Another Lifetime to go

22nd July 2024

It was the day of commissions, two came in, one is painting a bed frame, the other is stripping and refinishing an old mid century Grundig record player.

This is going to be a fun job, the customer bought it from a seller on marketplace who had painted it black. It had all of it’s guts taken out except for the radio facia.

I looked on line and found the exact same model in original form, that was commanding a significant figure of nearly a grand.

I also had my hand down a dog’s throat. This is not something I look forward to every morning, but sometimes these thing have to be done.

I was aroused by a desperate call from Kelli, thinking she had cut herself or trodden on something sharp I rushed into the house to find her on the couch with Phoebe on her lap.

She had been chewing on a dog treat and somehow got it jammed between two teeth and partly down her throat. In obvious distress I forced her mouth open and saw the obstruction.

The next problem was how to remove it as the object was a bit slimy and difficult to grip.

Kelli found a pair of small pliers, and as I held Phoebe’s jaws open, she attempted to pull it out.

After several goes she managed to get it out, much to my relief and the dog’s

A chap turned up to collect the coffee table, and I had fun stripping down the desk that we got a few days ago.

I had to go and repair the piece we delivered yesterday. A slither of wood came off as I pulled the dresser out of the truck.

As they weren’t that far away I decided to ride my bike.

When I arrived, the lady opened the door, I apologised for the issue, she then told me that the top drawer would not open. Oh no, I thought, I tried pulling it hard, but it was stuck, I tried pulling it really hard, I thought I would tear the front off, but it didn’t budge.

I got on with the other repair.

Once the new paint I applied was drying I tackled the drawer again. I deduced that it might have got jammed during the moving. I could see two points that looked as if they were the problem, a sharp pull down moved the drawer slightly but not enough to release it.

Asking if the lady had a putty knife, I was able to lift the other side, then it pulled out.

I kissed the floor with relief. I could now see where it had stuck and sanded the area until it slid in and out without problem.

So a successful event, it was now time to return home.

As I was riding along south shore drive I was overtaken by a real cyclist with all the gear.

Not to be outclassed, I turned on the power, I was gaining on him, reaching eighteen miles an hour, when out of a driveway rode a young girl, without looking, pulled right out in front of me.

I had to take emergency action, slamming on my brakes I avoided the collision. She was still unaware of the potential accident she could have caused, she carried on as if nothing had happened. By this time the other cyclist had disappeared into the distance, so I turned my attention to the person who pissed me off.

I was gaining ground, the whirling of the motor I hoped, would put her under pressure and possibly make her fly off the path, but no, she turned at the next turning, damn!

21st July 2024

It was great to have people round and to get the grill going. The weather was perfect, hot with the occasional breeze, just right to have a burning furnace blasting your face.

We had our friends Chris, Jill and manic Morgan who we hadn’t seen for ages.

I managed to cook chicken, sausages and a couple of burgers without charring them to a crisp.

Earlier we had to do some last minute touches to the heavy dresser we were delivering today.

Some staining had appeared on the side panels, and needed refinishing. I sprayed over them with a spirit based primer, then once dry, Kelli repainted them.

Getting it into the truck was difficult, we had to asked the big guy across the road to help.

It was a short distance to the drive for delivery, and equally difficult to unload, but once it was in position it looked great.

However in getting it out of the truck, a small piece of wood had broken off, we didn’t realise this had happened until we got a message from the customer, luckily it broken piece was still in the back of the truck, so I have to go round tomorrow to fix it.

20th July 2024

We decided to have a gardening day, some of the bushes have got a little bit out of control, so I gave them a hair cut.

We’ve had some plants eaten in the front garden, either by rabbits or deer. Kelli dug them up and replanted them by the pond to see if they come back.

It was a pleasant change to do something different, clipping the forsythia was quite therapeutic, and having done a lot of that between here and the cottage in Bradford on Avon, I’ve become quite an expert.

It was also a pool day, calming looking at the blue skies watching the aircraft flying overhead, possibly heading into Chicago, maybe from Heathrow.

We then took a drive to see Elaine who had a project for me. She had sent a picture of a decorative feature she wanted on her porch. She had a pair of gorbels attached to the supporting posts, and she wanted something to link them together. We chatted, and agreed a direction to proceed with. This isn’t a fantastic money maker, but it could be a fun job to tackle.

We also sold the big heavy bastard dresser, we plan to deliver it tomorrow.

It was also the fifty fifth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

There is a strong feeling over here that the whole thing was an elaborate hoax, I still like think it happened, an event of that scale is too vast to fool the world with far too many people who would have to keep it secret.

19th July 2024

Today we experienced the flaw in Marketplace.

If a seller fails to change their location when they move home it can lead to utter confusion.

Kelli intended to purchase three wicker screens that we could use as a background for taking pictures in the winter time.

She entered the address she was given into the GPS and off we drove. We followed the instructions but there was no house with the number we needed.

A quick message to the seller cleared up the confusion. Although his old location was Holland, he actually lived in Saginaw one hundred and fifty eight miles away, so no we were not going there.

It does get confusing when the same street number appears for many different towns, you have to be vigilant.

Fortunately we had to deliver the children’s hutch to a house on the north side. Whilst I was there I helped the small lad to fix his pedal tractor where the chain had dislodged. Pleased with my good deed, we headed off to pick up a free desk to collect that was also on the north side ofHolland.

We managed to finish the coffee table before the draw of the pool was too great.

18th July 2024

It was a typical Thursday, the refuse truck trundled down the street gobbling our rubbish and leaving our bin like it had been mugged.

Larry, who had just returned from a hospital stay was walking slowly towards his jeep, no doubt going on his cigarette run.

It wasn’t so hot today, but good enough still to work outside. Although the summer feels short, being just three months long, I do enjoy wearing just shorts and a tee shirt, my legs have never been so tanned.

We were working on a coffee table, I have lovingly stripped and restrained the top, and prepared the base pieces for painting.

Kelli did the honours whilst sitting on her wheely seat, shuffling from front to back, she is the painting robot.

Then we took a ride on our bikes, something we haven’t done as regularly as we should. We stopped at an old friend of Kelli’s who she calls Baker Dave as he used to be the bread baker at a local Italian restaurant we used to frequent, sadly no longer there.

Baker Dave is a collector of old tractors, which is evident by the number he has in his back garden. He is also an avid collector of all things big and rusty. His large back yard is full of objects of all kinds, from old farm equipment to spur gears. He has great plans to do things with them, but he would need two lifetimes to realise that.

17th July 2024

I am amazed how my wife’s political position has changed so drastically. Four years ago we watched the Biden’s victory over Trump as a triumph, but slowly all that changed. Everyone knows how corrupt politicians are, and often they don’t try to hide it. Most of them sit on millions of dollars, which certainly doesn’t come from their salaries. Top of the list is Joe Biden, his fingers have been in so many pies he could open a bakery.

The pandemic brought into sharp focus the lies and censorship from his administration, it’s now all plain to see, but the secrecy is still there.

She could see how the Biden family were all in it, taking bribes from China and Ukraine thinking more about themselves than the county. His words were hollow, he quietly wanted more power, but there was someone who stood in his way, and that was Donald Trump.

Kelli is one hundred percent behind the man. She believes that he will dismantle the corrupt parts of the government that add no value, he is the outsider, and that’s why they hate him so much.

Biden has lost, he is too old, his faculties are disappearing, he can no longer talk coherently, and his decline will only increase.

I stand on the sidelines, watching, and listening.

It is expected that Trump will return to the White House, it is going to be interesting what the Democrats or the deep state will do next.

We did finish the large dresser, it’s is solid and therefore heavy, getting it off the trolley to take pictures is a task and a half. So without crushing my feet we got it into position and took the shots, then it was just as difficult to get it back on the trolley.

16th July 2024

Kelli called the vet to get some advice on how to help Phoebe with her wound. They suggested antibiotics which should clear up the infection. It looks bad with a noticeable hole in her shoulder not unlike a blow hole on a dolphin.

It was a strange day, humid, making drying of the paint slow.

Our neighbour from across the road came over to ask us why we called the police to complain about his lodger. He had a loud vehicle, and left every morning at five thirty. Kelli tried to explain that we didn’t, and hadn’t been affected by it, but he didn’t want to listen, he had his say and walked away. I went after him to further explain, but he warned me away. I was not taking any chances, with the number of people that have concealed weapons, and can use them if they feel threatened, I wasn’t going to push it.

There was a weird feeling, I don’t want to fall out with anyone over something we didn’t do, but Kelli later messaged him and defused the situation.

We have continued with our nighttime Tai Chi session, this appears to help Kelli sleep better, I hope it is, touch wood.

15th July 2024

The skies were noisy last night, storms hitting us during the early hours, we heard them, even felt them, but we slept through it.

The humidity was high when I let the dogs out, like the blast of heat when the oven door is opened.

We had breakfast in the sunroom, then planned the day.

At the top of our list was a trip to the range, our first on our own.

Picking up some training rounds from the local hardware store, and drove out into the wilds.

The car park at the sports club was empty, I used my entry card for the first time.

It was nice to have the place to ourselves, and between us we fired off just under a hundred rounds. Kelli did better than I, her grouping was more central and mine was biased to the right.

I need to try to over compensate to the left a bit more to see if that makes a difference.

I did manage to skin my thumb because it was not in the correct position when the carriage slammed back. I must remember that next time.

We were out for just over an hour, and needed to get back to get some work done.

Club rules stated that we should collect all the brass casings and place them in a container, then we headed home.

During the evening Kelli called to me to come and look At Phoebe’s shoulder. For many months she had a hard lump under the skin. We did have her checked by a vet who wasn’t concerned, he said that it might reduce over time.

Well what I saw was nasty, somehow the lump had opened up and some horrible stuff was oozing out.

I had the job of cleaning out the wound, Kelli was not feeling good looking at the goo I was pressing out. At times I was using tweezers to pull thick muck out, and all this before dinner.

Phoebe handled it very well, it must have hurt, but she didn’t snap or growl.

Well that was the excitement of the day, and the anticipation of more thunderstorms was still to come.

14th July 2024

The story that everyone in America has been talking about was the attempt to assassinate Donald Trump.

All the media does what it always does is speculate and regurgitate. They were having a field day, calling on any “expert” they could to beat the story to death.

What this has shown how close America was to a civil war, in fact, about half an inch.

This is because has tried every trick in the book to stop him running. From his court cases, and the financial strain, death was the only option left. It is a sad reflection on America and its politics that this is even considered.

What this had done is effectively handed the future presidency to Donald Trump.

We had to drive to Hudsonville to deliver a dresser, a pleasant drive ending in part of the new suburbia, an estate of perfectly crafted houses, landscaped to blur the edges of newness. There is no old charm about these developments, all the concrete driveways are the same colour, the lawns are flawless, with no grass variations at all, but, they bought our dresser, so hurray!

We also sold the small dresser that we finished yesterday. I had to rush to fix and polish the top before they got here. The customers had bought a couple of things before, so we are always glad to see them again.

13th July 2024

Another hot day, we had breakfast using up the last of our eggs, so a ride down the road to see if the chickens had laid anything for us, was necessary.

Riding a bike in this weather is bliss, the air is warm, only cooled by increasing the speed.

Of course Kelli rarely has the correct choice of clothing, it’s either too hot or too cold, this time it was okay.

We were disappointed that there were no eggs there, so we turned around and went back the way we came, but continued on past home and on to the next portion of our ride, to Dollar General.

These are the cheap stores I hate, and I don’t know why, a lot of the items cost a lot more than a dollar, but there is crap stuff that is. Kelli loves the place, she can get dog treats and her shampoo and also in this case, bird seed. She was also tempted to buy a new floatation device for the pool, and was even more delighted when the cashier announced that she could get two for one, oh joy.

We stopped off at the cemetery to check on the flowers on Dave’s grave. It’s sad that no one else seems to bother, we try to keep some colour going.

Then it was back to the house. We finally sold the dresser that has been hanging about, but the inside of the drawers were a bit tatty. To tidy them up we had some self adhesive lining paper that I carefully cut to size.

Now I hate fitting this material, it takes so long to fit without getting air pockets, and I was trying so hard. I think it took me half an hour to fit three pieces, thank goodness I did it inside where it was cool, because I was getting very hot.

Que for getting into the pool and having a soak.