Thanks again for very good advice. I will definitely try to be patient. I think just having any sort of greenery in there will help a lot. Now it just seems like a mass amount of wood. I think we will be okay if we plant it now, like War Eagle said. We had a nasty winter and the ground is finally thawed enough to dig. So long as we don't let them dry out back there, but in general, it is always moist and we will keep them watered generously over the summer. I have one more question - rather than extend our line of trees all the way across the back to the corner, i'm thinking of ending it at the corner of the pool, right before the waterfall that goes into the pool (which, right now, is a few two-by-fours that look like a football goal. We will eventually build a stone wall below it on that angle of the pool for visual interest.) That corner behind the waterfall is where we keep the pool's electrical box and heater. There is about a 5x5 foot space back there in that corner in front of the equipment. (see photo below). I wanted to plant something different that will contrast the Degroots Spire and be larger and grow above the waterfall. Could even be something deciduous as long as it's not messy over the summer when the pool is uncovered. We generally close our pool at the end of September before the leaves fall. Keeping in mind that back corner is moist, can you suggest something that can go back there (and that the root system won't mess with the pool's underground pipes too much? Or should i just run the Degroots all the way to the corner? Thanks again in advance! Denise

OMG...this is VERY difficult. I don't know how you (and all the others) did it. I've realized I'm covering way too much surface and need to go much, much smaller. Of course, after I applied PA7 to another large space that I get to remove today. Yaay. So far, The Green Monster is winning this war. I can't seem to rinse off the brick well enough to remove all the PA7 and the paint residue. How did you rinse off the brick well enough and not create a huge puddle on the floor? Did you find any specific brushes/tools to be most beneficial? I've noticed the grout is soft and I have to not use any metal/wire brushes. Nylon only. I'd love any suggestions/advice as to techniques that worked for you. I'm going thru nylon brushes like M&Ms. Just how long did this take you from start to finish? Five years? Eight? I don't know if I can do this...it feels daunting. I'm not sure PeelAway7 is the right product for this. Take a look at the pics below. Fireplace with first coat of PA7: After...still needs more scrubbing and rinsing (w/out flash). This is after 3hrs of scrubbing and 2 coats (two 24hr segments) of PA7. Same w/flash: Got ambitious before I knew what I was in for. I get to remove this section today.

Hi gang: Well I have been out of town for a few days and believe it or not between the rain and being out of town, I have yet to take my first swim. The kids on the other hand have to be extracted with great force at the end of the day. My sons party went as planned, one short rain shower, but otherwise great. The water is now fairly balanced, they started the polaris (thank goodness..the dust was insane!), they plan on starting up the salt system in about a week. birdbath, I see you have been absent also....must be living in that water....thank you for the compliment, but yours is still the coolest pool I have ever seen. Moo....thanks....we are planning to build up the area behind the waterfall, make it into a berm with plantings and lots of color. We are also going to use river stones in that area....and behind that will be the completed extension of the wall. Should be starting that in the next 2-3 weeks. Smb....agreed our colors do look alike, it still amazes me how it changes throughout the day. I think we ended up somewhere between midnight blue and tahoe blue. Thank you, love yours also...are you getting to swim or does it still belong exclusively to the puppy ;) Well, I have the weekend off...so I think today will be first swim...its 89 out there and the water has warmed up to about 82....here are the pics in full sunlight for Birdbath. oops...heres the waterfall on....

Yes, there are indeed scum out there, some of us even get the opportunity to call them "relatives" My story. :) My parents lived in a house for nearly 32 yrs. My brother ended up buying it from them at a great price. My brother's wife is a total spendaholic and who just can't say no to nice things. They lived in the house for the past 10 years. They ended up filing bankruptcy and put the house into it as well (this, in itself, ticked me off b/c my brother makes good money -right around 6 figures-their money issues have nothing to do w/ $$$ just bad spending habits). The week before the bank was to take possession I told my sister to call me as soon as they had left town (my bro and SIL decided to start anew half way across the country, dragging their 4 kids with them). My sister arrived first (I live about 1 1/2 hours away)and there were already scavengers at the house (my SIL had told them they could come and take whatever was left -they had already sold ALL appliances, including the pool heater). We sent the scavengers away and proceeded to spent the next 9 hours cleaning. We had no electricity, so it was priminitive at best. At the end of the day we had btwn 35-40 black bags of garbage! It was absolutely disgusting and shocking that my brother could leave a family home like that. BUT the best part about it all? My SIL (and my bro..I'm sure b/c of my nutjob SIL) went psycho on us, threatened us and told us never to speak to them again.... all for cleaning a house? If I can find the pics, I can show you the before and after. Absolutely unbelievable. And, this was FAMILY!!