Author: peterb51

24th August 2024

I did something today that I never thought I would do,  put on red MAGA hat.

Now you might think that I’d lost my mind, and I would agree with you, but over time I’ve had a different train of thought.

This all happened because the was a Trump boat parade on lake Macatowa, and we had been invited to take part by a couple of elderly girls who we often see down on the lagoon when we walk the dogs. I say elderly, in fact they were my age, but we don’t talk about that.

We knew they were Trumpers since 2016 but they were nice people, so we were excited to sail on the lake again.

When we arrived,  they were preparing the boat complete with Trump flags and hats. 

We were joined by two more ladies, making me the token male, as long as I didn’t have to do anything heroic, I was alright with that.

I was obliged to wear the hat even though it burnt my skull putting it on.

We travelled through the lagoon and joined the main lake, there were many crafts of various sizes all heading towards Lake Michigan.

Suddenly I was overwhelmed by the feeling of community and comradely, this was joining a flotilla of solidarity.

I was quite moved by it all; watching the excitement by the girls, who seemed to know a lot of people.

The lake got choppy as the large vessels cruised by,  there were pontoons small motor boats right up to mega monsters.

Kelli enjoyed herself waving and whooping at passing crafts, although the many spiders on the boat kept her busy.

It was also a great opportunity to see the lake side houses that we cannot see from the road.

As we moved through the narrow channel towards Lake Michigan we then turned around and returned back the way we came.

It was over an hour before we returned to dry land, throughly exhausted and hungry.

The girls gave us the hats and flags, so we walked back to our house, it then crossed my mind “ I hope Mike and Lesley don’t see us” and seconds later they drove passed us.

No doubt tutting at the spectacle of me in a Trump hat, which I will never live down.

23rd August 2024

Today I felt like I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about doing anything. It was not that we had a bad night, it wasn’t brilliant, but I didn’t have much interest in things. 

I did a bit of scraping, and a bit of wood cutting, but that was the extent of it.

Of course the day was taken up by the announcement that Robert Kennedy Jr was suspending his presidency run and joining Trump.

That was big news everywhere.

I like RFK Jr, I’ve read his books, and I share his concerns regarding bad food and the Covid vaccine poison. I dislike Trump, but I recognise the common things they agree on.

What is interesting is what position he will hold in Trump’s new administration, if he wins.

Whatever that will be, the establishment will be shaking in their boots, it could be that big changes will be coming, and for America that can’t happen soon enough.

Finally the truth about the JFK and RFK assassinations will be exposed, it will, what many have believed, will show the involvement of the CIA, and how the FBI have covered it up.

It was interesting that the announcement was made after the Democratic convention finished.

I’m sure it’s an “Oh shit” moment for most of them, now the fun begins.

22nd August 2024

The night was not good, Kelli struggled to get to sleep for several hours. She thinks that some of the food she had eaten may have caused her digestion issues. Anything deep fried could have been the reason, so the mozzarella sticks that nearly killed me were probably hers.

I was not going to let a disturbed night hinder what I wanted to do.

Kelli had some food to make in the kitchen leaving me time to cut some wood.

By the time she was available to do some painting I had mostly finished.

We made good progress on the two pieces that we already sold, and I moved the two side tables along.

I suggested to Kelli that we ask the couple who bought the two dressers if they wanted a pair of side tables; she duly contacted them, and they did, however not the ones I was working on.

We had a pair that we bought a couple of days ago from a dodgy apartment. They require a bit of work to get them in a decent condition, and purge the smell of weed from them.

So despite the bad start, we made good progress, but I was looking forward to a better night ahead.

It looked like Larry is having another last ditch attempt at a yard sale. There were a lot of new things laid out on his tables, I’m hoping that he has a good response to it over the weekend.

I think this is his last chance to clear his basement and workshop, he did mention to me that he wanted to get rid of everything his daughter would have to do, after he was “gone”

21st August 2024 

Shopping day has come around again; the fridge  was empty and the breakfast was modest. After a couple of hours it was bursting with goodies again.

I was due to meet up with Lloyd for more beer tasting, but he called and suggested I bring Kelli along to join him, and his wife Nancy for dinner.

After arranging a time we got on with a bit of work in the garage. We were keen on getting the two dressers that we’ve already sold. 

It was necessary to get some paint mixed because Kelli had mixed the colour herself for the piece they had already bought. The nearest paint matching specialist was on the way to the shops, an excellent time management example.

We stopped on the way back, but it had not been done. The place didn’t look at all busy, they certainly had the time, that put paid to the painting session.

We sat outside at the Carragh, the evening was warm, and there was live music, Kelli and I ordered a starter of Mozzarella sticks. When they came I dived in not realising what they were. I learned very quickly that they had to be cut into small pieces otherwise the soft cheese feels like you’re swallowing a snake. The first piece started to slide, I panicked, and I thought I was going to choke to death. I kept my cool, as no one has ever died at the Carragh, and I wasn’t going to be the first.

If it wasn’t for the Old Speckled Hen I don’t think I would have survived. 

My main course was Bangers and Mash, that is what I call a meal. With a pound of sausages stuffed into a mountain of mash potatoes, doused the rich gravy it was formidable.

It was wonderful, I often dreamt about it ( which was a sad thing to admit) this was my Everest, I was going to conquer.

I restricted myself to one beer (I didn’t want to make a pig of myself) which was enough.

I couldnt manage all the mash, I felt good about, not devouring it all, showed my self control.

20th August 2024

It felt cold this morning as I rode to the corner shop, “ I should have had sleeves” I said to myself, as my teeth chattered.

We were making an early start, mainly because Kelli awoke at seven and let everyone, including the dogs, that she wasn’t happy about it.

I wanted to make some progress on two pieces that we had just sold.

The couple who bought the TV cabinet wanted more dressers, so contacted us. 

It just so happened that we had a tall four drawer and a long six drawer. With a deposit in the bank it was full speed ahead.

I was darting by about doing things to both pieces, filling holes, sanding, repairing drawers, I was on a roll. If I had roller skates I could have done more.

I even had time to cut the grass in the back garden.

Four the last month I have been giving the dogs a supplement known as “Dog Rocks” these are supposed to reduce the nitrogen in their wee. The trouble is I don’t know if it’s working. The only way I could see if any new patches appeared in the grass was to remove the dead patches dotted around the back lawn. If any new burnt areas appeared, I would know the answer.

19th August 2024

I thought it was time for me to take an outdoor shower, yes it was time to pressure wash the north side of the house.

There is no method I have found to avoid getting soaked.

There is a certain satisfaction in washing off the green stuff and revealing the clean siding underneath.

I started early, even before breakfast, and whilst Kelli was washing her hair, I was also getting mine wet.

It is also an opportunity to use my three stage extending ladder that I alway wrestle with. It has these safety clips that have a mind of their own.

The answer is to get it the right way up, then it works perfectly.

I remembered how to connect the pressure washer, the hose that connects to the nozzle it’s quite stiff and difficult to handle, but I persevered and got everything clean.

The activity in the garage got off to a slow start, there are a number of pieces awaiting our attention, so a masterclass of drawer front stripping went into top gear.

I also needed to repair damaged drawer fronts from the two side tables.

Late afternoon I drove down to Elaine’s to do a final check of the template for the ornamentation above her front porch.

Thank goodness it fitted, and all the other details agreed.

Then we spent time going through the masses of timber she had stored around her property. Her late husband was a bit of a collector/ border, and had amassed timber of all kinds. Selecting some pine planks I loaded them into the truck and headed home, tired and hungry.

18th August 2024

It was great to do nothing, a time to relax even thought the country is heading towards a cliff edge.

I have spoken before about how divided America is, you are either in one team or the other. This has caused families to be divided where compromise and an exchange of views are unheard of. You are either in or out, not a position I like to be in.

This uneasiness is troubling to me, the mainstream media pronounce that Kamala Harris will solve all America’s future problems whereas the independent media are pointing out all the failings.

People are confused, there is talk of disruption of the country’s grid and infrastructure prior to the election so that martial law can be imposed and therefore cancelling the election. The Democrats will stop at nothing to stop Trump, Look what they have done so far.

There may also a second pandemic of bird flu or monkey pox where enforced vaccination and mandates will be imposed. 

There is something in the air, Kelli is worried that if I go back to England, like I’m planning to in October, something might stop me getting back.

This is now imposing stress on me, I bloody hate this country, I hate that Americans have to choose between the corrupt left and the radical right. I hate how politics controls every aspect of our lives, and, as important as the constitution is, “the people” have little say in how things turn out.

They don’t trust the CIA, they don’t trust the FBI and after the Covid debacle they don’t believe anything the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) advise and publish.

So the next President will have to deal with those  or the people won’t trust them either.

17th August 2024

There was a lot leaving the garage today, it’s how it goes, no sales for a couple of weeks, then bingo, activity.

We had a sale last night, that piece was collected today, but we also sold the TV cabinet.

I had fears that we would be sitting on that for a long time, but what do I know?

I also finished the cherry coffee table, the lady picked that up this evening, she loved the red streaks, and she later sent a picture of the table in her sun room.

I made a start on the greenhouse base frame. I bolted the pieces together, and it was reasonably square.

I then ventured to open the big box of pieces that the greenhouse was delivered in.

I dug down and found the instructions, and discovered that there was even a pair of protective gloves supplied.

I was quite impressed with the quality of the aluminium extrusions, they were thin wall, but well defined. The plastic mouldings we really well made, these fitted into the extrusions snugly.

I thought I would build all the parts that connected together, firstly checking the bottom frame that sat on the wooden frame.

That is when I discovered that the greenhouse was six inches narrower than specified, so I would have to cut the wooden rails to fit.

It is going to be fun taking down the old structure and building the new one, but I’ll save that for another weekend.

16th August 2024

There was one heck of a storm last night, thunder and torrential rain, by breakfast time it had stopped, which was good, as I had add the finish to the coffee table.

We took pictures of the dresser that Kelli had repainted. The original colour did not receive much interest, so that’s the cue to repaint.

I manage to seal and get a coat of finish on the coffee table, the cherry wood exploded with its red streaks, the top will need another four coats to obtain the finish I want.

We also managed to finish the rough pine dresser that I had to cut off the crap at the bottom and replace it with a leg frame and a new stained top, it certainly looks different.

We took pictures, posted and sold it within hours, brilliant result.

We had another float in the pool, I feel the summer hasn’t been so warm as it was last year, the forecast for the next week is mid to top seventies, hopefully a bit more pool time to come.

Kelli’s knee wound is healing, she is going through the stabbing pain at the moment where the nerves are rebuilding, every so often she shouts out, but is assured that it is going in the right direction.

I was just sitting down for the evening, when she had a text from the egg lady that two dozen were set out by the roadside. I changed back into my working clothes and cycled there as soon as I could, it’s dog eat dog in the world of roadside egg collection.

15th August 2024

It was going to be a shitty day, with rain forecast all afternoon.

I went to my favourite DIY store to pick up supplies. The whole place feels like home, the size no longer surprises me, I know where everything is, and all the staff say “hi” to me.

Realistically they say it to everyone, a bit like they always say “ have a nice day” I’ve got used to that as well.

There are places I haven’t ventured, like the ducting section where bright shiny tubes and brackets live on dark deep shelves, the closest I get to those is when I need a filter for the boiler.

The white goods area is also a mystery to me, the washing machines are large, big enough to wash an entire family. They are ugly in design, reminiscent of old sixties automobiles with two tone finishes and large bulky controls that Flash Gordon would be proud of.

The building section is familiar, even though most of the time the computers are vacant, and when someone appears they look like they’ve just woken up.

The fencing section is outside, although covered, it is alway cold, no one stays out there for long.

I like the wood section, it is broken down into three sections, one, two and yes three.

I have my own description based on the quality.

Section 1 is shit, section 2 is less shit, and section three is acceptable.

If I wanted timber to build a giant corkscrew, section 1 is the rack to head for.

If I want timber that is eighty percent knot holes then section 2 is the one.

If I want something that is straight and not sourced from the USA section 3 beckons.

When I head for the checkout, it’s become a race to find a shortest queue, but don’t be fooled, that one person will have something the assistant doesn’t recognise, so then requires assistance from a higher level, it’s no good choosing another register there will be a builder moving the entire stock of plasterboard.

I have to adopt a zen posture, and drift away until the conveyor belt starts to move again.