Our cat, DunDun, has some signature Kung Fu moves.

A friend is leaving for China because of job change, he found us to be the trusted friends to take care his beloved cat. When he brought the cat, who is a girl named DunDun, to our home, the cat showed no fear and started exploring the house right away. However, after we put the flea-control collar on her neck, it seemed that she suddenly realized she’s got a new host, so she rushed to the back of the couch and didn’t want to come out no matter what tricks my friend played with her. For the whole night, she hide either under the table or behind the TV, watched us anxiously and vulnerably.

The friend explained to us this is normal and it could last for a few days. To his disappointment, it only lasted one day. Last night, the second day she’s in our home, she started wooing my wife by rubbing against her legs. Today, she already trusts us enough by constantly pushing her head against us (head butts) or even showing her belly.

One thing concerns me is that she almost hasn’t eaten anything for the past two days. I hope that’s just because everything is too new for her.

The sprinkler valves in front of our house have been leaking water since we moved in. Later in this spring, they were totally broken, not passing water at all. After manually watering the lawn for 4 months, I finally decide to replace them.

If you don’t want to replace the pipe and reroute the whole thing, it is important to find the valve as wide as your in/out pipes. Of course, the diameter has to match too. Other than that, all you need are cutters, adapters, teflon tape, and primer and glue to clean and adhere the valve and the pipe.

Although I bought a cutter, I found it is easier to cut the pipe with a saw, as long as you have space to maneuver.

Put teflon tape around the threads of the male adapter. Tight the adapter up with the valve. Teflon tape helps seal the connectors and prevents leaking.

Apply the primer on the outside of the pipe and inside of the adapter. Let it dry for about 1 minute.

Then, apply the glue on the outside of the pipe and inside of the adapter evenly. Before they dry, quickly push the valve onto the pipe and hand-hold them together for 30 seconds to prevent the valve from popping out. Wait at least a hour to make sure the glue is completely dry.

Connect the wire: one end of both valve to the ground, the other end to the different zone control respectively. Put them into grease wire protectors to prevent them from getting wet. Test the remote control. Done!

We are trying to clean up some areas to plant vegetables. Here is to remove the Potato Vine to give space for green beans. As seen in the picutres, some patao vines grow through the AC fan.

Although it still feels chilly at night, and it still rains occasionally, Spring has indeed come to the Bay Area. Last weekend, I suddenly noticed a newly opened rose blossom (red one) in our backyard; then I saw a pink flower sprouted out in the front yard. There are tens of buds on the bushes, looks like a full bloom is not far away.

I haven’t been able to update the blog for some time, because we are moving! We bought a house and just moved in last week. The main reason we started looking in May is that it supposed to be a good timing to buy a house in the 2nd half of this year. Now, as we moved in, we are not sure if the timing is good or not. The price is still not stabilized yet, and most people are just simply not buying. Let’s just wish that all the bad news has come out, the president-elect Barack Obama and the business cycle can bring the economy out of the bottom.

It is still exciting to have our own house. Much bigger kitchen and closet, especially I finally have my own office room now. Listening to the music while I am typing this - Life is Good.