Toasted [s]

The weekend featured a distinct increase in temperature.

Some of Saturday and Sunday entailed moving Jes out of her LA place and into her SD place. It was fairly painless as far as moves go. I'd even assert that if she left all the unnecessary stuff (plants) in a dumpster we probably could have fit everything in three rolling suitcases.



Of course this meant Kafka got to meet Kim, they have an icy relationship, but perhaps she'll warm up to the pup as time goes by. Little Kaffey had a stimulating weekend, he got to hang out with Jessica's childhood dog, most of his kin, and the many attendees of Brian's excellent seven eleven party. Then today he got his first swim lesson. It may be awhile before he paddles out with me, but he's doing okay with water.

I have a superb addition to the CR Yellow Pages. I snagged some camembert and a specialty NorCal cheese from Venissimo. It didn't last long as Sophie, Nicole, Scott, and I ate ourselves silly.

Reinforcements [s]

I had quite a few visitors this weekend. The main project - other than good times - was resupporting the deck.


1. Remove every other post.


2. Grind away rusted rebar previously used to align posts.


3. Drill the concrete for the new anchors, 5/8" or 3/4" or something.


4. Fill the hole with epoxy and sink the bolt, allow to set overnight.


5. Torque the u-brackets to the concrete, level the new posts and bolt them with 1/2" galvanized hardware.


6. Mime strange things.


7. Raise sagging parts of the structure as necessary.


8. Drill and bolt the tops of the posts.


9. Start over with the opposite sides.



So a moisture barrier is pretty important. The next step will be to skirt the new posts in brick to make the assembly more visually appealing.

Buying a hammer drill for the job was not exactly a feather in my cap, but it defintely made short work of the concrete - about a minute to sink the length of the bit. My newfound ability to anchor to concrete opens possibilities in the difficult pursuit of a pool enclosure. I need a means to deflect falling leaves from the southernmost few feet of the pool. The pool vac handles them just fine, but I dislike cleaning the filter every few days.

Traditional pool covers will simply dump the leaves and such into the water when they are folded or rolled up, so an above-water solution is ideal. I'd considered a canopy, though not many can accomodate the 12' width of the pool. Such a structure would have the benefit of providing shade in addition to leaf protection. Anything with a roof and walls is an asset to use of the pool heater, though I wouldn't want the area permanently enclosed.

Being able to affix something to the concrete around the pool means I could do something that resembles a pergola, but with the potential for a roof and/or walls. This would look better than a canopy and provide a platform for great things ranging from outdoor lighting to volleyball net posts.

This weekend's roll call:


Benhen.


Catherine (sp?).


Pops.


Bear.


Jes.


Kim.


Me.


Patrick Swayze Jon.


Ted.


Oops.


So that's an ostrich egg, slated for scrambling tomorrow morning.



The final presentation for photo is Wednesday, so I've printed a few more things. Here are some film shots from the March 7 autocross.