Another Lifetime to go

17th July 2019

Another warm day, as I took up station in the garage finishing the repair to the claw foot on the dresser we haggled for at Goodwill last week. The top is sanded, and I did some repairs to the veneer, all ready to hand over to the finishing department.

Kelli went off to Aldi for some supplies, as I carried on with work to the small bookcase.

We then drove to pick up another dresser, you can never have too many of them. This one was in quite good condition, but stained deep red. On the way back I had to cut out some book letters, and cut a piece of cedar which will be an up-stand for the dresser.

I also raided Dave’s timber stock for lumber to make a top for the bookcase.

I haven’t seen much of the tenants, although they like to leave the garage light on all the time.

Captain Pugwash, our other neighbour has a new boat, that he washes everytime he takes it out on the lake. I don’t blame him as lake Macatawa is a bit of a sewer.

This hot weather is causing havoc with my attempts to improve the lawn. With the shortened hose I cannot get to all the areas.

We have a sprinkler that is really basic, not the fancy spin round, or flip over type, I have to manually reposition it, usually getting drenched at the same time.

16th July 2019

“You’re not wearing that are you? As I emerged from the bedroom dressed in red shorts, with a purple, grey and mustard striped tee-shirt.

“I’ll just be working in the garage” I said.

“Yes but someone might see you” replied Kelli founder member of the Holland fashion police.

Thus the start of the day turned into a dilemma, and as I had no idea that what I had chosen was a no-no, I went back into the bedroom to choose something that would meet with my wife’s approval.

Now I have noticed in America, women compliment other women about their appearance all the time.

“ Oh I love your blouse “

“I just love your hair”

Just about everything must be scrutinised and commented on.

Kelli has an amazing wardrobe, and is complimented all the time, and It is odd for me, that a complete stranger will say nice things about you are wearing.

Very few, (well none actually) have ever complimented me on anything I wear, it’s not a British thing, and if it were, it would probably start a fight.

In my now colour co-ordinated clothing, I finished off the few jobs on my list.

15th July 2019

Phew it’s hot today, 87 degrees, just the right temperature to be furiously sanding, well not really. With this heat I drip like an leaking tap. Kelli always reminds me to drink plenty of water, and brings me cups full of fractured icebergs. The cold liquid goes down so easily, then the brain freeze hits and I become immobile. Then I remember that the exact same thing happened the last time.

We drove straight from Saugatuck to the store to take new pieces. We secretly smiled at the furniture that has been there since it opened, as we smugly positioned our things in the best place.

When we got back home the new tenants were moving their furniture in. For us it seemed a long distant memory, giving us another reason to gloat. The guy looked a bit rough, not someone you would want to accidentally spill their beer, or even meet in a dark alley. He is probably a friendly person who only looks like he’s chewing bees, I can’t wait to meet him.

I might have to get a padded tee-shirt with built in muscles and stick-on tattoos.

Even as the sun went down it was hot, we spent a bit of time weeding in the flower beds. Pulling them out one at a time was a real effort, I soon gave that up as a bad idea, and ran back inside to appreciate the cool glacier air, and nodded off on the papasan.

14th July 2019

The cover I made for the extraction fan was complete and painted, so the next stage was the assembly. I had dry fitted it and glued the panels together in place and then removed it successfully, at that point I felt confident that it would fit once painted. The piece had to match the angle of the ceiling and I was trying to minimise any gaps, which is often my downfall. Tittering on the step ladder I lifted the cover into the start position, and then pushed it towards the wall. I got about two inches before the whole thing jammed. The sap started to rise as I tried to remove it, and couldn’t. It took about three attempt before I found it what the problem was. The plywood sides had flexed inward and jammed on the angled ceiling. By springing the side outwards the cover slide in perfectly.

The rest of the day was spent finishing off some new pieces ready for delivery tomorrow.

We went for dinner at Kelli’s parents, the first time for a really long while due to various illnesses, but it was a fun family event with Kelli’s brother Matt, talking about toilets and general subjects that only he could talk about.

We went round to see the old house that had been redecorated. It looked plain and clinical, but the safe colours are typical, and makes me appreciate the elements of craziness that Kelli has brought to our new home.

13th July 2019

I needed to get on with building a cover for the extractor fan in the kitchen, so off to Menards we went to buy a sheet of ply.

As I was cutting the board Kelli showed me a text that she had received for the store informing us that we had sold our bedside tables and the large dresser, this was amazing and the end of a great week financially. We have some things to work on but yet again the pressure is on us to replace the pieces.

12th July 2019

We watched the bats flying in erratic motion above our heads as we sat in our garden chairs at the end of an interesting day.

The bats had their own things to do, like finding food, we enjoyed their spectacle.

We had just sold the mid century desk that we bought yesterday for six times what we paid for it. All it needed was a good clean, because it was perfect just the way it was. I give total credit to Kelli for deciding to buy it, I had seen it first, but not being sure, I showed it to her, immediately she saw its potential. It was on Marketplace Thursday evening, and there were three people on it by morning. Two of which knew each other, which was really funny when they both arrived in the same car.

I guess our business is similar to the lives of the bats, scratching around for something to keep us alive, and finding it. Now I must get back to more scratching.

I made a start on cutting up the rose bush branches and burning them on our fire, maybe creating the thermals that the bats were riding. Alternative they took advantage of the hordes of mosquitoes targeting my pure English blood.

11th July 2019

We got to the store early to collect the table, there wasn’t an issue about removing it, we loaded it up and headed off to Hamilton to meet up with the customer. We stopped off at Goodwill where we found a supper mid-century style desk for $20. From the stamp on the back it had been owned by Hope College.

I also had my eye on a dresser that had been there for over a week. It had a damaged foot and some veneer damage and they had $65 on it.

Whilst Kelli was checking out, the manager walked passed. They both knew each other because of the haggling discussions of the past. So there was the opportunity to ask what they would take for the dresser.

Kelli turned to me and asked what I would pay for it. I wanted to say 25 but instead said 30 not thinking they would accept such a low bid. To my surprise it was accepted, damn! more work to do.

We loaded the desk into the truck and headed off to Hamilton, we would return to pick up the dresser later.

After all the business transactions, we finally got home, and unloaded all the stuff we bought. Kelli had found on old wooden egg container where there appeared to be no way to open it up. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to design and make a box to hold six eggs that you could not open.

I lost another five foot of hose today, at this rate I will have to connect the snake directly to the tap.

Being home owners we have to take much more pride in our property, and mostly we do with one exception. Around the far side, where the air-conditioner fan is located, Kelli noticed that grass was sprouting through the pebbles on the berm. So we decided that we should tidy this up.

We carried our plastic box and digging implements, and set about pulling out the grass strand by strand. It took a while but was quite satisfying.

The biggest eyesore however was a large rose bush that had been allowed to grow wildly. Personally I hate rose bushes, they stab and scratch indiscriminately, and it was on the list to remove eventually. As we were removing the grass and weeds the thorns from the bush left their mark.

This is when I decided to remove a few branches to give more access to the weeds behind. I removed a few more, then another, by the end, all that was left was a stump. I had cut it down completely. Kelli had left to start dinner, and was shocked when she returned. Now all I have to do is get rid of all the branches, I didn’t think that one through did I?

10th July 2019

The bookshop was busy, the holiday season had begun. People were buying three and four books at a time. I remember back in my childhood reading so many books whilst on holiday. That was because the weather was crap, and we were stuck in a caravan for two weeks. I think I read every Agatha Christie book I could get my hands on.

I lost a few more feet of the hose, as the bulge from yesterday finally let go, so yet again another repair.

Kelli sold a drop leaf coffee table on Marketplace, which meant collecting it from the store tomorrow and removing it covertly.

After the past experiences we have to look after our bottom line and sell in every opportunity we can.

9th July 2019

Over the last four days I have lost over twelve feet of hose pipe.

It was not intended to be that careless, moreover it was the result of using a hose that we inherited when we moved into the house.

As the house only had an outside tap at the front, in order to reach the back it needed a fifty foot long to reach. This did not present too much of a problem for generally watering activities, but on Saturday we bought a water misting attachment. It was bright green and looked like a striking rattlesnake. We were seduced into buying one when we visited a hardware store that had one outside.

We rushed home to try it. I unravelled the hose and connected the green snake at one end, and to the outside tap with the other. Turning the water on I rushed round to check everything was working as it should.

The snake was hissing water mist which was perfect in the heat of the afternoon. Satisfied I had done a good job I went back to the garage to work on a project.

About half an hour later, I looked out of the door and noticed there was no mist coming from the nozzles of the snake.

Instead there was a gusher spurting from the hose five feet away. The old hose had swelled up and burst. The lawn was a quagmire, so in a panic I ran to turn off the tap. The water soaked into the holes in my shoe soles as I walked back to investigate what had happened. I saw the split in the plastic, so I cut the hose intending to refit the adapter. Of course that would be too simple, and like always the fitting was a swaged type that couldn’t be refitted. This meant another trip to Menards to buy a more suitable adapter.

Once reconnected, the snake hissed again, until the same happened. Another piece of pipe was consigned to the bin, and a new connection was made, and everything was fine again. This time I reduced the pressure in the hose, but after a while I saw another bulge in the pipe, so it was only a matter of time before I had another failure. Miraculously it lasted the rest of the evening.

8th July 2019

I finished off the two bedside tables, and fitted under-shelf lighting in the kitchen.

We had learned that the first person on the bed could not handle the height, so the second in line snapped it up, as she had eleven foot ceilings.

This was great, something we got for free, did nothing to, and sold for a lot, it’s almost criminal. It’s like a cross between Steptoe and Son meets Del Boy, I love it.

We took the new stuff over to the store, then did the rounds of the Goodwill stores finding a couple of things.

We stopped off at the city hall to pick up the plans to the house.

Kelli had found out who the builder was, but wanted more information. We were given everything in the files, as they had just been scanned, they would have been destroyed, so we got them just in time.

In the evening the lady arrived to collect the bed, she didn’t have a large car, so like us it had to go on the roof rack, which meant straining my greens to lift it. I lashed it down with everything she had to stop it falling off. She had a sizeable journey to make to get back to her home, but I didn’t hear that she had problems.

Kelli had been suffering from an allergy attack that drained her. We should have been at the store today, but as she was sneezing all the time she had managed to change he day.