I don’t come home to a quiet, HVAC controlled space where I can relax in my chair and let go of the day that was. It’s really more like coming from one job and going to another. I’m not really complaining, more just stating the facts as they are. Do I long for those days when I could kick back in the HVAC with a beer and pet my dog? Yes, yes I do. I still get to do plenty of dog petting but I also have to pet cats and more dogs and more cats. Our house was become a defacto pet sanctuary. This wasn’t really the plan but, it sure is the reality. It started out when our youngest decided that she wanted to go to college locally. The big university life just didn’t appeal to her. So, she came back. The next thing I know, my wife and daughter had decided to start taking in strays and together, find them new homes. This seemed like a nice thing to me. But, it grew and grew. Now, among my duties is also to be sure that I am buying HVAC air filters by the case. With all this fur everywhere, the HVAC was getting choked out in about a week. We even tried to move the animals to their own section of the house. But, it made very little difference because they were always making their way around anywhere they wanted. To be honest, outside of changing the HVAC air filter every week, I have enjoyed making a temporary home for these animals.