We've started removing an ugly concrete fence from around the "pool." Our friend and neighbor Dennis even showed up to help out, which proves he is nuts because this was not fun work. Thanks, Dennis.
We're not done, but it's coming along.
Before:
After:
Annelis turned NINE today. NINE! My little baby is getting so grown up.
I have a sledgehammer, and a 10 yard dumpster on the way. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?
To all the moms out there, happy Mother's Day!
My mom taught me, among other things, how to cook, have faith, eat vegetables, love, and be strong. I'm sure none of it was easy, especially the vegetables. Thanks, mom.
God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.
-Jewish Proverb
A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.
-Irish Proverb
An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.
-Spanish Proverb
Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime.-William Shakespeare
2008, meet 1986. Very nice to meet you. Very nice, indeed.
Not to many bikes make me drool, but this one? Wow.
So I was riding my 'cross bike up Kaiser road today, heading to Forest Park for a long overdue ride in the dirt.
As I was stomping up a hill, the rear wheel suddenly locked up. I looked down just in time to see my rear quick release skewer shoot out of my wheel and fly across the road.
I got safely off the road and took the rear wheel out to take a look. The hub was completely seized, and the cones on the right side were very hot to the touch, smelling of burnt machinery. Can't say I've ever seen that one before. What the?
My friend Karleta was kind enough to give me a ride home. Thanks, K-ster.
When I'm behind in the laundry, and I get to the bottom of the barrel in cycling shorts, there's not any good choices. I've got a couple pairs of old leather chamois shorts, and a pair of XL Pearl Izumi bib shorts. These bib shorts are actually quite nice; the problem lies in the fit.
You see, I am a little taller than average. Bib shorts are kind of like shorts and suspenders, all rolled into one. You may be able to imagine what happens when the top part is not long enough (think wedgy), so I went to a bigger size than normal. That's fine, but they're overly loose in the butt.
I didn't really think much of it until last year, when I rode them to a race at PIR. As I was riding around doing some warm-up laps, a certain woman from a certain team which seems to be affiliated with a certain university located in SW Portland rode by and fired off a little remark that has stayed with me to this day:
Nice shorts
When I realized what she was talking about, it hurt. I've been a roadie for a long time, and this is something I've never considered. Now, I'm paranoid about loose bike shorts. If I'm not sure, I actually feel around back there to confirm. It's the opposite of the proverbial woman asking if her pants make her butt look too big.
But friends, do you know what's worse than baggy butt shorts? I do believe that would be shorts with a little hole in the seam, right smack dab in the middle of the butt-crack. You know what I'm talking about, and maybe it's making you throw up a little in your mouth. If you have any shorts with a hole in this magical spot, especially if you are a hairy male, please, I beg of you, do one of the following:
Thanks for reading.
What did I tell you? The sun came back, just like we all knew it would. And judging from the mood of some of you guys out there, it wasn't a moment too soon! I hope you enjoyed the sunshine.
The girls (along with some friends) put up a lemonade stand in front of our house. We're in a pretty low traffic area, so they preyed on the occasional couple out for a walk through our neighborhood. Capitalism then ensued when Donna mobilized the operation using a big red wagon, and the girls sold their wares door to door.
I got in a big ride with the team, which was great. In the evening, we headed over to Bethany Village with a bunch of our neighbors for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Kids were riding around on scooters and bikes having a good time, while we ate Mexican food and drank margaritas.
We spent today tearing stuff apart and throwing it in a dumpster. Man, this property of ours is full of junk.
The "jackpot" lies in the pool house, a little run-down shack adjacent to the run-down pool. Everything in there was probably 20+ years old. I found flippers, old styrofoam floaties, empty plastic containers, and lots of old rusty coffee cans. It's still full of crap, including about five 20 gallon containers of chlorine. I'm afraid to touch those, but I'll soon take them to the toxic waste depot.
The highlight of my cleanup activities was in that pool house. I was carrying a bunch of empty containers when one tipped over and some nasty liquid poured all over my side. I stopped to read the container label, and it said something like "Real fish product fertilizer" or something like that. I don't know wether to burn the clothes I was wearing, or try to wash the smell out.
Oh, I also found a bucket with a mystery bag in it. I threw the bag out, and, like an idiot, took a big wiff of the bucket. It actually made me throw up, and I felt sick for another hour after that. In other words, it stunk. A lot.
We still need to rip out the rotten deck surrounding the pool, and maybe the fence as well. However, we're going to need a much bigger dumpster for that, so it will have to wait for another weekend.
We've got a big, big mess in our back yard. It used to be a pool. Now, we're trying to decide if we should restore it, or get rid of it. Either way, it's going to be a huge project, and should be a hot topic for us this summer. And so it begins.
When we first got this crazy house, the pool looked like this:
We had no idea how big it was, since the water was so nasty and opaque. We estimated about six feet deep. We then drained the pool, and were almost horrified to see it was almost twice that.
This weekend, we drained it, scooped out about 10 bags of leaves, rescued a few salamanders and frogs, and Donna pressure washed it. In the photo below, Donna is standing about half way down, and it's already over six feet deep. I think it's about 11 feet or so in the deep end.
The deck surrounding the pool is rotten, and needs to go. The pool house (to the left) is super horrible nasty inside and either has to go, or be gutted and re-done. And as for the pool, well it needs to be resurfaced, the plumbing needs to be fixed, and we probably will need to replace all the 1970s equipment (sand pot, pump, etc), too.
Or, we could fill it in and make a neat sport court or something. Maybe my own little velodrome??
Does anyone have any dynamite?
Hmmmmm. What to do...what to do...
