Another Lifetime to go

21st June 2018

The start of summer and the clouds were blocking out the sun. We were working in the garage as the truck was with Larry having the front wheel bearings replaced. I could hear a lot banging and crashing that went on for an hour or so. Finally we walked over to take a look. He had managed to remove one disc, and was still trying to remove the other. There were piles of rust everywhere, and Larry was drawing heavily on his cigarette, preparing himself for the next bashing session.

We threw ourselves into furniture mode, I had a couple of tops to make, and Kelli put the finishing touches to the island unit. She then posted it on her Facebook market place, and within an hour she had inquires, by mid afternoon it was sold, and by eight thirty it was collected. The girl who bought it was excited, her and Kelli hit it off immediately, within minutes they were talking about the TV series “Friends” I stood opened mouthed as the two jabbered away, and laughing. This could only happen here.

I managed to finish a top for a metal frame that had been in the garage for ages. I used some old weathered wood from an old table, and strips of poplar bonded together. The finished effect worked well.

The final job of the day was to build a piece of rustic art from some of the wood we acquired last week. Kelli laid out the colours in the correct order, and I did everything else.

We mounted the piece on the wall in the dining area, I hope the attachment method holds up otherwise I could KO’d over breakfast.

20th June 2018

The music of the Moody Blues and Justin Hayward features largely in the house, as I have mentioned on numerous occasions. This is fine, and it is music I like, fortunately. So just for a change down at the Book Nook Kelli put on another internet radio playlist on her Pandora station. She chose the Simon and Garfunkel listing, and lol and behold what song came to air? Nights in White Satin, I smiled, I was reading my book on the comfy sofa. Around me I could hear the faint sound of someone singing the words, and it wasn’t Kelli. An older lady, well into her seventies came into view, aided by a walking stick, she sang alone with her voice as shaky as her walk. The next song was Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver, and she was off again, word perfect.

A book store with music is a perfect mix, both are timeless, and stir long held or lost memories. I doubt if the lady knew she was singing along, it is often sub-conscious, but for her, she was somewhere different, in a different time.

I finished my book, a comment on Trump’s America from a British point of view. The author, Jon Sopel is a BBC political correspondent, and one who received the “Here’s another beauty” from Trump himself.

It delves into the crazy world of America post 2016 with clarity, I think a lot of people here should read it.

We went back to Saugatuck for dinner, then on to “Music in the Park” a series of free weekly concerts throughout the summer. The guy on stage was pretty good, and of course Kelli knew all the songs. It was a fun evening, well attended, and the young kids were up on stage dancing about, not sure what was the most entertaining.

19th June 2018

There was another sound outside that has become familiar, and that is the chainsaw and chipper killing a tree. This is sad, but an all to common sound as land is cleared for yet another mini mansion.

It is common for a large plot is stripped bare of green to be replaced with an ugly structure that would incorporate every architectural cliques in the book. The one thing that a people lack who can afford a house specially designed, is taste.

It is all about size, the bigger the better. It’s got to have turrets with castellations, hundreds of square feet of glass, to keep the window cleaners in business. The gardens have to be extensive, and Eden like complete with snakes.

Everything is trimmed, polished and honed too perfection for the few weeks it is occupied.

P.S

The actual tree being cut down was just up the road, and was being removed because the roots were lifting and cracking the driveway. Does this soften my rant? Absolutely not, the rape of Holland continues as long as greedy developers are allowed to take the greenery away.

18th June 2018

The lawnmower chorus sounded out as we climbed into the truck ready for the drive to Saugatuck. The temperature was already up in the top eighties, so pretty fantastic as far as I was concerned. Kelli was already regretting her choice of top, but I reminded her that the bookshop had air conditioning so she would probably be okay. Some places have it on so cold you need a coat, I can never understand why places have the air set on “artic” and leave the doors open, like they’re trying to cool the whole outside.

Kelli managed to get a coat of paint on the island unit.

A neighbour had shown interest in it as she walked past walking her small dog. She didn’t balk at the price, although I wished I had made it higher to test her real interest level. I have lost count of the “firm” sales Kelli has had only to be let down. At the weekend there was someone interested in chairs we had, needless to say it was a no show.

17th June 2018

It’s father day today in England and the USA. I received good wishes from my sons, and a card from Greer. This was a little emotional, as I have known her since she was young, and although I dipped in and out of her life, I alway considered the daughter I never had, so to be acknowledged as her “step” dad was very moving.

It was a very hot, at least in the nineties, so any real effort doing stuff turned me into a dripping mess. In the evening we took the dogs down to the beach, which was a little breezy, so perfect.

We got there to see a five hundred foot freighter sail up the estuary into Lake Macatawa. The horns freaked the dog out, but it was the first time I ever saw a boat of that size make that trip. A flotilla of small boats and jet skis followed the freighter’s progress, like flies following a large turd. No normal person would race to join a traffic jam, but then there are few normal boat people here.

16th June 2018

I had to do a lot of catching up to do, output was down and we were desperate to get new stuff out there.

I made the back panel for the island unit out of the timber I planed yesterday.

Everything is very hand to mouth, we have never had a backlog to fall back on. So we are taking this opportunity to try to build up a stock, I know this will change when things start moving, and Kelli will want to re- fill her spaces.

Now getting back to this wedding thing, we needed to check out cake stands. Now this on my scale of interest is pretty low down, but I forced up the level, because it is important to Kelli to get everything right.

She went to someone she knew who rented out dinner ware, and found some glass stands that would be perfect.

I suppose if it were left up to me I would serve them direct from the paper bag they came in.

15th June 2018

Saugatuck is a typical resort town. Lines of shops with immaculate window displays with products that very few purchase. It could easily be a film set of a place of perfect people, looking cool and doing nothing.

Taking coffee at Uncommon Grounds I see the imperfects, sipping their drinks and doused in the glow from their laptops.

Families feeding their offspring with unfamiliar food where they make the expression of a punched face. YouTube is full of these moments.

I am an observer, this is Small town America, I can blend in, until I speak. I make sure I pronounce all my vowels, slow and precise, just to let people that there are spaces between the words. Those that know me make those allowances, but often I sense, like at the traffic lights, they want to accelerate at top speed as soon as they can.

As you can guess Kelli is working at the bookstore, so I have a bit of time off to soak up the atmosphere.

This was Neocon week in the busy world of office furniture. My alerts, (yes I still have them) kept me up to date with the new products that HM are showing. Some are cool, as you would expect, others are classed as WTF products, who would buy those, and others are “sponge” stuff, new acquisitions to pad out the portfolios.

It is a clear indication how the market is becoming blurred, and soon products will consist of just the boxes that furniture used to be packed in. Now that might be a good business opportunity!!.

I helped Dave move a wall cabinet in his garage in the afternoon, it was as hot as Hades in there. It was held up with long nails that made me hotter, trying to get those buggers out. Eventually with sweat dripping off my nose I got it down. I had to move a tool cabinet that was so heavy I swear the casters were locked. This was the best king of jobs to do on a hot day, but it got done, and I was happy to help.

I Cycled back and started work planing the wood we found yesterday. All was going well until I hit a nail buried in a plank. I had just replaced the blades a few days before, what a shit!

14th June 2018

A woman’s peripheral vision never ceases to amaze me. I have learned a long time ago that just driving past a house, the curtains, wallpaper, furniture and ornaments are all observed in just a blink of an eye. Today Kelli was out doing errands when she spotted a furniture piece, and two pallets of timber that was down a turning nearly a quarter of a mile away. She texted me what she had spotted, then drove back to pick me up. From the description I did know the area, but even I had trouble spotting it from the road she was on.

There was an old pine work bench and piles of old boards of different thickness and widths, but all very useful. We loaded up the truck, and Kelli was excited with some old painted planks she had found. I kidded her that when I ran all the wood though the planer it would remove all that old paint, she was not amused.

The old bench could be transformed into a kitchen island, so another freeby is on the job list.

12th June 2018

The wedding invitation arrived today, and as expected Kelli was excited. I can see there will be a fight as to who will write them out.

However, I think I will let her do it, it will be better than broken bones.

We picked up a free cabinet this morning, and it was a dog. As soon as we got it home I realised that there was nothing to work with apart from some wood bits framing the doors, and even those were not real wood.

The mosquitoes have been sampling my blood again, bastards!

11th June 2018

Once the rain stopped the lawnmowers come out. I haven’t noticed it before, but everywhere bloody mowers are going up and down. Big trucks with trailers pull up with mowers on them. The other day two trucks pulled up, a guy unloaded a mower, drove round the corner, ten minutes later he put it back on the trailer, and the two trucks drove off. What was the sense in that? There is a consistent stream of garden maintenance companies that work in the area, okay it is season related, but from spring to fall they must make good money.

We sold a dresser that we had been working on since I got here, the lady turned up, we loaded it in, got the dosh, and waved goodbye, that the way it goes.