Certifiable

I think it's official - Bruce and I are crazy.  Well, he was crazy to begin with and now I've been caught in the whirlpool.

We have so much going on right now.  We:

• just had the air-conditioning/heating system replaced;
• are getting new flooring in the next few weeks (that needs to be done quickly because there's mould on the carpet in one room and we don't want to risk it spreading anywhere else or getting back into the air-conditioning system);
• are going to hire someone to repair some holes in our ceiling (where the old vents used to be) and wall (where Beau ate a chunk of it when he was a puppy);
• need to find someone to replace the closet doors in all the rooms (these don't open or shut well and are heavy as well as constantly coming out of their tracks);
• are getting the siding on our house replaced (hail damage means insurance is paying for most of it).

The new siding is going to make the house look so much better from the outside, matching how pretty it's going to look inside once the repairs are done and new carpet/tile is put in.  The tiled floor may be done as soon as next week, but the carpet should go down last, after all the repairs are made.  The siding will only be installed late December or early January.  We're also getting new windows, probably in mid-December, as two of our current windows have big cracks and none of them can be opened or locked (although the decision to get new windows now was made and the order placed before we found out we'd be spending a small fortune on the air-conditioning/heating system).  Once all this work is done, the house is going to look great inside and out, and we'll be ready to sell.  Let's just hope someone will be ready to buy!

Because of all that work being done at around the same time, thanks to the mould infestation, we've had a bunch of different people coming and going.  People dropping in to tell us what sort of services they offered, different people to take measurements, people to do the actual work ...  (Beau and Belle have been delighted, because they, especially Beau, love visitors.)  A lot of time has been spent on research and phonecalls, and our lives have been rather chaotic in the last few weeks.

Apparently that wasn't enough for us.

Yesterday, Bruce's co-worker, told him that her mother had rescued a couple of female labradors (one golden, one black) from someone who was apparently somewhat abusive towards them and was trying to get rid of them by dumping them in different neighbourhoods.  Bruce has always liked labs, but ever since we've had Beau, Bruce has really, really become a huge fan of the breed.  They certainly are very sweet, affectionate dogs.  So when he heard about these labs, he became very interested, especially when he saw a photo of the golden one.  We went to meet her yesterday and she was adorable.  Bruce fell in love with her because she paid him a lot of attention and was cuddling up to him.  I've thought for the last year-and-a-half that Beau needs another labrador to play with - he and Belle get on very well but Belle doesn't play like he does, so he doesn't have anyone with whom he can run around and get crazy.

So, despite the fact that we live in a tiny, tiny house that already feels crowded withe the two of us and two dogs, Bruce is ready to trip over yet another dog and we're going to adopt this one.  We'll be picking her up on Thursday, so that we'll be at home for a few days before we have to leave the three dogs alone at home while we're at work (both Bruce and I work from home on Fridays).

Oh, and guess what, Ranee?  She's going to have a name that begins with the letter B, as well, despite my protests.  Bruce wants to name her Blondie.

Wish us luck - I think life is going to get even crazier.  We need to sell this house and buy a bigger one!