Author: peterb51

14th November 2025

Kelli had a doctors appointment in their new premises. No longer do we have to drive to Zeeland because the new place is on the North side of Holland.

It certainly is a smart building with lots of windows, natural light floods in helping with the atmosphere of natural healing. I thought it was a good move, and a lot more convenient.

Of course the loser in this deal is the Goodwill in Zeeland, a place where we have found a number of good pieces of furniture.

The examination went well, Kelli has more muscle resistance which could mean a reduction in the number of supplements she has to take.

 Once that was over we headed towards the UPS  shop for more returns. 

The last time we went there I noticed an upholstery shop, that was new, I wanted to see if they could make the cushions for my prototype chair. I took in some renders to show the form, the software did not allow me to show the cushions in the style i wanted, that was part of the discussion.

The guy seemed excited to do something different, I guess, a bit like us, always working on an established piece rather than something new.

I was more interested in whether he was up for the challenge, but I came away feeling that he could, and as we were always returning Amazon stuff we could see how he was doing.

Now I have to check out the styles of cushions and colours of the fabrics, watch out Pinterest I’m coming for you.

13th November 2025

We took pictures of the latest dresser, and unloaded the monster that was still in the truck.

In the dark we didn’t see what the condition was, but in the cold light of day we could.

There was a bit of damage on one side and the top was a little worn, so a refinish top is on the list.

It was a sunny day, nice to work outside again.

I wanted to make an extra shelf for the spice rack. Kelli had bought some glass jars at Goodwill, but they were fatter than the spice containers from the stores, so she ran out of room.

I had some strips of maple lying around that was perfect. That all went together well, but I was unable to fit it without taking the complete rack out  because it was such a good fit.

Several weeks ago we sold a pair of headboards to a couple for the daughter’s redecorated room, but for some reason the paint remained a bit sticky. We offered to take them and give them a coat of clear lacquer, so they arrived today.

That has happed in the past, I can’t remember what paint manufacturer it was, but we got rid of that particular tin.

12th November 2025

Well the trimming Job that was supposed to start today has been delayed. Henry called to say they were behind schedule, with the sanding of the floors.  I suspected he was being a little ambitious to get that done and sealed before I took over to do my part.

Anyway it gave me time to do stuff outside.

I cleared all the leaves that had fallen on the driveway, hopefully this will stop them from blowing into the garage.

I have been forbidden to rake the leaves on the front lawn in case I disturb the bugs and wildlife that have taken refuge in the ground. To me it just looks so untidy, I’m sure there is a compromise somewhere.

I glued up some offcuts that I brought back yesterday to make the legs for my chair.

Then I started to take the old fence down, that was hard, rusty nails and brittle wood made a simple job difficult.

It’s so noticeable how the temperature drops in the evening, event just taking the dogs for a walk requires scarves and gloves, just wait until the winter comes.

11th November 2025

It was back down to John the wood’s barn to do a bit more to the chair.

He looked quite smart in his new winter coat, the car was nice and warm, the day was cold and windy.

We arrived at the barn, John even knew which key opened the door. Usually it’s a ritual of clanking keys until he found the correct one.

Inside he had more timber laid out for the lectern he had to make before Thanksgiving. 

He told me they had to make it double skinned with a metal sheet in between to make it bullet proof. These American churches are not safe places to be. 

I started by giving the back a good sanding, then there was a rough assembly to check that everything fitted correctly. Then we started on the bottom frame. We found some decent offcuts that would do the job, so I ran them through the saw. John disappeared, he does that sometimes, I then rough cut them to thickness, and awaited John’s return to get the pieces thicknessed to size. For some reason he picked them up and carried them to a different part of the barn with me chasing after him telling him what had to be done. In the end I carried them back to where the thickness planer was.

So another job out of the way we started on the assembly of the chair structure. I decided to use pocket screws to hold the side to the back. I started drilling them, John actually reminded me that not all the holes had to be drilled on the side panels, I looked at him in amazement, he had stopped me making a grave mistake. 

I rewarded him with a cup of hot coffee that I had brought down with me.

We put on clamps to make sure all the parts fitted properly before I screwed it all together. 

Finally we assembled the frame, and that was a good days progress, now it was time to take John back home.

I loaded the car with some off cuts so that I could make the legs, and whilst I did that John was busy trying to put on his new coat. For some reason he couldn’t work out the zips, so when he got to the truck he only had half of it on, rather than trying to work it out, he sat all the way back home with it wrapping around his waist.

There is never a dull moment with him.

On the way back I had to stop in to Nature’s Market to pick up a supplement for Dharma, our oldest dog. She has developed a hacking cough, she sometimes sounds like an old smoker.

Once I got back home we had to leave immediately to collect a free dresser, you see, everything stops for free.

We found the house, the outside was decorated with Halloween figures and lights, the dresser was in a porch at the end of a stone pathway.

This would be challenging.

First we removed the drawers then gingerly we carried this large piece down the path. I was going backwards, if I fell the thing would fall on top of me and probably break my legs. With that in mind I went very slowly. Poor Kelli could not see any of the path and had to rely heavily on the feel of the path.

Somehow we got it down and into the truck, our days work done we headed home.

10th November 2025

I had arranged to meet Henry at a timber merchants in Holland, he wanted me to look around and meet the guy who would be milling all his timber. I’m not sure why this was important because he was late and I was waiting around trying not to look like a homeless person.

Apparently he was trying to rent a drum sander to do all the floors, but he had forgotten to renew his drivers license so they wouldn’t rent it to him until he was able to prove who he was.

I didn’t ask any more questions, these old folk really bring the standard down. So in essence, I rushed my breakfast down to drive to a timber merchant to do nothing at all, more fool me.

So moving on, it was food shopping day. I was relieved to find that I could now get cash out of the ATM, much to Kelli’s relief.

Snow was starting to fall as we left Natures Market, something about lake effect snow, I didn’t care what they called it, it snow and it was bloody cold. 

I think every year my tolerance level for cold goes down. The first year was , okay it’s cold. 

The second year, it’s certainly quite cold.

Year three and so on, I’m bloody freezing, how long till spring?

So we did all that, even buying the turkey for thanksgiving.

The snow was falling quite heavy although not really settling, once we got home we had to prepare the dresser posted Saturday to be collected. We had the usual collection of time wasters, but eventually someone came through.

Good news was that the snow was not expected to hang around, probably gone in a day or two, but it sets the prelude to a hard winter, brrr I can’t wait.

9th November 2025

Today we hosted Larry’s remembrance party, as today would have been his birthday. 

We laid on some snacks and drink and awaited the arrival of some of his friends.

At 2.00pm trucks started to pull up outside. We originally planned to hold it outside, but because snow was expected, we changed it. We shouldn’t have bothered because most of his friends milled around outside, and they brought their own beer.

I decided to bring round the fire pit, so at least they didn’t freeze to death, and, I had a lot of off cuts to burn.

The fire roared away, and heat was welcomed.

I talked to all of Larry’s old buddies, to him he was known as “Turk” something to do with turkeys where he worked. In his hay day we was a wild one, once firing a machine gun into the forest. I told the story of him working on our truck, he was laying underneath with a cigarette burning close any volatile substances, coughing and spluttering as he did. I made a hasty retreat expecting the truck to be blasted into the next street.

As the stories were shared the weed came out, the laughter grew louder, and the beer flowed more freely, it was great to meet his buddies.

His daughter was there, she has the task of selling the property, quite a responsibility for someone so young, but it will help her financially to build a new life.

It was two hours of fun, everyone enjoyed themselves, and to gather the group together meant a lot to them.

Good old Larry’s spirit must have smiled on us, but I bet he was dying for a joint.

8th November 2025

I had the most emotional video call with my friend Martin. The first words he said to me was “I’m dying mate” he looked like a defeated man slumped in his chair, his face twitching with pain.

This was not the Martin I knew, even in his worst moments he was all about fighting. What I saw on the screen was a shadow of his former self, and I was shocked.

He told me how the rest of his days would play out, he would lose all control being fed by tubes and in constant need of care, this he adamantly refused to accept. He talked about alternatives,  if his spiritual beliefs would allow him to choose.

Always a difficult question, but quality of life is important, and to a person travelling down a dark tunnel towards the light with no hope of a return, they should be allowed to make that choice. 

We talked for an hour, at times his voice cracked with emotion, he is not afraid, he worries about his wife Liz, but I reassured him that she is a strong person, she will be okay.

He had been close to death before, he used to talk about the white room, where someone would ask if he wanted to stay or return, that gives him calmness, he will go there again.

We both laughed at the story of the twenty foot bungee that he inadvertently left attached to his truck when we went to a fish and chip shop.

As we stopped in the car park and saw the bungee he said in a loud voice “ Oh no what’s happened to the dog” that entertained a few of the customers.

We both cried at the inevitable time we would have to say goodbye to each other. I told him that he was inspirational to me, all the things he had tackled despite his handicap. He built his house from a ruin, single handedly, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

And so as his voice weakened, and the pain was intolerable we ended our conversation, this is not the end, we will talk again.

I sat quiet for a moment, my red eyes stinging, the rest of the day beckoned.

I had to visit Henry to agree the materials he needed for next week, so I could start the trim out. I like Henry, being Spanish, and with a sense of humour, his misunderstanding of what I’m saying makes us both laugh.

I’m looking forward to doing the work.

The other crisis of the day was I was unable to draw out any cash from the machines, all my transactions were cancelled.

This was a shock, I had noticed that even trying to buy on Amazon was not possible, panic was setting in.

I was prepared to shout at my bank for maybe forgetting to tell me about any changes to the banking relationship between the UK and US.

However, everything was explained when I looked at my UK phone. They had contacted me by text to query some transactions that I needed to verify, and temporarily blocked my card.

Phew! That was a relief.

We did finish a dresser, a quick clean and polish and out.

7th November 2025

One thing we did yesterday was pull out all the small pieces that we acquired but never did much with. 

There is always a trade off between the amount of work required, and the reward we get from doing it, and quite frankly they are not worth the effort. 

So we hauled it all out, set it up and took pictures, Kelli then posted them on Marketplace.

There was a lot of interest in most of the stuff, and today there were a stream of buyers arriving to collect their prize.

I decided to tackle Matt’s guitar.

I had made a routing jig over the past couple of weeks, now was the time to see if it worked.

Everything was clamped down firmly, I had set the depth of cut on the router, and prepared to commit. The router roared and the first bits of rosewood flew out, the duration was less than a minute, then it was done, a cavity was created.

After squaring of the corners I was ready to cut the piece to fit in.

I had found a piece of rosewood in the basement of the family home, Dave had collected all sorts of wood offcuts, and this one was perfect.

I cut a piece to the thickness I needed on the bandsaw, and then squared it up on the disc sander.

After fine tuning the fit I finally added the glue and stuck it in. The next challenge was shaping the fret which had a slight curve.

I made a template, and carefully scraped away until the template matched the shape.

I was relieved, okay it is a different piece, and it shows, but once the strings are refitted it should be hardly noticeable.

Later we had to collect a dresser from the north side, it is a decent piece that just needs the kickboard refitted, then we will sell it like it is.

6th November 2025 

It was breakfast time with Lloyd at the Southside inn. This was originally set for 10.00am, but delayed because we had someone coming to collect the dresser. 

Like most places that serve breakfasts the clientele are of the older generation, which, of course I forget that I am a member.

Happily, I still don’t consider myself old, and at least there is a spring in my step which is more than I can say for the majority of the customers.

Anyway with my Farmer’s Platter with sourdough toast, in front of me, we began. The quality of the food is good in my view, and ample in size.

The coffee is always plentiful, as Lloyd is an avid drinker of the stuff.

We usually start off with the topics from the news, Lloyd from the mainstream and I from the alternative media. This topic was the result of the New York Governor election. For the first time in history they have a socialist, who is promising free this and free that, and to pay for it, he will tax the rich. Lloyd pointed out that all the rich people will migrate to Florida, moving their wealth and businesses out of the city.

Yes there is going to be problems, but one has to understand that many things are said to buy the votes that conveniently get forgotten once in power.

It like Trump saying that with all the savings DOGE were making he would give all taxpayers a thousand dollars refund, well that all went quiet, typical political bullshit.

With the breakfast settled in my tummy, we parted agreeing to meet next week for our beer session, my social life is booming.

I came home and started to do some repairs to the bodywork on the truck, having a new nose was the excuse to tart the old girl up a bit.

I had bought a bottle of touch up paint at twenty four dollars, that has to be the most expensive liquid on earth.

I did a bit of filling, sanding and priming ready for a finish coat, that I have yet to buy. By the time I’ve finished I would have doubled the value of the truck.

5th November 2025

I’m confused, there is so much support for Israel I just don’t get it. If you come right out and say you that you disagree with what’s being done in Gaza you are labeled as an antisemite. 

I don’t get when “ Christians “ come out and support what Israel is doing, how can that be right? Jesus never preached about killing women and children, about destroying the lives of innocent people, how can all that be squared up?

Why are most countries sucking up to them?

Is it that the world banking system is controlled by the Jews?

Can it be that most of the media in the world is owned by the Jews?

Are most of the political parties in the world funded by the Jews? You bet they are.

The film and music industry have always been run by the Jews.

These people are very cunning, they manipulate others to do their bidding, the wars in the Middle East, we’re all examples of a bigger plan.

It has taken all these years of my life to realise that I’ve been played. Everything I read, every thing I’ve watched, every thing I’ve listened to, and everything I’ve was taught have been designed to not question, now I question everything.

To those who give a damn, it’s all out there, they can’t help to let slip what they are planning, it’s all done in plain sight.

I have said before, it’s all about distraction.

Covid was the awakening for me, if governments lie about that, they lie about everything, it’s to keep us scared, if we are in fear, we can be controlled.

One day I will comment on the masons, that is another story that will blow your mind, I thought it was just a gentleman’s club, oh no it’s much more than that.

Phew! And now for something completely different.

We VC sold two furniture pieces this morning, one a cedar chest and other a dresser that Kelli was just finishing, a good start to the month.

I took time to give the truck a good wash. I can’t remember when I did it last, but I did discover what colour it was.

I also fitted a new cover that protects the front of the vehicle from stone chips, the old one was pretty ropey. Kelli found one on eBay which arrived yesterday, I had the pleasure of fitting it.

I also discovered why one was fitted in the first place, it was to hold the front on.

Some of the brackets had broken on the sides and the cover did the job of holding it all together.

Fitting it was a struggle, a bit like trying to stretch a cow over a barrel. 

Once done, it made the truck more respectable again.