There are three trucks outside the house today -- two for the plumbers and one for the electrician. I’m trying to stay out of their way as much as possible, but, I’m curious, so I snoop around whenever I get a chance.

There are two plumbers under the house and two in the house, removing pipes, putting in pipes, you name it. The water is shut off, but we have electricity to most of the house. I have to take off and run some errands, like picking up the new microwave and some craft. I’m also stopping by AAA Flooring in Camarillo to place the order for the floor tile and schedule the installation.

I got back to the house about 1 p.m. and was able keep Gabe busy with his toy trains so I could get started on our Christmas cards. I figured since I’m home I might as well get caught up.

One of the problems we’ve been having during the work is that our two curious Pomeranians, Toto and Dizzy, seem to want to escape the back yard and follow the workmen around. About an hour into signing “Merry Christmas” and stuffing envelopes, Toto comes rushing in the front door behind one of the workmen. He’s jumping at my legs expecting a treat for coming inside. As I reach down to pet him, I realize he’s found more to do than follow workmen. It seems he’s been running around the block and rolling in every foul-smelling pile he can find.

I’ve been a dog owner long enough to realize that this is what dogs do, the problem lies in the fact that there is no running water with which to bathe him, and with the back door propped open most of the time for the workmen, no real way to keep him out of the house. I guess it’s a good thing I’m home today.

Luckily we had filled a 3-gallon bottle with water for drinking and I was able to pour some of that over him and wipe him off with an old beach towel we keep in the garage for just such occasions. (It’s now in the trash.) That took care of most of it, but I still had to ask that the workmen shut the door and keep the dogs out. It worked for the most part, but Toto can be sneaky.

The noise in the house is a bit overwhelming, but noise means progress.

I settle in at the dining room table to fill out more Christmas cards and Gabe' sitting next to me drawing Christmas trees. The electrician is working on the switches in the kitchen next to me and the plumbers' work is starting to wind down and they're starting to clean up for the evening.

All is going well when Gabe and I see sparks fly from the from the switches and the eletrician lets out a holler as he's shocked. This makes me a little nervous, but he's laughing it off, so everything must be OK, right?

By the end of the day, we have most of the recessed lighting in and most of the switches and plugs wired. All of the major plumbing has been replaced. There are new fixtures in the hall bath, hall sink and the back shower. The crew had taken out the old hot water heater and put in the new on-demand, wall-mount hot water heater . They also put in hookups for a water softener. We still weren’t able to use the main bath, but we had running water in one bathroom. They even made sure they had installed the new hose bib in the back yard so we could wash the dog.