In the computer world, there is a phenomenon known as “a cascade of errors.”   This occurs when   a single problem triggers secondary problems, which in turn trigger tertiary problems, until the user of the computer   system is overwhelmed with a mountain of error messages.   Only one error is really at fault, but the resulting cascade makes the problem see much worse.

A similar thing happens with houses.   Case in point: the bathroom in Emma’s room.   The shower   was usable but cosmetically unattractive, and the enclosure door leaked.   (Remember that, because it was the initiation of the cascade.)

I removed the enclosure and discovered secondary problems.   The enclosure was hiding cracked tiles and failed grout. Upon preparing to replace the grout, I found a tiny trickle of water beneath the tub filler that told me the faucets were leaking — the tertiary problem.   I probably wouldn’t have noticed that trickle if I hadn’t been squinting underneath the filler looking for bad grout.

Now, to fix the leaking faucet we’ll need to remove some tiles.   Behind the wall, we will certainly find valves that need replacement, and rotted wood.   But here’s the nefarious part of a house renovation: the logic that, since we are here, perhaps we should replace the rest of the bath tile.   It’s cracked in places, the grout is a mess, and wouldn’t it look nice in a different color anyway?

OK, let’s tabulate what this means.   First, 58 square feet of tile.   New faucet and associated plumbing hardware.   Fiberglass backing board, mastic, and grout.   Two or three days of labor.   Result:   another $1000+ out the window, completely unbudgeted.

And when the new shower is done, what’s the last thing we’ll buy?   A new shower door.   Maybe this time we’ll just hang a curtain.

That’s our step backward for the day.   On the plus side, the adobe repairs in our bedroom are coming along nicely.   Once the repaired blocks are filled and colored, you can hardly tell they aren’t original.   The photos above show the same area of blocks.   On the left, as found.   On the right, as repaired.

Our kitchen installer has also been busy.   About 1/3 of the kitchen cabinets went in today, and they look terrific. Bill, who is single-handedly doing the installation, has done a fabulous job.   His attention to detail is impressive.   Even Eleanor, who is extremely fussy about her kitchen, is thrilled.   With the kitchen going in, the whole house somehow seems more complete.   It’s starting to feel like a real home already.

Emma and Elise have been keeping themselves entirely occupied with art projects (painting the Shop Vac box, at left), and other mysterious 7-year-old projects.   Sometimes we aren’t entirely sure what they are doing, and sometimes they won’t tell.   I suspect we are being observed by Secret Agent Spies from time to time.

“Campground” life in the driveway is going very well.   It really is just like a regular campground, except that we have a private clubhouse.   Not a bad campground either, as they go. The water tastes good, the electric is reliable, we have wi-fi that works, nice neighbors, and the clubhouse has a refrigerator stocked with tasty beverages.

We’ve just kicked back all day and enjoyed the exceptional Tucson weather today (75 degrees, dry and sunny) with all the windows open and some nice tunes on the iPod.   Tomorrow maybe we’ll go out and explore but for right now everything is just fine, even with the unexpected bathroom project.