it's big, it's heavy, it's wood!

All this mess can only mean one thing. We were hit by a tornado.

In addition to its swath of destruction, it seems to have left some countertops in its wake . . .

They haven't been fastened down or finished yet obviously, but you can add me to the legions of Ikea butcher-block fans that already rule the internets. As it stands now, we plan to finish them the same way we refinished the upstairs pine floors - first coat is 25% stain (half minwax red chestnut/half dark walnut) and 75% waterlox, with three additional coats of just waterlox. I did learn two things today; first off, to poly the underside of the slab that sits on top of the (will be) dishwasher to protect it from moisture, and second, to caulk before the waterlox, as the caulk won't stick to the waterlox. I'll be finishing the straight piece in the next week, but the corner will be waiting till we have some time to do some more tweaking of the cut and leveling.