Author: peterb51

17th April 2023

Snows back! What a surprise, and with it is the cold. It was back on with the fleece shirt, and woollen jumper.

There were a number of things on the list of jobs to do, including a drive to Zeeland to collect two small tables Kelli bought for the deck, and get paint mixed for the kitchen cabinet fronts.

The drive was risky, the sleet was blowing across to flat fields, it felt like being sand blasted. The place in Zeeland turned out to be in Olive, a place out in the back and beyond.

We also had our weekly shop, and a good chance for me to get annoyed at big people blocking the isles.

It’s like the Mr Bean sketch where he’s walking down stairs, but he is blocked by an old lady walking in front, out of desperation he takes the fire escape and rushes down one flight of the back stairs and emerges though another door only to find the old lady still in front of him.

The same situation arises here, at time I feel they must think I’m stalking them, and at times I’ve pretended to scan the shelves, or look at my invisible watch.

There wasn’t a lot of desire to work in the afternoon, it was too windy to do much spraying, I just managed to machine a radius on the edge of a new worktop I’m making for a side table. The cold will be around for another day then it should get a lot warmer, I can’t wait.

16th April 2023

The fire engine parked outside Larry’s house, and, as they are “first responders” we suspected that he had a problem. His health has not been very good, with his lung, and now his heart issues causing concern amongst the neighbours.

We walked over as they were bringing him out on a stretcher, he was still sucking air, and smiling as they loaded him into the ambulance.

We try to keep an eye on him and he was proud that he finally quit smoking after his last scare, we know that he won’t get better, he will drift on until the inevitable happens.

The weather was wet and windy, so back to typical Michigan weather.

There was another no-show from a person who wanted to buy the dresser. This pissed Kelli off, and there is always a lame excuse that follows that makes it even worse.

Why people have to make up the reason for not turning up and just be honest with us.

15th April 2023

I had a response from American Meadows this morning effectively offering to replace all the bulbs, unfortunately I will have to wait till September.

Kelli was on the buy again, this time she found a pair of dressers that match, not that we needed more products, but matching stuff usually sells quick, which we need at the moment, as the month has slowed a bit. We still have a table and dresser that needs to go.

The afternoon was warm again, so I was able to machine more timber outside, creating a lot more wood chips. I emptied the extraction bag and filled another black bin liner, that was just one session.

I wish I could think of a good use for all this waste, maybe mix it with glue and compress it into boards and make furniture out of it, nah, it would never take off.

14th April 2023

There was an amazing discovery in the flower bed this morning. Last September I planted seventy five English Bluebells in a neat series of concentric circles around a tree in the front garden. I was excited to see green growth poking through the soil as soon as the snow melted.

Every day I would check progress, looking forward to the blooms. Imagine my disappointment when the blue flowers I was expecting turned out to be yellow.

Yep! I had planted seventy five daffodils.

So an email was rapidly sent to American Meadows asking them to send me the correct products.

Scott the guy down the road stopped by to drop off box of wire wool and various furniture fittings that he collected from his mother’s house. I think it is her plan to transfer the contents of her basement to our garage. He is becoming as regular as Amazon.

13th April 2023

Kelli had a doctors appointment in Zeeland, and as usual we saw a dresser at the side of the road marked free. It looked like it survived a drive by shooting, with various parts missing and drawer fronts damaged.

We still has the tyre in the back that needed replacing, so getting the dresser in the truck was tricky. By now we were running late, Kelli had more clothes to sell, but we couldn’t go to Plato’s Closet on the way like we usually do.

Half an hour of bending and twisting and Kelli was back in shape, and with a lot of her questions answered to drove back towards Plato’s.

This was a good excuse to get the front tyres looked at.

I went into the tyre shop office and explained my situation, and inquired what the wait time would be. The young chap muttered that it would’ve likely a two hours, not good.

Then I asked him about wheel alignment, he said they didn’t do it, as it was mechanical and they’re not certified to do mechanical stuff.

Then I asked about balancing, “Oh yes we can do that” he proudly announced.

“Isn’t that a bit mechanical “ I smugly replied.

That drew a blank look, and he handed me a card of a wheel alignment centre. Is there no one stop shop in this town?

The waiting time was too long, even with an appointment it would take an hour, an hour, these guys would make a rotten pit crew.

Then it was back home to do some work.

Kelli has been trying to sell the dining table that is taking up valuable space, at the moment it looks like a dead elephant with its legs sticking up. The perspective customer, who showed an interest is a bit flighty, and not decisive, the people we hate. The last thing she messaged was for us to deliver it to Grand Haven, about half an hour north, but we asked for a deposit, and things went quiet.

12th April 2023

It was my son’s birthday, he is forty nine today.

Ryan was born on the evening of Good Friday, and, at the time he had to struggle to survive. The staff at the hospital warned us that he may not survive the night. We had to give him a name.

In between the tears I suggested Ryan, named after Ryan O’Neil the actor.

The night was long, I think I ran out of tears, but as the sun rose up, he was still with us, he was a fighter, and he had a purpose.

He has grown into a kind and generous man, he has given me two fantastic grandchildren, and he has been a good husband to Louise.

Ryan is so different from my other son Damian, as different as chalk and cheese, but they both share a wicked sense of humour, usually at my expense.

It was another warm day, a bit too hot for my flannel shirt, but I cannot trust this Michigan weather yet.

My new saw was working overtime, I managed to cut pieces for several doors and drawer fronts, doing the necessary additional machining and even applying a grey primer.

A lady arrived to bring the rocking chair that she wanted refinishing, I was secretly hoping that she had forgotten, but although a week or so later than we agreed, there she was.

We were also close to finishing a dresser, but I needed to make new guides and repair the wooden runner that had worn away over the years.

There was a present walk down by the lagoon with the hounds, stopping to talk to two older ladies sitting out on their deck.

I was ready to chill out for the rest of the evening, feeling guilty because it was still light, but I soon talked myself out of that, and put my feet up.

11th April 2023

Another bad night, now a hat trick, and I don’t know what to do about it.

What keeps me awake is knowing that Kelli can’t settle, so it’s like a parent, listening out for a restless child.

Everything is on edge for the rest of the day, the stones silences, I try to keep things light, but it’s hard sometimes. I’m not sure if men are really cut out for this kind of situation, where a humorous response is met with a cutting remark.

There is not a good reply when someone says they want to die, apart from “I don’t want you to” how bloody obvious is that?

I escaped to Menards to purchase timber for the kitchen project, plus other essential stuff, bird seed and potting dirt, yes that time of year has come around again.

The weather was wonderful, which made up for the chilly atmosphere when I got back.

I tried to concentrate on cutting the wood for the kitchen doors, and getting the pieces primed.

By the evening I had enough, I had to get away, I needed breathing space, and the evening was still warm. I set off walking, I didn’t care where. That might have been the problem, there are places I know, but off the beaten track I was a stranger. I have only suffered from anxiety a couple of times in my life, this was the third. It was getting late, lights were switched off in the houses that I passed, people were going to bed, and I was walking the streets.

That is where mild panic took over, maybe driven by not having anything to drink. It was making me a tad light headed, and I was in a dodgy area.

Eventually I did find my way to the side of lake Macatowa, a place I recognised, the water was still, there was no sound, even by the docks. The stars were amazing, it was a calm time, unlike how I was feeling, one of foreboding.

Okay, I had my time away, I needed to get home. The pace I set was faster and more furious than I should have taken.

In the meantime Kelli decided to drive around to look for me.

As I got to the corner of our road, we both got there at the same time, I could barely speak.

I was still in a strange state of mind, and I hadn’t even smoked anything.

I needed to return to Earth, and several glasses of liquid later I was beginning to feel normal again.

My conclusion was that my frustration with Kelli’s condition drove me to exhaustion, and I had never quite felt like that, ever before, or my greatest fear, that I was starting to be an American. Please come for me now!

10th April 2023

Another bad night for both of us, I don’t understand because I was nodding off in front of the television, but when it was time to sleep, I just couldn’t. The hours passed, still nothing, Kelli got agitated, I didn’t. At some time we did sleep, but not a full deep sleep, but better than nothing.

Monday was our shopping day, we had just pulled in to the supermarket when Kelli got a phone call to tell her our new fridge had arrived and they were waiting outside.

We drove straight out of the car park and back home.

We could see the large cardboard box as soon as we turned into our road with the delivery man waiting patiently.

Of course we weren’t prepared, I thought it would be delivered on the 12th, so we had to hastily rearrange the garage to store it.

That turned into a full spring clean with all the crap pieces we were keeping getting pulled out, dusted off, and put at the side of the road.

I set about dismantling the desk. Originally it was a walnut veneer, but sometime in its life someone applied a coating and mock wood grain on it, then the last owner painted over the top, and then Pete come along and strips it all back.

The weather was in the sixties and fabulous, I can’t wait to get some colour into my white English legs.

9th April 2023

Today is Kelli’s birthday, usually a good day but she had a bad night which took the gloss off. We had a small party planned for the afternoon, which was in jeopardy. Gradually she settled and calmed down, we both made her cake, a carrot cake using a collection of alternative ingredients.

The party was fun and I was glad that it happened, you can’t hang on to a bad night all day that achieves nothing.

It was a beautiful sunny, warm Easter Sunday and to celebrate, I decided to wash the truck.

Shock, horror, I have been meaning to do it for ages, I had forgotten what the true colour of the vehicle was.

Earlier I had to change one of the front wheels that had a slow puncture. Normally it is a simple job, but it was difficult to undo the wheel nuts. I had to use a three foot extension and WD40 to loosen them. Once those were taken off I still couldn’t remove the wheel, it seemed jammed onto the hub spigot.

I was banging it with a large rubber mallet, eventually releasing it.

I noticed that both tyre had wear on the inside surface meaning the tracking is out, this needs to be sorted out.

8th April 2023

The wild turkeys were out in force with the puffed up males trying in vain to entice a female to have some “fun”.

The ritual consists of the male creeping around pretending to mind his own business, then sidling up behind his intended mate. The female has other ideas, all she wants is to peck at the ground, and with her peripheral vision she see old puffy coming up from the rear, and scoots off in the opposite direction.

Kelli went off thrifting with Cameron giving me some time on my own. I could indulge in lots of old git music, nice and loud, as well as making plenty of noise myself.

The one disaster today was my router decided to seize up mid way through a job. Fortunately I had a spare that I had bought off eBay a couple of years ago, so I just had the inconvenience of fitting the replacement to the table and resetting the cutter.

Having done that it, was back to making noise.

The guy across the street was doing something to his smoker that he has at the back of his driveway.

I didn’t see exactly what or why he did it, but I heard the bang. I went to see what was happening and saw the smoker engulfed in flames, a little way away I saw a petrol can, so I guess he wanted to give it a good clean.

I hope it was that and not he wanted his meat to smell like four star.

The benches were picked up today, after a last minute rush to touch up any parts that were missed.