Author: peterb51

11th August 2025

The start of another week, the same routine as last week, shopping then back to get jobs done.

Kelli worked on the two beds we picked up yesterday, they needed to get done and posted.

Space in the garage was next to nothing, although we did sell the small dresser to a couple expecting their second baby, from the looks of her she could have dropped one right on the driveway.

I was darting between pouring stripper on the door and scraping a dresser, once the dresser had gone I got the saw going.

During our restful period in the evening, we were watching a documentary on the moon landing, where certain things were explained, and why there is growing doubt that it even happened.

One big reason was the Van Allen belt, a series of high radiation bands around the Earth that no human could ever break through. This was fascinating, back at the time of the Apollo missions this risk was hardly considered, even though experiments were carried out in the late fifties. This entailed firing rockets into the atmosphere, each one failed to break through this invisible barrier.

The latest mission, Orion is continuing to perplex the experts, they acknowledge the existence of a barrier, and are trying to come up with a way through.

Looking and hearing all this information, has made me think, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

10th August 2025

So it was off to Hudsonville to collect another bed frame, yes, we are back on the road for more bed frames, there was also one in Grand Rapids, ( the dodgy part) Kelli is hoping to flip them quickly. That ate up quite a bit of time, not that I should be working, but there is still a lot of work needed to get the balance of payment by the end of the month. There were things I did before we left, so I didn’t feel so bad.

It was another hot day, everything is dry as a bone and no amount of watering would make any difference, and it looks like one of my Apple trees is dying, the leaves are all turning brown, and it’s a sad sight to see.

What the heck is happening to the world? Bill bloody Gates is backing a company that makes butter from carbon. This is more of the climate change crap, and people are buying it ( no pun intended) why doesn’t this evil little man just fade away. He still pushes the theory that cow farts are harming the environment more than car exhausts.

Well Bill, I will stay in a shed full of cows for the night, you can share a night in a garage with a running engine, let’s see who’s up for breakfast in the morning?

All this is contributing to all the fear that is pumped out everyday to control us. I am trying to analyse what is said, and learn the difference between what’s good and what is evil, and there is a lot of evil everywhere, and most of it is hidden in plain sight. I wish more people would take a step back and really take notice. We all live in a beautiful world, that is slowly being destroyed.

9th August 2025

We took a ride down to the beach at point west.

We can gain entry to the private area because Kelli knows someone who owns a cottage on the beach front. We haven’t been there much this summer, which is typical, it’s so close you forget it’s there, we were trying out our new camera on the ships out on the horizon, boy, does this have a zoom lens or what!

I had my list of things to do in order to catch up on the time I’ve done other things. I needed to finish the legs for the small dresser, start on the refinishing bed and dresser commission, and start stripping the other side of the door for the kitchen island project.

There was even time for a quick splash in the pool. The frogs seem to be getting used to their new home, so far we have seen five chilling on the rocks, not sure where the other seven are.

My personal project has had to take a back seat, which is annoying, but there is enough to keep my sanity from going into overdrive.

I watched a documentary on buildings that defy the era they were built. I’ve always been interested in architecture, and intrigued by the level of detail that goes into these buildings.

I may have mentioned it before, but these buildings were constructed at a time when that level of skill was just a hammer, chisel, and horse and carts.

I’m sure we couldn’t build them today even using modern technology, if we could they would cost a fortune, and would we appreciate that level of detail for a council building, for example? The program raises more questions than answers, but that suits my current level of interest, there is so much we take for granted, and never question, maybe we should, it could change everything.

8th August 2025

It was back with John the wood, this time to add more timber to increase the thickness. This was an easy, quick job, I thought, but it took a lot of glue, and most of the small clamps John had in his shop. Now all that is left is cutting to the final size and sanding.

There was a visit from one of John’s neighbours who helps out often, they talked about the timber that was drying in the kiln. As it has not reached the required moisture content it would have to stay in for the weekend. I breathed a sign of relief because I had volunteered my chicken arms to help unload the stack.

Before leaving for the day John disappeared upstairs and emerged with an old wooden chair that he asked me to finish. I was only to happy to do this for him, he had already stripped it, making it a much simpler job.

On the way back to John’s home it poured with rain, the wet stuff that has been missing from Holland, it was very localised, the sky was still blue, and it made very little difference to the temperature.

I now know the journey to John’s house off by heart, so I don’t miss turnings any more.

By the time I got home there were some jobs I needed to do for the small dresser that Kelli worked on whilst I was away. I needed to make some short legs to life the thing a bit higher, once that was done I allowed myself to rest for the evening.

7th August 2025

Off to the dentist this morning, as usual I was expecting a big bill for a scale and polish. I was also expecting “the extras” to be factored in, bring the total to around $280. 

Today I wanted to confront these “extras”.

Firstly I don’t have the fluoride, but they usually flush around the teeth with an antiseptic liquid which is usually priced at $80 a squirt.

I got to the reception and the lady handed me a form where I had to sign that I wasn’t having the fluoride or irrigation, which was the subject of my intended rant, and when my bill was given to me it was $160, so I don’t know why it was less than I expected.

It was also my beer session with Lloyd, two hours of wide ranging topics that alway end up with both of us talking about food.

I explained the evolution of the traditional English breakfast, how it changed over the years. I told that originally it was egg, bacon and fried bread, then a sausage was added, followed by baked beans, then button mushrooms, finally black pudding was added to appease the northerners. At some stage hash browns were included to pacify the Americans.

By the time I got to the end my mouth was watering, so we have agree to meet for breakfast once a month, I think I am now on a projected downward spiral.

As I left the pub I caught sight a kid on an electric scooter, boy he was going fast, I could never get to that speed even with leg power.

6th August 2025

Looking at the back garden, especially the lawn, I have decided to take drastic action.

We are too busy with our furniture business to have the time to keep the grass in good condition, so come the autumn we will add more flower and vegetable beds, create a more manageable area close to the deck, and paths that wind around the wild grasses and trees.  

I like the effect of natural gardens, so it will be fun trying to build it, and not so depressing watching the lawn dry out and die.

Now back to the present, we sold the bed frame to a great couple who want to install it in their home as a spare bed for an elderly relative.

I spent a long time talking to them about their house and the business he runs.

 Another commission came in.  This time we have to refinish a dresser and bed frame, it looks like bed frames are the thing at the moment.

There is also a mirror that is in need of some care and attention.

I made some progress on the kitchen island, I managed to glue up the second division frame.

However, with all this new work, space will be a problem, but commissions pay better than Marketplace pieces.

5th August 2025

Back to the Byron Center for more woodworking with John. This was the final gluing together of the two sections that make the kitchen island top.

Whilst we were there John was distracted by another customer who wanted a plank of walnut.

That left me alone to do the final assembly. I could hear them muttering downstairs, finally emerging with the piece of lumber.

For me this was going to be a short day, but as always I got distracted by a piece of white oak that John had in his scrap bin. This would be ideal for another project that has been spinning around in my head, so I asked him if I could have it. The first job was to cut it through the middle to half the thickness, then run it through the planer to get it to the thickness I needed.

Once that was done John started on the sanding the island top, even though there were clamps still in place,he wanted to show me what the finish would look like, the beech was so smooth, it will be perfect when it’s finished.

I spent a bit of time helping him look for keys to the workshop, he put them down somewhere. I engaged my super powers and worked my way through the workshop. He didn’t help much trying to recall his movements that day, but I carried on regardless. He wandered back downstairs, and gave a squeal of delight when he found them.

That was a good time to close up the shop and head for home.

4th August 2025

I wasn’t feeling it today, it was food shopping day, but my mind was full of other things.

I even missed a small free dresser that was on the side of the road, not that I noticed those kind of things.

Kelli turned the truck around, and I placed it in the back.

I needed more paint stripper, I still have a long way to go taking the finish off this bloody door.

I guess that what is pissing me off.

Kelli was busy cleaning the bed frame that we got yesterday. It seemed to be covered with some kind of wax finish that was difficult to remove, probably a silicone. I ended up rubbing the surface really hard, this turned, whatever it was into tiny bits that clogged the cloth.

I did the best I could, finally applying a coat of good old fashion beeswax, anyway it now looked better than before.

All that was required was some pictures and on Marketplace it went.

I saw in the news that Steelcase had been bought by NHI corp for $2.2 billion, it looks like this is the time for big changes in the furniture industry.

3rd August 2025

Drove to Hudsonville to deliver the blue dresser, and whilst we were there we collected a bed frame. I hate bed frames, but Kelli assured me that with a clean up and polish she can sell that without me ever touching it.

The height of the head and foot boards were so tall there was no way it would fit inside the truck.

There was no alternative but to put it on the roof rack. I placed a flattened cardboard box that we had in the truck, down first, then placed the head board on top of it, then another cardboard layer on top of that before laying the foot board on top. Everything was then tied down with bungees.

We must have driven a mile or so when the middle sheet of cardboard blew off somewhere, but we carried on. I’m pretty sure our address wasn’t on it.

Stopping for lunch at the winery was a pleasant rest, a glass of beer and a burger was a great Sunday lunch. We headed back to Holland for our usual ice cream treat.

We heard the story of the bats that have returned to Kelli’s mum’s garage roof, with some in the attic as well. Of all the people to have bats it had to be her, we will probably get a daily report of their activity.

2nd August 2025

We drove downtown because there was an Arts in the Park event, and as we haven’t been there in years, we thought we would take a stroll around. First of all I am not a big fan of these kind of places, most of the time it’s selling little knick knacks that are overly expensive and will get lost down the back of the sofa. There were very few actual paintings, some were images applied to a piece of rock, which might be clever, but not for me.

I didn’t get inspired by anything I saw, Kelli bumped into an old friend that she had seen in many years, and she bought a dragon fly made from an old spark plug with a couple of forks braised to it, mounted on a piece of Steel rod, mmm okay. ( you had to be there)

After walking around, Kelli’s knee began to hurt, so we cut our visit short and headed back to the truck.

Next stop was UPS store, where else, and then on to Lowes to return the three packs of dowels I bought yesterday, finally back home to finish’s the dresser that we posted yesterday. I had to make a new back panel and a bit of a touch up, because we had a buyer, who we will deliver it to tomorrow.