Author: peterb51

17th March 2021

The projects in the garage were rockin and rolling. I had things in a sequence that flowed like a well oiled machine.

I also managed to rip down a length of decking to complete the yoga deck, I just need to figure out how to attach it.

All the YouTube videos I watch conveniently leave that bit out, or, have made their deck the exact correct size, but even then do not explain how the last piece is secured.

There are starter clips, and double clips but not end clips, which is really maddening.

Kelli had a better night, getting a few hours of sleep.

She is also losing weight through not eating, so she takes pleasure in trying on the clothes she wore last year.

I guess I will see a lot of parcels arriving with smaller versions of her “much too big now” clothes.

16th March 2021

Kelli had another sleepless night, and this time it was not my snoring.

Insomnia is another condition I don’t fully understand. I’ve had a few sleep issues over the years, mainly when I’ve had problems with work, and maybe a few whilst I’ve been here.

A lack of sleep is certainly the trigger for how the rest of the day plays out.

This is something I cannot do anything about, which drives me crazy, and sometimes I let it out, which doesn’t help.

All this is wrapped up in this endless loop of mental torture that I cannot be a part of.

I try to be supportive, I want her to get back to her old self again, but this is like a nightmare that I haven’t woken up from.

The projects in the garage are progressing slowly. I have two dressers in progress plus the large entertainment unit that seems to be taking an age, but I fitted in the back panels, so it’s getting there.

15th March 2022

It was too cold to work outside, the temperature fluctuates to extremes in March/ April it’s a wonder that the plants know what to do.

Kelli didn’t have a good night, probably due to my snoring. There are certain positions that I lay in where this happens, and I’m aware, but it sometimes is beyond my control.

Lack of sleep is a problem for her, it wrecks her day, and doesn’t help with condition.

It’s hard for me to see her laid out in the sunroom lacking the energy to do anything.

She did have to force herself to meet up with Greer, maybe not the best decision.

I spent the day working alone in the garage, it is definitely not much fun being by myself, and the output is dramatically low this month.

14th March 2021

The clocks went forward today, signalling the start of spring, or at least slightly longer days.

I started laying the planks on the yoga deck.

Having splits on my thumbs didn’t help, as I was using hidden fixings it was a painful experience. My knees also took some hard treatment, reminisce of the floor laying in the house. It took all afternoon to lay 16 strips, and at the end I felt like I had been kicked around the garden.

Just when I thought I had finished, I needed to move 36 strips from the deck that I had stacked lovingly on Friday, to the side of the house where I stacked them again.

Kelli found enough energy to cut my hair, she had got fed up with my southern preacher hairstyle.

It was during this that she mentioned that I’d caught the sun on the back of my head, so I have to go around with a baboon’s ass for a while.

13th March 2021

There were a number of jobs to do in the garage, Kelli is still suffering, so I tried to keep things moving.

I had shelves to sand and prime, and I really wanted to start on the decking.

I had bought rolls of tape to stick to the joists to protect them against rot, this is a belt and bracers solution.

That took ages to do, getting through one and a half rolls, so I underestimated the amount once again.

I moved the twelve foot lengths twice trying to think ahead, but obviously not thinking smartly.

I wanted to set the key pieces in position ready for another onslaught tomorrow.

To keep my brain from sinking into the abyss, I listen to a lot of documentaries by Adam Curtis. His latest series focuses on individualism, but the content swings between the USA, Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.

Living in the US as I am, I have asked questions like “ Where is public transport?”

If you want to take a train to Chicago, it would be quicker to walk. In China they have 40,000 kilometres of high-speed rail, and America has none. China has build five hundred and twenty new cities from scratch. They built new factories that just made one product, and they flooded the world with cheap goods. They have made so much money, they have bought up much of the debt in the western world.

America is incapable of doing anything quickly. It gets locked in litigation for every single thing.

Soon after we moved into our house, we put up a low fence at the side to stop the dogs from running off. Later we learnt that we needed a permit for it. Needless to say we didn’t apply for one yet.

I thought America was a great place, I was conned, it is full of fools who cannot make a single decision, doesn’t give a shit for the poor and working classes, but still thinks that the American dream exists.

God knows, I bet I need a bloody permit for the decking.

12th March 2021

My decking boards arrived today. I was in the garage when I heard the “toot” of the delivery truck. I opened the door to see a huge vehicle with a fork device on the back, and balancing on the fork was my stack of composite materials bowing on the forks.

I moved our truck to allow the driver to dump the load closer to the garage.

Then all I had to do was to move each piece through the garage and set it down on the structure. As I was moving the sixteen footer I found five that had been damaged. At over forty bucks a length that was significant. I took pictures of the damage intending to get them replace.

I then counted everything just to make sure it tallied with the order. The short pieces were correct, but I found that I had seven extra strips meaning that even with the damaged pieces I still had more than enough.

I was then faced with the dilemma, should I go back to the store and get a credit for the damaged pieces? Kelli frowned at the suggestion, her point was I had enough good pieces so I should be happy with that.

In turn I could use the extra strips for something else.

11th March 2021

It dawned on me today that I haven’t bought any music since I retired. That is unheard of for me where music was my passion, but I can only explain it as there is no readerly available source to hear anything new.

Over here there are online stations where the listener creates their own playlist, so what you get are themed songs by similar artists.

As Kelli likes to select the playlist, therefore I have to contend with Justin “bloody” Hayward all day, every day.

I used to enjoy walking round HMV viewing the new releases and taking a punt on new bands.

That is another thing I miss, as there is nothing like that here.

I hope I’ve not got to a time of my life when it means nothing, and I drift into old git’s world, that would be a disaster.

Kelli had a delivery of new things to brighten the house up ready for spring. There were new cushion covers, papasan cushions and a rug for the sunroom.

The poor mailman earned his pay today.

10th March 2021

The sweet smell of cut cedar filled the garage. I had taken a break from furniture to make a cold frame using the timber I got yesterday, and some old windows that Kelli had acquired last year.

It was a change to do some basic construction, and progress was good even though I was using mainly hand tools, and I didn’t get one splinter.

I had an hour long video call with my friend Martin back in the UK, catching up with all his news and new medical conditions, I miss my visits to him, but distance was sometimes a blessing.

He was telling me his plans to make new gates, which, as always with what he did was wildly over the top, but who am I to tell him that.

9th March 2021

It’s a warm day, it’s supposed to be 61 deg F, that is bloody amazing, the first day I could work without a jumper on.

This was a great day to start the work on the decking, but that meant ordering the material.

Off to Menards we went, stopping off at Goodwill and found a dresser, in a slightly sorry sight, but only $5 even without my old git discount, so we got it cheaper, we grabbed that one.

Kelli had a bit of energy, but not enough to walk round Menards, so she went off to check out another thrift whilst I ventured inside.

I had my list of brackets and screws in my phone which was very efficient of me, and I piled them into my trolley.

I headed over to the wood area to order the decking material. I had decided to go with a composite material rather than timber, that would last a long time, but also the fixing is invisible which eliminates visible screw heads that trap muck and starts the rotting process. I also got tape that is laid on top of the joists to stop them getting wet and degrading.

I also planned to build a cold frame, so I got the timber for that as well, all in all it was an expensive visit, but I will be getting 11% rebate on all that, so that’s something.

I spent the afternoon cutting up the timber for the cold frame in between painting bits of furniture, so a good day.

8th March 2021

There are good days and bad, I can easily tell how it’s going to play out. Today is bad, there is very little smiles, very few words, and a feeling of doom and disintegration.

We have another appointment with the kinesiologist this morning, but after last weeks episode I’m having trouble seeing any improvement. I have to be so careful keeping my frustration hidden, otherwise I would explode.

It is not in my nature to succumb to sickness, often you “suck it up” and work through it.

I guess that is why Kelli didn’t want my negativity in the treatment room.

She came out slightly battered, but clutching

a herbal remedy and a B vitamin.

There was a little positivity, but not really knowing how long these things take to work through.

When we got back I worked on the large entertainment unit, filling holes and sand the shelves. It looks better with the primer on, but that shows up all the defects, good old Bondo!