Flushing

The tub is in and the walls are ready to receive tile. The window is gone and has been insulated and walled up both inside and out. It has been a week.

Remember, this was only going to take two days. I don't want to tell him that I am not going to have enough wall tiles, since he eliminated the window that was going to be replaced with a glass block affair. He likes to change design plans and I just go along because I realize it is easier.

The floor is another problem. He does not want a tile floor. It would be cold. Any floor will be cold since the house is built on a cement slab. I suggest a heated floor, but he looks at me like a bird is nesting in my hair. Now, should you be thinking about resale value and such. It really doesn't apply here. The value is in the business, not the living quarters, such as they are. Not only that, we have a very small budget to work with and no wiggle room unless we give up eating this winter. I am of the opinion that I could last 6 months or so without feeding, but I happen to like to eat.

I watch a lot of HGTV and tend to record episodes that I find worth sharing. One particular episode showed a sheet of plywood cut into 12" X 12" squares, sanding and staining each one and then laying a rather unique looking floor. This particular episode aired about 10 years ago and appealed to he who has many tools. He went straight-away and procured a sheet of quality plywood and cut it into squares. He sanded and lovingly applied coat after coat of a polyurethane stain. How was I to know he still had those squares, tucked away in his beloved barn. I am still curious how he could locate them and actually put his hands on them, but that is another story all by itself. I will need to include the testimonials of those brave campers who have actually entered the barn.

He presents the wood squares to me and asks what I think about using them to floor the bathroom. This is also when he thinks he will use sawdust and glue as grout. You will recall that I vetoed that idea and we used the sawdust to make fire starters. Since my role in this venture is the designer/voice of reason, I went and measured the area to be floored. We needed exactly 30 squares and a threshold. We did not have enough of the original batch. He thinks he may have purchased only half a sheet of plywood, but I think the other squares could be hiding in the barn.

So, he went and purchased another sheet of plywood, thin plywood and some stain. He spent hours in the barn, cutting and sanding, then brought the squares up to the store and started applying stain. The stain was very dark and the original squares were very light. Instead of sanding and re- staining the original squares, we just went with all new ones. I stained them with 4 coats each. Last night, he applied three squares using liquid nails, then we weighted them and left them overnight.

They were firmly in place this morning and he shooed me out to my sewing room so he could work in the bathroom. On one of my trips in to check on progress, I found a very disappointed plumber/carpenter. He had applied more of the squares, this time using a different product and they warped. No doubt from the liquid content in the tile glue he smeared all over them. Kept that thought to myself. He is done with this flooring project and has ripped up the warped squares. Tomorrow I will go to Home Depot and get some peel and stick tiles, along with the recommended concrete primer and do the floor myself. I will take along one of the tiles I had planned to re-use and find something that will compliment it to use along with it.

After making a trip to the bathroom that I am now referring to as the outhouse, I launched a search through the leftovers for our dinner. As I was heating up some kind of a pasta dish I created, I heard a noise from the bathroom that I had not heard for over a week. I heard the toilet flush! It is not my new high rise deluxe toilet, but the old model. I do not care, so sweet was the sound of that flushing toilet. The music of civilization! Never will I take the privilege of a warm seat for granted again!

As a reward for this task I ran into the store and grabbed a bag of stale marshmallows and made Rice Krispie treats. Not just any old Rice Krispie treats either. I added peanut butter and topped them off with a chocolate coating. No effort is too much for he who provides me with a flushing toilet!