Author: peterb51

29th February 2020

What a interesting day it would be today.

At 10.30am the first customers arrived to collect the two short side tables. We learned that they have houses that are holiday lets, and they needed bedroom furniture. This is a good opportunity for future business, so Kelli was straight on it.

The next customer were due to collect the black stained dining table that I have been labouring over for the last three weeks.

I was really nervous, because I wanted a wonderfully smooth top, and I have been plagued with grot issues at every turn.

I even put an extra coat last night, my last ditch attempt to get the finish I wanted.

We set it up in the living space and waited for them to arrive.

I was more nervous than I had been yesterday at the dentist. Just after 1.00pm they arrived, Kelli was still drying her hair when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and invited them inside. The younger lady gasped as she saw the table in front of her. The other lady was her mother who was equally delighted.

This went a long way to relieve my anxiety, it seemed that every stage there was something that didn’t go to plan, but all that evaporated under all the praise.

We loaded it into the back of their vehicle and they drove off happy customers, the best ones to have.

The final piece we had to deliver was the dresser with the mud colour stain. That was a challenge to find, but yet again she was delighted with the result, and with a wad of notes in our hand, it was back to the homestead, stopping off at Goodwill.

We found a dresser in good condition so bagged that, it was a little more than we would usually spend, but hopefully not too much work to do up.

28th February 2020

Having a tooth removed was not my idea of a fun day.

I had been in a little discomfort because of a gum infection caused by a tooth implant that had fallen out a few months before. I would have had that taken care of when I was back in the UK in February, but the whole residency thing had changed all that.

However my appointment was at 10.00, so in solum mood we drove to the clinic.

After a short wait, I went into the treatment room and “wham, bam, thank you mam” it was done and I was out.

The dentist laid out the bits of my broken tooth on the tray all bloody and unrecognisable. He pointed out the infected area then he was off to the next victim, er, patient.

We came back and started work as if nothing had happened.

We had a buyer for a pair of low side tables Kelli had posted last night, which was great, along with the two other pieces that will be delivered tomorrow.

27th February 2020

Up early again as someone was coming to collect a side table Kelli posted on Marketplace last night, and was snapped up before we went to bed.

I put the final coat on to the centre leaves of the dining table, I just want it out of here now.

I worked on another staining job for a dresser that goes out at the weekend.

The stain that the customer supplied was like mud. The first coat was a bit light, even though I let it sit for five minutes, but after a second one it was more like a rutted dirt track.

Kelli was busy on a couple of side tables that she hoped to post this evening.

We have good success with these, which is why we have a pair of modified turquoise pedestals (not the final colour) and the free desk that we picked up yesterday that is still in the truck.

There is a mid century dresser that is causing us a dilemma because we can’t decide what colours to paint it. We were hoping to leave it as a stained wood finish, but there was a mark in the top that I steamed and sanded out. Unfortunately as soon as the stain went on it stood out again, so we need to think again.

26th February 2020

It was an early start to get to Hudsonville to pick up the free desk.

This was a route we used to take regularly when Painted Farmgirl was trading. We followed the directions of the GPS until we got to the address then things went a little haywire.

The location was a labyrinth of turnings, leading to many identical buildings. We drove around for a while searching for the blocks that contained the house with the open garage. When we eventually found it there was a truck sticking out, with the desk behind.

After that had been moved, we loaded the desk into the truck and set the destination for the next place.

It is alway a surprise for me to find out all the many deals Kelli makes. This time it was a set of brightly coloured mixing bowls from somewhere in Zeeland.

The GPS took us to a crossroads of dirt tracks, so we drove up and down the track trying to find the place with no success. Frantic messaging ensued with the person not really answering the questions Kelli was asking.

After a while with my patience wearing thin we found the road that took us to the correct dirt crossroads.

As we approached the house two large dogs bounded towards us. We stopped the truck at the bottom of the drive because the dogs wouldn’t get out of the way allowing us to pass.

What was needed was a decoy to distract the dogs and collect the bowls. In true mid western style Kelli handed the money to me.

I ventured out of the truck and the dogs immediately circled me. Fortunately they were friendly and didn’t eat my leg. I walked up to the house where the lady appeared carrying the bowls, another two small dogs rushed out the house and joined the others to encircle me.

I handed over the money and carried the purchase towards the truck. Now there were four dogs running around us. This made reversing a nightmare, especially trying to keep track of the little ones. Kelli was freaking out, scared that she would flatten one.

The lady didn’t seemed bothered, maybe she didn’t like them very much. Eventually we managed to turn, and head off without killing anything.

25th February 2020

I moved the dining table out of the garage and assembled it in the sunroom. This project has been a problem since the start. Just when I think I’ve put the final coat on the top I find another blemish.

This was my last attempt, so I rubbed over the surface with a scouring pad removing the dust. Then with the best brush made from the finest unicorn tail I applied a final coat.

It looked smooth and even, I made sure that I hadn’t missed anything, hoping for the best.

The garage is now full of furniture, which require careful movement to avoid knocking anything over, especially with my big feet.

We had a lady due to bring over a tin of stain for a dresser we both had lovingly stripped.

This was to match other pieces in her son’s bedroom, alway a dodgy scenario, but hey ho, we’re up for anything.

Kelli worked on the single side table, whilst I did some repairs to the turquoise buggers.

These had been nailed together, which gave me a lot of fun removing.

I finished the repair to the chair, with the new cross brace fitted it will blend in well with the others.

Last on the list was assembling the base for the mid century dresser ready for painting.

Kelli had been searching Marketplace for free stuff, and found another desk in Hudsonville, another bloody desk, another heavy oak desk that will strain our greens getting into the truck.

Oh joy for tomorrow, is there room in the garage? No, which means I will have to try to strip it down to store until I can start work on it.

In this business you have to be constantly looking out for new stuff, there is no pattern,

and certainly you can’t be complacent. These desks give a good return, so even my moaning cuts no ice with Kelli.

24th February 2020

The task list was long and I was determined to get as much that I could do so that Kelli had something to work on.

There is the mid century dresser that needed the legs tightened. As usual this was not that simple. All four legs were loose, but I had to remove, and split the whole leg frame apart, re-glue each part and re-assemble. At some time in its life someone had tried to repair the legs by driving three inch screws into them. This actually did very little other than split the wood, this meant a lot of repair before I could put it all back together.

Whilst waiting for glue to dry, I fitted the new the cross rail into the chair. I had carefully whittled it down and bonded it back using epoxy resin, another one bites the dust.

It was also time to start dismantling the turquoise desk that we got from a thrift store a couple of days ago.

These will become a matching pair of bed side tables, but first they had to be separated.

The side panels were very bad, the plywood had blown and had to be replaced.

Once the top had been removed, I cut the front and back rails leaving the pedestal separate.

I was able to remove the old plywood, and made new ones out of some off-cuts I had in stock.

I had just finished when Kelli arrived back from her errands. She came into the garage looking a bit sheepish, I asked her what was up.

She opened up the back of the truck and inside were a pair of matching pink side tables and a single light green side table.

She had been to Goodwill and spotted them, so that was that, straight into the truck.

I worked through to 7.00pm, I staggered back in the house exhausted, this retirement is hard work.

23rd February 2020

We set off to deliver the dresser to it new owner it deepest Saugatuck. There are some amazing places hidden away on private roads, and the address we were head for was down one of these. The road was just a dirt track, most of the snow had gone leaving thick mud everywhere. The house was located at the top of a hill, so a great position to look down from.

We carried the dresser into the house and moved it into its position, it looked great against the grey wall.

The house was fabulous inside with a vaulted cedar ceiling and a large brick fireplace place with a mantle piece made from a twelve by twelve old oak beam, it was my ideal.

If I owned the place I would just look at the ceiling every day, and lose myself in it’s beauty.

Next stop was dinner at Kelli’s mums, we have started having these every Sunday, it good to get together with the rest of the family, as a healing experience.

22nd February 2020

There is never a day passes that there isn’t a visit to Goodwill, but going to the south side one alway has a reminder of my early visits to the Design Yard.

Perched on the corner of the junction was the “Muffler Man” a place where they replaced car exhaust systems.

That place had a special significance not only for me but for Kelli. The owner crashed into her car many years ago, with sufficient force to write the car off. What was worse he was not insured, however he did make some financial contributions to avoid being reported to the police. Many years later the same guy who was plagued with alcohol and drug issues topped himself.

So this place has been there for ages, until recently when it was demolished and rebuilt as a Wendy’s. This is exactly what Holland needs, another fast food joint.

We spent some time looking for a wooden spindle for the chair. First we scoured the internet, but no luck, so we stopped in to Lowes, a large DIY emporium. The only thing close to what we needed was a piece for a stair. This had a turned piece in the middle, but I will have to adapt it to fit into the chair frame.

We stopped off at a different thrift shop and picked up a turquoise painted desk, it needs some attention, but what else would I do?

We finished the paint job to a dresser that will be delivered tomorrow, and another coat of finish to the dining table, I bloody hope that is gone next week.

21st February 2020

I had an appointment at a dental surgery that Kelli had arranged. My tooth had stopped hurting soon after I put some gel on the gum, but I thought I better get it looked at.

The first part of the free consultation was a set of x-rays. They took loads from all angles plus a head scan. Then the doctor came in to review the images, and rattled off a list of potential issues, including the tooth I had an issue with. He then took a scan of my mouth so that he could show me what work I needed doing. After that in came the hygienist to go through all the cleaning procedures, this scared the life out of me. She talked about deep root cleaning, at which point I nearly passed out. Finally in came the financial person to show me what it was going to cost.

The whole process was very detailed and much more thorough than my English Dentist.

I now have a plan that will keep my teeth in my mouth whilst I’m here.

Oh yes, we also mailed off my residency paperwork, which is a great relief.

To round off the day we stopped off at Goodwill and picked up a mid century dresser for $15.

There appears to be a glut of that era style around at the moment. We already have two pieces in stock, that we picked up at the side of the road. My thoughts are that the kids are clearing out their parents homes after they popped their clogs, but that might be me being morbid.

20th February 2020

Some days are pretty dull, the cold makes staying at home the best option.

There was still plenty to do in the garage. I brushed another coat of poly on to the dining table top, I’m really not happy with it, and I hope I don’t get another job like it again.

I stopped using the thick polyurethane, and reverted to the standard hoping that it will cover better.

The repaint jobs was going well, I had stripped the top successfully without sanding through the veneer, so that makes a change.

I can’t understand why they use a pine veneer, complete with knots rather than solid timber.