Author: peterb51

11th November 2021

I had some heavy machinery working in my mouth today. It was my crown preparation day.

There was an hour and a half of drilling and grinding that I felt throughout my entire body.

There was also a powerful suction system capable of sucking up my whole tongue and tonsils.

The practice is like a production line with the dentist moving between different patients seeing to their needs then returning to mine.

Trying to imagine what is going on in my mouth dominates my brain, it feels like they are digging a tunnel, or something equally deep and dark.

Finally the dentist finishes the demolition and leaves it to his assistant to finish off whilst he goes off to another poor victim.

Up to now she was in charge of the suction, making sure my tongue stayed attached, whilst removing all the rock fragments and saliva that fill my mouth. No matter how much I concentrate I create so much of the stuff sometimes to the point of choking my head off.

Fortunately she was on the ball and I didn’t drown in my own spit.

Her job was to make the temporary crowns and produce the information for the final crowns.

My experience in the UK is the dentist takes impressions of my teeth producing a plaster cast of my jaw which gets sent off to the crown maker who makes it from the moulds.

When completed, it comes back placed in the plaster cast, the dentist removes it, and sticks it in my mouth.

Over here it is done by scanning, and the digital file is sent to the technician who programs a machine to make the crown base.

It should be perfect when it comes to fitting.

I did request that it should come with LED lighting for what I’m paying for it, but he did say that would be an extra cost, so I didn’t bother.

Kelli picked me up, and we drove home with my left side of my mouth drooping like I had a stroke. I tried to eat a bowl of soup for lunch, a lot of it just ran down the other side of my mouth making me look like a vampire.

I didn’t do much in the garage, I wasn’t feeling it, I managed to repair a top, and make a support rail for a back panel, and that was that.

We did sell the “Accident” this morning which was good, and we picked up another free dresser this evening.

10th November 2021

I think the oven is on the blink. It took ages to heat up last night, and it was tested again this morning. We don’t know how old it is, but it maybe close to end of its useful life.

The leaves that were left on the trees yesterday found their way on to the grass this morning. The red leaves from the Japanese maple had covered the driveway, which looked pretty but a pain to sweep up.

The two side tables were picked up today, I was pleased how they turned out.

We finished the “Accident” and Kelli posted it on Marketplace at a ridiculously low price just to get rid of it.

I started the re-assembly of the curved fronted dresser, the one that’s already sold.

There’s an awful lot more work to do, including a new sectional back panel, I will have to dig deep into the scrap bin for that.

9th November 2021

There are so many pieces to work on I don’t know what to do first. I have been known to turn three sixty degrees unsure of what to start.

It was important to finish the two side tables. I had to fit the handles to the drawers and apply a coat of finish to the tops. I had to place them in the sunroom to ensure they dry.

Kelli started priming the “accident” dresser combo. We named it that because we accidentally bought it, now we have to polish the turd and make it into something we can sell.

The lawn at the front of the house had a good covering of leaves. I find the raking therapeutic, I wanted to mulch, and pack them into the large plastic bin for converting into leaf mould. We watch Gardeners World regularly and that was the inspiration behind it.

I worked until it got dark, and managed to cram everything that had fallen into the bin. Of course there are still another million waiting to drop, how I deal with those is the question for another day.

8th November 2021

We were on the move again picking up dressers from Zeeland and Hudsonville.

First stop was God’s country where there was a large piece that turned out to be not so great, but we took it anyway. Then it was off to Hudsonville.

The image that was on Marketplace wasn’t bad, it was for free which caught Kelli’s attention. When the garage door opened it still looked okay. The guy helped me move it to the truck, but we needed to take out the drawers in order to load it on top of the one we already had in the back.

That is when the true extent of the dressers condition. When the first drawer was opened, the floor panel, which had de-laminated folded up like the bellows of an accordion. The sides and back then came apart in the guys hands.

We laughed, and told him that we have had worse, to save his embarrassment.

We bungee’d the back door and headed back to base.

Once unloaded, the true condition could be seen. The carcass was good, with just a bit of spray paint on the back and side, but all the drawers need new floor panels. The veneer had been removed from the drawer fronts, so how those are finished will be the next decision.

The other unit was a bit basic, a lot of chipboard, which will mean a lot of painting and a low selling price.

7th November 2021

The clocks went back last night so we are back to the five hours behind the UK.

We needed some supplies, so after a hearty breakfast we set off for Lowes on the north side. There was also a plan to pick up a free headboard from Zeeland, but when the address was entered into the satnav it came up as “Unknown”, which put paid to that excursion.

I had a lot of machining to the side table tops to do which went remarkably well. Kelli finished the two dressers she had been working on taking pictures of one and getting it on to Marketplace.

A neighbour came over to get a piece of 4×2 cut down. He said it was to repair a bed that had broken. Judging by the size of him and his wife I wasn’t sure the 4×2 was the appropriate thickness.

The cabinet with the wire door finally was picked up this evening, after another day of missed times.

6th November 2021

It’s funny how things can change. A few days ago there was zilch going on, things changed a bit yesterday with one piece finding a new home. During the evening we had someone not only buying our latest dresser but also the one I have yet to start. This requires quite a bit of work which got worse as I wheeled it out. Bits were dropping off, and joints came loose, now it’s a total rebuild, no pressure I have until December.

Kelli was steaming on with the two she was painting, although these could be held up because of handles. Quite often the ones that come with the piece are pretty nasty, and get consigned to the ugly drawer.

I have to get the tops for the side tables finished by the middle of next week, that deadline is tight because of the drying time for the finish.

The cabinet with the wired door was due to be collected today, but throughout the day different times were suggested and missed, although we have already got paid for it, we just want to get rid of it.

5th November 2021

Things were looking up as far as sales of our finished pieces. The island went out this evening, and the tall dresser has been paid for and is due out tomorrow.

There was even interest in the cabinet with the wired door, although we’re not holding our breath on that just yet.

Kelli was going great guns with the sprayer, priming two dressers ready for final finish tomorrow.

We finished a beautiful curved dresser that I had to do some radical modifications to.

The bottom rail had warped upwards causing the drawer to interfere, the only answer was to cut the piece out and replace it. That cured that problem. This meant the paint work had to be redone, but it was worth it.

We got pictures of that straight away, and on to Marketplace for the evening rush.

4th November 2021

We were let down by three people today. That has to be a record, and it pisses me off.

One was supposed to come at 10.00am to look at the island, but didn’t turn up. Kelli contacted another person who was interested, but she didn’t turn up either, and the person interested in the tall dresser cancelled saying it wasn’t tall enough.

We are now sitting on three finished pieces, with another due for completion tomorrow, and two more ready for priming. Historically November is a little slow, and I am confident these pieces will sell as soon and the crazy time wasters rot in a pile of skunk dung.

3rd November 2021

We awoke to a sprinkling of snow on the ground, and all the other things that come with, the cold.

It’s not winter yet and my hands felt like stone, although the garage door was open, so it is to be expected.

We took pictures of the island that we got for free last week. We really just did a clean up, which is easy money, provided we sell it.

Kelli started on the big heavy dresser that we got yesterday, sanding it ready for priming tomorrow.

We finally got round to packing up the large glass lamp shade we used to have hanging over the dining table. We changed it because there was never enough light to see what we were eating.

It was a great opportunity to get rid of every piece of packing material we had. Hopefully it will get to Tennessee undamaged.

2nd November 2021

Yet another early run to collect another free dresser. This one was a heavy bugger, even with the drawers removed.

It was a little ornate with a thick looking base, but I’m sure Kelli will make an interesting piece out of it.

We often joke about finding a stash of cash hidden in the furniture, the most we have found was the odd sock and shirt. However this time in one of the drawers the was a glass jar with an unusual substance in it.

It was later established to be marijuana, not enough for a wild drug induced party, but it was a interesting find.

We finished another tall dresser, not too complex and won’t make a huge amount on it, but as it was free, it’s not bad.

There are a number of various dressers either complete or near completion, the most we’ve had in ages.

I’m suffering with the slow drying problem because it is now quite cold in the morning. This means I am holding up the process, and it’s not a good feeling.

There was good news on the paving slab front. At last the slabs have been manufactured and within a couple of weeks they will be delivered.

I cannot wait to get my hands sore and cracked trying to get them laid before the snow arrives.