Another Lifetime to go

18th February 2018

I removed the top from the small table, and stripped the paint of to see the condition. Under three layers it was Mahogany, it had split along a joint so the repair was a simple job. Whilst we were having the usual Sunday lunch at Kelli’s parents, I ran both the pieces over the planer in preparation for another non work day jobby.

In the evening, Kelli was back on Pinterest, this time looking at cakes and flowers. More pages flashing cakes of all descriptions and colours, it re-enlighten a craving for sugar and cream that I thought was gone forever. There were so many flowers and bouquets that if I suffered from hay-fever, I would have been sneezing all night.

So this is how it goes, the fuse has been lit, Kelli is building her book of lists, the dresses can fill volumes, whilst what I am wearing nearly covers a single line, including socks, so that’s me set.

17th February 2018

Another non working day, another frantic scramble for furniture to finish. The dresser that we delivered of Friday sold quickly, it could have sold three times over. The activity started last night because Kelli posted it on her Bristol Cottage Facebook page, and was generating interest straight away. One lady who was talking to Kelli arrived at The Tin Roof just as someone else was carrying it out to their car.

That then drives Kelli into frantic mode, she quickly repainted the dresser she took out, and delivered it back with the paint still damp.

Of course there was slim pickings at Goodwill apart from a small table that needed some attention to a split in the top. Kelli, as always find small stuff that makes up the bulk of her sales, I don’t know how she selects the pieces. When I look, I just see junk, so I stick to my job, and leave the treasure hunting to her.

The went to the Saugatuck Brewery for dinner. It’s a cool place, and we have our favourite veggie burger and fries. We started with grilled sprouts, which are surprising good and didn’t come with the normal after effects, well not until I was outside. There was a guy playing guitar and singing, we both noted that most of the songs he performed were written, or sung by dead people, except Neil Young, so expect an announcement soon.

16th February 2018

More drop-offs today, including a fantastic dresser that was FREE! This is the best kind.

Kelli worked her magic with the paint brush. I made a new top from an old maple headboard.

On the way to The Tin Roof we had to stop to get some handles. The Hobby Lobby is a regular place that we go to find furniture fittings. All we needed were three handles with five inch fixing centres. As we scoured the shelves, which had little choice, trying to find handles that met the specification was really difficult. I thought that five inch centres was a standard, but I wasn’t thinking about Chinese five inch centres that measured four and three-quarters. None were the size we needed. Things were desperate, the only option was a rope handle, so three of those ended up in our basket, and we even had to scrounge some fittings from other handles.

We fitted them once we got to the Tin Roof, and they looked a little different, they matched the paint effect with a nautical flavour.

We picked up another dresser that had been there a long time that Kelli wanted to repaint, so flexing my muscles hauled it into the truck.

15th February Thursday

The ripple effect from yesterday’s announcement washed around Kelli’s family and friends like a tidal wave.

It had been a long time, since I was in this position, I was a little unprepared, for the attention, although the hugs and champagne was rather nice.

One of the tasks of the day was to take a new piece to Act 11 Boutique. It had been in Greer’s bedroom for a long time, but it no longer suited her needs. Other things that she had collected through her early teenage years was consigned to the donate pile.

The dresser was well constructed having been converted from an entertainment centre, all that I needed to do was make a new back panel and it was ready.

We dropped it off, then went to Tin Roof to pick up Kelli’s volunteer work that she has to commit to every month.

The evening was spent chilling, as Kelli flicked through endless screens of Pinterest looking for wedding dresses, it was like my life was flashing before my eyes, page after page, like an endless gambling machine.

It is heart warming for me to see the smile on Kelli’s face.

14th February 2018

Well I went and did it didn’t I.

We had dinner at Perredies and I managed to attach a post it note to the inside of the wine list, but instead of opening it up she put it to one side, the suspense was killing me.

The emotion filled the room, so much so that most of the people left, to make space for it.

13th February 2018

Imagine the scene in black and white with a piano clanking a nineteen twenties backdrop.

Dave, Kelli’s father, called to ask for some help to move a table top that he had refinished, from his basement workshop to the kitchen.

When we both got there he was still trying to fit the skirt to the top. He was attempting to align the screw holes with little success. ” We need to move it round” he proclaimed, so we proceeded to rotate it hoping to find the correct placement. First it was ninety, then one hundreds and eighty degrees, and eventually we were back to the start. “That’s it he proclaimed!”. Kelli looked at me with a smirk.

The next job was getting it upstairs. Kelli at the top, me at the bottom, both hoping that we didn’t scratch the top surface. It was bloody heavy, but with a few medieval oaths uttered we set it down on the kitchen floor. The next part was to fix the round legs. Dave inserted the first threaded stud into the hole, whilst I attempted to fit a washer and nut at the same time, I couldn’t get the nut to run up the thread, it would start, but then jammed. I was starting to doubt my ability to do such a simple task. Kelli then asked if it was the right nut, there was silence. Dave ruffled around in his pockets and pulled out some old style Square nuts ” these are what was on the legs before ”

He was trying to fit newer hexagon nuts with a different thread, as these didn’t work, he went back to his workshop to find more of the square nuts. Meanwhile I decided to remove a piece of the under structure to make the assembly of the legs easier. I proceeded to remove some bloody big screws holding it all together. In total there were eight of the biggest screws known to man. As the last screw fell out, I discovered that Dave had also glued the piece, which made the whole activity a waste of time.

However it did allow him to find the original nuts, so we proceeded to fit the legs.

With a final piece of strength we managed to move the table into position. I thought that the job was done, but no, next I had to place anti slip pads under the little wheels of the table legs. Just as I finished doing that, Dave decided to move the table, out popped the wheels from the anti-slip pads. I repeated the fitting, and stood back ready to leave. Again he moved it slightly, and again the wheels popped out.

“Why don’t you decide where you want the table?” I said in a desperate tone. Finally he decided on the final place, and I refitted the pads again. Both Kelli and I were exhausted, it had taken over an hour, and we were desperate for something to eat.

Drained of any energy, we both got in the car and headed home.

12th February 2018

” Your ass has just broken one of my cool green birds” Kelli shouted.

The sound of splintered pottery had just faded, and it was true, my backside had just caught one of the pair of green birds as I was getting up from fixing the chair leg.

What could I say? The tiled floor offered no forgiveness, there were two large pieces, and the rest reduced to dust.

I felt that I had destroyed a Ming vase. ” I will try to repair it” I said in a feeble voice.

” I’ve had those birds for ages, they were really cool” Kelli said in a saddened tone, as you would speak of the dead”

“If they were that cool, why didn’t they sell ” I muttered quietly, or possibly just thought, I can’t remember which.

The booth was a bit dark, the original string of lights had died just after Christmas, so we drove to a local store to get some more. We found some on sale, so we bought two packs.

Whilst I was up a ladder hooking them up I managed to dislodge a shelf that had various other items on it. I acted quickly to save as many things as possible, I did not want the day to be known as “The Painted Farmgirl massacre”. I managed to stop most of the pieces falling, but I could not move, the world was in perfect balance, and I was at the centre of it. Eventually Kelli came to my rescue, and slowly the pieces were set aside. There was not much damage done, and I was able to refit the shelf, properly this time, and everything re-sited as they were.

As we then turned on the new lights, the effects were a little underwhelming. There was glow that resembled a firefly’s ass, but it was better than no firefly’s ass.

However we did bring the first furniture piece that I had a hand in. This was a small table that I made a new top for, a heavy little beast that would resist even my invading backside.

“You need some boots for this weather” Kelli announced. Of course she was right, but I had been avoiding it until I would be spending more winters here. Quick as a flash she was scouring the interweb for boots for a giant.

Up popped a listing for a pair of used ones in Zeeland. I wasn’t privileged to the details of the collection, but I left it in her capable hands.

We arrived at the address, and there on the porch were a pair of size twelves.

Kelli walked over to pick them up, hid the money under the mat, and carried the boots back. That was so trusting, and I hope we had the correct address otherwise there would be someone looking for the boots they left on the porch to dry.

11th February 2018

Sunday is the time when we visit Kelli’s mum and dad for lunch.

The morning is a frantic time for preparing separate food that doesn’t contain any dead animals. Kelli always does an amazing job of creating a wonderful vegan feast.

Of course that doesn’t apply to the rest of the food offer.

The lunchtime gathering today consisted of Kelli’s children, Cameron and Greer, and her brother Matt and his wife Brenda.

At the other end of the table was a plate of steaming ham, at our end a bowel of peanut noodles and Asian salad.

It can be entertaining for an English person to sit at the table of an American family where everyone holds different religious and political beliefs, and not talk about them. I often wait for something controversial to arise, just so I can stick my nose into, one day it will happen.

10th February 2018

We headed to Lake Odessa for a barn sale about one hour away.

The snow had been falling again, and by the time we got there the sale was in full swing.

We didn’t know what to expect, generally they fall into two categories, some are overpriced tat, others hide little gems. This fell in between, but Kelli knew the person who was running it so there was a supportive nature to the visit.

We were looking for galvanised buckets or tubs for our commissioned piece, surprisingly there were some that were a bit more than we were prepared to pay, but with a couple to token purchases we left, and decided to explore the town close by.

There were several Antique markets in the Main Street which contained a labyrinth of small stalls selling even more expensive nicknacks.

Saturday evening seemed like a good excuse for a bottle of wine, not that we needed an excuse for that.

There were more episodes of Downton to plough through, but I came out the other side with a more pronounced accent than I had before.

9th February 2018

More snow fell last night, the icicles hang like daggers from every gable and gutters. The novelty of winter is wearing thin to the locals, and I am wearing thick, clothing to keep my little English body warm.

Started on a new project, a dresser that we were given. It had a laminate top that had to go.

Spent a large amount of time looking for a screwdriver that I “put down” looked everywhere, eventually found it wrapped in a cleaning cloth.

Is there anyone out there who could develop an app that can find missing tools?

It was interesting to see HM stock lose $4 off it’s share price, maybe Trumps economic strategy is beginning to kick in.