Sunday, July 27, 2014

Day 33. Party Time!

Well the pool project is 95% complete and that is close enough for a party. The boys played golf and were ready to hit the water. Only one hiccup, for some unknown reason, the heater for the spa came on about 3 hours before they got to home and it was spilling over into the pool. We will learn all the tricks of running a pool soon.  I made Matt & Mark dip, and had little smokies in the mini crockpot. The guys grilled sausages, boudan, and burgers. I also fried green tomatoes and hand cut French fries.   Yum. I forgot dessert but I don't think anyone complained.





Also sweet baby Caroline made her first visit to Honey and Papa's house. 

 What a great evening with family!  I look forward to many more such events! 

See ya, 
Di





Friday, July 25, 2014

Day 32. Closer, Closer, Closer...


Loving this last bits of progress. This morning we knew the fence crew would be here to set the posts. But before they got here, the brick crew arrived. Double Yay!!



Here are the fence posts by the sidewalk. 



See ya, Di



Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Day 31. Almost Finished.

Lovely day for working in the yard and around the pool. Today the crew removed the boards used for forming the pool deck. Also the brick coping was scrubbed and washed  the diving board was installed   The ladders were positioned and cleaned. Finally the pool and spa were vacuumed  and all the salt was poured into the pool.  We are so close to the finish line.   The gas company came and ran a line for the heater for the spa. The LED lights are also on in the pool and spa. Love the colors! 




All that is left is to brick the spa, and smooth out the ground around the pool deck.  Wow. Then we can put down sod. The fence crew should be here this week too. I can't wait to put all my plants on the deck area. I put out all my pillows and cushions this afternoon. I need to finish painting the 3 other adirondack chairs.  I made new covers for the chase lounge chair and pillows for the table chairs. 
I may need one more pillow for the adirondack chairs. I have a few other ideas in my head that I want to do for the patio and deck. I did get the iron hammock stand down from the attic, I plan to paint it aqua and we have a new new rope hammock on order.  I also have an old iron dinner bell that I have painted aqua and plan to put it on a post by the fence gate. I'll post so all the other little touches I have planned. Paul laughed when I said the steps from the patio to the deck will look great with mums and pumpkins. I know I love to decorate for every holiday!  
See ya, 
Di 

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Day 30. As Far As The Eye Can See - Concrete


Well maybe not that far but we do have a lot of concrete. They started early this morning finalizing the frames that will hold the concrete. Soon the first concrete truck arrived and the fun began. 

And more fun...
And more ... 

Three umbrella anchors were positioned to allow shade without having a bulky stand that has to be moved around.  The "gig" for the diving board foundation, the deep end ladder and the steps hand rail were also positioned. There definitely an art to pouring and smoothing the concrete. 

Now we just have to wait while it dries and firms up. Easy Peasy! 

I thought I would never see this completed, well almost completed. But the vast amount of dirt/mud is greatly decreased. Now we just have to have bricks placed around the spa, smooth ground around pool area, hook up lights and gas line.  Short to do list.   I'll take it! 

See ya, Di 




Monday, July 21, 2014

Day 29. Finishing The Last Items.

Our patio is awesome.  We love how much bigger it is. We had a few days of rain delay but we were told rain is helpful. First it cause the concrete to cure or harden at a slower rate and second it allow the dirt to settle and shows where more dirt might be needed. 
So after two good days of clear weather the ground was ready to finish up the framing for the sidewalk and the pool surround.  


The steps from the patio to the pool area. 



They also ran the conduit pipe for the pool lights. The pool was cleaned a little more and treated for the alga.   The deep end ladder and steps handrail were placed ready to be set in the concrete. We also have 3 umbrella anchors to put in place which will eliminate the need for those big bulky umbrella stands. 
Hopefully we will have the concrete poured tomorrow and hook up the gas line to the spa. Soon we will have a completed pool. 
See ya,
Di

Friday, July 18, 2014

We Interrupt This Pool Building To Bring You A Baby

Our first grand child entered the world on Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 7:27. She weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce and is 19.5 inches long. She was quite stubborn in not wanting to leave her warm nest but with lots of encouragement she made her debut. She has a head full of dark hair. Mother,  Baby and Daddy are all well.  She was greeted with lots of cheers from Honey(me), Papa (Paul), Pops (Mark Posey) , Uncle Matt, Marianne, Dinah, and Great Aunt Virginia.  What a precious gift. let the spoiling begin.

See ya, Di
 

Day 28 Let It Pour. Concrete That Is.

What a day we were on baby watch all day.  We left our house about 10:00 to head to the hospital. 
Shortly after that the crew arrived to start working on pouring the patio. To top it all off right before we left the house we heard a large bang in the garage. Turns out the spring on our garage door broke. Ugh.   Paul called the company to come repair it. 
After lunch he gets a call the repairman was on his way. We needed to run home and let him in the house. We also needed to check on Annabelle, the grand dog too.  Seems we got home right as all the fun was happening. It was like bees in our yard as the crew prepared for pouring the patio,  cleaning  the pool and forming the sidewalk. 

They covered the doors and walls with plastic to keep the concrete splashes to a minimum. 
Thank goodness. 

 The truck arrived with the first load of concrete. 


Pouring the patio. The only bad part was the windows were covered and Annabelle could not see out. She was not a happy camper. 
They did remove one of the plastic planets to allow us to see them finish the patio. 
We headed back to the hospital before they finished the patio. 
By the time we returned home it was very late. I did walk around back and check it out. I'm loving this. 
See ya 
Di





Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Day 27. Out Came The Sun and Dried Up All The Rain

So today is the drying out day. Still too wet to pour patio. The cold front has made it a lovely  day though.  Temps in the low 80's, unheard of in a Mississippi July.  The pool is getting clearer as the creepy  crawler vacuums all the grit, sand and concrete sludge out of the pool. I am working on my biceps as I brush the sides of the pool down. I'll snap a picture later today. 
See ya Di

Day 26. And The Skies Opened Up

Early Tuesday morning the rain came. I woke up when I heard the thunder and I knew no patio would be poured today. But we did have some progress, the crew arrived and worked on the spa. They inserted the spa light and then filled the spa. I really need at ask how we change the light bulbs in the pool and spa. Yikes. 
The creepy crawler pool vacuum was also hooked up. Yay, we are getting rid of all the mortar sludge. I spent some time cleaning the sides of the pool.  I think this might be a good workout routine for me. 
On another note a sweet couple that lives down the street stop by to see the pool. They are interested in putting in a pool and loved our pool. I hope I answered all of their questions.  
I eventually got in the pool to brush the pool bottom near the steps. 
It's looking great!!!  I will say again I highly recommend Sea Breeze Pool Company. 
See ya, 
Di

Monday, July 14, 2014

Day 25. Oh Happy Day!

am definitely doing the happy dance today! 
Early morning work started as the crew began by replacing a brick on the chimney that was broken during the patio removal. Other crew members were cleaning the mortar slag from the pool, draining the spa and then putting in the light. Soon someone was moving dirt around the pool area and smoothing it for framing for concrete. YAY! 




 The pool is now so much cleaner now. Also the "creepy crawley" pool vacuum is being hooked up now. 

I'm loving this. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it is Sunny!  
See ya, 
Di


Friday, July 11, 2014

Day 23 Just Spilling Over

The crew arrived this morning to hook the spa up and clean the pool. As I said earlier the pool was terribly murky. Understandable since the brick masons rinsed off the bricks using the pool water. It  is just a part of what happens but it does look yucky! 
Hopefully after cleaning the pool and adding some cleaning tablets it will continue to clear up. We had to run a few errands so by the time we got home it was flowing over the edge nicely. 


 The sound of the water spilling into the pool is sooooo calming. I could just sit and listen the water all day.   Here is a picture from the house view. Ignore the dirt/mud!  It will soon go away. 

The wind is kicking up here. We may have a little rain storm coming. 
Hope it's not too much rain, we need dry weather to prepare the concrete area. 
See ya,
Di



Day 21 & 22. Not Much Happening

Haven't had much work done. The brick coping should be set by now but the weather hasn't cooperated. We kept ourselves busy with small projects. I filled in under and around the stepping stones on the front to make it a little steadier and smoother walk.  Paul filled in a low spot under an oak tree. We also moved the bottle tree. While the bottles were off the tree I took the opportunity to wash the bottles and rearrange them a little. Love that I can now see the tree from the pool. I am loving all the other little projects we are finishing up to compliment the pool area. 
Sorry no pics today. 
On another note i got a phone call today that my dearest friend's mother passed away. I dearly loved Mrs. Elisabeth. She is my idol, going and doing up to almost the very end. As my daughter in law said Heaven got another special angel today. 
See ya 
Di

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Day 20. Hit the Bricks!

Early this morning we heard noises in the back yard and looked out to see the brick masons setting up to add the brick coping to the pool. What a difference the coping makes to the pool. So much better. 
They worked so hard to get the coping finished 
Here are a few "in progress" pictures. 

And here it is finished. 

 
The vast amount of dirt is decreasing!  The only drawback is now the water is murky again. Oh well it will soon be clear again. Hopefully the spa will be hooked up tomorrow and framing for the concrete areas. Which will include the patio area!  YAY! We are getting so close to the finish. 
See ya, Di

Monday, July 7, 2014

Day 19 Back on Track!

This morning the crew showed up and began sawing and hammering as they worked on the frame for the concrete base that the coping will be placed. 
The frame was ready to be filled with concrete so they called the cement company. And they waited and waited and waited. No truck. More crew members arrive and then they all left to grab a bite to eat. 
The crew returned and we left to go eat, and when we got back still no concrete. Mark came over to see how the pool was coming along. The crew was gone by now and we weren't really sure what was going on. We ended up going over to Mark's house to take the bassinet   On our way out we passed the treuck with bags of quick-crete. Hmmmm odd
When we returned  the cement truck was their and they were filling the trench. 
Soon the trench was full and smoothed out. A quick placement of the ladder frame was positioned. 
Here are a few more pictures. 



Before I finish this post here are a few pictures of the brick coping that will be put in place tomorrow. 


Lots of bricks!
Ready for bricking. 
See ya, Di