Thursday, April 22, 2010

Silence


Ahh, the sound of blissful silence. What more could a girl ask for?

After eight weeks of head-banging noise, starting at 7am sharp, today I was greeted with silence and that can only mean one thing.....

The repairs on our sinking pool and deck are finally complete and every last contractor, jackhammer, table saw, rock pounder, air blower, vacuum cleaner, power drill, nail gun and slamming port-a-potty door have left the premises. In their place I swear I can hear angels singing!

Regular readers know this saga has been going on since last August, when out of the blue, our pool and deck decided to move south-- as in down hill for no apparent reason. For months we agonized over what to do, how to do it, and who to trust with such a major repair expense. The parade of characters and the proposals we received were enough to make this little girl scream-- which I did on a number of occasions, until my dream man entered the picture.

Mr. Bruno was an angel sent from heaven, or rather recommend by the delightful Thomas aka Mary Poppins, our project guru. As the on-site manager of the repair job, Mr. Bruno rode shotgun over all the workers, oversaw every detail and made sure our yard was spotless at the end of every day-- And I mean spotless! (The empty pool was vacuumed literally every single afternoon before the last guy left!)

For the better part of eight weeks, whenever I looked out the window into our yard, thanks to Mr. Bruno, all I saw were asses and elbows-- of guys working really hard and efficiently and amazingly neat. Despite, the early morning hours, the blaring construction noise and the OMG invoices we paid, at the end of it all, it was way less painful than I ever expected. And that is a dream come true.

There were no surprises, no "oophs", no mystery charges, no disasters (despite an earthquake in the middle of the repairs) and most important-- no drama! The job was done according to plan, on schedule (give or take a few rain days) and on budget. What a relief!

Of course I was hoping for some juicy blog fodder in the process. After all, some days I had a dozen men by my pool and food trucks lining up and down the street to feed them, but I'll take on-time and on-budget any day of the week in lieu of good blog gossip.

Now all that's left is to replant the flowers we moved into temporary pots so it looks like this again....

...And wait for the warm summer weather for our first pool party! Of course no one will ever notice the repair job since everything was put back to it's original place and condition, but when the lounge chairs are full of friends and family on the deck, I'll be confident no one will be going anywhere-- except to the buffet!

********

A very big and very late hug and shout out to Alix at Casa Hice for including me in her Blogger Buddy Award recognition. I'm an Alix groupie and never miss a post. If you don't know this amazing woman go check her out. You'll be really glad you did. Alix is a great friend, a true inspiration and one of my all time favorite reads.

This award requires I pass it on to ten Blog Buddies but you know me-- I hate to name names (except for Holly at Your Mother Knows But Won't Tell You-- I love Holly and I'm pretty sure she's how I found Alix in the first place.) So after Holly, I pass this on to the first nine commenters and all of you who would like to send some blog love to your favorite Blog Friends too.

Are you ready for summer?
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Photo Credit: (bumble bee) © smilewithjul - Fotolia.com

61 comments:

  1. Oh, yay! Joanna, you must be thrilled after all the headaches.

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  2. This is a feel good story as it's not often you get read about a major repair job going according to plan.

    Very happy for you and I wanna sit by the pool too :)

    Enjoy your pending summer... you've earned it.

    best wishes always
    Robyn

    PS... I'm a fan of Holly too x

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  3. Woohoo! I am excited for you! That means that the job is done and you can now go back to "normal". Godson is going to be disappointed that there's no more exploring to do.

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  4. Yeah! It's done....I'm grabbing my sunscreen and towel and heading over...are your making margarita's?

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  5. How wonderful the pool is finished and fabulous. Enjoy!

    My summer plans are to garden, garden ....oh yeah, and garden.

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  6. I am thrilled to bits that finally your pool is safe again! And your ears can take a rest from all the noise too.

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  7. Ooooooh, I am soooo envious! Pools are rare around my neck of the woods, unless they are indoors, but in truth, few can afford the luxury (sigh). Your spot looks an idyllic place to enjoy the summer by - and the fact you found a bunch of such considerate guys who actually did everything they had promised to, well, that's a worthy blog-post all on it's own!

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  8. How awesome, but really you had no drama? How? I had a tree guy, try all these trees, but never hauled it away. Now, I always tell workers they must clean up after each day.

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  9. Oh how exciting!! The pool and deck is finally finished! That is super. And I am so jealous...have been all along. Because I would love to have a pool and deck at my house. HA!
    Congrats on your Blogger Buddy award. I have always been a fan of Alix's too! She is amazing! So are you!!
    Hugs and have a great day
    SueAnn

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  10. Ya gotta love that!
    Luxuriate in the silence.

    You need a special page just for all the "blogger-love" awards you get!
    Who doesn't ♡ your Fifty Factor?!

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  11. wow. has the migrating pool story really come to an end...oh my. smiles. waiting on my invite for the pool party.

    congrats on the award jj!

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  12. Yahoo... a job well done and in time for the first pool party! I brought out my favorite dish and pen in hand- when is the party?!! Have a golden weekend my friend! xo

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  13. I'm coming over now with my carafe of mimosa's and my towel. It's great to have the project complete just in time for summer.

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  14. Yes, having anything done around the house is a bit like banging one's head against the wall - i.e. nice when it stops!

    Let the summer fun begin!

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  15. What a beautiful deck you have. Really lovely.

    Congratulations on the award Joanna.

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  16. Jpanna, I am so glad that your pool is all done, that must be such a relief for you. I would love to sit poolside with you one day. lol Congratulations on the award, I am a huge fan of Holly too. take care and have a great weekend.

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  17. I'm envious! We have an in-ground pool, too, and every few years we go through another round of repairs. Now that my son and his friends are grown and out of town, I wonder why we bother to keep it open and running, but then again, it IS nice to have it on those hot summer days. Your pool photo looks like something from a Hollywood movie shoot! Enjoy... I imagine it's getting hot enough to swim out in LA now?

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  18. What a relief! Enjoy your pool and have Mr. Bruno over for a cocktail!

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  19. So glad you have your pool back. Having owned two houses with pools, I know how attached you can get to that luxury. A summer of swimming lies ahead!

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  20. Beautiful pool. I am sure the noise was like the industrial leaf blower one of my neighbors had - a pity he always chose 6-7 a.m to work next to my bedroom. He was a great neighbor so it was ok.

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  21. I'm so glad that work is done! I know it's been an ordeal, but you'll enjoy it all summer!

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  22. I love Alix too! Her cruise adventures are hilarious, aren´t they?
    So happy for you that your pool is finished. And you really struck it lucky, with having such a great work crew! That is sooo rare now a days!
    Hope to hear about the great party´s you´ll be having there. :)

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  23. Isn't it nice to get things done without drama and cost overages? Enjoy your pool this summer. When I I win the lottery I'm gettin' me a pool too!

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  24. On time and on budget is something of a miracle these days....I'm so glad it happened for you. Enjoy the peace and quiet and a good swim.

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  25. I grew up with a pool. Don't even want to imagine what it took to get your back together again.

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  26. That is a very long time to live with such noise and activity. Hubby and I would not be able to live near that kind of disruption, it would send my poor hubby into another manic episode. I am so pleased for you that the job was done well and you are happy with the results. So, when is the pool party again??? Just kidding, Joanna, Nebraska is just too far away for that, but not too far for a friendship. Hugs to you.

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  27. You don't know how LONG I've been waiting for this post, but I had no idea it would be such a lovely complimentary one. Three cheers for you and Mr Bruno and all the asses and elbows. Your pool looks perfect, and more important... stationary!

    And thank you SO MUCH for the Casa Hice shout out and kind undeserved words. It brought tears to my eyes, Joanna. Really, it did. Likewise, your friendship means the world to me and I'm so thrilled to know you.

    Don't forget to send me an invite to the pool party!

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  28. Congratulations for completing this project, sane and funny and remaining yourself--a big performance in its own right.
    Enjoy the pool ready for the summer!
    Alix rocks. And I have found her through you, so many thanks.

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  29. Oh what a relief that must be. It's certainly not everyday you hear such positive stories about contractors. I'm so pleased for you.

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  30. Good contractors are few and far between and worth their weight in gold. Glad you found one.
    While you're getting your pool repaired and put back in place, we took ours out last fall, and are now banging our heads against the wall trying to get a contractor to come in and fill the hole w/dirt. He's scheduled to work on 4/28, cross your fingers it actually happens!

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  31. So happy for you, and just in time for the season! It will all be worth it, I'm sure. Enjoy!

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  32. Hooray for the job wrap up.
    And the efficiency.


    enjoy. It's a tranquil vignette from this angle.

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  33. How lovely to have that project not only DONE but cleaned up! I'm waiting for our big project to finish--OH THE DUST! So I can sympathize.
    Kick back and enjoy that gorgeous pool now!

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  34. Congratulations on the pool and the award!

    I know this has been a long haul with the pool but how wonderful that it is done in time for summer and in budget Yay! Yay! Yay!
    :-)
    Traci

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  35. Every time I reluctantly undergo a huge project, a little part of me dies if it goes off without a hitch, because I have nothing to blog about. I want to sing to the heavens that a job actually succeeded and succeeded well, but it's not very funny.

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  36. Would that we all could find your angel, Mr. Bruno, when we had a major project that needed undertaking. I don't know many people, in my 65 years, who have been this happy with the work they have had done. It kind of restores my faith in humanity!

    Congratulations on your award!

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  37. Oh darn, I'm not in the first nine, and oh darn, I guess I live too far away for the pool party. Rats! Hey, it's great news that it's finished and that things went smoothly. I wish you well for the spring and summer and many poolside pleasures! :-)

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  38. So happy for you that the job is finally done. Enjoy it now! Congrats on the award!

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  39. Job done just in time for the start of summer or has it started for you

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  40. Sometimes the very absence of a thing can be bliss. The absence of pain, the absence of noise, whatever it is. Hooray for you that things went so well, and three cheers for Bruno!

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  41. "all I saw were asses and elbows" wow I can't remember the last time I heard that.
    One related post was about the filming of a TV show on your street (House??). Did you get any blog material from that?

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  42. I'm so glad it's all over with...except for the celebrating part, that is.

    Silence is awesome. Enjoy your beautiful pool and deck.

    Hugs!!
    Green-Eyed Momster

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  43. Well finally. I have been holding my breath till they got the pool fixed. Did your insurance pay for it since it was an act of mother nature at her ugliest?

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  44. Ah, at last... no more moving ground (unless it's an earthquake) and no more asses and elbows...

    Summer? Well, it snowed here on Thursday so it still seems a long way away.

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  45. So happy your pool is fixed on time and ready for spring and summer. From the photo the pool and the flowers look beautiful.

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  46. I suffered through repairs on my apartment complex for two weeks. I lost sleep and came close to losing my composure. But your suffering produced a beautiful pool. Have a good weekend, Roland

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  47. I might be ready for summer when it stops snowing...!

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  48. Ah, I know that feeling well! We've done more than our share of disruptive projects at our house and it's such a great feeling to be "done"! Enjoy!

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  49. Finally!!! WooHoo! That is such great news, I know that this thing has been bothering you forever. I see a blogger pool party in your future!

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  50. Lucky you!~ You must post picts of the party. Congrats on the award. I LOVE Alix!

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  51. What a relief for you!!! And how pretty and inviting it looks! I could easily take a nap there! (Since I don't don a swim suit anymore, napping and a drink is about all I do by the pool!)

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  52. So glad to hear that the silenced had commenced. May you enjoy your pool more than I enjoy mine. Actually that's easy to do. May you enjoy your pool as much as you expect to. That's better. :)
    Casey

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  53. Great news! and to get through it without some disaster is unheard of in renovation projects. Phew, a big sigh of relief and now its time to enjoy the benefits of a great pool.

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  54. You've endured quite a bit there with the stubborn pool. It must be nice to have it back where it belongs, and no more back yard visitors, no more noise or lines of food trucks. I'm already looking forward to my invitation to the big pool party.

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  55. Looks like I'm not amongst the first 10...sigh. :)

    You know, I think it takes a lot of class to look at a situation and not create drama where there was none. (or not enough to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth). I'm sure it was a difficult time, but you looked at the elbows and bums and appreciated all the hard work.

    wow...are you having a blog party anytime soon? The pool and surroundings are beautiful.

    :)

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  56. What a gorgeous pool and deck area! Looks like they did an awesome job!

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  57. I personally can't wait for summer but am so not ready! I have that big old pile of mulch to move onto flower beds and my pool filter blew it's main specialty hose that is no longer manufactured....waitin' for Hubby to find time to 'Jerry-rig' me up a hose before my pool gets thick and green. I now...ewwwwww! Poor man leaves for work around 4:30 and returns home after dark.

    Congratulations on your most deserved award sweetie!

    God bless ya and have a marvelous Monday!!!

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  58. You are so lucky that the pool repairs are finished. The picture of what it will look like and did before is beautiful!!

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