Just About Done

 Ok, so they plastered on Wednesday and started filling the pool.  Here's the plaster and the hose filling it.

It filled all the rest of the day and all night.  Being paranoid, I got up several times Wednesday night to check on the water level.  We finally shut it off around 9 on Thursday morning.

The crew showed up Thursday to do the mastic, which is their final step.  But a cold snap had come through and the temp was dropping like a rock.  It was 24 F in the afternoon and last night dropped to 15 F.  So they're going to come do the rest of the job on Saturday.

The wind was also blowing like crazy, so there are leaves in the pool.  Here is the pool full.

We also hired a pool company to do the start up for us.  This involves setting up the right balance of chemicals and brushing the plaster every other day.  They are coming out this morning.  We have a salt water pool and they said no salt can be in it yet.  We also cannot use the creepy crawly, our pool vacuum.

This is mid-January, the middle of winter.  I can't wait to see how cool it will look this summer.  And to swim in!

Day 6 of Renos

They're plastering today!  Which means they're almost done.  The stone is mostly in.  And they did the prep coat, sort of like a primer, yesterday.

Because plaster has to "cure" under water, according to the pool guy, that means they should start refilling out pool today also.  Which means a large water bill is on the horizon.  Yikes!  Lonnie called the city and there is some sort of break as long as you let them know.   So there's that.

Once the plaster is done, there are a few minor things that have to be done, like replacing the mastic (I think that's what it's called) in between the exposed aggregate.  A putting a new drain and jets.  We've also hired a pool company to get everything set up properly, brush the new plaster ever other day, and make sure the chemicals are in balance.

I'll be sure to post more pictures.

More Pool Reno and Miscellaneous

So, they worked Saturday and took off Sunday.  They're back now.  They're cutting the stone for the coping.  The tile is in.  It's looking really good, if I do say so myself.

Eleven Days

It's been eleven days since I blogged - which is very, very bad.  I have several blogs I follow on a regular basis, and if the bloggers slack off that much, I usually stop checking their blog.  Sigh.

I'm sorry.  I have had my butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard, trying like hell to navigate through a double deadline - the first in my 18 years as a published author.  I didn't feel like I could use up my writing energy doing anything except write on the contracted books.

Plus, my life has been fairly calm and uneventful - which is good, but which does not make for great blogging material.

Except - we finally got around to hiring someone to renovate our aging pool.

Here is what the pool looked like in May 2011.  This is from the good side, so you can't see the tile that had begun to crack and fall off.

And here is a collage from the first day they started working  - draining the pool, taking off the coping, and the tile.

And the second day (yesterday).  All the tile and coping is off, and the pool is totally empty of water.  They drilled three holes in the bottom (!?!) to keep the pool from floating up.

They haven't been back so far today, but I have a feeling this will be interesting.  This time we are going with Oklahoma flagstone for the coping, and an earth-toned, larger tile.  It is very difficult walking outside and seeing that mess.  At least it's not summer and I'm not missing swimming.

Now back to writing.  It's been nice popping in and I promise to try and do it more often.

Another Start

It's 2014, a new year already.  Lonnie and I ended 2013 with a nice dinner out for Italian food, then watched the New Year celebrations on TV.

On the first day of 2014, I cooked Prime Rib, black-eyed peas, green beans, cornbread, and rum cake and had my dad and my brother and his girlfriend over.

We've cleared the house of Christmas, and it's time to get to work on the new book.  I turned in the synopsis and, even though it hasn't been approved yet, I've got to start.  It's due 4-1 (and the other book is due 2-1, so I might try to work on two books at a time!)

We had a really chilly dip in temps last night - it was 15 this morning.  Last night I made my favorite collard green-sweet potato-onion-chicken soup and some homemade bread.  It was, as usual, delicious!  We'll be eating it a couple of nights until it's gone.

But today, I'm back to work.  Still trying to figure out an exercise schedule.  But ready to see what this sparkly brand new year will hold!