things I did this weekend - November 9, 2008

1. I started tiling the guest bathroom, where I'm tiling the walls with subway tile to a height of 5'. Laying floor tile is pretty easy, and I've done my share of that, but tiling walls is something else. I've done this once before, in the upstairs bathroom, and after a lot of false starts, I finally had success by starting at the floor and working my way up the walls. The trick is to keep everything in plumb, but I managed to do that, and the bathroom came out well.

An essential part of all D-I-Y projects for me is procrastination, usually achieved by my becoming engrossed in a good book, preferably fiction. Having had success in the previous wall tile project, I have no idea what possessed me, but instead of reading a good book like I usually do to put off starting the actual grunt work, I decided to consult some more D-I-Y tiling books before starting this project. All of the books stressed the importance of starting at the top of the wall, rather than at the bottom, as I'd done before. And so last night I did that, with disastrous results. How disastrous? Suffice it to say at 3:00 AM this morning I was prying tile off the walls, to be reapplied at a later date, but not too much later, as the guys are coming to install the countertop on Friday, and the walls have to be done by then.
2. I made a big pot of chili. On a cool night, I really enjoy a bowl of chili with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded extra sharp cheddar, a handful of crisp oyster crackers and grated onions on top.
3. I washed my car.

I know that doesn't sound like much, but the tiling wiped me out.