Author: peterb51

25th June 2025

I was listening to a politician talk about the benefits of Artificial Intelligence, how America will become even richer as a country, than it is now.

Sure Ford and General Motors will be able to produce products twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, but who will be able to afford them. 

They have to address the workers who would be replaced by the machines, what will the world look like, and how would the economy work?

Oh, they say, some workers will have to build the robots, and that is true, until the robots are trained to build them themselves.

Now this is a problem that will face the world, the days of the machine and AI are growing closer, what will the masses do for work? This is a fact conveniently overlooked.

Don’t get me started on Green energy. Over here they have scrapped a massive solar farm in Texas, because it doesn’t bloody work!

So what are they going to do with all those panels? They are going to bury them.

Meanwhile, what we do will never be done by robots. The production lines were moving at speed, two sets of side tables were primed ready for the top coats tomorrow, unfortunately neither were the right sizes for the lady who wanted some, one set was too small, the other too deep, but they will sell, side tables are alway in demand. Now I’ve probably put a curse on them, and they won’t, we shall see.

24th June 2025

Kelli had found another dresser, and had arranged to collect mid afternoon, also, there was a guy coming over to check out a mid century piece that will need extensive surgery.

I wanted to disassemble the small desk we collected from Goodwill.

First it was a bike ride, it was a little warm, but I figured that the breeze as we rode would keep us cool. Well no, not quite, it was when we stopped, the humidity hit us.

But it was an attempt, and that is important.

There were reports that a young chap died in the Lowes car park yesterday due to the heat, so sad.

I took the desk apart, there are the usual repairs / modifications that I need to do before it’s ready for painting, I also think it’s time for a new blade for the saw, I need to put that on the list.

By the time I had cut all the pieces I needed, my T-shirt was soaking, then, of course as soon as went inside the house I hit the AC so I froze, boy, I almost ripped that shirt off.

After a quick lunch, we headed off to meet up with the dresser person. We had got things from him in the past, he might be Mr Big in dresser supplies, we usually meet in the local pharmacy car park, not suspicious or what? The transaction complete, we headed off to Goodwill so that Kelli could return the items she bought yesterday, do you see the pattern emerging?

I suggested that I stay in the car, but she would not have it. She did not want me to be overcome by the heat and die in the Goodwill car park. I agreed, that the one place I would not meet my end, the other would be the Dollar General, not the most dignified resting place.

We got back just before the chap arrived to look at the dresser. He was the one person that offered us considerably more for the other mid century piece we sold a couple of days ago.

He would be interested in this new one, but didn’t want to commit to it until he saw the finished result.

I have now moved that up in the listings to get worked on next.

23rd June 2025

Opening the doors in the sun room to let the dogs out is like opening the doors to an oven, personally I like it, Kelli on the other hand does not. There is an occasional breeze that moves a bit of air around, but it also messes up her hair.

I admit that it is difficult to work in it, but with the number of pieces in the garage, I am fortunate to be able to work outside.

It was our shopping day, the same procedure, but with a detour to Goodwill for Kelli to return clothes she bought yesterday, and to collect the small desk that was set aside. This has a potential person already interested in it, which is why we chose it. 

The pool was just like a warm bath, I had forgotten to remove the cover earlier, which acted as a heat seal, but I enjoyed just floating around.

22nd June 2025

Today we had to drive to West Olive to collect maybe the most difficult piece we have ever had to move out of a house.

The drive up to West Olive was pleasant, although it was another hot day, but for a free dresser we would travel to the ends of the earth.

The GPS led up to a narrow track that took us through densely wooded land until it opened out to a clearing. 

The view from this clearing was breathtaking, in front of us was Lake Michigan in all its glory.

The house was in a prime spot, with a deck at the front where anyone could spend hours just looking out over the water. 

Standing on the deck was the chap we had come to see.

He waved to us to join him, so climbing the stairs we were up with the Gods.

His name was Henry Brimmer a retired lecturer of graphic art at Michigan State University.

His hair was gray and wild, his dress was flamboyant and colourful, he had a sparkle in his eyes and warmth in his smile. He told us he was born in Mexico, and gave us a brief history of the house and land around. He was most proud of the massive studio that he had built adjoining his house.

Once the talking was over he led us into his home. I was hit with the clutter, a mix of things he had collected throughout his life, including collectible chairs by Knoll and Eames.

He had taken the drawers out and laid them on the floor. There were particularly long, which was our clue to the size of the dresser.

I caught sight of a dark monolith at the top of the stairs. It stood defiant, dominating the space, how were we going to get it out of the house? Kelli suggested that one of us get behind the piece and control it, but as men we totally ignored her. 

On the first attempt we got it down the stairs but the door stopped it getting to a position when we could pivot it round, so somehow we had to get it back to the top. This was impossible because the leg got jammed under the top step. The only way to free it was for me to climb up the front of the carcass and get to the top so I could lift it and free the leg. We should have listened to Kelli.

The next idea was to remove the door leading into the living room, thank god for hinge pins, they were knocked out in no time.

With me at the top, the piece was lowered down the stairs, without the door to hinder it, we managed to get it through the doorway.

However there were a few obstacles in the way, one being a book case that was so heavy it couldn’t be moved.

Kelli stepped up, she was confident that there was just enough room to get the piece through. I had my doubts, but she was proved right again.

Now we were able to move it through the living room by sliding it on a mat.

Once through the front door, it had to be rotated to go down some more steps, then rotated ninety degrees and down the final few steps, all this on the hottest day.

Now it was just getting it into the truck.

Kelli needed to turn the truck around, so and reversing it back she hit one of his sculptures.

I heard the bang, fortunately neither the truck nor his sculpture sustained any damage.

Getting everything loaded took a bit of time, carefully weaving the drawers and a bloody large mirror carefully into the available space.

Henry then offered to show us round the studio which he shared with his son who is an artist.

Walking through the large green double doors was like entering heaven.

The place was vast, shelves were full of his ceramic sculptures, curved, twisted and flowing forms unlike anything we had seen before.

You could hear the excitement in his voice as we described the inspiration behind the objects. 

Then it was time to help him refit the door, that went smoothly, thank goodness it did.

Just before we left he gave me a stack of old Herman Miller annual reports that featured the graphical input from Steve Frykholm whom he is good friends with. It is funny how small the world is. 

We left feeling hot and exhausted, but delighted that we had met such an interesting person, the kind of person I would like to meet again.

21st June 2025

It was an unbelievably hot day today, the humidity was really high with a strong wind gusting, causing the trees to move erratically.

It was even too hot to stay in the pool, we managed it for an hour, before admitting defeat.

It was not a work day, for obvious reasons, but I did mange to strip off the finish from the stool I had to repair, before two spots of perspiration appeared on my tee shirt.

We met up with Nancy and Lloyd at the Crazy House steak house and grill. It was her birthday, so Kelli gave her a bunch of flowers from our garden as a small gift.

I had never been to the place before, and it was heaving, even at five o clock. The menu was extensive and servings were generous, as one would expect in this country. I managed to sink two glasses of craft beer before the giggles took over. 

I think we have a busy day tomorrow, someone is due in the morning to collect the mid century dresser and later in the day another person is due to look at another mid century piece to see if they want that one. It needs a lot of work, so he will have to be imaginative.

20th June 2025

The sleep pattern had improved, Kelli woke at 6.00am, but was able to go back to sleep, that is a great relief for me.

Our aim for the day was to finish the mid century dresser to hit the weekend trawlers.

New knobs had been ordered, so it was an anxious wait for the Amazon delivery.

No sooner as the driver had handed over the package, it was opened, and the contents fitted to the dresser.

Then it was picture time, of course waiting for the sun to go behind a cloud so there weren’t any strange shadows cast.

Kelli posted it right away, and by nine it was sold subject to then turning up on Sunday morning.

Mid century stuff does go quickly, we also had someone offer us much more than we were asking, but being honourable people, did not take it.

There is an expectation of hot weather over the weekend, bring it on.

19th June 2025

Kelli had arranged an emergency session at her doctor’s surgery, not her normal one, another from the practice, to help her with her sleep problem.

Interestingly she didn’t have a bad sleep last night, sure she awoke at five, but was able to get back to sleep.

Now, as I have mentioned before, I am still sceptical about certain parts of her treatment, and I sit in the room, maybe asking questions others won’t. I wouldn’t mind a job where I listen to my patients talk about their problems for half an hour and charge them for the privilege.

So I said that the treatment Kelli had last week didn’t work, what can they do this time to change that? The only answer they could use was that she needed “more work”.

When deprived of sleep, it makes her angry that usually she can’t drop off again. Now the liver is the anger organ, so that is what they focus.

I reminded the doctor that Kelli has been on this trip for four years, she has consumed more supplements than I care to imagine, and still it needs “ more work”.

I have tried to understand pre-menopausal symptoms, but every woman is different, so there is no one fits all solution, and that’s the problem.

Anger doesn’t help in situations like this, in fact it’s creates the very anxiety that will affect the liver, which hinders good sleep. Kelli understands that, she has to fight the anger.

After more acupressure on her feet and ankles her time was up, we now face the coming night to gauge if the treatment has helped.

18th June 2025

I think we snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat today. A lady came to look at our food prep island unit, we had a number of interested people,  but there were only a few approached us.

She pulled up in our driveway with a big smile, she seemed a nice lady. She absolutely loved the piece, but, there was that word that sends fear down my spine, “ I’m not sure of the colour” she went on to describe the colours of the rooms that this piece would be placed.

That’s always a difficult question, because it is such a personal thing.

Just then Kelli arrived and took over the conversation. She talked about how it could be a feature and could blend into either setting. Kelli  worked hard on this one, and as the lady had been searching for something like this for quite a while, the draw was too much, she bought it.

Phew! That was a close one.

I helped her clear the back of her truck of golf clubs, child’s seats and deck chairs. The piece fitted perfectly, she was happy and we were relieved, and happy.

I had just finished removing the paint from the baby changing unit, when a chap turned up with a dresser that he had contacted Kelli about. We had bought items from him before, but this one was different. The entire piece had been spray painted with silver paint, underneath is an oak dresser screaming to get out.

Kelli started working on a mid century style unit, but it needed a bit of Bondo to fill some damage.

I don’t know what she did, possibly used a shovel to mix and spread the filler.

I volunteered to sand it, but I was faced with these huge blobs of hardened grey filler.

The first one was on the top, it measured about forty millimetres in diameter, when I finally got everything blended in, the blemish was about 10mm by 4mm. That was just the first one, I had several resembling a mountain range, that took ages, Mike Russell-Pell would have been proud of her.

17th June 2025

What a difference a day makes, we turned a full 180 on the dog.

Kelli had a terrible night, waking up at five and not being able to get back to sleep, and all because of the dog issue. There were no signs of conflict during the day, yesterday it was bells and whistles, now it was questions and concerns.

I think it was me that said that maybe it’s not the right time to inflict a new animal into our household. I did not get a reply. 

By breakfast time, with the atmosphere tainted by the lack of sleep, Kelli told me that she had already contacted a friend that had recently lost a dog asking them if they wanted this one.

I was a bit annoyed that she had gone off and made plans without discussing with me.

The whole situation had become complicated, that was made worse by the friend not wanting a new pet.

Kelli thought that she should come clean and tell the dog owner of all her problems, her sleep and anxiety issues, he seem to understand, and then told her that he decided to keep the dog himself.

I hadn’t seen that coming, but it eased the guilt.

We had a bit more pool time, adding to my redness a bit. For Kelli, the lack of sleep, the dog issue, it had been a hectic day, she needed the pool more than I did.

16th June 2025

We’re getting another dog. We didn’t wake up this morning with this as the remotest thought in our heads, but circumstances evolved as the day progressed. I blame Greer, some guy that works at her hospital said that he had a dog that he couldn’t look after, and if he couldn’t give it a new home, he would take it to the local pound.

That was all he needed to say, she was on the phone to Kelli, and Kelli is a soft touch when it comes to animals losing their homes, stepped up and was keen to check it out.

And that is where it all started, a long talk with the owner, and she was sold.

Greer is collecting the dog tomorrow morning and driving down straight away. It is a male, golden retriever, about seven months old, according to it owner it has a perfect temperament, and should settle in quickly, well we shall see.

In addition to all that excitement, it was shopping day, and bloody hot as well, which meant another float in the pool, it was heaven.

I did a bit of scraping to the white baby changing  station, but didn’t spent too much time on it.