Kitchen Remodeling Part 2: Santa Cecilia Arrives

Two weeks ago we had our kitchen countertop demolished in order to prepare for installation of a new granite countertop. We roughed it going without a kitchen sink, dishwasher, and range during this time. It actually makes you realize how pathetically dependent we have become on the creature comforts that living in a developed society affords us. Also, why would anyone want to drop hard earned American pesos on a slab of rock that will simply be used to chop vegetables and support a toaster and coffee maker? Lisa and I justified it, to ourselves at least, by saying that if we are going to invest in anything, it may as well be upgrading our house. The DC housing market, bubble or no bubble, is still a good bet for your money.

It finally arrived: 600 lbs of Santa Cecilia granite, cut from a quarry in Brazil yesterday... an ornamental rock in a kitchen in Kensignton, MD today.

The three guys who installed it were late due to a previous job that went longer than expected. They arrived after 4pm and literally worked straight til 10pm. They didn't stop once for bathroom breaks, and barely paused to drink some Coke/water that I offered them. Unfortunately because our kitchen was out of commission, I didn't have any food to give them, so they worked straight through dinner. There were many times they actually RAN to their truck to get supples, om prder to try to be more efficient. In the end, they did an absolutely fantastic job. Oh yeah, they happen to all be hispanic. All I can say is that if you show up with that kind of work ethic, I don't care if you are American or non-American, legal or illegal, you have my business.