Show Us Where You Live Friday - Yards & Garages

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner Blog is having her Show Us Where You Live Friday, Yard and Garages addition. Well, I'll show you the yard!!

We are renting this house, if you can believe it. This pool is awesome - gunite, salt-water filtration, mood lighting including the waterfalls with their own mood lighting. Just fabulous!! We've never had a pool before and after this, I don't think we'll ever go without one again! But we are spoiled to this top notch version.






Here is an example of the mood lighting at night - this is my favorite color. It also goes green, red, and another shade of lighter blue.


Thanks for visiting!

We're home, safe and sound

So glad to be home, but had such a good time on the trip! We tried to make it home last night, but by the time we got to Nashville, my body was needing a break from car travel. We ended up staying in Nashville.

For fun, we went to the OpryLand Hotel and walked around, had dinner and a snack. That hotel is AMAZING!! Definitely a must-see for anyone visiting Nashville, even if you don't stay actually at the hotel. You can valet your car for only $3 more than self-park and enjoy. The place is just enormous. I was so impressed I was able to walk through all the areas without having problems. Here is a photo we took with my iPhone - it was late at night, so no light coming through the glass ceiling, but you get an idea - click on the photo to make it larger.


This was ONE area of the hotel - full of gorgeous, real plants, waterfalls. So romantic!! Here is some info I just found - the Opryland Hotel Indoor Garden and Conservatory (click on the link for more info):

Relax among the serene beauty of three nationally acclaimed indoor gardens: The Conservatory, The Cascades, and The Delta. The Conservatory covers two acres and is devoted solely to tropical plants. The Cascades also covers two acres and features waterfalls cascading into a 12,500 square-foot indoor lake. The Delta covers 4.5 acres and features restaurants, shops and a fountain that sends out jets of water 85 feet into the air. A breathtaking river runs through it with passenger-carrying boats. Admission: Free.

Just those 3 areas cover 8.5 acres!! I told you it was a huge place! Look at the floor plan!! (Click it to make it larger.)



We got up this morning and of course, had to eat at Maggiano's Little Italy near downtown Nashville again before leaving town. We had the waitress take a photo of us, again with my iPhone, so not the best quality.


I had the Gnocchi with Tomato Vodka sauce and Andy had the Lobster Fettucine, AGAIN. We find something we like and don't stray! lol We definitely plan on making more trips to Nashville - so much to do, and only 3-4 hours away (depending on how much we have to stop for me! lol)

It is official - I am a NEW woman with my spinal cord stimulator!! This trip was just amazing - over 20 total hours of car driving, going up a mountain, walking around 5 Costco's, some Sam's club (large stores), other miscellaneous stores, walking for blocks in downtown Nashville, dancing at the WildHorse Saloon, staying in different beds, not having my "chair" - where I normally rest and get myself back up to speed when I'm really hurting..........none of that mattered. We did stop frequently to "walk me" as the guys like to refer to it, and that does help my muscles not spasm, but it has been over 3 years since I've been able to do even a portion of the things we did on this trip and not die later. I didn't have one night where I was dying of pain, which was truly not only amazing and a blessing, but an answered prayer.

Prior to January 5th, 2009 and the implant of my SCS (spinal cord stimulator - to treat my permanent S1 nerve damage), I could go 20 - 45 minutes TOPS before I would need to recline, lay down, rest in some capacity (which has included laying down on floors of stores, back of the van, etc.) When my nerves were done, they were D O N E - stick a fork in them, DONE. The nerve flares would be unbearable. Not anymore. If I start to get twinges........I just whip out my remote control, put the paddle on my hip over the implanted pulse generator (IPG) and turn myself either up, down, to another program, etc. and wait for the lovely, comforting "buzzing" to block those pain signals. The best way to describe how it feels is this - if you have ever sat in a massage chair, perhaps at a salon or in a store, instead of sitting on one of those, I AM the massage chair. My legs, from hips to toes, are buzzing, massaging.........that is the sensation I feel. One of these days, I will get a proper post on here with details and photos!

OH, and shock of the night - Andy and I unpacked. Yes, you read that right - I helped unpack!!! I didn't have to hit the chair and try to recover. Anyhoo.........we get unpacked, rest for a bit and Ryan talks us in to going to a movie. Unfortunately, the movie we wanted to see was sold out, so we came back home. Andy decides to go out and mow the lawn, practically in the dark. He gets done, I go outside to help filter the grass out of the pool water and in the water he goes. He stands there with just his feet wet for a few minutes, and trust me, it's COLD. I had already put ONE foot in the water and that was ENOUGH. Minutes later, he dives in. Andy went swimming at 9PM in the cold pool water!!!!! Unbelievable. He just couldn't take it any longer, I guess. lol He felt so refreshed, and I'm sure he'll be swimming tomorrow in the sunlight and warmer water. Crazy guy!!

Ahhhhhhhh, glad to be home and see the boys (and "girls"/dogs), and for Andy - his pool. And I have to give props to the boys - the house was clean, laundry done, kitchen sink empty - amazing!! The "girls" were crazy excited to see us. The boys? Well, Ryan was! lol Holt didn't even come down stairs forever. They are just all grown up and don't need us anymore........sniff sniff.

Have a great day!

Cheri

Did you think I was kidding?

Couldn't find hubby the other night, so first thing I did was go outside. There he was:


I think the pool and the sound of the waterfalls just mesmerizes him. Certainly is calming. Here are some more photos of the pool at night with the mood lighting turned on.


And this by far my favorite color, although it looks more purple in person.


The waterfalls on that back wall also have their own mood lighting, but it doesn't synchronize with the pool. This picture it looks like they are matching the blue/purple. So pretty.

If you are family or friends and haven't visited, get on down here!!

Have a great day!

Cheri

The Pool is Open!! (So if you need Andy, he's outside!)

We are renting this house (because like The Nester, are working to get our finances in better shape before owning another home) and have never before had a pool. When we saw this home available, it was a no-brainer and were we ever surprised at the quality and amenities.

For one, it is a salt-water filtration and the water is amazing. No chlorine smell, no bleached hair.....just smooth "water-softener" type water. And it is gunite - sprayed in and will last longer than the house probably! Beautiful brick edging, large aggregate deck. And the upkeep? There isn't any! It's the most awesome thing - a small vacuum type device constantly moves through the pool resulting in no need for vacuuming or sweeping. Very occasionally, we use the net to get bugs or something off the water. Put salt in it occasionally, and that's it! It has mood lighting at night which we can set to stay one color, or alternate colors. And even those waterfalls have their own mood lighting - my favorite is the periwinkle/purple color! Will try to get some evening photos one of these days.

Here is what it looked like when they closed the pool last October. Closing it up saved major money on both having to clean it once reopened, which wasn't necessary, and running the filtration center all winter. It was just really unsightly.


Poor Andy, he just hated looking at it like this. We were originally going to open it in early May, but he had them come last week, still March! lol But, he is very happy and here's why - look at this gorgeous pool:


I'm not kidding when I say Andy can be found outside. Every time I turn around and can't find him, he's outside. Staring at the water, finding something to "do" as an excuse to go look at it. And I understand - the waterfalls are very soothing. I just feel bad that it will be a LONG time before anyone is swimming because the current temperature of the water is:


58 degrees. BRRRR! I don't really get in it until it is around 85 degrees! lol Maybe I will acquiesce to a colder temp this year, but not likely. It makes my back spasm when it is too cold. I'm curious how cold Andy will tolerate - will be interesting!

This pool has a computer system that monitors the air temperature, the water temperature, the salt concentration and more.


What we are trying to decide now is this: The landlords left the gazebo and bamboo bar items on the deck, but they are falling apart. If you look at the gazebo, you will see storms ripped up all the fabric on top, so now no shade! They told us we could tear it all down and put it out for the trash, and we are leaning towards that. We could purchase more fabric for the gazebo, but that would be $120 and then we would obviously have to leave it with the house. Is that the best investment for us with the condition of the bamboo? I'm thinking if we tear it all down, we could rearrange the deck, putting the table on the other side and maybe an outdoor living set on the other side. Or vice-versa. We could really have a nice outdoor living space.


And look at this pitiful bamboo bar!

Yep, it's time to go.

The owners have told us they miss the house and pool and will move back in when we move out, so thank goodness we got a 1 year lease with a 2nd year option. We asked if we could stay even longer than that, and they agreed. So maybe we can get 2 more summers out of this pool before we have to leave it.

In the summers, Andy walks in the door, changes clothes, kisses me hello and disappears outside until it is dark. lol I asked him if he had to choose, would he choose me or the pool, and he paused.........lol. I'm happy for him, and the boys and I enjoy it as well. Some guys needs sport cars, horses, golf.........my husband needs pool water. lol

Have a great day!

Cheri