After many years of service, the Hayward pool pump at dad’s has succumbed to old age and arthritic bearings. I returned from Chicago and when I checked on Mom’s pool, the green had returned and a large snapping turtle had taken up residence. Memories from the childhood television show The Beverly Hillbillies
Archives for 2010
Bosch Power Tools Media Week,Update for the Week of June 4, 2010
I spent the last week in Chicago at the Bosch Media Event held at its Chicago headquarters. The Bosch event is unique in that it allows the home improvement media to not only use its tools, but also those of its competition. I think all of us appreciate the no holds barred attitude towards being […]
Opening a Swimming Pool, Second Day Adding a Flocculate or Clarifier
Not much to report, the main pool pump’s bearings are shot and will have to be replaced. See my earlier articles for my thoughts on how a swimming pool’s expenses tend to add up. I have added the flocculate and the solids suspended in the water are
Family Gardening Update Number Two
It has been two weeks since we planted the patio planter and already we are seeing blooms and some fruit setting. You can see from the below images how sturdy the plant stems are. Since the potting soil had fertilizer already in it,
Steps to Opening a Swimming Pool
Ok, so I admit it. I hate taking care of a swimming pool. But I hate my mother paying a pool service even more and so I begrudgingly take care of hers. People who don’t own pools see them as glamorous icons of luxury. Those who have owned them, usually see them as open holes […]
Serpentine Belt Replacement on a F-250 Turbodiesel
It’s a bad day when while driving on the hottest day of the year, your air conditioner suddenly fails, you try and slow down to pull off and see what is wrong and discover that you have no brakes, and pulling off of the road is like wrestling a steer on the way to slaughter and […]
Father’s Day Gift Ideas
Extreme How-To will be suggesting some ideal Father’s Day gifts during the next few weeks. Today’s suggestion is for the dad who appreciates fine-quality workmanship and practicality in his tools. Stihl has long been recognized as a leader in outdoor power equipment, and with its new Pole Saw, it continues to lead the way.Powered by a […]
Getting Your Swimming Pool Ready for the Coming Season
After years of getting my parents pool ready for the summer months, I have finally given up any hope of being able to uncover the pool, add chlorine and let the swimming begin. The attached picture is after a few hours of ph adjustment, chlorine hyper-shock therapy and a large dose of algaecide. When I […]
The Great Pumpkin, dad and the IBEW Strike of 1966.
One of my favorite stories involved my dad, of all people, who hated gardening and never understood why my mom insisted on having a garden. I was no more than seven years old at the time, when I planted some pumpkin seeds in our backyard. But I planted them late, and my crop consisted of […]
Plant a Family Garden
Growing up in Alabama, my mother always had a garden. When we lived in the country, the garden was on a plot below our house. But when we moved to Birmingham, my mom began gardening on some acreage at my grandfather’s house that was really a flood plain for Five Mile Creek. I ran the […]