All I want in the whole world...

 

Damn, Jim, are you trying to get another guitar?

I may have used that line at some time in the past.  ;-)

While Joan and I were at lunch, I asked her, "Do you know what I'd like more than anything else in the whole world?"

"Do tell."

Remember after we first got Rufus, and I went to lay down for a nap... and that little boy (he was kind of little at the time) laid by me on the bed?"

"Of course, I remember that - I took one of my favorite photos of it."

 

Then she said, "There will never be another Rufus."

"I don't doubt that," I said "but I hope this new girl will come to be snuggly."

When we finished lunch, we walked back to Discount Tire to pick up our Equinox (it needed two new Tire Pressure Sensor Monitors), then drove home.

Murphy had been a bit of a pill, stalking Stella more than usual.  He was getting a "time out" in our bedroom.  I was chillin' in my easy chair, when Joan came to me, holding Stella: "Wanna hold her for a while?"

"More than anything."

She handed her to me.  Stella wriggled a bit; Joan suggested holding her more on her back, and...

 She is so tiny.  I just want to protect her.  I am also realistic.  That first photo in this post was about the first week after adopting Rufus.  He was estimated to be about 2 years old at the time.  Little Stella is just barely 5 months old (estimated)... maybe in time she will come to be that snuggly.  For now, I am happy to be able to hold her.  The timing has to be right.

 

I Tried...

 

After yesterday morning's success in picking up the new furry kid, I expected more of the same today.  I would be wrong... hissing and growling when I reached in there this morning.  Something different everyday.

Murphy wound up in "time out" after causing Stella to have a hissy fit.  I know the boy is just playing.  I think she is "baiting" Murph: rolling around looking all sweet... then Murphy gets close... and she flips around, ears flat, and a spitty hiss.  Then Murphy is in trouble with his Momma.  Pretty sure I see Stella snickering afterwards.

They can be close to each other with no problem...

 Cute, huh?  Until: "Mom - he's picking on me!"

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I couldn't take it...

 

What now, Jim?  Thanks for asking.

When I got up this morning, the house was quiet.  Murphy walked with me out of the bedroom, after our morning ritual: I sit up on the side of the bed and the big boy comes up to sit beside me for some pets.

Murphy is not a hugger.  I am.  He will sit right beside you and loves to be petted.  But, he is not a fan of being on you - not in your lap or snuggling on your chest when you're laying down.  I miss that, but we respect his wants, too.

I am hoping that, in time, Stella will want snuggles.

When I came out into the living room, Stella is in the catio (where she sleeps at night), laying sleepily on the cushy pad in there.  I opened the upper door on the catio and reached in to pet her.  When we first brought her home, she was very skittish about being petted - she has warmed up to that, raising her head to meet your hand.

This morning, I decided to go for it: after petting her I put my hand around her and lifted her out.  There was a little growl, but she didn't try to get out of my grasp.  I walked with her in my arms and she relaxed.  When I sat down, she stiffened up again and I let her hop down.  This is the first either of us had picked her up without a small kitty blanket around her.

This is big step.  Part of my slow, patient plan to get her to like snuggles.  This is a new process for us.

Playtime is a big part of her day - she is totally digging all the cat toys...

 

One On One...

 

Are we talking about the cats again?  Hey, it isn't all about the cats, although we all know that the internet exists so people can look at cat photos and videos when they should be working.  But, I digress.

There were a couple songs that are heavy on guitar parts that Mark and I wanted to work on (Sultans of Swing and Ramblin' Man).  For a bit of history, Mark and I used to play Ramblin' Man back in the 70s.

One other fun bit: Mark and I went out for lunch.  When the other guys are there, it is easier to take turns bringing pizza (or some other lunch treat) than to take 4 to 7 of us out somewhere.  

Back to the music...

 Taken in Mark's studio; photo by Cindy.

Joan stayed home to kitty-sit.  I was told that Murphy and Stella both took a nap that lasted most of the afternoon.  Some days are filled with "zoomies and crazies" - you never know.

 

You probably want to see that cute face, huh?

 

Mine?  No, that makes it here more than enough.  Of course, I am talking about the new kid, Stella...

 Such a cute little face.  Yes, I am biased.  Just like I think Murph is a very smart and handsome boy.  Stella isn't too sure about Murphy, yet.  He is very curious about her and will get quite close to check her out.  She will let out a hiss and a growl if she feels he is crowding her.  We have to remind him on occasion to "Give her some space."

In the grand scheme of things, it has been less than two weeks, and I think things are going well.  Of course it would make my heart soar like an eagle if she would hop up in my lap and snuggle in... but she is learning that we can be trusted.  What I read says that may take a couple months.  

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This morning, while Murphy and I were out before sunrise, we were treated to this view in the eastern sky...

 That color only lasts a few minutes.  Timing.  On the bright side, sunrise doesn't happen until 7:30 or so, and closer to 8:00 before we see the sun get up above South Mountain.

 

An "X" Kinda Day...

 

Out on the new e-bike yesterday; that bike is a Lectric XP4 750.  The "750" part is the 750 watt rear hub motor.  That is over twice the power of my previous e-bike, but that doesn't translate into faster.  Class 2 e-bikes are "limited" to 20 mph on throttle.  This motor and battery combination will give me about twice the range of the other bike.  Also not really significant, since I don't ever ride 70 miles in one ride; but it does mean less frequent charging.

The other "X" part of that ride: I shot video with the Insta360 X4 camera and the HoverAir X1 Pro drone.  The X4 was the main camera, with the X1 Pro drone used on Follow Mode for one part of the ride; giving a different perspective.

I didn't go into the video with a specific plan or topic... so, the topics wandered from showing the bike path to talking about Caesar Chavez Park, talking about the bike, and discussing a bit of living in Laveen (a suburb of Phoenix).  With edit and cuts, it turned into a 23 minute video.

When shooting video for content, audio plays a big part; I didn't use a wireless mic on this video.  The built-in mic on the X4 camera did a decent job.  I can't use it that way on the motorcycle or scooter due to the wind noise... and the fact that the camera is mounted further away from me.  On this e-bike, the camera is about 2 feet from my head, putting the mic closer to my voice.

The take-away: it works on the e-bike.  I enjoy shooting video when out and about, but processing and loading the 360 video takes a lot of time.  I was able to get that editing done while binge-watching a streaming series yesterday and last night... so, it wasn't hours of just working on the video.

Here's the end result...

 Only one "oops": the direction from us of Gilbert/Chandler for shopping - it's east, not west.

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If that bike ride left you nodding off, here's some cat photos...

 Murphy taking the high ground, Stella below.  They both like looking out that door to the patio.  The chair has been Murphy's place, the reason for that pad on there.  After a short time, Murph moved to the floor...

 I don't think it is intentional (most of the time), but I'm sure his size is intimidating.  When Murph moved to couch, Stella got her first shot at "the Murphy chair"...

 Stella got some lap time today.  Not her favorite thing, but we're working on it.  She doesn't know she is going to be a snugly kitty, yet.  She has made it to this point in her life without snuggles.  We're building trust, not rushing her.  

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Last light of the day...

While outside with Murphy, I took in this sunset over the Estrella Mountains to the west of us...

 The dark area in the lower left is the descending foothills of South Mountain; the Estrellas are running through the center area of the image, right below the bright area in the center.

 

The Wolf Moon...

 

The first full moon of 2026 is also a Super Moon.  

It’s thought that January’s Full Moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time.  It was traditionally believed that wolves howled due to hunger during winter, but we know today that isn’t accurate.

Howling and other wolf vocalizations are heard in the wintertime to locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, define territory, and coordinate hunting.

The full moon will be at its peak at 3:03 am Phoenix time (Mountain Standard Time) on Saturday morning; so, it will appear full Friday night and Saturday night. 

Another fitting name for this Full Moon is the Center Moon.  Used by the Assiniboine people of the Northern Great Plains, it refers to the idea that this Moon roughly marks the middle of the cold season.  Other traditional names for the January Moon emphasize the harsh coldness of the season: Cold Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Moon (Cree), Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin), and Severe Moon (Dakota). Hard Moon (Dakota) highlights the phenomenon of the fallen snow developing a hard crust.  

All of these names should lead you to "colder than a Minnesota well-diggers gizzard."  It was 65º when I went out to get the photos.  In shirtsleeves. 

It was a bit of a challenge getting the shot.  Here's my final take...

 There is a thin hazy cloud layer.  Not enough to obscure the moon, but enough to fake out the autofocus on my hot-shit whiz-bang mirrorless camera.  The first few images were out of focus.  No problem - I used to be a professional: I switched the camera to manual focus.  The moon is pretty much "infinity" away.  The camera and lens didn't like that.  It didn't help that there was a contrail (from a passing jet) that left a streak across the moon...

I got that shot above reasonably sharp by moving the moon outside the focus area that was set in the camera.  But, using a normal technique resulted in soft images.  Then, I took the camera off "continuous focus" (where the camera is always trying to get the subject in focus) and set it for "single shot focus"... that was the solution with this odd thin cloud layer situation.  But - I got the shot.