Another Lifetime to go

28th August 2021

“ You didn’t really want to do that dad”, sums up the day I had.

Instead of my tried and tested method of finishing stained worktop I decided to do something different.

I had already stained the top and was ready for the sealing coat.

I wanted to use the sprayer and a water based polyurethane to finish the top.

Everything was going well until it started to dry, then I noticed every stain and blemish and generally looked rubbish. I had only one solution, remove the coating, re- stain and start again.

Meanwhile, Kelli primed and finish coated the French Provincial carcass in the palest blue, looked really classy.

We also had a couple round to collect the latest dresser that was posted.

It turned out, that the man was a teacher who had taught Kelli’s son, Cameron, so there was a lot of catching up to do.

We learnt that he was a Trump supporter, the cap he wore gave a big clue, had I had known, I would have charged them double.

27th August 2021

Kelli unstuffed my pillow this morning, I am hopeful it will lead to a calm and peaceful sleep, let’s hope the mattress will have a similar effect.

We finished the small dresser, and once I shaved the guides down so the drawers would fit it was ready for pictures.

We both worked on the French provincial buffet, Kelli sanding the carcass and I removed the top ready for staining.

In between the work, Kelli received her Tibetan singing bowl. Now the house is getting closer to becoming a monastery with the incense and now the bowl, soon we will become a stop off for passing monks and Tibetan priests.

It is all about vibrations that our body’s responds to. Part of Kelli’s treatment is to send vibrations through various parts of her body to help soothe her immune system.

I kind of understand it better now although I remain sceptical, but whatever guides Kelli back to health is top of my list even if I have to hear the Tibetan singing bowl all the time.

26th August 2021

Today was trash and recycling day. The big automatic muncher truck gobbled up our bins emptying the contents into their bellies. There are two trucks that arrive at different times each tasked with their duties. We also have a yard waste bin, but I didn’t put that out at the roadside because there was nothing in it this week. I had plans to start digging more beds in the back garden, but the small area I did do almost killed me with the heat.

We had to deliver the two side tables that we repainted to the north side. It was a simple spray job, but we didn’t charge enough for the job. This always comes back to haunt us. I would rather not take on these types of jobs in future unless we agree on a minimum charge.

As we sold the large dresser yesterday there was space to move around. We decided to work on the French provincial buffet that we got free a week ago.

Originally it would have had a plate glass cover on top of the wood, because there were plastic pads a fixed on the top. I managed to remove them then started to strip the top. As the top is quite ornate it was a difficult task stripping off the edge, but it will look great.

The excitement of the day came with the arrival of the new pillows. These contain all natural materials and will be a perfect match for the mattress, when it’s delivered.

They came with extra padding material that Kelli immediately stuffed into the already full pillow. When it came to bedtime, when her head hit it, she bounced, up she got, intent on removing the excessive material. What was left on the table looked like a fight between the wigs of two High Court judges.

I must admit mine was more buoyant that I was used to, but I’ll de-stuff it in the morning.

25th August 2021

Kelli had an early morning appointment with her doctor. These are usually unheard of, that is our breakfast time, running with a casual work schedule that we do.

There were a number of things she wanted to discuss with him, mainly some of the supplements she was taking and whether they were still relevant. As he scribbled notes in her file he responded positively to her questions.

Then he got down to the treatment.

Kelli had complained about weak arms, and a trembling in the muscles.

He took her right arm, moving down to the wrist gave it a sharp tug.

Snap! It went, taking Kelli and me by surprise. I have been used to her cracking her knuckles, but this was new.

He moved up to the elbow, holding it he snapped the wrist again. More noises of shock occurred, he then tackled the shoulder. There were clicks and snaps down the whole arm.

With a wry smile he went back to his notes, saying he would tackle the left hand side on the next visit.

Overall he was pleased with her progress, and with her more positive attitude, which has been helping her getting back to some normality.

We got back home and immediately finished off cleaning, and touching up the dresser that we posted yesterday. This was due to be collected this evening.

I did a bit more spraying to the two bedside tables, loading them into the truck ready for delivery.

Kelli started on the small dresser we found at the side of the road. I cut the back panel from the sheet I had bought yesterday, that could be ready by the weekend.

24th August 2021

Another day of high humidity to get through.

I went to pick up the fan that we had dropped of yesterday. The chap had messaged to say he had fixed it, apparently it just needed a new lead, the only thing I didn’t check.

I had to go to Menards to buy a sheet of hardboard and a tub of Bondo. I came back with the largest tub of the stuff they make, that should us forever.

I attached the top to the large dresser so that we could take pictures, we need to get this sold because we need the space.

Kelli was in spraying mood, just as well as she had two end tables to paint.

23rd August 2021

There was a lot of activity over at Larry’s yard. For several weeks he has been working on a kit car. From a distance it looked sleek and stylish, but up close it suffered from all the hallmarks of a cheaply made pile of crap.

As I was busy in the garage I could see Larry, the car’s owner and a mate all trying to get it going. The continual sound of an engine refusing to start was all I heard.

After about an hour there was progress, it turned over once. There was a explosion of raw noise then silence. The guys continued tinkering until it burst into life, and after reving the guts out of it, they got it ready to move it.

We loaded the big fan into the truck to take it to the person who offered to try to fix it.

We didn’t have to go far, but I felt strange leaving it outside his garage and then leaving.

“ Are you sure he knows where it came from?”

I asked.

“ It will be fine, he was expecting it” Kelli replied.

I will wait and see, we may never see it again.

We unloaded the very large dresser from the truck, it was in the French Provincial style, and really heavy.

It was the first time we had a chance to look at it and discovered two doors were missing.

“Oh no not again!” We both said in unison.

We have had the situation before where vital parts were missing, luckily we’ve got them in the end.

A quick message to the person we got it from resulted in a big fat zero. She acquired it without the doors, so we will have to be creative with our solution for this beauty.

22nd August 2021

The person buying the desk turned up this morning to collect it. She was so excited with it as her job has turned into full time home working. She worked for the city on the protection of endangered species, which was difficult for me to imagine a full time job on doing that, but it sounded pretty cool.

We talked about the shortage of bees around, and how my apple trees didn’t get pollinated this spring. Kelli and I plan to check out their website, we are looking for plants that will attract more insects.

Kelli painted the large dresser that I made a new leg frame for, that is starting to look good.

I have to get on with staining and finishing the top.

I took a look at the free one I picked up from the side of the road. When I opened a drawer there was a tv remote inside, I’m not sure what to do with it, should I take it back and put it next to the stuff that is still outside the house? I could throw it out the window of the truck as we pass, like the paperboys of old.

It was a sad day, the old Brabazon propeller fan that we had in the garage to cool us down finally failed to rotate. It was given to Kelli by her Dad, who had a stash of old things, many of which are now in our procession. I tinkered around with it cleaning it, but I couldn’t find where the brushes were, often the reason for failure.

In desperation Kelli advertised on the neighbourhood web page if anyone could fix it. Very soon she had a response from someone who would take a look at it for free. It would be great if it could be fixed.

21st August 2021

Another bad night for Kelli, it took her a long to get to sleep so it effects her spirits and energy levels.

We had to collect a free dresser from the North side of Holland, actually it was the same house that we picked up a small bookshelf, that we still haven’t sold.

The Marketplace post we answered was for a free dresser that unfortunately went to someone else. Later the seller contacted Kelli to offer another free dresser that in her words “was better than the other one”.

We arrived at the address to find a very large dresser waiting for us.

I was looking forward to having a bit of space in the garage once the desk had gone, but no, now we have another effin’ monster to take its place.

It was bloody heavy, it was too much for Kelli, so the seller helped me load it into the truck, which shuddered under the load. Poor Toyota, we have expected so much, and it hasn’t let us down, keep going.

We left it in the truck, which doubles as our warehouse when there is no room in the garage, and got on with other projects.

Kelli repainted the yellow bookcase white because there was no interest in it at all, she panics when this happens thinking the colour was wrong, hence the repaint.

I worked on the top for the current dresser, brushing on oxalic acid to try to remove some staining, which it did, to a larger extent.

Then the FedEx van turned up delivering the new bed frame. The driver, wasn’t very talkative, I walked over because I knew it might be an awkward shape.

Out of the back to the lorry came a long narrow box of considerable weight, too much for the talkative driver, so I took one end and he took the other. We lowered it on to the ground outside the garage, and he turned and walked back to his lorry, not a word, no “thank you” for my help, just got in the lorry and drove off. I hate to think of what might have happened if I wasn’t there.

20th August 2021

It was a funny old night, neither of us slept very well, and of course it was worse for Kelli as she needs a good nights sleep to help with her recovery.

It didn’t help that we had to deliver the three tables we posted yesterday, and pick up two small side tables for repainting from the same person.

However her eye was as keen as ever as she spotted a dresser at the side of the road, she doubled back and I had the pleasure of loading it into the truck.

All these years on this planet and I’ve achieved the status of rag and bone men, hurrah!

It was unbearably hot, not the best time to be painting anything black which is what I was doing. It was drying almost as soon as I applied it, it might have been easier to trowel it on.

We thought we had a buyer for the large desk that I had repaired. The truck backed up our drive and the lady got out and looked over the piece only to then announce that it was too big.

She had driven down from Grand Haven without checking the size. Kelli had noted on the post that it was big, so a bit of a time waster there.

Slightly deflated, I manhandled it back into the garage with the aid of a trolly supporting one end, whilst I lifted and pushed the other, anyway it was slid safely back in position.

Later in the evening Kelli announced that it had been sold and paid for with collection on Sunday.

19th August 2021

Another humid day to contend with. I had to go to Menards to purchase timber for the base frame of the dresser with the water damaged end panels. Kelli came along to increase the bill with bird food and dog treats.

I needed to get the base frame made so Kelli had something to work on tomorrow, she had already painted the drawer fronts, no pressure then.

With sweat dripping down my brow, and my T-shirt gradually getting wetter and wetter, I finished the frame and fitted it to the carcass.

To be honest I do like the sun, but the humidity really drains me.

On my morning inspection of the garden I saw a mole hill next to the water storage container. I know that property around us had activity but I didn’t think it would dare come into our garden. There were two hills so far, I hope they got put off by the dogs and went somewhere else, I guess I will be checking on google to find of humane ways of getting rid of them.