Thanks, Joe, for the wrap up.
I returned to a few messes at work and a bit more pool drama. I'll get to that in a minute.
We had a great time catching up with Joe and his lovely DW, Glenda. It was like seeing old friends again. It is scary how similar we all are. Lots of things in common despite being at opposite ends (and worlds) of this state.
The heart attack inducing "sandwich" Joe had on Saturday is called a "horseshoe" around here. Apparently it is a Southern thing as Joe had never heard of it. Here is the short description. Open face sandwich with some sort of meat (usually hamburger or an other appropriately breaded (fatty) meat), covered with french fries and drowned in cheese sauce (or gravy, if for breakfast) Here's a pic.
For those that don't know Joe (and Glenda, but I think mostly Joe) is an addicted Disney nicknack hunter. He seems to have a gift for finding obscure Disney artifacts from any garage sale, estate sale or resale shop. I had to tag along when he suggested a few shopping trips, hoping to pick up some hints on how to find this stuff. Unfortunately none of his 6th sense rubbed off.
Overall we had a very nice, relaxing weekend. Talked a little Disney and a lot about each other. We are going to try having a mini Midwest Meet in August in Wisconsin. I have a conference outside of Madison, about an hour from bjschil's farm. I'm taking the camper and staying at a state park. Joe and Glenda may drive over from Chi-town for a few days at the state park and we'll all see if we can coax Barb and Bill to join us for an evening.
And now the pool update
Some may recall I have been trying to put in an in-ground pool since March. The Spring storms have pushed timelines way off, but the installer thought he could get started a few weeks ago. The lovely town I live in changed the pool permit last Fall and now requires a certified surveyor to submit plans instead of the "site map" the pool installer could do last year. This wasn't discovered until the installer tried to get the permit. Apparently surveyors are a rare animal around here and the installer was given a 5 week estimate before any could start. Today I had the pleasure of talking to most of the survey companies in the county and found one that could do it in 2 weeks, weather cooperating.
This timing will work out the way the rest of this project has gone. 2 weeks to survey, another week to write up the report with all the required borders, easements, utilities and the rest. Then submit to the city and get the required meet up with home owner, installer, electrician and city inspector. I figure that will take about 4 weeks... exactly the same time when I will be in St Thomas. I don't see a scoop in the ground until mid-August.
Originally, I thought I would have the pool in by my birthday in mid-July. Now I think we are shooting for Ian's birthday in mid-December.
This saga probably deserves it's own topic, but I'll keep you posted if we ever break ground.
j