Grout: Before & After

It occurred to me the other day that the grout on our tile floor was - perhaps - not meant to be black. :) So I went to Home Depot and looked for grout cleaner. The only one I found had a list of hazards as long as my arm, and cautioned that users would need to have their skin covered from head to toe, and wear goggles and a fume mask while using it. Oddly, that didn't appeal to me.

I went home and Googled "grout cleaner recipe." There were many to choose from, most of them a variation on the ammonia-vinegar-baking soda theme. Not having any ammonia or vinegar in the house, I searched for even simpler recipes. I finally found one with just two ingredients: baking soda and water. I mixed up a batch (3 parts baking soda to 1 part water), grabbed a scrubby sponge, and tackled the grout on the kitchen floor.

Take a look! (The top is the "before" and the bottom is the "after," of course!)

It's beginning to look a lot like...

...Christmas!

We finally put up and decorated our Christmas tree today.
We received a huge (HUGE!) box from Gus's mom, chock full of beautifully wrapped presents (as seen in the picture above). In an impressive display of self-restraint, we actually put them under the tree this morning without opening a single one (though we did gently shake a few)! We're both really looking forward to unwrapping all these mystery gifts on Christmas. Thank you, Gus's mom! :)

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Monday update: We just received a huge box from my parents, too! Although those presents are not shown in the picture, they are also now in the place of honour under the tree. :) Thank you, Mom and Dad!
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We also hung the stockings by the chimney with care, and set up the nativity scene on the mantle:

Note, if you will, Mortimer*:

And Mortimer's little brother*:

* For those not in-the-know, Mortimer and Mortimer's little brother are little crocheted macraméd mice that Gus and his family used to hang on their Christmas tree every year. They got promoted this year. Their new job is to guard over the stockings, protecting them from would-be sneaks. :)

Do you like what we've done with the house?

I broke our house. Gus and I were up in the attic last Thursday evening, fixing a hole in one of our heating ducts. We were standing on the rafters, which - in most areas - are covered with thin sheets of plywood. As Gus leaned forward to look at something, I moved backward, missed the plywood, and the next thing I knew, I was hanging by my arms, with my head by Gus's ankles and my feet dangling in the kitchen below!

The damage:

























There was insulation everywhere!

























We tried patching it up as best we could:















Fortunately, a friend of ours used to build houses, so this evening he's here helping us fix it properly. :)

Vacation!!

The second fall term is done, and I (Angela) am officially on vacation until January 9th! Today was the graduation ceremony for our level 6 students. Afterward, we had our department Christmas party at a co-worker's home.

While vacation for me is just beginning, Gus just got a new job! Yesterday, he started working part-time for Reaper, doing in-house computer programming work for them. During the semester, he can conform his schedule to mine (e.g., working mornings at Reaper when I'm teaching mornings). But for Christmas break, he'll be working 9-1.

We will not be going home for Christmas this year. That means, for the first time in 9 years, we will not be traveling over the holidays. We'll both certainly miss celebrating with our families, but the prospect of not driving on snow-covered roads, not having to split our time between western WI and eastern WI, and not having to worry about our cat, does ease the disappointment a little bit. :) That and the fact that it was 71 and sunny here today.

Creative thinking

My students were comparing two pictures of the same house, one before renovation and one after. They were supposed to describe the changes that had been made to the house.

One of my students didn't know the word for "chimney," so I asked if anyone else could tell him what it was. After several moments of silence in the room, another student offered, "I believe the term is: Santa's Entrance." :D