My citrus have started the party out doors. Nagami kumquat in very bad shape but I believe it will live.. It is marked with the flying baseball cap. the crown marks my sweet lee tangerine tree. It was on its death bed then and is doing very well since planting there. The large tree below is my seed grown meiwa kumquat tree. In the process of moving it in and out I dropped it once and forgot to put in the spacer and burned the trunk with the light bulb. It has lost 1/3 of its leaves and shows no sign s of growth the smaller tree is a seed grown nagami kumquat. It is doing very well. 3 happy sweet lee tangerine trees from seed in bottomless gallon food tins. I had placed 3 sweetlee trees and a nagami kumquat tree in the community garden. Squirrels dug 3 sweetlee trees and the nagami up, one was replantable but died. the seed grown nagami was in critical damaged and was moved on to the roof as seen in the flying baseball cap. All four trees were very un happy not because the were grown from seed Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/slideshow/Seed%20grown%20Meiwa%20kumquat%20tree

Have you tried searching the finished kitchens blog for New Venetian Gold? I did the search and came up with a few examples. Link is below. Here is a link that might be useful: New Venetian Gold

Well, mine is posted over there but not in the categories section. It's New Venetian Gold. We felt like it went well with our bronze accents and cabinets. Lindy's Kitchen

Thanks for the thread, Senator. Interesting pictures, though the "leathered" counters look same as honed in the pictures. Guess as some said, you have to see it in person. Babs, yes, there would probably be minimal eating at the island, we tend to sit at the table for family meals and serve buffet style, so food is plated before sitting down, and the island would only be used occasionally--probably mostly for guests having a beverage and sitting and chatting with me while I work in the kitchen. I've become a "compulsive placemat user" with my polished Antique Brown in the other kitchen's similarly used island, so feel well-trained to minimize accidents with the marble. For whatever occurs, I am prepared to embrace, and I think any etches will be minimally noticeable, given the honed surface, and the lighting situation in the room. Worst-case, I think a freestanding island would be relatively easy to refinish, though I think I would just let it patina naturally. I should have mentioned that the island with marble will be a secondary island, and the main work area of the kitchen will have a small island with the same countertop as the perimeter. In thinking about how my family uses our kitchen, I think the most potential for etching would be with food prep rather than the occasional eating at the secondary island. I see your logic though, for a kitchen where the island is frequently used for dining, there would be just as much risk of etching as on the other countertops.