This guy moves so fast he’s hard to catch on film…I finally got him today. This is Papa Jack. He and his guys did our deck and built-in CD shelves in the hallway when we first moved in. We were talking to him and his carpenters today about remodeling the kitchen – building some custom cedar cabinets but somehow staying within a very small budget 🙂 I am convinced it can be done! The design consultants here say you can’t do a kitchen for less than $60K, but we don’t have that kind of money. Not even half that. Ha! So I am going to do what can’t be done – custom cabinets and new counters, knocking out a wall and building in a bar, beverage fridge, wine glass racks, etc. They will hopefully be working on the house next door soon – I put Jack in touch with the owner so he could bid on the job (remodeling two homes from the ground up so the owner can flip them) and I think he’ll get it. It would be great all around if he could do the job next door and work ours in while he’s there. We will make use of any extras they have lying around!

For our kitchen design, we’ll be borrowing some ideas from the Kalapawai Cafe and Deli down the street – the owners remodeled the building entirely on their own and we like a lot of their ideas. They used unfinished cedar inside for a warm, rustic, tropical lodge look. I will be writing up their story, including the design details and some anecdotes about father and son toiling away together as a thank-you for allowing us to borrow some of their ideas to create our own  “Kalapawai Kitchen.” I’ll then work on getting it published in one of the local magazines to give them some free press … AND show those fancy designers a thing or two 🙂 Dave would say here not to count my chickens…I mean kitchens…before they hatch. Ok…

So – I need to tell you more about Jack. He’s from Boston (hence the shirt) and has built mansions for Red Sox players. His son was in the Army and decided to move here when he got out. Jack picked up and moved the business about 4 yrs ago now so he could be near his son. He chose the right time to land here – the housing market was hot and people are remodeling like crazy still. His New England work ethic makes him a very popular guy – he gets in, gives you an estimate, gets the job done on time and within budget. You might take those things for granted anywhere else, but not here! That is a real blessing. In addition to being very skilled and efficient, he’s just a neat character, full of life and stories. He’s had all kinds of jobs, including being a retired O4 (he was prior enlisted, so he’s a Mustang like Dave), then became a cop (has a master’s in criminology) and continued studying with the GI bill and earned his PhD in microbiology. You should hear him talk about free radicals and water purification… (I told him HE’s a free radical!) Seriously…it’s stories like this that make me appreciate Craig’s list so much – how else would we have found him? His other son is a fighter pilot flying a Super Hornet with the airwing attached to the Nimitz. Jack will get to participate in a Tiger cruise next month when the ship pulls in. I love ya Papa Jack! Come over some time for a campfire and I’ll enjoy sitting back and listening to more stories 🙂