I'm With Cher: "If I Could Turn Back Time"

Water Department

Water Dept. came out and wondered why I would use a hydrant and not from a hose. They estimated it would take 5-6 hrs to fill. I explained that last years failed attempt at a rink took 36 hrs to fill and it was a smaller size area. So they dug up my street and found that the water main and my house connection was clogged. They unplugged it and I never knew water could come out of the tap that quickly!

Liner Down

While they were working so was I. I unrolled the liner and did my best to lay it down. Hard to do solo. Then, what was a mild wind turned into a pretty big gust. To the point it was howling. What's that saying, "it's hard to keep a good tarp down". Wind finds the littlest opening and blows right through and under it. I did my best to line the edges with heavy objects but I was not happy, and was wondering if I've doomed the whole project.

Water On

I flattened the liner and immediately began filling. I figured the quicker the water was in, the less the liner would bubble up with wind gusts and not blow around on me. The liner was blowing off the end boards so I had to use strapping to sandwich the liner on to the boards to keep it from blowing back in on to itself. As it fills, veins of water flow and wind wreaks havoc on the tarp that isn't covered with water. I took off my shoes and walked on the liner (I know, sin #1. But screw it. I had no choice). I walked through the water and tried my best to flatten the exposed areas, and let the water push the liner back down. My feet were freakin' freezin'. Now the deep end is filling nicely and the liner seems alright.

In Summary

I was hemming and hawing about weather (mispelling intended) to do this or not today. If I screwed up I will be pissed at myself. While I really like the strength of the liner and feel good about that, perhaps I jumped the gun and am an impulsive idiot. Or, perhaps this will all have a happy ending. Stay tuned.