knot of accidentally-hardened stone in its heart - Friday December 27 2002

Today I was working yet again on trim and bathroom details. The tiling people had, in their unique tile-primadona way, left the top and narrow side of the little knee-wall above the bathtub unfinished. Unfortunately, though, the mortar I'd found in the garage wasn't any good. It was already suspect for having spent the past seven years ripped wide open and for having formed a knot of accidentally-hardened stone in its heart (is there a name for the round stone that forms in the center of a bag on cement accidentally left exposed to moisture?). After I'd applied it, I found it wasn't setting in the normal way, choosing to either dry into a crumbly dirt-like substance or remain forever in its soft, mudlike state. This was just as well; I really didn't much like the quick design of thin tile remnants I'd thrown together for the vertical end of the knee wall, although I did like the alternating color stripes I'd created on the top.