Monday, July 12, 2010

Never too old to learn

This morning, I finally tried making a decorated concrete stepping stone.  It was an interesting process.  I learned NOT to use quick dry concrete.  It dried so fast that I barely had time to lay the decorative pieces on the 'stone'.  I have broken up old pottery to make shards to use in creating a design on the stones.  The one I did today took all the quick dry cement I had.  I'll buy the regular stuff to use for the other stones because I need more than 5 minutes to press shards into the surface.  I think this stone will be ok, but I may have to put grouting around the pieces, to hold them in place. I'll see what it is like when it dries.  It's supposed to rain every day this week, so I probably won't make any more stepping stones for a while.

The rain, if it actually happens, is certainly needed.  It will keep me inside, which is good for the house.  I expect I will actually finish the house cleaning.  If only it would stay clean!  I had to vacuum the living room again yesterday, because I put together a set of bathroom shelves (the kind that fit around and above the toilet tank).  They were packed in thin layers of styrofoam which tended to fall apart in small pieces as I removed the many pieces of the shelving.  This time, at least, the directions were written by someone who actually speaks and writes English.  They were pretty clear and easy to follow.  The only problem was that I could have used an extra pair of hands to keep the piece from tipping over as I added the upright tubes.  It looks very nice, now and is much sturdier than the old one.  I could take a photo, but really, bathroom shelves aren't exactly photo material.  Rather boring, actually.  Now all I have left to put together is the new shower head.  That should be easy, as I have done this several times before. 

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