God &^$$#%#(*&%%#@ Mother *^^%*$#$#$@ !!!!!!!

Wow, that looks like fun!

I didn't know pools were so much work. My hat is off to you.

haven't you tortured yourself enough in your kitchen? icky poo, Mandi.

and here i was thinking it was going to be an article about God, mother, and maybe apple pie!

Mandi - I spent 4 hours vacuuming broken glass out of mine yesterday. At least it allowed me to regain my perspective a bit. Pools are lovely when sparkling and blue - but they can be a homeowners nightmare too.

Shock the hell outta it, and then have yourself a margharita!

Mandi, We've been having the same weather in southern Ontario. Last week for our yard sale, we froze our butts. Today for my grandson's birthday party, we cooked on the deck and was glad that we had put on our A/C before leaving home. Good luck with the pool. By the time you get it ready, the weather will be hot, hot, hot and you will be glad you have it.

Oh that looks awful! I'm so glad we don't do our own pool maintainence...

And having a pool is supposed to be what? Fun?

I won 300 bucks in a pool once...

Dats why ya have to live on a coast.. to go to the BEACH!!!!

I hate to say it, but pools are little more than "liquid money pits" in my Universe. I have a nice hole in the ground outside-- grew tomatos in it, one year...

thanks everyone ;-)

I will be shocking the hell out of it tomorrow.

Peter, actually it doesn';t cost more than 30 bucks a month in shock treatment during the summer... well worth it to me.. I can't handle the heat and don;t have A/C in my old old old house.

When I saw your title I thought " what in the world could have made her som upset" and honey now I see why. Bless your heart. This has made me think twice about getting our own pool. Do you feel better getting it off of your chest?

I swim in a heated 75 foot pool year round with no maintenance because I pay $165 for the privilege. You should move to AZ! OK, during the summer it has to be cooled!

Gisela and Sylvia are in my neck of the woods where we have lots of pools, and they do take some maintenance ... but can't live without them in this dry desert heat!

I'm glad you got things working again and got this off your chest Mandi...Enjoy!

Too funny - poor you. Get a cabana boy for poolside relaxation and take your mind off. ;-)~~

Yuck.

Mandi, my dad has been closing and opening our pool for thirty years. They built an inground pool when I was in third grade. He has got in down to an art. When he took the cover off a couple of weeks ago it still was almost as clear as when he put the cover on seven months before. I should ask him what it is he does and pass it on to you. I remember when ours used to look like that too. Yuck!! I'm with Ludolf. Find you some young cabana boy to take your mind off it. Haha.

Ok my first thought to all you ladies in arizona with well kept(by other people) pools.. kiss my... KIDDING! Just KIDDING>>> sigh

As for the pool boy... he's in d.c. on a motoorcycle... guess I may need to find a replacement...

same to you buddy

too funny, mandi!! i love it. good thing your daughter is there to help....

jessie.. I don't know what I would do with out her... thanks ;-)

Wow! Sure makes me want to leap right in.

Here in FL. then you can have your pool looking fabulous and then a good huuricane can come through and it looks as if you never cleaned it at all!

Pool Boys are one of California's open secrets.

Mandi - do what you gotta do. But that pool is a summer must.

thanks everyone.. every year I get that pool sparkling.. this year will be no different ;-) I will post after pics when it is done.

I just make a jug of Bloody Marys, take my plastic lawn chair, and go down and get in the creek.Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I wish I had a pool........:-(
It's been in the 100's, and all I have is a garden hose and a plastic chair. I'm probably one of the few in AZ that doesn't get to go "SPLASH" this time of year.

Round here when it gets hot, we just get all liquored up and go stumble through the car wash. I met my first wife down there. You meet some really nice folks at the car wash. Clean ones too!

thanks all... JOHN??? ARIZONA AND NO POOL??? not even a local one??

you are not living under a bridge are you???

carl, what about the hot wax?

Mandi,

The hot wax is another benefit. You get some really shiney shoes!

Your title is appropriate, it's about what I said when I saw the picture! I vote in favor of the pool boy and lots of liquor. I remember living up north with no A/C in the houses. Actually, we live in FL right now without A/C in half of the house due to construction. Bleh. I feel your pain, sister.

no AC in Florida??? You win!

carl, I wanna see a pic of you running through the hot wax ;-)

Mandi,

Focus on the positives....just think how grateful you will be come July. LOL

so true Jenny so true ;-)But then I will be ckaing the darm thing every darm day because of the 7 huge trees all around it.. what was I thinking putting the pool there??

Mandy--Sounds like your daughter should be your chaperone, too. Chris

A good reason to own a pool is: FUN. A good reason not to own a pool is: CLEANING IT.

I wanted a pool. With a waterfall. With water lilies. With Koi. I spent much much much cash creating a pool. A waterfall. Pool liners are spendy. Pumps are spendy. Water lily plants are not too bad, but of course I wanted the prettiest varieties and colors. The most inexpensive Koi are not inexpensive. Lets not talk about all the cost of huge rocks, landscaping items, a header pool that had to be ordered from England. The plumbing, the grounded dedicated electrical connection. The waterfall was beautiful, the water lilies were miraculous, the Koi were lovely and like to be petted and hand fed. Dragonflies hatched and flew spiraling in the sun. The birds loved it splashing merrily in the shallower steps of the fall, the squirrels perched on the edge and drank daintily.

Reality set in. Last week after about a dozen years "balancing nature" so the pool would be "self sustaining" , fighting the racoons who loved to swim and dive and grope and tear lily plants to shreds, eat expensive koi dinners and throw everything imaginable into the water making much muck and murk, Laughing all the while at the motion detector lights and the electric fencing and the netting ........... I finally threw in the towel. I now have a nice hole in the ground. I sold the whole mess to a pair of young eager people with a new home in a new subdivision for $200. I am thinking
rock garden on the waterfall hill, sunken garden in the hole........ maybe one tiny fountain for the birds and squirrel and the musical sound of water.

Ah, yes. The joys of Summer. Somehow, it reminds me of when my mom allowed me to scream curses at the doctor, as he burned a wart off of my foot. "That's life," LOL!

Mandi,
We had an above-ground pool when we moved in. We felt it knew when we moved in because it started to break itself. A little thing here, a little thing there, and before we knew it we had dumped $800 into the damn thing.

BEST thing we ever did was rip the GDMF thing down and put in a round veggie garden in its place!! :)

I don't miss that 'money pit' one bit. And now we have homemade pickles and tomato sauce (and dilly beans!) each year. And plus, I can go swim in Walden Pond or the ocean if I really want to swim...

thanks all..
Rlene... I would have given up too ;-)

Leah, I think in a few years that is what I will do.

Wow - I've been dreaming of putting in one of those "endless pools" with a waterfall feature on the slight slope above where the pool would be.

But now, thanks to you Mandi, I'm rethinking my dreams!

I just bought a small pool for the kids. It's one of those "blow up the air ring and fill" numbers. I'm still thinking about whether to actually put it up, or take it back.

I'm with Steve. My sister had a large above ground pool with a deck around it. Very nice to enjoy but did it suck to have to vacume that thing out every day. Like you she had many trees around it. After see all she had to go through every year I've made up my mind that the only time I will get a pool is if I can afford to pay someone else to take care of it! :)