Another Lifetime to go

10th March 2018

It was a day for the family, I hadn’t seen Ethan for a few weeks, and was excited to see how he’d changed.

I was warned he would be a little grumpy, but undeterred, I wanted to see the little fella.

Damian had just returned from the Geneva Motor Show, and with flight delays, and motorway maintenance he got home at five in the morning, so wasn’t at his best.

Ethan let his mood show as soon as I arrived, he hurled his Postman Pat van across the room. This was followed by most of his other toys, and any attempts to pacify him was met with burst of incomprehensible words, and more toys becoming airborne. It is times like these when I remember when my own boys had their moods, there was never any point in getting angry, unless they broke something valuable, it was letting them vent whatever was troubling them.

Patiently I rebuilt the farm, and collected the animals scattered around, placing them in the scene. Ethan would watch, and attempt to decimate everything again. I would divert his attention to the train set, and slowly his facial expression changed from the intense frown to a slight smile. I was recreating my own childhood playing with his toys and making car noises. I could have spent the whole afternoon playing by myself, but in the end he was back to his old cheeky self, stuffing the animals into the barn whether they would fit or not.

I love the opportunity to get away from the crazy world, and just for a brief time indulge in a place of innocence.

9th March 2018

I didn’t remember how heavy concrete blocks were until I had to move them. The first task was to separate the limestone slabs from the blocks, then transport them to the end of the path in my green cart. I stacked them against the wall ready for disposal next week.

Once this is done there is little work of me to do, but soon I will have the task of carrying bags of cement, floor levelling compound, plaster boards, and bags of plaster, up the side of a mountain, apart from that, job done.

Further down the terrace there are other builders doing renovation work, they have a dumper truck to do all their carrying.

That takes the fun out of gasping and wheezing, and also straining my undercarriage. I suppose my approach is a more vegan style of rubbish moving. No mechanical equipment, no skips and no bacon and egg rolls, the way I choose is for a more heathy form of death.

8th March 2018

Gavin the electrician turned up to start the first fix. Most of the dirty work had been done on Tuesday where more dust had been created, so this would be a more sensible day……….no chance. I was working upstairs thinking that any minute the drill bit would burst through the floor board and into my foot.

My job for the day was to remove the skirting boards from the bedrooms. These were the originals, that would date to the late fifties when the place was modernised. They were held in place by one inch diameter wooden plugs inserted into the stone. As I was prizing the boards off, the wooden plugs pulled out as well. These were quite long, and with the knowledge that the dividing wall was only four inches thick, I was afraid that the skirting boards next door could be attached to the same wooden plugs. I then expecting my irate neighbours to be banging on the door asking why their skirting boards had fallen off, but so far all was quiet, and I haven’t heard anything.

Gavin left the downstairs rooms resembling a jungle, with bunches of cables hanging down like thick creepers. It had been a day of decision, ” where do you want the sockets, switches and lights?” A constant bombardment of questions that I had drawings and sketches to answer with, but many that I hadn’t considered. Modern regulations meant I had to have master switches for nearly all appliances. There will be neon lights everywhere, the kitchen will look like a command centre, but hey ho that’s what money is for.

7th March 2018

I spent a lot of time removing the vinyl floor tiles from the kitchen. All credit to Dunlop flooring adhesive for sticking the buggers down so well.

I couldn’t remember sticking them down originally, mainly because I was “high” on the fumes. There was no need to indulge in cannabis or LSD, when you could experience floor glue in a confined space.

These were dispatched to the recycling centre, and the floor was now ready for levelling.

I went to a quiz night with Ryan and Louise, it was a fun experience, and confirmed that I was utter crap at it. Although I got a few answers correct, I successfully convinced the others to change their correct answers to my incorrect ones. I’m sure we might have won if I had snorted the floor adhesive before we started.

6th March 2018

Kelli is a canny individual, she made a trip to Goodwill and spotted an unusual table. The place was quite busy, so to make sure she staked her claim on it, she peeled the price tag off and scurried off to pay for it. There was a long queue so as she slowly moved down the line, she caught sight of a lady loading it into a cart. She shot off, dripping venom, and challenged this woman who was no match for the lashing tongue of a determined West Michigan gal. With super human strength, she hauled the table out of the cart, and carried it to the checkout. There was no diplomatic solution, just a “Give it back to me bitch!” Kind of resolution. Oh to be a fly on the wall for that spectacle.

By the end of the day she had it stripped down and oiled, and ready for the store.

Phew! Actually I wouldn’t minded being that table.

On a different note, I had a wonderful evening at the Mint Rooms with my favourite people. A good curry always works wonders for my constitution.

5th March 2018

This was the first time I could see the changes that had been done to the cottage whilst I was away. The job had been done well, but there was a big pile of rubble waiting for me.

The day consisted of me making multiple trips to Trowbridge to dispose of it.

I am convinced the builder purposely filled the bags extra full, just for a laugh, as lifting them made me grunt like a Russian wrestler, and as the bags had been around for a couple of weeks, they were a bit smelly as well.

4th March 2018

The plane landed one and a half hours late, and it couldn’t even be bothered to get to the terminal. Instead it stopped in the wilderness and the passengers were bussed in, leading to more delay, and frustration.

I was unlucky to have a middle seat, between a lady who was reading the bible, and a tall sleeping Algerian who invaded my space.

I wanted to ask the lady when the sequel was due out, but I kept quiet in case the big guy might be listening.

The Algerian kept complaining about the heat to the cabin crew, they promised to turn it down, but in the end he got up and changed into a pair of shorts, so I had the pleasure of his naked legs rubbing up against me.

I tried to sleep, but no luck, the food was okay, but I thought British Airway’s selection would be better. The breakfast was so bland, I can’t even remember what it was supposed to be.

Terminal 5 is a soulless place, it heightens the feeling of emptiness that I get when I walk along endless corridors. I miss my Michigan life, it is a rollercoaster of craziness that has become my new norm. It will take a few days to get back into the groove, more dust and dirt, but each day is one closer to the finish.

As the plane came in for landing there was no sign of the snow that I had been following on-line, so the journey back was quick.

The lack of sleep made the drive back to my sister’s house a little tricky, I had to result to singing out loud.

3rd March 2018

The good part of today is that the bed frame that we brought to The Tin Roof yesterday at 5.00pm sold at 10.15 this morning.

From the moment Kelli posted it on Facebook there was immediate interest.

The not so good was this was my last day, so had to head off to Gerald Ford International for the long haul back to the UK.

We took Cameron, Kelli’s son along to keep her company for the drive back to Holland. This is a difficult time for her, as saying goodbye is such an emotional time.

So many changes have been made to the terminal recently, it is modern and airy, and better equipped for flight delays than before.

As I sat at gate B8 awaiting boarding, there was a scruffy guy with a laptop playing a game with a heavy metal music soundtrack, not even with headphones. The manic noise pulsed into my ears, without me being able to recognise any tune. It will be typical that I will have him the whole trip, if that is the case that laptop will have to be removed from his arse.

There is one thing that annoys me when the return flight is with another carrier, and that is there is no control over my seat. The I am at the mercy of the ticketing staff. As this flight is full it is unlikely that I can have my usual isle seat.

That really sucks, most likely I’ll be stuck between big people.

2nd March 2018

The task for today was to paint and clear coat the Queen size bed, that had been stacked in the entry way for a few months. This had been promised for today, so we had our work cut out to get it finished. I hate applying the clearcoat especially to black, because it shows up all the brushstroke, and all the places that have been missed.

We managed to get it to The Tin Roof before it closed, although there wasn’t a place to fully assemble it.

I cleaned the garage, and put away any tools that wouldn’t be needed, and I found things I had lost.

I was checking to see if my flight was still okay for tomorrow. The weather reports were a bit sketchy, and the American and British Airlines Webb site showed no delays. I had texted my son, who was going to collect me from the airport, if he was able to make the journey. He replied that provided he could get up the hill the rest would be easy.

I will check first thing in the morning.

We had dinner at Perredies, and there were a few guys that insisted on wearing caps. Now I was always told that wearing hats indoors was rude and disrespectful. One guy in particular, I’m curtain had a cap that had a full days sweat soaked into it. It has to be a sign of pure laziness, he couldn’t be bothered to wash his hair, and make himself presentable. I can imagine he showers and sleeps with his hat on. His mother wouldn’t recognise him if he took it off, his cap is his real identity.

On the way back, Kelli spotted some furniture stacked at the side of the road, this is a lot easier to get than breaking into the house and stealing it. We cased the joint, drove up and down like a bunch of drug dealers, before we pounced. Kelli checked out a large wooden chest, whilst I was the look out. She tapped the car window, I jumped out, and we manhandled it into the back of the truck, and sped away.

Thinking about it I should have borrowed that guys cap as a disguise.

1st March 2018

What’s on the list to do today? The coffee table was finished and loaded into the truck. I finished the repair to the new dresser, so that is ready for painting.

As I get closer to my return flight to England, there is always the feeling of missing all the madness that’s here. I go back to another madness, but it’s not as interesting. Here I interact with many different people, I freely raid Dave’s plywood stock, and so many know me around the neighbourhood.

I won’t hear the dulcet tones of Justin Hayward, and Forever Autumn, for a while, shame, it’s a good song.

Talking about madness, Trump is keeping the crazy average up. I am addicted to listening to the stuff, I am waiting for any sensible senators, both republican and democrat just to both agree that this guy is f***ing off his head.

I know I have lots of rubble to dispose of from the cottage, and the first fixes start next week, but often I’m doing it on my own. The employees at the recycling place are not friendly, they just bark at you if you use the wrong container.