Another Lifetime to go

11th March 2021

It dawned on me today that I haven’t bought any music since I retired. That is unheard of for me where music was my passion, but I can only explain it as there is no readerly available source to hear anything new.

Over here there are online stations where the listener creates their own playlist, so what you get are themed songs by similar artists.

As Kelli likes to select the playlist, therefore I have to contend with Justin “bloody” Hayward all day, every day.

I used to enjoy walking round HMV viewing the new releases and taking a punt on new bands.

That is another thing I miss, as there is nothing like that here.

I hope I’ve not got to a time of my life when it means nothing, and I drift into old git’s world, that would be a disaster.

Kelli had a delivery of new things to brighten the house up ready for spring. There were new cushion covers, papasan cushions and a rug for the sunroom.

The poor mailman earned his pay today.

10th March 2021

The sweet smell of cut cedar filled the garage. I had taken a break from furniture to make a cold frame using the timber I got yesterday, and some old windows that Kelli had acquired last year.

It was a change to do some basic construction, and progress was good even though I was using mainly hand tools, and I didn’t get one splinter.

I had an hour long video call with my friend Martin back in the UK, catching up with all his news and new medical conditions, I miss my visits to him, but distance was sometimes a blessing.

He was telling me his plans to make new gates, which, as always with what he did was wildly over the top, but who am I to tell him that.

9th March 2021

It’s a warm day, it’s supposed to be 61 deg F, that is bloody amazing, the first day I could work without a jumper on.

This was a great day to start the work on the decking, but that meant ordering the material.

Off to Menards we went, stopping off at Goodwill and found a dresser, in a slightly sorry sight, but only $5 even without my old git discount, so we got it cheaper, we grabbed that one.

Kelli had a bit of energy, but not enough to walk round Menards, so she went off to check out another thrift whilst I ventured inside.

I had my list of brackets and screws in my phone which was very efficient of me, and I piled them into my trolley.

I headed over to the wood area to order the decking material. I had decided to go with a composite material rather than timber, that would last a long time, but also the fixing is invisible which eliminates visible screw heads that trap muck and starts the rotting process. I also got tape that is laid on top of the joists to stop them getting wet and degrading.

I also planned to build a cold frame, so I got the timber for that as well, all in all it was an expensive visit, but I will be getting 11% rebate on all that, so that’s something.

I spent the afternoon cutting up the timber for the cold frame in between painting bits of furniture, so a good day.

8th March 2021

There are good days and bad, I can easily tell how it’s going to play out. Today is bad, there is very little smiles, very few words, and a feeling of doom and disintegration.

We have another appointment with the kinesiologist this morning, but after last weeks episode I’m having trouble seeing any improvement. I have to be so careful keeping my frustration hidden, otherwise I would explode.

It is not in my nature to succumb to sickness, often you “suck it up” and work through it.

I guess that is why Kelli didn’t want my negativity in the treatment room.

She came out slightly battered, but clutching

a herbal remedy and a B vitamin.

There was a little positivity, but not really knowing how long these things take to work through.

When we got back I worked on the large entertainment unit, filling holes and sand the shelves. It looks better with the primer on, but that shows up all the defects, good old Bondo!

7th March 2021

Nobody told me the vegetarian sausages had a plastic skin on them, typical American, why can’t they be like British bangers.

I volunteered to make dinner tonight, not very imaginative, as I had been scraping paint all afternoon. I took the sausages out of the fridge and put them straight into the pan to fry.

As they were browning nicely, I had this thought that they didn’t look the same as when Kelli did them. I rushed out into the sunroom to check with her.

“Do the sausages have a skin on them and should I have taken it off?” I asked frantically.

“Yes you should” she replied.

“Oh Shit!” I explained.

I rushed back into the kitchen and took the sausages and split them down the middle. I was able to then remove the skin. Fortunately they were cooked through and didn’t smell of burnt plastic, so I served them up, hopefully we don’t die by morning.

There was another dresser collection this morning, furniture is very thin on the ground this time of year, so we are buying what we can, it may not be a masterpiece but I’m sure we will make something of it.

Kelli’s illness is continuing, she has a few hours where she has energy to do things, then it starts to drain away, and by the evening she has nothing left.

There is no telling how long it will last, there are no visible signs of healing, it’s all in her head. Will the oncoming of spring, and the warming of the land be a cure? who knows.

We are stuck in this American phenomenon of an individual mindfuck, and I don’t like it.

6th March 2021

“Did we get the full price for the dresser we’re delivering today?” I asked as I was adding to the spreadsheet.

“Well, not exactly” replied Kelli.

“I put a lot of work in on that beast” I responded with concern.

“I had bought something from the same person, so she deducted the price of that from the price of the dresser”

“So what did you buy?” I enquired.

“A bra”

“ So I broke my back to get less for the dresser, and you got a bra?” I gasped

“ It is a very pretty bra”

“ it better be, and I hope it will fit me”

We also had to pick something up from an address on the north side of Holland.

I have said before I don’t know how the postman finds some houses, there often isn’t much logic to the locations. Our GPS got a little confused and sent us on a wild goose chase, eventually we found it under a green sheet. It was a low entertainment centre in good condition, a quick paint job and out it will go, hopefully.

5th March 2021

Well Trump didn’t make it back to the White House like many of the tin foil hat brigade predicted, it was just an ordinary day.

We carried the big white dresser into the living area to take pictures. It was a completion of a labour of love, well not really, it had to be done so that we could make money on it.

Kelli posted it on Marketplace and very soon had four people interested in it. The hammer came down and we sold it, delivering it tomorrow.

The customer for the brown dresser came to collect it this afternoon

4th March 2021

It is trash day, and I remembered to put the bin out by the side of the road. It has to be oriented correctly with the handle closest to the house so that the automatic grabber can lift it up and tip it into the back of the lorry. I had forgotten to do it for a couple of weeks, so the driver had a lot of recycling bags to collect.

That means he has to leave the warmth of his cab to man handle the bags into the same place he dumps the rubbish. I’ve scratched my head on that one.

I had to take a couple of packages down to the post office, normally Kelli would do it, but I volunteered instead.

The guy who runs the office is someone you would rather handle a rabid dog, then touch your valuable packages, but he recognised me and joked that I had found a new job, I didn’t mention the rabid dog bit, I wanted to get out alive.

It was a beautiful morning, the sun shone and the sky was blue, it could have been spring, just the piles of snow by the side of the road were still evident.

With Kelli still feeling tired, I continued working in the garage. A dresser that we had in the bedroom is now on my work list. The paintwork was crusty and flaky, I wanted to see what was underneath, so I started on the top, chipping a bit at a time. It is solid oak, and there is a dodgy drawer that has to be fixed, I’m taking it easy on this one.

3rd March 2021

We had to deliver the buffet to an address in Hamilton. This was a pleasant drive past all the outlying farms that still had their Trump flags out, don’t these people read the papers?

There is some talk about the 4th March being the day that the moron will be sworn in as the legitimate President base on some obscure Miss-interpretation of the constitution, egged on by the QAnon conspiracy theorists.

The person was thrilled with the buffet, thank goodness, and even gave us an extra $10 tip.

It doesn’t seem much, and it bloody wasn’t, but it covered the fuel.

2nd March 2021

Work in the garage was slow. Kelli was resting most of the day while I worked on finishing the large dresser that I have extensively rebuilt.

The last job was to fit the drawers. Fortunately each one had been numbered, but they still had to be shimmed to fit correctly in the unit.

The snow is disappearing slowly, this is replaced by soggy ground as I discovered when I took the compost bin over to the composter. It is advisable to wear proper shoes, and not plastic gardening slip-ons.

There is always so much water about, the ground soaks it up like a sponge

In the previous place we lived water would seep into the basement and flood the place if the sump pumps failed to kick in. Thank goodness this place doesn’t have the same arrangement.

Kelli had her new pillow delivered. Trust her to find another substance to rest your head on, I still have to fight my way though the jungle of cushions in the house.

The new pillow is filled with millet, and it is supposed to support the head better leading to a much better quality sleep, we will see how that one works out.