Author: peterb51

20th January 2020

Kelli had the day mapped out before I was even awake. First go to Aldi to see if they had any Just Egg, which is vegan egg substitute, left in stock.

Then a trip to Zeeland to pick up a free dresser, then on to Hudsonville to collect a glass fronted cabinet, then, just by coincidence, stop off at Plato’s Closet at Grandville to sell off some of her old clothes, she happened to sort out yesterday.

I feel I’m a passenger in this strange life.

Anyway at least I had a Starbucks coffee to look forward to.

I managed to do a little more to the desk pedestals before we left, so it was not a complete right-off.

We also heard that we got a job of stripping a round dining table and refinishing it with a black stain and white base.

I wasn’t that keen to do it as there is a lot of work involved, so I gave a high quote, but they accepted it, now I wish I went higher.

This has spurred us on to sort the garage out.

Since we moved I haven’t had time to make it work properly. There are extension leads over the floor that get in the way.

I need to get extra outlets on the walls, and make the place less a trip hazard.

The visit to Aldi ended in a big fat zero, all the jars had gone, damn those other customers!

We collected the furniture, and I had my coffee, so mission accomplished.

In a postscript, we stopped off at a Aldi in Grandville, and bingo we found stock of Just Egg. Kelli spotted it at a thousand yards and moved at a speed I have never seen before. She was a blur, she would have severely injured anyone who got in her way, it was like she was racing to grab the last loaf in a Russian supermarket. She grabbed as many as she could and we made our escape.

19th January 2020

The snow from the previous evening continued overnight, and there were six fresh inches to greet us as we woke up.

I tried clearing the snow from the drive but the plastic shovel that we had proved inadequate.

“ Remind me to get a bloody metal one” I bellowed, sweeping the snow off the truck with a broom.

I wanted to make a start on the drawer pedestals that had come from an old desk got last year. These have always proved to be a great seller, but when Kelli got it back home she discovered that each pedestal only had three legs instead of four, making the conversion a lot more difficult.

That was the reason they had been stacked in the corner of the garage covered in sawdust.

I had often looked at them, but the thought of all the work to make an additional legs was too daunting.

Today I was up for the challenge. I had machined up some timber to make the new legs, and I had watched how experts stripped down old furniture with a heat gun to soften the glues.

I carefully removed drawer runners, and broke apart the side panel that had to be remade to include the new leg.

I had labelled all the parts, as the experts do, machined grooves and mortises in the new leg, things were going well.

Kelli was busy in the kitchen making a vegan quiche, along with many other things that keep me alive.

I was making good progress, I was using as many parts from the desk as I could.

By the time I had finished for the day the frame was nearly complete, I just need to source some plywood for the side and it will be finished, then just another one to go.

18th January 2020

The people who wanted the dresser came to look at it. They were an older couple who wanted something for their son’s room.

There was something about their mannerisms that made me think it wouldn’t go well.

Now considering I went out and cleared the snow from the drive to make it easier to carry things out, meant that the smile on my face was plastered over seething expression.

Kelli had warned me that the lady was concerned about how the drawer moved, and they shouldn’t tip too much when fully open.

I had made sure that wouldn’t happen, so I made an anti tip device for the top drawer.

In fact I paid particular attention to the drawers, but considering it was an oldish dresser it wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

However Kelli was right, They were obsessed with the drawers and how they worked, pulling them in and out several times. They liked the piece but thought it was too good for what they wanted it for, so they passed on it.

That was a bit of a downer, but luckily the second person who wanted the bookcase went much better, and we made the sale.

The snow started again in the evening. We went into town to eat, and the fine dusty snow was swirling around the roads. It all looks wonderful, but it makes the journeys treacherous.

We were surprised how busy the place was considering the weather. But it looks like instead of staying warm at home people prefer to get cold and wet to eat out. Nowt strange as folk.

It the evening I experienced a spoonerism.

We had been watching an British tv programme “The Repair Shop” when I said something like “a clicking tock” I realised immediately what I had said and howled with laughter, I think this is the first I have ever made one.

17th January 2020

We had our photo shoot for the tall dresser, a small table, and a pair of bookend bookcases.

I started stripping the top off the cabinet we picked up last week.

That was a difficult as the paint stripper didn’t have any effect, I ended up using a rough sand paper to break through the tough skin, a square inch at a time.

There were people on both the dresser and the bookcases, they are booked for tomorrow.

There was a decent fall of snow overnight, so a pleasant sight to look out on.

I’m really in two minds about keeping the bookcase that smells of piss. I thought that stripping all the paint off would lessen the smell, but it seemed ingrained in the back panel material which was cedar. I decided to tear it off and see if that made a difference.

There was some improvement, so that stuff will be going on the fire in the next few days.

16th January 2020

The truck was ready for collection from Angel, so we climbed aboard the big ship Dave’s truck and headed over to pick it up.

Kelli was driving it, and she felt the brakes weren’t feeling right. Her foot went to the floor, fortunately the truck did stop, but was not happy letting me drive it back, so asked Angel to check it out. So we climbed into ours, and left the other.

The ravages of Michigan winters takes its toll on many of the vehicles. The other day I saw a car with the floor sagging so much you could see the seats under the doors. That would have a significant ground effect on your buttocks.

Angel later called to say that all the brake lines needed to be replaced, quoting over five hundred dollars to do the job, fortunately that is now Matt’s problem.

We did the usual rounds of the thrift stores, but not much furniture, but Kelli found a few small pieces that she could sell on.

Without Goodwill and similar outlets we wouldn’t have a business, it is a great way of honouring the recycling ethic.

I finished lacquering the top of the tall dresser, that is now ready for the pictures and posting.

15th January 2020

We cracked on with our furniture. There are three pieces in progress, but I was running short on finishing materials, but we made some good progress. We had a pair of white bookcases that had some damage to the bottom plinth that I had added a piece of trim to neaten and hide the defect.

I had forgotten that these units could be positioned side by side, but what I had added stopped them from doing this. So the first job was to remove it.

I alway have problem with dark staining the tops of our dressers. I haven’t been happy with most I’ve done, and a lot of the time I have to sand them back a number of times.

I had just finished the latest top when I found a blemish in the finish. The rest of the cabinet was finished, so Kelli was anxious for me to finish, so she can post it.

Kelli heard back from the person who had asked if we could re-finish five small tables.

She had decided to got with someone else, which pissed us off. These things will happen all the time, and although de-moralising are a fact of life.

We had given a very good price for doing it, and it would have got February off to a good start, but will will find other things to do.

In the evening we went to New Holland and had dinner with Don and Julie who are neighbours of Kelli’s mum and dad, and had to bear the brunt of the fire engines and ambulances turning up at all hours. We wanted to thank them for looking after her parents during the difficult time.

I didn’t realise how loud Don talked, it was close to being eleven on the loudness scale. He gets very excited and animated, and I’m sure the other people there could hear what he was talking about.

When he ordered his food, it was the most complex selection ever, I don’t know how the waitress managed to capture it.

He said his claim to fame was that he was pictured standing at the bar at New Holland on Google Earth. We checked it as he was right. What I don’t understand is how that could happen, it was as if the camera was inside the place buying a beer.

I made the mistake of having another stein, although I did promise myself never again after last week.

It all added to the laughter of the evening.

We had borrowed Dave’s old truck that had been give to Matt, to get around whilst our vehicle was being fixed, but it is much larger all round. You feel you have to use a phone to communicate with each other, and it’s so long it’s difficult to park.

14th January 2020

I had an invitation from the family’s pastor for a coffee at a local cafe in the Main Street in Holland. I had met him during the time when both Kelli’s parents were in bad health.

He had turned up at our front door and introduced himself to me. As it was close to my birthday he gave me a book he had written as a present.

Normally I run away from men of the cloth fearing they will try to drag me into their church and brainwash me with their extreme doctoring.

He seemed interested in getting to know me better, he understood what my beliefs were, and wasn’t put off by them, I guess he saw me as a challenge.

Promptly at Eleven, Mark walked into the cafe, I had arrived a few minutes earlier and already had my beverage. I joined him at the counter where he ordered his drink of choice.

Mark is a well groomed, sixty-one year old man who looks good for his age. He has travelled to the UK on numerous occasions, probably to help educate the locals. We spent a lot of time talking about England and it’s history. The conversation darted about between my story, his story, laughing at the parts that matched. He asked me specifically about my transition from work into retirement.

He was surprised when I told him how easy it was for me. He was struggling with his own decision, not certain if he will carry on with the responsibility of the church. I never consider that to be a choice, you either like talking about God to people and getting paid for doing it, or you don’t, the choice should be easy.

Maybe he was thinking about career potential, and does it lead anywhere, there’s no way he could be Pope, he’s much too young, and not Roman Catholic, so that is out.

Could he be a bishop? Does the Baptist have a Bishop? these will have to be questions for our next meeting.

We had a good time, he was fluent in God speak at times, but mainly putting what I had just said into his language.

The time went quickly, I had arranged with Kelli for her to walk in after an hour and a half as a “get out” opportunity, but the timing was spot-on.

We agreed to meet again, and went on our separate ways.

The other thing on our list for the day was to take the truck to the garage to get the fuel filler pipe replaced.

This has been progressively getting worse to the point, when I discovered what was happening, needed to get it fixed.

First stop was Larry, our usual mechanic who lives across the road. He lay his cigarette down, and went underneath to locate the leak.

His verdict was the filler tube had rusted badly. He declined to do the job saying it needed to be on a hoist to get proper access.

Although we suspected it would mean he would have to go without a ciggi for several hours, and that would be difficult.

We were a little relieved as we didn’t want to see bits of our truck scattered over a wide area.

We settled on taking it to Angel at A&J motors. He smiles a lot and flirts with Kelli at every opportunity, but he does a good job, and doesn’t smoke.

13th January 2020

A flurry of excitement as the two project pieces were collected today. Although they didn’t provide much cash, it gave us more room in the garage to work on furniture that we can sell.

We made a start on the dresser that we got from Zeeland last week.

The drawers were made from cedar and the carcass was poplar. It had been painted in a light green that didn’t respond easily to the heat gun. With perseverance we got them sanded and ready for staining tomorrow.

I had fun trying to help the lady who came to collect the large mirror get it into her car. Although the dimensions were clearly stated in the description, it was clear that it wouldn’t fit in her vehicle. I was afraid that if I managed to shoe horn it into the back seat, toehold would never get it out again. It was finally shoved in the boot with just under half sticking out. We gave them a small bungee to tie the boot lid down, and they went off happy.

We have a number of projects that we want to get complete this week, now we have the space to move around.

12th January 2020

The cold weather closed in a bit last night. Snow was on the ground as the dogs rushed out to do their business.

Today was not a work day, but Kelli still managed to find a dresser to pick up. This was the first time I’ve had to carry anything down three flights of stairs and not die.

We needed to look at our stock and decide what we wanted to work on, and what we needed to shift.

Often that decision is forced upon us by either the quality of the piece, or whether it is appropriate for the market we are selling.

The main contender was the dresser/hutch we picked up a couple of weeks ago for free.

The material was not as good as we thought, and because of its size would have taken a lot of time and paint. This went on Marketplace as a “project” piece, and was soon snapped up with a collection tomorrow.

I also dug up a large double mirror that had been in the garage since we moved. We had no appetite to do anything with it, so on Marketplace it went at a bargain price. That also soon had a buyer, so a bit of spending money and space in the garage, not a bad days work.

11th January 2020

The buyer for the Dresser/wardrobe arrived late morning to collect. They had driven forty minutes to get to us. When they saw the piece, they were so excited, really excited. Now I don’t get real excitement, I get happy, or pleased, but never squeal at the prospect, but I was happy that they were happy, it’s what makes what we do so rewarding.

Before they arrived Kelli announced “Should someone move the truck to make it easier for them to load the piece into their vehicle?”

I looked at the dogs, they looked at me, “Someone? There is no one else here.

I guessed it would be me, as the dog don’t drive.

I have assumed the title of “someone” when Kelli doesn’t want to do something.

Another lady came to collect a mirror that we had for a while, we offered it at a really low price just to get rid of it, she was excited as well, and thrust the money into my hand even before she saw it.

freshly flush with money Kelli had found a dresser in Zeeland that she wanted, so off we went in the icy rain to collect it.

Kelli knocked on the back door, no answer, I went to the front and rang the door bell, still no answer. I could hear the sound of children so I knew someone was home. Eventually a guy came to the door. From what I could see inside the house there were wall to wall kids, with children’s crap everywhere. The guy told us he had six, he must have been mad, or ran out of condoms.

The dresser was good and solid, so we loaded it into the truck and headed back.