at least one had been chewed by squirrels. This will need a total replacement.

We managed a bike ride along Southshore drive to buy some fresh eggs from a house that has a box outside. The house is set back from the road and has always be one of Kelli’s favourite. The lady who owns it has seventeen chickens on the one acre plot behind the house, so we will make this a regular stop for our fresh supplies in future.

15th June 2023

I had an appointment to see the dentist about my broken tooth. They took an X-ray and the dentist came in and looked in my mouth, saying “we can fix that”. Turns out it will be built up with a special compound then a crown fitted, fortunately no root canal.

That was an expensive piece of granola bar.

Next we drove down to Byron Center to collect the wood top. John had finished it, and it looked pretty flat, so we loaded it back into the track and drove home.

We put it on a pair of trestles and I noticed that the radius end was not shaped properly. I redrew it and it was out quite a bit. I got the sander and spent nearly an hour sanding it round like it should be.

We had a lady round from the city at the request of Kelli, she was here to check to see if we had poison ivy growing through our fence.

This is a no-no in Holland, and if it is the case a strong letter will be sent to the household requesting it’s removal, we of course will have to remove what on the fence.

I’m sure this will put us in these neighbours bad books, but it’s not our fault, they have to control their garden.

14th June 2023

An early start to the day, Kelli was awake at 5.30, so I was at 5.35, but as she had a doctors appointment it wasn’t so bad.

We had a message from table man John to say the worktop was ready, so I called him to arrange collection for tomorrow.

Kelli also had more clothes to take to Plato’s.

At the doctors, she had a full check to see what supplements she still needed. This went back to my point about when they have done their jobs. He was convinced the liver supplements could be reduced, but there was still work to do on the adrenals.

Then it was back to Plato’s to collect what meagre amount she got and what clothes had been rejected.

The rest of the day was playing catch-up, but Kelli managed to get some paint on the latest creation.

The landscape companies are in full flight, spreading tons of mulch on the large properties they serve. It is certainly a big employer, and even the seasons are short they certainly make the most of every opportunity.

13th June 2023

The weather was against us again, limiting what we could work on. The most exciting part of the day was picking up a tin Buddha. Kelli found it on Marketplace (unfortunately) however, as every home should have one, I reluctantly agreed.

We did have someone who came to collect the pair of matching side tables made from an old desk, we had been sitting on them for longer than usual, it was good to see them go.

There is another challenge that face us. Kelli bought two pieces that were in a bit of a state. One part was a two drawer unit, the other was a two door and one drawer. It is a bit unconventional, but that is a challenge.

It was painted red over a stone textured blue colour, which was a bugger to scrape.

So now the transformation begins.

Whilst tucking into a slice of quiche, I felt a hard lump of something in my mouth. I quickly picked it out and recognised it as a bit of a filling from the tooth that had chipped a few days ago

Yet again I am starting to crumble away!

12th June 2023

I made the drive to Byron Center to work on the modification to the worktop.

This was the first time that I have spent time with John, and it was an experience. He is a good guy, with a well equipped workshop to die for, but it was like working with my mirror image, but slightly worse.

He has no problem with building massive tables, but when it came to modifying mine he didn’t know what to do, and in which order.

It was the blind leading the blind.

My first thoughts were to find exactly where the bow occurred, this might be obvious, but as I didn’t have my “Boys book of everything”,I relied on my instinct. Whilst agreeing on the area, John went in search of a plank of beech.

I could hear him upstairs rifling amongst the lumber he had stored there. It took about fifteen minutes for him to emerge with two pieces ten feet long. Then it was choosing the best piece that didn’t have knots.

Once that was cleaned up, then it was deciding the width to cut. I can’t remember how many times I suggested a dimension, but it was like I was speaking a different language, or that the hairs in his ears were dulling my words, but finally a decision was made.

Now was the time to cut the worktop.

A straight edge was laid along the length, and John fired up the skill saw. The two pieces fell aside, there was no going back. The next step was to cut out the offending section of timber which was done on his huge table saw.

Each piece was then sent past the jointer to neaten the edge.

Now we had to finalise the exact width of the new pieces to insert. John left that to me, I think he lost the plot a little while back. I measured everything three times and gave him the width dimension to cut, again allowing for cleaning up afterwards.

After each pass through jointer I measured the piece until I stuck my thumbs up.

Now was the process of joining all three parts together.

At this point I would have chosen a domino or a biscuit to ensure aligned of the face, but John chose to use dowels. Even though I have various doweling jigs I’ve never been that successful, mainly because it has to be precise, but John was adamant. He went to a set of drawers and pulled out a self centring dowel jig, it looked old, but very robust.

He marked out the positions for the dowels and asked me to mark the lines down to where the holes were to be drilled. There were a number that I remarked, hopefully in a more accurate position, then he drilled the holes.

I wasn’t there when he glued and fitted it all together, but hopefully all went well.

When I got back we had to drive to a house that was giving away flooring that Kelli was interested in, I had my reservations, I suspected what it was, and I was right, fake wood laminate. That was not something that I would put in the house, even if I was desperate, so we walked away.

Later Kelli got into a dispute with a neighbour. He objected to the music she was playing and shouted something over the fence. I was in the garage at the time and didn’t hear what was said. The first I knew of it was when she burst into the garage saying what was said. She wanted me to speak to the man, so to avoid being shot, I donned my bulletproof vest.

We exchanged views and if he stopped shouting over the fence we would turn the sound down when we knew he was back from work.

11th June 2023

Dismal day, it rained all day, but we needed it. The ground gets so dry very quickly, we have, as gardeners say, good drainage.

We used this as an excuse to do the shopping, we joined the lines of the ungodly who dare to shop on a Sunday.

There were plenty of things to do in the house, Kelli was refreshing the paintwork in the kitchen, and I was adding the new drawers to another kitchen cabinet, it’s gradually coming together at last.

Later in the day I was eating a slice of Kelli’s wonderful granola bar when I found a hard lump that turned out to be a bit of my tooth.

Damn! I was mad, I thought I’d seen the last of my dental issues.