HVAC and Hobbes

Okay. Picture time! This is our air conditioner. Isn't it beautiful? This is our furnace. There's a Honeywell electronic air cleaner set up between the furnace and the duct that's there. I'm pretty stoked about that. This is Hobbes. A man and his dog. This is basically what Hobbes does all day. He's so stinkin' cute . . . He did pretty well on my parents' boat this weekend. He actually fell off of the dock at one point, which scared the crap out of us, but he swam right to the shore as if he'd done it before. He's also pretty cuddly. Here's Mom and Dad's boat. That's Dad. That's my Mom and Dad. Side view of the boat. Hank is feelin' a bit jealous these days, I think, but we're doin' what we can to make him feel just as loved as always. He is a huge cat. But . . . he's pretty stinkin' cute. Hobbes is pretty cool. Amanda called us last week and told us that there was a guy that she works with who was trying to get rid of some puppies. All we know about them is that their mother is a beagle, and the father is a mystery. We saw some photos of the dogs, and we picked Hobbes out of a photo of several puppies. Amanda went to pick him up for us. I guess that was a pretty sad event—he cried pretty hard when he got separated from his family. I'm so glad I wasn't there to see that. I just know I'd have come home with two dogs instead of one, and it's already a lot of work having just one . . . We met Amanda in Lafayette on Thursday evening to get the pup. He was so good in the car. Willis ended up sleeping on the floor with the pup the first night. Hobbes was scared of absolutely everything. He'd never really been indoors before, so he was terrified of everything in our house: the cat, the stairs, the fact that there were walls everywhere, you name it. We wondered how Hank would handle this intruder, but he's been great so far. I think he's excited to have someone to play with while we're gone. He does his crazy flip stuff around the dog, and now, they've gotten comfortable enough with each other to chase each other around the house. It's pretty stinking hilarious. I'm hoping to catch some photos of that sometime soon. Hank is a little jealous, I think. Last night, he hid under a bed for about an hour until I went to find him. After petting him and talking to him for awhile, he finally came out from under there to let me pet him. So . . . I think we're handling it as well as we can—we try to hold him and pet him as much as the dog (and maybe more in some cases since the dog is probably more forgiving). We had to leave Hobbes at home when we went to work on Friday, and we were quite nervous about leaving him and the cat in the kitchen/basement area of the house (better there than the rest of the house). When I came home to pick him up to go to the boat, I was sure I'd find a mess somewhere. Amazingly enough, he didn't go to the bathroom anywhere, and when I took him outside, he went in the grass just like he was supposed to. We didn't even have to teach 'im. I think it's because he's been raised outside so far, and the idea of going to the bathroom anywhere but grass is kind-of foreign to him. So . . . that's pretty awesome. His nose is gonna get him into trouble a lot, I think. When I take him for walks, he wants to stop and sniff everything. He is, however, learning quickly about the leash. I think we can train him yet! He's a good dog. It was good to see Mom and Dad this weekend. It's too bad we were so tired the whole time . . . that was a long drive. It all went so fast, too. We didn't sail for long, but that was probably for the best since I think the dog probably didn't want to wait anymore to pee. The pup was so good on the boat. I was impressed with him. Plus, I think Mom and Dad really liked him. Dad thinks that maybe Hobbes has beagle and blue tick in him. He might just be right about that . . . Mom and Dad took us to Nagoya—a Japanese restaurant. I ate sushi (with chopsticks), and Dad made fun of me for that. It's cool, though, 'cause I love sushi. It was one of those places where the cooks entertain you and cook your food right there in front of your face. I think that's so stinkin' cool. This weekend, the plan is to get some stuff done on the house. Scott and Mary are comin' up to help us, and we're gonna get some stuff done . . . finally. I'm just glad we're getting to stay home! We're never there anymore, it seems. That's all for now. I hope everyone is stayin' happy.