Just when I thought I’d have a weekend “off” – well, off from everything but laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, and mom-ing.  Those are a given every weekend, but there was NOTHING to work on this weekend, or at least nothing pressing.  Enter a long-leaky toilet in the girls’ bathroom that had started to ruin the floor.  My dad came over Friday night to help pull it up and assess the damage, and let it dry out so we could put it back in on Saturday with new parts.  His assessment – “Well, you know you’ve been wanting to replace this floor.  This would be the ideal time, since the toilet is out, and I have some extra tile.”  Shea and Holly were gone until Sunday, and we figured it was a good time, so off (again) to Home Depot – I’m not sure how they don’t know us by name these days.  We picked up backer board, and Saturday morning Daddy came over to put it down.  Then I started tiling.  No, Mom, I had no help – the bathroom is WAY too small to have 2 people in there at once, let alone 2 people laying tile!  I laid all the whole tiles (only 7!), then left it overnight.  Sunday morning Daddy came over to help mark tiles for cutting, as we had only 22, needed about 20, and I was nervous I would mis-mark and run out.  We realized as we cracked open the second box that they weren’t the same – similar, but not the same.  Whoops!  We decided that since 7 were glued down, we would manage with what we had.  I spent the morning cutting, the afternoon setting, and the evening with a headache.  And only 1 bathroom (in our bedroom) with 3 teenaged girls.

Monday morning was only slightly chaotic.  I came home from work and grouted.  Mind you, I’ve never been the one mixing grout before, it has just been handed to me ready to go.  My first try yieded a very thin, sandy soup.  Whoops again!  My second try was too dry, and I tried to use it anyway, which was way too much work.  Mark convinced me to add water, and suddenly I had something of a consistency I recognized!  The remainder of the floor went much more quickly.  We lived one more night with just one bathroom – finally got the toilet back in last night and guess what – it still leaks.  But it’s an inside problem, and probably just needs new guts.  At least it’s not leaking into the floor now.

Of course I totally forgot about getting a before picture, but trust me – probably 40+ year old linoleum – long yellowed, and way beyond redemption.  Now we have this:

Isn’t it pretty?

The rest of my spare time lately has been spent on a shawl for Mom.  When we were in Victoria, at Beehive Wool, Mom flagged me down in the store and asked if I had the Fall 2006 Interweave.  “Of course!” OK, well, then she needed me to make something for her.  They had a display model of a Swallowtail Shawl made in Fleece Artist’s Peter Rabbit – a yummy, super fuzzy angora mix.  She wanted one, and I told her that I would make her one, but where was the yarn for mine?  She laughed, and I picked it out.  For once she picked the bright colors, and I chose more muted ones.  When I told her about my Bigfoot shawl, she asked when I would start her shawl.  I told her when it wasn’t 90+ degrees every day and I could stand to touch it!  I finally started a few weeks ago, and this has been a super-fun knit.  Due to a heads-up from the Queen, before even approaching the nupps, I sought out a better (read easier) way to do them.  I tried a suggested SL 2, P 3 tog, P2SSO, and it just wasn’t pretty.  I then read to use a skinny sock needle to purl all 5 together.  I broke out a never-used 00 double-point, and it was very nearly easy!  There were a few ripping episodes, but I had been smart with lifelines at the end of each section, and I only needed them once.  And no, we won’t talk about the tinking of today, we’ll only talk about the joy of binding this off!  Hopefully I can block and pull the points out this weekend.  It probably will end up getting to Mom when we head up there for Christmas, unless I can be convinced that it’s really needed before that!

Slightly closer-up:

Swallowtail Shawl from IK Fall 2006
Yarn – Fleece Artist Peter Rabbit

My next big project will probably be ripping out my LL bulky sweater from last spring – it’s just too short, and I couldn’t bring myself to finish it.  It’s hard to think about ripping it, but it will just sit otherwise.  I’d really like to start some more Christmas knitting, but if I wait until after Christmas, I won’t get it finished in time to wear it this winter!  I have a few second socks OTN as well, but they will just have to wait until they’re done to have their pictures taken.

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