It was an experiment on my part. I saw a picture of a blooming bulb that was not potted and the person held it in his hands. It was on the web site one of the panellists here, but I just can't find it right now. The original credit is his. So I just decided to do the experiment as well. When this bulb arrived, it was quite developed, so I let it go to bloom without being potted. After I took the picture, I potted it. It brought me three other scapes and this Summer, it brought another scape outside with three flowers from which two developed huge seed pods. Amazing bulb.

I have Peacock Green, which has similar colors to Uba Tuba, but with a larger pattern. It is predominantly dark green, with bursts of blue,as well as black flecks and gold veining. I love the dramatic look, and it does hide crumbs, however, fingerprints are another story. It shows every fingerprint and streaks when it is wiped. If this will bother you, then steer clear from the darker shiny granites. I use a microfiber cloth to keep it streak free and to shine it up. I also use granite polish for special occasions, which makes it glisten like a mirror. Its not often you see such glass-like shine with the lighter granite colors. In this first picture, the two round yellow circles are reflections of the recessed lights above.

I showed this post to my husband and he reminded me that the kitchen is actually only 13x9, not 16x9 which it would have ended up if we had bumped it out like we did the dining room. I thought I should clarify in case anyone with a similar sized kitchen was wondering. marita40: I was originally going to use dal tile. Then we I got the door sample for my cabinets it just looked too white in comparison. So I looked at a lot of tile. I ordered samples from Anchor Bay, including the crackle, which is really pretty. But as Sweeby says, you have to stay with your vision, and mine was clean and simple, so I went with the solid glaze. I think the bisque gives the tile a slightly "older" look, and makes the contrast with the granite a little less severe. If you are considering the bisque, I would suggest ordering a square foot rather than just one tile, because it does trend (IMO) a little warm gray, rather than beige. And at $8.50 sf, it wasn't awfully expensive. mpmg36: I really think having a shallow pantry helps keep it organized. At one point in our planning we were trying to fit in a small walk in pantry, so at first I was a little disappointed with the idea of the shallow pantry. But I think in terms of function, it works better for me, and my kids, because we can tell what we have at a glance.

this looks just like slabs I found under the name "mother of pearl" quartzite (in chicago). stunning, gorgeous, and beyond expensive. If someone can afford this I would love to come over and see it installed since I had to pass on it...sniff, sniff :(