As a lifelong devoted Colts and occasional Ravens fan I find myself so desperate to avoid the TV today I'm even willing to, I don't know, write a pool blog. Look, it's 22 degrees outside and there are probably about the same number of NSJ members who would dare be seen in a bathing suit these days. Do we really care about how the pool renovations are progressing? (At this point I'm carrying so much holiday weight I'm not sure I'll ever show my face at NSJ again. Does anyone have a Thighmaster I can borrow? Mine broke.) Okay, here's the update, real quick: according to my calculations they've gone from 22% to about 58% complete. Is that not a thrilling update? I could barely type it my hands were shaking so badly.

So what are we going to talk about here in a pool blog in the dead of winter? Ooh, I have one. This Kid Rock "Sweet Home Alabama" song is really sticking in my craw. No offense to Mr. Rock, but I'm pretty sure that "whiskey out the bottle" when paired with "not thinkin' 'bout tomorrow" falls somewhat short of rhyme. And while I'm at it, it's clear he completely ran out of inspiration when he followed "trying different THINGS" with "smoking funny THINGS". Couldn't he have smoked RINGS or toked like stoner KINGS or recalled fondly something else even passably articulate? The word 'thing' isn't exactly the poet's cornerstone but c'mon Mr. Rock, this feels mailed-in. I mean, you already stole two songs to make this masterpiece. Would it kill you to spend five extra minutes giving us some lyrics that don't make us feel completely stupid when we sing them? Surely there's a small window in your day between your drinking and cashing checks and making your hair look so greasy. Now that I think about it I'm pretty sure he hasn't ever confined his lack of thought to tomorrow.

Thanks. I feel better. I actually visited the NSJ site today, curious to see how far they've come and if the weather has impaired progress. I'm happy to report that things HAVE progressed nicely, to the point that you can squint your eyes and almost imagine what it'll look like when everything is said and done. Now listen, this is the kind of project where things, to borrow Kid Rock's word, look like hell until you get to the very end. Like childbirth, if you've ever been to one of those. So when you get to the photos don't expect it to be pretty. It'll be pretty at the end, don't fret.

Hey, I gotta run. I have seven insane 6th graders here for a sleepover, and I'm sure one of them just said something about "using the gasoline we stole". Enjoy the pictures.

Photo Tour II