Another Lifetime to go

12th October 2020

Yes it’s real quiet on the Marketplace front.

Kelli went off to do some chores and as usual couldn’t resist going to Goodwill.

She returned with a truck full of goodies, just small stuff that, hopefully can be sold quickly with minimal work.

We talked about the differences between selling on Marketplace and having a booth in a store.

The booth gave more opportunity to sell small items that Kelli has a knack of finding, and those were the main source of cash to pay the rent for the space, with the furniture giving the added bonus.

Now selling purely on Marketplace put us under more pressure, because there was nothing to supplement them.

And this was the crux of the problem, we have a few items in stock that we need to clear.

Kelli wanted to re-shoot the pictures of the bookcase outside, we also include new props from her Goodwill visit, hopefully this will get it moving.

11th October 2020

I laid the final row of paving slabs and grouted all the gaps, that was the end of phase 1.

I started laying out the phase 2 which was the structure for the wooden deck when I recognised a potential problem.

The paving slabs are the starting point from which all the other parts of the project emanate.

The original plan was to have a raised deck to the right of the sunroom, this would be timber and was in the place where we had positioned the pool.

The pool was the major change to our plan.

We needed a new place for that to sit.

The decision was to create a twelve foot square paved area to the left of the sunroom, this would be connected to the raised deck by a paved path.

I therefore had to add a phase 1.5 to add the transitional paved area running down the front of the decking.

This needs to be done first to maintain the squareness and allow the straight lines of the paving slabs to carry through.

I managed to find my laser and started to make marker posts, my plan will be to complete this job by the end of October ready for the deck structure to be November’s project.

To clear my head from all this planning we took a walk along the beach with the dogs. The lake was calm and the lighting was fabulous, it is a great place to relax and watch the boats return.

10th October 2020

Another visit to Menards to buy more construction adhesive. It was working out that one tube was applicable for three slabs. Like everything over here it costs a lot to do a little, or maybe I’m just getting tight in my old age.

I needed the special sand to fill the cracks, which comes in a 50 lb bag which will mean I will be able to fill every crack between here and Grand Rapids.

Of course there are the other things we find as we wander around the store, and we nearly always need dog treats and bird seed, along with a snack to eat in the truck on the way home. All this helps to boost the final total from reasonable to “What the f***!”

One day I want to just buy what I set out to get, nothing more, but then I’d have to leave Kelli at home.

I managed to lay most of the slabs, leaving the last row for tomorrow.

9th October 2020

“Don’t mention the name of that Indian restaurant that we go to, we don’t want Pete and Laura to find out about it”

This was a plea from Mike and Lesley as they picked us up on the way to Pete and Laura’s house for the evening.

Both Kelli and I gave our commitment.

Lesley alway told us that often Pete and Laura would copy things that Mike and Lesley had, only much better and more expensive, and this niggled them a little.

They were keen to keep this restaurant secret otherwise it would become “Pete and Laura’s favourite restaurant”

We smiled, thinking “Why should that come up in conversation?”

About fifteen minutes into the evening as the wine was starting to flow Kelli started into a story about me adding extra letters into words that I believe they should have (guilty as charged) one of which was the name of this particular restaurant, I called it “Pendi” when it should have been ” Pend”. My excuse was that my version sounded more Indian.

I could hear that the story was slowly unraveling and tried to tap her foot, to no avail. I was ready to feign a heart attack, when Kelli, realising she was crashing and burning, expertly managed to change tack steering it away from disaster. The four of us breathed a huge sigh of relief, and got on with the rest of the evening, the secret remained safe.

There was a lot of talk about the new puppy that Mike and Lesley were collecting tomorrow.

Pete and Laura has also decided to have one of the same breed from the same breeder much to Lesley’s annoyance.

I expect a lot of rivalry in the next few months.

We complete two pieces today, one was a dresser, the other a bookcase, both were put on Marketplace awaiting some activity.

I started laying the paving slabs outside the sunroom, phase one of the patio master plan.

8th October 2020

The paving slabs arrived today, they were heavy buggers.

This was delivered on a big truck, and off-loaded onto our driveway using a forklift that attaches to the back of the lorry, very neat.

Then I had the wonderful task of carrying each one from the front to the back, thirty times.

I had to laugh out loud because I was curious to see what they would look like in place. I carried a few over to the concrete slab and laid them in position, I then stood back. The colour of the slabs (Marble grey) was not that far from the colour of the slab itself, so I have spent a lot of money to get an extra two inches in height.

I know as part of the great scheme of things they will look great, but I may have to put signs around warning people what things are new.

7th October 2020

It was a pleasant autumnal day the temperature was in the sixties and the sun was shining down on the turning leaves of the many maple trees.

It is a beautiful time of year, and working outside is great.

We had a number of pieces that were close to completing, it would be good to get them in this weeks numbers.

We dragged the dresser that we got from Goodwill out of the truck, it was not in a bad condition and may require a quick paint job. The only contentious point was the top, it was a laminate, usually we usually replace it as they are difficult to rejuvenate, this one was in good condition, but would we want to sell it that way?

I continued to sand the fronts from the free dressers, this will be a labour of love to get these anywhere near ready.

We went to New Holland for our regular Stein night treat, then back for the Vice Presidential debate, and an excuse for Kelli to shout at the screen again.

The debate was another platform to spout party bullshit and not really answer any of the question thrown at them. The star of the show was a fly that had landed on Pence’s head, social media lit up flooding the platforms with every conceivable fly joke and reference, I think it won the debate.

6th October 2020

We wanted to get out and organise the paving slabs for the first part of the patio project.

We went to a couple of places to source them, the first gave us a delivery of three weeks, and the second could deliver on Thursday. These were more expensive, but would be good quality, and I wanted to get that part of the job completed before November.

We stopped at Goodwill for our regular fix and found yet another dresser to add to our collection, and as it was old gits day we got 20% off.

Kelli completed the hanging wardrobe so we attached it to the back fence to take pictures.

That went on Marketplace this afternoon.

The dresser was picked up late afternoon, there a number of pieces being worked on as well, I am expecting a bumper week.

Kelli did her annual sunroom move round,the not only confuses me but also the poor dogs who don’t know if they are coming or going.

I rigged up the new garden sprinkler to dampen the dirt, I’m not sure if I should, but as we hadn’t had rain for a couple of day I thought it was a good idea.

Kelli had a phone call from her son Cameron at about 12.30am. He was freaking out over a spider that he had in his living room. Granted is is only nearly thirty, so not so worldly ride about removing crawly objects from his home.

The way he described it was a monster of enormous proportions, arachnophobia gone wild. Kelli volunteered to take her crawly catcher and dispose of it for him.

So dressed like a ghostbuster she headed out to do the deed.

At least they didn’t kill it like so many of the Christian people around here would do. God’s creations around here don’t mean anything if it’s inside their homes, bloody hypocrites.

5th October 2020

The garage was rocking today.

I washed off the stain from the top of the dresser and sanded it back, it was a pig of a job.

Kelli started work on a hanging cabinet.

We tried not to get distracted by the antics that Covid infested Trump was doing on the network news.

I started stripping the drawer fronts from one of the free dressers we got last week, boy that was tedious. There are a total of sixteen drawers in the two units we had been given, then there will be the carcass’s to do afterwards.

We dragged the green dresser outside to take pictures. This was not a great piece, it was only the fact that it was free gave us any interest in it at all. But Kelli posted it on Marketplace at a very good price, and it sold very quickly, I guess our standards of taste are not the same as other people’s.

I wanted to really get ahead on the furniture to give me some time to concentrate on the patio. This small part will figure in the redevelopment of the back garden, it won’t be cheap but it will be cool.

For dinner Kelli made the most amazing stew, it was made from fake chicken and tasted great. The texture of the fake meat was very good, but I’m not sure I want to know what it is made from.

Mike had cut some branches off from two of our tree in the front garden, they didn’t seem very large growing on the tree, but once they were on the ground, they were massive.

I proceeded to cut off the small branches to be able to put them in our yard waste bin. As we are paying for it, we need to use it every week.

I managed to stuff about 75% of the stuff in the bin, stamping it down to maximise the internal area.

4th October 2020

The couple who bought the dresser that we rescued from the side of the road in June arrived to collect it. They had traveled from Portage near Kalamazoo, about an hour away. This would be the first sale of the month, a good start, so we needed to make sure it was all working. I had to fit the top and test all the drawers.

Like alway there is always one that is a bastard, gradual shaving of the central guide got it sliding the best I could, now it was waiting for our customer. The fact that they had already paid made the wait a little easier.

I got on with another dresser that Kelli had bought from Goodwill. I had lovingly stripped the paint of and prepared it for staining.

I used a pure black stain, but applied a conditioner first that limited how deep the stain went. This meant the the colour was more a grey than black, just what Kelli wanted.

The drawer fronts looked great, the top I was not so happy with.

Sometimes when sanding the wood with a course paper any areas that are softer get marked easier, often these are not seen until the stain is applied, as was the case here, my only recourse was to wash it off and sand it back.

In between all the other jobs, I had to add a centre channel to the drawers of another freebie dresser. We managed to get some spare guides from a friend, they weren’t the exact length, but I managed to make it work.

Now this dresser was ready to sell.

I was quite pleased how this one turned out. It had damage to the bottom of the side panels and the top had blown due to water damage, but with a ton of Bondo, and a new panel for the top it was complete.

3rd October 2020

We drove to the doctors surgery for my medical, I was slightly apprehensive about being probed and fiddled with.

He told me to remove my clothes, I asked him where I should put them.

“On top of mine” he replied.

Okay I know it’s an old joke, but I kept thinking about it just to cheer me up.

The address was in some obscure building behind a Dollar Store, a real unlikely place.

It took us quite a while to find it, the GPS just took us around in circles with Kelli getting angrier by the minute.

I purposely didn’t have coffee for breakfast as I didn’t want it to mess up any blood pressure readings. I didn’t use the toilet before we left as I thought I might have to give a urine sample.

I walked into the place, if life was not depressing enough, this was the epitome. Dull stained carpets, dead flies on the window sill, and horrible utility chairs that would better off in a skip.

I approached the reception area and was given a form to fill and a symptom checklist, I then waited my turn.

The place had a collection of African and Asian people all clutching their papers.

One by one they went into the back area emerging a few minutes later handing back forms to the administrator.

Then it was my turn.

I was greeted by a short Mexican doctor who led me in to the small back room.

He asked me to sit on the bed and then began the strangest medical examination I could ever have imagined.

First he held my ankles, moving up to my neck. Extending his hands he wanted me to grip them hard and resist him pulling them away. Finally he listened to my innerds with a stethoscope, then it was done, no blood, no urine no nothing.

He scribbled away on the forms, handing them back to me, saying that I looked healthy, and should not have a problem with medical part of the residency process.

I then sat in the waiting area forever whilst the administrator looked after other patients/ victims.

Finally I was up, the administrator, who’s job it is to type up the official paperwork wanted my immunisation details.

I handed over the details of the inoculations I had when I went to India, some of which satisfied the requirements.

Once the paperwork was done he informed me that I had to go to a lab to have the blood and urine samples.

That was a blow, I thought I’d got away with it.

Having just used the toilet, giving a sample might be challenging.

The charge for the medical was $275, a bloody con, and the cost of the sample test would be another $250, guess it’s baked beans on toast for the rest of the month.

The testing centre was several miles away, it was full with the people who were in front of me at the doctors, so another long wait was anticipated.

Kelli went off to look round some shops, I just sat around thinking about all the better things I could be doing.

Eventually I was called into the back area. The nurse led me to a consultation room, she carried a tool carrier with unpleasant implements sticking up.

She showed me to the toilet, removing a plastic container from the cupboard. She told me to produce a sample and then place it in a wall safe, or that’s what it looked like. That was good timing, as I was now bursting. I could have easily filled ten of these containers, but judging when it was full was difficult, I just kept going. I had to get the timing absolutely right, finish filling the sample, then the rest in the toilet without spillage. Fortunately there were no disasters, a good sample was left in the designated receptacle.

Now it was the blood sample, I think I had one once before, but the trauma itself blocked it out of my memory.

The nurse tapped on my arm near the elbow, I had the feeling this was new to her. Maybe she was normally the cleaner, and used to knocking pipes. The needle went in, the horrible sensations came back to me.

The needle went deeper, I expected it to poke out the other side, instead I heard her mutter “Ruptured the vein” by which she hurriedly stuck a plaster on it, and started on the other arm. She didn’t have much luck on that one, leaving me with several holes covered with sticking plasters.

She was beaten, she had to call in reinforcements.

In came Brad, he had the appearance of an ex navy seal, or maybe he just smelt of fish, anyway, he rummaged in his took box and pulled out a number of plastic pipes.

“ This should do it, I’ll use a smaller needle, goes in with less pain, but will take longer to suck it all out”

By now I was passed caring, I hadn’t passed out, so I felt I could manage it.

The time he took felt he had sucked up my entire arm, then there was light, the needle came out to be replaced by another sticking plaster.

The ordeal was over, Kelli was waiting outside in the truck waiting to drive back home, stopping to pick up a furniture piece on the way, as we do.