Another Lifetime to go

19th October 2020

I was eager to press on with the patio, meaning needed to get some ballast for the new apron I had just made.

I went along to the supplier where I bought the paving stones.

I was prepared with my cubic footage, but explaining it to the lady behind the plexiglass screen was another matter.

“That is not how we usually calculate it” she replied apologetically, so rather than get deeper into the depth of my calculations I gave her the sizes which she tapped into her computer.

“ That works out to be four yards” she smiled.

What followed was a discussion about what that quantity meant, was it cubic yards? With that amount it would fill the driveway.

She kept referring to the sizes, and that’s what it worked out to be.

In the end I relented, “Okay! I’ll have four of your yards of the stuff, when can it be delivered?”

“Would tomorrow be okay?”

“Perfect” I replied, worn down by the experience, however the next part of the transaction was to finally make me lose the will to live.

“ I also want some paving stones”

I gave out the range name, the sizes and quantity.

“I need eleven sixteen by twenty-four and four sixteen by eight”

She looked at the screen, with a puzzled expression.

“ It looks like you can only buy these in layers”

My tired brain creaked, “Layers, what are layers?”

This then exploded into the most complex explanation of what Layers meant.

Apparently when the blocks are delivered they are arranged on a pallet in fixed sets.

Each layer consists of two sixteen by twenty-fours, three sixteen by eights and three sixteen by sixteens, so I would have to buy two complete layers, including the sizes I didn’t want, and buy the extra sixteen by twenty- four slabs which are sold separately.

I finally grasped what they were getting at, only to be told that I would have to go the another site where the slabs are stocked.

With the aid of lists and sketches we set off for the next instalment.

The place looked like Fred Flintstone’s back garden, boulders and rocks of all sizes laid out in some order.

We eventually found the office, it was just a little bigger than a portaloo. There was a sign on the door that read “ Only one person at a time in the office” that was apparent anyway, if two tried to get in there they would have to get married.

I now had to go through the same scenario with the new guy.

“ You will have to buy two layers”

“ I know!” The fatigue was showing.

“ just show me where they are stored” my voice now weak and feeble.

He directed us to an area close to the main road.

We drove off to find the stack.

Now these buggers are heavy, and there was no way the poor truck could take them all, so the plan was to take the two layers and come back for the others.

I wanted to make sure I was taking them from the right stack, so this giant of a man came to help.

This man was the result of cross breeding with a forklift, he was a strong guy.

He carried on loading whilst I ran back to the office where I had inadvertently left my bag with all my worldly goods.

When I got back he was loading the last ones.

The truck felt the weight as we drove back, but as the shock absorbers didn’t punch through the floor, we made it unscathed.

By the time we got back there were a couple who had brought over a dresser that they wanted painted to match one they had got from us a couple of weeks ago, this is a good job, no outlay, money up front, one we can concentrate on and get out in the month.

17th October 2020

It has been dull all day with rain most of the time, I don’t need to water the grass anytime soon.

I reassembled the drawerless dresser, fixing the doors and top, this should be on the market this coming week.

I had intended to add glass to the doors but Kelli came up with a different idea of using fine wire mesh, this would give it a different look.

The weather put paid to any work outside, I was hoping to get the alignment finalised and the soil dug out, a real drag.

17th October 2020

I cut up some wood to make bracing pieces to keep the timber frame square when it was moved into it’s final position.

The digging of the trench was easy due to the sandy soil, this meant it was an easy job to lower the frame into.

I levelled the base of the trench with stones as best I could for the frame to rest, and it was easy to level.

Kelli was painting the doors to the drawerless dresser, and we managed to sell the small side table.

Mike came over to finish off the last bit of the front lawn. There is a lot of grass activity, I need to keep as many of the leaves that have now started to fall off the fledgling grass shoots, and that is a task in itself.

16th October 2020

We drove to Goodwill on the Northside to see if there were any furniture pieces waiting for us. We were looking for some easy conversations, maybe a repaint, but there was nothing. On the way to the south side one we stopped off at De Leeuw’s, the local timber merchant to get some material I failed to get at Menards. They didn’t have exactly the same product, but I got the nearest available.

Kelli happened to know “Duke” the owner from a long time back, who with a little prompting recognises her even with her mask on.

We thought he might be able to advise us on an alternative material, but no luck there, my only option was to use above ground treated timber and provide good drainage.

We got to the mill and loaded the timber on to the truck just as the heavens opened up and I got drenched, so no good drainage here.

There wasn’t much luck at the other Goodwill so we headed back home to get something done.

I set about cutting the wood up into the various lengths, and began joining them together. It was starting to get dark when I fired in the last of the stainless steel screws.

15th October 2020

I ventured out alone to Menards to buy ground treated timber. I was excited to start the next part of the patio project. It is nothing like some of the Grand Designs we have been watching, mine will be on time and on budget.

It was strange going to the store without Kelli, I was expecting to be in and out in the shortest time possible.

I made my way over to the building materials section. Behind the plexiglass screen was Jason, a large young man, that needed an extra large mask to cover his face.

He grunted an acknowledgment, or clearing his throat, but he was looking at me so I took that he was ready for my order.

I told him what I wanted, two lengths of one by four by twelve foot lone ground contact lumber.

He moved over to a screen and repeated what I had said but in a soft voice, almost inaudible.

I asked him to repeat it, this time he added “we have no stock”

Then what followed was a verbal tennis match trying to establish when new stock will arrive.

I gathered that it might be sometime next week.

That didn’t help me as I wanted to work on it at the week end.

Jason didn’t try to sell me an alternative he just finished what he was saying and then stopped and stared at me.

I was a little annoyed, but just as I was leaving I enquired what the cost of delivering some materials that I plan to order next.

I gave him my address, he tapped away, saying it was five miles away.

“That sounds right” I said.

“ Eighty five dollars “ came the answer

“That’s expensive for five miles” I gasped.

He shrugged his shoulders and continued to stare.

I guess that put an end to that conversation.

On the way out I picked up a cordless blower, it is leaf falling time, and I need to control what is falling on the new grass.

Now I can be just like all the suburban homeowners blowing shit around the place.

14th October 2020

Some guy offered us more than we wanted for our latest dresser.

After languishing in the ether for a few days, suddenly there was a flurry of interest. Kelli, as always has strict rules when it comes to multiple offers. Often after the initial contact it fizzles out, and we then wait for the next. Kelli is good at being subtle and keeps connected right up to the point when the persons wants or doesn’t want it. The key is to keep the door open to everyone, letting them know where they are in the queue. However with this late entry, and the higher offer it put the cat among the pigeons. But this morning she let others know there was an alternative offer waiting. This will result in the person in line making there decision to buy or pass. In this situation they passed leaving it open for the higher offer which was snapped up and paid for.

We were busy on a number of small jobs. I was sanding and staining a blanket box top whilst Kelli was painting the drawerless dresser piece that I had been working on fo almost a year, soon it will be finished, I hope, any longer and the wood will rot and it will fall apart.

13th October 2020

The air was filled with the sound of sirens getting closer.

Two police cars drew to a halt outside Larry’s house. Then the fire truck arrived. This is the first responders heading for the latest incident.

Then another police truck pulled up, it was all happening outside our front door

Admittedly this is not the first time the police have knocked on Larry’s door.

His daughter is usually the cause, she is bi-polar and is prone to wild outbursts.

This time seemed different, there were lots of people mingling about, the paramedics from the fire truck were inside, we were bystanders watching the saga unfold.

The ambulances as the final service to arrive, yet more people crammed into the house.

Larry has not had that number of visitors in his room for years.

There was no stretcher or any attempt to carry out a lifeless corpse. Larry is not the healthiest person around, so we were expecting the worse.

One by one the police vehicles left, then the fire truck departed, all that was left was ambulance. A few more people turned up, but we had no idea who they were.

Eventually the ambulance drove away, a bit of an anti-climax if I was honest.

Soon everyone had gone, it was bizarre, all was quiet on Southshore drive.

The next thing I saw was Larry driving away in his truck, what the heck!

Soon after, his daughter arrived, she threw open her car door, and rushed into the house.

Was there any signs of concerns? It didn’t look like it. Larry returned soon after, then two police cars pulled up outside.

His daughter, by this time a bit animated was rushing in and out of the house carrying things that she was stuffing into her car, whilst shouting at the police, and Larry.

It was all getting a bit exhausting, Kelli was as curious as I was, but we waited in the shadow of the garage without trying to be interested.

After many trips back and forth to her car she slammed her door and drove off. The police hung around for a while, but then they left, leaving Larry to wander about.

No being able to contain our curiosity, we walked over to find him rummage though the dustbin. Apparently his daughter had cleaned everything from the fridge and thrown it in the rubbish, so he was trying to rescue the good stuff.

He told us that she had attacked him, causing him to fall and hit his head, not sure who dialled 911.

This was the last straw for him, he had put up with her craziness and verbal abuse for long enough, she had moved out, to stay with a friend, and he looked relieved.

So that ended our drama, all we had left was our furniture and more sanding, but it was entertaining.

We thought the sight of two wild turkeys on our shed was the highlight of the day, how wrong we were.

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.