A Scorcher of a Day

Michelle over at "What Was I Thinking" has asked for a new post from me and some others, too. So this is going to be a mish-mash of a little bit of everything, since I haven't really done anything too interesting to write about!

The week started off with more strawberries! I did up another 2 gallons for the freezer. I plan to do a few more yet before the season is over, too. Then it will be peaches next! After that comes apple season! Nothing like strawberry shortcake, peach pie, or apple pie in the wintertime!



Yesterday was extremely hot here! High 90's, but my car thermometer actually read the outside temp as 103 in the afternoon! I was out running errands and shopping at Costco. By the way, those turkey salad sandwiches I mentioned in a post one day are made from the canned turkey meat, brand name of Snow's. I thought it came already made up, but it doesn't. You have to make your own turkey salad. Ann made it for lunch last Friday, and it was just so-ooooo good! I should have known it was too good to be store bought. She said she used mayo, celery, a little onion, and a teaspoon of lemon juice with the turkey. Let me tell you, it was delicious!!!


It's too hot to go anywhere or do anything outside, so I've been thinking that I really need to get busy and finish a big project I started last June! I used to work for a builder, and he came one Saturday and helped me tear out the hardwood floor in my foyer (I have never been a fan of hardwood floors) and also an area of carpeting in front of the foyer closet. I've always wanted ceramic tile in that entire area. I hate having workers in my home with their dirty shoes on, so I decided that I would tackle it myself. I went out and bought a tile cutter, a pair of nippers, a mitre box and saw, etc. and went to work! Richard, the builder loaned me his laser level, and it was a breeze to keep the tile joints straight and square using it. I laid my son's foyer when he built his new home quite a few years ago (when I was much younger!), but I forgot what a job it was! His dad did the cutting, and I did the laying. Sounds easy, right? Wrong!!! It's a lot of back-breaking work! Stosh helped me with some of the trim, but he is having trouble at the present time with one of his knees, and Richard said he would help me, too, but I can do it....all I have to do is set my mind to it and just do it!

My foyer is 12 feet long and 7 feet wide at the widest point. One day I laid 14 tiles, and then other days I would just lay 2 or 3 tiles, and some days, I didn't lay any! I went 3 weeks one time without laying any at all! It got to be quite a chore, especially when you have a bad back. I finally got the tile all laid, but I am still working on replacing the baseboard and shoe moulding that I damaged tearing the hardwood out.

These townhomes are relatively new. Mine was only 8 months old when I bought it and was like new. Just a young mother and her son lived here, and then she was transferred with her job. I replaced the carpeting and pad throughout, as I wanted continuous filament carpeting, which doesn't show wear or a traffic pattern. I made the big mistake of choosing off-white! I love it, but it's really not practical. There is just me, so I don't wear shoes in the house, so it stays clean, but it's always a worry when a cat decides to give me a hairball surprise! At that time, I only had 3 cats...no problem, but that has changed since I added more to the household since then.

Anyhow, I still want to lay a 3' x 3' area of ceramic tile by the back door yet, and when I get that done, then I can get the carpet guy to come in and tack down the carpet where it meets the tile. It will be a year on June 10th that I started this project! The tile is all laid in the foyer, but I just need to put down a few small pieces of the primed baseboard and then paint it. I think it's about time I got busy and finished it! That's easier said than done! Someday I would like to tackle my kitchen, but geez, that will take me 2 years to get that done! I think I've been watching too much HGTV, as they make everything look so simple! LOL

This is a pic of the first day when I laid 14 tiles. What a mess I was in! I can't stand for my house to be torn or messed up like this!



Making progress...slow but sure!

I had lots of help in the background....notice the cat eyes a-shining!

Below is how I got my corners cut perfectly...I made paper patterns, allowing for joint allowance and baseboard thickness, and then traced them onto the tiles.

In this one, the inspector, Miss Bootsie, is checking out my progress. ("What's this? My hiding place is not done yet, Mom?") The cats about drove me crazy when I was doing all this!

When I get it all done, I will post a pic of it. It looks really nice, now that I have the grouting all done! I could finish it in a day if I would just set my mind to it. Seems the older I get, the less ambition I have, yet the more ideas I get! Please tell me I'm not alone.....