Will this never end?

So, the last time I gave you an update on the pool, it looked like this:

Roughed in

Today, after many, many hours of sweaty men working in the back yard, it looks like this:

Um, really not looking all that different, considering how many hours of labour have been poured into it. We're at the stage in this project where everything seems to be moving ....... so ........ slowly.

But, trust me, those guys have been working hard, and during some of the hottest, most humid days of summer, too. Next step will be pouring the concrete deck around the pool. Then we can install the patio! (Yay patio! Patio = a place for beer and friends!)

And we plan to spend this Labour Day weekend building a retaining wall around the pool. We'll see how that goes. Can't say that I'm really looking forward to it - I really wish we could afford to hire that job out. Grumble.

I'm fretting that we haven't ordered enough rock (we ordered 5 tons!) and that we will have to order a whole lot of soil to backfill (and that'll be after we back it with 3 tons of clear stone). The rock we ordered is called "chicken rock" but do you think I can find a picture of it on the internet? Not a chance. It's grey and weather-worn, which gives it a really nice, smooth texture. Each block is about the size and shape of a breadbox. If I remember correctly, some of the rocks had lichen or moss growing on them - so pretty! It's being delivered tomorrow, so I'll have a picture for you then.

The real bummer of all this is that, even if we get the landscaping done by next week, we still won't be able to use the pool this summer. Hydro can't connect us until 22 September (which means we won't have a pump to keep the water moving and free of algae until then), and Enbridge can't put in our gas hook-up until 5 October (which means it won't be heated until then). And it has been stinking hot - a pool would've been just the thing!

Oh well. I knew we were getting a late start on this, and it is a huge project, especially considering our sloping yard. The good news is that we'll be able to use it from the first heat wave next spring. I just need to be patient. (Look up "patient" in the thesaurus, and you will find "Wynn Anne" under antonyms.)