Picking Up The Pieces Of My Broken Pump

This morning I went and flicked on the switch to the pool pump.  Fired up like normal.  For about 5 seconds.  Then it shut off.  All done.  Motor burned out.  I checked the switch and breakers but it was toast.  Can't have a pool without a pump so I did some quick research and found the replacement pump I needed online with free overnight delivery.  Elliott and I went out after church and did some local shopping anyway to put our hands on one and ask some installation questions.  Had to talk to an electrician friend too.  I ordered the pump and then went out to take out the old one.  Not so fast.  There is an electrical connection of course and an intake and output pipe.  Got the electrical part disconnected (it really was fried in there) and got the output pipe disconnected with no problem.  But nothing is easy.  The intake pipe SHOULD have unscrewed at the big grey pipe connector you see above.  Nope.  I broke one tool trying to get it apart and was afraid I would damage the underground piping or the black valve (above).  As you can see, the pipe was pretty much destroyed as was the coupling.  So I came inside and watched some videos.  Everyone in the videos just takes a hacksaw and cuts the pipe, then re-plumbs it.  Seemed like a plan to me.  45 seconds later the pipe was cut and now I am bringing my bag of broken pieces to Home Depot to try and re-create it.  I will re-plumb it so when the new pump comes, I can just screw it together and fire it up.  Sure....

Oh, and Happy Father's Day to me.

Shear Boredom

Been awhile since my last post but not a whole lot has happened.  Still waiting to see how that last vague post works out but I am choosing not to worry.  It is work related and I would be as bad as the Israelites wandering in the desert if I didn't learn from the last time.  So on I go.

Looks like the only way to fix the pool (see March 21st post) is to pull up the liner and fix the bottom.  The liner is 11 years old and they have a lifespan of about 15 years so I might as well get the whole thing done.  For now, it is not leaking too much but I keep a close eye on it and patch it as necessary.  It should hold out until the Fall when I close it down.  Got one estimate (ouch!) - waiting for two others.  

Got the Financial Award notifications for A&E for their Fall semesters.  Ashleigh changed her major so she is going for another year - which means her 4 year scholarship dried up.  But we were approved for a low interest loan so she is all paid up.  We can worry about paying that back another day.  She is working in MD at a hospital that is affiliated with her school so she has a good foot in the door for full time employment when she graduates.  She is living down near there at her boyfriend's mother's house.  That is working out really well.  Elliott got the same award as previous years but tuition went up but we got a loan for that too and he will be fine.  He is pounding out his online classes (needs the credit hours for the CPA exam) and working and playing a lot of tennis.

Lucie is in Colombia finishing up a missions trip and visiting family.  Really having a good time connecting with family members she has either never seen or hasn't seen in 40 years.  We text when she gets a WiFi signal but she is fine.  She comes home Tuesday.

A couple of weeks ago, Lucie and I went to my work annual seminar at their HQ in Miami.  Lucie got to visit some family there while I was in sessions and we had dinner on the beach one night.  The seminar ended on Friday but we stayed with friends until Sunday.  (The company paid for me to fly down of course and the room at The Palms Resort and Spa on the beach.  I used some Southwest points and Lucie got to fly down for $11...).  Had a really great time with friends eating out on the water, going to the movies, and walking around South Beach.

Had a good birthday last weekend.  A&E were home so we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and had a little party with some friends the next night.  The family got me (or will get me) a package to drive around a NASCAR track.  I am no NASCAR fan but I really want to drive one of those cars.  Looks like we can schedule that for August.

Very boring here.  Elliott comes and goes and Ashleigh came home for half of the weekend.  She is at the beach today.  I went out and did some yard work today in the tropical rainforest (so humid!) and jumped straight into the pool after.  The mower was falling apart and leaving parts in the yard (no more self-propel option now) and the shears in the picture above literally fell apart in my hands.  I went to replace them and saw they are guaranteed for life.  Took this picture and filed a claim - let's see how this goes.

Overall, all is good.  Waiting to see what happens next...