The Start of the Absolute Black Granite Installation

We are so excited to start something other than demo. We still have some demo to do in the butler pantry/laundry room but we currently have run out of trash containers for the plaster.

Here is a quick run down on what we have been up to the last several days.

We patched two areas where there were 1960's style sconces. We removed the sconces and the old wiring and patched the tongue and groove paneling.
We still need to fill and sand but we will do the whole kitchen when we prep for painting.
We then removed the old wiring that was no longer in use but still in place.
Then we patched with a new tongue and groove board.
While we were running the new wire for the ceiling lights we found that the new wiring had been brought to the switch but the old wiring was going from the switch to the ceiling light....well no more...it's all gone and replaced with new. But that required removing the T&G board to get at the old wire.
New wire and new board in place.
Next...remember that ugly wall/partition we cut out and left as a half wall. We decided that there were just too many outlets and one was just too close to the sink. So we removed them all and all the wiring.
Patched the holes...
....and installed a thick cap and cove molding. We still need to sand down the plugs that hide the screws but we are so happy that ugly light blocking wall is gone.
Here are all the old knob and tube porcelain fittings that we removed from the kitchen. All, but that one wire, were non functioning but had been left in place. We felt it was necessary to remove it for two reasons. One...it insures that none of it is functioning and two...that if and when we sell that no one will be mislead to believe that the house still has knob and tube wiring.
Since the weather is calling for snow and rain, which makes it impossible to place 4X8 sheets of beadboard in the bed of an open truck, we decided to move on to....
tiling the island using Absolute Black granite. Notice the crooked outlet covers. For some reason, whoever did the rewire just could not install a cover straight.
The island, buffet area, and kitchen counter will have 12X12 granite tiles and matching trim piece. The island is already edged with wood trim that I will eventually paint black.

One row done and we called it quits. R needed to go to G's to work on the sprint car.
Speaking of G......the earthquakes in Japan are close to G's heart, as he spent 6 months in Japan (Yokohama) for work. During that time, Japan was experiencing a rash of 6.0-7.0 earthquakes. He experienced his first earthquake on his first day in Japan while in a high rise hotel waiting to move into his apartment.

While he was there, I was here working with Japanese engineers on a joint project with Isuzu. I became very familiar with the USGS Earthquake site. This is a great site for following earthquakes. Click on the animation button to see the earthquakes during the past week.

Lets all say a prayer for everyone in both Japan and Libya and maybe even a quick prayer for Charlie Sheen. Maybe he can come to his senses and see he has soooooo much in comparison to so many others. Nobody begrudges anyone a good time but life is not just about hookers, porn stars, and getting high. If anyone needs to spend some time working in a soup kitchen or handing out supplies to victims of natural disasters...it is Charlie Sheen.