Well, we did it. We tiled our floor, and I (and my family) survived Girl's Camp for an entire week.

First for the tiling. We did it, we did it, and it is done! A sense of accomplishment even like unto graduating college. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera to take pictures of the work in progress, but I do hope to post some pre-tile pictures from when we bought our house and some post-tile pictures. The difference is amazing and beautiful. While not perfect, (and I am a perfectionist), we did a good job. While we both cleared and cleaned the existing floor area (yucky linoleum), Kevin became the expert in tiling, and I became the expert in cutting tile using a wet-saw. (I did feel cool mastering my first real power tool.) It just took practice and a even touch. If anyone ever thinks about tiling themselves, we would both say do it, while also giving some helpful quick tips. I learned that it is valuable to wear a hat while using a wet-saw or you will spend a good 30-40 minutes combing tiny pieces of tile out of your hair before you take a shower. And, it is important to wear junk clothes, maybe even a plastic apron, as the saw covers you in clay colored mist that goes through your shirt onto your underclothes. I also learned that when using the saw outside in the sun, cover your neck... (my first real sunburn of the season). I think Kevin would say that it is important to mix your mortar really well so there are no lumps and it is nice and smooth. He may even recommend using a power drill with a mixing paddle attachment (which we did not have). I believe he also mentioned that it is important not to lay too much mortar, because it may make your tile stick up higher than other tiles. Really, it is just important to be consistent in how your doing things.

We are sooooooo grateful for the many people that stopped by to help us and give us a boost of encouragement: Brandon for getting us started, Aaron for helping clean mortar and giving Kevin someone more interesting to talk too, John for figuring out a nifty way to measure tiles for cutting, GR and Bob for getting us moving and providing moral support, Matt for learning how to grout for the first time while my mom was looking over his shoulder, Rob for making sure that we were doing everything right, and finally my mom who had the energy to clean the grout off the tiles so well that we only needed to clean them 1 extra time ourselves AND David my brother (who just moved in from Albuquerque) who pretty much sealed all the grout and came up with time-saving, nifty hair tools to do it with. We also want to thank Irina for making us a full home-cooked spread. (We certainly got tired of microwave food.) We couldn't have done it without them. (Well, I guess we could of, but it would have taken us about a month instead of one week....)

All in all, tiling is VERY tedious and HARD work. We spent many nights up until 2 or 4 am finishing something so we could move forward the next day. As long as you know that and resign yourselves to it without hard feelings, it can certainly be accomplished. (I also know that my prayers for strength and energy were often answered.) I have even noticed a great patience for tedium I picked up because of this project. You can imagine how handy that patience becomes in everyday life, waiting in lines, big piles of laundry to sort/fold, piles of dishes, organizing garages, and sometimes a greater patience in steering William, though at times tiredness took over and there was little room for error... :) (It even helped me in Girl's Camp.) So, 280 sq. ft down, 75 to go. Easy sailing from here. We are still planning on tiling our 2 bathrooms to match, and then hopefully we can take a breather. Who knows, maybe a back splash someday... (but, maybe not...).

Well, I'll have to save Girl's Camp for tomorrow. I actually get a little time to spend with my hubby, and I better take it. We have only had minutes here and there this past week, and without a little time together we both tend to get grumpy. So see you soon.

Gaia