Grouting

After a long day Thursday of varnishing and prepping the floor, I grouted and finished the tiles, much to the approval of my project manager who was on-hand today to take ownership of the process now that the work is done and everything has gone relatively well. She does seem happier today. Like all good subjects, I bask in the radiance of the queen.

Have you grouted? It is a messy business. Those cracks between the tiles are filled with a mixture of sand and cement that dries very quickly and very permanently. You apply it with a rubbery trowel and then carefully wipe it off with a sponge, rinsing and wiping until the sponge washes clean.

These little tiles had lots of space between them so I had just enough grout. Imagine. The area is just 10 inches wide and 10 feet long and only about 1/4 inch deep, and it took 7 pounds of grout to fill it up. Oh, wonders of the universe, when will you stop blinding me with your magnificence?

Yesterday we moved furniture back into place and put pictures and little statues on the wall, marking the unofficial end of this project and a return to relative normalcy, though there is still much to do.

Today I'll clean out the garage. Later this afternoon the Obama transition team arrives for secret meetings and, who knows, maybe they will want to see the garage? I have some cool tools out there. Cheryl is convinced that they will not be interested, but I know these Washington types. They are all do-it-you-selfers at heart, doing things they aren't really trained to do, making up the rules as they go, covering up mistakes, smearing mud then sponging it away.

My people are coming.

But here I am typing this when I should be preparing for the meeting. We will be reviewing some of their proposed cabinet picks and other assignments--Barack is taking Lincoln as his role model and wants to surround himself with his rivals. Right. Except Lincoln didn't have 24-hour TV news. I'll straighten him out,. Now I need to finish off the base boards in the breakfast room before everyone gets here. Or maybe they would like to help?