I returned my countertop sample to yon Depot this evening after work (it wasn't one of their standard "giveaway" samples, it was a big chunk with a premium edge on it so I had to swear to return it). My kitchen designer wasn't there, but one of her colleagues was. He took an interest in my countertop dilemma and said, "How about granite?" (It's the same price per square foot, though it seems like it should be more expensive it isn't unless you get into really fancy finished edges, etc.) I said I'd thought about it and was thinking of looking at it next. That's all I said - he looked at the granite samples for ten seconds and reached into the drawer and pulled out a sample, and I took it home and put it on the sample door in the natural light from the kitchen window and I'VE FOUND MY COUNTERTOP! It works perfectly, it is light and yet warm and has dark veining and speckling and even just the teeniest hint of the exact toffee shade of the cabinets here and there. This dude is either a color genius or was just damn lucky, but he steered me to just the right choice. It's nice to have another decision put to bed - of course, this reopens some others, because now the sink I'd selected ain't happening, and I have to decide if I want stainless steel or a porcelain sink, etc. But that's a very small decision in the grand scheme. The big bucks purchases have been nailed down, the rest is just details.

Power Pointing all day did indeed cause my hand and arm to become irritated again. This isn't a knitting issue, it's a work issue that spills over into knitting, yard work, etc. I need to see about making some ergonomic changes in my work environment - right now my right elbow rests on the arm of my chair when I'm using the mouse, and I think I have some residual nerve damage from the LAST job where my arm scraped across the desk edge when mousing until I complained and got a better arrangement. The elbow is the key - I'm pushing on a nerve that already has Issues, and it makes the whole arm from the elbow down start tingling in protest. It's not a huge deal, I don't want to sound like I'm a Victim of a Horrible RSI, but it's damn annoying and if it's annoying and uncomfortable now, I don't want to know what it will be like in a few years if I'm not vigilant now.

But knitting like a fiend on cat blankie 2 didn't cause me any grief at all, and my hand and arm felt entirely normal this morning before I started creating the PP show, so it's not the knitting - let's hear it for Continental style.