Mom Liked You Best...

 

If you said, "The Smothers Brothers, and specifically Tommy Smothers, you get 15 bonus points."

If you said, "Who are the Smothers Brothers?" get off my lawn, ya damn whippersnapper.

This is really more about who Stella likes best.  In order of her favorites:
1. Joan
2. Murphy
3. Me

Stella sits on Joan's lap frequently.  Joan has said that it is the position on the couch and the pillow that Stella likes to sit on.  I tried that today...

 

 Pretty sweet, huh?  No, not just me - Stella, too.  She sat there on my lap for over a half hour.  It was kind of a big deal for me.  I can't speak for her.

She really is a sweet little thing. 

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Reminiscing...

If you said, "A Little River Band song, 1978," you get 10 bonus points.  Joan has been doing some rearranging in the garage.  We bought a Rubbermade type cabinet when we moved here, and it does not like the heat; in combination with some heavy stuff we put in there.  So, she bought a metal cabinet.  She also used the garage as a work area when she was recovering (well, stripping and sanding) the Fishman Loudbox amp.  The scoots and motorcycle have seen little use since the heat really kicked in.

All this said, stuff gets moved around.  Some stuff has to go.  We filled up the cargo area and back seat of the Equinox, and I made a run to Goodwill.]

When I got back, Joan asked if we any butane.  "Yes, there is a container that I used on a line burner when I was driving commercial boats"... that gave her some idea of where to look.  She wanted the butane to fill a "clicker" (fire starter) - we had a nice one from the Leisure Travel Van we had (2002 - 2008).  She brought out the bag with the butane and asked if I'd fill the LTV clicker.  I couldn't find a port on it (the opening where you add the butane (under pressure).

I mentioned the last time I used the line burner.  For those not in the know, you use a line burner to get a sealed cut on lines (our use: on boats) so the ends don't fray.  It is hot and it goes through thick line better than a sharp knife.  The last time: we were working at the whale watch company and the owner brought a cake for one of the other captains for his birthday.  Nobody there smoked, so no one had matches or a lighter for the candles on the cake.  I had the line burner in my bag (along with other potentially needed items on a boat)... a bit of overkill - like using a small flame thrower.  But, it worked.

The old Boy Scout motto: "Be prepared."  ;-) 

 

Practice Makes...

 

Perfect?  Not even close.

The next gig for the Hip Replacements is coming up September 27th.  The four of us haven't been together since June... summer traveling.  Mark is gone right now and won't be back until after the 22nd.  I think we are all anxious to get in a rehearsal before the gig.

We'll see how that plays out.

With the other group (the Brothers MIM), it is a matter of travel schedules and working around geezer medical stuff.  With all of us of "a certain age," stuff comes up.

"Golden Years"... my ass.

In the meantime, I have been getting in daily guitar time with the new guitar and amp.  And with the newly redone Fishman Loudbox amp, I have plenty of good options.  I have an A/B/Y pedal that I want to try with these two amps - the A/B/Y will allow me to feed a guitar into either of those amps or both at the same time.  Odds are pretty good I will only use it that way in my home studio... because I don't want to haul both amps out for gigs or rehearsals.

 

 

Ride, Captain, Ride...

 

If you said, "On your mystery ship... by the band Blues Image, 1970," you get 15 bonus points.  If you were wondering what conveyance, I'm going to tell you: out on the Lectric ebike this morning.

I haven't ridden in a while - I pulled something in my lower back last week, and it has been a pain in the (just above) the butt.  Ibuprofen and as little bending over or lifting as I could get away with.  It felt better this morning; not "normal" (whatever that is), but I was hoping I could ride without irritating my back any further.

Turns out: no worse on the back pain.  And, it felt good to get out there and move around.  As always, it is going to be another hot one today - a high of 109º predicted.  86º when I first got up, but by the time I did pills, got cats fed, and took Murphy outside, it was 91º.

Off I go...

 Hardly anyone out and about; they must be back to work after the holiday weekend.  I did my somewhat usual routing that takes me through the park (above) and through a couple neighborhoods around ours.

I got my heart rate and breathing up; a good ride.  Not as "entertaining" as taking out one of the motorized 2-wheel  conveyances, but good to get out.

 

The Rig...

 

This photo shows the amp and 2 guitars that I will be using for playing out...

 The Emerald Virtuo on the left, PRS SE Studio Standard on the right.  The new Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb Blonde amp - sounds great with either of these guitars.

And, for those keeping track, the newly recovered Fishman Loudbox Mini (bottom) and another acoustic amp (top).  The Fishman is smaller, but as the name implies, it can get louder.  And sounds richer.  A variety of acoustic/electric guitars to go with these amps.

 

Big Sweet Face...

 

Well, Murphy would be inclined to say, "big tough boy," but he can certainly be sweet.  I took this image this morning while he and I were out on the patio...

 My phone has 3 lenses - this was about the maximum magnification before the image would fall apart.  I like to get photos of fur babies with a longer focal length to give them some separation from the background; not what a phone camera does best.

"Did you have one of your sun glasses with a camera on?"  Yes, I did and thanks for asking.  That would be far worse for capturing an image like this - the camera in my glasses is like a typical action camera: very wide angle.  Good for capturing an overall scene in a candid manner, but not the right tool to get a close up.

I took this photo a few days ago when Joan and I were out for lunch...

 Sitting just across the table from her, you can really see how wide angle the lens is.  Oh, and the pizza was really good (Spinato's).  That's a sweet face, but not big; just right.

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Out and about today; a bit of shopping, then lunch at Abuelo's...

 Upscale Mexican.  When we got home, we brought in a bag from the shoe store - Stella was ecstatic...

 "This is the best surprise, ever!  Thank you for thinking of me!"  She is grateful for her life with our family.  We are grateful to have both of these kitties in the family.

 

Sweet Little Face...

 

Me?  Aw, shucks, you're embarrassing me.  Of course, I am not talking about me.  This post is about sweet little Stella...

 I caught her in a rare moment of stillness, lit by the light coming through the patio door.  That little face leaves me all mushy.  Yeah, I may have to turn in my man-card.  She is just a delight.  Oh, there are times when we have to tell her to "not pick on your brother."  Murphy is really pretty patient with her, but I don't think he realizes his size and strength compared to her.

Stella is playful and snuggly.  She loves attention from her people.  She spends a lot of time on Joan's lap and in her arms.  And plenty of time playing with her brother.  She can entertain herself just fine, too.

She and Murphy are family. 

Concert Video...

 

I had some time to get the video from the Styx/Chicago concert downloaded.  I have to admit that the sound balance for Chicago wasn't as bad on the video as it seemed in person.  See if you hear a difference between the sound on these bands...

 These concert videos are pretty easy to edit and get posted, especially when compared to shooting 360 video from a scooter or motorcycle.  Both make for good memories, but that less than 5 minute video I shot on the scoot on Monday took me a couple hours to edit, download, put into a video editor on my laptop, then add a voice over.  Whereas that 27 minute concert video took me less than an hour, including the time to download the video clips from my phone to my laptop.

That said, I am glad to have both.

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Speaking of both - here's a shot of Murphy grooming Stella...

 It's really kinda sweet when they do this for each other... especially when it doesn't devolve into a chomp.

And, a look at my handsome boy with some nice light coming through the window...

  Because who doesn't like cat content?  :-)