The day we pulled the plug... on my outdoor reading room

My pool's days are numbered.

FJI Facebookers will know a little of this story already. I was nattering about not having the nerve to unplug my pool for the season.

I moaned and fussed and whined because the weather was still hot and sunny and I had come to use this little decadent part of my world as my reading escape. Nothing like the sunshine warming you up while sitting in that lounger, effortlessly floating away with your feet dipped in the coolness (taking breath) with just the birds, bees and butterflies quietly flittering around.

Mary Kay Andrews would edit that sentence.... I just know it! And it would be an amazing read. Like you were RIGHT THERE. Ah well...

Anywhoo, I went outside TWICE with my hand on the plug and just. couldn't. do. it.

But then suddenly the sky above spoke to me! (meaning, it got cloudy) That sealed the deal. It was time to say goodbye to my summertime pal.

So with great sorrow, it was time to officially (gulp) unplug.

I held my breath, turned the cap and... nothing. Huh?!?

Ohhhh right. There's another plug INSIDE the pool.

Well. Let. Me. Tell. You. I'm NOT going inside a minus 40 degree pool! Think... think... YES!

I grabbed my pool wrecker of choice and jabbed. It worked! YES. I rock! WOODEN SPOONS rock. TRULY. This was HUGE.

"shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

BUT... the reception from others affected was not well received.

"shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

cat - "WHAAAA?!?!?"

"shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

"You UNPLUGGED!!!! Well, you can NOT taking my foot dip water! I drink from this daily and... and... I'm not ready!"

"shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

dog - *sniff* *sob*

"shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

"BACK AWAY and no one will get hurt..."

"shhhhhhhh"

Dog slowly appearing to left as sides lower - "*sob* *sniff*"

"shhh"

"sh"

dog - "can't... look..."

I needed to seriously turn this around.

"Look guys! Here's extra vittles for ya both tonite! Yummy yum yum, right?!?"

cat... "PAH!! Surely you jest!!!"

me - "BFF again?"

cat - "You think we're so easily sold! HMPH!

*
*
*
*


More chicken deluxe then. 


On a platter. 


Warmed up. 


5pm sharp.


And I'll think about it..."





Score!

hmmmmm.....

(fab lounger can be found HERE)

"... dum dee dum dum..."

Pretty and practical poolside pallets

I needed salt today. Bad.

"You can buy the chips ya know."

"I can?!? I just had them yesterday!"

"Yeah, that's ok. If we were at the beach, you'd get them. So we may as well put this summer on the map. Get the chips."

We were at the corner store we visited yesterday. My truck came with some bad news. The transmi$$ion fried. So looks like summer will be at home this round.

The place that will be doing the work can't take me till next Tuesday so I had to drive Rent-a-Wreck home. I was able to get up to 20 mph,  revving at 2nd gear top notch. The cure? My boy handing me ketchup chips all the way home. It took the tailgaters and curious looks off my mind as we drove home like I was 110 yrs old with the flashers going. Sa-weet.

So once home, we walked to the library, kicking a little green apple all the way there (it's actually rather fun), loaded up on loaner videos and a ton of books, went home, and I continued my new mystery project, PLUS jazzed up the pool area abit. May as well bond with the joint. We'll be around. :)

Ah, right. POOL. Wanna see?

What can I say. The pallet was too heavy to get rid of so I put it to work so it could earn it's keep.

Gotta love all those pool noodles all in one place.

Weird galvanized somethings were bent to hold poolside toys in place and off the sidewalk. It works!

Simple screws hold the water guns in place just fine.

A book I took out that I have to read in 7 days... HAHAHA. Trust me, that's hilarious. I'll no doubt be bringing it back without a word read. Looks nice for the photo shoot though.

Not sure I'm loving this new low resolution I'm using on these photos. I think I need to up it some... I dunno. What do you think?

Aaaand, we needed a nice place to hang towels.

So my old barn gate came back outside for the season once again.

I dolled it up abit with a plastic plant pot, wire hanging basket and real hydrangea cuttings. I LOVE these flowers. They make such an incredible impact with so few and they really do last quite long. I'm going to attempt to dry these after they've had their day.

Know what? We are going to have a GREAT summer! We've already carved out a few new routines we really enjoy. Nightly walks (kicking that little green apple), evening coffee and slushie on our front bench encouraging neighbourhood conversation, a little DIY while the boy reads, sleeping in, going to bed late... we are enjoying ourselves!

But I need to do something tangible to pay for that blasted truck. So I plan to fire up some real writing and get busy with selling some real stuff.  Was this truck breakdown part of a bigger plan? What's He up to now... :)

Click to visit features at:

How this decorator deals with one of those BIG BLUE pools

I wanted a grown up yard this summer.

With all the yard improvements we're doing, I just wanted the opportunity to sit in my backyard and enjoy my flowers and junk. Which really means, I didn't want to stare at the smurf pool for two months again.

Talked myself into it I did! We were gonna go CAMPING. LOTS. We would not need the pool. Spend the chlorine funds on campground fun instead. We had it all planned out.

And then it got hot. REEEELLY hot. Like in one day.

BC west coasters are total wimps. We're accustomed to rain 24/7 so when the sun comes out, it's like Hawaii would be in a snow storm. Totally at a loss.

That did it! Big Blue was making a return appearance once again.

How to put up a Big Blue Smurf Pool

Have you been curious about these things? Everyone and their dog has one by now so if you don't, quick, get'tem while they're still... BLUE. In fact, you can have mine. I'm waiting for something a little more in keeping with the yard surroundings myself.

Truth be told, they're pretty easy keepers and well worth it vs getting heat stroke. You can either treat them with chlorine (which we do) or you can get a salt water system. I'm still waiting for the ring to pop one day so I'm sticking with chlorine. A salt water system is easier to keep up but the apparatus costs more than the pool itself and is a bad idea if you're camping. They stop working if the salt is too low. And no one likes a green pool.

Ours measures at 4' high by 15' feet and the brand is Easy Set. This is our second and I like this size much better than the one lower. Buy for the size of your child, but buy the biggest one you can get away with. (they grow fast and the pools don't)

So... here's how we put one of these up.

1. Level the ground first.

I didn't do this last year. Just plunked the works down. And stubbed my toe all summer long on this big rock underneath. It pays to take some time and make sure the ground is nice and level.

Chances are you won't have dirt to deal with. The first year we didn't either. But with it returning each summer, the pool indeed has it's special spot now. And when it comes down, I just throw the tramp over the area so all is well.

2. Spread out the BIG BLUE tarp. (whatever) Use a hat, flip flop, bike helmet, cardboard roll and whatever to hold down corners if it's windy.

Riiight. It was ripped. I forgot.

3. Patch with duct tape and move on! It's HOT, remember?

4. Have son swat your back because of the mosquitoes.  But quick because you're hot and this is not your favorite part coming up.

Place HEAVY 5000 TON POOL in center of tarp. Adjust lots to ensure hose hookups are near the power.

Pull at the edges of the pool bottom to flatten the bottom out completely. Do a good job here because you want it really smooth or you'll be walking over ripples when it's set up.

5. Throw away the instructions at this point because it's hot and there's no way I'm blowing this ring up without an air compressor. (you're suppose to use a hand pump)

Turn the pressure way low so you don't pop the ring as it fills. Wonder if this is the year you'll get unlucky. Pray. Then feel very blessed that you got away with it yet again.

6. Kick off your shoes because you're goin' in. Here I like to wipe the floor spotless with a sponge. You'll be sorry if you don't. Pools just need to look spotless or you don't want to swim in them.

7. Hook up the hoses. They're just clamped together so all you need is a screwdriver. Nothing fancy here. Two hose joins to the pool and two to the pump.

It even says on the pool AND pump which hose goes where. They're labelled + and -.

Don't plug the pump in until the pool is full. You need water running through the pump first.

8. Turn on the hose. Allow desperately hot child to lay down and watch the water flow in because it makes him happy. Which makes you happy. And yes, I waded in there too.

9. Throw in pool noodles because you're DESPERATE. It's like watching paint dry. Best to go do something else because you won't be swimming today.

10. Sigh... welcome home Big Blue. This is indeed a kid's yard once again.

FYI: the pool took 1.5 days to fill. And then it rained.

Whatever. At least we aren't hot anymore.

Got one of these too?


(more pool posts are HERE)

"Gitter Done!" - Volume 5

Welcome to

"Gitter Done!" - volume 5

I gave you permission HERE to walk away from the computer to get some overdue DIY or non DIY tasks done and over with so you could blog allll about it.

Misery loves company. :) "Gitter Done!" and join in!

This folded up vinyl is the sign of a beautiful thing.

For taking down the backyard smurf pool was loooong overdue. (our summers are only 2 months long.. if lucky)

 And I gotta tell ya, this is not my favorite job.

I scrub everything down. And then it has to be held down because it was a windy day. But the BIG deal is, it has to dry before it gets folded. And since it rains every other day here... well...

 It's a sad day indeed when your befores are BETTER than your afters. :)

 Good grief this was HEAVY.

 It's done! And gone for another 10 months. Yipeee!

(tip for backyard pools that kill grass: put the trampoline in that spot when pool is gone)

Oh.. wait. I still have to take apart that ladder. Darned picture reminder.

And this part.. was still drying out. And then it started raining so I THREW it into an overstuffed garage because I was on my way to work. I promise! I'll 'find' it and fold it and gitter done 100%. Soon!

~ CHORE GITTER DONE? ~

I'm honestly leaning towards having Gitter Done completely non decorating so it better separates traditional link up parties. Just boring duty/job/chore type stuff. Gutting your closets, cleaning up a room or garage, dumping out your junk drawer, weeding horrid flower beds, cleaning out your vehicle... you get the idea. I mean, by all means, stage your finished project if you wish, but you can only stage a vehicle interior so much. :)

What do you think?

Please watch the comments and the poll below.  The next Gitter Done may be decorator free. I'll decide by majority vote.

So, what did you finally get to this round?  Let's see whatcha got in the linkup below!

Next Gitter Done
1st Wed of every Month
~ Wed Nov 3 ~

Rules for the Gitter Done Challenge:

1. This is an exclusive linkup event. (not to be confused with a regular link event) Please link up only if your project was inspired by GD. 
  
2. In your post, please tell us how GD inspired you. 
   
3. Your linkup does not have to be DIY related, just something you've been stalling on.

4. Please include a before and after pic, so we can appreciate all you did!

5. Please link back to the event by text or button. (see BUTTONS section in header area if you desire)

6. Please keep the 'jest of your project' new to the net until your GD reveal. (teasers or shoot off posts are fine!) This will give us all a reason to wish to tune in to see what's brand new!

7. Linkup will be active for 1 week so check back often!

If your link was removed, please reread the rules and try again. Sorry, no blog home page links (must be linked to your intended post)  nor general linkups for this one.

Would you mind taking a moment to vote?

My plea post is HERE.
And yes... even if it's not for me. :) Thank-you! 

Let's give One Project Closer some great hits due to their wonderful cause.


Vote HERE