All in a Day's Work

My own very personal "Christmas" arrived this morning at about 8:30. This was the day that I had been waiting for: how were the countertops and backsplashes going to tie in with everything else we had chosen? I've laid awake at night thinking this all out and, quite honestly, agonizing over a few of our decisions. I cannot imagine ever building a house, so my hat is off to all of you who have done so.

The first piece of granite that was installed was our little table/dining area at the end of the island:


My eyes welled up with tears when I saw this lovely piece in my new kitchen!

And then the island piece arrived on the scene:

I was getting a bit used to it then, so I just snapped pictures, and the two installers really thought I was nutso!

Unfortuantely, (or fortunately for the installers!) I had a teeth cleaning appointment at 2:00 PM, so I missed the grand finale! There were errands begging to be run, a much-needed visit to the gym, and then a good visit with my Mom. Barbara Brown Taylor was speaking at our church this evening (now she deserves a blog posting all on her own, but not tonight dear Barbara!), and then we had made plans to dine with friends after the program. Soooooo, it wasn't until almost 10:00 PM that I got to see the countertops and backsplashes all in place. So here they are:

This is the "bar area" looking towards the diningroom. We have Hannestone countertops there, with my favorite granite as the backsplash and the little bar top:


(Hannestone is like Silestone: heat resistant and nonporous.)

This is the Hannestone countertop on the area to the left of the wall oven:

There is now the granite backsplash in back of this area too...but I guess I took this pic before I went to visit the dentist.

Here is the island, finished:


I cannot help but recalling almost a year ago when my sister-in-law Molly and my good friend Bobbie and I stood around one morning planning this whole deal. I love my island!

This is the area behind the island where my range will be slid in and the hood will go above it. It's kind of a shame that some of that granite will be covered by the hood, but it will work! The reeded glass doors on the cabinets are also favorite features of mine. I've got to thank my good friend Shiela for suggesting the reeded glass!


While the countertops were being installed, I spent a couple of hours out in my studio discharging a couple of silk scarves that I had dyed yesterday. Here is the first one, a long, rectangular crepe de chine:


It is actually a lot more coral colored, with bits of grape infused. I just love how it came out!

The scarf below is a large square crepe de chine that I just loved even before the discharging. It reminded me of a tropical storm sky with varying shades of blue, pink, magenta. When I discharged it, the affected areas turned a lovely gold tone:

I discharged a hibiscus-like image on one of the corners:


And look who was waiting in the wings to have his picture snapped:


So, it has been a lovely, lovely day! Any one event (well, perhaps not the trip to have my teeth cleaned!) would have been enough for this gal, but all of them together made it truly spectacular!

PEACE