Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Skinny Dipping - Yum Yum and Ho Boy!

5Ahhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

I just had my first absolutely delicious swim of the 2011 season.   Laughingly, I used to call this my $500 swim explaining that I applied all of the costs of having and maintaining a pool to the first swim and then all the rest were FREE.   Uhhuh.  That was back when pool service was $25 per month and water and power was much cheaper and all the equipment lasted for a few years at least..

Considering that I have recently spent thousands to replace my filter and pool motor, more hundreds in expanding my Electrical system  to better power the pool motor, more thousands  installing a salt to chlorine system to replace plain old chlorine (system broke down this year and needs replacing again),   and I don't know how many thousands installing solar heating to warm the pool  water, God only knows how many bucks  to apply to this swim....it ain't cheap I'll tell you........I could probably buy a small Third World Country for less...... but it is still worth it.  (what would I do with a small Third World Country anyway?)

The fact is that exactly 39 years ago I was looking for a house to buy and there was this one on Califa St..  I really remember very little about the house itself as I walked through except that it had some rooms  and did have indoor plumbing.   Then I stepped out the back door and saw this huge, gorgeous aquamarine pool gleaming and rippling in the sunshine and without further ado, I bought a swimming pool which happened to have a house along with it.  And I have never for a minute regretted it.  (well, maybe for a minute or two when  the filter and the motor and the salt-chlorine system all went out this year).


Fortunately, although I have neighbors on each side and aft, I have cleverly managed to plant shrubs and trees and vines, and allow them to become so overgrown and rampant that I have a private little enclosed park/forest of my own which provides 99% privacy so I can skinny dip at will ........which is the only way I like to swim any more.   Oh my.....the feel of the water on totally bare skin is indescribably wondrous and can cure a basketful of ailments, I'll tell you. (If you are wondering about that wayward 1% of non-privacy, I say fuck 'em.....anyone who wants to climb up and peer through a tree to see a zoftig old lady potching around in the pool is welcome to do so).  Right now my solar heating system has the water up to about 85 the dial says...I think it is closer to 80) and when you stand in the shallows where one input vent is located  and let that warm water jet  massage your back, it can't get much better than that, except maybe when you grab the foam kick board, do a few lengths and then just float around as the current takes you in lazy circles with your head resting on your arms on the board and the warm water gently lapping at your dimpled, cellulite thighs.

Before you all end up hating me  I will rush to explain and that, prior to this indulgence today, I did a bunch of potting up, weeding and pruning and clearing of dead stuff in the flower beds, repaired parts of the drip system which I put in a few years ago to water the pots of flowers around the pool,  and hand watered all of the pots just for good measure because it has  been mighty hot here this week and I will have to reprogram the drip system to run for a longer amount of time as summer approaches.  I  was a hot, sweaty, sticky  mess when I realized that I could, after all, take a swim today.......It used to be that I would start in April by poking one foot into the water to test it and if I managed to get away with only one scream I pronounced it fit for swimming.    That meant the temp was about 72.  No, no, no....now it has to be around 80 and no screams if possible.

And so,  in California at least, it has morphed into swimming season and I feel so damned lucky not only to have  a pool, but to still be physically  able to get into it and swim a bit, and, even more important, to still be able to climb up out of it when the dip is over  (getting in is relatively easy because the water supports your weight.....getting out is something else entirely )    ........funny.......39 years ago I would never have even  been able to imagine that being a problem.......next year I will probably have to invent a pulley and hoist system, but this year I will make hay, as they say, while the sun shines.

13 comments:

  1. Lo! It makes me so, so, SO happy to think of you swimming bare in the pool. Oh yes. Another part of the puzzle which is you. And I love it! Enjoy every second. You deserve it! And it keeps you healthy and happy. Same-same.

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  2. Skinny dip to your heart's content - way to go! And if anyone objects they shouldn't be spying over your sodding wall! Love the photographs.

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  3. I agree ~ nekkid is the ONLY way to swim!! As a California girl from 3rd grade on, I can vouch for the sublime beauty of it...

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  4. Move over I'm on my way. I love skinny dipping. The water isn't warm enough here yet!
    SPLASH!

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  5. Skinny dipper. lol I have not done that in ages. If I am ever going to do it again I would have to thank Heaven for the pool as I don't have one here. I am lucky to soak my feet in a plastic tub.

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  6. I want to live beside you :) I want to be able to say "I live next to the coolest lady in the universe. She skinny dips in her pool..."

    Haha!

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  7. My goodness Lo! Thank you so much for coming by La Boheme yesterday because it is only because of it that I have now completely fallen in love with you. You are one amazing woman! Funny, entertaining AND skinny dipping? So excited to be by your side on your little adventures now :)

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  8. Yes, i agree. Anyone who would spy on me, if i had a place to skinny dip, would deserve the blinding eyeful he/she would get.

    No, i do not hate you for having such a wonderful thing in your life. It makes me happy to think of you enjoying your swims, especially when you work so hard and spend so much to enjoy it.

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  9. I think it is great that you have your own swimming pool and that you get to enjoy it. Good for you, this post brought a big smile to my face so thanks! :-)

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  10. That pool looks sooooooooo inviting! I hope you are able to enjoy it for a long time to come!

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  11. I envy your pool and your climate, and the fact that you can go skinny-dipping! You are one cool individual!

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  12. Dearest Lo, you are totally brilliant. Your pool sounds wonderful. Just like you xx

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  13. ...Now all you need is a toy boy to join you and scrub your back (etc)with your loofah!

    We have deep rock pools here which are wonderful for skinny dipping, and being so far North, both the temperature of the Atlantic and low numbers of tourists means that I usuallly have the place for myself - diving off a handy rock into the deep pool 10m below is wonderful!If an occasional dog-walker sees me - then WTF? "Seen one, seen 'em all" as the medicos aptly put it!
    For contrast I'm thinking of installing a hot tub next to my newly-built garden room. Nothing as 'plush' as your pool of course - probably just an inflatable one.
    Hope you're continuing to enjoy your 'spa' - worth every cent I'd say!

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