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Sunday, July 1, 2012

Catching Up With Mike Holmes

First of all, a very happy Canada Day to Mike Holmes and all of my Canadian friends!

I found this short interview/article on the New York Times website. I really enjoyed it! Most interviews with Mike are pretty standard, and they all kind of revolve around the same information, but this one had a slightly personal slant, with lots of little useless factoids for fans to gobble up. Being the self-proclaimed Holmes queen that I am, most of this stuff is old news to me, but some of it I'd never heard before. Like, 'ello, 'ello... Mike Holmes was a D.J.??? Ex-queeze me, when was this? My curiosity is killing me! As far as Mike being a great dancer, that is something I'm dying to see. I've heard him talk about "shaking his pants" before, but I'm a wee bit suspicious. Perhaps some proof, Mike? An online video of you doing the Macarena or shaking your groove thing? We're waiting with anticipation... :) Now, I'm going to go enjoy some fireworks and make myself a Holmes-tini in honor of Canada Day and The Fourth of July. Cheers!


Catching Up With Mike Holmes







Mike Holmes is a Canadian building contractor and host of the television show Holmes on Homes, which airs on HGTV.
The Holmes Group
READING I love to read but don’t have much time to read books — some of my favorite books are by Dean Koontz — but what I am reading right now are architectural drawings for projects we’re doing, like the castle to replace the one that burned down in the playground at Toronto’s High Park a few months ago. We went to the community and had meetings and talked to the kids. We offered to make it bigger, and there’s going to be a drawbridge. The kids said they wanted more slides, so there will be more slides. The fun part was working with the kids.
LISTENING I probably listen to more reggae music than the average person — Beres Hammond and Freddie McGregor, artists like that. I love to dance so I like dance music — not the Bee Gees, but really good dance music like Next’s “Too Close” — music that makes you want to get up and move. I used to be a D.J. so I’m into stereos and dancing. It stems from my mom’s family — they’re all really good dancers. Um, yeah, people would say I know how to move.
WATCHING The television show “Touch” with Kiefer Sutherland. It’s in the realm of real, and very well-produced. It makes you pay attention and stay interested because you really want to find out who the kid is saving through his father.
FOLLOWING WorldSkills is like the Olympics except for skilled trades. Every two years, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, gas fitters, hairdressers and food servers from around the world compete for the gold medal in their category. For carpenters, they may have to build and do all the calculations for a great outdoor shed. A gas fitter may have to do a labyrinth piping system. An electrician may have to put together an alarm system. And they have a time limit to do it to perfection. It is so inspiring. It should be televised, but you can watch past competitions on the Web site.
WEARING I love watches and I have a lot of them, especially the big ones like my U-Boat and Nixon. It’s a bit of a passion of mine. Like women and shoes, I’m the watch guy.
DRINKING I’ve never really liked martinis so it became a personal challenge to come up with a mix that I would like. I came up with the Holmes-tini: 1 ounce vodka, 1 ounce coconut rum, 1 ounce peach schnapps, 1 ounce pineapple juice. I’ve ordered it at bars right across Canada, never mind the United States, and I’ve had so many restaurants ask me if they can put it on the menu. I said go ahead. You’ve got to try it, you’ll like it.

Kate Murphy is a journalist in Houston who writes frequently for The New York Times.

1 comment:

  1. I would love to know more about Mike and his watches. He wears a lot of them, and I'm curious about what brands he prefers and if he likes expensive ones versus middle of the road ones. Thanks, Glen.

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