Christmas Vacation - Day 4

I set the alarm for Tuesday morning (garbage day and all) but woke up before it went off. I put on a pot of coffee and got dressed. I finished the Blog and posted it then took four bags of trash and the mortar bucket (filled with tile bits and pieces) out to the road. Man it was cold out there! I checked the thermometer and it said 7 degrees.

I decided to forego eating breakfast (since I ate so late last night and will do brunch later when I get hungry. For now, the coffee is enough.

So, I am back still scrapping mortar off the tiles and cleaning in between them so I can grout. I glanced outside and see that it's snowing. It's gonna be a rough one today, tonight and tomorrow. We're supposed to have snow off and on today, switching to freezing rain during the night and then switch in just rain tomorrow afternoon. We've got a Severe Weather Alert from 4:00 PM today until 7:00 PM tomorrow!

I took a break at 10:30 to go get some more salt, (before the cable guy shows up). Ed, my new BF snow-plower, suggested that, since he got it down to the gravel, I "salt the hell" out of the driveway. Now I had a little bag of the "ice-melter" stuff, but nothing that would do that much area. So, I ran over to Home Depot and got two 40-pound bags of salt, a big orange bucket and four of those marking sticks (so, next time he will know where the driveway begins and ends). It was already treacherous to drive. It was a steady snow with small, slippery flakes. I got back home and shoveled the porch and garage apron again. Then I started throwing salt everywhere. I used up about 50 pounds of the stuff and put the rest into the bucket for later use. I stuck the markers at the corners of the driveway and came inside.

Well, not really. I went out back and filled up the birdfeeder, first. At noon, I got a call from the cable company. They said there had been some sort of local area "problem" but that it was fixed now and please try my TV again. I did and it worked! So, I don't have to have the tech come over. I turned it onto Channel 4 to catch the news and weather and I was shocked at the list of traffic accidents from this snow.

I decided I was getting hungry. So, I warmed up a bowl of the chicken soup. I ate that with the wheat crackers, watching the news. For dessert, I sliced up my last Gala apple and three slices of that white cheddar cheese and munched on that. I was warm and drowsy, so I decided to take Jake's advice and take a nap. So, I did.

I woke up at 2:30 PM and reluctantly got back to work. By 4:00 PM, all the tile and excess mortar had been cleaned. I took a break to get the mail and then started mixing the grout.

I started with the South wall and then did the North wall. By 6:30 PM, both walls were finished being grouted and cleaned. But, there is a problem! I am running dangerously low on grout. And, it's too damn bad outside weather-wise to go get more. If the freezing rain quits early enough, perhaps I can get out tomorrow. Damn! There goes taking a shower on Christmas morning in this shower! I decided to do the doorway next and then the doorway wall, until the grout runs out.

AT 7:00 AM, the doorway and the doorway wall were done, but I was out of grout. What kills me is that I was at Home Depot this very morning! I waited the 20 minutes needed for the grout to dry and then wiped the tiles with a damp sponge.

I threw my tile clothes into the washer (these are rapidly becoming the most washed clothes in the world) and finally took my daily shower. I stayed in the shower until the water went lukewarm, letting it beat on my poor back and my right knee (both of which are buggered up by now).

I took the rest of the white button mushrooms and sliced them. I saut�ed them with a medium-sized yellow onion. I then fried up about a half-pound patty of ground chuck. I topped the "steak" with the onions and mushrooms and ate it watching TV. But I was beat so I went to bed at 9:30 PM.