Another bag of mortar down...

The kitchen is looking great, but there's still a bunch to do. Week before last, I had to go over to Marietta to inspect the slab of granite that they were going to use for my countertop. That was fun. The place is a kitchen cabinet & countertop showroom, but when they take you down into the basement, it's a huge underground warehouse of stone, with massive saws and row upon row of granite and marble that they have to lift with giant pulleys hanging from the ceiling.



My slab (although do I really know they used this exact one?? I'll take it on faith).


Last Monday night, I pulled out the old sink and countertop in advance of the Tuesday installation. Here I am disconnecting the plumbing. Padma is in there "helping." This was a nasty job, because the water that was stuck in the pipes smelled of something yucky. Not sewage yucky, but algae yucky.



Once the sink was out, the countertops came up easily, but another hole was revealed behind the backsplash. I had to fix that with a piece of drywall a couple days later.


The guys that installed the countertop were awesome! Both were Mexican immigrants, and so we talked in Spanglish for three hours while they worked. The lead man had been a teacher in Mexico, but said he makes a lot more money doing stone work. He also said that he really enjoyed stone work, and I could see he took a lot of pride and pleasure in making it all perfect. They permitted me to take pictures of them as they worked, so here they are:





This thingie power-squeezed two pieces to seal them together. Can't even see the seam!


Later that day, the plumber came to install the new sink and faucet, and the next day, I repaired the hole in the wall behind it. Then I did dishes:


And here are the counters, all done (that's the Thanksgiving turkey in the oven):


Okay, so now here's what's left to be done: Backsplash, painting cabinets, and tiling floor. I was going to tile the backsplash, but then I saw these incredible faux tin sheets at Home Depot. I bought one to try it out, and I love, love, love it! So that is going to be the backsplash. It will add some light via reflection in a space that is fairly dark most of the time. It will also be a foil (no pun intended) to the black appliances and sink. The kitchen is on the west side of the house, and it only gets sunlight in the afternoon.



I have not yet settled on a cabinet color. I have tried swatches of dark chocolate brown, a deep purpley-brown, and lighter silver-grey. I am leaning toward the grey because of the darkness of that side of the house. The downside is that with the backsplash and counter, it could give the room an overall "cold" feel. But I think I can counteract that with a warmer color on the walls and floor.

So there's the kitchen to date. I am going to focus on the basement for the next couple of weeks and get that finished and put together. Then I'll return to finish the kitchen. I'm hoping to have all done by Christmas. That would rock.

I had to start with the countertop, because only two designs were on sale.  I picked the prettiest of the two.  Here's a pic:




I have black appliances, so this works well.  But since we have to switch the stove, we are moving over to a ceramic cooktop.  I'd love to have gas, but it would cost too much to get everything modified.  The ceramic top is a good compromise, because you don't see the coils, nor do you have the issue of the coils not laying flat.



Next, we have an old stainless steel sink that is stained and rusting in a couple of places, despite being stainless.  Also, the faucet sprayer leaks.  So I'm going with a black lacquered sink and a chrome faucet that has the sprayer pull-out:
 

I plan to paint the cabinets a creamy off-white, something neutral.  At this point, I have no idea what tile will go on the floor or on the backspash.  I won't be able to visualize that until the rest is in place, which will probably take 3-4 weeks (waiting mainly on the countertop).  I imagine the floor will have to be fairly neutral, and since the kitchen only gets natural light in the afternoon, I'm guessing the floor should be something light. I'll let you know!

 

I re-took the Spanish translation exam today at Emory.  I sure hope I passed this time.  Last year, I was certain I passed--the test seemed easy, in fact--so I really don't know what to think this year.  It seemed easy again, but if I misplaced a direct object and shifted the meaning of something, I'll be in trouble.  So we'll just have to wait and see.  [Edit: I did not pass; will have to take a translation course next summer.]

Meanwhile, here is a translation of another of Neruda's sonnets (#47) that I have been working on.  Still tweaking it, but here's what I have so far:


El Soneto XLVII de los cien sonetos de amor:

Detrás de mí en la rama quiero verte.
Poco a poco te convertiste en fruto.
No te costó subir de las raíces
cantando con tu sílaba de savia.

Y aquí estarás primero en flor fragante,
en la estatua de un beso convertida,
hasta que sol y tierra, sangre y cielo,
te otorguen la delicia y la dulzura.

En la rama veré tu cabellera,
tu signo madurando en el follaje,
acercando las hojas a mi sed,

y llenará mi boca tu substancia,
el beso que subió desde la tierra
con tu sangre de fruta enamorada.

Sonnet 47 of the hundred love sonnets:

Behind me in the branches I want to see you.
Little by little you transformed into fruit.
It cost you nothing to raise yourself up by the roots,
chanting your syllables of sap.

And here you will be first in fragrant flower,
changed into the statue of a kiss,
until sun and earth, blood and heaven,
grant you sweetness and delight.

In the branches I will see your hair,
your character maturing in the foliage,
the leaves drawing near to my thirst, 

and your substance will fill my mouth,
the kiss that arose from the earth
with your blood of beloved fruit.