Another Lifetime to go

12th January 2022

We sold the heavy dresser this morning. The couple arrived just after 1.00pm and there was no quibble. We just loaded it on their truck and the money was handed over. It turned out to be a fine piece, although it was not my best top, they loved it and that was all that mattered.

They also seemed interested in other pieces that we were working on, so that sets the priorities.

This spurred our activity with Kelli sanding and preparing a small drawer unit ready for painting.

I left mid afternoon for my meeting with Tom Verkaik in Zeeland.

This is the first person from I have talked to from HM so it was good to catch up.

Covid has had quite an effect on the day to day business with material scarcity and some companies going out of business. Being as he leads the product engineering group there is plenty of work testing parts from new suppliers.

Most of his team work from home but he feels detached from the rest of the organisation.

The MillerKnoll integration has caused disruption as well, many staff have been integrated, causing confusion.

Tom feels that the company is struggling to define what it’s future direction is, and the leadership is not popular at the moment.

He couldn’t tell me if any of the people I knew still worked there, I suspect many were offered attractive packages to retire early, I guess Tom might be waiting for the same inducement.

11th January 2022

The sliding door in the sunroom froze last night. That meant that the dogs could not go out for a piss. It is hard to explain to a dog what the problem was, they were just desperate to get out.

The only immediate option was to let them into the garage and out through the door to the back garden.

The hard job was coxing them to enter the garage. This is an area they do not normally venture into, so in the freezing cold I called them. I tried everything, whistling, calling their names, and I even thought about smearing their food all over my body, but I didn’t fancy getting savaged to death.

The urge to piss finally got the better of them, and they both trotting into the forbidden zone and out the back door.

Getting them back in was easier, just my feeble whistle was enough.

I then had a look at the problem with the sliding door.

The sunroom does get a lot of condensation, it has a lot of glass and is full of plants, it is not so well insulated as the main house. The water had ran down the sliding glass door and into the track where it froze. The solution consisted of a hot air dryer, a screwdriver and an old towel.

I melted the ice, dug it out with the screwdriver then mopped up the water with the towel, problem solved.

All this, and I hadn’t even had breakfast yet.

10th January 2022

We sold the two night tables, this threw me into a panic as I still had to make the back panels. We managed to put the buyer off until 3.00pm because we had to go out and collect a couple of pieces that Kelli had found.

I managed to get the panels cut to size before leaving.

The first stop was to Family Fare car park to meet up with a seller of a small cabinet.

After that we drove to an address to collect a child’s kitchen,Yes? that was what I thought.

“What are we going to do with a child’s kitchen?”

Kelli had it all worked out, she found some examples on Pinterest and thought she could do better.

The piece was obviously hand made, and was solid pine, but it needed a refresh, and that is Kelli’s project.

The next stop was a trailer park way out from the town. As we approached the place it became obvious why it was so far out. The majority of the mobile homes had seen better days which is always scary. We eventually found the number, it must have been one of the worst on the site. There were dirty sheets covering the windows, and the thought of getting out of the safety of the truck scared the living daylights out of me.

“What shall I do?” Inquired Kelli.

“ Keep driving” I replied, but then we had to find our way out.

That is easier said than done.

The roads were icy which limited our speed, and when you are in an environment resembling a Mad Max movie you need the ability to exit quickly.

Round and round we drove looking for the exit frightened that we will pass that place again, but this time being chased by a mad woman pushing a dresser.

We did escape unscathed and rushed back home so that I could fit the back panels to the side tables and give them a final check over.

The couple had driven from Muskegon, they handed over the cash, loaded up the pieces and set of back.

We carried on with the dressers in progress, and as more snow started to fall we called it a day and came inside of the warm house.

9th January 2022

We finished the two matching side tables. Kelli picked out some unique handles for them which made them look so different.

We carried them into the house to take pictures. At this time they didn’t have back panels, I guessed that I would have time to cut one before they were sold, fortunately I had the material to make them.

There are a few pieces in progress, one is the free roadside beast that has been transformed. The top has been stained black, and will take another three days to finish.

I had to dig another path through the snow to reach the compost bin, there was quite a backlog of stuff waiting in the kitchen to get deposited. It also provided the dogs with more places to piss and poo, I’m really excited about that.

I set out with my snowplough style shovel trying to make an impact in the drift. It is metal, and with snow frozen to it, it’s heavy and awkward, I was puffing and wheezing like an old git. I laughed when I realised that was exactly what I am.

8th January 2022

It was time to remove the snow from the truck. Quite a bit had built up, and as we hadn’t ventured out it for several days it was nearly twice as high as the truck. I decided to leave a Mohawk on top of the roof, thinking it would blow off as soon as we started moving, but it didn’t.

The drive down to Hamilton was pleasant. The sun was shining making the scene of snow against blue sky wonderful. We had the completed mid century dresser and mirror well wrapped in the back of the truck.

When we arrived at the owners house, the lady quickly appeared, her voice rising in decibels with ever second, and when she saw the finished result most of Hamilton could hear.

These were nice people, I saw one of the tables I refinished for her many months ago, so we were equally excited that she liked it.

We had had a busy morning, first to Natures Market to buy a bottle of Holy Basel then off to the doctors to check if it was having any effect on Kelli’s recovery, it wasn’t. This meant that what she bought earlier, and the order on Amazon would have to be returned.

Once we got home there were some work done in the garage, but just enough to keep the wheels turning.

7th January 2022

Another eighteen inches of snow fell overnight.

The driveway that I dugout yesterday has filled back up.

The dogs don’t like running into a drift. They stay out just long enough to do their stuff, then run back with their noses pressed against the sliding door waiting to be let in.

Kelli wanted the skylight cleared, but the long snow scraper was stored in the shed in the back garden. In order to get to the shed, I had to dig a path. The snow came up to my knees, I was struggling to dig the track, the disadvantage of having a double plot is clear when you have to move a lot of cold white stuff.

I managed to find the scraper, it came in four sections, being aluminium, they were bloody cold to assemble, but once done, it was over twelve feet long, and just right to clear the snow off the skylight.

The activity in the garage was mainly down to Kelli, she was painting the big heavy bastard dresser and all the drawers. She then started on another.

I managed to cut the tops for the small side tables and plywood for a drawer I have to make for another dresser.

I wanted to try Odies finishing wax, I had seen a number of YouTube videos that sang it’s praises, so I bought a pot on Amazon to try for myself. The wax is quite expensive and should be used sparingly, it is generally used as a finish coat in place of polyurethanes as it is non toxic and food safe.

I coated a scrap piece of pine, waited half an hour then buffed it. The result was a warm smooth finish, but it shows any residual marking, so it’s essential that the timber is sanded throughly.

6th January 2022

Today would have been my Dads one hundred and fifteenth birthday, happy birthday Ted.

Snow continued for most of the day, a good twelve inches when it stopped. I decided to clear the driveway with just a push style shovel, which is a pile of crap. I started off well, scooping and flinging the stuff to each side of the drive. After about ten feet along the drive, the weight started to tell. Considering I had talked about my mortality yesterday, I thought my time was up. I was gasping and sweating, it would not have been cool to have pegged out in a half finished driveway. I persisted and reached the truck then stopped.

The man next door was using a snow blower, he breezed up and down with ease, I was using him as a pacemaker, I think I kept up pretty well.

We loaded the mid century dresser into the truck just to get it out of the garage. Kelli plowed ahead with painting the big heavy bugger dresser we picked up from the side of the road. Which leaves me rushing with the top.

5th January 2022

The forecast read “Stormy” so we battened down the hatches and stayed home, just like we do everyday. The snow started mid morning with a little sleet. By mid afternoon the snow was falling, not thick just a constant flurry. By the evening there was about four inches on the roads.

I had been planning to meet up with Tom Verkaik, the engineering manager at HM and one of the few people left that I know at the company. We agreed to put it off a week, I have to wait seven days to hear all the latest insider news.

We finished the mid century dresser commissioned repaint with just the mirror to paint. If the snow stops, it would be great to deliver it at the weekend.

It just dawned on me that I didn’t get into my usual reflective mood on New Year’s Eve.

That is my reality check, when I’m most aware of my mortality. When I read the news about the famous people who have died I do realise that I am getting near the top of the list, but this time it didn’t affect me at all. I know life is a lottery but I try to eat well and I’m positive, and aware of the dangers around at this time, and taking precautions. Most importantly, I have a wife who needs my support, so I plan to be around for quite a while.

4th January Tuesday.

We delivered the pink dresser to the lady in West Olive. Driving up their drive we realised they were not short of a few Bob. The house was way off the main road with quite a large wooded area surrounding the house, not your average joe’s abode.

I sprayed a final coat on the mid century dresser, I want to get that out by the end of the week.

It was expected to storm today, dropping up to nine inches of snow over us, but up to the evening noting has happened, must be the lake effect.

Kelli had a doctors appointment, and she continues to improve. I can see the difference, it might be slight, but any improvement is better than none.

3rd January 2022

There was drama outside the sunroom when a hawk attacked the sparrows who lived in the holly bush. We call it the Death Star because there must be a hundred little birdies who constantly flying out grabbing seeds from the feeder then returning, tweeting loudly all day.

It’s lovely to see them enjoying the food that we leave for them. Kelli even bought a heated bird bath so they can have water to drink even when everything has frozen. That is also enjoyed by the squirrels.

The hawk dived into the holly bush causing panic, the sparrows escaped wherever they could even banging into the glass doors which alerted Kelli, who rushed out to scare the hawk away. From what we can tell, it didn’t get any, but there was enough distraction to last for several hours.