It Was There...

 

 

The van, that is.  Sitting in the driveway, all shined up; looking pretty.  "We should go smash some bugs and go for a day trip.  Maybe overnight?"

Her reply: "We'll if we're going out, might as well make it a couple nights." 

"I see no down side to that."

So, as the temp goes back up here in Phoenix, we're going to do a couple nights at a slightly higher elevation.

One thing nice about the RoadTrek (there are many, by the way): the app that connects to the FireFly, the electronic screen that controls the functions and gives the readouts in the van...

 Yeah, it was 99º outside.  I was working on getting the fresh water tank sanitized and filled; nice to see the levels while outside the van, so I don't have to go back and forth from the water spigot to the FireFly screen in the van.

Joan packed up some food.  We are good to go.

 

The Princess and the Pea...

 

OK, there is no pea.  But, there is a cute little princess...

 She is laying on top of two pillows in that photo above.  You would think that isn't the most comfortable position, but she likes laying on those couch pillows.  And little Stella gets to lay wherever she wants.

When we first rescued her off the street, she put on a fierce face and hissed at almost everything.  She is just pretty sweet these days.  She did, however, hiss at me yesterday.  I reached down to pick her up, and apparently the timing wasn't right for being picked up - yeah, she hissed at me.  That little seven pound cat (Joan thinks she is eight pounds) does not hold back.

You might notice a different harness on her; still a lot of pink in it, but it is patterned.  Her previous one was solid pink, but she outgrew it.

But, look at that sweet little face...

 

Clean Up...

 

Time for your autumn bath already, Jim?

No, that's not until a week or so before Thanksgiving, so I am fresh for the holiday season.

The Roadtrek was due for a bath.  We may day trip to do some leaf-peeping over the weekend.  We'll see.

While I worked on the exterior, Joan scrubbed the windshield cover (that white thing) and then cleaned the windows...

 A lot of the van is above the height you can reach from the ground, so the ladder or a long handle brush is necessary...

 The ladder is necessary to clean the solar panels on top of the van.  This process is a lot of work, but the van is looking good.

As long as we were grubbed up, the Equinox was in need of a bath, too.  That is easy to run through the car wash that is about 3 miles from our place... and that car wash provides damp towels and vacuum cleaners on a long hose to clean the interior, as well.  And while Joan did the interior, I wiped down the body and the glossy black wheels.  It, too, is looking good once again - it got grubbed up last week when I had to drive it in the rain. 

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Today is Dan's birthday - his sister and brother-in-law are visiting, and the six of us will be going out for supper this evening.  I won't mention how old he is, but it is more than half a century.  

 

It's A Beautiful Morning...

 

... think I'll go outside for a while and just smile.

If you said, "The Young Rascals (aka The Rascals), 1968," you get 15 bonus points.  If you asked, "A beautiful day in the desert today?" you are right on.  70º to start the day.  Sunny.  Not humid.  A gorgeous morning.

Joan had put the patio back together after that last rainstorm, with a promised forecast of a week plus of sunshine and no triple digit high temps.  We sat outside on the patio, with the TV on.  Murphy was out there with us, Stella was watching us through the patio door.  Joan rolled the catio out of the shed and brought Stella out.

The little furry girl didn't put up and fuss and being carried out.  The catio was her "safe haven" when we first brought her home; she seemed to be enjoying time out there with us...

 After a while, I decided to get out on my ebike.  North through our neighborhood and then a bike trail to the city park...

 Once out of the park and onto the streets, I picked up the pace - get that old heart rate up.  It was a good ride.  Joan had just come inside when I got home.  She really enjoys spending time on the patio when it isn't so hot... and we are getting into that time of the year when it isn't so hot.  First thing in the morning.

It got to 93º for a high here today.  We must be acclimated: that seems almost pleasant.  BBQ for lunch out today.  Not a bad day in the desert.

 

Out Of Touch...

 

Technology passing you by, Jim?

Probably.  But, that's not what I'm talking about here.  If you said, "A song by Daryl Hall and John Oates, 1984," you get 20 bonus points.  If you asked, "Didn't they have an ugly, public break-up?" you are correct, but no bonus points.

Last night, we saw John Oates in concert at MIM (Musical Instrument Museum), accompanied by a piano player and a percussionist...

 I wasn't sure what to expect - turns out it was one of the best concerts we've seen this year.  Oates came out with a friendly, conversational manner; introducing the other band members.  It was stripped down, but still very full sounding.  The MIM auditorium is a great venue - Oates commented, "This place is great - I feel like we're playing in someone's house."  The performance definitely had that intimate feel to it.

They started out with an acoustic version of the song Out of Touch, then played some of Oates new (sans Hall) originals, a couple covers, several "these are the songs that influenced me", then played a couple Hall and Oates songs, and came back for an encore of another cover.  The info on the concert said it would be between 75 and 90 minutes; he played for an hour and 45 minutes.

Video clips...

 

If The Rain Comes...

 

"... they run and hide their heads."

If you said, "The song Rain, by the Beatles, 1966," you get 5 bonus points.  If you asked, "Is it raining in Phoenix?  I thought it was sunny there all the time," you may not be aware of monsoon season.  Hot and humid.  Moist unstable air.  And this morning, the rain was pounding when I got up.  Rain totals so far of .75" to 1.25" in most of the Valley (of the Sun).  Flash flood warnings for Maricopa County and other surrounding counties.

 Two cars were washed off a road in New River, just north of Phoenix.  The weather is moving northeast, so the areas with the heaviest precipitation (red and orange on that radar image above) will be moving across Scottsdale and the New River area.

67º when I got up.  A predicted high today of 77º... quite a change from the heat we've been experiencing.  Joan and I actually wore long pants yesterday.  No triple digit highs predicted for the next 10 days, but sunny and dry after tomorrow.

 

Been A Long Time Since I Rock 'n Rolled...

 

If you said, "Led Zeppelin, 1971, from their album Led Zeppelin IV," you get 15 bonus points.  If you asked, "Are the Hip Replacements all back and ready to play again?" you are correct... and 10 bonus points for asking.

Yesterday, the Hips played at Pizzicata, an Italian restaurant in Glendale.  Again; we played there last spring.  And have dates scheduled there again in the next two months.  First we've played out since everybody came back to town after the summer.  No, we didn't have to turn in an essay on "What I did on my summer vacation."

A good crowd - plenty of reaction: clapping, singing along.  Just the way we like it.  Joan, Steph and Dan were there, along with Vinnie the Guide Dog Puppy in Training.  Nice to have friendly faces and applause.

Stephanie and Dan shot some photos...

  In that last photo, a friend of Mark and Ron's "sat in" on the bongos on one song.

It was a good time.  Oh, and here's a shot from Joan...

 Nice thing about a "happy hour" gig: we were home and gear unloaded by 7:00.  Joan ordered me a lasagna to take home from the restaurant.  By 8:00, I had supper and soaked in the hot tub.  Life in the fast lane.  ;-)