Avocatus

Blue skies, nor wester. Second day in a row. Not really winter weather but we've had nor westers in the middle of the winter before. They are a nice break from the endless cold. I leave at lunchtime to meet Nicki at the Granite Benchtop Company, and Anthony, the owner/manager. On the way I collect charts from Resene of greens. The slab, quartzite from Brazil, name of Avocatus, is sitting upright at the back of an open barn. We walk through manufacturing machines, men at work looking up from their cutting and shaping of benches. It's an interesting piece of stone. Large with bold shapes through it. Some look like seagulls- white quartz in the shape of wings. It is for the kitchen island and we quickly decide it's too striking to leave the rest behind so we'll use it for the splash back too. Where to cut for each is the question. We also need to finalise the material for the L-shaped bench round the sink and cooking hob. There are a lot of choices and Anthony brings out samples so we can match them to the Avocatus. I change my mind several times but take home a sample of engineered stone. And there's the choice for the cabinetry colour. Eternity. A deep green. Enduring. Although nothing ever is.

On the way home I stop in at Acero, the place of Mercer sinks. "The best stainless steel in New Zealand," the sales person assures me. The news on Covid...Health Department procedures are anything but robust or even common sense. Jacinda brings in the army to manage quarantine for people coming in from overseas. Compassionate exemptions to shorten quarantine will be stopped. I imagine the military will see things in black and white. What we need, methinks, to beat this virus.