Busy week ahead
Yesterday was the beginning of a stretch of 13 days without a scheduled day off for work. I have change windows (night time work when we implement software changes) for Saturday and Sunday, then I have to prep for my quick trip to Tampa. I fly down early on Monday and then fly back late Wednesday night. Thank goodness for direct flights out of here.
The pool situation is kinda grim right now. I drained it late Saturday afternoon in less than 2 hours and feared I was going to flood the neighbors, but to my surprise the very dry ground in the backyard soaked it all up before it had a chance. The bad part is that we still can't figure out the best way to level out a spot for it without using a lot of purchased sand, topsoil or concrete. I am learning quickly that a quick purchase on a lower cost pool may have hidden costs that are not easy to spot. I know that we will figure it out but it doesn't help the frustrations while we work on it.
Finally got a good rain today, but we are still too far in the dry zone for me to be able to use the newly made fire pit. Our neighbor Danny helped us by chopping down the old cedar stump with his chainsaw and then hacking the pieces into firewood size logs. Judging by the rings in the stump, the tree that had been there must have been 35-40 years old before it was cut down.

Pool Update

Today after getting back from a wonderful Panera Bread lunch and picking up our CSA share, I let all the water out of the pool. This is step one in fixing things up the right way. Now we just need to figure out how to level the spot where the pool sits to get it done right. I do not want to waste another 3750 gallons of water. The ground was so dry that it seemed to soak up 90% of the water that came out of the pool. I was really afraid that we were going to cause a small lake to show up in the neighbors' yard.

Bowling Update

Last weekend we went bowling for a family outing last Sunday. We played three games each and Alex was having a great time. He finally has a method of throwing the ball that caused his score to go from a 2 a few weeks ago to a high score of 45. I played the first game with an 11 lb ball and did well, but heard someone mention that there were 12's there. I scored 140 with the 11, but then switched to the 12 lb ball and my score went to 179 and my all time high of 199! Morgan was having a troubled time getting into the game so I tried not to get too excited. At one point I had 5 strikes in a row. If things keep going well for me, I may seriously have to think about joining a league. I have time commitment issues so I worry about getting involved without having a clear idea if I can stick with it.

Busy days

We've past memorial day and it's been a busy almost summer season here at our house. Morgan had her dance recital and she did a wonderful job. The family was all there to cheer her on and then we went out to celebrate at Applebee's when we were done. I think most of the other dancers had the same idea because we packed the place when we were done.
Our little garden is starting to come up nicely. We have multiple squash blossoms blooming from our one plant that survived the spring freeze. We have about 20 cucumber plants just waiting to bloom. The green beans are about to pop and the last stalk of corn that hasn't been eaten away by the small fury critters is about 3 feet high.
We made the jump into pool ownership with a 16 foot blow up, quick set pool that is supposed to be 3 1/2 feet deep. After a lot of fighting with our yard that is nowhere near level, we decided to go ahead and just fill it. I don't think it was a wise decision after having some time to dwell on it. Our circular pool is an oblong oval that ever so slowly is moving down the hill. With 3700 gallons of water in it, we've let the kids play in it each day (we have fish and we never knew it) and will continue to do so until it looks unsafe. I am very happy that the kids like it so much because we went for the bigger pool because of the accessories in it, which weren't all that hot but they do the job.
Today I used the Netflix Watch Now feature to watch the documentary Maxxed Out
I recommend that everyone see this BEFORE they apply for a credit card, car loan, mortgage or anything financial. People must know what they are up against before they get into trouble. It is a very eye opening documentary and very well done.
Hopefully I won't take sooo long to post next time. I have just had a hard time coming up with the words lately.