Summer Time=Pool Time

We have been in the pool almost everyday for the last week.  With the temperatures soaring to 100 degrees nearly everyday, we have to get in the pool for some relief.  Not that it is a chore to take a dip in the pool and oh how the baby loves the water.  He can't get enough.  Though it is not all fun and games when it comes to the pool.  We have to maintain the pool to keep it looking its best.  So we do our weekly cleaning and filter changes.  I really do enjoy testing the water with the chemical set. 
To help cut down on the required maintenance we like to us  pool covers.  It keeps out leaves and other debris that is just a pain to vacuum.  While it does cut down on the leaves, it keeps the water nice and warm.  So I think now that the shade has covered the pool I should go on out and take a dip! 

Turtle Soup

There was a torrential downpour the other day. Then after the brief cloud cover the sun was back out and blazing down. It was so hot, and steamy outside. It was time for a dip in the pool. M made a beeline for the pool as soon as he came in the door from work, and before I could make it outside he yelled for the camera. I grabbed it on the way out the back door and headed for the pool. As I approached, M was playing with something in the water. It was a scared little turtle who had been stuck in the filter. He was making turtle soup in our pool! M the life guard headed him in the direction of the stairs and he started up the to the first one. The turtle took a small rest before attempting to exit the pool. We gave him a boost, and he "ran" as fast as a turtle can run into the shade of the decorative grass. Time to let his shell dry out, and no doubt rest a little. It probably was a lot of work to swim against the filter. We don't know how long he was in there, but we were glad to save him. Now I check the filter before I get in the pool, just to see if there are any critters that need help escaping.

Missing the water

Back in Florida it was a regular thing to grab your swimsuit and head out for some aquatic therapy. Swimming that is. There is nothing better than a hot summer day than to run full speed, jump, canon ball into a sparkling pool of water. Of course, in Florida the pools are outside, or in a screened area, but we are not as fortunate in the weather department as they are in the south, I guess an indoor pool would be a good alternative. Up here, pools are only a summer fling, and some people that I have encountered living here, admitted they have never gone swimming. I can't fully understand that, but it is what it is.

If I had decided to make Chicago my home, I would have had to set up my own spa area, where I could retreat from the winter and become revitalized despite what was happening outside. The winter blues could easily be dismissed with your own indoor hydrotherapy pool! I can see it now, swimming inside, with the snow falling outside.

For me, in the winter, it is hard to get motivated to do any sort of exercise. With the resistance jets of a swim spa I could get all the exercise I care to within the comforts of my home. The pool is not just for exercise either, many of them feature jets for massage. I would even just enjoy hanging out in the pool just to relax. With the water heater, the pool would be like a gigantic bathtub, nothing more relaxing than that! I can just imagine the pool with it's crystal clear water, slightly warmed by a pool heater, how inviting that sounds right about now.
A girl can dream.