Author: peterb51

23rd July 2026

We had a lady turn up with a bookcase and shelves that she wanted finishing with polyurethane. I recall Kelli telling me about it, and I did throw a price out there, but I remember shouting “Plus material!” as she closed the bathroom door. Needless to say the material charge wasn’t included, so I’m having to use my finishing materials and making bugger all out of it. No wonder the lady said “ Your wife made me an offer I could not refuse “

“Yes” I thought, “ those kids building iPhones make more than I do”

Anyway I got on with it.

I drove the truck to the body shop to have the new doors and wing fitted, I arrived during their lunch break so I posted the key through the letterbox, and Kelli drove me home.

She had made an appointment to see one of the doctors at her usual surgery. The shingles are breaking out in the painful blisters, and she is in quite a bit of pain, so she thought that maybe she could have some treatment to ease that.

Now I must admit I was not convinced they could do anything, because the pain is the pain you have to endure, that did not go down well.

I’m sure they could hit her with a tuning fork and balance her frequencies, but it can’t deal with the pain, they are not bloody miracle workers!

But she went anyway, I got on with coating the shelves.

In between doing that I stripped a small door from the green cabinet, and even managed to cut the grass at the front.

The temperature was a bit lower today, quite a relief.

I had a slight mishap this morning whilst preparing breakfast, I managed to spill a dozen eggs on the floor. This was my finest work, I only needed one from a full carton, but somehow I caught it on the edge of the sink. Most of the them cracked, spilling the yokes on to the carpet.

Winnie appeared like a spirit,  lapping up the spoil until not a trace was left. I managed to salvage some that were cracked but not open, but I was mad at myself.

22nd July 2026

Sometimes I don’t understand people, I’m sure I’m not the only person that suffers from that.

There is an English couple who live at the top of Central Bay Avenue that we have known more than six years. They used to walk their dog past our garage when I was working outside. They stopped to talk one day, found that I was English, and that was that, we used to go for dinner and socialise quite a lot. They were new to the area, and we were the first people they got to know. We invited them to our wedding and we had a lot of fun.

Now, as time has moved on we see less of them, they drive past and wave, but no longer stop for a chat. Last year they did stop, but only to ask if I would let their dog out as they would be away for several hours. Of course I did that, but since that time nothing.

Had we done or said something disagreeable? Had their circle of friends increased so much that there was little time to talk with us?

It makes me sad, maybe they don’t agree with our inquisitive minds, the questions we raised, or the positions we take of just about everything.

People can disagree on many things, but that makes for healthy debates, and exchanges of views, but that doesn’t work, we hide behind our prejudices, follow our tribes and stay away from those we disagree with. The result is that friendships dissolve, and turn into strangers.

21st July 2026

It felt strange not driving down to Bryon Center, I know John will be disappointed, but I have to get the truck fixed, but it’s unlikely to be ready for the next week.

I wanted to make the most of the time so I started stripping the paint off the big green piece. 

With heat gun in hand I attacked it with vigour.

Once the bulk of the paint had been removed, I set about cleaning it up with a sander. I had to put a mask on because there was so much dust, and I’m becoming aware I’m doing much more sanding, and it doesn’t help my cough.

Kelli had been complaining about a rash on her shoulder, just under her arm, it’s sore and nothing she applies seems to relieve it.

She decided to go to the Emergency Care Centre to find out what it is. Luckily it was not busy, but there is this smell of efficiency with glowing screens and people looking at them. We were ushered into a small room. It was dominated by a large seat covered in a paper cover, I guessed that was where the patient sat.

First there was a technician to take her weight, heart rate and blood pressure, she left, and another doctor’s assistant came in, she was checking name and address, she also had a peek at Kelli’s rash.

“ Mmm, looks like shingles “ she said, “ but I’m not a doctor”

She left, and after about ten minutes the doctor came in, he looked at the rash, “That’s shingles “ 

So that answers the question, naturally there are drugs to ease the suffering, but Kelli doesn’t want to take them as the side effects are nearly as bad as the complaint itself.

20th July 2026

I’ve started the challenging job of trying to make an old build-in cabinet into a free standing buffet/ island.

This is another piece we should not have bought. It came without a top or a back, but I found some timber in Kelli’s mum’s garage, part of Dave’s stash of material. I spent time planing the planks flat after cutting them in half and joining them back together with opposite grain, hoping they will stay flat.

It wasn’t so unbearably hot today, there was a slight breeze which made it pleasant to work out side. 

I had to empty the dust extraction bag as it was ready to burst, it’s amazing how much stuff gets in there. I also had to clean out the jointer that had clogged up with chippings. 

Kelli was away for a greater part of the day taking her mother to a doctors appointment.

I would say that going to the doctor here is a national sport, if it was in the Olympics the USA would win gold.

So I was working single handed, and with trying to stop Winnie doing naughty things it wasn’t as productive as I would have liked, maybe it will be better tomorrow.

19th July 2026

Mind control, never really thought of it before. To me that was a subject for a blockbuster film of world domination by an evil genius, but guess what, we’re all subjected to that everyday.

To most, they don’t care, it’s a way of life, but when you step outside, just for a moment, and look back, trying to forget your “ normal”, it so clear. Repetition, that’s the clue. When the same message coming from different directions, often television is a major source. How many tv programs have drinking in bars, coffee shops, in the past, smoking. All these are silently conditioning the public to accept these “vices” as normal.

Even films showing senior executives in their offices looking out of large pictures windows whilst holding a glass of whiskey in their hand.

This would not happen in a Herman Miller office.

I talked to Kelli about an 80’s advertisement on the television using “ Easy, like Sunday morning“ as the soundtrack, where a handsome guy, living in a trendy loft, needs cash to feed his cat. He has to walk down the high street, past the newspaper seller to draw money from a Halifax ATM.

The scene closes with the guy sitting in the open window of his loft reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee in his hand. This showed a utopian lifestyle that many young men to related to, and wanted to emulate.

This ad was the work of genius, it captured a mood, and probably encouraged many young men to open a Halifax account.

So what is the point of this post, well, as I have written many times, I have time to look hard at things, some I don’t understand, and things that don’t make sense, I have been fooled all my life so far, and I want it to stop.

I would urge you to watch The documentary “ Planet Mind Control” a well researched film that will shock and inform you.

I am awake now.

We drove to Saugatuck to collect a free mid century style dresser. It’s not in bad shape, and can be a quick transformation. The girl giving it away had most parts of her face pierced, that must have hurt, the rest of her was covered in tattoos. I don’t know why anyone thinks that’s attractive, they weren’t very good artwork either.

18th July 2026

A full day ahead, shopping, returning stuff and picking up the last two cushions from Randy.

Kelli had two stops planned, one to pick up two baskets and then on to Zeeland to pick up a queen size headboard.

This was an interesting piece with cane and mock inlay, this kind of furniture is quite popular amongst the younger generation, I hope so.

Then it was back home for a splash around in the pool.

I volunteered to cycle to the Dollar store to buy some chewy stick for the “girls”.

It was about a fifteen minute run, which was fun to do, as I was on my own I could speed along.

I found the treats and made my way to the register. I stood behind a thick set chap who was checking out bottles of pop, high sugared liquid that came to $37. This stuff is vile and so unhealthy, as was demonstrated by guy purchasing the stuff.

Despite all the new information regarding the risks surrounding these beverages, they are still so popular, and purchased mainly by the low income households. These have recently been removed from the food stamp program in an attempt to improve the health of Americans, that will be an uphill battle.

17th July 2026

Kelli had booked me an appointment with Brandon one of the kinesiologist at Roots chiropractic. She was concerned that there might have been hidden trauma that I might have suffered after the car accident.

I was confident that I was okay, but for her peace of mind, I went along with it.

He went through a series of checks 

Starting at my feet right up to my head. I had a realignment of my neck, that bloody hurt, and  a bit of facial manipulation to finish off. He said that there was a bit of correction, but other than that I was in good shape. As we left he shook my hand, that in my opinion did more damage than the accident.

The air was still thick with Canadian smoke, and hot as hell.

Kelli managed to finish painting a large piece we bought back in the winter. I had spent a lot of time and used a lot of Bondo trying to make it look decent.

I had bought a tin of cheap paint from Menards, they sell on any returned colours that customers had mixed and then rejected, that happens a lot, so I always look at what is on the shelf.

This was an interesting colour called  Velvety Night, I’m sure Count Dracula would snap it up for his castle.

16th July 2026

The air quality was pretty bad, there were health warnings on all platforms, all due to forest fires in Canada. You could almost feel the smoke in the air, and smell the slight hint of burning wood.

This was not the day to work outside, but I had to finish the job at Elaine’s.

I had to cut strips of timber to mount these old shutters so they fitted inside the window frames of her house. I made a series of different thickness pieces to get the perfect fit.

I loaded all the parts in Kelli’s mums van, which we are borrowing until we get our fixed.

I got to Elaine’s house and rang the door bell, no answer, rang it again, same. I then pushed it a number of times in quick succession, still no answer. Had she fallen asleep? Did she have her hearing aid turned off?

I walked around to see if she was down by her small lake, but no she wasn’t there.

Rang the bell a few more times, still nothing.

I loaded everything back into the van and drove home, slightly peeved. I should have brought my phone, but typically I forgot it.

When I told Kelli about my wasted journey, she messaged her.

“ she was upstairs all the time” Kelli informed me, “ you better go back”.

Stuffing a bit of food down my neck, I did the same trip down.

This time she opened the door on the first push of the bell, I bit my lip, I could have made a sarky remark, but I thought better of it.

I got down to the job of fitting the shutters.

Somehow both the frames were slightly different, but with the combination of wooden strip I managed to get them fitted. One was a little tight, but I will run one through the planer, then go back on a different day.

That job done, I returned home. Kelli had finished painting a small storage box, so I took some pictures and Kelli posted it on Marketplace.

The humidity, the haze from Canada still lingered well into the evening, hopefully wind direction will change and carry it back from where it came from.

15th July 2026

After a shitty night where I kept reliving the accident, I awoke to find the doors still stoved in,

the night repair angels failed to do their job.

Over breakfast we hatched a plan to fix the truck. I set a maximum budget  that I was prepared to pay, so Kelli phoned around to get a feel for the price for salvaged doors. She then called a body shop close to us and arranged to call round to get an estimate.

Mike at Kimber Auto Body and Paint was a pleasant chappy, there was no sudden intake of breath, or smacking of lips, we talked through what options there were, and he went off to prepare a quote.

The cheapest option was to try to buy parts that were already in the colour of the truck, so when we got back home Kelli set off tracking a passenger side front and rear door and a front wing. She called several breakers and managed to find a front door and front wing in white. The back door was burgundy, so that will have to be painted.

So parts from two different breakers will be delivered direct to Kimbers, and a booking for next Thursday.

All this took a lot off my mind, I was able to concentrate of jobs in the garage.

Phew it was humid, even Winnie is struggling to cope, this is the first summer in her life, I bet she longs for the cold.

14th July 2026

Well it happened, what I have been dreading might happen, I had a motor accident.

I had someone drive into the side of me, fortunately at a low speed but hard enough to stove in the near side passenger and rear door.

Luckily there was no one injured.

I had been taking John back home after an exhausting day machining up timber for one of John’s old customer. It was very hot, and the timber was thick walnut slabs. I was dripping with perspiration, and no amount of paper towel would soak it up. I never realised how labour intensive it was. The slabs were 48 inches by 22 inches by 2” thick, so they were heavy as well. 

So having a prang was not my idea of fun. I think John was a bit shaken, but I was pissed and expressed a number of expletives many that he would not know.

I was able to drive the truck which was more than the other person.

We had to wait for the police, I was concerned that I only had my English driving license, but that didn’t seem to bother them. I think that things get more serious if there are injuries. So after all that I had to continue on to drop John off at his home. Although we contacted his wife, she didn’t want to come out to collect him, strange.

I’ve now got to sort out the repair, I will need at least two new doors and a bit of wing body work.

I keep thinking is this just a dream? Will I wake up and everything with be as it was? I don’t think the fairies will fix that overnight.