We are less than one day away from our 28th wedding anniversary...and more importantly...less than one day from turning the hose on in the pool. It's finally ready for water!! Well, not officially since the pool guy told Lars that we had to wait 2 weeks for the paint to cure, but Lars figures that since it's been so nice and sunny it should be fine. We're going with his version of the instruction manual.
Guesses as to how long it will take to fill? John's rough calculation of volume and flow rate from the hose (all done in his head) comes out to 31 hours. I think I'll check the flow rate more scientifically and apply a little calculus to the problem to come up with mine....or maybe I won't. I have better things to do.
The backyard is beginning to look spiffy again. We bought plants. Lots of plants for the pots and took advantage of the free compost. Because if there's something for free in Denmark you want to take advantage. I don't care if it is dirt. I want some.
Lars told me the other day that his Dad charged him 1,000 kroner to come with his pressure washer and clean off the patio stones. I guess you can't even get family help for a couple of beers and a barbecued hamburger around here.
A few weeks ago I asked Lars if he was interested in cleaning the grassy bits in between some of the stones. John had bought this special brush for digging it out and I thought maybe, since he wasn't working, Lars would want to do it for some extra cash. He pretty much balked at the idea, saying it was too much work. It was then that he mentioned that his Dad had a pressure washer that he could bring over. The pressure washer, he said would take care of everything (including the dark discoloration of the bricks) with a lot less effort. He did not mention, at that point, that he had ever paid his Dad to do this for him.
Lars never did show up with the pressure washer, so John sent him a text about when he was planning to come. He got a reply that the Dad's pressure washer is broken, so he can't do it.....unless we pay 600 kroner for a new pressure washer. Now, this begs a few questions. 1) Where can you get a pressure washer for 600 kroner? 2) Is this 600 kroner on top of what he wants to be paid for doing the job? 3) Can we take this 600 kroner out of the 1300 kroner he already owes us for the pool paint?
I don't mind paying him to clean the patio bricks but I'm not into buying a lot of equipment I can't use in North America. Since he was only asking for 600 kroner ($100) for a new washer, John was convinced that it wasn't really a new one...maybe a rental...or maybe his Dad's for a fee....suddenly and miraculously repaired. I dunno.
Last night John and I discussed this whole who's paying for what, and when, thing. It came up because he started getting texts from Lars during dinner about buying the pressure washer and how he used to pay his Dad 1,000 kroner to do this. Didn't we think 600 kroner was a good deal. Well....yeah it is....if that's what it's costing including the labor. It's a very good deal. It's just weird.
Trying to pin John down on the details of his agreements can be difficult sometimes. He always figures everything will work out in the end, so he doesn't sweat stuff as it goes along. I wanted to know if I was supposed to pay Lars in cash for cleaning the house this month (he showed up a few times) or was he supposed to be working off the paint money. I never really got a good answer on that one. John said he figured he'd be working off the debt, but I guess what I really wanted to know is what "Lars" thought. Because if he was expecting cash when he got her today, maybe I should have some in the house. John couldn't really tell me what Lars thought.
In the end it was determined that Lars was coming to the house at 3 PM today to collect our share of the pressure washer money. John had a serious of texts with him this morning that determined (in John's mind) that he was coming for 600 kroner. Following John's series of texts, I had my own with Lars and it was determined (in my mind) that he was coming to collect 1500 kroner since the pressure washer cost 1300 kroner.....I guess math isn't his strong suit. This little thumb and finger conversation prompted a phone call to John who was steadfast in his impression that we were paying him 600 kroner. OY!! Confused yet?
Well, Lars shows up a little past three with a brand new pressure washer in 2 boxes. I guess he was able to pay for it up front after all. I have 1000 kroner sitting on the bookcase for him because I've decided to pay him for June's housecleaning and let our share of the pressure washer, which John swears is 600 kroner, come out of the money owed for the paint. (I hope you're keeping track of all this in Excel.) He takes it out back and starts to fiddle with the parts. Before too long, he knocks on the back door and asks me to come out and show him how to connect the hose to it. I take the spray nozzle off the end of the hose, hand it to him and point to the spot on the pressure washer where it attaches. He takes the hose connector off the end of the hose and tries to jam the rubber of the hose onto the nozzle where the pressure washer connects. I start to worry and take over....telling him he has to put the connector back on, showing him how it works.
The hose connector works but the pressure washer doesn't. Lars tries a few things and decides to go back to the store for help. He's gone an hour. When he comes back. it still doesn't work, so he goes back to the store for more help. Eventually, he gets the motor running and he starts on the patio. It isn't very long before he's stopped again. The brushes on the bottom of the patio cleaner aren't rotating, he informs me he'll go back to the (now closed) store in the morning to see what's wrong this time. Before he escapes, John gets home from work, and changes a few parts around so that the brushes turn. Poor Lars has to spend the better part of Friday night working on the patio.
He's coming back tomorrow to finish the job. We're waiting for the mud to dry so we can sweep all that crap up, and Lars didn't take any money...yet. But he sure did a lot a grumbling about how much time he's got invested in this project so far.
Come back tomorrow to see how it all comes out in the wash.....
