RichC | September 27, 2023
It is that time of year … Autumn is here and the leaves are starting to fall. I cut the lawn and closed the pool last weekend, hopefully before the bulk of the leaves started to fill up the pool. The weather has been nice and just the right temperature for yardwork. BUT … I […]
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Tags: backyard, family, maintenance, pool, richc, selfie, weekend
RichC | July 9, 2023
Yesterday morning was rushed, as I attempted to get a few things done in the backyard. I mowed the front yard on Friday night and was hoping to get the back done on Saturday — nope, the rain and thunderstorms arrived before lunch. BUT … I was able to at least use my new Worx […]
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Tags: backyard, edging, jerry rig, pool, project, router, router table, scissor lift, side table, workshop, worx
RichC | July 8, 2023
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Tags: annalyn, babysitting, bompa, brenda, drew, ellerie, homebuilding, katelyn, ohio, oma, perrysburg, playground, pool, richc, waterville, white house
RichC | June 26, 2023
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RichC | May 31, 2023
One would think after twenty some years of pool ownership, I would have invested in a cement sidewalk (pool decking) edger. Nope … it was not something familiar to me since we have never lived on a city lot or had sidewalks. Now after 40 years of homeownership, I’ve finally broken down and spent $79.20 […]
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Tags: coffee, ember, gadget, lawn, ledger, mug, pool, replacement, warranty, worx, yard
RichC | September 20, 2022
After helping Taylor move a few larger things over to his new condominium last weekend, he sent a photo of his still bare living room, but it is coming together. The TV is working so he could watch the 2022 losing Cincinnati Bengals (now 0-2) on Sunday afternoon. He has been slowing moving boxes of […]
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Tags: bearings, bengals, chores, condominium, galls, ladybug, motor, moving, oak, pool, pump, rebuild, swimming, taylor, trees, walnut hills
RichC | September 16, 2022
Besides noticing that a new school bus driver has decided to use our driveway as a turn around spot (should not be “the norm”) … I took apart the old 2017 pool pump motor. Last week I replaced the old motor with a new one (again) suspecting the shortened life (in my opinion) is due […]
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Tags: bearings, Cam, corrosion, electric, motor, pool, pump, rebuild, repair, repairs, school bus, security, wyze
RichC | September 12, 2022
The tail end of summers weather has been conducive for both working outside (and sweating) in the yard and cooling dips in the pool. I usually relax in a patched up floating lounger with a copy of Barron’s … but after my delivery frustration I’ve so far declined renewing until they can improve paper delivery. […]
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RichC | September 5, 2022
Labor Day weekend was relatively busy with chores and stay-at-home chores. We have also noticed a coyote regularly making his round again (photos above). On Friday night we stopped to see Taylor’s new condominium in Walnut Hills (Cincinnati) and then had dinner at O’Bryon’s Bar and Grill. We ate outside up on the roof as […]
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Tags: amazon, chores, french drain, labor day, motor, o'bryon, order, pool, pump, sump, taylor, walnut hills, zoeller
RichC | August 28, 2022
Neither Brenda or I have fully retired yet (although I loaf more than I should), but there is no reason THIS couldn’t be every day during retirement IF the weather was perfect all year around. I probably take more time off during the summer than I should and having the girls for a week in […]
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Tags: 2022, barrons, dreamer, dreaming, peace, pool, reading, relaxing, retirement, summer, tranquility
RichC | August 6, 2022
Well if one has to stay at home … looking at our backyard “storm is coming” pool photo … and we aren’t to be out and about, there could be worse places to be isolating? The summer storms continued rolling thru this past week and and after testing positive the previous week, I thought a […]
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Tags: backyard, brenda, comedy, coronavirus, covid, earworm, gilligan's island, isolate, paxlovid, pool, richc, storms, summer, theme song, youtube
RichC | August 4, 2022
One never knows who will stop by to join me by the pool on a hot evening (it is hot this week). On Wednesday it was an American Green Crab Spider (Misumessus oblongus). These little “almost luminous” vivid green spiders move like crabs but don’t spin spider webs. They spend their time climbing through green […]
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Tags: american, crab, green, misumessus oblongus, ohio, pool, spider
RichC | July 27, 2022
Eventually I’ll get to part 3 of our family Canadian Rockies 40th Anniversary trip (post-trip nightmare, part 1 and part 2), but for now I’ll archive a few photos from this past week’s babysitting trip to Perrysburg. COVID has made its way through the Oostra family after their trip … likely the herding through the […]
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Tags: babysitting, coronavirus, covid19, family, granddaughers, pano, perrysburg, pool, swimming
RichC | June 28, 2022
Back in the late winter or early spring, the pool supply catalogs began arriving in the mail. Chlorine pucks and shock powder were my primary “look for” items as we were contemplating opening the pool for the season. Unfortunately this year, we were a little slower than usual due to pool repairs, but noticed there […]
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Tags: chemicals, chlorine, idiom, idioms, inflatable, leak, pool, poolmaster, return, toy
RichC | June 19, 2022
I enjoyed a very nice Father’s Day on “Saturday” yesterday with Taylor, Megan and their long time friend Meredith, who was “dog-sitting” her sister’s dog “Chase” (below). They enjoyed the nice weather around and in the pool while I busied myself with a few projects … one of which was adding the additional pipes to […]
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Tags: coffee, dog, drain, drew, ember, facetime, fathers day, katelyn, megan, mug, pipe, pool, project, projects, seed, taylor
RichC | April 16, 2022
First, I mentioned pool repairs were underway earlier in the week. The tiles that I’ve been repairing are now long past due for a full replacement. So the water has been pumped out and a pool tile crew is beginning the demolition prior to making repairs and installing new waterline tile. Brenda’s comment made me […]
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Tags: floors, hardwood, hudson, lumber, office, pool, project, projects, tile, wood floors
RichC | April 10, 2022
We have put off replacing the pool tiles long enough as I’ve long ago burned through the spare tiles and have made repairs and replaced the damaged tiles so far myself, but there is only so much that can be done to salvage what still exists. It is time … or as most rational people […]
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Tags: maintenance, pool, repairs, replacing, spring, tile
RichC | August 17, 2021
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Tags: annalyn, backyard, birthday, brenda, drew, ellerie, family, katelyn, mp4, pool, taylor, vacation
RichC | July 25, 2021
So what do you know about bats? Personally, I didn’t know very much at all. I see them regularly in the evening sky darting around and have always repeated the mantra that they are good for the environment because they eat mosquitos and pesky insects (article). Beyond that … and the vampire stories … I […]
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Tags: animals, backyard, bats, china, coronavirus, covid19, idioms, pandemic, pool, rabies, wet market, wildlife, wuhan
RichC | July 11, 2021
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RichC | June 17, 2021
After repairing our iRobot pool sweeper last week and figuring out how to hold a “behind the riveted new screen” tiny nut in place (after I dropped it!) … I happened to see Adam Savage’s model building recommended tool (mention him an his testedcom before) and “just had to have it.” In the photos above, […]
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Tags: Adam Savage, cleaner, forceps, irobot, medical, model, pool, screen, sewing, sweeper, tools
RichC | June 1, 2021
The robin eggs in the back porch (earlier in May above) wreath Brenda made from her grandmother’s grapevines years ago, have hatched Below was day one (left) and day two (right) … as Brenda commented … “you should wait until they’re a bit cuter.” The weather was “so-so” this past Memorial Day weekend, but since […]
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Tags: air conditioning, chores, eggs, grapevines, hatch, minisplit, palm, pioneer, pool, robin, treo, weekend
RichC | May 28, 2021
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Tags: annalyn, brenda, dance, drew, ellerie, family, granddaughters, katelyn, mp4, pool, recital, richc, splashing
RichC | May 25, 2021
This past weekend was a busy weekend and won’t likely let up for a little while – full schedule … and I’m not even really back to traveling for work! It started with getting the mowing finished up on Friday night so that I could spend time on getting the initial pool cleaning and pump […]
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Tags: backyard, cleaning, garter, hawk, opening, packard, Photos, pool, snakes, sweeping, toledo, washing
RichC | September 19, 2020
It has taken me most of the second half of the summer, but I’m finally finishing the poolhouse changing room … more work than I thought. The damage done by Katelyn’s “late” pet rabbit Pumpy Umpy was significant enough to require lower drywall (greenboard) and all new casing and baseboard trim. Part of my slowdown […]
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Tags: changing, doors, drywall, garage, greenboard, hinges, painting, pool, poolhouse, pumpy umpy, Rabbit, repair, room, rustoleum, scotchbrite
RichC | August 20, 2020
Let me get this out before someone tells me I’ve lost my mind: I love our current house and property in SW Ohio … as well as the community we live in just north of Cincinnati. Brenda and I could not be more blessed with our lives, our family and all that we have worked […]
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Tags: cpp, cuyahoga falls, house, hudson, memories, northeast, ohio, piano, pool, reminiscing, remodeling
RichC | August 19, 2020
Since I spent most of the weekend outside again doing chores and projects as the weather has been great … I spotted a couple of insects enjoying summer as well. The normal bugs don’t grab my attention, but the brightly colored and unusual ones are worthy of photos (still impressed with the camera on my […]
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Tags: barrons, iphone7plus, kadydid, orchard, pool, reading, spider, summer, swimming, tweet, twitter
RichC | August 11, 2020
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Tags: annalyn, archive, bees, birdhouse, bluebird, brenda, drew, ellerie, family, granddaughters, home, house, katelyn, mp4, Photos, pool, project, pyramid hill, richc, vacation
RichC | August 8, 2020
Although I’m looking high and low for some material to replace the clearance foam bead filled pool floaties I bought a few years ago, I continue to re-stitch and reinforce the old product with “Brenda’s” Sailrite Ultrafeed LS-1. The new stitching holds as long as the old fabric holds up, but sooner or later I’m […]
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Tags: beanbag, chair, float, material, mesh, pool, repair, sailrite, sewing
RichC | July 10, 2020
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RichC | June 9, 2020
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Tags: annalyn, brenda, drew, ellerie, family, grilling, katelyn, megan, pool, richc, taylor, waldo, yard
RichC | June 4, 2020
The “to-do” list is slowly being chipped away at as last weekend Brenda and I enjoyed the nice weather at home to work on yard chores. She is still struggling with a back issue, but felt good enough to use the Kubota (against my advice BTW – bumpy lawn) to mow the front lawn. I […]
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Tags: bait shop, chores, memories, opening, pano, pool, smell, trees, trigger, weather, yard
RichC | May 26, 2020
It is never as easy as expected? I’m accustom to opening the pool each season now that I’ve been doing it for 20+ years in Cincinnati and another 5 or so in Hudson before that. Each season it should get easier, right? Nope. There always something … and the job is MUCH more challenging to […]
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Tags: bearings, chores, clean, corrosion, electrical, house, motor, opening, pool, pump, rebuild, yard
RichC | October 2, 2019
Although they are not venomous, the people I know don’t like to go swimming with snakes … Northern Water Snakes in this case (I think – see screen grab below). After being away for a week, once again the local wildlife has decided to make our pool their home – it has been dry. I […]
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Tags: anigif, backyard, gif, northern, pool, snake, snakes, water, wildlife
RichC | September 16, 2019
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Tags: annalyn, cincinnati, drew, family, katelyn, megan, pool, taylor, zoo
RichC | July 23, 2019
The weather has been super hot and humid so far this July over most of the eastern half of the country. It is pool and grilling weather to be sure … although when the pool water temperature is 90 degrees, it really doesn’t feel all that refreshing anymore. Since I was clearing off the porches […]
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Tags: certapro, filler, gutter, gutters, guttershutter, heatwave, paint, painters, painting, photo, pool, summer, trinka, weather
RichC | July 9, 2019
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Tags: annalyn, baseball, brenda, cincinnati, drew, family, food, fun, katelyn, megan, mp4, pool, richc, swing, taylor, video, weekend
RichC | July 5, 2019
So far the Fitbit Versa “watch” that I received for my birthday has been great … and I’m using it far more than expected. It has already encouraged me to be a little more active as I work hard to hit the 10,000 step goal each day. Thank you Katelyn and Drew! This past weekend […]
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Tags: birthday, fitbit, gadgets, gift, pool, resistant, steps, swim, swimming, tech friday, techfriday, versa, watch, water, waterproof
RichC | June 18, 2019
With steady rains (and downpour storms) over the past week, the ground was soft enough for even this 60 year old guy to trench. I’ve been wanting to work on the “sump pump to pool” bypass ever since testing it with a temporary pipe to 2” roll up hose a few years ago. The water […]
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Tags: digging, drain, fence, gate, landscaping, pipe, pool, pump, repairs, sump, water
RichC | June 10, 2019
From 3 years old (photo) to 30 years old this year in 2019 … the years of watching Taylor grow up have zipped way too fast. I suspect every parent and grandparent has said that at one time or another? Birthday “year” celebrations, become “decade” celebrations, and we no long even contemplate the candles on […]
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Tags: archive, birthday, celebrate, friends, home, house, party, pool, taylor
RichC | May 25, 2019
It feels a late start to opening the “mudhole” … I mean “muddy” pool … this year as our trips to Florida have set me back on the usual spring chores. I think the earliest we have opened the pool as been March, but this year is about the latest that I can recall, although […]
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Tags: chores, cleaning, home, house, Memorial Day, mounds, mud, opening, pool, yardwork
RichC | January 15, 2019
With a “heavy snowfall” that amounted to about 10 inches before melting a bit, I was thankful to have put the snow blower on the tractor last week. It was about the wettest snow I’ve ever tried to blow and that’s saying something since I’ve been removing snow with the John Deere 330 since the […]
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Tags: BMW, cover, family, john deere, oil change, pool, service, snow, snowblower, spark plugs, taylor, tune up, weather, winter
RichC | September 3, 2018
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Tags: cripple creek, labor day, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, pool, richc, the band, youtube
RichC | July 26, 2018
We been enjoying summer and mostly great weather around the house and yard so far this year in 2018 and Brenda‘s growing landscape mounds are all flowering and looking really nice (she has been working on them although her current Grand Jury duty is cutting into her free time). The last few days of slightly […]
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Tags: court, duty, flowers, grand jury, grass, iss, mounds, pool, skywatching, venus, yard
RichC | July 17, 2018
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Tags: amazon, annalyn, backpack, bubbles, condo1718, delray beach, florida, ikea, kohls, overstock, pool, remodel, Shopping, update, wayfair
RichC | July 9, 2018
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Tags: 1977, album, college, fleetwood mac, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, pool, rumours, siriusxm, stevie nicks
RichC | July 4, 2018
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Tags: annalyn, creative, family, independence day, oshkosh, photo, photography, pool, star, taylor, usa
RichC | May 12, 2018
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RichC | December 4, 2017
It is hard to believe, but I finally winterized the pool and in the same weekend brought home a Christmas tree, put the wreathes up and modified the lighting we use on the house in December. The first years we used 150 watt incandescent floods (also had halogens at some point), then I switched to […]
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Tags: christmas, closing, flood, house, led, lights, pool
RichC | September 23, 2017
About the only replacement parts I’ve had to purchase for our iRobot Verro pool sweeper/ cleaner were the filter bags that go inside the housing. It has been the best of the pool cleaners we have had. Originally we started our pool ownership with a hopping Kreepy Krauly gizmo for our first pool back in […]
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Tags: cleaner, irobot, pool, repair, sweeper, swimming, wear
RichC | August 20, 2017
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Tags: annalyn, drew, facetime, family, granddaughter, idiom, katelyn, pineapple, pool
RichC | July 31, 2017
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RichC | July 29, 2017
It is that time again … the pool pump motor is chattering and popping breakers. That is a likely indication that the bearings are worn and it is time to recondition or rebuild the electric motor. I’ve had pretty good luck the last couple of rebuilds, but this time I’m opting on ordering a new […]
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Tags: electric, hayward, maintenance, motor, pool, pump, rebuild, recondition, replace
RichC | June 11, 2017
Not too many photos, but Taylor‘s friends all seemed to have a great time celebrating his birthday this weekend in the backyard. The Knockerballs were a hit … and Taylor even showed his love for his mom Ha! (video below).
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RichC | October 25, 2016
The weather this time of year can be very pleasant for chores outside, but morning and evening chill is definitely hinting that cold weather is around the corner. So it is time to start closing up the pool and prepping the outdoor living furniture for the nastiness of winter. I enjoyed the warmer afternoon in […]
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Tags: autumn, chores, closing, fall, flip-flops, keen, pond, pool, shopvac
RichC | August 23, 2016
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RichC | June 12, 2016
Taylor‘s Birthday party this weekend brought back memories of past pool parties when our kids were younger. Kids no more … these were all late 20s adults … but had fun acting like kids again for a day. The above photo include most from their group … click for full size! The birthday was really […]
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Tags: birthday, bonfire, camping, family, friends, party, pool, swim, taylor
RichC | May 29, 2016
The spring cleaning chore in getting the pool desking and patio furniture cleaned after a winter and heavy pine pollen season never gets any easier. I’ve almost got it down to a full, long day and I’m convinced the heavy teak adirondack chairs are getting heavier? The weather was for the most part perfect for […]
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RichC | May 24, 2016
As with previous years, the ducks have adopted the pool as a safe place to learn to swim. One would think a pond would be better, but danger lurks beneath the surface for ducklings (snapping turtles). Unfortunately once the mom leads them into the pool, they can’t get out … so I fished them […]
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RichC | September 21, 2015
It was a beautiful late summer (barely) weekend to hang out around home. Brenda continued her rehab exercises while planning a mid-October return to work, while I enjoyed working around the yard. We both took one more swim in the pool for 2015, watched the Bengals win and enjoyed a gorgeous Sunday evening with a […]
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Tags: cincinnati, fireplace, home, photo, pool, porch, sunset