Another Lifetime to go

23rd February 2020

We set off to deliver the dresser to it new owner it deepest Saugatuck. There are some amazing places hidden away on private roads, and the address we were head for was down one of these. The road was just a dirt track, most of the snow had gone leaving thick mud everywhere. The house was located at the top of a hill, so a great position to look down from.

We carried the dresser into the house and moved it into its position, it looked great against the grey wall.

The house was fabulous inside with a vaulted cedar ceiling and a large brick fireplace place with a mantle piece made from a twelve by twelve old oak beam, it was my ideal.

If I owned the place I would just look at the ceiling every day, and lose myself in it’s beauty.

Next stop was dinner at Kelli’s mums, we have started having these every Sunday, it good to get together with the rest of the family, as a healing experience.

22nd February 2020

There is never a day passes that there isn’t a visit to Goodwill, but going to the south side one alway has a reminder of my early visits to the Design Yard.

Perched on the corner of the junction was the “Muffler Man” a place where they replaced car exhaust systems.

That place had a special significance not only for me but for Kelli. The owner crashed into her car many years ago, with sufficient force to write the car off. What was worse he was not insured, however he did make some financial contributions to avoid being reported to the police. Many years later the same guy who was plagued with alcohol and drug issues topped himself.

So this place has been there for ages, until recently when it was demolished and rebuilt as a Wendy’s. This is exactly what Holland needs, another fast food joint.

We spent some time looking for a wooden spindle for the chair. First we scoured the internet, but no luck, so we stopped in to Lowes, a large DIY emporium. The only thing close to what we needed was a piece for a stair. This had a turned piece in the middle, but I will have to adapt it to fit into the chair frame.

We stopped off at a different thrift shop and picked up a turquoise painted desk, it needs some attention, but what else would I do?

We finished the paint job to a dresser that will be delivered tomorrow, and another coat of finish to the dining table, I bloody hope that is gone next week.

21st February 2020

I had an appointment at a dental surgery that Kelli had arranged. My tooth had stopped hurting soon after I put some gel on the gum, but I thought I better get it looked at.

The first part of the free consultation was a set of x-rays. They took loads from all angles plus a head scan. Then the doctor came in to review the images, and rattled off a list of potential issues, including the tooth I had an issue with. He then took a scan of my mouth so that he could show me what work I needed doing. After that in came the hygienist to go through all the cleaning procedures, this scared the life out of me. She talked about deep root cleaning, at which point I nearly passed out. Finally in came the financial person to show me what it was going to cost.

The whole process was very detailed and much more thorough than my English Dentist.

I now have a plan that will keep my teeth in my mouth whilst I’m here.

Oh yes, we also mailed off my residency paperwork, which is a great relief.

To round off the day we stopped off at Goodwill and picked up a mid century dresser for $15.

There appears to be a glut of that era style around at the moment. We already have two pieces in stock, that we picked up at the side of the road. My thoughts are that the kids are clearing out their parents homes after they popped their clogs, but that might be me being morbid.

20th February 2020

Some days are pretty dull, the cold makes staying at home the best option.

There was still plenty to do in the garage. I brushed another coat of poly on to the dining table top, I’m really not happy with it, and I hope I don’t get another job like it again.

I stopped using the thick polyurethane, and reverted to the standard hoping that it will cover better.

The repaint jobs was going well, I had stripped the top successfully without sanding through the veneer, so that makes a change.

I can’t understand why they use a pine veneer, complete with knots rather than solid timber.

19th February 2020

I have a bit of tooth ache which is uncomfortable, it is a tooth where I lost a crown, and it happened just before I came back to the US. Under the normal arrangement I would have returned to the UK in February and have it taken care off then, but as everything has changed I face the prospect of having treatment over here, which is more expensive, but is my only option.

We went to New Holland for dinner, and as it’s was Stein night I was forced to have one.

Kelli was woken early by the next door neighbour’s dog barking. This has been a problem since they moved into our old rental.

They have two dogs that get little exercise other than being let out to bark, which is the problem.

Kelli tried to message the neighbour but got little support, and was blocked on Facebook.

She had little option but to complain to the landlord.

So many people have dogs over here and it is rare for me to see them being walked.

The one next door (our old home), is a huge German Shepard with a bark to match, it gets let out to crap and then back indoors.

18th February 2020

We took a few more pictures using the fridge as a backdrop until we got to one that Kelli deemed as acceptable. Then as we went back to Walgreens to get our refund, we got them printed instead.

We then went to the bank to get the cheques to attach to the application forms, this has been an exhausting exercise.

I did a lot of sanding in the garage, I was determined to prepare the dining table ready for staining. There are three jobs, with money on them that I want to finish before the end of the month.

There was a paint job to a dresser, and a dresser with a special stain.

Kelli had transformed the small dresser we got yesterday.

We heard from Cameron that the place he wanted to rent had rejected his application.

This was due to not having a high credit score.

It seems that you are penalised for not being in debt, and trying to live within your means.

Rental properties are so expensive here, a small apartment costs upwards of $650 per month in a dodgy area, with a house, like the one we moved from is around $1200.

17th February 2020

They say that if you look like your passport photo you shouldn’t be allowed to travel.

Today we had to get these done to send along with the documents for my residency.

We went to Walgreens as the nearest place to get them taken.

Gone are the days when you went to a photographer studio and got properly set up with proper lighting and someone who knows their way around a camera.

The area in Walgreens is pretty basic. There is a green door that doubles as the backdrop with the aid of a white blind that is pulled down. The experience is shared with just about anyone who wishes to purchase a packet of crisps, as those being photographed share the same isle.

I was the first to take the stage. Generally I have the same look, a cross between a zombie and somebody suffering with wind. The guy behind the lens had very little to offer in terms of poses. He stood in front waved the camera around and that was that. Next it was Kelli’s turn.

“Tuck your hair behind your ears and don’t smile” was the instruction, this set the scene for a bad experience. That is the one thing Kelli does not do, and did it under extreme protest.

“That’s the requirements laid down by the government” the photo man explained.

Kelli stormed off not even to want to look at the result.

The guy went off to print and crop the images and returned with them placed in a booklet.

I paid the thirty bucks and we left.

“Have you seen them yet” she inquired.

I open the booklets, the first being mine.

It was as I expected, a look dead from the eyes down. Then I opened Kelli’s.

I should have know something wasn’t right because the booklet was different to open, a force was keeping it shut. With determination I managed to get it open.

What was staring up at me was not the person I married. The photographer managed the impossible, he had taken someone who was naturally photogenic and changed her totally.

Kelli demanded to see it.

I tried to think of a diplomatic answer.

1. We had the wrong person’s pictures

2. You were distracted by someone buying crisps

3. You wanted to stick the camera up the guys arse.

4. They were using comic filters

None of these cut any ice with her, as she stared at the sight in front of her.

“Is that how other people see me, do I really look like that? She was obviously upset and angry.

As soon as we got home they went straight into the waste bin.

Kelli was not finished, phone calls ensued, and she found more information about what the requirements were, and announced the we would go to City Hall and get new ones the next day. She also called Walgreens and gave the manager a tongue lashing, who it seems, took the pictures in the first place. He offered a full refund, which was the least he could do.

In the evening, I downloaded an application on my phone to take visa photos, it was so easy that even Stevie Wonder could have done it.

Before I knew it Kelli had retrieved the photos from the bin, and could see some humour in them. She posted a request on Facebook for others to share their passport picture stories, and they started to appear, most of them were equally as bad.

We agreed to keep them, they will scare the trick or treaters at Halloween.

16th February 2020

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the snow was a blinding white, and the air was cold.

It was a rest day from furniture, but a chance to catch up on jobs that I just hadn’t got round to, like setting up the turntable I bought ages ago. This meant modifying the red cabinet that the stereo lived in. I had to remove an old panel with a speaker attached then move the amplifiers and CD player into this lower compartment. However first I had to make a shelf as there was nothing there. So in reality I had to go into the garage, and wade through some old boards to find something suitable.

After a burst of sawdust and fallen offcuts, a shelf was made.

I took some time to untangle the spaghetti of wires that was hidden in the corner, and finally the job was complete.

Kelli was repotting plants that she has been desperate to keep alive, and although I don’t like succulents they looked a lot better in the new pots.

15th February 2020

The cold wind blew, icy rain made the eyes sting, it was not the best day to be out, but here we were making the rounds of the Goodwills and coming up with zilch.

Zilch means that there was no decent furniture to be had apart from a couple of items ridiculously priced, but it didn’t stop Kelli from finding other things. It must be like walking around Ikea, you must leave with something, usually coat hangers or candles.

I needed a few things from Menards, but a couple rolls of shop towels and some foam brushes didn’t take long to gather.

As we were out, we decided to go to New Holland early for some food. We expected the place to be filled with walking frames and old people who normally eat early then head back home to bed.

I had a glass of Mad Hatter which is one of the stronger brews, this made me a little buzzed, and I knew this when I walked into the door on the way out.

We had an evening of wine and dominoes with our friends Mike and Lesley. I was lucky enough to score over three hundred, which didn’t come close to my personal best of over six hundred.

14th February 2020

It is the two year anniversary of my proposal of marriage to Kelli, and boy what a road trip that has been. As I look out of the window at the falling snow that adds to the five inches that has already settled, I question why I cleared the drive earlier. Oh yes, Kelli has to help at the flower shop on one of the most busy days of the year, so I needed to do it so she could get the truck out.

I had placed a card on her pillow when she got up to let the dogs out, she smiled as she read the message. “ Did you buy it when we drove to Grandville?”

I smiled, pleased that I had taken that opportunity, because I don’t often get the chance to do covert operations.

That was a day that changed my life, not that renovating a cottage and buying one in a different country is not different, retirement is usually a time to coast and reflect life, not start another one.

But I haven’t regretted one second, each new day is another challenge, a different problem to solve, and more fun to make.

I switched the heater on in the garage, determined that I would reassemble the table ready for the last part, staining the top.

As I was placing the base attachment cradle to the top, I thought I could do a better job with the staining. So that’s what I did.

We had more interest in the rejected side table and the tall dresser that we finished yesterday.

I waited in all day with the phone close at hand waiting for the call when the person was due to pick up the small table, but no one came.

Kelli returned after four, and we loaded up the tall dresser to deliver.

But first we had to unload things that she had been given.

The hardware store was having a clean out of old display items, and these were gathered up and put into the back of the truck. There was a collection of wooden racks that must have stored something, these will need to be creatively marketed or we will be tripping over them for the next few years.

There was a large wooden thing on the roof rack that Kelli thought was a door, but it was not the sort of door that I had ever seen, it was more like a section of a fence.

However I’m sure she will sell it to somebody.

The delivery of the tall dresser we very close to us, and we were instructed to leave it in the garage, and the money was taped to the door.

This was a good ending to the week, and made us realise that we needed more furniture stuff.