Another Lifetime to go

6th November 2021

It’s funny how things can change. A few days ago there was zilch going on, things changed a bit yesterday with one piece finding a new home. During the evening we had someone not only buying our latest dresser but also the one I have yet to start. This requires quite a bit of work which got worse as I wheeled it out. Bits were dropping off, and joints came loose, now it’s a total rebuild, no pressure I have until December.

Kelli was steaming on with the two she was painting, although these could be held up because of handles. Quite often the ones that come with the piece are pretty nasty, and get consigned to the ugly drawer.

I have to get the tops for the side tables finished by the middle of next week, that deadline is tight because of the drying time for the finish.

The cabinet with the wired door was due to be collected today, but throughout the day different times were suggested and missed, although we have already got paid for it, we just want to get rid of it.

5th November 2021

Things were looking up as far as sales of our finished pieces. The island went out this evening, and the tall dresser has been paid for and is due out tomorrow.

There was even interest in the cabinet with the wired door, although we’re not holding our breath on that just yet.

Kelli was going great guns with the sprayer, priming two dressers ready for final finish tomorrow.

We finished a beautiful curved dresser that I had to do some radical modifications to.

The bottom rail had warped upwards causing the drawer to interfere, the only answer was to cut the piece out and replace it. That cured that problem. This meant the paint work had to be redone, but it was worth it.

We got pictures of that straight away, and on to Marketplace for the evening rush.

4th November 2021

We were let down by three people today. That has to be a record, and it pisses me off.

One was supposed to come at 10.00am to look at the island, but didn’t turn up. Kelli contacted another person who was interested, but she didn’t turn up either, and the person interested in the tall dresser cancelled saying it wasn’t tall enough.

We are now sitting on three finished pieces, with another due for completion tomorrow, and two more ready for priming. Historically November is a little slow, and I am confident these pieces will sell as soon and the crazy time wasters rot in a pile of skunk dung.

3rd November 2021

We awoke to a sprinkling of snow on the ground, and all the other things that come with, the cold.

It’s not winter yet and my hands felt like stone, although the garage door was open, so it is to be expected.

We took pictures of the island that we got for free last week. We really just did a clean up, which is easy money, provided we sell it.

Kelli started on the big heavy dresser that we got yesterday, sanding it ready for priming tomorrow.

We finally got round to packing up the large glass lamp shade we used to have hanging over the dining table. We changed it because there was never enough light to see what we were eating.

It was a great opportunity to get rid of every piece of packing material we had. Hopefully it will get to Tennessee undamaged.

2nd November 2021

Yet another early run to collect another free dresser. This one was a heavy bugger, even with the drawers removed.

It was a little ornate with a thick looking base, but I’m sure Kelli will make an interesting piece out of it.

We often joke about finding a stash of cash hidden in the furniture, the most we have found was the odd sock and shirt. However this time in one of the drawers the was a glass jar with an unusual substance in it.

It was later established to be marijuana, not enough for a wild drug induced party, but it was a interesting find.

We finished another tall dresser, not too complex and won’t make a huge amount on it, but as it was free, it’s not bad.

There are a number of various dressers either complete or near completion, the most we’ve had in ages.

I’m suffering with the slow drying problem because it is now quite cold in the morning. This means I am holding up the process, and it’s not a good feeling.

There was good news on the paving slab front. At last the slabs have been manufactured and within a couple of weeks they will be delivered.

I cannot wait to get my hands sore and cracked trying to get them laid before the snow arrives.

1st November 2021

“ Quick, get in the car there are some free chairs by the road lakeside”.

I was just finishing the first leaf mulching exercise of the autumn.

“Mum saw them as she was driving back from the post office” Kelli was all excited, and was waiting by the truck, like a Battle of Britain pilot ready to into action.

I jumped into the passenger side, and we set off.

About a mile down the road I could see them.

Now to decode what “ lakeside” meant you have to know what the properties are like on the lakeshore. They are often enormous, they have more rooms than are acceptable to the normal human with manicured lawns to die for.

So it would be expected to find an old piece of Chippendale that someone had got fed up with, but no, the sight ahead was nothing that desirable.

There were five chairs, all different and in various stages of disintegration. I would have been embarrassed to place them outside my house.

“ We could sell them as project pieces and get ten bucks a piece”.

“No one with normal eyesight would give you a cent for any of them.” I muttered.

Needless to say we did not get them.

It was time for my hair cut. Kelli put on he glasses, always a good sign, meaning less blood spilt.

It was funny to note that when I was much younger, I could easily tell how much hair was cut because of the piles of dark hair on the ground. Now, because I am so grey it blends with the floor.

Also it doesn’t take half as long.

31st October 2021

Sure as the setting sun, Kelli decided to change the colour of the storage cupboard. Although only listed a couple of days she was nervous that teal was the reason that there was little interest.

There is never any pattern to sales, mostly they go very quick, and if they don’t she gets panicky.

We went out early to collect a free island unit on the north side of the town. It wasn’t a brilliant piece but we could give it a quick clean and just sell it on.

As soon as we got back Kelli grabbed the paintbrush and started work transforming the cupboard.

I continued sanding anything in sight getting two tops for a couple of dressers that are work in progress.

We had a couple of young children turn up expecting treats. The dogs went crazy, so I was trying to control them, and find the bowl of treats we keep on the kitchen worktop.

They made their choice, and ran off without a word to an awaiting car.

I smiled to myself because what they chose were healthy nut bars and not the sickly sweets they might have expected, I guess they will remember, and give us a wide birth next year.

30th October 2021

There is nothing finer than putting my feet up at the end of the day with a cup of coffee, and looking forward to eating leftovers for dinner.

Kelli had spray painted the two side tables, and I had finished laying up the tops.

Typically, she also made a start on the dresser we picked up yesterday. I stripped the top, and she primed and painted a first coat on the drawers and the carcass. This now puts me under pressure to finish the top.

We have been tearing through the sandpaper, because that’s all I seem to be doing lately.

Kelli rifled through the snack bin to find some things for the trick or treaters. All we had were vegan suitable snack bars. She set two bowls on a wicker table in the driveway with a sign inviting the kids to help themselves. To help them notice it, a candle was left flickering.

I’m not sure of the reaction, two groups of witches stopped by and helped themselves, but were they disappointed by the lack of sweets?

Apparently all the trick or treating had to be completed 8.00pm, so I brought in the remnants and blew out the candle, Halloween over for another year.

29th October 2021

The time of pumpkins and trick or bloody treat is drawing near, we will not be participating at all. My last attempts carving a pumpkin resulted in a total collapse of my vegetable. I vowed that the shame and embarrassment would not be repeated.

We might sit in the house with the lights off in case the hordes of children dressed in their crazy costumes come knocking.

Kelli found another free dresser that we went to collect. It was a decent piece covered in children’s pictures. These were well stuck down, no doubt with kiddies spit and puke.

It took a lot to strip them off.

We finally finished the next teal coloured piece, and got it posted on Marketplace, the tension is high whether we get it into this month’s sales figures.

Kelli continues to sell items from her slimmed down wardrobe, and other objects that have been filling up the cupboards. One day I will get to all my recording equipment that is hidden behind all the stuff.

Our dinner tonight was a vegan Lasagna, made with lentils, it is a masterpiece, equal to anything on master chief.

28th October 2021

By our standards we were on the road early, that is 10.00am. We had to deliver the desk and chair to a mobile home site in Saugatuck.

It was a pleasant drive down, the trees are beginning to turn, which is a wonderful sight.

The site was in a forested area, some homes looked rough, as do a lot of them on these sites, but the guy was happy with his purchases, and we were happy with his money, so win win.

It’s pleasant to watch the leaves sprinkle down, the gold against the green, but what spoils it is when the entire tree deposits every thing at once with a thud.

I want to use the leaves this year. Instead of raking them into piles by the side of the road I want to mulch them and cover the flower beds to help protect the plants from the cold. We watched a number of TV gardening programs on this, so it is worth a try.

I made a start on the new tops for the side tables. I had cut up the large panel into the pieces I needed, and added the offcuts to the underside to give the top extra thickness, this meant that there was nothing left, so excellent utilisation.