Old house, little project

There is no such thing as a "little" project or a "quick fix" when it comes to an old house. Looks are always deceiving.

Take this minor job. It started as a bit of patch work -- a quick skim over a crack in the plaster that looked like a tiny vein running north-south along the wall.

But as soon as our crew unleashed their tools, the plaster crumbled, the vein grew and the next thing I knew, the little skim job was a dry wall project.


So the kids were shuttled to the guest room and shoved into bed together. (so far, two nights and no one's rolled or been pushed out of bed). Unfortunately, since I banked on a quick-skim, nothing was stored or covered, so the sheets, clothes and toys are covered in a fine layer of dust like newly fallen snow.

And that snow's been tracked all over the house.

On a positive note, it's one crack down, two-dozen more cracks, water stains, and wall-paper peeling projects to go.