Author: peterb51

21st October 2017

“Did you see that free stuff?” Kelli shouted doing almost a hand-brake turn into a parking area. It happened so fast that I didn’t realise what was happening, I thought it was still the effects of my cold. The car stopped suddenly, “There! those wooden crates, get them!” I jumped out of the car by instinct, not that I really wanted to be seen grabbing items next to a “FREE” sign, but I did it. The crates looked like they had seen better days, maybe fifty years ago, but what do I know? There were also some solid rubber blocks, not knowing what they were, we took those anyway.

We had just come from the Goodwill on the south side of town and found an old four drawer dresser of solid oak. It was old because it had the circular style drawer joints that pre-ceded machine manufactured dovetails.

I couldn’t wait to get it back to start work cleaning it up.

First we had to go the the Goodwill on the north side. This is bigger, and on a Saturday it gets really busy. A few months ago I wouldn’t have been seen dead in a place like this, but I have learned that it is a great form of recycling. They take care in what is accepted, so clothing is nearly new, and the furniture is complete, and usable, but maybe not stylish, or at least until we’ve got our hands on it.

20th October 2017

Fido’s coffin is finally finished, with a lick of paint it has been transformed from the item Kelli had picked up a few weeks ago. It has been a labour of love, but I managed to use most of the original timber in the new along with some old pallet wood from my stock. The only parts I had to buy were the hinges and the door knob.

When the door is opened there is this great smell of cedar that will waft around the nostrils.

Kelli did a great paint job on the four drawer dresser, these will be taken to Hudsonville in the morning.

I have been a bit wobbly as my cold develops, if I’m not busy, and stop for a bit, I just want to sit.

I might have done a bit too much by sweeping the leaves, but the sun was shining and it was warm, and I forgot I was still sick, so a quiet day tomorrow.

19th October 2017

Today was fix the truck day. I drove with Larry to pick up the rear struts and mounts from the auto parts shop. I volunteered to help because it requires you have five foot long arms with two elbows to successfully do this job single handedly. I rented a spring compression kit, and the moment I opened the box and just touched the tool my hands were black. What is it with car mechanics, everything gets dirty in seconds? However it took just a couple of hours, or eight cigarettes to complete, so I hope now that the clunking from the back end has been cured.

I finally got round to fitting the steel angle to the garage to straighten it allowing it to close properly. That was a fun job as it required thin fingers to position the nuts in a channel section. After a lot of bad language, I managed to get the steel angle secured. Trying to straighten the kinked section of the door was really hard, as it was too shallow to pull it down with a G clamp. It would take too long to describe how I did it, and make a safety officer soil themselves, but it came together okay.

There was nervousness the first time of operation. The door must now be pre-stressed, and there might have been the possibility of the door sailing through the air and landing in Larry’s yard, and that would knock the ash off his ciggi.

18th October 2017
The temperature was back to the mid sixties, so pleasant to work outside again.

A lot of the jobs are still in process, Fido’s coffin needs paint and the apocalypse needs a top, and some work on the drawer to make it run smoothly.

The dresser had the base decorative panel attached, so that’s ready for painting.

Kelli also finished painting the sewing machine table

This was an excellent opportunity for me to dig my way to the back of the garage to where my next challenge was hidden. A couple of years ago Kelli bought this on somebody’s advice, and when we looked at it closely it was made from chipboard covered in pine veneer. Since then it has been forgotten and building up layers of dust.

I’ve had some thoughts about doing something different with it. 

My challenge is to make something useful , and not to spend a penny more than the fifteen bucks originally paid for it.

With my trusty saw in hand I made a start.

Kelli made her regular pilgrimage to Goodwill, and returned with a bookcase, a few small pieces for her booth. She also found Ralph Lauren cardigan with a teddy bear motif on it. Apparently these are rare and quite valuable. So within ten minutes of her return it was posted on E-bay 

17th October 2017

I awoke with a throat feeling like the inside of a fisherman boot, but the first cup of coffee, and a breakfast of grilled potatoes, veg and avocado helped me feel human again.

I dressed up warm and went out into the garage to work on the new dresser.

The aim was to strip off all the crappy paint and get it ready for a transformation. 

Within a couple of hours it was ready. There was piles of paint strips littering the floor, but I decided to go further and disassemble the top and kick plate. There is no point in doing half a job. 

I was listening to a number of news shows on the radio trying to keep up with things in this confused country. It is really difficult to hear a truly unbiased report, and often the same story will be told completely different. I find it fascinating that the US has a man leading the country that can hardly put any words together that make sense, and then others defend it.

At the end of the day, when I usually begin to flag, I was feeling okay, so was this a phantom cold, or will the runny nose hit me tomorrow?

16th October 2017

I have been struck down. After being smug and thinking I was immune from catching Kelli’s cold, around 3.00am it hit me.

I felt my throat become sore and uncomfortable . I remembered my father’s advice “Sweat it out”. He was of the generation that believed that a good sweat, a glass of water and a copy of “The News of the World” would cure everything. It must have worked, because I cannot remember him being ill, I remember him being angry when the Sunday newspaper was not delivered. 

Normally I carry a supply of Lemsips whenever I travel, but not this time. So I am putting my faith in the “medicine man” remedies over here.

There is no short isles of cold cures in the pharmacies here, they stretch for miles, by the time you find some that won’t kill you, you’re cured.

However, I dragged my weary bones to help get the freebie to Hudsonville. It was a heavy beast, but Kelli did a great job on the finishing.

I managed to do a little sanding on a dresser that we picked up at the weekend. 

To commemorate the fact that I was feeling crap, I was rewarded with a Star Wars evening. We watched Return of the Jedi, and sometime during the film I referred to Han Solo as Hans. That was the opening to the sluice gates of hysterical laughter. I had invented a new Star Wars hero “Hans Olo” and nobody was going to let me forget it.

15th October 2017

I looked over what we bought yesterday, one was a narrow seat and shoe storage, the other was a four drawer dresser.

The shoe storage had a broken dowel and a heart-shaped cutout that had to be filled in. “No one wants heart cut-outs these days” Kelli stated. There were many screw head caps that had to be removed and filled, so mixed up the “Bondo” and got to work.

The weather was a bit grim for most of the day, but there was plenty of things to do.

The dresser unit was in a bit of a state. I never understand how drawers get damaged, they look like they’ve been attacked with an axe.

The paint has a texture that cannot be sanded, it melts, and bubbles up, then the option is to scrape it off, ugh! more work.

Since I’ve been here, I have been busy everyday, but it’s been great, I might moan at filling holes, but I’ve chosen to do it.

This evening Kelli made a fantastic vegan Lasagne, plus some savoury spinach and artichoke rolls as a sample run for Thanksgiving. Although she still has a cold, she still managed to produce this fantastic food.

14th October 2017

It’s a grey and rainy day, I have finished everything I can without going out in it. Amazon delivered my dowels, but I need material to use them on. The Moody Blues are playing continually on the CD player, that is an improvement on just hearing Justin Hayward.

We bought two project pieces that require a small amount of work to get them saleable.

We met this young guy at a personal storage complex, when he opened up the door it was full floor to ceiling with stuff. Fortunately the items Kelli wanted were at the front. These storage rooms are quite popular as a way of hiding away the things you will never use again. It has replaced the basement or the attic for things that belonged to mum and dad, or the children’s cot, or toys. We can’t let go of some things, but others are put in a place out it sight and stored for fifty bucks a month.

13th October 2017

I think I looked a bit of a mess today. I hadn’t shaved for a couple of days, and my hair was a little wild, I wasn’t bothered even though it was Friday the thirteenth. I had plenty on my plate, and today was hopefully the completion of a few jobs. First order of the day was drilling the hinge holes for Fido’s coffin door. I had a brand new forstner bit in the chuck ready. The holes were cut perfectly, no ragged edges ready to accept the hinges. Now something in the world of Pete went a little off course as the diameter of the forstner bit was thirty-two millimetres, but the hinge was thirty-six??. Have I been away from the industry that long that I had forgotten the sizes?

 Needless to say that job didn’t happen, but I managed to complete other stuff ready for Kelli to paint.

Speaking of whom, there was a cloud of doom hanging over her head, as a cold took hold over her. However despite her ailments, she still managed to prepare some great food to keep my engine turning.

12th October 2017

I feel cold. It came on today, but I’m not sure if it’s a “cold” or just cold from standing in a cold place.

Kelli’s dad, Dave took me to meet “Smurf” his friend who milled lumber. Why do you call him Smurf? Partially expecting a reply ” because he’s blue” but no, ” he has very large feet”

We drove for miles, or maybe it just seemed like it. Dave drives to the speed limits, whether they exist or not. Insects hitting his windscreen do not die, they just get a slight concussion.

Smurf’s place is close to Spring Lake in the wilderness. There are so many places like this, miles from anywhere, no good if you’re frightened of the dark.

When we got there he was cutting up some tiger maple into two inch thick planks.

He had a good business sawing up trees using a rig he had built himself using an old chassis from a school bus. He is able to take his rig to places to cut on site, or for demonstrations. He used to work at Herman Miller as a Millwright in the early days, keeping the factory going.

I enjoy being around people who can build amazing bits of machinery, even the device he made to sharpen his blades was ingenious. His barn is a wonderland of stuff, shelves laden with tins and tools, I think his bench still had the same things on it from the last time.

It was a good day out, and a rest from furniture.

Oh, by the way, his feet weren’t that big.

On the way back Dave had to stop off at a meat factory to collect some pork, not the place I felt comfortable at, so I waited outside freezing my ass off, so it’s a hot toddy tonight.