Countertops!

Ahhh. Granite. There have been wild ups and downs the last few weeks with respect to the remodeling but today was a bright spot on many levels.



My friend Tony and I borrowed a van from my old business partner and drove to NJ to pick up the countertop. I had built a little A-frame out of left over sticks of wood and had a couple of strap clamps at the ready. The deal with stone is that it’s strong but brittle—don’t bend, like a couple of directors I’ve worked with. So instead of being flexible, and absorbing the shock of say, a new idea, or a bump in the road, they break into a million pieces.

With stone, to avoid this, you transport it on edge, strapped to an A-frame. Come to think of it, that may be advisable with respect to the aforementioned directors. Hmmmm.

The longest piece was 5 feet long and really heavy. Tony almost dropped it a half dozen times, and he plays hockey! I, on the other hand, am skinny but scrappy and strong.



They partially cut out the sink hole and now I have to figure out how to go about completing the job. They do this because it helps to strengthen the piece while it is being transported. Once it is installed, they take a grinder and complete the cut. So far my feeble attempts have kicked up tons of dust but have done very little damage to the remaining granite holding the nasty sink cut-out in place. Tomorrow my goal is to accomplish this task and to install the sink and faucet!!

The downs of the last few weeks I won’t go into, but the latest up is that my wife just booked a very nice acting job that will occupy her for the first four months of next year. She is to replace Kathleen Chalfant as Miss Havisham. Ok, not actually replace directly, I’ve been implored to make clear. Kathleen Chalfant played the role in the NYC incarnation of the play as it premiered before hitting the road as all Theatreworks productions do. So several tiers of possible Chalfant replacements were (probably) not interested in the touring schedule. That said, there was a legitimate city wide selection process, rigorous in nature, and yours truly (not me, the pretty one) landed on top.

In the next two weeks I will be cleaning up the mess from the remodeling, hiding the tools in the basement, and both the Mrs. and I will be trodding the boards once again. What’s left of the remodel will be picked up in mid Feb and finished by the end of March. Forgive me if the blog finds it’s way into the rehearsal process and I bore you with an-actor-prepares!