Addendum from Oneonta, NY.... Whoever said something about the "best laid plans..." was right on. Just finishing dinner here in NY when we get a call from our wonderful housesitter, Charlene. Keep in mind it's three hours earlier in California, about 7:30 in NY. Even tho' we meticulously went through the entire sprinkler system and replaced valves and heads where needed before we left, one devilish valve decided to fail. Rob managed to guide Charlene through turning off the water to the yard, but then he had to decide who to call to fix it. So far, while we've been gone, we've called Travis, our plumber and Lee, our sometimes pool guy to fix unforeseen problems. With a stroke of genius from spouse who remembered our new neighbors Lane and Laurie, in their renovating their lawn, had had their contractor, Alex, put in a new sprinkler system. Rob, seeing the quality work Alex did, also had him repair our driveway. Alas, we didn't have Alex' number. Not to worry, we did have Lane and Laurie's. After searching through the checkbook, both online and paper, not to mention the brain cells after several glasses of wine, Rob placed a call to Lane and Laurie and got both voicemails. OH NO, he muses, they're probably on their honeymoon, remembering that their nuptuals where imminent. He just finished leaving a message for Laurie and resumed eating dinner when his phone rang. Lane to the rescue, having just disembarked from an airplane from Oxnard to LAX where he's leaving to join Laurie in the Bay area for Laurie's daughter's graduation from USF. Do we live a charmed life or what??? Lane was able to provide Alex's phone number and within 10 minutes we were set with repairs to the sprinkler valve. If this keeps up, we may have a whole new house before we return. Of course, Rob will soon be looking for work.