String 'em Up...

 

You're acting in a bad western movie, Jim?

Wait - what?  That's what you came up with?  String > Strings > Guitar...

OK, that makes more sense.

I was playing my X20 yesterday and noticed that the coatings on the Elixir Nanoweb strings were showing some wear.  It still sounded decent.  I do appreciate the longevity of these Elixir strings.  They are more expensive than most, but they last a long time, while keeping a good sound.

There is a reason Taylor Guitars puts Elixir strings on their guitars: they sound good, and if I guitar hangs on the wall for a while in a guitar shop, it's still going to sound fresh.

I recently ordered some Elixir Attune strings - it's a new line from Elixir.  I think these will make you run faster and jump higher... no, wait, that's Keds Shoes.

Elixir Nanoweb: Features a balanced, bright tone with a smooth, slightly slick feel that reduces finger squeak.

Elixir Attune: Designed to feel and sound much closer to an uncoated string (offering more tactile grip) while providing high volume, immediate attack, and enhanced brightness.

In keeping with my goal of making things easier on my aging hands, I went with a lighter gauge of strings (10 - 46, Custom Lights).  While I notice the lighter feel to the strings, I don't notice much difference in tone and volume; I guess that is a good thing.

Changing the strings is only part of the job - it also is a good opportunity to give the body and fretboard a thorough cleaning...

 Even though I wipe my guitars down after each playing session, grub builds up along the frets.  It takes time to clean that up.  Emerald uses stainless steel frets - these are showing no sign of wear.  Nice years old, and the X20 looks as good as new.

With the lighter strings, I took a very small bit of relief out of the neck...

 And then played the heck out of it for an hour or so.  Even with fresh strings, these Emeralds hold tune better than any of my wood guitars.  This one is good to go for a long while.

 

Two... Seems Like More...

 

I have said that about the cats in our family.  Add three more to the mix and it seems like a LOT more!

I am taking care of the grandkitties while Steph and Dan are delivering Dicha in California and picking up a couple more puppies for their Phoenix Guide Dog group.

Last night, we had an "open door policy," and let the grandkitties come to visit at our house.  Everyone is good together, but Stella did hiss at Alfie when he got too close.  Alfie is a special needs boy, so he wasn't being aggressive (he is very passive).  He shrugged his shoulders and moved on.  We just like all the kitties to have some human interaction when Steph and Dan are gone.

Stella and Tango sharing some space...

 

This morning, I got our two fed, then went over to t"he neighbors" to take care of food and meds for their cats.  I always send Steph photos at each feeding so she can see that everyone is doing fine; eating and getting attention...

 Proof of life.  And feeding.  ;-)

Good-Byes Are Tough...

 

This post is another about "the neighbors"... or as you may know them: Steph and Dan.  Today, after work, they are headed to California.  Tomorrow is the day that Dicha goes back to the Guide Dog For The Blind campus for more intensive training on her journey to potentially be a Guide Dog.

She has been with them for over a year, so as you'd expect, they are very attached.  They do this good work raising a Guide Dog puppy, knowing that is isn't "a pet."  They put a lot of their time, effort, and money into the training and raising.  They attend weekly meetings and participate in Guide Dog group events. 

Dicha was just 8 weeks old when they first picked her up...

 A size comparison...

 And, currently...

 This, from Steph, written for the Guide Dog Newsletter...

 "In Spanish, la dicha means happiness, joy, or good fortune. It describes a deep sense of bliss or the lucky privilege of having something good happen. This name was a perfect choice for our girl! She finds joy in the little things and brings her big personality everywhere she goes. What a privilege it has been to watch her learn and mature. She is ready for this next step, and we are so excited to follow her journey!"

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Steph just sent me this photo...

 Yeah, that is Murphy nose to nose with Dicha... and he is bigger.

 

 

Kinda Eerie...

 

Like the canal?  No, that's "Erie," and nothing like that.  I got out on the scoot this morning.  It has been a while... it felt great.  Life got in the way: the cold, the root canal, and (of course) the miserable heat.  Today, the high is supposed to be in the 90s.  Well, 99º, and that is mostly psychological.  It was 87º when I got into the hot tub last night at 9:30.  That's a major drop in temperature, as most evenings it has still been in triple digits.

I was expecting a cooler morning.  Even better than I expected: it was 76º when I got up about 6:15.  That is a bonus.

The Burgman 200 is the most accessible right now.  One of these days, we'll rearrange in the garage and get the bikes back into diagonal parking so they are all accessible.

The Burgman fired right up - I geared up and headed out.  Traffic was light on my way east on the surface road.  I was surprised when I got to South Mountain Park and Preserve that there weren't a lot of cars in the parking lot.  Even more surprising: no vehicle traffic.  Not all the way up the mountain.  Nor coming back down - not a single car or pickup.  I passed about a dozen people on bicycles either direction.  One small motorcycle heading out of the Preserve as I was heading in.  I have written about light traffic before, but this was nada.

Considering that this is the coolest morning in the past couple months, I expected more people out enjoying this brief break in the heat.

I was careful on my ride up the mountain.  OK, to be fair, I am always careful.  But, I was expecting sand and gravel washed onto the road with the monsoon storms we've had (we actually got some precipitation at our house last night).  My expectations were correct.  Nothing terrible, but some sand across the road right at a couple tight curves.

A good ride.  And it felt like I had the road pretty much to myself.

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Here it comes...

A nasty cell with wind and rain coming at us.  We have been fortunate that the monsoon storms have mostly gone around us.  We are not going to get missed today.

Around 5:00, the first of the gust front ahead of the storm blew in - we were strapping down patio furniture covers, patio umbrellas, and the last thing was taking down our US flag... it was really flapping in the breeze while I was rolling it up.  

Then, the pounding rain...

 It came down solid for about 45 minutes.  The rain gutters we had installed did what they were designed to do, but we still have water pooling in the yard.  It will filter down, but the ground is hard here, so it takes time.  This is part of the reason why flash flooding is a concern all around Arizona.

On the bright side, we really need the moisture, and everything not under a cover received a thorough rinse courtesy of Mother Nature.  There is no doubt that there will be flooding in some parts of the Valley.  The weather has been very active the last couple weeks; reports each morning on the local news of damage around the Phoenix area.  The higher elevation parts of the state (north around Flagstaff and east along the Mogollon Rim - all over 7,000') have seen flooding.  A reason we haven't gone to those places for any get-aways in the van.

 

Cool Change...

 

If you said, "Little River Band, 1979," you get 10 bonus points.  If you said, "Another weather discussion?" you are correct, but no bonus points.

It was only 86º when I took Murphy outside at 6:30 this morning.  When we came in, Joan was up and said, "It is only supposed to be 99º today."  Only.  Another monsoon storm is supposed to roll in this evening.  These storms are not massive in size like the hurricanes we used to watch for when we lived on the Gulf Coast.  Parts of the Valley here get damaging winds, rain, and hail, and other areas in the Valley get a light breeze.  The last 5 mornings, there have been reports on the local NBC channel showing damage and power outages.

Then, see the national news and reports on violent weather all over the country.  Reports from the Sturgis Rally showing hail that piled up like snow.  Tornadoes across the Midwest.  Heat alerts in much of the country.

And, here in Phoenix, it is going to be "cooler than normal."  I have music with Mark and the guys today; I am hoping to get home before the storms hit... people here don't know how to drive when it rains. 

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A good time with the music at Mark's house today.  Mark, Danny, Gil, and Carl were there.  Making music for the fun of it.  Danny brought pizza; Cindy provided cookies.  What's not to like?  ;-)

As we were picking a last song, Mark picked Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison.  I feel compelled to put on some sunglasses when doing anything by Roy; the sunglasses today were my Oakley Meta Vanguards.  No one here knew they had a camera built into the glasses - I demonstrated...

 Mark above; Danny, Gil, and Carl below...

 Cindy (Mark's wife) and Pat (Carl's wife) provided the applause...

 Yes, the lens on the camera is pretty wide angle.  But, handy!

 

 

Luke, I Am Your Father...

 

Darth Vader never actually says, "Luke, I am your Father," in the Empire Strikes Back.  The real line is, "No, I am your Father,"but people add "Luke" when quoting it to make the reference clear out of context. 

I say this line when Joan puts a long black cape over me when she is about to cut my hair.  I'm guessing she doesn't know why I say this.  I am further guessing she doesn't care.

But, today was haircut day for me.  Outside.  In the breeze.  There is always the qualifier: "No guarantees about how this will turn out with this wind."  (7 mph)  It always turns out fine.  I was due for a haircut - I believe it has been 7 years.  Or, perhaps, a month.  It will look better with my new cap, without hair sticking out around my ears.

The cape...

 

 

No, it doesn't look quite like that, but that is how I image myself.  There is no hood, and it is open in the back.  That doesn't stop me from doing the Darth Vader voice.

Semantic distinction.  In fashion, the word "cape" usually refers to a shorter garment and "cloak" to a full-length version of the different types of garment, though the two terms are sometimes used synonymously for full-length coverings.  Cape sounds cooler than cloak.  Unless, of course, we are talking about the "cloak of invisibility."  But, that is a different movie.

I believe the word you are now looking for is: nerd.

 

Singing In The Rain...

 

If you said, "The film from 1952, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds - and the title song from that movie," you get 30 bonus points.  Mostly for being more of a geezer than I am.  ;-)

 

This particular post has nothing to do with me.  Steph and Dan went to see John Mellencamp in concert last night.  At an outdoor concert venue.  In August.  During monsoon season.

We got a text from her, saying "Lightning all around them."  I let her know that, checking radar, rain was coming their way.  A few minutes later: "We are soaked to the skin!"

The concert was stopped and attendees were told to "Shelter in place or go to your cars for safety."  There is a cover over the main seating, but a lot of open "in the grass" seating.  When the storm passed, Mellencamp came back on again.

I asked them this morning how the concert went.  "We felt like youngsters - most of the crowd was older than us."  They have seen Mellencamp in concert quite a few times in the past - he is one of Steph's favorites.

I did mention to her that "Mellencamp is older than me."  She had to look it up: yep, he is a year older than I am.

They both said that he was showing his age during the concert.  "Ahem - only a year older than I am."

Dan said, "You are a young 73; he is an old 74."  A life of rock 'n roll will do that to you.