Granite on the Buffet

Today was a busy day.

We just could not resist going outside despite all the granite calling our name. We did a walk about which resulted in just one apple tree that will need replacing. The yard is in relatively good condition even though it was a pretty intense winter.

Our tree trimming has paid off with few twigs and branches needing to be picked up. Flower bulbs are popping up in all the flower beds. We even noticed that some trees have the beginning of swelled buds. Spring is right around the corner.

We spent about 20 minutes just sitting on the lawn furniture taking in the sun, then it was back to work.

The granite went down fairly fast. We needed to cut four pieces and even that went fairly fast despite the odd angles on two of them.We ran out of mastic but were able to get all but the four cut tiles installed permanently. Tomorrow we will get another container of mastic and adhere those four tiles to the buffet. The next step is to adhere the bull nose pieces to the edge of the buffet.I couldn't resist sitting my vintage coffee urn set on the buffet.
Friday should see us prepping the sink counter space for granite tile on Saturday. Prep work will take some time because we need to level and then screw down the plywood top. I might even do a little more sanding on the T&G paneling that is behind the sink area.

We are still in the planning stages for our open shelves above the buffet area. All the shelf brackets that we have looked at are far too ornate for the design of the kitchen. We might just glue two clear pine 1X6's together and then cut out our own simple design. This way we will not only get the right design and style but it will be far cheaper in the long run. We need 9 brackets and if I were to purchase them, the cost would likely be around two hundred dollars.

So far we are very happy with the granite tiles. Our only complaint is that these tiles are not all the same thickness. They are very close but not exactly identical. I am keeping my fingers crossed that once the granite is grouted the few areas that are not perfect will be less noticeable. Fingers crossed.

FYI My sister and I attended another Taste of Home Cooking School on Tuesday in Midland Michigan. We again did not win a single item. There were hundreds of women in attendance and possibly 10 men. We counted four men who won door prizes. Did we? NO...for the fourth time...we did not win anything but we did stop and ate a crepe on the way to Midland. As always the crepe was delicious!