Finish with Vegan Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Been really enjoying having the kind of life where if things get side ways I can just stay at home and work on my projects! Finishing the kitchen counter tops.

 Fitting everything in place. I tried to cut these small tiles with a glass cutter, to break them neatly over a piece of wire. Well, that took way too long, and so I ended up just smashing lots of the extras and picking out ones that fit into the spaces nicely.

 Lid for the stove recess, so if I'm not using the stove top I have a more counter space.

 Making a mess in a small space.

 Cut away a section to allow the faucet to pass through, and building a cedar trim plate to mount the faucet through and cover up the gap between the counter top and the nose cupboards.

 Plumbing access hatch in the floor and the long narrow counter, (perfect place to roll out pasta), with the little arms to hold a basket for storage.

 Everything all fit in place with a first coat of read paint.

 Copper finishing the underside of the stove lid; been saving these pieces of copper for years too. So gratifying to finish a project that I have had in mind for so many years, saving things, sitting and looking at the place and thinking about how it will be...and in so doing proving that I am not a hoarder!!! I collect things to use, and even if it takes me nigh-on-forever, I use them!

 In preparation for the final step, the mortar and grout for the tile work, I made a double layer vegan chocolate cake and home made, vegan "buttercream" frosting..just to get my mixing and spreading technique down pat!

Boom! In Place, dry over night. Next step, mix up grout, not as thick as peanut butter.

 Spread grout over everything and make a big mess. Let is set for about 30 minutes, then sprinkle more of the dry grout over the surface of the mud and rub in a circular motion to work the grout evenly in to all the spaces between the tiles, and to help build up an even layer, cleaning the tiles as you go. Let this dry for about 2 hours, and then wipe all the tiles again with a wet rag, making sure that all the clumps of grout on the tile are removed. There will be a thin film over the tiles, but that wiped off with water in a few hours more after drying has progressed.

Finished with a couple coats of grout sealer. It's kind of amazing how finishing such a simple project can make such a HUGE difference in my daily life! I almost can;t remember what it was like to cook everything on my little Super Cat camp stoves, and my little plastic folding table. There is still lots to do: FINISH THE SOLAR SYSTEM, build the final work cabinet, finish connecting the bathroom and kitchen  plumbing at the faucets to the drains, and other small tasks...but this project feels like a real accomplishment.