Red Robin...

If you said, "Yummm," you get 25 bonus points.

We spent some time with Steph and Dan today - they had new furniture delivered this morning and were anxious for us to see it.  No photo, but the couch and chairs look great and are comfortable (the latter being my main criteria for furniture).

Dan worked on a flame design that Joan can use on her guitar quilt project.  Steph and I entertained ourselves with cats.  The new boy, Tango, if fitting right in.  He could not be more different from the big cats, but he doesn't seem to know that.  It is fun to watch the two boys play together... Steph would throw a toy, Alfie would bring it back part way, then Tango would pick it up and bring it back to Steph, so she could throw it again.  I wish I had that kind of energy - of the cats, not Steph; her part of throwing it didn't take much effort at all.  Except for the excited, "Good boy, Tango!" when he brought the toy back each time.

Steph said she wanted a photo of him.  When he was about wore out, he sat on Joan's lap... just long enough for me to get this photo...

Definitely has that red-head spirit.

For lunch, we did go to Red Robin.  Yes, it was "Yummm!"

Wanna run 'em?

Joan went to Cindy's again today, leaving Rufus and me on our own.  I had a small project I wanted to get done in the motorhome (a curved piece of trim came partially undone), and I knew I would need several clamps.  I have plenty at home, but all I had with me on this trip are too small.  I took the scoot to Harbor Freight.  Traffic on the secondary road was thick.  Might be because there is a NASCAR event this weekend, and it is on this end of town... the locals know to stay off I-10.

I made my way to Harbor Freight, got 20% off my less than $10 purchase, and headed back to the scoot.  As I was getting my helmet out of the top case, I heard a voice behind me: "How fast will that thing go?"

"Faster than I care to ride it," I replied.  The guy told me he had a Burgman 650 and said, "It sure looks like your Vespa would be more fun to ride in town."

He was surprised when I told him I have had it to 75mph (GPS speed, not speedometer)... "You could maybe get 80 out of it, if you were patient and didn't have a headwind.  But 65 is really comfortable.  I run 70 if I need to stay with the flow of traffic, but that isn't its strong suit."

He just couldn't imagine this 250 Vespa could go 75mph.  "Yeah, it surprised me, too," I told him.  His Burgman is a very capable road bike, easily capable of topping 100mph.  I don't have a reason to be going that speed.  I think the Vespa gave him something to thing about.

It took a while to get out of the parking lot, due to the traffic.  But, once on the secondary road going west, there wasn't much traffic.  At a red light, a jacked up black pickup pulled alongside me in the next lane (we were both first in line).  When the light turned green, I left him behind.  He caught up fast on the 45mph road, and we were both first at the next light.  He wasn't going to be left behind this time.  He got on it hard... and I still pulled away from him, up to the speed limit.  He turned off at the next light.

I got back to the coach, glued and clamped my project.  Rufus and I went outside, but he wasn't interested in a walk, so we sat in the patio chairs for a while.

The highpoint of my afternoon was meeting Steph and Dan for an early supper - after the long week, they got off around 3:30 and are officially on spring break!  It was good to see them - I haven't been around anyone for a week, and I have missed these two.

After supper, we went back to their house, where we watched their 3 cats interacting.  New kid Tango is really taken with his (much) bigger brother, Alfie.  The young one has a lot of spunk, but Alfie is patient with him.  To a point.  It was especially cute watching them eat out of the same bowl.

We made plans for taking in a ball game on Sunday.  There will be something together later in the week, because someone has a birthday.  I'm not mentioning her name... or age.  But, I can't believe I have a kid that old!  ;-)

Back to livin' life!

When it warms up...

... it's time for new coats!  Think I have that backwards?  Well, the prices get better as the temperature rises.  It was over 80º here today.  And the first time we have been out on scoots together in over a week.

No destination.  A discussion of a stop at Cycle Gear came up.  Sure!  It's a pleasant ride on secondary roads up to the Surprise area.  No, we weren't surprised about going there - it's the name of that city (another of the many co-joined cities that make up the greater Phoenix area).

Cycle Gear is kinda like the motorcycle equivalence of West Marine.  Well, with better prices.  Joan found a mesh jacket she likes, and I have to say it looks good on her.  She has had the pink jacket for years, and it is a bit of a boxy fit; this new jacket is nicely tapered.  This new one is black, with blue and gray trim.

Then, she found me a jacket with a liner that is black and hi-vis green.  I wasn't even looking for one, but she presented such a logical endorsement for the jacket that I couldn't refuse.  No, I wasn't trying hard to refuse.  It is not as cool looking as the jacket she got, but... hi-vis.

My jacket was already on sale.  The young man who was helping us gave us a good price on her jacket... because I asked.  Cycle Gear has been good about that in the past.

Outside...

It was warm enough that you could get by without a jacket.  Too warm for that hi-vis of mine, but I was already wearing a mesh jacket.  Joan tried on her new one...

From there, it was off for a late lunch at a Chinese restaurant.  Tasty.  Then to a Joann's Fabric Superstore.  No, the store was not wearing a cape... I don't know how you can be Super anything without a cape.  But, I digress.  Just a few small things she wanted to pick up.  I got some fabric cut for her while she shopped around.  The lady waiting on me said, "You're a good husband."  I thought that was a super thing for her to say.  ;-)

Then, off to Steph and Dan's to give their cats an early feeding, since they both have to work late at school (conferences).  I have to say we were pretty popular with the felines...

The new boy is on the left.  He is a LOT smaller than the two "big cats."  (We alternate with saying "big cats" and "fancy cats," since they are both Siberian Forest Cats.)  Whatever breed Tango is, I don't think he can eat enough to grow to their size.  But, he is a sweet boy.  You can't see his face in this photo, but the shape is more angular... and with his coloring, he looks a bit like a fox.  Yeah, Tango Foxtrot... no Whiskey.  ;-)

Alone again, naturally...

If you said, "Gilbert O'Sullivan, 1972," you get 200 bonus points.  If you said, "She left you alone again, didn't she?" you get 10 bonus points.

Joan and Cindy did a fabric and sewing machine shopping day.  Well, mostly looking.  So, no update on the projects, but it sounds like they enjoyed the outing.

I took Rufus for a short walk (short was his idea), then I took my scoot out.  Lunch out at Five Guys (I like it, Joan doesn't, so it makes a good solo outing).  Then, a jaunt to Guitar Center... I don't know why I can't find someone who actually knows their product and wants to sell it.  Even with that, I didn't breathe on anyone.  ;-)

I meandered my way back home.  Rode through a housing development that had a multitude of small lakes (ponds) and some spraying fountains at the entrance.  It felt good to be out on the scoot.

Back home, I wanted to try a wireless guitar connection I had ordered.  With my amp and all the connecting stuff at Mark's, I was able to give it a try with the Spire Studio and some head-phones.  Yep, it works.  It will eliminate the cord from the guitar to the amp/mixer/PA/Spire.  One less thing to trip over.

I was trying this outside - it is a lovely day here in the desert: mid-70s, almost no wind, humidity 33% (that is high for here, good for me).  Rufus joined me out on the patio...

Rufus is a good audience.

It's alive!

If you said, "It's what Colin Clive (playing the part of Dr Frankenstein) said in the movie 'Frankenstein', 1931," you get 300 bonus points.  If you further said, "Boris Karloff played the part of the monster," you get an additional 150 bonus points.  If you said, "You, getting over your cold," you only get 3 bonus points for partial credit.

Joan did some running without me, and I took Rufus outside where we both mostly sat in patio chairs.  It didn't take as much hacking this morning to clear my lungs, and I only went through 40 to 50 Kleenex, as opposed to 12 boxes yesterday.  I may be exaggerating: it was probably 60 Kleenex today.

But, with enough over-the-counter cold stuff in me, I was ready for an outing.  Without a cough or a sniffle, I made it through lunch, then we took some food to go to leave something for Steph and Dan (we know they have a tough week, with parent conferences, prior to their spring break next week).

After setting off the alarm (I usually do the alarm stuff), scaring the cats, and taking a call from the alarm company (No, we don't need assistance.  Yes, just an error in pressing buttons.  Yes, we know the code word.), I sat down to soothe the cats while Joan took care of other stuff.  The new young fellow, Tango, was quite anxious for some human attention...

Yes, I am the cat whisperer.

Persevering without me...

I thought about titling this post: She left me.  But, really, it was a mutual decision.

Joan left my sick butt at home today - she went to work on her quilt with Cindy.  We thought it was best that I not be out and about, breathing on anyone.  And with the current hysteria about the Corona Virus, anyone with a cough or the sniffles is suspect.  I don't need to spend 2 weeks in quarantine because I have a cold.  I am, however, being careful.

Today may have been pivotal: this is the first day in the last four where I haven't felt worse.  In fact, while Joan was out, I took a decent walk.  Yes, outside.  I came home and took Rufus for a walk; mostly around the site.  Then, I got a guitar out (first time since last Wednesday) and made some music for Rufus out under our awning.

On the quilting front, Joan now has all the guitars and accessories sewn down and is ready to start putting quilting texture in the background.  No update photos, but it is looking good (she brought it home today).

Since she hasn't worked with Cindy until today, Joan has been putting together her next project, a close-up view of... a cat (what else?).  This is the first "positioning" of it, with nothing stitched down...

Pretty cool, huh?  This is much smaller than the guitar project, which is life-size.

All about the snot...

So much snot.  Again, it is my fault: yesterday, I said, "Well, at least I don't have snot flowing like crazy."  Seriously, I have to stop talking.  Every time I say, "Well, at least I don't...", it happens.

Let me categorically state here: well, at least I haven't won the Powerball Lottery.  Yeah, that probably won't work this time.

With all the media frenzy about the Corona Virus, it isn't a good time to have a cold.  OK, there is no good time to have a cold.  As of this morning, I have gone through 14 boxes of Kleenex.  I almost can't pull them out fast enough.  I switched over to letting my nose run into a bucket.  I dug a hole to pour the bucket into.  I made the hole 6 feet deep, about as big around as a Volkswagen bug.  It's full.  I'm starting another hole.  I over-heard the neighbors saying something about a crazy serial killer.  No idea what they're talking about.  I have to dig faster - the snot is over ankle deep already.  It's a bit of a perpetual snot machine: working in the sun makes the snot flow faster.  So, I have that going for me.

What?  I'm exaggerating?  I told you a million times that I don't exaggerate.

It's a lot of snot.