Rehearsal...

 

I have music with the Hips today.  We didn't get together last week (I felt the need for some "time off"), and we have a gig this weekend: two hours at an Italian restaurant.  The proposed set list for this one has changed a bunch of times already.  I have gone with the flow with the changes, but I think we'll need to have a discussion today about this gig.

It isn't a Hips Replacement concert, it is something the restaurant owner is trying to see if it generates more customers on a weekend afternoon.  I'm thinking we'll need to be at a lower than usual volume so those dining can still talk.  I may be a party of one on that consideration.  On the bright side, I don't think we'll need "heavy" front of house sound.  I'll see what the other guys have to say about that.  Mark and Podge have been to this place; I am supposed to check out the venue after practice today.

When I get home from that, there is an HOA board meeting, starting at 6:00 pm.  I am pleased that I don't have to plan my day around that.  If I'm a little late in getting to the Zoom meeting, it's all good. 

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Synchronized Dining...

Nothing to do with the gig this weekend.  Of course, I'm talking about the reason we're all here: the kitties...

 Breakfast a bit earlier than usual, because I was up at 5:30.  These two know the routine: it takes me a while to get their food ready; 3 different kinds of hard food (the bowl on the left), water in the middle, soft food on the right.  A bigger water dish between them.  If you look at those dishes above, they had each eaten some of their hard; then moved to their soft.  Pretty much in unison.  When they've each had their fill of their own, they switch places to see if the other had anything tasty.  Stella is still getting kitten food for the most part.  Every once in a while, I will put the same soft food in each of their dishes... and, yes, they will still do that switching thing.

After Murphy and I come back inside from his morning outing, they both know it is treat time: Churu, that they get together.  Then some grooming.  And then, nap time.  I think we all appreciate the routine.

 

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News...

 

If you said, "Robert Palmer, 1979," you get 15 bonus points.

I had a doctor appointment today.  I had a couple specific things I wanted to visit about with him.  But, the main thrust of the visit: he is leaving this office.  He couldn't tell me any details (contractual agreement).  I am good with the Google.  I can find him.

He and I have a good relationship and very open communications.  He does not recommend unnecessary tests (an issue I had with my last doctor in Texas).  I was happy to find him.

The appointment came about because a friend (not mentioning any names here) felt I was having cognitive issues.  I listened.  I considered.  He was basing this "medical diagnosis" (practicing medicine without a license) on his own flawed perceptions.  I'm not saying he was "projecting," but he changed the story and details on a project we were working on, not filling me in on those changes.  Turns out, I had things in writing from him that corroborated my side of the story.

Still, I kept the appointment.  As I (and my family) expected, my memory and cognitive function is all just fine.  I not only recalled the words they gave me, then discussed other things before asking me to state the words (I understand why they do that) - I also told them the words they gave me 2 1/2 years ago on my first visit to this medical office; they do a cognitive test with all new patients since this is a "senior" medical facility.  (They know how to take care of seniors here in Phoenix.)  Hopefully, this "friend" will visit his doctor to find out how his cognitive function rates.

Am I pissed about the reason I made the appointment?  Of course.  That said, knowing the doctor was leaving this practice, I did want to visit with him before he leaves.  It also gave me the opportunity to get some prescriptions refills added before we get away this summer.

And that's the extent of my medical discussion... HIPPA rules and all.  ;-) 

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A hot time in the old town tonight...

108º for a high temp today.  Yep, that's hot.  Murphy doesn't understand why he can't go outside right before his 5:00 meal... "Because it is hot and it will burn your paw pads."

 He is wistfully waiting to go outside... as soon as the sun gets behind the horizon and the pavers cool down.

 

Free Water and a Belly...

 

Joan orders from Amazon Fresh regularly.  Same day (or early the next day, if you order in the evening) delivery.  This time of year, anything that needs to stay cool is put in a foil lined bag, with one or more bottles of frozen water in there to keep your item cool...

 Two boxes of butter, with 5 bottles of frozen water to keep the butter cool.  We never have to buy bottled water... and here in Arizona, everybody carries a bottle of water this time of year.

"OK, I get the whole 'free water' thing, Jim - you aren't going to show us your Buddha belly are you?"  Buddha belly?  I'll have you know I am almost svelt these days.  No, this belly is attached to a cute baby kitty...

 To be fair, when we brought this little girl into our home, she was underweight.  Baby kitties should have some belly on them.  It has taken 5 months to get to this point.  Well, closer to 4 1/2 months, but I'm rounding up... just like little Stella.  This sweet kitty is thriving.

She is almost 10 months old; she has been with us about half of her life.  She is at that adolescent stage - Joan thinks her ears are a bit big for her head.  That's typical of adolescent cats.  Cool thing about the ears: I think the shape of them makes her look a bit like a small African wild cat... and, the tips of her ears now have black fur (sprouted in the last week or so)...

 Stella and I were talking this morning.  She said, "Murphy and I look like you and Mom, right."

"Yes, I see that," I told her.

"That girl that picks me up everytime she comes into our house - she calls you 'Mom & Dad'."

"Yes, that is Stephanie."

"She doesn't look like us," Stella said.

"Your point?"

"Is she adopted?"

"Your Momma birthed her, so: no.  Plus, everyone says she acts like her Father.  That's me.  It's nice that you treat her like family," I said.

"She seems nice."

Stella is pretty perceptive for her young age.   ;-)

 

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Steph came over this morning, bearing cards and gifts.  A lot of mushy stuff between them.  No recognition for the part I played in Joan becoming a Mother.  Not that it should be all about me, but, really, they could not have done this without me.  Well, not with the same results.

You're welcome.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there, and to those we hold dear in our memories.

 

Shoot! Shoot!

 

No, we're not going hunting.  No target shooting, either.  This is about the feline babies.

Murphy and Stella were sharing a bar stool pulled up to the patio door - looking out into the courtyard.  Back in our studio days, I would call it a perfect double profile.  I reached for my phone to get the photo.  Joan said, "You aren't going to be fast enough."

Self-fulfilling prophesy.

Also back in our studio days, the mantra was: "Get the shot."  If you pause to make it perfect, you could lose the shot that was really good.  Especially when working with kids or animals.

Of course, Joan was right: by the time I got my phone turned on, switched to the camera, and rotated myself around to frame the shot, the two kitties were no longer in perfect position...

 They had both turned their heads (to see what I was doing), Murphy leaned back just enough to not be seen, and Stella had her tongue out.  Yeah, pretty much like photographing kids in the studio.  If "double teaming" the subjects, with one person doing the set up and the other on the camera, there was often the "Shoot!  Shoot!" being whispered.  Which would, of course, result in the subject looking at the person saying, Shoot!  Shoot!"  ;-)

That self-fulfilling prophesy was as expected.  Not only did the cats not look back out the window, but Murphy started licking Stella.  Joan said, "That's going to turn into a chomp..."

 Yep.  Which resulted in the latest episode of Saturday Morning Smackdown.  And now Stella is laying by Joan on the couch and Murphy has the chair to himself.  One of these days, I will get that perfect double profile.  They do it at least once a day... never when I have a camera ready to go.

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The Facebook Memory from 10 years ago today...

 That X7 was my first Emerald and changed how I consider guitars, both acoustic and electric.  That X7 is a keeper (they don't make that size/shape anymore).

 

Still Rock 'n Roll To Me...

 

If you said, "Billy Joel, 1980, from the album Glass Houses," you get 20 bonus points.

I had music today with my "local" guys.  Well, 3 of us are within 5 minutes of where we get together, the other 3 come from the east Valley.  It's been a month or so since we got together last.  I enjoy getting together with these guys - the music isn't particularly my style (mostly 70s to 90s rock with a harder edge), but everyone has a good sense of humor, and we all know we're here to have some fun playing music.

No, we don't play any Billy Joel songs.  Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zep, Allman Brothers, The Cars, Alice Cooper, Clapton... that genre is generally on the set list.  

Allan shot a short video today; I grabbed these as stills...

 

A file photo from the last time we played out...

 

Nothing Americana or easy listening about this repertoire.  Getting together twice a month or so is enough to take care of my inner band rat.

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And speaking of playing out, the Hip Replacements are playing a week from Sunday at a restaurant in Glendale (Arrowhead area)...

 Podge is doing some Facebook marketing.

 

Foot Pedal...

I have a cajon.  "Great," you say, "What's a cajon?"  Thanks for asking.  It is a wooden box, used as a percussion instrument.  There are various types of cajons, with most of them having areas you hit that sound like a bass drum and/or a snare drum.  If space is tight and the sound volume isn't loud, a cajon is a good option.  It works for us in the Hip Replacements.

The cajon Ron was playing Saturday night is mine.  (Ron added the hi-hat cymbals.)  I bought it years ago, after getting together with Mark and friends when we were in Phoenix for a couple months during the winter - 6 or 7 guitar players is about 4 or 5 more than necessary, so I thought some percussion would add to the jam.  After Joan and I left for the season, Mark bought one just like mine so those getting together would still have some percussion options. 

Why not just get a more typical drum set?  Thanks again for asking.  Typical drums are loud.  To "keep up" with the drum volume, our guitar, bass, and vocal volume would have to go up.  This limits where we can play out.  This cajon of mine has a built-in pickup so it can be plugged into the PA or an amp if it needs more volume.  Also, typical drums take up more space and take time to set up and tear down.  Plus, Ron being the one doing most of the percussion, doesn't want to be locked into only playing percussion; he also plays guitar and mandolin.  No interest in investing in a typical drum set.

Ron plays with his hands on the cajon.  I generally use brushes made for the cajon.  You get a bass sound by striking lower on the cajon - that means bending over.  That means a potential back ache when playing for any length of time.  I decided to add a foot pedal to the cajon to get the bass sound, eliminating the bending over.  I used the money I made from Saturday's gig to get the pedal - yes, "re-investing."  It's a musician thing to make sure you never come out ahead on money made from gigging.  ;-)

 It attaches under the cajon and you operate it by using your foot (toes or heel) - step down, the beater hits the cajon.  Just like a foot pedal on a bass drum.  The pedal came in yesterday; Ron still has my cajon, so it will be a while before I can try it out.  If I add a small snare drum to the kit...

Yeah, that gear thing is ever-expanding. 

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Joan and I made a trip downtown (where Ron lives) to pick up the cajon.  Lunch out, then back home to try the pedal...

 I made a few adjustments to the pedal (for fit and sound) - works and sounds good.  Next, I wanted to try putting a wrap on one brush, to give the sound a bit more snap...

 Yep, that adds to the sound, too.  I sent a photo to Ron to show him what I was working on.  He is not a fan of the brushes because they don't project like it does when using your hands.  I explained to him in biblical terms the solution...

Man said, "God, my cajon needs more projection."

God said, "Let there be a pickup."

Paul said, "And that is good."  So did Ringo. (rimshot... yes, another drum reference)

Each of these things adds to the percussion sound.  And that is good.  ;-)