Christmas Vacation - Day 1

I woke up at 6:30 AM on Saturday and put a pot of coffee on. I went and finished the Blog for yesterday and then posted it. I made a pot of Irish porridge for breakfast. I didn't have any buttermilk in the house, so I ate some of it with butter and salt (another traditional Irish way).

So, I ate a hearty breakfast and have enough leftovers for two or three more! I took my morning meds and got dressed. I'll shower after I'm done working. When I was cleaning up the kitchen, I notice the dishwasher was full enough to run, so I started that up

Now, I did have a list for today (of course) but, as in most projects, it is always subject to change. So, instead of starting right in on the tile, I will deal with the drifted-over porch and garage apron as well as dig out the mailbox (I have my tracks from last night, so am confident I can get out if needed). I get a hat, gloves and boots and get outdoors at 9:30 AM.

So, by 10:15, I have the porch and garage apron cleared off. Where my tires rolled over the snow on the apron, the snow is compressed and icy, so I salted that. I dug out the mailbox as best as I could. This was more difficult because my neighbors down the road drove their snowmobiles next to it last night, compressing the snow. Hopefully the mailman will see I did make the effort and still deliver the mail.

Sidebar: I don't remember mail carriers out in the country being that picky about snow like they are here in the city. **shrug**

Since I was already dressed for the out-of-doors, I refilled the suet cage and the bird feeder. I stomped a big circle in the snow around the feeder and put down some seeds for the mourning doves. I also took some pictures for you.

Before getting to the tile work, I took care of some usual Saturday morning chores (stripping the bed and washing the bedding) and a more unusual task: ordering my Mom's Christmas present. A little birdie told me what she wanted (well, actually it was a bald-headed, crippled brother, but you get the idea). It took some Web searching, frequent consultation with Carl and some online help from Jake, but I finally got 'er done! Watch for the mail, Mom!!!

Then, I went up into the attic. I have decided with the time crunch the tile project has imposed, there will be no big Christmas tree this year. But, I still do need some Christmas decorations. So, I got down my usual stuff, plus the little two-foot tree. I set everything up and then warmed up some leftovers for my lunch. By 3:00 PM, I was on the tile project!

I took a short break at 5:00 PM to fix myself a drink. Both my back (probably the snow shoveling) and my mind need it. The entry into the shower is now done. I thought of various ways to secure the top of the doorway tiles, but finally settled on masking tape (see photos). I just didn't trust they would stay where I put them (gravity and all).

I checked outside and my mailbox flag is up! As I may have mentioned before, my mailman puts the flag up when he has mail he delivered. So, I guess my snow shoveling efforts were worth it. I put on my boots and trudged out to get the mail.

I have got three cloth band-aids on various fingers and my left thumb. Damn, but cut tiles are SHARP! And the cloth band-aids aren't working well with the wet tile saw. Somehow this reminds me of the Chinese (or is it Japanese?) "death of a thousand cuts!" Now it's back to work...

So, it's almost seven o'clock and I am getting worried! If you remember, I took back a TON of tile from the kitchen sink project. Well, now I am running out of mortar and am down to 10 tiles left. So, for the thin tiles needed, I am cutting up the more expensive radius tiles. But at 7:30 PM, I am officially finished! I have a dollop of mortar and just four complete tiles left. But, by God, the damn thing's done!!!

I shed my tile clothes and hit the shower. I got most of the mortar off. I changed into clean clothes and warmed up some potato leek soup I had made and frozen back in November, then thawed out yesterday. I ate it with the last of the Black Russian Bread, watching TV. I turned in at 10:00 PM.