Another Lifetime to go

30th January 2024

Now that a lot of the snow has gone, the next task is collecting all of the dog poo. For a number of days it was impossible to find them as the snow fell, but magically they appear in a halo of receding snow. It’s like they emit heat to melt the surrounding area, fascinating.

It was a miserable day, it was misty over the lake, it felt cold but the thaw continued.

There were branches and twigs appearing on the front lawn, broken by the weight of snowfall.

Everything looks a mess, the grasses flattened, the bamboo bent, I can’t wait to go out and tidy the place up, when it’s warmer of course.

Kelli made a start on the dining table.

The thing in itself was heavy and awkward, I had sanded the legs, and under frame. The top was a laminate, so we agreed to paint that, and then seal to protect it.

29th January 2024

I hate that bloody dresser, I had been wrestling with that bugger for two and a half days.

Fitting the drawer fronts tested my patience and my ability to remember bad language.

I finally got them finished as best I could, and we dragged it outside to get pictures.

Kelli had attempted to remove snow from the area next to the fence, but bless her, it was way outside of her comfort zone.

I made a large cleared space with the snow blower, but moving that beast was difficult. The solid wood drawer fronts made it impossible to carry it, so we reverted to the trolleys that was a bit of a risk, but we did it, took the pictures and posted it.

Next on the list is a table and chair set that has been sitting in the garage since October, hopefully it will be less taxing and a darn less work.

28th January 2024

It had been eight days since I contacted O2 regarding the unlocking of my old iPhone, and I hadn’t heard anything.

This morning I thought to myself self that I should try to find out why it hadn’t happened yet.

I hit the app on my phone, and straight away I regretted it. Dicking around I eventually found the chat section and clicked on that. Up came all the conversation that I had all that time ago, but was that any use today? Bloody no!

I had to repeat everything again, phone number, full name, what the problem was, I had blisters on my fingers. I had two people trying to help me .

First it was Manisma he/she was on there long enough to see all my information, and then after a long time Siddhesh appeared.

He/she asked me all the same questions and after an hour announce that my unlocking would occur within Seventy two hours. This was the same timescale I was given eight days ago. I am truly annoyed at O2, the customer service sucks, and their app sucks, so as soon as my contract ends I am considering changing providers.

In between all this time wasting we had a couple come to collect the mid century style dresser he seemed to have for ages. That was a welcome relief.

I was then attaching the drawers to this other large dresser with the strange drawer fronts, boy that is a bastard. First I had to reassemble each front that was made up of three separate pieces then I had to position it within the carcass.

I was hoping to finish it today, but this is definitely a two day job.

27th January 2024

We had to collect a free dresser, I have started to shake at the thought at what we might find.

There it was outside waiting for us. the owners didn’t have the courage to come out and present it to us.

“Welcome to our home, here is the dresser, it’s a family heirloom, built by my grandfather, sorry about the missing drawers and broken rails, got drunk last night”

What was left seemed okay, it had bad paint, but nothing that can’t be fixed with a lot of prayers.

We managed to get it into the truck and headed home.

The dogs were pleased to see us, Kelli has started putting cosy winter scenes on the TV. They have snow falling and fires crackling with cool relaxing sounds, sometimes jazz or lounge music. I would love to see the dogs greet us wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette, it’s that kind of vibe.

I started to rebuild the large dresser. I had to fit roller slides instead of the broken ball slides, that was not as easy as I thought, but I resisted rushing and made some jigs for consistency, wow, I’m talking like a professional.

It was fortunate that I had four pairs of the roller slides from a previous piece that we had to scrap, but I had to use two ball slides to complete the job.

26th January 2024

Stacy, our interior designer final came round to see the finished kitchen. This was the project she did little of apart from finding the worktop supplier that messed that up. Anyway she came to have a “nose” which was okay, of course we had to tidy everything away so that she could see the worktop.

We did some work on the long dresser, Kelli painting the carcass and sealing the drawer fronts.

The snow is slowly melting, some of the piles on top of the patio furniture have shrunk by about twelve inches. It will be just our luck that just as the last bit of snow disappears, more will come the next day.

25th January 2024

The two pints of Old Speckled Hen went down a treat with Bangers and Mash. Talk about an English meal, although it was an Irish themed pub, it was still great.

We finally arranged an evening out with Scott and Karen from down the road. Scott often stops to see what we are doing, sometimes he brings me stuff from his mother’s house, that belonged to his father. He is over six feet tall, and has a few health issues.

“I died last night” he once told us “but my pacemaker kicked in and I didn’t know anything about it”

Now I didn’t know that a pacemaker was supposed to do that.

“ The only reason I knew” he said “was the doctors office phoned me up and told me”

Apparently they monitor his pacemaker, wow! They do that here, what else do they listen into.

Some say that fridges send information back to the manufacturer sharing details of food usage.

I think ours should, but as we don’t speak Italian it doesn’t understand us.

Scott has other issues, like the time he passed out in his car and crashed into a tree, that was the start of his heart issues.

I’ve asked him to tell us when he’s out and about again so that we can stay home.

Karen is a graphic artist, she sketched all the time and some of he drawing are so detailed, if you stand still long enough she’ll draw on the back of your head.

It was a fun evening, Kelli managed to find out their political leanings, alway a good idea avoiding treading on dangerous territory. Of course once you start the conversation, you can’t stop them, so it’s time for, another beer.

24th January 2024

The conditions outside are pretty awful, with rain and melting snow it’s very wet. The roads have deep puddles and it was unpleasant going anywhere, so shopping day was a trial.

But we got through it, although a lot of the shelves were empty. Now I’m not sure if it is the apocalypse or just the weather, but it was depressing. There were no grapefruit, our staple breakfast treat, the Black Forest bacon was gone, and the shelf for the thin salmon slices was empty. All in all our food mission was dismal.

We did manage to pick two bags of Ein flour that were still on offer. I was surprised because Kelli had told everyone about it, but there were only six bags left, then what will happen?

Kelli had more things to take to Plato’s, another two bags of things she no longer wears, but she did find some jeans for me, so I got three pairs for a lot less than a new pair.

Whilst they were sorting through her stuff I went for a coffee. I usually have a blueberry scone with my drink, but this time they didn’t have any that thawed out from their freezer, but they gave me a muffin instead free of charge!! Today America was the land of the free.

With all the various excursions, most of the day had gone, I managed to finish the last drawer front and Kelli was in the kitchen making a fabulous Lasagna soup with freshly baked buns.

That made the day worthwhile.

23rd January 2024

Well a thaw is underway. The gutters were dripping and the roads and driveway is all slushy, this is the worst time.

We didn’t plan to go anywhere, but that meant I could get on with the sanding of the drawer fronts.

We have re-started our weight training this week after the Christmas break, and Kelli’s injury.

I have been using the new eight pound dumbbells that Kelli got me for Christmas which means that Kelli had moved up to the fives.

Although each session is only ten minutes long, a lot of the instruction commentary is drowned out by our groaning. I am drawn to the smugness of the instructor, not an ounce of fat on her, but the smile on her face shows that she is imagining what sad saps are trying to keep up with the routines. I can tell you we use a lot of expletives directed at her.

22nd January 2024

There is one thing that gets my goat, when someone beats us down on price then asks for change.

Kelli accepted a much lower figure for the pair of matching side tables that we had for a while with few takers. We needed the space and she accepted and offer of ninety dollars. When the couple arrived they waved a hundred dollar bill and asked if we had a ten. Stupid me said yes.

As they travelled from Grand Rapids, I should have said no, would they have passed on the deal? I should have tested that.

We made a start on a large dresser that we got free a couple of days ago. It’s not a particularly quality piece with a label “Made in Malaysia” all the drawers had ball slides in various stages of disintegration, some had been replaced, but the cost of replacements would not make it profitable. We had some roller slides that, I hope will be good replacement. The drawer fronts we heavy, they were made up of three shaped blocks that were nailed to an MDF backer. The idea is to strip each piece and re-stain them, so a lot more sanding to come.

21st January 2024

I did another driveway clearing job after the big snowplough had cause a huge bank to close off our entrance. I’d also made a cutting so that the post man could get to our box, the snowplough man laughed at my pathetic attempt, and filled it back up with snow and ice. After many passes, and some replacement batteries I recut it. Now the bank is nearly two feet tall, but I felt better that I had made the job of the postie a lot easier.

I had to walk to the corner store to buy toilet paper. Now was my chance to get the good stuff and not the thin cheap stuff Kelli gets. There’s so much choice, from transparent (the kind Kelli gets) right up to paper you can make clothes from, that’s a little too thick. I chose the kind in the middle. The walk there was exhausting, I don’t know if it was the weight of the boots I was wearing, or the uneven surface of the in ploughed pavement, but it took a toll.

The walk back was even worse, and at the end of it Kelli was offended that I carried the toilet paper WITHOUT A BAG for all to see. Everyone knows what toilet paper is used for, clogging toilets.

We had Gill, Chris and Morgan over for dinner, always good to see them. Kelli made a chicken stew and baked some bread rolls to go with it. It was so good it was almost a shame to share it with them. Of course I don’t mean it, well, maybe a little bit.

We did sell the dresser that we posted yesterday. I had the pleasure of clinching the deal, which wasn’t difficult. Well I didn’t do anything, she said she’ll buy it straight away, job done.