Author: peterb51

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 64

20th May 2029

It was a glorious sunny day, the first real one of the year, so the excitement was rushing though our veins to finish off the glass cabinet.

There had been a few issues of paint adhesion that had plague us, but we were optimistic that we would overcome them.

However that did not happen, and no matter what we did the paint chipped off. Just fitting the doors cause chipping, it was like we expected the whole cabinet to shed it’s skin like a snake.

We always use a special primer for difficult surfaces, this was a nightmare..

It was like the Universe was saying, “ Just sit in the garden and enjoy the sunshine”

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 63

19th May 2020

There is a lot of resistance to the restrictions imposed by the Governor of Michigan. Although there is lifting of some, the wearing of masks are the main thing that people are opposed too. Their argument makes no sense to me, generally it helps to reduce the risk of me giving it to someone else. This illustrates how selfish this some people really are. Although no one will put a figure on the number of people it would be acceptable to sacrifice in order for the economy to resume.

It takes this pandemic to show who in society we really value, but will they be rewarded? or will they get forgotten when things eventually find a new normal.

My sheet of teak veneer arrived in the post today, I was all excited to see if it matched the drawer front of the dresser. I was underwhelmed when I saw it, just one piece 12″x 6″ and it was nothing like the grain on the furniture. I tried to make a repair, but I was not happy with it, so it looks like plan B.

Most of the day was spent preparing a cabinet we collected a few days ago.

I lovingly masked the glass doors and primed them. This cabinet was not the normal material we normally work with, as it requires so much preparation, but sometimes we have to take what is available.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 62

18th May 2020

“Cameron has lock himself out of his apartment” Kelli said, walking into the garage after returning from doing some errands.

“Can we go and break in and get them, his car keys are there as well”

“No, I’m not doing that without him” I said.

“Why, what difference will that make” questioned Kelli.

“Because I don’t fancy getting arrested by the police for breaking and entering” I said, adding, “I don’t think it would go down well with my residency, if I get a criminal record whilst it’s being processed”

“Good point” she conceded.

When Cameron finished work we drove round to collect him. We all wore our masks, we’re never sure about the crazy people he might get around with.

I had taken a collection of putty knives with me. I have to stress that I have never broken into anywhere in my life, so I wasn’t sure what I was expected to do.

I looked at the door, and yes it was locked. Kelli suggested that I use the most flexible knife to slip down between the jam and the door. That would have meant that the knife would need to bend through ninety degrees, and there was no way that would happen. So I looked for another way.

I noticed there was a slight gap between the jam and the doorframe, just enough for the thinnest knife to slip underneath.

I pushed the knife in, and it went all the way, but there was a nail hindering movement.

Kelli moved forward, took the knife, wiggled it about and bingo the door was open “Fingers” Kelli had struck again.

Of course she took all the credit, even though it was my idea initially, but I’m modest enough to give it to her.

She reminded me of all the times when she had locked herself out of her home in the past, and had to use something to slip the lock, often it was a credit card.

It was the only time she had ever used it without buying something.

Earlier in the day the postman had struggled up the driveway with a large brown box. I could see him as I ate my breakfast. I mentioned it to Kelli who looked blank.

“ I’m not expecting a parcel” she answered.

“Well it’s a big box, and it won’t be for me” I said.

She went out and picked it up from outside the front door. She laid it on the kitchen worktop. It measured about eighteen inches cubed.

“I don’t know what this is” she said innocently, cutting the packaging tape.

Lifting the flap, there was a look of realisation.

“Oh it’s the rugs I ordered” she squealed.

Pulling them out and chucking them down on the floor.

“Terrific” I said.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 61

17th May 2020

It was a day of rain, lots of it. We had a couple coming to collect the big ass coffee table just after 1.00pm. I was volunteered to greet them and complete the transaction.

I had been out in the garage giving the top another polish, so it was looking good.

Everything went great, the couple loved it and loaded it up, and off they went happy.

We then had to deliver a head and foot board to an address in Byron Center. We had acquired these pieces as part of a job-lot of two dressers which we had sold last week, so this was a bit of extra profit from that deal.

It gives me a great opportunity to see the different places that people live. This address was down a private road, and set in a wooded valley, so they weren’t short of a few bucks. The heavily pregnant buyer was delighted with the bed parts, so with cash in our hands we made the trip back.

“Oh we have to stop off on the way back to pick up another dresser”

“Another bloody dresser? we have a shed full of the buggers.” “You can never have enough dressers” I kept saying to myself.

We got to the apartment and there was this dresser, ready to be loaded. It was not a great example although it was fully assembled, but there is alway cobwebs and spider’ shit in the base. A quick grunt and it was in the truck, and we headed home.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 60

16th May 2020

“We have to go and pick up something from Grand Rapids” Kelli announced, adding the Grand Rapids part rather sheepishly. I have no problem with that, although I give her grief more in fun than anything else. I trust her to select furniture that we can turn over quickly, and she knows what will sell.

She punched in the address on her GPS and we set off, stopping off to get fuel. The prices have steadily risen over the last few weeks to $1.90 an gallon, so all that cheap fuel has been exhausted.

We pulled out of the petrol station and headed off to get some garden edging that Kelli had ordered from Ace Hardware. There was a bit of confusion over the quantity that had been delivered, but that was quickly sorted out. We loaded the box full of edging into the back of the truck and pulled out of the car park.

I expected her to turn right, instead she turned left.

I looked at Kelli, the GPS lady was giving out directions, and Kelli was following the directions to the letter.

“Don’t we go in the other direction?” I inquired.

“It’s okay, it’s taking us to the highway this way”

What followed was a head scratching discussion on why we were going in a completely opposite direction. Okay we would hit the highway, but further down, and then we would eventually drive past the junction we would have reached, had we gone in the direction I thought we were going.

Anyway we hurtled along towards the big city, and found ourselves in a bland suburb, stopping outside this house that had the furniture piece in the driveway.

We decided to fit the edging around our flower borders. From my experience, I knew this needed careful planning to avoid an uneven mess. So we used a length of 4×2 to set the height and straightness, and it worked a treat. Kelli always looks oddly as I try to explain my ideas, but when it looks like working she gets onboard.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 59

15th May 2020

It was a wet start of the day, the morning was dark, with the rumbles of thunder all around the lake area. I had plenty to do on the large coffee table. The top was a bland wood that I had stained, now I was building up the finish with layers of polyurethane.

I had assembled the dining table and stripped the remnants of the green paint that had been left on the top. Generally it was not in too bad condition. The extension leaves worked, and I stripped everything down and sanded and cleaned, and even repainted all the metalwork.

I even managed to clean my bench, in between adding more coats of finish to a mid century sideboard.

As it cleared up in the afternoon, I dug out another border, buried deep were large root balls which meant at some time there were more plants than the previous owner had left us.

To say it was sparse was an understatement, in the year we’ve been here Kelli has added and re-arranged plants to make it a lot more presentable, but I know from my own experience at the cottage, you can spend a fortune on what you think is half a nursery, but once back home they have dwindled to a pathetic array. However once they have a chance to establish themselves it all changes, and we can reap the visual rewards all through the summer.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 58

14th May 2020

The day finally arrived, the day when my residency had been filed. Both Kelli and I received letters confirming that we were in “the process”.

That was a lot different to what I had expected, dreading the arrival of the mail.

I watched as she went out to the box and retrieved a package and some letters. As she came into the kitchen there was no gloom, which made me relieved. I was in the bathroom when she let out a shout of joy, of course I was not in a good position to rush out and see what she was happy about. I expected it to be a piece of new clothing that had just arrived, or something equally exciting.

But no when I walked into the kitchen she was waving a piece of paper from the USCIS informing me that my application had been accepted.

For both of us it was an emotional moment, I didn’t think a piece of paper could bring such relief to me. After several months of not knowing there must have been inward stress building up that I would get kicked out of the country for overstaying my visa. This would have spelt disaster for our relationship, for me to be locked out, and not being able to live in our American home together.

I could have moved Kelli over to the cottage, but there wouldn’t been enough room for her clothes. She would need a transport plane just for all the different garments.

We have this re-occurring discussion about all the various types of clothing she needs for all the different seasons. In the UK it is winter clothes, and a change for the rest of the year.

Anyway that doesn’t need to happen, now I just have to wait for the next part of the process to happen.

To celebrate, and because it was a shitty wet day we decided to go to a garden centre and get some plants to brighten up the front of the house and the back garden.

We went to Countryside Greenhouse a massive place, like the whole of Wiltshire, but undercover. The masks and social distancing were in evidence, although some had the mask under their noses, which sort of defeats the object, some people eh?

I had a list of plants that my sister Nicola had given me, so I used that as a guide.

The moment we started looking, Kelli was going “cute” this and “cute” that at everything, so within ten feet we had a load of things that were not on the list. Eventually we found some that I recognised, so it wasn’t a total disaster.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 57

13th May Wednesday

It was a warm day for a change. I didn’t need my wooden jumper for the first time this year, I was happy.

I was really looking forward to reassemble the table that we got free. I had stripped the top and Kelli had painted the base. There’s more sanding required to make the top good for finishing then it can go with the six chairs that we have stored in the shed. Chairs are not our favourite things to work on especially when they have to be sanded. Six of the buggers have to be refinished so they can be sold as a set with the table. I can manage only two per day so that I do not go crazy with boredom.

I have started wearing gloves to stop my hands getting so dry.

After a day of hard scrubbing I was exhausted, I could barely keep my eyes all evening. If ever there was a person suffering from “old git” syndrome it was me.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 56

12th May 2020

There are times when the realisation of the current situation hits me. The freedom to go anywhere without caution troubles me. There are the two factors keeping me from returning to the UK. One the pandemic, and the other is the residency process. There is not a day when we watch the mail truck stopping at the box hoping that the papers are not returned. It’s not that I’m homesick, I would like to spend time with my family and friends and introduce Kelli to them. I have jobs to the cottage I would like to do, as well as many things here. I find most of my time is spent in the garage repairing things, sanding tops and applying multiple coats of polyurethane. It is not that I don’t enjoy the freedom to do these things, I just need more time to do all the others.

I have my mental note to set out new flower beds and to make a patio, these occupy my sleep. I dream about joists and foundations, the dilemma of wood over recycled planks is a constant question.

I still have the project to clear the moss from the front garden, I try to scratch more areas of thin patchy grass in the evening just to keep the progress going.

There is work progressing on the mid century pieces that we have had for a while. The biggest problem is done chipped veneer on a drawer front that I have tried unsuccessfully to repair. Having stripped the finish off to reveal that the veneer looks like teak, I couldn’t find anything that I could use to patch the damage. My only option is to get some veneer from eBay and try to make a good repair.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 55

11th May 2020

I spent some of the day at the moss farm, otherwise know as the front garden. The last owner of the house was not very active in the garden, and was happy that he could see green stuff. I am determined to bring it back to grass.

I checked to see what the cost of getting people in to renovating it, and was shocked to find that it could be as much as $5000 which was a little steep.

So I thought I would tackle it myself in stages, but first I had to remove the moss. This is no mean feat, as I tried a moss killer first but it didn’t have much effect, and getting anything stronger is hard to find, unless you are a professional business. I think it is because people were making homemade bombs, but I thought that was fertiliser. However the stuff you can buy is weak in comparison, although the really dangerous “Roundup” weed killer is widely available.

I did a little work on the coffee table by spraying a tinted finish to even out the colour.

We then had to deliver the dresser to Cameron’s apartment, not an easy task as the doorway was just wide enough to get the thing through.

We have been approached by someone to refinish a dining table and an old desk.

The table is not difficult, but I really don’t want to tackle the desk as it has so many hard places to try to strip.