Another Lifetime to go

29th June 2024

It was so humid today, as soon as I open the door to let the dogs out, I was hit by a warm cushion.

This makes it difficult to work in, without drowning in a pool of sweat.

I managed to get a lot of wood cut and glued up, but the thought of painting anything was out of the question.

There had been a heavy storm during the night, and I had expected the temperature to drop, but no such luck.

We had nowhere to go, nothing free was available, we didn’t even unload the stuff we got yesterday.

The media is still expressing shock and dismay at the performance of the eighty one year old President, they are pathetic, the poor man has been deteriorating for months, and suddenly they come to that conclusion?

We managed a float in the pool, that is so relaxing, even though movement is limited it’s still great and refreshing even for a short time.

Then there was a bike ride, the sore bums still persist, but the exercise is doing us good, I keep telling us.

28th June 2024

Yet another free dresser hunt, fortunately local.

It was left on the side of the road along with a coffee table. Now our history with those is not too good, but we took it any way.

On our way through we did see another dresser outside next to the rubbish bin. We took another look on our way back. It looked okay but would require a new top. When Kelli rang the bell, apart from sending the dog inside into a barking frenzy, there was no reply. She scribbled a note and tucked it into the porch door, telling them that we would take it away, but late into the evening there was no call.

Kelli had a difficult night, she kept waking and giving difficulty getting back to sleep.

I mentioned that we were in a good night followed by a bad night sequence. We analysed what she had to eat that could possibly be the cause. We had learned that certain foods digest at different times, usually in the early hours, which corresponds to when she wakes up.

We noted that we had beans in our dinner, these could have been the culprit, we have to monitor progress.

The frog in the pond continues to bring amusement, this morning we found him sitting between the legs of a frog statue that we place on the side of the pond with its legs in the water. So we had a frog on a frog, can’t get more poetic than that.

27th June 2024

This evening I sat though part of the Presidential Debate, two old men bickering almost incoherent. I really feel sorry for Americans because this is the choice they are given.

I learnt nothing from it, I heard nothing about how they will help the working classes.

They desperately need a third option, these old duffers couldn’t even answer the questions they were asked, it was embarrassing television.

On a more productive note, Kelli had a list of places to go to pick up things.

First stop was to pick up some cushion covers, oh yes cushion covers, how many cushion covers do we need? Apparently a few more.

Next stop was to pick up a free dresser.

There was a precise time that we had to be at the address, we got there a little early and waited.

We waited a few minutes when out of the corner of my eye a car flashed into view, almost immediately it shot into the driveway, almost causing our truck to shake.

After a short pause, and after my eyes focused I saw the signage on the side of the car, it was for a driving school!

A large black lady got out smiling, she ushered us into her house, the dresser was in the bedroom. It was a gloomy place, not much light penetrated. It was a heavy piece, and large, like so much free furniture that we’ve had recently.

We removed the drawers and as much loose stuff as possible, that made it possible to move. The first obstacle was getting into the hallway.

Standing it up on end solved that. Once that was cleared it was a lot easier, however once we were outside, the sunlight stung our eyes, and we negotiated the rest of the way by instinct.

It just about fitted in the back of the truck, the drawers were placed on top, we closed the doors and drove off to the next port of call.

There was a quilt to be collected, where from?

It was not down the road, it was not a couple of miles away, it was near Hudsonville!!

I gave Kelli a bit of stick over that, I didn’t mean it, but she is alway quiet where there are things to collect from out of town, but it was a sunny day, and we had an early start, and we would get back relatively early, so what the heck.

26th June 2024

It was a difficult night, Kelli had difficulty staying asleep, not something I have a problem with, but what effects her affects me.

After waking at four thirty, and staying awake until seven, she did grab another hour which did relieve her frustration.

We had shopping to do, and we needed our wits about us.

I managed to get some eggs down the road, so breakfast was more than a pile of dust.

All this set us back, but we managed to get some pool time in, and I did get some wood machined.

Not everyday is a landmark, some we have to take stock and take things easy.

25th June 2024

The heavens opened up in the early hours, the darkness illuminated by flashes of lightning, the boom shaking the ground. That lasted for many hours, the rain, in torrents ran down the road filling the lake.

I went early to the paint shop to get a mixed colour to match the current window paintwork.

After breakfast I headed off to my day job, picking up the paint on the way.

I repeated what I did yesterday, ringing the doorbell, then entering the code and opening the front door, then shouting, no response.

I got on with the living room and kitchen, then climbed the stairs to work in the bathroom.

I applied the primer then turned to walk downstairs.

As I reached the stairs I could look in to the main bedroom, there stretched out on the bed was the daughter fast asleep. What is it with this family?

I didn’t feel comfortable in this situation because I had to work in the bedroom, and I certainly wasn’t going to do it with a sleeping teenager in there.

I had to do several coats of the colour matched paint, which went on like thick cream, it was good paint.

I heard a rumbling from upstairs meaning there was movement, and it went into the bathroom, typical, another delay.

However this did allow me to move into the main bedroom and paint that sill.

I planned to do the boy’s room last, because I wasn’t sure of his whereabouts either.

Whilst I was washing my brush out in the kitchen sink “the ghost” appeared in the larder grabbing some food and scampering down the stairs to the basement like a frightened rat.

I struggled with that lack of manners, I believe a lot of children have problems with interactive skills, they remain loners, full of anxiety and loneliness, I was shy as a child, but I wasn’t that bad.

24th June 2024

And now for something completely different.

I had a couple of days set aside to do some site work, and no it was not furniture.

I had given an estimate for repairing five window sills where the paint was flaking off.

When I looked it over I thought the inside window surround was MDF, but when I got down to work I found it wasn’t.

The material quality of new homes over here is shite. The skirting boards and window trims are coated plasterboard, that is what I found when I started lifting off the loose paint. Now I had to be careful that I didn’t damage the paper outer layer.

This was my worst nightmare, and I worried that I wouldn’t get the smooth finish I wanted.

I had allowed myself two hours per window to prep them, and the first one took easily that.

The second was in the kitchen, that was not so bad. I treated the exposed edges with a thin superglue that would harden and allow me to sand them without wearing them away.

I gave window one a coat of shellac primer and as I finished the kitchen window, I gave it another coat. My plan was to get as many coats of primer I could so I could sand it smooth.

Window three was the main bed room, this was bad and it used up another two hours.

Before I arrived I was told the lady’s son would be at home, but she gave me the code to unlock the front door.

I rang the door bell, but no one answered, so I let myself in, shouting out a warning as I entered, but still nothing, so I got on with the job.

After the bedroom, I had some lunch that Kelli had prepared.

As I sat munching on my sandwich, the boy appeared, it frightened the life out of me. He said very little, just drifted through the house like a ghost, and then disappeared again.

I returned to the task in hand, peeling off the loose paint, sanding and priming.

I left the job with only the bathroom to do, all the scraping and filling done, priming tomorrow.

23rd June 2024

I still can’t believe that I’m here sometimes, and also where we live. I know we have had the police in the street, but compared to some, it’s paradise.

The weather is still up and down temperature wise, but still nice to sit out in the garden whilst the grill heats up. The garden looks good in its wild state and I can hear the fountain slashing about.

The next door neighbour is practicing his basket ball, a little too much if you ask me, but that’s his gig.

We did a bit of running around, and I did a bit of cutting first thing, but apart from that, a work free day.

Over breakfast we were listening to a pod cast that shed new light on the state of American politics, it’s now getting to the point that it hurts my head trying to understand what these people are saying. It is either the most complex country, or it’s all crap. It is said that the Democrats will try anything to stop Trump being elected, because he will dismantle the entire establishment. It is said that the United States is a business complex, and the politicians are just a front ( but becoming very wealthy). Shadowy individuals from large corporations are running the country, that may be true for most countries of the world, but it’s all too scary.

More information is coming out about the Covid lab leak, and many believe that bird flu is being engineered to create more vaccines dependents.

Honestly, do they think they can try this again? That the majority of people are so gullible and take another experimental pathogen that could kill them, I’ll take my chances with bird flu.

22nd June 2024

I should not have a beer at lunchtime, it wrecks me for the rest of the day.

It started off as a normal day, we were picking up some free paint from a house close to home.

It was advertised on a Free site that Kelli follows.

We have done this a number of times, and we’ve been lucky with the colours, this time there were eight quart sizes and a box of one pint tins. Look out for some funky furniture coming up.

We stopped off at Menards for some bird seeds and other materials then drove back.

As we pulled into the drive, my phone rang, it was Lloyd. The said that they had the money for the furniture we were doing for them, and if we joined them for lunch they could hand it over.

This was a good enough reason for turning around and returning to the town.

We found them sitting outside of the Carragh, the Irish pub, we’ve frequented many times.

The temptation for a Speckled Hen was too great.

We had a fun time, as usual, the money was handed over, like a suspicious drug deal, this was over the table, not under.

By the time we had finished our lunch, it was late afternoon, all my plans for the day lay in ruins.

I needed to do something, so I decided to clean the pump in the pond. The fountain had disappeared a while ago, there was just the odd blob of water that would emerge from the nozzle.

Not wanting to disturb the frog I carefully lifted the pump, it felt horrible, coated in green slime, I carried it to the bench and stripped it down. The filters were definitely blocked, but a good wash made them useable again. Reassembling everything, I lowered it back into the pond, the frog sat on a rock watching the whole operation.

The cable was connected back to the solar panel, unfortunately there was no sun to fully tested, but with what light there was did cause a bit of activity, so I’m optimistic there will be a lot more activity once the sun comes back.

21st June 2024

We had to drive to Hudsonville to collect a piece that we will convert into a coffee station. We had been asked a while ago but our new friends Lloyd and Nancy to look for one.

That had bought a lot of furniture from us because they were moving from Florida back to Holland and we’re starting from scratch.

So when this piece appeared on Marketplace Kelli jumped at it. It had a hinged down top section and three drawers beneath, just perfect for a coffee station.

It was another hot day, humid and cloudy, it was a pleasant drive to Hudsonville and the item was waiting outside. It was heavy because it was a melamine chipboard which is not our favourite, but with good primers we get good results. The drawer fronts and hinged flap were wood which make it easier and a bit more durable.

When we got back we jumped straight into the pool, but the sun which was shining, went behind a thick cloud bank, and we didn’t see it again for several hours.

I had some timber to cut up and size for a future project, nothing was done on any furniture.

Instead it was time for a bike ride, we ended up at Kollen Park watching the boat people do their pointless pottering up and down the lake. It’s like me cycling up and down the driveway, they are going nowhere, so it’s a big waste of time.

20th June 2024

We delivered the pair of matching side tables that we had for ages. These usually fly off the shelves, but not these.

Finally they were sold last night with the offer of free delivery, a ploy that had worked.

We also had acceptance of the estimate for the repair to the window sills, I will do that next week.

I had another go at the CD player, taking it apart once again. There seemed no logical reason why it doesn’t work, this is a mechanical problem, but there is a micro switch that is attached to a circuit board on the front face panel. I will put new drive belts on it to eliminate that problem, but if it’s the switch that is faulty I’m. Not sure what I will do.

I met up with Lloyd for another chat and a beer, this is a fortnightly event now, and I look forward to it.