Snow Days

It is snow day number 2 and a half.  On our list of things done: video game solving, book reading, online shopping, napping. No work... and that includes the Bank St. house. We have 3 feet of snow and nowhere to put it! Some of us had a little cabin fever last night and ventured out.  Here are some pictures...

It was very peaceful walking in the middle of the street without any cars on the road

Thames Street 

Arriving at the Horse You Came in On... snowmobiles parked out front

On a warmer note, the polls are closed and the results are in. For the kitchen countertop survey, there was a tie between granite and engineered stone. Following were concrete, corian and stainless steel.

GRANITE 33%

ENGINEERED STONE 33%

CONCRETE 16%

CORIAN 11%

STAINLESS STEEL 5%

LAMINATE 0% 

TILE 0%

While the survey was up, a few people asked me, "What exactly is engineered stone?" To which I replied, "I have no idea." I did my research... and then I tried to make a neat, excel spreadsheet...  and then I realized that Bob Villa did a better job.  

Check out this website: 

http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Countertop_Options-Countertops-A1579.html 

or: http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pdf/kitchencountertops.pdf 

Sam and I still haven't made a decision.  We voted for concrete because we like the texture and the color of natural concrete.  We are planning on darker floors and darker cabinets and so we want a lighter, neutral countertop.  I am concerned, though, about the installation and installation costs.  Off-site fabrication sounds difficult to transport and on-site sounds messy.  I am also a little concerned about the staining.  It is easy to say that we will keep up with the sealing and waxing but, once every 3 months is a lot (and we do occasionally eat beets). 

I guess our second vote, right now, would be for corian. This is because it is a durable, affordable option and it comes in solid colors.

If anyone has additional input, please comment! (I did change the settings so you can now comment even if you do not have a blogger account) 

We would like to dedicate this blog entry to the memory of Bill Marych's car.  Bill's car fell victim to the Baltimore Blizzard of 2010 when a tree fell on it. For you, Marych, a haiku:

bill's green dodge stratus,

stolen two times and once robbed,

good riddance cursed car.