We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We went to Ed & Lynne’s. Jul, Pete, and their kids joined with us. All the traditional foods were there. Nobody went home hungry. We weren’t able to give Jul shelter, due to the construction, so they stayed in a hotel overnight. Friday as a service project, we made 50 bag lunches. These go downtown for the poor & homeless. Then we all went to Charlestown and had a very nice lunch with Mom.

The house construction is in a lull. The took the measurements required for the countertop. It takes a week to get that fabricated. Then there is another measure/fabricate for the backsplash. But we are seeing serious progress. All the tile is in place for the bathroom. Cabinets are in place. Once the backsplash is in place, it should be a quick job to finish everything up. We’re scheduled to be done on December 19. If that fails, we have been promised a working kitchen.

With the house looking pretty good, my attention was drawn to the grouting in the loft bathroom. It was once white. Now it was dark and looking gnarly. My weekly cleaning never helped. I tried having it steamed cleaned. No improvement. Most cleaning tips are based on chemicals that I don’t even want in the house — you know, like this:

Safety tip: Be sure to use heavy duty rubber gloves. It is suggested that you not inhale while losing this product. You might also want to close your eyes.

Hitting the internet with renewed focus, I decided to try using bleach powder coupled with a seriously heavy duty brush. Here’s something I learned. Bleach powder is much safer than the more common liquid chlorine bleach, and it is very effective. I’m pleased with the result. Nobody is going to confuse this floor with a new one, but there is significantly less “gnarl” in the house.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.