Splish Splash

Today Jeff and I went over to his grandmother's to open up their pool for the summer. Normally this would have been done several weeks ago, but other projects have been higher on the priority list.

I really didn't think it was going to be that hard a job or that much work. Jeff has done it on his own for several years now. He had already done the major work of getting the house ready, so as it was described to me, it would mean removing the cover and adding the chemicals to get everything ready. Well, that was a big part of it, but certainly not all.

Part of the trouble started in the removing of the cover. It was covered with water and leaves and whatnot. Jeff removed all the blocks and everything else holding it in place and put the pump on it to pump off all the water. We could pick it up with the leaves and debris and just drag it to the side. Well, the weight of the water and the weight of the pump pulled it just far enough down that it got a lot more water on top. It wasn't going to all get pumped out, so we had to dump it all in the pool. This added to our work.

We had to run the vacuum to try and get lots of the mess out, skim off the big stuff at the top we could see, and collect a sample of the water to take to the pool supply place to be tested so we'd know what chemicals we needed and how much. I helped with all of this. We also had to wash the cover and fold it, scrub the muck off the sides, and power-wash the patio. I didn't help with any of that. Jeff took care of the chemical stuff, but I did help with the adding of baking soda. I felt kind of silly ripping into boxes of arm & hammer and dumping them into the pool, but it works!

There's still more to be done, but it's looking lots better. The water will be ready to dive into soon enough. One of my favorite "routines" last summer was that every couple of weeks we would pack up our stuff and the dogs and head over there. We'd stop at Whataburger for lunch, then spend the afternoon at the pool. I'm looking forward to more of that this summer. I guess because that is the majority of the times I have eaten Whataburger, but I always associate it with going swimming over there. I know, I'm a little bit nuts.

I have a new-found appreciation for what it takes to maintain a pool and totally understand why my dad never wanted one while we were growing up. I also understand why my step-mom now pays people to open and close her pool for her every year! I'd definitely lean towards door number two if I could! Then again, maybe I'll just stick to a hot tub!