Author: peterb51

2nd August 2026

“It easier to fool people than to convince them they’ve been fooled” this well used quote by Mark Twain is so true today.

I had been watching the congressional hearing with Antony Fauci who who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the whole Covid debacle. He had been accused of misleading the American people over the true origin of the Covid 19 virus. He was the person responsible for giving funding to the Chinese to carry out Gain of Function research. This set in motion the series of events that led to the release of the virus into the air, that spread around the world.

And then he lied about it.

He told people to wear masks knowing they didn’t work, and invented social distancing, that

Also didn’t work. The problem was most of the world followed the advice as if they were all in on it.

He was given a pardon by Biden going back to 2014 up to 2025, so technically he couldn’t be prosecuted.

He sat in the hearing and pleaded the fifth to every question, including being asked the colour of his tie.

This man is responsible for the deaths of millions due to Covid 19, and hundreds of millions as a result of the vaccine, although this will continue to rise as the longer term effects materialise.

But nothing will happen, it’s another distraction, it takes the mind off the genocide in Gaza. 

It’s odd that word is not mentioned at all in google, or in my spell checker, just saying.

There will be another global pandemic, and people will fall for sticking a sock over their noses if they are told to. I saw a family in Asda all wearing masks, why? If you can smell a fart, then they are no use at all, but they did take them off when they got outside.

Climbing down from my soapbox,

Today was lazy day, a casual breakfast, a game of ball with Winnie and no plans to do anything.

Some neighbours up the road dropped off a small dresser for us to do up and sell.

I did a bit of work in the music room, I haven’t got the sound right yet, I need to do some damping on the walls. I plan to make some acoustic panels using mineral wool insulation that works a treat.

1st August 2026

It was a grey day, rain was forecast intermittently, and we had the shopping to do.

Holland city had decided that the roads needed resurfacing, meaning that most routes had diversions. There is never a good time of year to do this work, so everyone has a moan about it, for me, well, take it easy, no rush.

We did our task, it didn’t take longer, we got what we needed ,and headed back. 

The dogs were waiting, they were glad to see us. Winnie, now weighing forty two pounds, is a formidable animal, when she jumps on you it’s like being hit by a bag of cement.

They are excited to see what is in the bags, just in case there is food for them.

I spent a couple of hours in the music room working on three songs that Matt, Kelli’s brother had written using AI. As I have said, I am not really a fan of it, because it can seduce people into a false state of creativity. But Matt is a talented guy, some of the best songs I have recorded have been his, and I have been trying desperately to convince him to write again.

My aim is to use these AI examples to recreate them with real instruments and using his real voice. I hope this will kick his ass into gear and get his own creativity back.

31st July 2026

I had another breakfast with Lloyd at our regular heaven’s waiting room. 

It can be a sad place to be, watching many of the old people struggling to walk, one old chap had badly bloated legs, he hobbled to the door using two walking sticks. Every step must have been painful, even I could feel it.

It was a pleasant hour, I tried to keep things uncontroversial, as I know Lloyd believes everything the media tells him. The one thing we agree on is the prices of food will never come down.

When I got back, I had a list of jobs I wanted to do so that Kelli could spray paint our latest dresser.

I sanded back the primer that I applied yesterday to get a smooth surface, ready for the finish.

30th July 2026

After the car accident I decided that I should get an American driving licence. I had been running on a GB one since I got here, and although it didn’t complicate the police paperwork, I was advised to get a US one, so I started today.

I had booked online an application at the Secretary of State’s office in Holland, and today was the day. I had to sit the written test, a series of questions about road safety and driving techniques. I had practiced quite a few on YouTube so I knew the format, but I was still nervous.

Kelli came with me as an interpreter, and boy did I need her. The girl that took all my particulars had a quiet voice and a lisp. Well we got through that hurdle, and I was allocated a screen at the end of the row to take the actual test.

I settled into the seat, and took slow breaths, I took my time, and started when I felt calm.

The first twenty questions were about road signs which were a doddle. The next set of sixty were a bit more tricky. Although they were multiple choice answers, some were so similar, I had to really think which to choose. Some were just lucky guesses, and a few wrong. I cursed under my breath mainly, because I was going for a 100% score as Kelli famously announced, and keeps reminding me, but that was a while ago, but a pass is a pass.

29th July 2026

It was a long slog of adding filler and sanding the latest dresser. The drawer fronts had suffered badly from some impacts, but I was determined to get as much done as I could.

Over the road one of the young girls had a couple of boys sniffing round. As there were no adult  around, Kelli took it upon herself to keep a visual check on what was going on, and reporting back to the working father.

I was generally not aware of what was going on, but one of the boys gave me a dirty look as he rode past.

It was time to change the filter on the pool. I had to plugged the tubes going from the pool to the pump to avoid a deluge of water from the pump as I took the lid off. There were special plugs that came with the pump that I used to seal everything off. There was a lot of crud in the old filter,  so it was about time.

I had the job of delivering the dressing that we sold last night.

I had to be there by 7.30 pm, I actually got there a few minutes early and extracted the dresser from the van. I waked up to the front door looking for the bell, there was one, but it was painted over and didn’t work, ideal if you don’t want visitors.

I couldn’t knock on the door because the outer screen door was locked, so I decided to wait. 

At exactly 7.30pm the garage door opened and the occupants emerged, like a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The lady looked over every detail before she handed over the money. Once she was satisfied, I helped carry it into the garage, and then drove home, happy that the sale was good, and we had more space in the garage again.

28th July 2026

The second week that I have been unable to drive down to the Byron Center, I expect John is sad that we can’t do woodwork, I feel that part of me is missing something.

I managed to finish the shelves and bookcase in a flurry of activity. The shelves turned out well, I finished them by rubbing them down with wire wool and beeswax, they were as smooth as a baby’s bum. The lady was pleased(and so she should be) and handed me a cheque. I’m glad that job is done.

Kelli finished the mid century style dresser, I took pictures, Kelli posted it and it was sold before the evening was out.

Now the dresser we collected yesterday is next in line.

Progress on Kelli’s shingles is improving, although the blisters still look angry, some have burst, and she is going through the still sore/ itchy stage.

Winnie continues to try our patience, she is now known as Winnie the destroyer, there is no ball or squeaky toy that hasn’t been gutted. Every evening there is the ceremonial collection of stuffing material. The majority of the toys have survived many of Kelli’s dogs, but not this one.

27th July 2026

There was a thunderstorm as we drove back from Dorr with a dresser in the back of Kelli’s mum’s van. 

Dorr is way out in the wilderness, a mixture of flash houses and rundown places, even the most grotty real estate has its own pond.

The sky was angry, lightening was flashing across the sky, and the sky opened just as we started to load the dresser. Kelli didn’t want to get her hair wet, so stayed in the dry. I, on the other hand got drenched.

There was another dresser, with one drawer missing, but we couldn’t fit it in unfortunately.

The rain put paid to a lot of work I needed to do. I had promised that the refinished shelves and bookcase would be delivered tomorrow, the humidity slowed down the drying, so it will be down to the wire as usual.

26th July 2026

The day started as a good time for sorting the garden out, it was humid, so not ideal for anything strenuous. 

Before breakfast a young girl and her mother turned up to collect the headboard we were selling, that was a good start of the day.

I had a down pipe to fix and a water barrel to relocate. Kelli started pulling up grass in the beds, so I went over to help. Removing weeds and grass is quite a satisfying job, almost addictive, for a while, then it’s like pulling hair one strand at a time. By the time I’d finished I was drenched.

We then took the dogs for a short walk, that is when the real drama started.

Then we had a chance to look more closely at the pad, I also felt around her joints checking if she had twisted her leg, she would immediately let me know if I found something.

The walk is something we had done before, nothing difficult, but somehow Phoebe started limping on her right front leg. It was bad to watch. I had a quick check to see if there was something lodged in her paw, but nothing was evident. But she continued to limp, I then picked her up and carried her for the rest of the way.

Her limping persisted, so our only option was to take her to the Emergency vet clinic.

This had recently opened in an old Blockbuster store on the north side.

It was gone seven, and we hadn’t had our dinner, the procedure seemed to take ages. The vet did a detailed check, including giving the poor creature a sedative, and concluded that she must have stained part of her paw. We left there with some pain killers, anti inflammatory tablets and a bill for £240, not bad for an hours work.

So ended a day of rest and relaxation.

25th July 2026

A hectic day loomed. We, at last sold the buffet/ dresser that we have sat on for months. It was the one we should have passed on, but we had it sitting in the garage as a reminder of how daft we were.

I would do a little on it from time to time, and gradually it change from being a piece of junk to something that was usable.

We also took pictures of the Michigan coffee table, Kelli posted it on Marketplace, not sure if that’s the right place, but we thought we’d give it a try.

This was our shopping day, but we also wanted to deliver it, but first I had to line the drawers.

This is a job I hate, as I have mentioned many times, probably the same number as the drawers I’ve lined. I tried not to get flustered, I had five drawers to do, so I took my time and got it done. We loaded it into Kelli’s mum’s van, and headed off to do our shopping.

The address where we had to deliver was close to Waukazoo woods, a decent neighbourhood, we had to leave it in the garage. We had already been paid via Veno, a popular method of payment here, so off we went to continue our weekly shopping.

Kelli had seen something on marketplace that took her fancy, it was an old steel double sink.

It was free, and she wanted to set it in the back garden, maybe grow something in it.

We got to the house in Holland Heights, and there it was, covered in vines and full of mud. The owners couldn’t be bothered to clean it out for us. It felt like we were stealing it from the garden.

The first thing to do was empty the dirt out, along with dirty water, that made it lighter to move. We put in the back of the van, and left before the neighbours could report us to the police.

By now it was late afternoon, way past the dog’s feeding time. Winnie does get a little crazy when she is hungry, so anything could happen.

When we arrived back everything was fine, apart from two starving dogs, who were very pleased to see us.

24th July 2026

Well I wasted my time doing a quote for a lady who approached us to repaint her kitchen. She had sent pictures, and I thought she was serious.

I had established a good pricing model based on the one we did for Lloyd and Nancy a couple of years ago.

I set out the process step by step so that the scale of the work can be understood by anyone not familiar with refinishing work.

I stressed that most of the time was spent in preparation and painting was at the end.

Kelli sent it off, and within an hour she had a reply.

The person thanked us for the quote, which she thought was fair, but it was outside her budget of $500. She asked if there was work that she could do to lower the price. That was a fair question.

I replied that if she could remove the doors and fronts, remove the hardware, wash them down with a de- greaser, and reinstall everything afterwards it would be a considerable saving.

Now, I then went back with a stripped down price of just prep for painting and the finishing, this came to $680 not including the paint itself.

This was sent off and the reply came back that she will put it off for another time.

I don’t know what she expected for her original budget, the paint itself came to $105.

I know our prices are really competitive, so I was a little disappointed, and annoyed for the time I had wasted.

I continued on the finishing of the bookshelf and shelves, another job totally underprices, but we did sell the dark dresser that Kelli repainted.