Read between the lines.

I've had inumerable meetings with pool contractors, landscapers, gas contractors, neighbours and arborists. I've signed lots of money away. And, so far, here is what we have to show for it:
Yup. An outline of where the pool will go. (Peter's comment: "Oh, so it's going to be amoeba-shaped!") Of course, lots of work has gone on. Here's what the yard was like when we moved in:
And here's what it looked like once we got the meadow under control: But LOTS is going to happen this week:

• Steve and our neighbour will hack back the hedges on the right side as far as possible, so we can put a fence in front of them without losing much property. (Our neighbours really love the cedar hedge and begged us not to cut it down. So, although we really don't like or want the hedge, which is on our property, we will leave most of it on that side. Gotta keep your neighbours happy.)
• A big dude with a big truck and backhoe will come and level most of the yard, leaving a raised area at the back.
• More big dudes will come with more equipment and dig the hole for the pool. This is when we may come upon ugly [and expensive] surprises, like a high water table or rocks so big that they have to be blasted. Keep your fingers crossed!
• An electrician will come to connect a "ground" wire to the metal shell of the pool.

And then next week:

• Steve and the boys will build the retaining wall along the back and sides. At $210/linear foot if we contracted the work, we decided this was one way we could save a significant chunk of change. We're talking $13,000 plus HST.
• The landscaper will put in the interlock. I'm quite excited about having a nice, clean patio out there. Here's a picture of the block we have chosen:

It's a concrete product, but has a nice texture and mix of colours. And do you notice anything? It's got lots of straight lines! Despite my love of curves, I fell in love with this stone, so, although the patios themselves will be nice and curvy, they will be filled with this stone.

You can expect pictures - I'm a big fan of in-progress shots.
On an unrelated note, in case you were wondering about the humungous spider on our patio door, it is still there, and getting bigger by the day. This morning, Brian noticed that it had captured a big moth in its web and was having itself a big ole feast. I managed to capture an awesome photograph. (What is it with my fascination with this hideous thing?) Here she is:

I can't look at her without thinking of The Who's song, "Boris the Spider."

So maybe "she" is a "he." Maybe it's not pregnant; maybe it has the spider equivalent of a beer gut. At some point, however, we are going to want to start using that door. At which time, Boris will be compost.