KEEPING BUSY IN THE LOUSY WEATHER

NEW BRICK TILE FIREPLACE SURROUND

Wednesday, 9:00 AM.  0 degrees F at both the ferry dock and on the back porch.  Wind WSW, mostly calm with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is overcast and cloudy, with fog over the channel, and it is snowing very lightly.  The humidity is 84% and the barometer is falling, now at 29.97".  Snow showers are predicted.
   We watched the President's State of the Union address last night and could barely stay awake.  To be completely fair, I admit I actually fell asleep during the Republican response by North Carolina Governor Niki Haley.  Today's politicians either make me hopping mad or put me to sleep.  Maybe the problem is me, not them.  But I don't think so.
   Although the lousy weather has kept us mostly indoors, we took the opportunity to work on a project we have been contemplating for a long time: installing a new surround for the fireplace.  We didn't know what we wanted but finally decided on stone tile and are very pleased with the end result.
  There was a time when I might have tried to do it myself, but time takes its toll, and at present my DIY projects are limited to tasks within reach from about my belt to my eyebrows.  Now that's a bit of an exaggeration, but truthfully not much.  So we entrusted the work to a local tradesman whom we have hired before and trust to do a good job.  Which he did.
   A number of pieces of the stone tile were broken in shipment and we are a few short so the job is not quite complete, but close  enough to appreciate the end result.