With Two Cats In The Yard...

 

If you said, "A line from the song Our House, by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, 1970," you get 15 bonus points.  If you said, "Our house is a very, very, very fine house.  With two cats in the yard..." you get 5 extra credit points.

If you asked, "Did you take Murphy and Stella outside this morning?"... no.  Stella still shows no interest in going outside.  Murphy and I had our guy time out in the courtyard this morning.  The "two cats" part...

 Murphy chillin' in front of that black and white cat planter.  If you look close, there are two more cats behind and above Murph.  If you look around the yard, you will see about 15 cat items...

 I enjoy the whimsical array of yard decor out there.

It isn't unusual for a bird or three to land on the block wall while we're out there.  They squawk at Murphy, and he postures for an attach that never comes...

 In this yard kingdom, he is the apex predator.

"And where is little Stella during all this?"  Thanks for asking.  She will often come to the patio door to check out what we're doing...

 When Joan gets up, Stella will go lay by her.  Maybe snatch a bite of Murphy's "grown up" food.  Stella is now 9 months old and has shown us a fun personality: playful and sweet; strong willed; curious and adaptable.

 

All By Myself...

 

If you said, "Eric Carmen, 1975," you get 25 bonus points.  If you asked, "Did Joan finally dump your ass?"... not yet, and you lose 30 bonus points.

I haven't played out solo since Covid first hit.  I did a bunch of "Stayin' at Home" music videos during the uncertain days of the pandemic, but no playing out.  It has been interesting playing out with the Hip Replacements and once with the Allan Lindsay Project.  "Interesting," you say?

Yeah, with someone else handling the details, it is like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get.

I have made no inquiries into playing out solo.  Until this weekend.  There is a recall happening for an HOA board member who was a pain in the ass for the board I was on; she is continuing that with the newly elected board.  She hasn't done her job as secretary (only turned in one set of minutes in a year's worth of meetings); she lied during the last board meeting, saying: "Jim banned me from voting on the Architectural Committee."  That's not even something the president can do; she simply didn't participate in the voting.  She is constantly saying that she works "60 to 80 hours a week" when asked why she doesn't do the jobs she volunteered for.  Too busy to do the job, but not too busy to stalk the community and turn in neighbors for what she considers violations.

Homeowner were fed up.  A movement started, and the legal process to recall her is underway.  A petition was circulated, with more than enough signatures from homeowners to bring it to a ballot.  The voting will start this week.  With that in mind, one homeowner scheduled gatherings for 4 nights this week, with various food trucks and "voting parties"... come enjoy the food, meet your neighbors, and sign and turn in a ballot (one per home).

I made one call to volunteer to provide live music for one of the gatherings.  I was asked if I could do all four.  I had to politely decline all four, but let them pick which one they wanted me to play for.  So, my first solo gig in years.  I did a 2-hour run through yesterday... I have enough material for 4 hours solo, but I will be keeping it to two hours.  I have to say that I am looking forward to the opportunity.  I'll be working on a set list over the next few days. 

Shadows and Light

 

Murphy and I were outside first thing this morning.  He was chattering at a quail that was sitting on the wall...

 He figured out that he wasn't going to be able to jump up at the quail before it could fly off.  But, they stared at each other for a while.

Next, the furry boy in the light and shadows...

 

Then, in the sun and looking under the gate...

 That's part of the "morning routine" I sometimes mention: it's our "guy time" out in the courtyard.

 

Together On Scoots...

 

It's been a while since Joan and I got out together on our scoots.  I've ridden, she's ridden, just couldn't make the scheduling work for both of us to get out at the same time.  Yesterday was a treat: fun ride, gorgeous weather.  I grabbed a 360 camera at the last minute to get some video of the occasion.  Once home and the video edited, I added a voice over, comparing and contrasting Joan's Yamaha Xmax 300 and my Suzuki Burgman 200..

 And, a few stills from the ride...

 

A Fluke...

 

If you said, "A fluke is the two lobed horizontal tail fin used by whales for propulsion," you are technically correct.  It's not music or movie trivia, so no bonus points.  If you said, "An accidental, lucky, or unexpected occurrence that happens by luck rather than skill," you are on-topic for today's post.

Murphy sometimes comes to my chair, stands on his back legs, and wants to play.  Last night he did that... I held up my hand and said, "Give me five," and he smacked his paw (no claws out) on the palm of my hand.  Joan saw it - no photo, but you can trust that it actually happened: verification by spousal unit will hold up in a court of law.  That is a legal fact that I just made up.

We were both delighted with that fluke.  Murphy is not trained to "give me five."  But I will carry that moment in my mind and heart for a very long time.

 Little Stella is not left out of this heart felt stuff: she has gotten very good at giving me nose-to-nose bumps.  It's pretty darn sweet.  Murphy will jump up on the arm of my chair and give me head-bumps on my shoulder.  This is a fairly new thing, but he has done it enough that I know it isn't a fluke.  It gives me hope that he may one day gravitate to head-bumps on my jaw... that was a thing Rufus did for me daily, and I miss it.  I know they are all different, and they show their love and connection in different ways.

Stella is different with Joan: she will climb up on her and lay her head against Joan's neck or chest.  Joan will pick up Murphy and give him hugs and kisses - he pretends like he doesn't like that.  ;-)

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After Murphy got his morning outdoor time, he settled on the chair we put in front of the patio door so he can look out.  Stella joined him...

 I think it is cute when they sit together.  Sometimes that will turn into a wrestling match.  Today, Stella started grooming Murphy...

Check out the difference in those tails.

 

Shhhhh - Sleeping...

 

I like having some kind of sound while I'm sleeping: a podcast, sleep music, white noise, the TV.  Over the years, I have used a variety of headbands with speakers built into them - I get the sounds, Joan doesn't hear it.  Last year, I tried some SoundCore A20 sleepbuds...

 I have used these off and on over the last 18 months, occasionally alternating with one of the headbands with the built-in speakers.  This week, these sleepbuds crapped out: the battery life dropped to about 4 hours, and one of the earbud came apart.  I superglued it back together, and now it won't charge.  Yeah, out of warranty.  I need to come up with something.

But wait!  SoundCore has a newer model: the A30 Special.  And you can buy a 2 year warranty.  Because, as Joan said: "I don't think any of these things you have bought have held up more than a year."  That's based on a bunch of the headband things over the years.

I generally like to listen to spoken word, as in a podcast.  If I listen to music while trying to sleep, I find myself "groovin' to the music."  I can't use the TV because of the light.  So, I pull up stuff on my iPad Mini and blue tooth that to the sleepbuds or headband. 

For the record, this isn't a new thing for me.  When I was a kid, I had a clock radio (remember those?) that I would have on overnight.  Without some noise, I can hear my own heartbeat at night.

Joan just placed an order for me on Amazon.  Back to the old-school headband tonight.

 

Liftoff!

 

A little late with the Artemis 2 stuff, Jim?  No, this was for a SpaceX launch to put some more Starlink satellites into low orbit.  The launch was scheduled for last night.  We kept an eye on it online.  Launching out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the bearing of any particular flight might take it where those of us in Phoenix can see it as it flies over.  Generally, 1 to 5 minutes after launch.  Yes, it is moving right along after launch.

Keeping an eye on the launch online...

 A Falcon 9 rocket; while cool to see it go over, these flights to put more Starlink satellites into low orbit have become almost routine.  We stepped outside right after the launch, and... nothing.

After 5 minutes, Joan went back inside to check her iPad; came out and reported, "It already landed."  That would be the booster that separates and comes back to land on a platform in the Pacific.  The trajectory on this one was more south than southeast, so not visible in Phoenix.

Here's what it sometimes looks like (photo from an earlier launch) when we can see it...