Living With Dogs

I have a saying that I like to repeat fairly frequently.  It is "no house is a home without a dog".  My thoughts have frequently turned to that saying this week as Zack and I have been fortunate enough to have 4 dogs this week.  My brother and his family have been on vacation since last Saturday and we have been caring for their 2 dogs - Ray and Lulu.

To say that our house has been full of activity this week has been a distinct understatement.  With four dogs around the house our home has been filled with lots and lots of activity and puppy craziness.  Each dog has added their unique personality to the puppy pack and it has made for some interesting adventures.

Ray, a yellow Labrador Retriever is the most needy of the dogs.  When he is away from my brother he becomes a sad mopy dog.  For much of the last week he has spent the vast majority of his time curled up in a ball in my office.  During all of my working hours he has either been curled up right behind my office chair or sprawled out like a rug between my desk and my reading chair.  He was the most happy when he came across Finnegan's tennis ball and we played fetch for a long time.  Whenever Ray has stayed with us in the past he has been very sad but I will admit this time he wasn't as sad.  Whenever there was a puppy scrum taking place with the other dogs he did actually join in.  There were even a few times in which he initiated the puppy play - which was surprising given his past history.

As for Lulu, she was her normal happy go-lucky self.  Finnegan and Lulu seem to be best friends as they are play companions.  Rarely do those two stop messing with each other.  If it isn't Finn starting the play, Lulu will come to him and essentially taunt him until he starts to play with her.  Lulu was markedly more laid back then in previous times she has stayed with us.  She is very defensive about her food and will take on which ever other dog comes near her food.  This time that did not happen as she seemed much more calm and relax.

As for our two pups, they were both in hog heaven.  Finnegan absolutely loves the constant company of the other dogs.  He is eager to play at any moment and is normally in the thick of all puppy antics that take place.  Lex - given his age tends to be a bit more reserved.  It's hard to believe but Lex will turn 9 years old on August 20th!  He does involve himself in the puppy play but there are times in which he goes off and does his own gig as he sometimes wants peace and quiet from the other dogs.

Ray and Lulu will go home later today and our home will become much more quiet again.  But we know that they will come and visit again and we will look forward to all the fun that they bring with them.

Speaking of our home, work on the kitchen is continuing.  As we have reached the end of the job there are several snags that have been hit that are driving the completion date out.  In particular, the hood I ordered for the stove is not going to work.  As a result the installation of the stove has been delayed as they won't install the stove without a hood that vents to the outdoors.  Though the appliance design centered confirmed that the hood would work in the place selected for the stove the reality has proven to be different.  This hood will need to be returned and I will need to purchase a new one.  I am hoping that whatever I end up getting is in stock so that I don't have a 2 - 3 week wait to get the stove installed!

As of today the only things we are waiting on to complete in the kitchen are: installation of the tile for the back splash, installation of pendant light over the eating space, finishing carpentry and the installation of the refrigerator and stove.  If my general contractor can get the sub-contractors scheduled, most of this work with the exception of the stove could be completed in 3 or 4 days.  We'll see if that happens or not.  Right now I am guessing not.

It will be very nice to fully have our kitchen back.  It will still take us a little while to put everything back in order.  We are getting all new furniture for the family room as it just won't make send to put my 14 year old, beat up couches back into that new beautiful space.  I look forward to sharing pictures of the new kitchen and family room when the work is done.

I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead.  We will be very active as it is the weekend before Zack's 14th birthday so we will be out and about getting up to things.  There will be lots of fun to be had!

Thanks and peace to all!