Work With a View

 

We were given ample lead time for this job, but, the day we started it, we found out there were severe time restraints and deadlines. We had already started on a Saturday morning to get a head start. The floor layers were there and promptly informed us that we could only be one hour as they were 'floating' the wavy floor in preparation for laminate. The smooth set could only be walked on 24 hours later. So we hit it with a vengeance on Monday morning.  

 

There were some intense colours and the change from lime green was welcome.

 

The office was a deep burnt orange. There were six colours altogether. The living/entry was a deep rich red with black trim.

 

We finished about an hour after the final cleanup crew arrived, and the movers were parking their big rig at the base of the tower. We put up with loud saws, hammering, and very fine sawdust all week and were more than happy to get out of there. This was the third home I have painted or wallpapered for this client. We also hung some commercial vinyl wall covering in his restaurant. Needless to say that we like each other.

Watching With Wonder

     Watching American Politics has never been more fascinating. With every day that passes in the race for the nominations for the presidency, the stakes get higher and the citizens of the USA become more polarized.
    It is interesting that Bernie Saunders and Donald Trump, though diametrically opposed on almost all issues, are using the same tactics to gain support. It is the old trick of dividing and conquering with fear, alienation and anger. Donald with his dose of racism and Bernie with his 1% lament and diatribes against the wealthy. Each of them have their own brand of 'scary' if they should be elected. And heaven forbid we get another lying Clinton in the White House.
   To put things in a little bit of perspective, let us realise that so much of what we see is showmanship and manipulation of the electorate. Knowing what to say and how to say it is the key to winning over voters, especially those who are ignorant regarding the pressing issues that are often ignored in political campaigns. We saw a classic example of this in our Canadian election just a few months ago.
    But we must realise that the POTUS does not really run the country. The bureaucrats, congress, special interest groups, lobbyists, and big business with its deep pockets are who truly pull the strings behind the scenes. I recently heard Obama state that much has been done but there is so much to do. He was referring to his 8 years in office and his accomplishments. He had 8 years and there was still much to do! That says that he did not have the power to do what he really wanted, and it will be that way with the next president.
    But for me, the bottom line can be found in Daniel 2:21 where it says that God sets up kings and deposes them. That says that God is in control and if Trump (or Saunders) get in, it is not a surprise to God and he will use that for his purposes.
    So I would like to see the American people let democracy run its course. Forget the protests and attacks, and let the people vote for their leader. It is all orchestrated by God and last I heard, He does not make mistakes.

Tropical Island

 

It is always a bit of an adventure going to a new job to actually hang the mural before seeing the mural or the room it is going in.

This was a surprise because of the size. It was 12' wide but only 4' high. It fit quite nicely onto the wall behind the bar in this basement man cave.

 

I thought it was quite fortuitous that the light from the lamp hit the photo mural in just that spot, making it look like the sun was breaking out on the beach. It is a photo of one of the Maldives Islands. Being a cold and rainy day, this really made me want to go there.

As Solid As A Brick Wall

 

It would appear as though I could now add bricklaying to my many talents.

Yellow Roses

 

What a pleasant surprise it was to find that the mural we were to hang was a bit of a dream come true for me. With the advent of non-woven wall coverings, I was wondering when murals would be printed on this amazing medium. Well, now they are. A regular sized 12' x 8' photomural now comes in 4 panels instead of 8. The adhesive can be rolled on the wall and the panels put in place without any expansion, soaking, warping, twisting or stretching.

 

This German made product was simply the best. Because there is no soaking time, and because there are only 4 panels, the hanging time on this mural was not the usual 3-4 hours, but a mere 1.5 hours, which was mostly spent plotting and pre-trimming.

 

The colour and print quality is outstanding and the finished product is beautiful, with invisible, butted seams.

 

As a side note, I papered this entire townhouse unit about 20 years ago. The couple I worked for at that time have since deceased and the man of the house is actually buried right next to my Mom and Dad at a nearby cemetery. There have been two owners since and now that all the old wallpaper is gone, the murals are going up.

Entry

 

Over the last 6 months, we have totally re-painted this house, in bits and pieces. The big project was left for last, namely, the entry, stairwell, lower hall, and dining room. There was a time when I did all the ladder work and braved all the high spots. No longer. I leave that for those younger than me, but I offer danger pay. Ladders and scaffolds are not for the feint of heart.

 

We covered the two shades of gold with two shades of gray beige. The whole area looked so much cleaner, brighter, and expansive. The customer was thrilled, especially when we came in under budget.

Surprises

 

I would not normally drive as far as Ryder Lake to do a small job, but the customer said she had 22 rolls of wallpaper and the whole room was to be done. That is worth a longer commute.

 

However, her description of the room was not accurate. "Just a standard bedroom" it was not. The only accurate description was that the ceilings were 8' tall. The house was under renovation and there was no heat. There were window treatments that had to come down, shelves mounted on the walls, a full length mirror on swivel brackets, art work, drapes and rods, and a few other goodies. We thought at first that it could not be done in one day because of all the prep and the fact that there were three closets with wrapped drywall returns, two windows with drywall returns, an alcove with a round corner header, and 4 round outside corners which can be a real problem if they are not deadly plumb.

 

The one redeeming factor was that the paper was random match....no pattern that had to be matched, and it was non-woven, the best and easiest paper to hang.

 

By noon we were half done, and by 4 pm we were out of there. I was delighted and surprised. Too bad the light and the photos do not show off the beautiful silver shimmery pattern on the paper.

Gold

This was an exotic glittery gold wall covering that the client ordered on-line. It took longer to figure out the pattern match than to hang the paper. 

Fortunately for us, the seam fell exactly on the wall mounted TV bracket and we went around the TV in no time flat. 

I thought this might have looked fantastic going around the whole room. But that would have taken another 25 rolls and would have broken the bank. It was a rather large room. 

A Touch Of Italy

 

Our first two jobs of 2016 were mural installations. This one was in a master bedroom on the wall facing the bed. It was an 8 panel mural and was 12' wide x 8' tall. It did not quite fit on the wall as the vault went to almost 10 ' and the wall was 14 1/2 ' wide.

The first panel absolutely has to be installed plumb and level.

 

4 panels up and all is straight. The customer insisted that the plug plate would not cut off the nose of the cruise ship....and we made sure it did not. (bottom right hand corner)

 

Panel 5 of 8 and we ran into a warping problem. These panels are soft and stretchy when the adhesive has soaked into them and they will stretch if pulled back and repositioned more than once.

 

 

After the 8th panel was up and smoothed down, there was a sigh of relief as the customer was thrilled with it. A baseboard along the bottom, some cedar lattice along the sides and to fill in the triangle of the vaulted ceiling, and these folks will wake up thinking they are in Italy, looking out over the terrace of their bedroom.  The murals today are very hi-res what with mega-pixel cameras and hi-tech printers. This photo was consistent in colour and was very sharp and clear. I have always been very impressed with any wall covering product coming out of Germany, like this one was.

Workout Inspiration

 

Our first job of 2016 was hanging a wall photo mural. We had to cut around 16 inches off, vertically, and it was not wide enough horizontally. We centered it and the colour of the wall was the same shade of green as the leaves in the photo, so it was fine.

As always, the first two panels are critical as to plumb and level.

 

It slowly took shape and after three hours, the exercise room was transformed.

 

You can barely make out the seat of the recumbent bike, and beside it, the treadmill. The client was feeling motivated to get back to her exercise routine with the lovely outdoor scene, also reflected in a mirror on the other side of the room. I had never hung this one before so it was something different, beautiful, and turned out very well and to the customer's satisfaction. Oddly enough, our second job of the year was also a photo wall mural. Photos to come.

Christmas Leisure Time

 

A tradition around our house at Christmas is to gather round the dining room table and put together a few Jigsaw Puzzles. We did two very interesting and challenging puzzles this year.

 

My son snuck into my computer one day and stole one of my car show photos. They then had it made into a puzzle. It was of very high quality and was not at all easy to do. (1000 pieces)

 

It was, however, fun and rewarding and of course it had special meaning to me. I was tempted to mount and frame it, but only old folks do that.

 

The second and equally challenging puzzle was given to me by my sister. I am sure it was meant to challenge  the old guy and was an attempt to drive him nuts. Every piece seemed to have every colour that was needed for the piece you were looking for.

 

Without the photo on the box, this would have been almost impossible. Strangely though, when we were about 3/4 done, it suddenly got really easy and we were putting in pieces as fast as we could pick them up off the table. As you can see, Andrew fried his brain doing this one. Liam is putting in the last piece, and I was still sane enough to take a photo.

A Dramatic Difference

 

Last spring we painted this house for the wonderful couple who own and live in it. At the time, they casually asked if we painted cabinets and how much would it cost to do this set in the kitchen and family room. I did not think it would go beyond a simple inquiry, but here we were a few weeks ago doing the job.

 

The house was around 30 years old and the old bleached oak cabinets were worn down to raw wood in places. In the above two photos you can see the original finish in places and in other places, the white primer. There was a lot of prep to be done as the wood has to be impeccably clean before today's acrylic paints stick to it.

 

What made this job unique was that the request was for black cabinets, only the second set of black ones we have ever done.

 

Here, the body of the cabinets are complete and the doors have been re-installed and primed white, a nice checker-board effect.

 

And finally, the finished look, with a three coat system in satin black enamel. The change in the room was dramatic. He loved it, but she was not sure and said she had to get used to it.

 

I am sure that when their friends, who strongly suggested that they do this, see the finished product and rave about it, she will feel much better.

 

It was a challenge, but also a lot of fun. There is less room for error when using black than when using white. There is no forgiveness for any mistakes or nicks or crooked lines. The homeowners were fabulous people and we became good friends. I hope we do not lose the friendship when they call me back for touch-ups every few months. Once the paint is hard and cured it should not be a problem. In the meantime, I suggested that they do not even look at the cabinets for the next five weeks. I will probably get to see it after the new brushed metal knobs are installed.

Are You As Confused As I Am?

 

All of us have been inundated, in the last few weeks, with information regarding Islam, immigration, and terrorism. Anyone engaged in social media is well aware of the blizzard of posts, opinions, videos, and sound bytes surrounding these topics.

 

As we sort through the information and opinions, we are looking to clarify our own perspective, our own ideas, and somewhere in the mix, the truth. The truth, for me, has been elusive, to say the least. There are too many opinions, too many facts, too many charts, too many testimonials, too many 'cobbled together' videos, and too many 'experts', all of which are contradictory to some degree.

 

Being the kind of person who likes cut and dried answers and cut and dried solutions, I find it all troubling and confusing. I have been interested in reading about (I almost wrote studying) the Islam issues for many years, ever since I began to delve into the Jew/Palestinian conflict. I read a number of books written by former Muslims who came out of, and rejected that tradition and religion, because they became disillusioned. One of the authors was the foremost Islamic studies professor at the University of Cairo. What he did not know about Islam was not worth mentioning. I tend to give former or current Muslims more credibility as they have lived the faith and were indoctrinated in it since birth. They should know what they are talking about. Another reason these reformed Muslims have credibility is because their lives have been threatened, even by their own families, for being at all critical of Islam. They have nothing to gain by exposing the shortcomings of Islam, other than to inform the world of the threat.

 

With the internet today, extensive research can be done with the click of a mouse, and bit of time to read. But I keep getting mixed messages in the research, and therein lies my confusion.

 

1. The meaning of Islam. Islam means submission ... to Allah and his written word, and his prophet Mohammed. Immediately I am confused because the claim is that God is God, and we all worship the same God. However, the Islam God (Allah) has no partner, no equal, no son, and no associate. Mmm. The Christian God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The reason that is a problem is because although Muslims also believe in Jesus, they do not believe he is the Son of God and do not believe that he died and rose again as the saviour of mankind. And that is what makes us their enemies. We are blasphemers.

 

2. A Muslim, in order to be a true believer, must live by the Koran and the writing of Mohammed. I have read parts of the Koran, enough to see huge contradictions. There is love and peace and neighbourliness, but in the next verses there will be an injunction to cut off the hands and head of the unbelievers. Mohammed himself was no saint, but was a murderer and a pedophile, not exactly a prophet to hold up as a role model, and yet there are Muslims who are model citizens and do good works in their neighbourhoods and communities. Where does that inspiration come from? How do they see the unbelievers around them? Are they only tolerant until the day of Jihad. One only wonders this because it in their holy book. One of the guidelines when reading the Koran is that when one scripture contradicts another, the one written at a later date (the newer one) is the one to adhere to. As Mohammed progressed in his pursuits, he became more violent and so the more violent scriptures are the true and right ones. How many Muslims know this? How many believe this. Is this why so many remain silent in the face of terrorism?  

3. The Islamic doctrine of deception, or Taqiya, troubles me greatly because this would seem to give a Muslim permission to lie in order to  preserve their life or their faith. In terms of immigration, this is extremely concerning as the lack of data bases and other information leaves, often, only the word of the applicant when filling out the immigration papers. Vetting becomes very unreliable, especially when hurried under duress of immigration quotas and deadlines.

 

4. PEW research finds that an overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world want Sharia Law (Islamic Law as defined in the Koran) to be the law of the land where they live. Would this not fall under the definition of radical Islam? And yet we are told that only a tiny fraction of Muslims are radicalized.

 

5. If the majority of Muslims around the world are for peace and tranquility, why are they not speaking out against their terrorist brothers? Are they afraid? Do they see the radicals as the foot soldiers of Allah and are secretly rooting for them? There seems to be evidence for this when a moment of silence at a soccer match, meant to honour the dead of the Paris massacres is booed by the Muslim fans.

 

6. It is troubling that the west is supposed to rescue the distressed Syrian migrants yet other Muslim nations do nothing to help their Muslim brothers. Why is this? And why does the US under the leadership of Obama refuse to take Christian Syrian migrants, a people group who has the most to lose by staying in harms way. You would think that these are the very people who have the best chance of assimilating in the west.

 

7. Why does the world not stand with Israel in its fight against terrorism? They have many years of experience. It is the same bunch who are terrorizing Paris and threaten to terrorize the entire world of Christendom, that Israel is up against, yet most of the world demonizes Israel.   

 

8. Is Islam a religion, a geopolitical movement, or both. Again it is confusing, and depends on who you listen to and who you believe. Mohammed declared that Islam would conquer the world by the sword and the cradle. Muslims are doing both, some through terrorism and most by their prolific  birth rate. If the prophet Mohammed's teachings are paramount in your submission to Allah, would you not, as a Muslim, be sympathetic to this agenda?  

 

The confusion comes from the contradictions, and often a bit of fear and paranoia arise from misinformation. As a Christian, I have great assurance and comfort in knowing what I am supposed to do, and knowing that God is in control, and that no matter what happens, it is part of the master plan, of which I know very little. So while I trust God and cast out fear, I know also that my mandate as a Christian, is to love, help and protect the helpless. In so doing, I become a tiny piece of the solution. I do not lose sight of the fact that there is good and evil in the world, and I will be an advocate for government and law enforcement to root out that evil, wherever it is. But if Muslims comes to my neighbourhood, I will be a good neighbour to them, as I am to my South Asian neighbours. And herein lies the ultimate solution. We are all created in the image of God, he loves everyone of us, and wants us to love each other.