My fingers are covered in mortar so thick I’m afraid I might need to be scraped down with a putty knife before I can be allowed a shower.

For over two weeks I’ve worked on it a little bit at a time, nursing my back for days afterwards because it’s a killer, that floor. Each day it seemed I’d accomplish less and less and take more time to recover. When I woke up this morning and looked again at the remaining 1/3, I decided it had to be done tonight (I work at night to lessen the chance of it being walked on…never works, but I try). For the last 4 hours I’ve trimmed, notched and carefully shifted tiles, trying to maintain straight lines (impossible).
I’m almost looking forward to the grouting. It’s gotta be easier than this.
It’s not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve seen high dollar pros set crooked tile of varying heights so you can bet your britches I won’t be complaining about the imperfections. No way. They are there because I’ve done it myself - all while working around a husband, three kids, three curious cats, and six stubborn-as-mule dogs.
But the floor is beautiful. And it’s finished. Nothing left but the grouting of it. Go me!

And dial up still sucks.