The Pitter-Patter of Little Feet...

 

The band?  No, that's Little Feat - this is feet.  Four of them.  No, we did not get another feline.

Steph and Dan were gone overnight - they made a run to California to pick up another Guide Dog for the Blind puppy.  I have been kitty-sitting (and feeding) while they were gone.  All good here on the home front.

I got a text from Steph today with the Check In app, telling me that they would be home around 4:35.

Joan and I went out for lunch around 1:30, in between kitty feeding - our two and their three are on different schedules.  And sure enough, right at 4:25 I got the "we have arrived home" notice.

As I went into their house from the side door, Steph was coming in from the front door... with a bundle wrapped in a towel.  "Can you hold her?  I have to use the bathroom.  Right now!"

When Steph came out, she unwrapped the puppy to show me.  Yep, she is puppy cute.  "Now, the puppy needs to pee."  Unfortunately, a heavy rain broke out just as Steph was coming in the door.  So, she had to wait for a bit for the rain to pass before taking the new puppy outside.  Dan took over...

 Cute, huh?  The puppy.  Some would call Dan ruggedly handsome rather than cute.  But, I digress.  The puppy's name is Natalia.  She is going to be called Natty (I may be spelling that wrong).  Another puppy raiser is going to take her for a couple months to get her trained enough that Steph and Dan can take her to work; Steph will have that raiser's puppy (Vinnie) during that time.

My kitty-sitting is done - I am off the clock now.

--------

Earlier today, I got some good guitar time in.  Working in my music room, I tried out several different effects pedals with the new guitar.  Two hours went by quickly.  Still in the "honeymoon phase" with the guitar and the new amp.

 

Kids These Days...

 

In all the history of mankind, people have always thought the younger generation was essentially doomed.  This is not a rant on kids, but an observation.  And... kitties.

Stella is 14 months old.  In "human years," that makes her a teenager.  Murphy, on the other hand, is the equivalence of late 20s (coming up on 4 years old).  There is a difference in activity levels.  Before we got Stella, we could see that Murphy was "playing" less.  Maturing.  I was happy that he was beyond that kitten stage.

Enter Stella at 5 months old, and we are back to the beginning of the kitten stage.  Truly, Stella's "kitten energy" has been good for Murphy.

Yesterday, Joan brought in one of Murphy's old toys from the garage.  It is a "fuzzball on a wire" that spins around randomly.  Murphy loved that toy.  Until (months later) he got tired of it.  We'd put it away, then bring it out after a while and he would play with it again.  Until he got tired of it.  Again.

Murphy was less enthralled with it this time, but Stella was intrigued.  She quickly discovered how much fun it is.  Stella is good with keeping herself entertained with toys, but this one spins and bobs.  Even better!

This morning, Stella was playing with the toy while Murphy laid in the new-ish scratcher toy...

 You can see that "kids these days" look on Murphy's face... the boy has good facial expressions.  "Give it a rest, Stella - this is nappy time."

And when Stella is done with the toy, she will still try to get a rise out of Murph...

 It is fun to see the interaction between these two.

 

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. 

--------

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.

 --------

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.