Coby past away this afternoon.  I adopted Coby when he was 7 months old.  Even then he was a laid back kitty, I remember him sleeping in his cat carrier all the way home.  When he was small he suffered from kitty asthma, and I remember anytime he would play too long he would start to wheeze.  As he got older he grew out of that and became a very curious and playful kitty.

Coby was 8 years old.  His birthday was May 2001.  He will be  remembered for always coming up an inch short on jumps, having the loudest pur you’ve ever heard, sleeping on your pillow above your head at night, getting in the window and rattling the blinds in the wee hours of the morning, sticking his head in water glasses, being the first to a freshly filled food bowl, scurrying from place to place, laying on his back, trying to go home with strangers, walking on the ledge of the bathtub in between the curtains while you’re in the shower, always trying to cleanup messes, scratching the sub woofer, trying to play with and groom Wrigley, wrestling with Spotty, and fighting with Frosty.

Coby (aka. Coby Coaster, Grace, Cobes) was a loved member of our family and will be deeply missed.

Frosty

Earlier this morning our pet Frosty passed away, he was around 10-11 years old. Frosty was actually adopted by my brother Justin and his wife Nicole in the Chicago suburbs. After a couple years he became part of my family by moving in with me and Spotty in our Wrigleyville apartment. It was really nice to have a second cat so they could entertain each other, and from day one they got along well.

Frosty was a really good pet and has left a lasting impression on both Loretta and I. He also left us each with a physical impression over the years in the form of a scar. Frosty was a bit infamous for being startled by a loud noise while sitting on your lap or cuddling with you, this would make him jump half way across the room and forget he had rear claws in the process.

Frosty & Spotty

Other things we will remember him for are; licking plastic bags, curling up in the bathroom sink, sleeping in an old cracker barrel box, hating the vacuum cleaner, hiding behind the dryer when a stranger was in the house, loving the sound of crumpling up paper, climbing to the top of the refrigerator and then announcing to the house that he was there, retrieving paper balls and playing fetch, being the primary lizard hunter in the family, and of course his most famous, drinking water from the sink.

Frosty (aka. Tubby, Tubby Bear, Big Bear, Big Boy, Tub of Love, Frosty Bear, Fat Ass) was a very loved and valued member of our family and will be missed greatly.

Laying Drain Tile

While my mom and dad were visiting we had a ton of rain.  So much, in fact, that our pool began taking on extra water because of all the grass that had overgrown the pool overflow.  My mom is quite the outdoors woman and loves to get her hands dirty, so in the morning we noticed the backup, she marched outside and began digging a little mote for all the water to pool in.  This was the beginning of the development of what is now known as the Belt Pool Overflow System.

Hose Comparison

The original design was a mote dug out to the left of the drain with a 1.5 inch pool vacuum hose laying in the mote to help distribute the excess water.  This gradually evolved into using a 10 ft section of drain tile with a mote dug out to the left and right of the drain, all buried under ground.