French apartment renovations, Day 329: Tiling is done!

2,439 steps

The shower is all tiled. We'll let the mortar harden tomorrow and apply epoxy grout on Thursday. Today was a bit of a battle, since we installed the marble pebble mosaic tiles and then the last big pieces, each of which had very complicated cuts. I love how the mosaic reminds me of the rocks on the beaches here in Nice.



Mosaic tiles are tricky because the mortar tends to squish out between the tiles and then you have to clean it out piece by piece with a toothpick. Despite our best efforts, this happened to us. C'est la vie.

But it's done and it looks great. For the shower to be entirely finished, we have a few more steps:
1. Grout
2. Seal the marble & grout
3. Install the glass shower door
4. Install the shower valve and shower head

We did a few more odds & ends: mortised 3 sets of hinges into the door that will hide the electrical cupboard, finished the "floor" and "ceiling" in middle of the bookshelf area, and painted the WC ceiling where we cut holes for the spots. We have more of the same on our to-do list tomorrow as we wait for the mortar to dry.

We got two large packages today: the new foam cuhions and the fabric! I have SO much sewing to do now.

On non-renovating news, we baked sourdough bread and got lots of advice from my mom's friend, who makes it professionally. I've always bought T45 flour (all-purpose) because it's what is available at Lidl and Aldi. But I'm going to try T65 (a higher protein flour more suitable for bread) and see if it makes a difference. My mom's friend also suggested that I increase the amount of starter in my recipe.

We had quiche lorraine today (made by me), plus salad and green peas. I was going to make tiramisu for tomorrow's dessert but I ran out of time.

The kids have been practicing every day and making amazing progress. It helps to have a live-in music teacher who ensures that the kids practice every day and do everything they're supposed to! Inga has been working on a series of Spanish songs and loves to play them. They're very catchy; maybe I'll film her playing one of them. Ivy told us tonight, "I don't practice because somebody makes me or because I'll get in trouble if I don't. I practice because I like it!"