It's raining - inside

Living in a 150 year old fort has some interesting quirks. All the living quarters and offices are constructed in open casements. (A casement is a room where a cannon is placed.) Here there are casements on the first and second levels. Many of the casements were never finished, so to make one into a room all you need to do is frame some walls, add electricity and plumbing, and finish inside as desired.

All the walls and ceilings are made from brick. (16 million, more or less) There are lots of arches to carry the load of the structure, and it's some amazing workmanship - very striking in spots. Many of the quarters and offices have the original brick arched ceiling. But, there is a problem. All the brick and mortar is old, and it's constantly shedding bits of mortar and brick. It's very small, like sand, but it's constant. So, all sensitive things, like computers and TVs, are kept covered with plastic when not in use. Likewise furniture, kitchen appliances, whatever you want to keep clean. Every floor is always gritty, unless it's swept every day. Our room, thank goodness, has a drop ceiling, so we don't wake up with sand in the bed.

Also, after it rains, the water starts seeping down through the bricks and mortar. It's porous and has some cracks. 2-3 days after a rain the ceiling may start dripping in a new spot. Definitely makes life interesting!