From Panama to Providence: a Sunday story

I just got off the phone with my good friend Jim. I've known Jim for more then ten years. He and I met in Panama in the spring of 2000. We were two guys with similar interests who were pretty serious fish out of water in that land of rain forests and Canal Zones.

We struck up an easy friendship then, one that continues to this day. Of all the people I've come to know in my life, Jim stands out. He's a giant among men and I'm glad to call him my friend.

When he and I met in that land far away, he called Providence, Rhode Island home and I lived in St. Pete. When we said our goodbyes in Panama I never thought I'd see him again. Kismet intervened however, and we stayed in touch after we returned to the US.

Jim had some kind of vague business career I never quite grasped and about six months after we came back to the US he had an opportunity to take a position in San Francisco.

Jim called me one afternoon to ask if I'd be interested in joining him in a road trip from Providence to San Francisco. Jim had a greyhound named Alex and he didn't want to fly her to the opposite coast. Besides, he had a car he needed to get to California and he'd already decided to drive himself. Having me along would make the drive easier for sure. Further, if I were along we'd take our time and get a feel for the US as we drove.

Our plan was to drive south from Rhode Island, through Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania on Day One. We were going to head south before heading west. Day Two had us driving through West Virginia, Virginia and into North Carolina. Jim had friends who had a cabin in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and he wanted to spend a few days with them before we headed west in earnest.

We arrived in North Carolina with few incidents and were all ready to spend a great weekend in the mountains with Jim's friends.

Jim's friends were amazing and I'll keep them nameless here. They were gracious hosts and their cabin turned out to be so much more than what I'd expected. However, they had an old cat named Punkin and we had a greyhound.

Most retired greyhounds that get adopted can't be around small animals. Their chase instinct is too strong, when they see something smaller than they are and it's moving, they can't help themselves but to chase it down.

Knowing this as we headed into the weekend, all of us decided that we keep Punkin and Alex separated so that Alex in particular would never see Punkin, and Punkin would remain oblivious to Alex.

A great weekend revealed itself. The four of us played board games and cooked up a storm. There was no TV and no interference from the outside world; it was four people enjoying one another's company in the middle of nowhere. We ate, we talked, we laughed and we told stories. It pretty much defined my idea of an ideal weekend and the backdrop of the Smokies made it all the more perfect. The goodwill just flowed and the four of us bonded tightly.

The weekend was winding down by Sunday. Jim and I had to head west and our hosts had to go home to their regular lives in Greensboro, South Carolina. Jim and I had a full day of driving ahead of us and so as Jim packed the car, I decided to take a quick nap.

Within a half an hour I heard a wail from one of our hosts. He was beyond wailing actually, he was keening. His mournings were the sharpest calls from a man in pain I'd ever heard.

Just then, Jim came barging into the guest room with Alex the greyhound in tow. I asked him what was going on and he said "Stay here and hold onto Alex. She just killed Punkin." He was gone in a flash.

Huh?

I shook off my sleep and walked out into the kitchen while leaving Alex behind in the guest room. I grabbed Jim and asked him what was going on.

Apparently, Jim was loading the car and had Alex outside with him. Our hosts had no idea that Jim and Alex were outside so they let Punkin out the side door.

As Jim was loading the car Alex walked up to him with something in her mouth. He assumed it was a squirrel but he realized (and to his horror) it was Punkin the cat.

Alex had just killed our host's cat.

How do you come back from that? Alex was just being herself, a dog. However our hosts had just lost a member of their family. My heart goes out to them still but the relationships formed that weekend were destroyed utterly.

I don't blame them really. And how to deal with it from Jim's and my perspective was a total mystery.

Really, what do you do when your pet kills a friend's pet? Miss Manners never addresses situations like that.

Our hosts were the very picture of graciousness after the fact and I have nothing but good things to say about their response to the situation.

Jim and I didn't linger after Punkin's murder, in fact we drove twice the distance we were supposed to that day just to have some distance between us and the event that ended up defining that weekend. By the time we'd reached Columbia, Missouri we figured we'd come far enough and stopped for the night.

Alex the greyhound didn't seem to be affected by what had happened in North Carolina though Jim and I were torn. Alex was learning how to be a dog after seven years of being a racer. Jim and I were trying to express our condolences and save face at the same time.

We talked about nothing but through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. Before we knew it we'd crossed the Continental Divide and as amazing as the experiences we embraced were, there was a shadow over all of it.

Our relationship with our hosts that weekend never recovered and a week after the fact we were in San Francisco.

I don't really mourn the loss of Punkin, but I do mourn the loss of two good people. I wish I could have the friendship back that we forged that weekend. But alas...

But really, what do you do in a situation like that? What's the appropriate response? How do you bounce back from a murder among pets?

It's island time again, kitchen island that is

Tomorrow morning at 9:30 EST, CBS Sunday Morning will dedicate its 90-minute broadcast to an exploration of kitchen islands. Sunday Morning reporter Nancy Giles will travel the world over and two of her stops on this trip to find the exotic, the unusual, the beautiful and the functional will be in kitchens designed by world-renowned kitchen designer Johnny Grey.

The first of the two Johnny Grey designs Sunday Morning will profile are The Threshing Barn in Arlesford, England. Notice how he took the traditional form of a threshing barn and created a space that's perfectly suited to life in the 21st Century. The forced perspective at work in this kitchen is remarkable.

©Johnny Grey Studios

©Johnny Grey Studios

©Johnny Grey Studios

©Johnny Grey Studios

©Johnny Grey Studios

Talk about a lesson in how to define a room within an open floor plan. Wow.

The second Johnny Grey design Sunday Morning will feature is on the other side of the Atlantic in New York. In this room, Johnny introduced an element of hand crafted, nearly whimsical flair to an older home. As a side note, the following kitchen was one of my inspirations when I was starting out as a designer and it's really great that the editors at Sunday Morning see in it what I do.

©Johnny Grey Studios

©Johnny Grey Studios

©Johnny Grey Studios

©Johnny Grey Studios

©Johnny Grey Studios

Of all the flourishes in kitchen design I've ever seen, the leg on the island in the final photo has to be my all-time favorite.

So remember to tune into CBS Sunday Morning tomorrow, May 20th at 9am EST to see Nancy Giles tour of the islands and to hear Johnny as well as his clients as they talk about what it's like to live in the spaces they call home. If you miss the broadcast or if you're somewhere where you can't see it, go to CBS Sunday Morning's website and you can see the broadcast there.

Johnny Grey Studios works in the UK, Europe, North America and anywhere else where someone is calling out for an original, thoughtful design. You can contact the studio and see more of Johnny's work through the Johnny Grey Studios website. Johnny's blog, Grey Matters has more information and thoughts on kitchen islands, so head over there and join the conversation!

Guess it's over: a Blog Off post

Every two weeks, the blogosphere comes alive when bloggers of all stripes weigh in on the same topic. After a great run, the Blog Off as it exists now will end of this week. The topic is essentially wrapping things up and saying goodbye. Here's my take:

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The Blog Off has been winding down for the last six months or so and those of us who put this thing together every two weeks have been facing that incrementally. After the last post, my partner in crime Dog Walk Blog and I were discussing what to write about today.

For the last six months, he and I have had a "next topic" conversation every two weeks and I'd start each one with the suggestion that we place a "For Sale by Owner" banner ad on the Let's Blog Off landing page. I was only partially kidding.

Like everybody else on the internet, we'd hoped to have this thing make some money somehow. Despite our shrewd minds and marketing acumen, we never did figure out a way for this thing to pay for itself. Putting this together every two weeks took a lot of energy and time and for the last few months it's become clear that the Blog Off was turning into a time and energy black hole.

We're busy men, but so is everybody. When we started this thing we were both established internet presences. Our goal was to help people expand their audiences and in that regard I think we succeeded. It was a singular thrill to watch as the Blog Off participants went from the circle of our online friends and expanded to include new bloggers all over the world.

My goal over the course of this program was to reach out across borders and it was an amazing thing to see participating posts come in from places like Venezuela,Canada, Portugal, Scotland and Italy. Even though the Blog Off is winding down, our connections around the world mark a really interesting path forward. Not just for us as internet people but for people as a whole.

It's been a great ride to read other peoples' perspectives on subjects like art and autumn and I hope we provided a forum where people could flesh out their internet personae. It's one thing to be an architect, but when an architect writes about the topic of home or the legacy he or she inherited, it provided a window into the soul of that architect. I'm using architect as an example only. Our participants have ranged from architects to teachers to waitresses and everybody's perspective has always been welcome.

I guess this means that I have to start blogging again.

The edge of the world: a Blog Off post

Every two weeks, bloggers of every stripe weigh in on the same topic in an event called a Blog Off. This week's topic is "The Edge of the World" and we're being encouraged to write about an event where we pushed past the boundaries of what we knew to be true at the time. Here's my take:

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The Bahamas is known the world over for a geographical feature it shares with just a handful of places around the globe, blue holes. The Bahamas' blue holes are essentially sink holes that lie submerged in salt water. In most of them, fresh water and salt water coexist in an uneasy truce. The salt water sits in a clearly defined and visible layer on top of the fresh water and diving into a blue hole is a really wild experience because you float between the two extremes.

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The photo above shows Dean's Hole near Clarence Town on Long Island, The Bahamas. Dean's Hole is the world's largest submerged blue hole. This aerial shot explains pretty clearly why they're called blue holes. Dean's Hole is 202 meters deep, that's 663 feet. The water surrounding it is at most a meter deep, so that's a pretty profound drop off.

Not too far from Long Island is Cat Island, a nearly deserted paradise I've been running away to for the last five or so years. I've written about it extensively in the past and I have a story to tell that dovetails into this Blog Off Topic perfectly.

This photo shows Fernandez Bay, the beach where I stay when I'm on Cat. The first arrow shows the location of the cottage that welcomes me back every time.

The second arrow points to a salt marsh and the location of an unmarked blue hole referred to as "Boiling Hole" by the locals because when the tide goes out it bubbles and gurgles and when the tide comes back in it forms a whirlpool over its entrance.

Kayaking in a salt marsh can be tricky.

In a kayak, you're sitting right on the water and it's difficult to get any kind of perspective on where you are.

This means that it's difficult to judge distances and it's hard to see underwater features until you're directly over them. Add to that skewed perspective that you're in one of the most hostile environments you can find and not getting lost becomes a huge priority.

Salt marshes are full of dead ends and the advice my friends and I had to work from consisted of "Stick to the deeper channels, watch the tides and look for a wide spot of shallow water." Deeper is a relative term because the water's incredibly shallow everywhere. Keeping an eye on the tides is vital because getting stranded in a receding tide is a recipe for disaster when outside help is non-existent. Monitoring the tides was important too because the only way to spot the blue hole was to watch for bubbling or a whirlpool.

After a few hours of looking for our blue hole, we realized that there were all kinds of wide spots of shallow water.

Here are a couple of shots of my friends and I taking advantage of being lost and putting ashore during that first trip back into the marsh.

Would that Boiling Hole were as readily identifiable as Dean's Hole on Long Island or any of the other blue holes on Cat. But alas, we were looking for the hardest one to find and I always like a good challenge.

After around three hours of paddling and exploring, we were about to call it a day and admit defeat. We couldn't find Boiling Hole and that was that. Everybody was exhausted, hungry and more than anything, thirsty.

I am more persistent than my friends I guess' because I insisted that we explore one more stretch of marsh before we called a day. By this time, there was a slack tide and I knew that if we were going to find that blue hole we were going to have to paddle over it directly. The slack tide too told me that we had to get out of there within an hour or we risked being stranded when the tide finally started to go out.

We were at the edge of the world and I wanted to reach just a bit past it to see what was there.

Within about five minutes we paddled over this:

We'd stumbled over the mouth of Boiling Hole.

Boiling hole drops around 100 meters straight down and the water surrounding it is at most 40 centimeters deep. It was the wildest thing to suddenly not see the bottom of the water after having scraped against it for the previous three hours.

Boiling Hole is connected to a spring and about five feet under the surface, the water turns into the best-tasting spring water you can imagine. Within seconds of our discovery, my party donned masks, snorkels and fins and our trek turned into one of the coolest things I've ever seen underwater.

The blue hole was some kind of an interzone and the salty parts of it were full of reef fish. The freshwater parts were filled with water plants that could never survive in the sea. There were crabs and other invertebrates that had evolved the ability to move between the two zones. I'd never seen an environment like it. That we couldn't see the bottom of it was a bit unnerving and knowing that if we stayed there for much longer we'd be sucked down into it when the tide turned made us hurry our exploration. Slaking my thirst while still underwater was a pretty wild experience too.

My friends and I were miles from other people and hundreds of miles away from modernity. Being back in that salt marsh provided a blissful isolation I've found in few other places. But at the same time, that isolation came at a cost. As fascinating as it was to explore that environment for the first time, it was uncomfortable and exhausting.

However, in the intervening years I've explored that salt marsh countless times and have been back to that blue hole frequently. I don't get lost back there anymore and it's a real thrill to guide people back to a blue hole that feels like it's mine somehow.

And now that I feel comfortable back there I can concentrate of paying attention to the lemon sharks, the green sea turtles and the mangrove jellies that call that marsh home. What's hostile to me as a Homo sapiens is welcoming to may other forms of life and it's a real treat to see the world from their perspective from time to time.

I pushed past the edge of the world that day and I'm a better man for it. Because of that experience, I can relate to other people's frustrations and fears better, I can understand my need to know everything better, and I can see how different organisms co-exist in an environment that completely foreign to my own species. Frankly, that's why I explore.

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As the day goes on, a table will appear here like magic. It will list all of the participating bloggers in today's event. Click on the links to see how other people approached this topic.

A Coverings preview

Coverings is next week and I can't believe it's here already. It's a show very near and dear to my heart and I've been attending it for years. Every year, my involvement in the show increases and as of last December, I'm on the show's staff. For the last six months I've been running all of Coverings' social marketing initiatives, hence my near absence from this blog since the end of last year.

During the show next week I'll be working five straight 18 hour days so I doubt I'll be filing any dispatches from the show floor, but during the week following either Todd ( my energetic collaborator) or I will post a wrap up of the new stuff that made its debut during the show.

For now though, here's a preview from some of the major manufacturers who'll be exhibiting next week.

• Apavisa (Booth 2519) is heading to Coverings with Archconcept, a new collection of patterns in stone, metal and cement finishings that are inspired by the latest manufacturing technology and trends in architecture. This revolutionary range of porcelain is well suited for indoor and outdoor applications.

• Azteca (Booth 2211) will awe attendees with Jasper R40, a new ceramic tile series serving up a marble look that will enliven walls with its striking shade variations. It is available in a 23-x-40 cm format and four colorways: Cream, Beige, Grey and Jade.

• Azulejos Plaza (Booth 2106) will impress attendees with Ecowood, a porcelain stoneware wall tile comprised of 85% recycled content. It comes in four colors and can be used outdoors.

• Baldocer (Booth 1914) is bringing digital front-and-center to its porcelain collection, spotlighting its innovative methods for adding distinctive decorative touches, such as high and low reliefs, colorations, stone and wood lookalikes, and more. The outstanding range of tile formats is available in 43-x-43, 40-x-60 and 57-x-57 cm.

• Casalgrande Padana SpA (Booth 4700) is showing Architecture and Bios. The first newcomer is a fully vitrified porcelain stoneware collection that’s a sophisticated, high-performance option for floor and wall covering, indoors and out. The line is available in a range of 12 colors and a finish reminiscent of brushed cement. Bios brings sustainability to the surface with its unique antibacterial properties, achieved by blending the material base with mineral particles. Such tiles have become a requisite for LEED-ID credit eligibility, and have won extensive recognition.

• Ceramiche Coem & Ceramica Fioranese (Booth 4714) are sister brands spotlighting interesting introductions. Check out Pietra Valmalenco from Coem and Cottage from Fioranese. Pietra Valmalenco offers a contemporary stone look whereas Cottage features a rustic wood style.

• Ceramiche Refin (Booth 4123) has three new products that capitalize on the latest technology. Among them, Cromie is a collection of chromatic ceramic tiles based on the scientific criteria of brightness, saturation and shade.

• Cisa Ceramiche (Booth 4806) will unveil Modula, a beautiful series that replicates the look of natural stone, and Royal Marble that recalls the traditional elegance of the real material. Both are available in four colorways and various sizes.

• Crossville (Booth 3200) found inspiration in concrete and refined stone to create Structure, a minimalist design that contains at least 20% consumer certified recycled content. The new offering is apt for commercial and residential installations, and is offered in large format and plank-shaped sizes.

• Duradek (Booth 3842) is debuting at Coverings with five new products incorporating Tiledek. It’s a PVC waterproof membrane developed specifically for exterior tile applications and featuring an anti-fracture/crack insulation barrier, making it choice for concrete installations.

• Emac Complementos (Booth 2114) has collaborated with prestigious Spanish fashion designer Francis Montesinos to create a collection of high-style aluminum profiles named Novopeldaño Art. The installation possibilities are limitless—as a stair nosing, in countertops, worktops and more.

• Emilceramica SpA (Booth 4718) is presenting On Square. The new collection exemplifies the elegance and simplicity of balance, bringing together 45 blocks of cement reproduced on the ceramic surface to maintain the richness of the material. The contemporary offering comes in four colors in 80-x-80, 60-x-60 and 30-x-60 cm formats. Additionally, look for inspiring introductions from three of company’s sister brands: Ergon, Provenza and Viva.

• Florida Tile (Booth 3223) is touting Gallant HDP and PietraArt Stone Mosaics. Gallant gives marble, onyx and travertine a run for their money thanks to the high definition technology used to mimic the looks. The porcelain floor tile is appropriate for all residential and commercial wall and countertop applications as well as for residential flooring. The Stone Mosaics marvel with a wide range of colors, sizes and textures to complement all tastes and installations.

• Granada Tile (Booth 4465) will be calling attention to three new whimsical works of cement tile art—Normandy, Alhambra and Barcelona. All are part of the Echo Tile Collection that is made of durable and recycled content, and are ideal for bathroom and kitchen applications.

• Lilywork Ceramic (Booth 2903) is debuting Arabesque, a tessellated field of mosaics that is fully color customizable within the Lilywork palette. It’s a look that would make for a lovely addition to walls, floors or even pool surrounds.

• Litokol Spa (Booth 4534) is giving grouting mortar a fresh new look with Litochrom Starlike. It features antibacterial properties and is spot on for gluing and jointing all tiles and mosaics, even those rated R12. Additionally, it has a high-resistance to chemicals and abrasions, and is available in a myriad of colors and combinations.

• Metropolitan Ceramics (Booth 2800) will roll out Quarrybasics Abrasive, a product providing excellent silicon carbide coverage that prevents slips and enhances the look and longevity of quarry tile.

• Mosaico+ (Booth 4330) has four exciting lines that will liven up interiors and exteriors with intense depth of color, dimension and texture. Among the newcomers is Dialoghi, which is a magical meeting of materials—glass and metal, metal and wood, etc.—that offers a truly compelling look and is available in three sizes.

• Oscar & Izzy (Booth 2554) is a newcomer to the international expo and is bringing fun to the show floor with its retro-inspired collections of decorative ceramic tile. All lines boast bold illustrations and bright colors, and are offered in 4-x-4 and 6-x-6 inch and subway sizes.

• Sabine Hill (Booth 4175) is showing for the first time at Coverings, spotlighting its collection of eight classic cement tile designs that masterfully meld modern and organic shapes in endless colorways. All of the offerings are meant for wall and floor coverings in both residential and commercial environments.

• Settecento (Booth 5012) is showing Lodge, which is a glazed porcelain portraying the essence of rustic, reclaimed wood. This natural beauty is available in four colors, two sizes (9-x-38 and 6-x-38 inches) and two surface finishes.

• Solistone (Booth 4270) is stepping into the commercial arena with a new division of products designed specifically for commercial architects and interior designers. Primarily composed of porcelain and ceramic mosaics, the line also uses unconventional materials, like seashells, to create innovative surfaces suitable for interior and exterior walls and floors.

• Taulell (Booth 1723) is premiering a variety of new products, one of which is Ónice. Neoclassical in nature, it features the spectacular shine of onyx stone and is available in seven sizes.

• Undefasa (Booth 1911) unites classic and contemporary designs in its two new collections, Country and Rajasthan. Both styles’ color palettes are based on the tones of natural stone, and can be used as floor or wall tiles; Rajasthan can be installed outdoors.

• Zirconio (Booth 2111) will zoom in on its incorporation of inkjet technology to create Dolomite, a captivating color-body porcelain that seamlessly imitates the look of natural stone.

If you're a design pro in greater Orlando, please be sure to register for the show today by following this link. Remember, it’s all free and as a bonus, I'm giving a talk on Twitter and Facebook on Thursday that's worth AIA, ASID and NKBA CEUs and then again on Friday I'll be presenting a modified version of that same session on the show floor. I hope to see in Orlando!