I have a ROOF!

And it's about to get tested, because it's dark and rumbling out there. If not tonight, at some point this weekend we will see how well the roofers sealed around the skylights. Oh, the suspense....

It looks great, and if anyone's looking for a great roofing company in Central FL, email me at bossylittledog@yahoo.com, and I will hook you up. God knows, I talked to all the other guys first, my roof pains have been going on for almost a year. I can vouch for this company's professionalism and efficiency. I signed the contract on Monday, was called on Wednesday and told they'd be tearing out and drying-in on Thursday and shingling on Friday, and despite the delay waiting for the county inspector to check the dry-in today, they got it done and it looks mahvelous, dahling. A very professional and tidy crew, no shouting and blasting tejano like the other crews that have worked our street (not that I mind construction workers with a radio and I don't hate tejano, but two days of tejano and air guns would give a rhino a migraine). They also had the cool architectural shingles I really wanted for the same price as 3-tab. And the color is perfect. It was worth waiting for (if it doesn't leak). And the Good Hands People quit giving me the finger (do they hang out with Dubya, or what?) and gave me the rest of the money, so I'm only out the huge deductible and the cost of a couple of sheets of decking. I can live with that, and I'm glad I dragged my feet and fought with the insurance company.

Dudley did NOT like this whole roofing thing. He hates loud noises and had to suffer through two days of them. He spent them on the couch pressed up against either me or Girl. He's exhausted and will sleep soundly tonight, I'm sure.

Speaking of suffering, I forgot to mention the surprising bad news at the vet. Poor baby Dudley has a very mild case of Demodectic Mange. I was appalled at first, because I know what it is, but I've only heard of the incredibly difficult to treat cases in adult dogs. After a bit of Net research I'm vastly relieved - 80% of puppy cases clear up on their own without treatment, and it's not that unusual for a growing puppy his age to have a mild outbreak. And his case is very, very mild - a couple of slightly bald patches, no irritated skin, he's not even itching - our vet, a young thing who can't be 30 yet, is one sharp chick. She spotted it, scraped it, diagnosed it, and recommended the conventional dip treatment, but after doing some reading, Girl and I decided we will give him 3 weeks to show improvement on his own and revisit treatment when he goes in for his next puppy shot, and then I'm thinking a daily Interceptor, though more pricey, might be preferable to weekly dips. But the patch on his face is already looking like it's clearing up, so we'll just keep our fingers off the panic button and see what his immune system does. He is a potential studmuffin, and if he might possibly have an immune deficiency that could pass to his offspring we need to road test it. Murphy had the Big Boy Operation due to luxating patella, but Dudley hasn't been ordered out of the gene pool yet.

Finished the left front of the Ribby Cardi today, and damn, those ribbed pieces look so small when fully contracted, but actually do stretch out nicely. It's a very quick, fun project. I may have to make more than one - I'm doing a mental inventory of Ze Stash and thinking of teal and cream, or rust and tan....

Today was my last official vacation day, and I spent it comforting a frightened puppy while the roofers worked on my house. What did I say about doing nothing house-oriented this week? Hah. Did I get a haircut? Uh, no.

It's raining and the skylight is dry. It's not raining hard, but so far, so good....