I find myself in the position of having to declare a moratorium on stitching for April because of the shower in the guest bathroom that my husband has used exclusively as his bathroom since we bought this house 18 months ago.

It began with a little leak by the toilet. Of course, we suspected the toilet. Got it fixed. A while later, a new leak began by the toilet, but not really by the toilet. It was coming out from under the wall that separates the toilet and the shower stall.

I got to looking at the ceramic tiles which clad the threshold of the shower and they were coming loose. I suspected the water was running into the crevices and around the corner under the wall (but I thought it could also be a pipe leaking inside the wall–guess which one I fervently hoped it was?), so to be sure, I got out my trusty caulking gun and silicone and caulked away. That stopped it for a while, so I pretty much had my answer.

One day my in-laws came to visit and it was leaking and had (unbeknownst to me) soaked the throw rug around the toilet so it was squishy. Eeewww. I wouldn’t wanna use it, either. Well, they’re coming again at the end of the month and I really just didn’t want to subject them to that again.

I evicted Hubster from that bathroom (don’t worry, we have two others) and began demolition. I can’t even describe the construction I found underneath it all. Soaked and rotting wood, disintegrated sheetrock–well, you get the drift. What I thought would be a simple tile repair is, naturally, turning out to be not so simple.

BUT! I have a plan. The toilet doesn’t leak. The pipe in the wall doesn’t leak. The important things are just fine, thankyouverymuch. I have to take off all the tiles, take down the sheetrock and put up concrete board, create a shower curb, move the ventilation fan from the toilet enclosure to the shower, and then retile it all. (Not to mention what must be done to the rest of the bathroom.)

I’ll be spending this month building a new shower enclosure and possibly finishing a concrete floor that has seen way too many years underneath a layer of asbestos tiles.

I can work at my regular job and stitch and take care of the kids. Or I can work at my regular job and do construction and take care of the kids. But I can’t work at my regular job, do construction AND stitch, and take care of the kids. Unfortunately.

So, why am I doing this, you ask? Because I’m cheap, that’s why.