Another Lifetime to go

28th February 2018

Kelli brought back a dresser last night from Goodwill that needed some work. So I started up the Bondo mixing machine. I fitted the new top to the coffee table base, then stained it.

The sun took the temperature to 50 degrees with meant working without a coat, which meant I would get my good clothes covered in sawdust.

We sold a big piece at The Tin Roof giving a reasonable month end, a relief because I had predicted a crap one.

Now with a few big things sold the race was on to replace the stock.

27th February 2018

It was knuckle down day, trying to get things finished. The weather was good and I could see the sky. I finally finished the Fifteen Buck piece that now looks great. We plan to deliver it on Friday to Grand Haven. That has been a labour of love rather than profit, but I’m glad it turned out good.

There has been consistent sales throughout the month, we even sold a piece at Act 11 Boutique, the place we are due to move out of this week. I encouraged Kelli to send the owner a text to maybe reconsider the situation, and I was surprised that she took my advice. normally the suggestion gets noted, placed on a shelf marked “Pete’s advice pending” and is never heard from again.

I took Kelli and Greer to new Holland for dinner. Greer had the hots for one of the waiters who looked like a cross between a hillbilly and a lumberjack. He had a beard that could soak up a pint of liquid, the crusts from a pizza, and still look stylish.

26th February 2018

There was a drought in the whole of Holland. We went to two Goodwills and a couple of thrift shops, and there was absolutely nothing anywhere . It was like the furniture fairy bought up all the good stuff, and left the crap.

The day started with Breakfast with Dave. We went to DeBoer’s Bakery, a Dutch restaurant on the North side of town, it was a bright sunny day, but cold as a bankers heart.

It’s always good having time with Dave, his dry wit makes me laugh. When we announced that we were getting married, he said that he would not give his permission because I didn’t have a job!

Things got a little tense, as it was decided that we would pull out of the Act11 Boutique, not by choice, but because of some over reaction by the owner. This was in response to a request from Kelli about the length of time she had to commit to keeping her furniture in the place. This was seen as confrontational, and the owner took exception to this. We were not really concerned as there was very little activity there. Anyway it prompted a bottle of red with our dinner, Bethanne joined us, which lifted the spirits as well as the wine glasses.

25th February 2018

One of the wedding ideas is a beach service on the edge of Lake Michigan, so we drove down to take a look. There is the issue of access, because although the beaches are public, you have to cross private property to get to them. That is when the crazy ideas surfaced.

One was a D day style landing, one with horses, and another, care of Kelli’s brother Matt who suggested a funeral style with me being carried in a pallet wood coffin, and set down, then Kelli would lift the lid and let me out, I thought it was a cool idea, but the consensus was rather cold to that concept.

Kelli still spends the evening scrolling through Pinterest, at this rate she’ll soon be suffering from RSI.

24th February 2018

Kelli was unhappy with her hair, so had arranged to go back to have it fixed, she returned, the balance was returned to the galaxy.

I had plenty of things to do in the garage, the balance did not affect me at all.

I had to thickness timber for a coffee table. If I had a cup of coffee for every coffee table I have made, I’d spend a lot of time on the toilet.

The fifteen bucks unit is nearing completion, although we’ve nearly doubled that buying the knobs and paint.

We had dinner at the Saugatuck Brewing Company, tonight’s entertainment were a three piece that played music to fall asleep too. The guitarist looked like he had lost the will to live which matched my mood exactly.

The topic of conversation is all about the wedding, exploring different venues, I can see I will need to get Kelli a big book to store all the ideas in.

23rd February 2018

There is something vaguely unsettling sitting in a hair salon waiting for Kelli to emerge. Unsettling because her hair is precious and has a preservation order on it, any disaster would disrupt the world order.

I couldn’t stand the suspense, so had to leave to search out the nearest cafe. Lemonjello’s was the nearest, but is often full of Hope college students glazed by the glow of their laptops.

It was my lucky day, I found a table and slowly sipped my cappuccino catching up on the progress to my cottage. It looks like most of the big jobs will be completed next week, leaving me with all the rubble to clear away when I return. Friday is when the invoices appear, so always a twinge in the bank balance.

The visit to the salon did not go well, she insisted on wearing her nazi hat home afterwards.

The story of the nazi hat goes back many years. Kelli wears a cap anytime she is not happy with her hair, which is most days. I started calling this cap a nazi hat because it was army green just like those in the old war films. I guess It started after watching the famous “Fawlty Towers”, “Don’t mention the war” episode, anyway it stuck.

I guess I understand that the hair style you come out of the salon with is not your real one, and you can’t wait to get home and wash it again, yep! It’s the same in America.

22nd February 2018

Happy hour at Perredies was packed, with cheap people eating cheaply, with us included. I had never been to one of these before, and we met up with Kelli’s friend Bethanne, and boy when these two get together they can talk for America. I do not always understand their language, it is a blend of giggles, in-breaths and tv quotes. It is so much fun being in their company

There is so much laughter, it is like being in a foreign country, and no sub-titles. For twenty bucks you got a bottle of house wine and a meal. Later, the waitress brought us an opened bottle of wine left over from some other diners. Well, waste not want not, we assisted in finishing it off. The wine was good,and went straight to my head, I was swaying, and everything was really funny. When we eventually left, two hours later I had a craving for peanuts, so in between chilling in the big chair, and nodding off I would be chomping on nuts leaving the dogs to find the ones I had dropped.

There is something mildly erotic about being asleep when a dog starts licking the salt off your hands, mmmm, far out man!

21st February 2018

We have someone interested in the “fifteen buck” piece. This project has been going for ages, I started it during the last trip, and finally I had a vision of what I thought it needed to be, but that has now changed. Instead of a experimental piece that stood in the face of conversation, it will become a piece that someone will actually buy. Not that I’m complaining, but I was looking forward for something a little different.

More things were flashing through Pinterest. My peripheral vision was blocked, and my full vocabulary was “nice”, “I like the back” and ” would you need to wear a vest under that?”.

I have entered the woman’s world of infinite choices, where the wrong “yes” could mean instant death.

We want a non religious ceremony, so should we find a Druid, a Witch or a vampire? Kelli is on a roll, she is trying to find a beach, and a minister with a speedboat.

This is going to be the best time, it may piss with rain, but it will be the wildest experience I’ve ever had for a long time.

20th February 2018

The rain was pouring down, the roads were awash and Kelli’s basement got flooded.

I have heard about this happening, but this was the first time I have experienced it first hand. At ten thirty in the evening Kelli, Greer and myself were mopping and baling frantically, so the pumps could push it outside, only for it to soak back into the basement. Eventually we won the battle, and I sank into the big chair exhausted.

Earlier in the evening we met up with John and Patti at a restaurant in Zeeland. They make, and repurpose furniture like us, so a lot of the conversation was comparing notes. Secretly we see them as rivals ( in a friendly way) because they make, and sell furniture that is really expensive, and the stuff just flies out the store.

19th February 2018

Back up to Hudsonville to replace the items sold. The small table that I repaired was still drying in the back of the truck along with a dresser that Kelli had repainted. The weather was terrible, rain was melting away the snow, which is a improvement, but it make driving tricky. Once at the booth we saw the devastation, when one big piece goes, its controllable, when two or more goes it’s like “We’re closing down”.

This is the opportunity to move everything around, yippee!

I brought in the small table, we were fraughted with the dresser, because the back door to the truck had jammed. Panic ensued, it was too large to get out through the back doors. With a struggle we established that a corner of the blanket covering the dresser had wedged in the door lock. A sharp tug and a lift of the door solved the problem.

Once the move around was finished, the booth space looked good again.

We stopped off for a coffee on the way back. The Starbucks was a small booth inside of the Family Fare supermarket, when we got there the place was deserted except for a sign that said that it was closed for a short time. We stood around dumbstruck, re-reading the sign just to make sure we read it correctly. Just then a guy turned up and started switching off the lights. He saw that we were waiting, and although he was closing for the day, he served us. He was friendly, he had a mop of green hair and an armful of tattoos, not the kind of person you expect to find serving in a Starbucks, but he made a good cup of coffee.