Real Life Mermaids

My daughter Anna is taken with Mermaids and the Ausie TV series H2O Just Add Water. So, I went searching and found these two (1, 2) 20/20 epsiodes on two women who make a living performing as Mermaids and being activists for the sea. Wouldn't it be cool  to hire a mermaid for a  little girls party!

Critter Cam

Recently I posted this link to a webcam pointed at a spot in our Backyard where we've seen evidence of a critter. We originally thought it was a skunk. Last night we found footprints around our pool that look more like Racoon.

I've had the camera pointed at a corner of the yard where the critter was doing it's business. Since I knew this was a place it had been.  Now I've found muddy footprints around the edge of the pool so I'm going to move the camera to see more of the pool and deck area.  Maybe I'll finally capture it on camera with this new position.

P.S. camera password was sent to a few friends via email and posted on facebook for friends and family.  If you  are a friend on facebook you can find the camera password there.


Update: Caught the critter.  It was a raccoon! Here are the shots.


Now that we know what it is I've taken the public webcam down.

Afternoon trip to Tahoe

After spending the first part of the day getting some things done and cooling off in the pool, my wife came up with the idea we run up to Pope's Beach in Tahoe, and enjoy the remainder of the day then get some dinner and head back.  So, we quickly packed up a few things and headed off to Tahoe.

The water was coolish but not too cold, we jumped right in!

After the beach we headed out for dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Express at Heavenly Village.  Anna was tired by the end of the day and fell asleep on the drive home.

First big splash of the pool season!

Grandpa this one is just for you

Anna wanted to show you how she can hold her breath and put her face underwater. I have a longer video but YouTube said it was too long for their free account.



Watch it on YouTube

One of the hotter weekends

We had another fun weekend. The weather was hotter than it has been recently, we've had a pretty mild summer this year. Anna played in our pool and we also took her to the pool at the park around the corner from our house. Julie received a pool chair for her birthday from her co-workers.

Here is a video of Anna sitting in the same pool chair.


Watch it at YouTube

Fun Weekend!

The weather was great this weekend so we took advantage of it and camped out on the deck then played in the pool and relaxed on the deck. Anna had a blast camping out in the backyard. We told stories and ate chips, ice cream sandwiches, watermelon, and cherries.

The new deck is done!

For the last several weeks I have been building a new deck that wraps partway around the pool and comes up along the back of the house. It will allow us to step out of our new sliding glass door off our bedroom onto the deck. The top of the deck will match the floor level in the house. It took several piers embedded in footings at 32"cc and pressure treated 2x8's at 16"cc to support the weight of a future hot tub. Since framing is less than 10" clear from the ground I had to use pressure treated wood. I used chemical resistant screws, hangers, & angles to fasten the framing together.

I bought most of the hardware from the usual spot, Home Depot, but the wood and Trex decking were much less expensive at Berco Redwood. I used screws for everything, so there are no nails in this deck. I lost a week by buying the deck late on a Saturday so it couldn't be delivered until Monday. All I could do was move the decking to the back patio Monday night after work. Then look at it all week wishing I could start getting some of it down.

The first weekend attaching the decking was a cold one so I wasn't moving as fast as I would have liked. I was getting 5 rows of deck done a day. The following Saturday I finished the decking on the front side. Once I finish the far side I'll cut and attach the trim around the outside. The trim will cover the pressure treated wood still visible around the outside of the deck.

The framing is done and all I have left to do is finish attaching the decking (and cast a step on each side). I'll have additional progress photos posted soon. I've been using the film camera for most of the shots.