Two Hammers

“I was scared and running for my life; tile falling off the wall displays and crashing everywhere”, said Melinda, the store manger for Tuscany tile and Stone in Brea, CA.  The Chino Hills, CA 5.4 earthquake on July 29 2008 shook nearby Brea, CA, damaging homes and businesses.  Though most damage was fairly minor, cracks in walls, fallen over block walls and stucco damage; some areas felt the trembler more.  “It looks like a bomb exploded in our showroom”, said Terry, one of the proprietors as he surveyed the aftermath of the earthquake.  The trembler devasted Tuscany Tile’s designer tile and custom stone displays. 

This was a major blow to Tuscany Tile and Stone, coming in the middle of their summer tile sale.  Melinda and Terry could use the communities support in recovering from this disaster; if you are shopping for tile please give them a call.

I had never received a request for glass countertops until this last spring; and within weeks I had two clients request them.  They are beautiful, however, rather expensive.  I believe that the market will be for higher end trendy bathrooms, the mechanics for a custom kitchen may prove to be too complicated.  This is a trend worth watching in case it does develop into a mainstream product. Or, it could be just like the concrete and soap stone countertops from seasons past.

Update Sep 2010

The votes have been counted – This was just another passing fad.

This year I hit two high water marks in my fishing career.  Several weeks ago, in a high mountain lake in the Eastern Sierras, I caught a 14″ Golden Trout on my House of Hardy fly rod.  I did not believe that Golden Trout grew so large.  Then to beat that experience of a lifetime; I had my 5 year old out on a stream in the Eastern Sierras.  She was jigging a tube skirt under a tree undercut and start yelling “I caught a fish daddy, bring the net.”  A six inch wild Brook Trout, hooked, fought and landed all by herself.  Life just does not get any better.