The force is strong with this one...

Yes, I could be talking about Rufus.  I watched him figure out how to open a pocket door this morning.  You could see the thought process at work, before he made his move.

But, this is about something that made me chuckle this morning.  As part of the getting ready to receive company effort, I took the CR-V to the car wash.  On the way back, the lighted info sign before getting on the causeway read:

Even Baby Yoda

uses a car seat.

Be safe, you shall.

 

Two in a row!

I don't want to jinx things, but the weather is looking good for the next week or so.  Before Al Gore invented "climate change," we had a lot of great weather this time of year.

Today was one of those great weather days.  I got a very pleasant bicycle ride in this morning while Joan did our Christmas grocery shopping.  Lovely to be outside with a sweatshirt.

When Joan got back, she was ready for some scooter riding - I did not have to be talked into it!  I got the scoots out and helmet communicators on and ready before she came out... part of her "scooter valet service."

I was anxious to try out the BMW jacket that hasn't been worn for about 8 or 9 years...

Joan asked about the current scooter tag in that game, and we decided to make a stop in Laguna Vista to grab it.  Then, my new "tag": your scooter with a gazebo...

A couple other photos with some water (the Laguna Madre) in the background...

Yes, I am really enjoying that jacket once again; it stops the wind, but has vents that are controllable to keep you cool as needed.  Good armor and comfortable to wear.  I have even learned how to work that "European zipper" that zips on the wrong side.

We did some highway riding, with no destination, just enjoying the day; an unusual day (for here) with no wind.  The windmill farm was still.  On the way towards home, Joan asked if I'd be OK with a change of chow plans: instead of going home and cooking, "How would you feel about  burgers on the island?  You said you wanted to get some photos on the causeway, right?"  Not like I needed any convincing for that.  The water looked beautiful as we crossed our bridge - the view from the causeway should be even more photogenic.

Barely a ripple on the water, and looking gorgeous while reflecting that clear blue sky.  As for lunch...

There are a lot of places on SPI to get a good burger - this place is my favorite.

Back home, there was a bit more to do before calling it a day.  We picked up mail: suit bags that Joan ordered for storing the motorcycle jacket "collection."  Joan worked on those while I got the cover off the boat... if time allows, I thought I might take the boat for a short outing.

Time didn't allow.  While I was scrubbing the waterline of the boat (never-ending when the boat is in the water but not getting a lot of use), our next door neighbor asked, "Hey, Jim, can I borrow one of your kayaks?"

"Sure."  He was going to put a fish light in the water a bit off his dock.  I set him up with our sit-in Pelican kayak; while he was carrying it from our dock to his, I thought to ask, "Have you used a kayak before?"

"No, but it's not that hard, right?"

"Um, maybe we should give you a hand..."

Joan told him to empty his pockets before getting in the kayak... "Really?"  Yeah, really.

I went to get him a paddle; he said, "I'm not going far - I don't think I'll need a paddle."

"Well, that is going to be fun watching you try to get back to the dock."  I'm helpful that way.  ;-)

Joan and I held the kayak against his dock while he lowered himself in... "It's kinda tippy - are they always like that?"

"Keep yourself centered in it and use the paddle to help with your balance."

It took about 10 minutes for him to move about 5 or 6 feet.  Joan and I continued to hold onto lines.  His wife lowered the light to Joan and she passed it out to him.  He plunked it in the water.  We helped him back to the dock.  Joan said, "Why don't you hand onto the kayak until tomorrow, in case you want to move that light."  I suggested he might want to take the kayak for a relaxing early morning paddle.

He wife said, "Two chance of that: slim and none."

About that time, I got a call from my friend John, the boat dealer we bought our first boat from a couple decades ago.  We have stayed friends ever since.  I didn't take the boat out, but sat on it while I visited with John.  Always nice to catch up with my friend.

A fine day in the Tropical Tip.

----------

When we topped off tanks today, Joan got 84mpg with the Xmax, I was at 80mpg with the Vespa. Probably had something to do with the no-wind conditions... I like it!

Oh, what a beautiful morning...

OMG, now he's going to do show tunes??

No.

After a couple days of rain, it was nice to see sunshine this morning.  Cool and clear, very little wind.  And, glorious sunshine.  I got my morning bike ride in, but my lungs were feeling a bit frostbit... well, it was 60º, but I did feel the burn.  I could blame it on how hard I was working out, but I don't want to get back on Santa's Naughty List for fibbing.

Joan made us a nice breakfast... something hardy to take on the day.  She also had a plan: work on the cargo trailer.  Well, not the cargo trailer itself, but the stuff in it.  Since getting her new scoot, we had to rearrange how we put the scoots in it, and there is some modification needed now on the chock on "my side" of the trailer.  The part of the chock on the back of the front tire doesn't fit, since I set up that side when we had two PCXes.  We measured twice... maybe three times... then drilled.

Yes, it all came together.  Joan arranged things in the trailer... I stayed out of the way.  Well, one of us had to go check mail, since we haven't done that for a few days.  Her scoot was out of the trailer, so it only made sense... damn, that is a nice scoot!

The last of the sprucing up of some of the leather stuff...

Looks like we're having a yard sale, but no.

And later on this second shortest day since the Solstice, looking down our canal...

Yeah, it's a beautiful evening, too.

The Solstice...

No, not a Pontiac 2-seater that isn't made anymore, because Pontiac doesn't exist anymore.  In case you didn't get the memo, today is the Winter Solstice.  After today, the daylight hours will be increasing again... oh, a couple minutes a day, but we're headed the right direction.

Some folks mistakenly call this "the shortest day of the year."  It isn't - all the days of the year have 24 hours.  It's the amount of sunlight and darkness that varies as the Earth's orbit allows the exposure  (angle) to the sun to vary throughout the year.  In a predictable kinda way.

Some call it "the start of the solar year."  Celebrations dating back thousands of years (Yule in Pagan) abound.  I don't discuss religion or politics here (well, I have voice my general disdain for most politicians), but this is can certainly be a time for new beginnings.

I wish you all the best!

Vintage...

Not referencing myself, thanks for asking.

On our last trip to the storage unit, Joan pulled out a bin and a large duffle bag full of motorcycle gear.  We used to do long-distance motorcycle touring... really haven't done that since... the turn of the century.  (that phrase makes a guy feel really old)  On, we rode, but the bikes got smaller, moving from a full-dress Harley to a sport touring BMW, and to an adventure-touring V-Strom.

And, when it got painful for me to toss a leg over that V-Strom, at Joan's suggestion (and it was a really good suggestion), we moved on to the scooters.  The PCXes were great scoots for us, as long as we didn't feel the need to do much in the way of highway riding.  They stayed around 6 years, second only to that last Harley in how long we kept a bike.  As of right now, we are both very content with the scoots we have: her Xmax and my Vespa suit our riding.  Adding up the miles we've ridden since I got the Vespa last year, we rode more in the past two years than we did in the previous 10.

Riding gear goes along with the style of riding you do.  We had matching Hein Gerrike leather coats on our last Goldwing.  Switched to heavier Willie G, leather coats with the last Harley.  We didn't toss those coats... they went into a closet, then when we moved south, they got moved into a storage unit.  While going through things this last week, Joan pulled out various leather jackets, chaps, gloves, and other assorted riding gear.  Today, she went through it all, putting leather conditioner on the jackets, and brought me several pair of leather gloves... "Do you want to keep these?"

Oh, nice Bob Allen shooting gloves, a pair of elk-skin ropers that work great on a motorcycle, and these fingerless Harley gloves...

That's a pair that I won't wear again... seems that my taste in protective gear has changed over the years.  ;-)  The other gloves will get recycled for use on the scoot.

Those Willie G. jackets I mentioned...

That's Joan above wearing the jacket and holding a pair of leather pants and matching vest; me below with the jacket that matches hers and holding leather chaps...

I am guessing there will be some eBaying in our future.  It might be hard for me to give up that jacket, though - it feels like it was made for me.  Weighs a ton, though.  The last time I recall wearing that jacket...

It can handle whatever weather you throw at it.  Well, except perhaps heat.  In the day, we had lighter leather coats with zippered vents to allow airflow for those hot days.  Yes, Joan has those jackets in the sprucing up process, too.  She is working on all this out on the deck (where we took the photos) - covered, so out of the rain, but keeps the smell of the leather conditioner outside, and plenty of room to spread out all the gear.

Almost makes me want to get a bigger bike again.  Almost.  That heavy Harley jacket would be serious over-kill on the Vespa.

It's a rainy day in the Tropical Tip.  I'm not riding anything on two wheels today.  But, Joan did come across rain gear while going through the stuff - she said, "It looks like new."  No doubt... I didn't like riding in the rain back then, either.  ;-)

Joan said, "When you're ready to sell some of this stuff, just remember: it isn't old, it's vintage."

Rufie...

Not to be confused with roofie, the date rape drug.

Sometimes I call my big furry boy "Ruf"... or "Rufie"... but mostly "Rufus."  And, when he's in trouble, which is almost never - Rufus Murphy.  You know you're in trouble when your middle name gets used.

Joan had a plan.  Oh, I should state that we are still trying to get Rufus to allow us to trim his nether regions.  He does not like anyone to touch his nether regions.  We still have the cat "happy pills" that we got from the vet.  Joan's plan: give him half a pill before I feed him this morning.  I cuddled him in, put the "pill shooter" we got from Amazon in his mount, launched the pill in, and... he spit it back out.

I put the pill back in the pill shooter, put him on his tower, opened his jaws, and he clenched them tight.  It took both hands to open his mouth, but that left no more hands for the pill shooter.  The scuffle must have awakened Joan, because she got out of bed to give me a hand.  With her holding him, my prying open his jaw, him moving his head back and forth, I managed to get the pill shooter in his mouth, launched the pill, and... he spit it out again.

Joan said, "Get him a drink of water - the pill probably tastes bad."  If you haven't tried, you don't just "pour water into a cat's mouth - that would be like water-boarding him.  If you put him down so he can get a drink on his own, you have lost the advantage of holding him so you can continue to try to shove a "happy pill" in him.  I picked the pill out of his glorious mane, put it back in the pill shooter, put it in his mouth, and... he swallowed it.

With a fair bit of theatrics, that would have you believe he thinks you poisoned him.  With that out of the way, I gave him a small bit of his breakfast... I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to shove a paw down his throat to make himself yak the pill back up.  With that food down, I gave him the rest of his breakfast.

Then, we watched.

The vet said it might take a couple hours for him to get drowsy.  An hour and a half in, I got out my guitar and quietly played for him while he stretched out in the big chair.  Joan brought the nail clippers and got one nail done before Rufus said, "Enough, you puny humans!"  She opened his legs to check on the matting, and he raised his paw, ready to strike.  In a sleepy sorta way.  He wasn't fast, but he wasn't giving up the fight.  He closed his eyes, but one of them would open any time you came near him.

The vet did say we could give him the second half of the pill after two hours, but I have this fear of over-dosing him.  Plus, do not confuse drowsy with lack of power... the furry boy remains strong and defiant: "You shall not touch my nether regions!"  No idea why he gets that Super-Villain voice when defending his nether regions, but it is effective.  We may have to call in a Super-Hero.

His nether regions remain untouched. 

If Stan Lee were still alive, I'd pitch him the story of SuperBlonde vs the dreaded Dingleberry Feline.  Rufus sees it from a different perspective: CatMan vs the Nether Region Predator.  In either scenario, I am the announcer: "Tune in again for next week's adventure..."

The photo above is after the effects of the happy pill wore off.  Still a happy, photogenic boy.

Nuisance...

What you are to Joan?  That's not funny.  Well, it's a little funny, but harsh.  Well, it's a little funny and harsh, but occasionally true.

This, refers to Mother Nature.  Again.  I was pleasantly surprised this morning when the forecast rain hadn't appeared.  I was able to get my morning bike ride in.  You could feel the moisture in the air, and when I got back home, the water in the canal that had been smooth as glass when I left now had small "dimples" in it from the light rain.

Joan had washed my BMW jacket, and I struggled with putting the armor back in it this morning.  Yes, I remembered what went where, even figured out that there is a right and left to the shoulder armor, but it was a lot of work getting the armor to fit back into the net pockets that hold it in place.

There was some discussion about other motorcycle jackets we have in storage, and a decision was made to make another run to the storage unit... to bring in some leather jackets and see how they spruce up with some applications of leather conditioner.

The pavement was wet when we went to the car, but not went enough to wash away any grub left from the wind we had earlier this week.  Yeah, it was more of a nuisance.  Driving to the storage unit, even the slowest intermittent setting on the wipers was more than needed.  Not much in the way of useful moisture.

Heading into Harlingen, the roads were jam-packed with cars.  I was going to stop at Sam's to gas up the CR-V... the lines at the pumps made me wonder if they were giving away gas for free.  At $2.11, it was a bit less than other stations nearby, but not enough to make me want to wait in line.

We had lunch at Chick-fil-A; the parking lot was packed.  There was one table left after we ordered.  Unlike the drivers in the parking lot, people were polite with the crowd in the restaurant.  At the nearby Walmart, the crowds were even crazier... Joan went inside, I gassed up the car.  It took me nearly 5 minutes to go the 200 yards from the store to the gas station.  And, of course, since I was outside gassing up, the rain came down a bit more; still not much to talk about.

This nuisance rain is supposed to stick around for another day.  But, while Steph and Dan are here, it is supposed to be dry and pleasant, with temps in the 70s.  We'll see.