Another Lifetime to go

25th November 2019

I went with Kelli to Fennville to collect a cabinet that she had seen on Marketplace.

Fennville is a place out in the wilds, with dirt roads and very bad phone reception.

The person’s house was pretty decent, set in acres of wooded land.

The furniture piece had a top section with a heart shape cut out in it. Kelli does not like hearts, so she told the seller that she plans to change that (she was meaning that I would do something). As I was carrying the thing to the truck I noticed that it had two bloody hearts shapes on each side panels. It looks like a more complex job than we thought.

On a previous project I had to do the same thing, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t disguise the shape. I used Bondo, and sanded it with every grade of abrasive paper I had, even several coats of paint would not cover the shape shadow, so the prospect ahead was quite daunting.

In the evening, a lady brought round a dresser that she wanted painting. I was a fine oak piece that seems a shame, but it’s what people want, and we advertise that we can do customisations, and I am currently working on two re-paints now.

One commission piece is a small table, we had an inquiry from a past customer if we could find, and finish one to match an existing piece.

Kelli has found one in Goodwill, although not made from good wood, and painted in a sand textured paint, it was similar to an image we had been sent, so I set about transforming it into something decent.

The top was just painted MDF, so the only alternative was to bond a piece of plywood, that would look better, and could be stained dark.

24th November 2019

I used the loppers for the first time to cut up some branches that have laid since last year.

I got a fire going and burnt the bloody lot.

Greer and her boyfriend Dylan drove down from Grand Rapids to bring us a wedding anniversary/birthday present.

Each of us received sachets of loose tea and a novel infuser that hung on the side of the cup.

Mine was a narwhal, which I was ashamed to admit I had never heard of.

We were later joined by Kelli’s son Cameron, then we all trooped over to Van Wieren Hardware to pick out Christmas tree ornaments. This is a family tradition, every year there is a new piece added to the poor tree, there must be nearly a quarter of a ton hanging on the branches.

23rd November 2019

We used the day to push a number of projects forward.

Don came to collect the first of his dressers, it was good to see that one out the door.

I took advantage of the good weather to rake the back garden. I still managed to scoop up a sizeable amount of leaves to add to the piles at the front. The neighbours have followed me by raking more leaves on to the road, I hope I was correct in my assumptions that the city with make a second collection.

I fitted up the new squirrel feeder, and within half an hour a curious critter was checking it out. One design flaw I have identified is the animal has to squeeze through a hole where he has access to the food. If it eats away, it might get too fat to get out again. So I might have to make a trapdoor at the bottom to get the skeleton out.

Kelli is continuing with her green initiative. She already makes her own laundry soap, now she has branched out into toothpaste, mouthwash,

hand soap and oat milk. The kitchen now looks like a Meth lab with bottles, measuring jars and scales. With her librarian style glasses, she just needs a white coat to complete the look.

We did the rounds of both Goodwills, but there wasn’t much good stuff at either place.

22nd November 2019

I completed the hole plugging and filling. Kelli was off delivering flowers, so I finished the squirrel feeder.

The bird feeders are a great success, we are now attracting a lot of little critters, much to the dogs frustration.

We headed up to Hudsonville, Kelli had some things to return, and I would sit and enjoy a coffee and collect more stirring sticks.

We were having dinner with our friends John an Patti at the Win Tavern. Not the best venue for non meat eaters but we managed to nibble at something.

21st November 2019

Birthday celebrations over, back on my head.

The lady came to collect the bookcase, another good sale, adding to our coffers.

I started work on the second repainting project.

Like all, it starts with aggressive sanding followed by less aggressive sanding, followed by gentle aggressive sanding until it is ready for Kelli to paint.

Don, the person who wanted the repainted furniture, stopped by to see the progress on the first one.

He was suitably excited at how it had turned out, however he is alway hyper excited at most things, but we were happy that he was happy.

The only change he wanted was to fill the old drawer handle holes.

This is something I hate doing, because it looks a simple job, but to do it so there is no visible sign of the hole,is harder than you think.

He handed Kelli the money, and I started the hole plugging.

20th November 2019

It was my birthday, another circle round the sun as Kelli puts it.

I didn’t have the usual birthday blues, living with Kelli that can’t happen.

She cooked me a wonderful breakfast consisting of hash browns, diced cabbage and chopped onions, washed down with with fresh coffee.

The present Kelli gave me was a small leaf Swiss cheese plant, I wanted to get something like this as there was a lack of green things apart from some succulents that I’m not a great fan of.

This was supposed to be a work free day, but there was alway the temptation to finish off something.

I had a batch of birthday wishes from all over the place, and a FaceTime with Damian and my grandson. This was funny because all he was concerned about was missing my party. I kept telling him his birthday is only a few days away, and he would have a bigger better party of his own.

I did another grand sweep of the front garden.

The piles of leaves I had accumulated had been collected by the city yesterday, but Mother Nature knows no timetable, and deposited another good covering in shear defiance of any ordinance that exists.

I was able to start another large pile by the side of the road. “I don’t think they will come round again this year” Kelli declared.

“ Then I will build a bloody big bonfire and burn it all, city ordinance or nothing”

Next we took 179 steps up a wooden stairway at a local state park. It takes you to a high ridge where the view over Lake Macatawa is breathtaking. This is the best time to see the view when the trees are free from leaves.

Kelli used to do the walk regularly, it would give the dogs good exercise, and test her own stamina.

It is a popular place, often frequented by crazy people who would run up the steps. This makes everyone feel inadequate, (including Kelli and myself). I would like to place wreathes at various places on the climb, or maybe a couple of skeletons dressed in running short and a deterrent.

We invited our friends Mike and Lesley over for a dinner of veggi bangers, mash and baked beans, followed by a Oreo birthday cake baked by my very own wife.

The beans were the real deal, not the crap that is sold over here, but the cake was amazing, I could hear my waist band creak with every mouthful.

19th November 2019

We delivered the dresser to a condominium in Zeeland. The lady was so pleased that it hadn’t been painted.

We did our usual visits to Goodwill, and Kelli found a mid century bookcase, that of course I passed by not seeing the potential.

I wander the isles staring at the shelves, catching sight of people eager to find something that would make their lives complete.

Goodwill has a good heart, at its base is reusability, we both feel there is too much new stuff out there, that becomes tomorrow’s surplus. This was the theme to our wedding. We have kept a number of the wine glasses that came from Goodwill, items you would struggle to find new. They are solid glass, not so thin that they break, more like they can be thrown them across the room and survive unscathed.

I always scan the place, first for people I should avoid, and secondly for any furniture that stirs my imagination. That is rare, but

hidden amongst the dross are the diamonds. I see the former, Kelli the latter.

We finished the dresser we were repainting. I put a sealer on the top, still not 100% but under the circumstances it was the best I could do.

We received a visit from the family Pastor. I could feel it in the air. The birds flew away and mice were throwing themselves on to the traps.

The purpose of the visit was to inform Kelli about her parents health.

This is still a difficult subject, and even the words from a pastor cannot solve this one.

He took the opportunity to give me a copy of a book he had written as a birthday present.

We also set a tentative date for a discussion over a cup of coffee, where I’m sure he will try to convert me, or I will try to convert him, the gauntlet is down.

18th November 2019

We were up bright and early as a potential customer was coming round to view our newly finished dresser. We had carried it inside the house to look better in natural light, and the garage was full of pieces in various stages of work.

The lady loved the piece, so we arranged to deliver it later that day.

Over the past few months we have noticed a slowdown in sales at the store. Many pieces have been languishing there for months, and as there is rent to pay for the space, the rewards have been really small.

Kelli took the decision to terminate her contract, but continue on a commission base plan, this gave us a presence but with a reduced expense. We decided to concentrate our efforts on selling more through Marketplace, and offer a delivery service.

This has started to bear fruit as there are many people who don’t have trucks, or the strength to carry stuff.

We also decided to sell more furniture as we find them, that is without any work from us.

This would include “project” pieces for others to finish. This would be good for cash flow, and allow us to concentrate on the things that we would enjoy working on.

We decided to put on Marketplace the dresser that we picked up yesterday. It was in good condition so it was a good opportunity to test out our idea. Sure enough before the evening was out we took a sale, high fives all round.

In the late afternoon we delivered the painted dresser to an address in Holland, a couple of miles from our home.

During the day I had tried to improve the fit of the lower drawer. This was one piece I hadn’t really been involved with, so there was limited time to do anything to make it perfect. The older dressers had drawers where the sides were made of cedar which is soft and wear away on the oak runners. After a time the drawer drops and it becomes difficult to close smoothly. In the past I have repaired the sides by bonding on a oak piece to the side panels, but I didn’t have the time to do this, so I did the best I could and let it go at that.

The couple were delighted with it, and it took pride of place in their new nursery.

I started work on the four free chairs we collected yesterday. Most of the frames were loose, so one by one I stripped them down and re-glued them. Two of them had some serious repairs to them which meant a bit more cosmetic work to make the look good again. One seat pad needed a bit of cleaning, which was set aside till another day.

Kelli has finished the painting on one of the renovation pieces he had taken on.

I had stripped the top back intending to stain and refinish it. The first attempt didn’t look that good, so I sanded it back to try again.

There is alway a potential problem removing a factory finish because some of the lacquers soak deeper into the wood than in other places. In veneers this is bad, solid timber is okay, it just means sanding harder.

The second attempt was better, but not perfect, but I didn’t want to sand any more in case I rubbed through, and ruin it.

17th November 2019

Saugatuck in the winter is a sad place. Many of the shops close, some never to reopen. There are those that are “hobbies” often owned by those who fortunately don’t need the income.

Bars and restaurants are safe havens of refuge, the go-to places when the ones you wanted are closed.

This is the first time this trip I’ve been to the book shop. The owner Cheryl, has previously closed during the winter, but Kelli had experience of a reasonable level of business in the off season to, at least, cover the rent, so that was a good reason to try it.

So now the place is open at weekends and Kelli picks up some of the hours available.

The first thing I got involved in was building a Christmas tree out of books. Fortunately there is no shortage of those, but finding them of regular thickness is difficult.

I managed to build something that I call the “Elton John”, that is a bit short and fat around the middle with a pointed top. It was the best I could do without a full set of drawings.

I walked to the coffee shop for my “fix” and to observe the locals.

There were a family group entertaining a small child by calling her on their mobile phones. What a sad thing when the only way they could communicate was using a piece of technology. In the old days the only thing given to me to play with was a flick knife, or a hand grenade. Then that says a lot about my relationship with my dad who eventually started giving me road maps and a compass.

I’ve come along way without the need for a mobile phone, but now children are trained to be reclusive and lacking in basic social skills at an age of five.

I have been interested in the impeachment hearings that have been shown live. I watch whilst I’m working in the garage. This country’s devision is much worse than I thought it could go. There isn’t even recognition if there is a bad or nonsensical tweet by the President, the Republicans are adamant that there is nothing wrong.

I have never seen such a bunch of spineless sycophants gathered together in one place.

The one fun thing that happens every morning is watching the dogs rush out into the garden chasing the squirrels. There is not a hope in hell of catching them, but they do it regardless.

On the way back we had to collect a dresser. Like we need another dresser, but you can’t afford to let them go when they are offered. However at $30 it was at the high end of the procurement budget, so the minimum amount of work to get it out for sale is required here.

The guy also threw in four dining chairs for free. Normally we are not excited about taking chairs because painting them can be a pain, but these had an Eames style fabric on the seat, so we might just clean them up and sell them as is.

We had fun trying fit them into the back of the truck with the dresser. It was like a Mensa test. I managed to fit three chairs in but the forth was impossible. I needed just a half an inch more to get it in, but it just wouldn’t go. In the end we had to bungees it to the roof rack. This made the vehicle easy to spot in the car park.

16th November 2019

It is sixty weeks since we got married, something we note every week.

I was working in the garage whilst Kelli went off doing things that only Kelli knows how.

I planned to make a squirrel feeder out of some scrap pieces of cedar. Kelli decided that she wants to feed every wild animal this winter.

There is already a bird feeder hanging in a tree that attracted every bird in the area. It’s like a scene from a Hitchcock movie, the fluttering little critters freak out the dogs who stare at the activity from behind glass.

The squirrels have made a beeline for the seeds which has prompted me to make the dedicated feeder.

Cutting cedar is like putting pepper in the air. I have a mask, but it mists up my glasses, which makes me mad.