Ellen's wish has been Gran-ite

The countertops are IN. Where to begin. The top pic doesn't really show off the chiseled edge that Ellen wanted on the countertop. I wanted a smooth, finished edge, being a tactile kind of guy. I feared that the rough, uneven surface would be unpleasant to touch, reaching out to snare everything from clothing to skin. I'm really not going to argue with a woman about the kitchen though. Some battles are just not worth fighting, and that's one of them. A chiseled edge we have. The granite guy went into some depth about how they use 400 grit diamond paper to ensure there were no sharp edges on the counter top. Ellen was triumphant and smiled knowingly at the news that my chief complaint was baseless. Sure enough, I carried in our new BBQ grill today and brushed the back of my hand against the edge. The combination of the weight of the grill, the speed that Jim and I were moving and the ROUGH CHISELED surface did in fact create a minor abrasion. I hate it when I'm right.

The middle photo shows the cooktop installed on the island. The installers said this piece of granite weighed over 900 lbs. They said fabrication was easy since they only had to take a full slab and knock off the corners. There wasn't much cutting involved. When I heard that, I was concerned about injury to them while trying to move it around, but they had four hosses on the job to bring it into the house and lift it onto the island. No worries. I offered to help, but the foreman said, "oh no," shaking his head emphatically. He must have seen me in action before somewhere. The bottom shows the other countertop where the sink is installed. Ellen chose Silestone sinks, which is an engineered stone product. It's got a completely different look and feel from the porcelain or stainless steel sinks I've always known. I think we'll like it and kudos again to her.