STEEL TOWN BLUES

I've really enjoyed my time in Hamilton but I am so looking forward to getting back home & back to the bush too. The past 2 weeks have been spent renovating my brothers kitchen & spending time with his family & friends down here. We've all put in some long hours & a lot of effort to see this job through so that the cabinet installers could perform their work on schedule. They began yesterday & should be finished up today. The granite counter top will be next week sometime, so I think I may install a temporary top made from some leftover bits of plywood for them, before I go, just so my sister-in-law will have a surface to work from. She's been great all through this & hasn't had a kitchen now for almost the full 2 weeks. All meals have been take out for almost all of this time as well so I had them pick me up some yogurts for myself, to try & balance my diet a little better while I'm here. Other than that, it's all good!

My brothers family from left to right;
Chad, Laura, Jasmine, Sheila & Mike holding their grand baby, Alexandra, Christine & Leah.

I robbed this photo above from my brothers computer desktop. It's a great picture of his entire clan!

As for photos of the job we've been performing, I only took a few & forgot all together to take any before shots of his old kitchen, but from what I do have, a general idea of this job can be made...

LAPHROAIG Scotch!

 Let us first pay homage to a great way to begin (end), any day! This Scotch bottle held here by my brother, Mike, is one of the better Scotch's I've been introduced to, by him, and we, Mike, my brothers friend & neighbor, Fernando (Ferny) & myself, made short work of it, one evening before all of the old kitchen was removed. This Scotch has a very distinct, smoky flavour & I really, really, enjoyed this drink being shared with these  people!

Ken & Ferny preparing my brothers shower for new tiles.

 Above is a picture of another of my brothers long term friends, Ken, assisting Ferny with some tile backer board going into the old shower opening. Ken & Mike have known one another since they were in their early teens & it was really nice to see this guy again after so many years.

Fernando applying the grout to Mike & Sheilas new ceramic tile floor.

Mike is cleaning the grout from the tile surface after allowing it to set for about 20 minutes.

A barren room.

A shot from the new archway we installed.

Ferny finishing up with the grouting of the new tile floor.

Another shot from the new archway opening up the kitchen to the dining area.

The cabinets are being installed, as I type this out, now!

The new cabinets are from China.

The installer is putting together a wine rack that will be built into the new island.

Part of the island assembled & some of the crown moulding
installed to the upper cabinets.

Upper cabinet corner units are at a different height than the others.

The kitchen island partially assembled.

 I have to hand it to my sister-in-law. She really does deserve a medal for what she's had to put up with these past couple of weeks!

Sheila runs a daycare for children from baby to however old & manages to look after 5 children in her home, 5 days a week, all year long. She has been in the child care business ever since coming to this country from Scotland, when she was a beautiful teenage girl & still maintains the friendship of every one the children she has had a part in raising, since that time. This woman, really is, the best!

Sheilas only kitchen for the time being!

 Her only kitchen for the past 2 weeks, has been the fridge & microwave which are now in the dining area & have to be operated from one extension cord. So we all have to be careful to make certain the fridge gets plugged back in, after using the microwave!

My niece, Leah & 2 of my sister-in-laws day-care children.

My sister-in-law, Sheila & my niece, Chrissy + 2 more kids.

Today is the 2nd & last day of cabinet installing. When the installers leave this evening, all cabinets, cupboards & the island, should be finished.

The cabinets are all custom made in China & then imported into this country to be assembled & installed. They are all made from solid wood & plywood products which are from Canada, shipped to China, manufactured there & then imported back into this country.

This may sound odd & I use to have a hard time accepting the fact that these products are not 100% Canadian, but this is the norm, now-a- days. China will, no doubt in my mind what-so-ever, become the new super power &  manufacturer of most all products, to the rest of the world & we have to accept this fact. It's already well in that direction & there's little we can do to prevent it!

Because Mike & Sheila have chosen a custom granite counter top, the manufacturer of the counter top, comes in after the cabinets are all installed & then take their measurements for the top. Granite is an expensive & heavy material to have to work with, so no mistakes can be made with the cutting & handling of this material. So, this also means a longer wait time, before their kitchen will be truly finished, but I know they will be very pleased with the final result.

Last night, as a special treat to all who assisted with this renovation, my brother & his beautiful wife, took us all out to their local pub & provided us all with everything we wanted in the way of refreshments & food & we all had the best night possible.

Kick panel strip lighting.

 This photo above shows a roll of the LED strip lighting that will be installed along the bottoms of the lower cabinets so to provide ambient lighting along the floor & the kick panels of all cabinets.

This custom lighting strip is only available from the manufacturer of these cabinets in China right now & not available anywhere else in this country. It can only be purchased through them & I just had to include a photo of it because this item really intrigues me.

The lighting comes in 16' rolls, can be cut any where along the strip at special cutting points, so to provide whichever custom length desired & is low-voltage LED. It has a special sticky tape backing that you just peel & then stick the strip(s) up below the bottom edge of the protrusion of your cabinets that allow your toes to fit & what catches my interest, is that it is low voltage & could very well be adapted to an off-grid situation, quite simply. If not for the price though. This lighting strip sells for something like $10.00 a linear foot right now. I think I'll have to wait for something less expensive!

Wine rack at end of island.

The new archway between kitchen & dining areas.

New cabinets are almost finished!

My brothers Hamilton home.

 My brothers Hamilton home has won several, several of the "Trillium Awards" handed out in that city, to homeowners who go out of their way to help beautify their homes & neighborhoods. I'm not entirely certain of how many of these yearly awards their home has won, but I do know it is in the range of a dozen, at least & quite possibly closer to 16 to 18. When they garden here, there are flowers all over the front of this house!

Fernys home is 2 doors down!

 While down here, I've had the pleasure of becoming better acquainted with my brothers neighbor & close friend, Ferny. Ferny's home is 2 doors down from my brothers house & is just incredibly beautiful inside & out This guy is from Columbia originally & is just a super, super, human being & I'm so glad that he is my brothers friend. He's that great of a guy!

A special reward to me from Mike & Sheila!

 My brother has decided to present me this bottle of Scotch for my assistance with his kitchen renovation & I'm looking forward to enjoying a "wee dram" from time to time!

Pussy Willow gone to seed already!

 Because of the high temperatures last week, the small willow trees in the neighbors yard have already gone to seed. It was so nice being spoiled with those warm days, back then, that now, even at single digit + temperatures, it feels so cold outside but, warmer days are soon ahead!

The small willows next door to my brothers home.

And now, right now, well into the afternoon, I am relaxing here at my brothers desk, without a concern at all for the rest of this day. This has been a great time. I've spent more time with my brother, these past couple of weeks, than we have since we were both children. When he does finally get to retire, and that time is fast approaching, we will be spending much more time together, hunting, fishing & enjoying life to the fullest. But it will be done up in my neck of the woods. I've enjoyed Hamilton, but am really looking forward to getting home!