Author: peterb51

15th July 2025

Conspiracy Theories are all around us, it’s so easy to get sucked into them, and they can alienate you from everyone. 

The JFK assassination was a big one,  Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole gunman it was reported. The theory of an organised conspiracy was rejected by the Warren Commission, but what happened? Lo and behold it has been established that there were several assassins involved, and even the CIA were involved. 

I’m sure it can be proved that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn’t even involved and just a patsy in the whole plot. 

There is another, if will soon be proven that the Covid vaccine will have killed more people than it had saved.

The moon landing is a big one, I had alway believed that to be true, but Neil Armstrong never gave interviews, and Buzz Aldren gets aggressive when asked questions about it.

Some say that technology in 1969 was superior to that of today, but we know that is not true, but it’s interesting that there hasn’t been any return trips there for many years.

So one could say that conspiracy theory only last until they are proven true.

There are times when I agree with Shakespeare, that all the world’s a stage, and everything that happens are staged to divert our attention. Distraction is the important word, watch what is going on, then wait for the distraction. It’s like we’re all living in the Truman Show.

What is not a conspiracy, is the work I completed in the garage. All the drawers in the secretary desk now work perfectly, and I cut up all the reclaimed timber I had for the kitchen Island project. It was hot, and my tee shirt looked like I had an accident breast feeding, or so the neighbour said.

14th July 2025

We get through a lot of bird seed. I am sure that we are providing social security for the feathered community. Instead of allowing the birds to do what they do naturally, we bring the food to them. That is why our birds are so bloody fat!

They don’t fly to the feeding station they waddle, I’m sure they would take a Uber if they could.

At least we have stopped the squirrels, the bird seed contains paprika, and those scrounging bastards don’t like it. It must have been the first time you’ve tasted a vindaloo, it’s slow to start, but then you want to drink a trough full of water.

So that appears to work, saving us a lot of money.

However there is a pest eating leaves off a number of plants in the front garden. We suspected it was Japanese beetles, so we went searching for traps, but two places we tried had sold out. In the end we had to buy a spray that is supposed to kill on contact, I will believe it when I see it.

Once we were back home I spent time making new drawer guides for the secretary. I also starting cutting timber for the kitchen island.

I used a number of old floor joists that we got free last year, these seem to be old pine, the slow grown type, some still have resin seeping out.

A quick splash in the pool to finish the day was fully appreciated.

13th July 2025

I only had one job to do, and the took for ever.

I had to plug the holes in the drawer fronts of the secretary, so that I could fix different handles that had different fixing centres. This had to be done because one was missing.

I marked the position for the new holes and typically they we really close to the old holes. I even fitted my drilling jig, clamping it down so it didn’t move, and started drilling.

Somehow something moved, the dowels that I used to plug the holes resisted the drill, and the centres were out.

I was messing about with this for ages.

In the end a made a jig from a timber block and used a drill to position the first hole and then clamped the block, adding another block to stop any possible rotation. Careful drilling cut a new passage in the front, once I took the jig away I could see how much the hole was out.

There was a wave of relief, the handle covered the old hole, thank goodness.

By now I was a sweating blob, but it was done.

We took pictures and posted it, hoping for a quick sale.

12th July 2025

After many unsuccessful attempts we finally got the key fob to work.

A couple of weeks ago the old one got brittle and dropped off the key ring. I did a repair using superglue and baking soda, that worked for a while, but that finally gave up the ghost.

I found a replacement on Amazon, where else?

It arrived during the week, but there were no instructions. I managed to find a video for the exact same truck as ours, so today we put it into action.

The first video we watched led us through the sequence. It consisted of opening doors, putting the key in the ignition, opening doors again, but it didn’t place the vehicle into programming mode, that was frustrating.

I then found another instruction, slightly different, but it was still opening doors and keys in locks we worked through the four steps listed.

The first attempt didn’t work, Kelli was losing patience at this point, but we tried again.

Much to our amazement it worked, the lock/unlock sequence happened, meaning the fob was ready to be activated. A quick press of the lock / unlock button a couple of times, and the fob was active. In celebration of the event we gave each other a high five.

We finished the baby changing station, I had to fit the drawer runners and attach the tops, it was bloody hot, and I kept dropping the screws, this made me mad and I threw my cap into the garage, a pointless response, but it made me feel better.

We took pictures and Kelli posted it. There was a bit of interest, then one person wanted it. Kelli always asks if she should mark it “pending”, this indicates that there is someone first in line.

The lady didn’t want to commit, but then a guy said he had the cash and could collect it straight away. Never to turn down an offer of cash, we said “ come on down”, and he did.

11th July Friday 

It did rain last night, maybe a cupful, but by the time we awoke the humidity was back. So instead of it being a bit cooler/ fresher it was the same heavy, energy sapping experience.

However it was going to be a good day, I was keen to get the baby changing station ready for Kelli and her spray gun to do her job.

I was getting ready to meet with Megan, the lady who wants the kitchen island. I had printed out a variety of different options to choose from. I went from the full Monty to bared back open style. I had priced the full one, because that was what I believed she would want.

I was correct, the full Monty was chosen, there wasn’t any problem with the quote, which I had loaded with every bell and whistles.

Now I have to deliver a master piece, well she still wants all the character of the old door including the old lock and all its scars. I’m not sure I agree with that, but she’s the customer.

As soon as she left, I made a start. The first task is to strip off all the layers of lead paint. The stripper I had was crap, I spread it on thick and waited an age, nothing bubbled up, total rubbish. If I had to rely on that brand I would be working on it for a month.

There was drama in the Avenue, that I didn’t witness even though I was outside painting drawer fronts.

Apparently a car drove down the road, stopped at the mail box over at Jeep man’s house, someone got out, and kicked it over.

And I missed all of it.

Larry who was out cutting his lawn saw the whole thing. There wasn’t any a lot of action happening, the police turned up, probably took pictures of the box in its new position.

The lady who lives in the house came over to speak with Kelli, wow! She did have a loud voice.

10th July 2025

We delivered the small cabinet / island to the lady up the road, she is gradually becoming a gold star regular. She now has three pieces of our furniture, and I bet she dreads walking past our garage in case she sees another piece she can’t live without.

With that out of the way, the next is a baby station that we’ve had for a few weeks. Neither of us are excited about it, I had stripped off the badly applied white paint, which took for ages.

The door had bowed, I had a couple attempts to rectify that which failed dismally, so I made a new one. 

There are often pieces that are not interesting, that drains the energy out of us. We have several that are stacked up ready to start.

I had my time with Lloyd this afternoon, the conversation started with Dentists, and the extortionate amount they charge. That folded into spiritual things relating to the afterlife, and finishing with the question “who actually runs America “ by that time the beer has dumbed us and we parted company until next time.

Kelli had texted me to pick up things from the corner shop, then another message came through about a secretary desk that was for sale close to us. From what it looked like, we might just clean it up and sell it on.

I found the place easily, the piece was in the living room, it looked solid with a couple of stains on the top, that stops it being a quick flip, but it the top has to be refinished, it is still a quick job.

Whilst I was there the lady said that I could also take another dresser that looked a bit chewed. 

I took the secretary back home and showed Kelli some pictures I had taken, she was keen, so I went back to collect it.

I get a lot of opportunity to see places where people live, some are plush, some modest, and some downright disgusting. I wouldn’t say that this place was bad, but there was a fancy Jeep in the driveway, so priorities were certainly plain to see.

9th July 2025

We need rain, plenty of it, everything is so dry, all the colour has been lost. I can’t pump enough water on the grass to make any difference.

We look at the forecast, maybe there is a 30% chance of a storm, but that never happens, and if it does it turns to steam. A lot of our vegetables have dried out despite being watered regularly. I never thought I would say those words out loud, I love the warm weather, but there needs to be balance. Rain would cool the air, and remove the humidity that saps energy and makes being outside so difficult, especially trying to work. 

I don’t know how the construction workers cope, they still have to wear their personal protective clothing and do stuff.

We do our watering in the morning, I’m doing next doors plants whilst they are away on holiday.

We managed to finish the small cabinet that we sold to the lady up the road.

I spent time removing the veneer of some of the curved drawer fronts from the mid century pieces we got from the house clearance, I need to get that one ready for priming.

Matt the guy with the computer messaged to say he still could get the operating system to load, very embarrassing for him. He did offer to sell it to me cheaper, but do I know anyone over here who knows about computers? No, and no.

I missed a bullet on that one.

8th July 2025

I had plans on my own today. I was heading down to Byron Center to pick up an Old Mac G5 that was being sold on marketplace. As I was in the area I would call in and see John, who was the wood guy who made our countertop. I wanted to get an idea of what it would cost to make the top for the kitchen island that I have been asked to make. I got down there after 4.30pm and he was not there. I tried the door to his barn, it was unlocked. I was a bit concerned because he has some valuable kit in there, and I didn’t have his phone number in my American phone. Although his place is in the wilderness, there could be some low life about who could strip the place.

Now I had time to kill, so i drove into the town to find a coffee shop, then it was back on GPS to find the place with the computer.

It was actually close to where the wood man had his shop, so easy to find.

Matt the seller was reloading the operating system having deleted it to clear any personal information. I waited for it to reload, Matt kept apologising saying that he might have loaded it on to the wrong drive. Anyway, it was agreed that he would complete the installation, including any updates and deliver it to me tomorrow.

All in all it was non day, but I did have a nice drive.

When I got back, Kelli had painted a small cabinet that will go to a lady down the road.

7th July 2025

Another Monday rolls on, food shopping and stuff, week in week out.

The news was dominated by an announcement by the FBI and the Justice department that There was no Jeffery Epstein client list, and that he committed suicide. This is driving everyone crazy because only a few weeks ago they were saying that the files were on the desk being analysed. Suddenly all the key people that Trump put in his cabinet to release all the details to the public have turned out to have lied.

This is typical of what happens over here, it’s the rich and powerful who rule America, the same ones that are on the list.

I’m actually sick to death of everything, all the good things turn out to be unresolved and quietly shelved thinking that the people are stupid, and will soon forget about it.

I shall be turning my phone off for the rest of the week, to get a bit of peace and quiet.

On a lighter note Cameron turned up this morning with chairs that Kelli had bought on Marketplace, each one was a different colour, and two different styles, I did forget that she did get these, quite a shock when I saw them.

These will replace the chairs we currently have around the dining table, the old ones will be sold, I hope. There have been many different chairs in that spot since I’ve been here, I have no doubt there will be many more to come.

6th July Sunday

After the hectic last couple of days it was refreshing to take things easy. I did a little in the garage, staining two tops, but mostly working on  the computer working out the design for the kitchen island.

I did notice that I had a few bites on my arm and legs, something had been intoxicated by my pure English blood.

We searched the garden for any fallout from last nights activity, but there was very little. 

Although it wasn’t sunny, it was still humid and unpleasant to be outside, well that was Kelli’s excuse.

We didn’t even get to Kelli’s mums for ice cream, that was a blow, I suppose we’ve seen too much of them over the past week, a change is as good as a rest.