Renovations Part III

Well, what a disaster we had here the week before last! I am now sufficiently recovered to talk about it. Only just!
We were installing ceramic tile in our kitchen. Peter and I (yes, we're still married!) did it ourselves, with a little help from our boys. We were SO careful about how we spread the adhesive, only applying enough to lay a tile or two at a time. We stayed off the tile for the requisite 24 hours, then I applied the grout. Oooh, that's messy! Like making mud pies.
We applied the last of the grout on Thursday, the day before we were expecting four guests - the Face to face team - for a parish retreat. By the end of Thursday and all through Friday, it was becoming very apparent that many of our tiles were not sticking, some of them were cracking, and the grout was crumbling. Since we were having company and I was helping to run this retreat, we had to leave everything for Monday, and I had to put my oven back so that I could actually cook something for somebody.
While this was going on, we were also looking for a new vehicle. For the past couple of months we have been borrowing vehicles every time we've gone out - shopping, to Karate, voice lessons, Mass, piano lessons, etc. Peter made a deal on a suburban from Saskatoon through a dealer in Swift Current. "Yes, we have an eight-seater for you. Yes, you can come and pick it up on Thursday." So in the midst of everything at home (oh, did I mention calving?) Peter's brother John made a special trip to Swift Current to drop us off at the Dealers so we could drive our new suburban home.
John took off, then we discovered our suburban was a 7-seater. We have to have an 8-seater so we can take Peter's parents with us sometimes. Peter had to go and tell the salesman that 7 and 8 are not the same thing and 7 won't do. Unfortunately, our dealer was not there. We managed to get ahold of John, who was on his way home already, and ask him to come back to get us. As a result, a quick trip to drop us off turned into a day-long shopping trip for him, since we had a "few things to pick up."
We got home safely, our company arrived and we had a lovely visit - until the plumbing backed up. Oh yes, it did. What a mess!
We had to tell our guests "Sorry, no showers, and please don't flush the toilets anyone."
Happily, we were out of the house all day Saturday, and didn't need the plumbing. Peter got to stay home from the retreat and scour the countryside for an available lagoon-pumping person. (What do you call those?) Eventually, our lagoon got pumped out, the plumbing was back to normal, and we all had a good weekend, except maybe Peter.
Then, on Monday, the car salesman, who was feeling somewhat remiss, replaced the back bucket seats with a bench, thus turning a 7-seater into an 8, and sent two of his employees to Fox Valley to deliver said vehicle in person.
All's well that ends well, eh?
Now, if only we can fix the floor. . .