Author: peterb51

1st August 2022

I was eagerly awaiting delivery of the filter pump for the pool. We were hoping to keep the water sparkling, and even though we have chlorine tablets and regularly vacuum the floor of the pool, the filter would also help.

I opened the package and removed the content. There were two hoses, the pump and filter and various clips and nozzles.

The instructions were in Chinese English, but even without them it was fairly evident how it all went together.

I made all the connections, attaching the hoses to the correct inlet and outlets, so now it was time to turn everything on.

I did expect a lot of movement of the water, especially where the clean water was pumped back into the pool, but there was decidedly nothing happening. Well what was happening was the pump was leaking, there was more water escaping from the pump then returning to the pool. I wasn’t impressed.

I disconnected everything and tried pumping water from the pool and to see how much ran through the pump. The answer was nothing much. The pump didn’t have any power to move any water at all.

That’s now being returned.

31st July 2022

I think Covid has left us at last. I still have the cough, but the rest of me feels a lot better. We even went out on our bikes, which felt good with the wind in our faces “blowing the stink out” as Dave would have said. We discovered that a lady down the road must have had Covid around the same time, so we are not sure if she gave it to us or we gave it to her, but I guess it doesn’t matter as long as we’re over it.

We had a couple arrive to collect a dresser, a last minute squeeze into July’s sales.

We also had to collect a couple of pieces that required a two trips to fit everything in.

There are many pieces now stacking up in the garage, most of which will be quick and dirty.

There is a lot of work in stripping the old finish from the tops, and for what benefit? We often drop the price, and that undermines the work that has gone into it.

30th July 2022

I still lack motivation, I can’t explain why I can’t get enthusiastic about stuff. Everything is such a drag to even start. There are some drawer fronts than need repairing, and I just can’t be assed to tackle.

I think it started early, when we decided to go and dig up some plants from a lady’s garden who died about a year ago. Her house had been demolished, like they do over here, but her garden was left. There were a number of grasses and some wild thistles, but with the heat of the morning digging them up was hard.

At one point I thought I was going to die. My eyes blurred with sweat as I tried to lift them and place them into polythene bags.

After a strenuous half hour we loaded the bags into the back of the truck and headed home. Of course we had to plant them meaning more digging.

Yes, I think that just wore both of us out, I sorted out the dead stuff, then replanted what was left, it all looked a bit underwhelming, but compared with what we have bought from the garden centre I hope it will take root and flourish.

29th July 2022

We were back on the road ready to collect a couple of pieces that Kelli had found in need of some love and attention.

An oak dresser had seen much better days, it must have suffered some trauma because the sides had splayed causing the front rails to disengage and the drawers to collapse. It had been previously repaired with a foaming adhesive that was all over the inside surfaces.

I had to cut a new tenon for one of the front rails, and glue back some of the shattered oak pieces at the base. To make sure these didn’t fail again I used an epoxy adhesive that has good gap filling qualities.

We finished another dresser, posting it quickly on Marketplace.

We were let down again by some time wasters.

This is happening more and more where people are all excited and say all the right things, but then don’t turn up when they say they will, prompting Kelli to message them, and then the truth comes out.

I was proposing making an effigy that I would fire staples into when we got let down, but Kelli just likes the subtle approach of just blocking them.

28th July 2022

There was definitely some funk about. For both of us there was a lack of inspiration. For me it started when I was sanding some drawer fronts. I had to fill old holes then carefully sand before painting. Then to help seal the filled area I sprayed a coat of shellac, this usually dries quick, but due to my impatience, I didn’t leave it long enough. I touched the area with fine paper and the edges curled, that was it. The sanding block went hurling through the air and landed halfway down the drive. That was the start of it. Then I attempted to make the side panels for the composter, but I could make them square, that is when I gave up.

We both thought a soak in the pool would calm us down, but that didn’t work either, the cold breeze that sprung up didn’t help.

It was easier to write the day off and hope tomorrow would be better.

27th July 2022

Something is definitely changing, I don’t feel so wobbly, I think I might be able to tackle more things today.

We had a cooked breakfast out on the deck, I was hungry, I even managed two pieces of toast, of course saving the crusts for the two scavengers.

I had planned to stain the dresser top that Kelli had been painting, and continue building the side panels for the composter.

I’m still coughing up my lungs like an old smoker, but it seems to be all I’m left with.

I couldn’t get past the afternoon without feeling wrecked, as it started well, I thought I would have no trouble, damn the Chinese.

26th July 2022

I felt a little stronger today, this would be a good test to check on my improving condition.

We carried the new dresser into the living space to take pictures, we managed that, but it showed that I wasn’t out of the woods just yet. I still have my wet cough, that is disgusting. I struggled on until mid afternoon finally collapsing on the sofa to watch the next instalment of Star Wars. Kelli made a green salad from our garden and a pasta dish that filled all the empty places in my tummy.

25th July 2022

Well we sold a dresser and a buffet today..

Fully masked, we made sure there was plenty of distance between everyone, it’s not ideal, but the best we could manage.

I pulled a lot of weeds, since the rain they have just shot up overtaking all the flowers.

After a couple of hours I had to rest.

Kelli had painted a new dresser mostly by herself, it was looking quite modern.

I noticed that I had lost my appetite, food that I would wolf down would defeat me.

Having no appetite for me is worse than death (when you have no appetite at all)

We had a take out for dinner, I had my usual fish and chips, which gets consumed in a few minutes, but I barely got through half of it, that is when I know I’m sick.

My plates are so clean that I could put them straight back in the cupboard, but as I don’t live on my own, or am a student, I wash them up properly.

24th July 2022

I was determined to do a bit of work in the garage and the garden. I was fed up with laying out on the sofa all day, and I did feel okay, or so I thought. The humidity was high which effected. my breathing. I had to build a structure to support our cucumbers. I cobbled together something out of some old fence posts draping the plants over it. At the end I was wrecked, and I needed to lay down.

Kelli is improving, although not being able to taste anything makes preparing food an unpleasant experience.

I’m taking a number of supplements to strengthen my immune system, at this stage I will take anything to beat this unpleasantness.

23rd July 2022

Well at least my temperature has dropped to just above normal, could this be the light at the end of the tunnel?

My throat is still a little scratchy, it didn’t turn into the sore throat I was dreading. Poor Kelli has lost her sense of taste and smell which Is driving her crazy, I’ve still got that to look forward to.

I’ve been reading up on the timetable of symptoms, there is lots of information out there, it’s difficult to assimilate into an order.

I have ticked off the symptoms that are categorised as a mild infection, but there are a few that tip over into moderate conditions. I don’t want to fall into the severe symptoms.

My cough is really annoying, it keeps me waking up at night, and I sound like an old heavy smoker.