The Simple Saturday Project that Wasn't

I had grand plans for today. I had my Suede paint, my rollers and brushes, and my drop cloths. The room was taped off and the furniture was all pushed to the middle of the room. I was going to paint the Game/Guest Room. It would be a simple Saturday project.

First order of business was repairing a hole and filling some cracks. I had my spackle. I had my patch kit. I had my putty knife. When I started to patch, I noticed that I was dealing with more than a simple crack. The wall started to come off in CHUNKS when I dragged the putty knife across it. It didn't take long for me to figure out that some brilliant previous owner had textured and painted over wallpaper. The wallpaper is now coming loose from the wall, and everything on top of it is coming too. Grrrrreat. My reaction was not a happy one. Look closely, though, and you'll see George Washington in the chipped off area. Too bad it wasn't the Virgin Mary - I could've sold the wall on eBay and gotten rich.


So instead of painting today, I spent the afternoon scraping paint and texture and wallpaper off the walls. In some places, it comes off in sheets. In others, it digs in its heels. Dani and I have calloused hands and we're working on some pretty decent-sized blisters. We have a long way to go, but our girly hands are sore and stiff, so we took off for the rest of the night.


So much for a simple day of painting. I'll have to fill cracks and retexture before I get to that stage. So goes the life of an old-house owner. I suppose I should've KNOWN it couldn't possibly be a simple project!