Our friends Jeanne and Iztok invited a few friends to join them at Courtright for 4th of July, and friends invited friends… when the day arrived, we apparently got an Occupy Movement going — okay, not quite, but we got 15+ who showed up taking up four campsites along with the hardcore dispersed campers. It […]

Newly updated on May 1! (Please scroll down.) It’s been a few days since I arrived in China, but I just realized that I had not taken many photos. I’m posting below a few that I found in my phone. Not something you see everyday from else where in the world.   Breakfast buffet at […]

  Thanks Charlie for the balloon!

This video was from Friday, May 6, 2011. I haven’t seen Roxie since that day. I like to think that the mole was Mother’s Day present from Roxie. To Roxie, Baby, I know you are an outdoor kitty and you are born to explore. Or, maybe because you are such a cute cuddler that someone […]

I know I haven’t been posting for quite a while. We haven’t been getting out much — Erik’s shoulder is injured and he was advised to stay away from climbing and mountain biking; plus, I have been quite absorbed in our research and preparation for our kitchen and living room remodeling. However, tonight, at almost […]

Four years later, finally. I’ve wanted to post the photos for a long time because the photos brought back fond memories. And Erik looked so handsome in the tux!  

I’ll be honest. “Go with the flow.” That was not a profound discovery through four years of marriage. It just summed up how this 3-day Labor Day weekend went for us… There were lots of plan changes, which I call “go with the flow”. Here are just a few to illustrate the case: Plan #1: […]

For a while, it did not look like we would ever get away for this two week long vacation. Our last time taking such a vacation was two years ago when we visited Whistler, British Columbia in Canada. The fond memories lasted us for a long time — Erik was telling anyone who cares, or […]

Little One’s Report: Daddy did not come home this weekend… 听妈咪说爹地这个周末去和老朋友攀岩，所以这两个晚上是我们女人的世界，我们真高兴呀。我们其实很喜欢和爹地妈咪一起温馨，可是经常我和他们一起跳上床后 过一会，爹地就会突然坐起来冲着我瞪眼，吓得我一个激灵就跑走了。其实不就是我给自己舔毛舔得稀里哗啦的吗，有什麽大不了的，爹地说他受不了那个声音。呵 呵，还好妈咪吃饭不会吧唧吧唧的，否则爹地连饭都没法吃了。所以现在我习惯了，想上床就等他们睡着了后悄悄地跳到妈咪那边去。然后爹地醒了，我再跑走。芒 果嘛，她是我的小跟屁虫。可是妈咪经常很遗憾地说她更喜欢有我陪伴着入睡。其实爹地蛮体贴的，他去上班很早，所以他起来后出门前经常会找到我，把我抱到妈 咪身旁，呼噜呼噜我的毛，让我跟还在睡觉的妈咪作伴。其实他不知道，即使他不抱我来，多半我在他走后会自己去找妈咪的。 Mommy told us that daddy went rocking climb with his buddy, so this weekend belong to us. I’m so glad to hear that. I love daddy, but he doesn’t like it when I groom myself. He says I make slurping […]

The socket and bit set on the right is for the Park Took Torque Wrench I recently purchased. Now, I’d better go take my bike apart and give a thorough wipe down. (Look, what Erik Got me for birthday last year!) P.S. I just realized that this probably looked more like a Father’s Day present […]

愿更多的人能够加入关爱小动物的队伍里来。愿天下狗狗猫猫有吃有喝有人爱。愿天下有情人/猫/狗终成眷属。 笨嘴拙舌，直接上片吧。 有猫猫爱的日子真幸福呀。 

My post to Mud ‘n Crud forum: I just had an epiphany: A picture is worth a thousand words. So forget about a longer report. Here are the pictures. But first, thanks F4 for hosting the delicious hotpot dinner and the one of a kind birthday gift! Thanks munge for coming out to share a […]

After a full year of being home bound, we decided to take a road trip to Tucson, AZ for the holidays. We’ll be gone for a week. Can we all survive? I am already missing them even though we have not left yet! Feeling anxious about the separation, I wrote following post (in Chinese) to […]

Gone was this one: Came this one: The Cash For Clunkers (C4C) program was pushed out by the government on July 27th. The intention of the program was to remove some gas guzzlers off the road (thus the clunkers are destroyed instead of being reused) and replace them with the new gas efficient cars. (Just […]

A month ago, Erik built this for my birthday: This time, he was gone for three weeks paying a visit to WA. I wanted to do something to surprise him. My eyes set on the vegetable garden. It grew very well when we moved in, but it had some plants that I would not use […]

In two months, we’ll probably be on our way up to Whistler again, and this time, I want to be better prepared. I must have thought to myself out loud because Erik started building these structures in our backyard and put them together on my birthday. They are all fun little challenges, some harder than […]

They were just sleeping neck in neck. Don’t you let your imagination run wild. 脖脖相扣而已，不要瞎想。

那天天很热，可是我们一点都不觉得。 哟，被妈妈看见了，肯定要拿我们到坛子上去笑话。 算了算了，午觉也不让猫家睡个安稳。分了吧。 芒果：那我醒了，干点啥呢？ 芒果：哟，这好像难度大了点。 芒果：还是走正道吧。 小家伙：可是我还是困呀。 小家伙：妈妈也不给我拉上窗帘遮光。 小家伙：这个盒子是妈妈摆在地上让我咬的。我只咬这一个，别的都不咬。妈妈说我是好孩子。 小家伙：我打个哈欠。 小家伙：然后接着睡。

I posted this on a pet forum in response to a question whether a cat needs a companion. 以前讲过我收留小家伙的经过。她曾经是街对过邻居的猫之一，后来因为没有及时计划生育的原因，一度和将近十只猫共处。开始看他们同出同进，和谐的很。后来 不知为什么，小家伙开始独行。我们下班，她就来后面的玻璃门张望，我们放她进来，她就各个角落蹭蹭。可是晚上我们把她推出去，她也不回邻居的 basement和其他猫同睡，反而孤零零地到我家shed的下面缩着。这样两三次，我们于心不忍，就和邻居一拍即合，小家伙就被收编了。 所以我们很自然地认为，小家伙是只特立独行的猫。正好我也没打算再收养其他的，就给小家伙正式起名：Little One。 她就是我们的唯一了。就这样定了！ 可是之后一个月，小家伙的表现和你家coco差不多。大多数时候在咖啡桌下面窝着。当时觉得总这样下去，她会老年痴呆。我左想右想，就觉得她还是孤单的。 举个例子吧，有人把在国内的家长一个人请到国外来，可是白天上班，把老人家一个人留在家里。不通语言看不懂电视也不敢出门，你说老人家孤单不孤单？猫不也 一回事？而且即使我们回家来想和她玩，也还是不通她的语言呀。我产生了给小家伙找伴的想法。可是万一她们合不来呢？我的想法是就算她们合不来，至少有另外 一只猫会给小家伙的小脑袋一件事情惦记着，反正只要她们不会互相伤害，也算是给生活增加些内容（乐趣不乐趣，就看她们缘分了）。总比每天趴在一个地方发呆了好， 正好邻居还有没送出的猫好几只，我们就挑了一只领进门。开始我好紧张呀。小家伙已经在家里一个月了，建立领地，所以芒果一进门她就冲着人家哈，很不高兴的 样子。而且芒果忙着视察新环境，小家伙就到处尾随很警惕的样子。我就心想至少尾随人家也是一种运动吧。可是没出两天，就看她们互相舔毛了，我当时眼泪差点 没下来。再接下来，那就是两猫世界啦。每天她们相互追着上窜下跳，非常活跃。一猫吃食，另一只定会冲过来看看人家在吃什么。偶尔看到她们打架比较过火，有 互相哈过，搞得我很紧张，可是十分钟后，人家照样互相清理，其乐融融的景象，原来还是逗着玩而已。 我以前就讲过，现在还要重复一遍：把芒果领进门是我这辈子最英明的决定了。 总之呢，不要顾虑太多她会不会和另一只猫相处的好不好。打架也是一种乐趣，更是健身运动。甚至互相忽视，那也是人家的选择。孤单是最难以忍受的。

Like this muddy… It’s Erik’s birthday again. I think the last time it happened was a year ago, but I’m not sure. Ever since two years ago I surprised him with a trip to Hawaii (he did not even know we were flying until I dug out the suit cases buried under camping gear when […]

We’ve had Mango for almost two weeks. She is a beautiful red tabby. She was born on May 15, 2008, so, still a kitty. As a matter of fact, she was born to Little One. It didn’t look that way when we first got her into our house, because Little One, who had been our […]

小家伙呀，你来家已经一个半星期了。我们的生活就在这一个半星期了发生了很大的变化。多了一份牵挂，多了一点点烦恼，但是更多的是欢乐。 你本来是对门邻居的猫，和你的小姐妹一起长大。本来生活质量挺好的。可是后来你们两个年幼无知平白被占了便宜，一不留神未婚早孕，转眼多添了十二只嗷嗷待哺的小嘴。再一转眼，又多了一窝三只小猫。唉，多生多育就是害猫呀，从此生活质量下降。而且虽然陆陆续续有人把小小猫们领走，可是十五只也不是好打发的，这不，身边仍然有一大堆跟你抢食的。是不是这就是你离家出走的原因呢？邻居说是因为最近给你做了节育手术，你的性情变了，不爱跟他们，不爱跟其他的猫们掺乎了。总之，你毅然决然穿越马路，开始来我家后门定时报道。我们一开门你就扭伐扭伐进来视察。妈妈一直就想养猫，可是又是一个罗曼蒂克，总想找那个前生有缘的感觉，另外总担心自己不能给猫制造最好的生活环境，唯恐把谁领回家会白白误了人家的大好前途。这下让你自己找上门来了，而且妈妈一伸手，你就开始打着小呼噜往我手上凑，这不是前生有缘，还等什麽呢？爸爸妈妈跟邻居是一拍即合，就把你正式过继了过来。 收编你进来之前，你与另外七只猫分食，想来是不太容易吃得饱吧，这些天来，每次喂你看着你狼吞虎咽的快乐样子，不知是该为你高兴还是伤心。我看包装上的说 明，现在每天喂你的量都是超标的，真怕喂成一个大肥猫。可是爸爸说你现在还在适应新环境的阶段，吃得饱有助于加快适应的步伐。听上去还蛮有道理的。 昨天邻居爸爸提着一个茶杯来说是要喝茶没有糖了。其实呀，我们想他们养育了你这么久，还是希望你投靠了一个好出路，所以借机过来视察你的现状了。 他进了门，你坚决地跑开了，让他明白你弃“暗”投“明”的心意已决。然后现在的爸爸叫你，你很给面子地跑上前，让他抱起来，这样邻居爸爸确认了你在这里没有受虐待。等他看到厅里三层高的猫树，和树脚下有插电的电热小猫床，更是喜笑颜开。等他拿着被妈妈灌得满满的一杯糖离开的时候，嘴里嘀咕着，“我回家只要加一点点茶这杯子就满了，”其实呀我们猜他回了家第一任务是跟你原妈妈汇报，让她也放个心。 妈妈在宠物乐园爱读毛玉兰的故事，觉得人家猫有名有姓，很是气魄，所以也想给你起个名字，可是爸爸的姓太长，妈妈的姓又笔划太多，估计这一辈子也教不会你，干脆就不要这个姓了吧。名字呢？你来家前叫Sarah，可是敲中文要切换来切换去，麻烦，翻译成中文叫莎拉，听着像吃的，算了，这个名字也不要了吧。 到头来，你还是我的小家伙。 以前妈妈上班不想家的，反正爸爸早出晚归家里没人， 我不急着回家。现在不同了，上着班也惦记着家里有个小家伙在等待，还没下班呢，心就已经飞回去了。到了家，第一件事是冲到你的小房间，清洗舔的锃亮的碗，倒进一大把猫粮，任由你欢快的围着我的腿打转转，有猫在家里等的感觉就是好。等你埋头苦吃了，我就打扫你的砂盆，每次铲起大块块或硬棒棒，我都满怀欣喜，想到我们小家伙排泄通常，真是可喜可贺呀！ 现在妈妈吃完饭最爱的事情就是抱着你梳毛，挠痒，香香，你每次都是小呼噜打得震天响，真是很难说是你更幸福呢还是妈妈更幸福。妈妈和你这样偎着可以坐几个小时，家里几个星期的账单顾不得看，电视机里再精彩的电影也没有你好看。 上次周末，晚上没有关你进小屋，你叫了一晚上，爸爸妈妈都没有睡好。 这个星期要上班，只好还是送你进小屋。记得有一天，爸爸妈妈回家晚了，吃完饭就好晚了，爸爸困极了，就急着把你送进小房间，我们好去睡觉。可是你开始跟爸爸玩游戏，他一伸手你就跳走，搞得他很生气。可是妈妈轻轻一叫你，你就过来了，乖乖地让妈妈抱起来去了你的小房间。第二天早晨，爸爸又是早起，梳洗完毕来和还在睡觉的妈妈告别，他对妈妈说，“我和小家伙和好了，她让我抱着缕毛。”妈妈听着真是睡觉都在笑呀。你们两个在妈妈的生活中都很重要，一定要好好相处噢！ 今天早晨，爸爸早起，把你的小房间打开，妈妈一叫你，你就冲了过来，跳上床来蜷在妈妈臂弯里，乖乖地和妈妈睡了两个小时。真是让妈妈欣慰呀。等以后你的时差倒过来了，我们就不关你的门了，妈妈会很盼望着有你在旁边一起睡觉到天明哦。 妈妈我喜欢你趴在腿上睡觉打小呼噜，可是也想让你锻炼身体。于是我 把一只小玩具老鼠拴在绳子一端，挂在你前面，左晃右晃，你一点都不感兴趣。后来妈妈听人家说所有的猫猫都会为laser chaser疯狂，当天下了班就买了一个回家，还是老鼠形状的呢。可是你对地毯上到处乱跑的小红点视而不见，真是让人着急呀。给你满处撒的cat nip，你也是完全忽略。妈妈私下都在和爸爸嘀咕了，这个laser pointer，我可以上班做讲座用，cat nip我们可以泡茶用，可是不知我们的小家伙是不是弱智呀。爸爸说，你还在适应阶段，等你安顿下来就爱玩了。给你两周，不，给你两个月的时间。哈哈，还是爸爸沉得住气呀。好在妈妈在网上订购的Purrfect Feather Dancer终于到了，居然把你调动地上窜下跳，妈妈这才松了一口气，立刻上网又订了好几个，囤积送人，真是好东东呀。 另外还有啊，每次我们给你梳毛挠痒，你都会很舒服地用两个前爪揉面团。可是小爪子尖尖的，抓进我们的肉里还很痛呢。妈妈就忐忑不安地决定给你剪指甲。这可是 你的猫生第一次呢，真是怕你会抵抗。那天你乖乖地躺在妈妈腿上，提哪个小爪子就伸哪个，半点反抗都没有，妈妈真是非常感动呀。到现在还是禁不住见谁都要夸 夸你呢。夸还不够，还要忍不住强迫人家看你的照片呢。 你爱蜷在爸爸的摇摇椅里睡觉。 妈妈洗脸的水池也不错。 我醒了也不出去，甚至妈妈把水龙头打开我都不出去（真的） 阳光少女 妈妈搬进来就说要换地毯，说了两年了。这下不用换了。要不是我的白色手套和靴子，我躺在地毯上你大概都找不到我呢。 猜猜我在干什麽？ 我要准备袭击那个长得怪怪的鸟了！嘘，别吵。

Yesterday, I sent Erik a text message in the morning who left for work before I did:      Me: Little One was playing with one of her toy mice when I left.      Erik: Holy Cow! Is she all right? Yep, that pretty sums up our Little One. She is sweet, she is cuddly, but […]

I’m sleep deprived. That is because Little One meowed all night last night, first time we did not confine her to her own room, our bathroom. There is nothing wrong with her. She just wanted someone to play with her. When we went to bathroom in the middle of the night, she would run up […]

Her name is Little One, that’s the calling she responded to when she first time came into our house sniffing around last weekend. She was our neighbors’ cat and grew up with her sister, both about one year old now. I’ve posted their story before, in Chinese.) They had two litters two weeks apart this […]

It would be my father’s 70th birthday. A month ago, plans were made that we would all meet in Shanghai, where my sister and her family are based. My father grew up in a village just outside of Shanghai (now all part of the big city) before he went to Beijing for college, so he […]

Erik’s friend pretty much summed it up. It was his birthday yesterday. We went to Gochi, a Japanese restaurant in Cupertino, with our friends Erik and Jenny. We all loved the food there. My favorite were bbq eel on thin crust pizza, braised pork in cripy rice clay pot, and all the desserts. Plus, everyone […]

(Text Messaging Inbox) Message 22: Happy Halloween! Message 23: Er uh, Valentine’s. From? Oh, who else! We did not go out to a nice dinner. We did not buy each other expensive presents. Instead, we went to the climbing gym tonight. He and I do not always climb in the same gym. He goes to […]

Yesterday I was in my chiropractor’s office for my knee problem. We started talking about pronation. In my case, I have low arches in my feet, which has caused some problems in my moving around. Anyway, two points he made I thought were quite interesting: Parents should keep babies out of shoes as long as […]

I wrote this trip report in the air plane back. Partly, this is to document our activities and my observations; and partly, I hope this TR serves as some kind of beta for others who are interested in visiting China. I will include links and resources wherever I can. And I try to include fares […]

Simple. Strong. Sturdy. Not pretentious. Low maintenance. Everytime I look at the ring on my finger, it reminds me of the man who presented the ring to me. And it brings a smile to my face.I admit, it was not love at first sight. To me, an engagement ring has always been nothing but an […]