Author: peterb51

12th November 2021

I never know what to expect when Kelli says that we have something to collect. This happens often, and today was a classic.

First we had to unload the piece we collected yesterday. This was in good condition, the only area of damage was the bottom edge of the side panel where the veneer had splintered.

I decided to tackle the non functioning oven. I had looked on-line at possible faults, and it came down to a faulty heating element.

It was simple to remove, after turning off the power. As soon as I extracted it I saw what had happened. The push on connector had fried and disintegrated. Now I had to find the wire and remove that and get a replacement.

Pulling the cooker out and removing the back panel, it was easy to find and remove.

We then set off on another furniture collection expedition, stopping off to get a new element and cable.

The man in the parts department was helpful and soon found a replacement part but didn’t have a cable, but he gave me a push on connector that I could add to the old cable.

So fifty three bucks lighter, we set of to pick up the furniture.

The north side is the dodgy end of Holland, with lots of apartments and condominiums that aren’t the most desirable places to visit.

We arrived at the address, the garage was open and we could see the pieces that Kelli wanted. The garage had a lot of odd furniture in it, including another white tall dresser that she liked the look of.

The person selling was not home which meant corresponding by text. She was on the way but suggested that we loaded up the pieces and leave the money by the door.

We started with the larger brown dresser with strange things painted on the drawers.

I pulled open the bottom drawer which had no bottom panel. We carried the piece to the truck and loaded it. Then we decided to take the tall white dresser instead of a smaller brown one. This had been agreed with the seller, so I opened one of the drawers, and it was full of stuff, they all were. I searched around for a box to empty it into. There was all kinds of crap in them, paper, clothes and worst of all mouse droppings.

We carried the piece to the truck and loaded it.

Then we drove home feeling very dirty, and ready to burn our clothes.

On the was back Kelli spied a mid century style radiogram by the dustbins next to a keep fit centre. The piece had been left out in the rain for a couple of days, and we had a lot of rain, so the expectations weren’t great.

We pulled up next to it, and Kelli took a look, and announced that she wanted it, but as there was no room in the truck we would have to unload what we had and then return for the radiogram.

We found some space in the garage for the tall white dresser, and unloaded the brown one.

This was one we hadn’t checked all the drawers of, and yes there was crap in them which I threw straight into the dustbin.

Then it was back to snag the radiogram.

Fortunately it was getting dark, we pulled up next to the piece and jumped out. By now I was wearing bright yellow gloves which in the low light must have looked like floating hands.

Kelli looked inside and everything was there.

It was a heavy bugger and took most of mine and all of Kelli’s strength to lift it.

Normally we can load things quick and easily, but for some reason the piece got jammed on the door hook and we couldn’t move it. Panic took over, this was supposed to be a slick operation not a fumbling farce. Adrenaline kicked in and we managed to unhook it and slide it.

We made our getaway, and arrived home with this relic of the sixties in our procession.

My day hadn’t finished, I still had to refit the new heating element into the oven.

This was easy, apart from fixing the element into the oven. The door was so big it was difficult to stretch my arms inside to tighten the screws, it was so dark inside with only the light from my phone to help. Finally it was done.

I switched on the power, and tested it, it worked, now I need a rest, it’s been one hell of a day.

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.