Another Lifetime to go

6th July 2022

We carried the latest dresser into the house to take pictures, we were then planning to return to the same address in Zeeland to pick up another one that was available.

We also had to deliver a long dresser to a repeat customer and collect a small side table from the north side. There was also a doctors appointment and a sushi lunch to cram in, so it was all go.

There had been someone interested in the two matching side tables, so we gave them a time in the afternoon, that was after our daily bike ride.

I had a second side table to strip, and worked on an idea for a dresser that we had for ages.

This happens when there is a lack of enthusiasm for a piece. When we got it, there were plastic mouldings nailed to the fronts. These had to go, but what was left was just a piece of wood with a machined portion where the finger grip was. I decided to give it a shaker look by applying a frame to each front that would hide the recess. I had some good pine pieces that I split and thicknessed ready to work on tomorrow.

The customer for the side tables failed to arrive, Kelli had messaged several times but although it was read, wasn’t replied to. There are a lot of rude people here, if they changed their minds, just tell us.

5th July 2022

The fireworks are now over for another year, or until some other pointless holiday happens.

People with alway find money to buy fireworks yet complain about the high price for petrol.

We cycled down to city hall to deliver our business registration form, not that we need to have a proper certificate because it’s only a small operation, but at least if we have one, no nosy bastard can report us again.

The other reason for going was to get a voucher to allow us to take stuff to the city dump. There is a lot of junk we need to clear from the garage that it will be a relief to get some space back.

It was humid today after a night of storm, the garden needed that. There was twenty gallons of water trapped in the pool cover, so all the water barrels are full again.

We finished painting another dresser, and boy do we need it, keeping up with Kelli’s doctor and supplements costs are putting a strain on the business income, but we usually pull through by the end of the month.

4th July 2022

Yet another Independence Day to endure, but with a bottle of Chardonnay I could deal with anything.

We went for a bike ride in the morning and on the way back we saw a carpet folded up by the rubbish bin. Kelli was excited, but there was no way I was going to drape it over my bike, so we planned to return later with the truck to collect, which is exactly what we did.

I had the misfortune to be the one to load it into the truck. It was heavy, it was the type of rug that you would wrap your dead pet in, when you returned from the vet.

Unfortunately, or fortunately there was no evil stains on it, now it needs a good clean.

A couple of houses down was a tall book case leaning against the bins, but on closer inspection it was made from chipboard, so fortunately I didn’t have to embarrass myself on that one.

The rest of day was dedicated to a family party. We had some food and I had the rest of the wine, can’t remember much, but I didn’t make any controversial comments, that was a good thing.

2nd July 2022

What does every garden need? You got it, a Buddhist temple. It just so happened that Matt, Kelli’s brother, had one in his garden. He was kind enough give it to us to display near the pond area. Now it was not a full size Buddhist temple, it was a concrete ornamental one, although a real one might have been lighter.

We drove down to Matt’s home to collect it. Fortunately it came in three sections, heavy, bloody heavy and gentleman’s area destroyingly heavy.

With the aid of a sack truck we did get it down to the car and it took all three of us to lift it into the back. The truck sank on its springs, however with some of the loads we’ve carried in the past, it coped well.

I built a base for it out of paving slabs that were left over, levelling it the best I could, then came the difficult bit, lifting out the bottom section of the temple.

We had borrowed the sack truck, so we knew that it could handle the weight.

This time there were just the two of us.

With adrenaline backed strength we lowered it on to the sack truck, then I wheeled it towards the installation site.

The path that I had made was just right for the width of the wheels, but it narrowed down too much to pull it all the way. There was nothing left but to manhandle it the last four feet.

I’m not sure how we managed it, and I’m sure our bodies with remind us, but we placed it on the base, then added to other two pieces to complete the build.

Now we have a temple at the bottom of the garden, we are expecting a stream of saffron clad Tibetan monks kneeling on my new lawn.

1st July 2022

It was a bad night again, and I didn’t handle it very well.

I had to get up in the night which woke Kelli up, and then she couldn’t get back to sleep. Her flight or fight kicked in and that was that.

There was no point in trying to sleep as that aggravated the situation even more.

I got up and sat on the sofa watching the world decent into crisis.

I felt bad about starting this train wreck, but I could not turn the clock back, nature is nature.

There was no point in trying to calm her down, I was the bad guy, and I didn’t know what I should do.

I sat getting angrier and angrier, but I kept a lid on it as it would not have helped the situation.

My anger spilled out into the day, and although Kelli had calmed down enough to take a bike ride I was not the best company.

We worked in the garage, I was stripping paint from a pair of side tables whilst Kelli was sanding a dresser, the atmosphere was strained.

By the end of the day I wanted it to be erased, these are not the greatest times, but we’ll get over it and life will resume as normal.

30th June 2022

Our bike rides are getting a little longer, there is still soreness in the bum, but not so bad now.

Soon it will have the texture of a well driven horse.

We completed painting the long dresser ready for pictures tomorrow. We still have an unsold small cabinet and the two side tables. I was hoping to get rid of those to boost June’s numbers, I guess they’ll go across into July now.

The ground is incredibly dry, I regularly water the new lawn, but the wildflower garden needs a real good soak.

I sometimes regret laying the turf so close to the summer, even though it’s better than what was there, I hope that it comes back in the Autumn.

The pool is a great treat at the end of the day, it’s one of the best things we bought. Now that we have a proper cover for it there is very little crap that gets in it.

29th June 2022

Our bike rides are becoming a regular event.

I discovered how to find the tripmeter on the computer, now we can measure the distance we’ve travelled. Our current routes are only about six miles, but we need to widen this.

I knocked apart the desk to reveal a bit more work than I was prepared for. There are always holes and slots used to connect stretchers and supports, but the side panels used plywood that had delaminated.

I added finish to a top from a long dresser, but it’s really hard to get motivated when it is so hot.

It concerns me that all this hot weather dries out my new lawn. Even with regular watering it still looks discoloured and a bit sad.

We went to collect a small bistro set the was advertised on Marketplace, this is something we needed on the deck so we could have breakfast or lunch at, instead of balancing plates on our laps, it’s a bit fuddy-Duffy, but it was in good condition, so it will be good for us for a while.

28th June 2022

Listening to the latest January 6th committee meeting this afternoon was yet another jaw dropping episode. What is concerning is that most of the Trumpers are unlikely to watch it because they all think the evidence is fabricated. They fail to understand that most of the witnesses are Republicans, and worked in and around the White House, so have detailed knowledge of what went on.

This is modern America, it’s taken over two hundred years for their government to go down the shitter. The majority of people want to see accountability, and they fear that nothing will happen, if nothing else, Trump and his allies should be banned from holding any political position for ever.

The dark clouds of negativity had cleared, so we took a long bike ride, that was definitely a good decision to get them. I very rarely use the assist, unless I’m tired and need help, but so far I’ve resisted.

We had to collect a small desk from a local address, it was green and similar to others we’ve converted into side tables, talking of which we finished the latest ones and dragged them into the house to take pictures.

27th June 2022

It was my eldest son’s fiftieth birthday today, how can that be? I can still remember holding him when he was so small and fragile. Wind forward to day, and I certainly can’t do that anymore.

Kelli had a bad night that alway leads to a shitty day. I sit through the slammed doors trying to calm the dogs down, but it’s difficult.

Under the circumstances, I suggested a bike ride, I thought she could take he rage out on that. It started well, we sped along South Shore drive heading towards the town. Halfway along she slowed down, thinking she was letting me pass to take over the lead. Oh no, when I got to the next junction I stopped and looked back, she was nowhere to be seen.

I thought she might have taken another route to the big park we’ve been before, so I sped off in that direction. There was no sign there, I came back via the lakeside pathway, but no trace. All that was there were a few Mexican families out for a days fishing, maybe catching the weeks food.

I then rode to where her son, Cameron worked, no luck there. Finally all that was left was the cemetery, but a sprint there resulted in a big fat zero.

There was nowhere left to go but home. Then I remembered that I had the front door key.

I engaged turbo drive and shot back home.

There was Kelli with a look that could kill.

This just made a bad day even worse.

I couldn’t stay around there, the negative atmosphere was too much to take, I got on my bike and just rode away.

I didn’t know where I was going, so I just took random roads to see where they led. It was exciting to see these different places

26th June 2022

The sun came back after a day off, so we went off for another ride on our bicycles. It was not a long distance one, just enough to blow the cobwebs away.

We both needed that. With the events of the past week it would be easy to throw my hands up in disgust and for Kelli to regress back into her dark zone.

The Supreme Court had reversed its ruling on abortion rights that had been in existence for fifty years. This has alway a contentious point for most Republicans, so there has been much media attention on this

I get confused that so many American women are happy to lose the right to choose what they can do with their bodies. Kelli told me that back in the seventies a wife couldn’t apply for a credit card unless her husband agreed to it.

With the Supreme Court possibly reviewing its position on Gay Marriage and even contraception it’s certainly a race to the bottom.