POOL: Day Thirty-One

The stone people were back today building the deck steps...



The clean-up crew will be out next...not sure when.

Still no rain.

POOL: Day Twenty-Six

They didn't end up pouring the deck until Friday, something about confusion in scheduling. Anyway, it was just in time for Memorial Day Weekend so we can entertain outside again. We can't believe how huge the deck is. We'll have to buy more patio furniture to fill it up!





There is one small problem. We're having a drought here and we're at stage 3 in our community, which means we can only water on trash day. I went online to the city website to see what stage 4 means...you guessed it...you can't fill your pool. Pray for rain!!!!

Writing News!
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. One more chapter to go. But tying up all those loose ends is hard work.

POOL: Day Twenty-Two

Today was deck layout. Tomorrow the city inspects it and Wednesday they pour it.

Stop And Smell The Fireworks

On the way back from having mexican food with my parents tonight they were shooting fireworks for the minor league baseball game. The stadium is near our home. We pulled over in a deserted parking lot and watched as bombs burst in air directly over our heads. We could actually see where the rockets red glare originated. Pretty cool and as spectacular as any 4th of July show. Wish I'd had my camera. It looked something like this only closer and A LOT louder:



Our little private fireworks show was so unexpected and so spur of the moment I guess you could say it was spontaneous combustion.

: )

POOl: Day Nineteen

Yesterday they installed the long plumbing and today they did the electrical work. There's no pic to post because there's nothing new to see...except they tore up our yard even more. The next thing to look forward to is the layout and pouring of the deck, which is scheduled to begin Monday. I can't wait!

I've taken pictures along the way of my husband sitting in the bobcat, looking like he's doing stone-work, etc. I put together a slide show and it's hilarious because it looks like he built the pool single-handedly. I added music from Gloria Gaynor's "Do It Yourself" and dissolves between the slides are water droplets. If I can figure out how to put it out on the web I'll show it to you. In the meantime...here he is on day one digging the pool. As always, click on the picture for a larger view.



Novel News:
I'm writing ALL weekend. I'm gonna finish it if it's the last thing I do!

POOL: Day Sixteen

The tile guys finished up today. Wow, I have to say they are truly artists and I am humbled by their expertise. They actually formed the stones to fit in exact patterns with a sledge hammer. And they worked fast, too! Soooooo...here's a close-up of the spa with it's two stair-step spillways. I found this design on the website of a California pool company, showed the picture to the guys yesterday and voila! In the french vanilla I think it's even more impressive than the CA mansion's.



Here's a long shot taken into the sun. If you squint you can imagine water in the pool...

POOL: Day Fifteen

Remember my search for the perfect stone? Well today was French Vanilla coping day, along with China Blue tile and Castle Rock for the raised beam. And as luck would have it I took the day off because I'm on the last chapter of my book, so I was supposed to be writing it...but there was some MAJOR work going on in my backyard, which I found extremely interesting.
Around noon:


At the end of the day:


In case you're wondering, I did manage to edit about 4 chapters and write 7 more pages.

POOL: Day Ten

They poured the gunite today. Now the pool looks like a castle to me. I don't understand how they make the stuff stick to the sides. It seems like it would run down into the bottom.

POOL: Day Five

Here's a view from the upstairs gameroom. This is a good view of the "belly" wire. They installed what's called the "stub" plumbing on Friday...that's the white PVC pipe. It's been raining so you can see how the pool's beginning to fill up in the deep end. They're supposed to pour the gunite on Monday (Lord willin' and the lake doesn't rise.)

POOL: Day Three

We're moving right along here, despite the rainy weather. Living next to the lake there's lots of fauna who seem excited about the pool, too. Early birds (sorry, John, not sure what kind) were out in the mud this morning pulling up their breakfast. And ducks seemed to look longingly at the massive hole, waiting for the rain to fill it up.



Inspectors from the city came today but it was "red tagged" as not ready to inspect. I think they have to do the plumbing first but I won't know anything for sure until tomorow.

POOL: Day One

They don't waste any time when bobcats are charging by the hour. You want a big hole in your backyard? You got it! It really is exciting. While the pool's being built I keep imagining how our project will change the appearance of the satellite map at our longitude and latitude. Okay...so it's not a pyramid...but probably the closest thing I'll come to building one.

BEFORE:




AFTER: