Tile Work, Day 1

It rained a bit overnight. I went out on the patio and checked the rain gauge. There was about 1/8 inch of rain that fell overnight. It's still cloudy and damp, so maybe I'll get more.

Since it was still threatening rain, my trip to Lowe's for the job supplies was delayed. I can't get the backer board wet when I load it. So, after a shower I started a load of laundry and began rearranging the kitchen.

Finally, I gave in to my excitement and left just after 9:00 AM. I got a rolling cart and started loading it up. Man, why is EVERYTHING about tile so damn heavy? The tile, the mortar, the bag of grout and those damn backerboards? It took almost two hours to get everything, go through the checkout and out to the parking lot. The lady at the checkout asked me if I needed help loading the car. I said, "No, but I could have used some help pushing this cart around the store!"

Stupid me, I thought the backer board would fit in the car. It wouldn't go straight through the pass-through opening, so I had to angle it a bit. Which meant, I drove home in the mist (hoping it wouldn't rain) with half of it hanging out the trunk. I took odd roads, avoiding the ones I knew had bad potholes and bumps.

But, I made it and began unloading the backerboard. I put that on sawhorses in the garage. Just for fun, I measured the pass-through opening I assumed was big enough. It's 35 1/2-inches wide and the backerboard is exactly 36 inches.

Next, I finished rearranging the kitchen. I moved the chairs, rolling butcher block and trash basket into the living room. The table got pushed into a corner, covered up and everything on the counter went on the table. Everything under the kitchen sink went under the table. The watering can reminded me I needed to water the container gardens today, so I did that while I still had a kitchen faucet.

Back inside, I moved the refrigerator. I took off the kitchen curtain rod and put it in the office. Then I removed the window molding and sill, (which was not easy, BTW). I took off all the switch and plug plates. Now, I had to quit for a bit.

I laid down for a nap to rest my legs and knees. I slept about an hour and woke up, feeling a whole lot better. So, now I took all the remaining project supplies and lugged, (and I do mean lugged,) them into the kitchen. One thing really ticked me off. They had exactly the number of counter face pieces I needed in an open box, so I had grabbed it all. When I took them out of the box, I found three of them had mortar on the back! They stuck used tile somebody had returned back out for sale! Those will go back to the store tomorrow morning!

Now for the one thing I had hoped I'd never have to do again: take out the sink! I removed the water lines, the drain and then garbage disposal (after constructing a brace to hold it up). Then I stuck half my body into that damn little opening and, one by one, undid the 12 clips that hold it in. Hard to reach, hard to see with bifocals, this took a long, long time. But, finally it was done, and I pulled it out and put the sink downstairs. I cleaned the caulk off with a painter's knife.

It was now 7:15 PM and I was hungry. So, I made up some simple steak fajitas. I cut the leftover steak into thin slices, discarding the fat and bones. I warmed up two flour tortillas in the frying pan and the steak in the oven. Next, I sliced up two more poblano pepper and a medium-size yellow onion and saut�ed them until the onions were translucent. Then I mixed the steak with the onions and pepper and put some in each tortilla. I topped that with a drizzle of my home-made salsa and then a dollop of sour cream.

I ate that watching some TV, (it was spicy, but delicious, BTW). But, I was bushed, so I opened the windows and went to bed at 10:00 PM.