French apartment renovations, Day 311: Popping the grain

2,955 steps...that doesn't seem right!

First thing this morning we returned the floor sanders (which took an inordinately long time because the clerk kept messing up the paperwork). Then we picked up the table and four chairs from the flea market.

My dad and I then popped the grain on the floors (a UK expression for "raising the grain"). This is when you dampen wood with water and then sand them down once it is dry. This evening my dad sanded all the floors down with 180 grit. Thank you dad!

We tested out the new finish, a water-based polyurethan (Bona Mega), on a few scraps of wood. So much better than the Osmo oil, which turned the wood dark red and black. The wood still intesifies with a water-based finish, but it's the lightest possible option and reveals the natural colors of the wood.

A lot of my day was spent working on Halloween costumes. I finished Inga's and got her seal of approval. "This is definitely the best costume you've ever made!" Ivy's is almost all done except the bottom hem. Whew.

We have a busy day tomorrow preparing for the Halloween party: baking cakes and/or cupcakes, making frosting, finishing the pinata, and planning games. Oh, and doing elaborate hairstyles because I don't know if we'll have time for that on Sunday.

And...we have a 100% chance of rain all day on Halloween, so we will likely need to do it indoors....which complicates things.