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As part of the blow-by-blow aspect of the blog world, here is the latest stage in our kitchen renovation. Sorry if this is too much fuss over our little galley kitchen, but we were so excited to finally get our new countertop today. Also there's some technical details I'll share in case they're helpful for those of you also working on your kitchens.

We ordered it at Home Depot. The company that made and installed it is called Contours and they did such a nice job. The holes for the sink and faucet are perfect, and the installer even asked me about exactly where we'd like the faucet. As you can see in the top picture they had to cut away from the cabinet at the back a little bit to fit the sink. Then they added extra strips of wood on the walls for support.
Then they put in the countertops and cut the holes:
We still need to install the dishwasher, so the wooden frame it's standing on will go and it will attach to the countertop. The countertop material is Corian solid surface, but there is a strip of wood affixed to the underside that you can screw the dishwasher into. (ie. no need for a side-mounting kit). We chose an "eased" edge for the countertop which means it looks square but the corners aren't too sharp. It's 1.5" thick on the edges but the main area is thinner than that.

Because we have IKEA cabinets without a frame, you need a "build up" for laminate countertops so that the drawers clear the countertop when you pull them out. This isn't necessary for Corian countertops because they are already built up with the way they are put together.
They did such a nice job,even the caulking around the edges is perfect:Here's the right side of the kitchen:
And finally a detail of the surface:
My tips for picking your countertop are to take a cabinet door with you if you can, and a paint chip of your wall colour. It's hard to remember colours, and there's so many different whites and browns and greys it can be hard to guess what will coordinate if you don't have them in front of you.

We chose Corian because it's very practical, it's stain & scratch-resistant, maintenance free, non-porous, bacteria-resistant and heat-resistant. It can be repaired if you damage the surface because it's a solid material as opposed to laminate which is a coating on another material. Also I've always loved the feel of it, it has a smooth stony feeling.

It was one of the most expensive ones, but we just gave up with the budget. We've done pretty well so far and it's really a bargain kitchen all things considered. So we spent more than we'd expected but it was worth it. We just couldn't find a cheaper option we really liked. When you've done so much work and already spent a lot, it's disheartening to choose something you don't really like.

Now that we have this done we can take a sample piece of the countertop when we go to choose backsplash tiles. That's going to be lots of fun! Also we will finally have our sink installed early next week and so no more washing up in the bathroom sink. Can't wait for that!

"We owed money ot the IRS, Citibank Visa, Washington University, the Wilshire Credit Corporation, the family, and fourteen other people. And after years of uncertainty, we thought we had struck it out, weathered the storm, seen the light at the end of the dark tunnel of a hundred strokes of bad luck and stupid life decisions. And the big payoff?"

That's the darkest moment from Allen Rucker's new memoir, reflecting on his life as a Hollywood writer after a life-altering disorder left him paralyzed. 

While The Best Seat in the House (in hardcover now, look for the trade paperback in January 2008) focuses on recovery, it also provides a practical, honest look at the world of screenwriting. Today, this once struggling television and film writer shares some more Hollywood wisdom.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

 
Jason Boog:
Your book also features some harrowing descriptions of your life as a young, struggling writer with a family in Hollywood. Do you have any advice for young writers looking to move to movie and television writing? Are there any mistakes you would urge them to avoid, especially while raising a family?

Allen Rucker:
My mistake was probably ever coming to Hollywood in the first place, but we’ll save that for Dr. Melfi. Continue reading...

Have you ever clicked on the iMovie (or other free film-editing program) icon on your computer? Most writers haven't, but they should.

The day is coming when the word "professional writer" will include a grocery list of abilities, including blog software abilities, digital camera technique, and video editing. You think I'm joking, but I can think of a couple journalists off the top of my head that have turned those abilities into crazy cool careers.

I've dabbled in the editing myself, but I'm always looking for more guidance. Cobbling together a visual story is a mysterious and difficult art for us text-based dummies like me.

Luckily, the New Videographer blog published A List of Key Video Storytelling Textbooks that can help us use these tools better. Continue reading...

"I never bought beer before. I never went on a joyride, I mean, a reckless one; was never in a car accident; never, well, I've been beaten up, but never with that many spectators; never broke in anywhere; never skinny-dipped, and I almost did, I was going to; never eluded the authorities before..."

That's Larry Doyle's hero ticking off just a few of the underage taboos he broke over the course of one cinematic novel, I Love You, Beth Cooper. Doyle has written the Ulysses of high school novels, chock full of allusions and dreamy imagery.

The book is cinematic because Doyle cut his teeth in the world of television. Doyle has written for The New Yorker, The Simpsons, and HBO, and this week he sharing some writing advice with us. 

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing.

Jason Boog:

What did television teach you about writing? How are the first steps that aspiring script writers and television writers should take? Any resources you would recommend for this kind of writing? Continue reading...