Another Lifetime to go

29th February 2024

I was hoping that the temperature would be on the way up, but getting into the garage it was still bloody cold. It made me snappy because the glues wouldn’t dry, and would fall apart once the clamps were released.

In the end I had to use epoxy that solved the problem.

Then I had to repair the footboard from the bedframe that we picked up yesterday.

A rail had snapped in the middle, so the first task was to remove the two pieces from the frame and decide on a way of joining it back together.

I saw that the uprights were dowelled though the tenon of the lower board, ah! I thought, I will drill those out and splay it out to remove the broken parts.

Well that was done, but it was near impossible to remove them, even hitting them with a large rubber mallet did not move them.

I sat with my head in my hands, and then I noticed there were screws on the underside. That’s why the bits didn’t pull out. Once removed, it was easy, and then the next job was to join them back together.

My only option was to drill for a large dowel and epoxy adhesive to join it all.

With a bit of tricky alignment and a bloody long clamp I got it all together again, and left it to cure for the night.

We finished early as we had a dinner arranged to meet up with our furniture friends John and Patti.

We went with our favourite Irish pub, I was looking forward to more Speckled Hen.

28th February 2024

We had to help Greer and Dylan move from Allandale to Grand Rapids. I remember helping do the reverse a year ago.

They had changed their minds about buying the static caravan and decided to rent an apartment and try to save towards a house.

Fortunately Kelli and I were not doing the heavy work, we would be at the apartment moving stuff in and trying to unpack for them.

Interwoven in that plan was the collection of a headboard from somewhere in Grand Rapids. I was then sent off to do that job.

Armed with my new phone and GPS I set off. Well it wasn’t quite in GR it was a long way out.

I followed the route, leaving the outskirts and heading into the unknown. I drove cautiously along this road lined with trees until it ended with a sign that read, Dead End.

Oh shit! What should I do now? the GPS didn’t help, the only thought was to retrace my steps and see if I could find the address.

Luckily I saw the house number painted on a wooden board nailed to a tree.

The house was on the top of a steep driveway which I was advised to reverse up, which I did.

After meeting the owner who was eight feet tall, I loaded the headboard and frame into the back of the truck, and proceeded to drive down the hill, and back along the scary road.

By the time I got back Kelli had emptied all the boxes and we both waited for the rest of the stuff to arrive.

Then the fun started. Box after box was unloaded, then the furniture all being squeezed into a two bedroom apartment.

We stayed as long as we could, the Kelli sprung another surprise on me.

There was a free bed also in GR that she wanted to collect. At least it was on the way back, but with the weather back to winter it was not a fun experience trying to load a bed frame that was a little too large for the truck, but with the back door held closed with a bungee strap we finally headed home.

27th February 2024

It was voting day In Michigan, moreover it was selection day for the Republicans and Democrats to determine what bunch of crooks have a run at the White House.

I have become so critical in recent months of the dirty tricks used to pick the candidates.

Kelli has turned full circle in her political views, after voting for Biden in the last Presidential election. There is so much that has emerged regarding the backhanders he’s been getting, and how the censorship surrounding the scandal involving his son. The border situation and the financial support for Ukraine and Israel have sealed his fate in popularity. If he wins this time it will have been fixed.

On the other side is the bloated orange crook who seems to be winning all the state’s despite his criminal and civil indictments. His popularity is growing exponentially at every turn, it is almost a certainty that he will return to the White House unless he has a fatal accident which is the only thing to stop him.

I’m keeping my head down on this occasion, it’s going to be a real shit-show.

26th February 2024

There was a lot on our agenda today, I had a dental appointment, so Kelli dropped me off on her way to Plato’s to sell more clothes.

I was a little early, so I sat in the waiting room.

There was an elderly couple already waiting.

The lady looked like an indigenous race whilst the man was weighed down by the large black cowboy hat, it must have been heavy because he needed a stick to help him walk.

They were muttering as I was watching a commercial about medical insurance. This was on a continuous loop, and it was driving me crazy.

The lady was the reason the couple were there, the man kept telling her not to try to pull her tooth out. She then shouted back that she wasn’t. This exchange got louder as he kept repeating himself. It got a little embarrassing.

I was trapped between an arguing couple and a repeating commercial.

Then the subject changed, the old guy then thought they had been forgotten, believe you me, they were not forgotten, maybe ignored, but not forgotten.

Eventually a nurse called them in, poor girl, she had no idea what was she was let in for.

I continued to wait, it must have been the tenth run through, I knew it off by heart.

Then it was my turn, I was led into a treatment room and laid down on the couch. It was reclined until my eyeball filled with blood. Fortunately it was just a cleaning, but it still hurt.

Once that was over I just had to pay the bill.

I was given the total at the start of over four hundred dollars. I asked what that included, apparently it included fluoride, which I didn’t want. I discussed it with the hygienist who agreed to reduce the double flushing solution to a single one, so that brought the total down to a hundred and sixty nine dollars, a bit more acceptable, but how much is that flushing solution?

All the while Kelli was out doing stuff, and not ready to collect me, so I decided to walk to Starbucks and wait until she was ready.

Well, she was obviously doing something interesting because I was waiting there for a long time, my blueberry scone and coffee had long gone, and I was scouring my phone for anything readable. I was there so long I should paid rent.

Then she arrived fresh from Goodwill, we then had to go back to Plato’s to collect her money.

In the back of the truck was the long dresser that we were due to deliver to Zeeland.

We arrived at the address, a flat above a bakery, but there was no sign of the buyer.

Apparently he worked at Herman Miller, and after Kelli messaged him, it appeared he was tied up in meetings all day, no surprise there.

Why he didn’t tell us before we drove all the way to God’s town? Not very happy with him.

However the day wasn’t wasted, we did collect a dresser, a little worse for wear, but it was free.

25th February 2024

With another good night behind us we tackled the large dresser that Kelli had sold off plan.

The customer wanted it black ( there seems to be a trend for the dramatic colours) Kelli loaded up the spray gun and she was off. Once all the painting had been done it was down to me to put the wax oil on the top. There is a lot of physical effort in applying that finish. It has to be rubbed well into the grain, and then buffed to remove any surplus, it plays havoc with the fingers.

At least it was warmer than yesterday, so the door could be left open.

We have two pieces that will leave us tomorrow and one in the truck to get out and start on.

The issue of the laptop was playing on my mind, but rather than to jump and go crazy, I will wait.

I have another laptop back at the cottage that I will bring over, that has the same software, that might be the best solution.

24th February 2024

It was a much better night for both of us, I slept like the dead, not a long one, but deep and restful. As the early sunrise lit up the room, so our spirit lifted, this could be a good day.

The cold weather had returned, a sprinkling of snow overnight was not a surprise.

After a good breakfast and a twenty minutes bumbell exercise we were ready to start on our jobs.

First was to complete the dresser repaint commission, then we wanted to prime the other long dresser that Kelli managed to sell “off plan”

This was the one with the plastic moulded drawer fronts.

The cold slowed down the drying process, but we managed to get done what we wanted to do.

On top of that Kelli found another free dresser that we had to collect, fortunately it was close so didn’t take long to get there and back.

Then it was a quick walk with the dogs and then back to the warmth of the house.

I had plans to do some CAD work, but the laptop would not open up. That was a bloody drag as I had started a project and saved files to the hard drive. I’ve had bad luck with technology, not sure what to do next.

23rd February 2024

No amount of pillow patting and repositioning was going to improve the forthcoming nights sleep. It was horrible, just four hours of disturbing slumber, we were fortunate to get that.

I was due to see Kelli’s doctor this afternoon, but with all this night upheaval I gave my appointment to her, because her needs were greater than mine. I just knew we couldn’t carry on this way.

The appointment was later in the day, so I managed to do a bit in the garage.

We got to the surgery early, a quick Look around Goodwill and then into the detail.

He already knew what her problem was, and also mine, mainly because I was falling asleep in the chair.

He hit a pressure point on Kelli’s leg, she let out a shout, he gave her a capsule to place on her tongue and did the same test again, this time there was no response.

This all pointed to the liver. The answer was GI Stability, a supplement that tasted of rotten sprouts. She had taken them before, but with the recent bount of antibiotics plus the tetanus jab, it was giving her organ a bit of a bashing.

The test will be tonight.

22nd February 2024

It’s not getting much better at the moment, sleep eludes Kelli again, I almost hate bedtime.

She finally went off to sleep at 3.00am and awoke at 7.00am, meaning we both got four hours. Despite that, it was a sunny day, and I had plans for a productive day.

There was a story about a dresser that was advertised on Marketplace for twenty five dollars that Kelli responded to. She asked if they were fixed on the price. The reply from the seller was “Yes, isn’t it cheap enough” a curt response, and then they blocked her. That doesn’t happen very often, although we’ve done it a few times.

Anyway this morning I found the posting, but the price had changed to “Free”, so I responded.

After a while I notice the posting was now “ Pending”. In the meantime Kelli, using another account had a response that if we could pick it up within the hour, it was ours.

Now breakfast was on the go, so I had to go solo.

I drove to a storage facility on the North side. Kelli had written down the code to get through the gate, so I punched in the numbers, but up came “invalid number” I tried it again, but the gate would not open. Luckily there was someone coming out, so I sneaked in whilst the gate was up, a flaw in the security, I discovered.

Driving around the rows of lock ups, I came across the person who was selling the piece.

It was six feet long, which is the maximum length that will fit in the truck, but taking the drawers out made it a bit easier to load.

As soon as I got back home breakfast was ready, I needed that.

Afterwards I was keen to inspect the piece a bit closer. It was a good make in America, very thick looking drawer fronts typical of old traditional dark stained furniture. Kelli noticed that the front face of the front with all the thick details was a plastic moulding. I have come across this before, but I was really surprised that a reputable manufacturer would use this method, and get away with it.

This was the first job, remove the plastic moulding, with a lever and some wedges I was able to ease the moulding off. It was held on with nails, applied through a plywood drawer front panel, which was in decent condition.

With a few nail holes filled, the plywood now becomes a neater drawer front, which will transform the piece.

21st February 2024

It was an early start to the day, not that we intended it, Kelli woke first, and couldn’t get back to sleep. We heard the neighbours leave around six thirty, by which time it wasn’t worth even trying to get more sleep.

We had the weekly shop to do, not that it needs strength, but you do need to stay awake to pay attention the end.

It is alway a different kind of day when Kelli is not on her game, the craziness is not there, it’s like the sun is behind the clouds.

It didn’t help that the Dyson was playing up again, and that needed stripping down and removing the hair that gets wrapped around the rotating brush. I’m getting quite good at taking them apart.

I did a bit of work in the garage. I succeeded in replicating a bit of broken trim with some modelling clay and Bondo. I made a mould with the clay and packed in the Bondo. Once it cured, I peeled away the clay to expose a perfect pice of trim, once that is bonded to the drawer and painted, no one will be able to tell.

20th February 2024

We finished the Jackson Pollock, posted it and it was sold within a couple of hours and picked up. Now that doesn’t happen very often.

As Kelli was getting it ready, she commented on three drawer bottoms that were a bit dodgy. There had been a self adhesive sheet in the bottom that she removed to reveal a stained plywood floor panel.

I had just over an hour to remove and replace. Fortunately I had some ply to make two and then scratched around to find material to make another. With a cool head I did the job, and the dresser was ready to collect.

It was just as well that it was a warm day, 49 degrees C, almost tee shirt and shorts weather, that helped.

To get that sold and out was a great boost, now we have to finish the commission piece and another long dresser, that needs a lot of work, it should be good for another day, so the garage door will remain open.