Frustrations Left and Right

We are all frustrated with the weather. That's for sure. Last night felt more like October than July.
We have had more rain than I can remember in a long time. Lake Johnson, kids canoeing through the yard type rain. A good solid week of killer heat to follow. Of course it was the week I was at a show, on the pavement, under a tent, feet in the ice chest (trust me, I was being polite by not offering those few and far between customers a cold drink). Now, and since (of course), cool, cloudy, rainy, blah, blah, blah.
BBQ for the 4th, poured rain. Plans for Great America, poured rain. Friends over to swim, poured rain.
I'm beginning to believe we should have bought an Ark and not a pool.

So, tomorrow the in laws start arriving. The weather is better and headed up in the 80's and beyond for at least the next week. Yeah! We're thrilled. Finally, the pool will warm up again (see, the last time the water got int he 80's and even hit 90, of course, I was at that stinking, and I literally mean stinking in so many ways, show and no one could use the damned pool. No adult home and I was gone 14 hours/day). So, with excitement, we check the water temp, 82°, great! Pull back the cover, test the water and all looks good (on paper). In person, not so much! Cloudy water. SOB!
We may be new to pools, but I spent many a year as a lifeguard and around pools. I know cloudy = algae and algae = frustration. Lots of frustration. and NOT lots of swimming.

So, warm weather, sunshine, warm water does not equal (need to look that symbol up) swimming.
end rant/ off to work on pool.

Can You Canoe?

Well, if so, you can probably do it in our yard. Record setting rains of almost 8 inches in 36 hours has left us an island. Barely an island I shoudl say. The dirt levee against the back door (becasue sand is not worth dying for at the local hardware store) is all that's keeping us from having our own private waterfall down the basement steps.
They keep telling us the end's in sight but with hurricane Ike finally doing it's thing on the Chicagoland area I am less than confident. Afterall,how often do you count on the local weatherman for accuracy in reporting? Outside of professional baseball, they are the only other profession that can be applauded for doing their job well 30% off the time and get paid millions! Think about it. The rest of us would get fired for that quality of work.
So, we sit, we bail, we pray to the sump pump Gods, and those of us under the age of 15 make lemonade out of the situation.