Author: peterb51

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 16

30th March 2020

I finally finished the desk top, so we were able to re-assemble it.

We wanted it out, and the money in our hands before the end of the month.

A quick phone call and it was agreed that we would deliver it to Grand Rapids tomorrow.

We also had a buyer on another dresser that had been posted a few days earlier. This was a sale, but the buyer was also after another piece, that Kelli was quick to offer the one we had yet to start on.

At the end we sold that as well.

It is in a bit of a state, and requires a lot of work. The drawers sides are worn down, and there is no rails in the cabinet.

The top and fronts need to be sanded and stained the same as the other one, because they will be in the same room.

The downer is Kelli offered it at the same price as the other piece which was much simpler to do, so I will be working for pre-slavery pay.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 15

29th March 2020

When our day is done and we chill, it is the only time we watch tv. Kelli recently cancelled her cable subscription because there is nothing good to watch. Apart from having something flickering in the bedroom helping her to get to sleep, it was a waste of money. So that went, the only good use for the cable now is to hang out the washing.

As we flick though the internet TV channels we came across a programme called Good Bones. It stars a mother and daughter who buy up old properties in Indianapolis and renovate them. They are the most annoying women I’ve ever experienced. The mother has the worst cackling laugh that could turn me violent. Her daughter a voice that could turn milk, Kelli calls it vocal fry where the end of every sentence defends into a sound of eggs in a pan.

I suffer through this every evening, mainly for any ideas that they show, and of course to criticise them as often as I can.

It is obviously made for tv at the most basic level, and I do feel I am in the same barrel scraping the bottom.

The format is always the same, find a cheap property (and I mean really cheap), look around the shit hole, plan what they want to do with it, send in a bunch of animals to tear the place apart, then ponce around pretending to rebuild it. What is not seen is the army of people doing the real work.

All through the two series the common theme is Shaker style doors for the kitchen, subway tiles for the splashback, and sliding barn doors, every bloody time.

It is so obvious that both Kelli and myself have predicted what they will do before they do it.

Now the objectives for these annoying women is to make a profit on the property, so important in America, but what it doesn’t care about is the story behind the property.

Often they enter the house that is still filled with someone’s personal possessions, even finding freezers filled with rotten food. They then dance around laughing and joking, even mockingly with objects they find.

Their self interest is all about the money, and that is the thing I hate, deep inside I am hoping that this Coronavirus had stopped their business for a while, not that they would stop, and re-access their values, they are “stars” but if there is karma, I hope it finds them.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 14

28th March 2020

It doesn’t feel like the weekend, there is no reference point, we haven’t eaten out for what seems like ages.

Kelli has been waiting for the delivery from Imperfect foods for two days, and it’s driving her crazy.

As we had time on the garden yesterday, we did a bit of work on the desk and chair repaint job, as it was wet outside.

We had some interest on the latest small dresser that Kelli lowered the price of, but that fizzled out, maybe not the day for selling.

She had the idea to advertise the rose bushes that we dug out yesterday, and they were snapped up quickly. Kelli can’t bare to throw anything away that may be of use to someone, so our throw-aways will soon be growing in someone else’s garden.

The bloody things had their final act of revenge by scratching Kelli in the face as she loaded them into the wheelbarrow

Our delivery turned up, and it was like Christmas, now we had vegetables.

In each box there is a gel pack that’s frozen to keep the contents cold. Over the weeks we accumulated quite a few of these packs, that could be safely emptied down a drain if we had one.

Kelli posted them for free on Marketplace, and blow me they were snapped up.

In the evening she made a fabulous vegetable curry, Ah, that runny nose brought back memories.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 13

27th March 2020

It was nice to work outside, it was about 57F just right for some garden work.

I decided to tackle the removal of a rose bush that I had cut right back last year.

The area around the side of the house is covered with small pebbles which I raked away from the bush.

The digging up of the bush was not difficult because the soil is very sandy, but the weed control fabric around the root was badly damage and needs replacing.

To do this properly I need to remove all the pebbles and any soil that is on the fabric.

So painstakingly I was picking them up and placing them in a wheelbarrow. I made a makeshift sieve so that I could separate the soil from the stones.

When Kelli came to inspect progress I pretended to be counting them as I put them in the barrow.

“Why are you counting them?” She inquired.

“ So that I put the correct number back” I said with a smirk.

That is when I got hit with a gardening glove.

The job was strangely satisfying, knowing I will have touched every pebble would ground me in the place, or confirm that I’m a complete plank, I’m not sure, maybe I’ll sort the pebbles into different colours tomorrow.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 12

26th March 2020

We finally managed to photograph Kelli’s latest dresser, although the top needs more finish to make it smoother.

We started painting the desk and matching chair.

We were expecting the buyer for another dresser to arrive to collect and look at the other matching pieces we had found.

They turned up in their mini van, we had laid out all the furniture out in the driveway, a safe distance for them to look over.

The discussions were shouted back and forth, which was just as well as they were moving to Holland from New York.

Brilliant! They had driven from ground zero to our driveway, it couldn’t have been more unfortunate, but they bought the dresser and the other items which we had to paint to match.

They wheeled the dresser to their vehicle on our small trolley, and then brought it back, leaving it outside the garage.

After they left neither Kelli or I wanted to touch it, so we have left it outside.

Does anyone know how long the virus could live on a trolly?

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 11

25th March 2020

We set off for Jenison to collect the two side tables, stopping off in the downtown area to deliver the small red dresser.

It feels strange leaving it on the back porch and collecting the money from under a flower pot, but it works.

The small table went earlier, we left it outside the house, and the money was left under a pot.

Just as we were loading the red dresser Kelli mentioned that the bottom drawer didn’t close properly, and would I look at it.

After cursing under my breath, I noted what the problem was. There was a wood strip that was higher than the drawer sliding strips.

The only answer was to remove it and reposition it lower, easier said than done. I removed nails from the bottom of the back panel thinking that would release it, but no, nothing was that easy.

I then attacked it with a hammer thinking that a sharp tap would free it, but that didn’t work either. The next attempt was a heavy clout which resulted in the strip of wood shattering.

Kelli walked away at this point, scared of what other things I could possibly do to ruin a piece that we were due to deliver.

I scoured the scrap bin and found a length of wood that would work.

I cut it to length and held it in place with screws, then tested the drawer.

Fortunately it worked, I hid the relief, I was waiting for the adulation from my wife that never came, she just wanted to load it and go, but not without wiping the dusty fingerprints of the drawer fronts.

It has become my trademark, Kelli can track my movements by the piles of dust I leave.

I remind her that it is the sign of someone working hard.

When we returned, there were jobs we wanted to finish. Kelli in particular wanted to take pictures of a small dresser she had been working on.

Our attention was drawn to Larry’s house just across the road. One of his buddies had come over to visit, and they were sitting outside, his voice was so loud we almost wanted to join in. He was bitching about the restrictions, that he hadn’t conformed to, but he went on and on.

This was the time when social distancing and social silencing would be a real benefit.

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 10

24th March 2020

The interest for the dresser turned into a positive sale, due for pickup on Thursday.

The person also asked if we had a long style dresser as well.

Kelli got on Marketplace, flicking through the pages found one, and what was more amazing it was the exact same design as the one we already had, what are the chances of that.

What followed was some negotiations to get it down to a price we were prepared to pay.

We had to confirm that the buyer we had was willing to pay the price, fortunately they were happy to do that.

We made the arrangement, and set off for Jenison.

The seller was in the process of moving, so the garage was full of things for sale.

We loaded the dresser into the truck, and before we left we saw two side tables of the same design which we snapped them up, but unfortunately there was not room to take them.

Now we have to plan another trip to collect those.

It was great to work with the garage door open, a sign that decent weather was on the way.

There was also some positive response to the two pieces Kelli posted on Marketplace, so we will be getting them out tomorrow.

I am curious how the shutdown will work and what effect it will have on us.

The US government have agreed a package that will guarantee workers their wages, small businesses have to apply for loans to help them through.

Trump has said it will be over by Easter and he wants America to re-open for business. However, that is not what the scientists say, I prefer to follow their advice. It was also pointed out, that it was the decisions of the state governors to shut things down, and they will decide when it is safe to open it up again, I can’t wait for that shit to hit the fan.

23rd March 2020

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 9

It was full speed ahead on a couple of small pieces that we can sell cheaply to test if people are still interesting in buying.

I re-assembled the small table, but was not happy with the strength if the fixing, that needed improving.

When we moved into the house there was lots of bits of timber left in the garage that I have gradually used up on various projects. In particular some rectangular strips of oak beading that would be perfect for what I needed. After searching all the bins and my wood store in the shed, I found just enough to finish the job, a few months ago I was tripping over the stuff.

The total shut down comes into force at midnight, so we shall see what happens.

I continued with the chair repair. I started on the one with arms only to find a piece of the lower back rail missing, so I set in a piece of ash to repair it.

It had snowed overnight, so it was strange to wake up to that, thankfully it melted pretty quick as the temperature rose.

I started stripping the desk top, hopefully this will be a simple finishing job.

I have braced myself, because it is never a simple job.

Kelli had someone interested in the large dresser we completed a couple of weeks ago, that has sat in the garage covered in a shroud.

We will wait and see if the interest turns into a sale.

22nd March 2020

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 8

I started the day picking out the raisins from my bran flakes, not that I don’t like raisins, just not in my cereal.

Another morning of checking the conditions of the world, trying to make sense of all the relief that has been promised to Americans.

Kelli remarks at all the posts on Facebook that derides all the advice given by the experts. She keeps a tally of the cases in Michigan, and the one in Holland that she knew personally. There is also another suspected case just in the next street, and she knows her as well!

Seclusion can get to you, all the freedom you have taken for granted is suddenly questioned.

A busy day for collections. The lady came to collect the large entertainment centre. First we unloaded a desk that she wanted repainting and the top stripped and re-stained.

Then we loaded the big piece. This was certainly easier to load than it was to take out, so with a delighted customer we turned our attention to the freebie we got last night.

We gave it a good clean, touched up a few marks and Kelli posted it on Marketplace as a project piece, and had someone on it straight away.

We pushed it outside, and awaited the buyers as we worked in the garage.

We knew when they arrived, we heard the sound of a heavy piece of furniture straining someone’s greens, and probably ruining them for the rest of the day, but we made money from it.

I had started work on the dining chairs we picked up a couple of weeks ago. They were in a worse state than I thought, most of the joints were loose which meant tapping them apart and rebuilding.

21st March 2020

Pete and Kelli’s social distance day 7

Our weekend is now indistinguishable from the rest of the week, meaning we are fully occupied with our projects.

However we needed to get out for our own sanity, so we loaded up the dogs and drove down to the beach.

It was cold, with a biting wind that watered your eyes, and a lot of other places as well.

The place was deserted, apart from a few fishermen frozen to the spot on the pier.

I’m not sure that the dogs appreciated being taken out from their warm places and forced to walk in these artic conditions.

As soon as we got back and Kelli started dinner.

As we tucked in, she had a message from someone telling her of something of interest at the side of the road. She was up out of her seat getting dresser to go and pick it up.

I finished my mouthful and reluctantly put my shoes back on.

Kelli was on fire, and so was the truck, for occasions like this we should have a siren and flashing light to warn other drivers that we were on a mission.

Fortunately we didn’t have to travel very far, and as we turned a corner we saw it.

It looked in good condition, it had fifteen drawers that all worked as they should.

Out of curiosity, we said hi to the guy working in the garage, and started to lift the dresser into the truck. It was too heavy for Kelli to lift on her own, so I stepped in to help, but even with my strength we struggled. The guy saw that we were having difficulty, so he came over to help.

With the beast safely in the back of the truck, we drove home to finish our dinner.