End of September

Pets for Pets

Waiting for the vet to check his sniffles.

Earlier this month, in an effort to get our cat Joon to come out of hiding, we decided to get him a friend. Meet DaVinci, aka Leo. He's 4 months old and we got him at an adoption event for the humane society. They were having an event at a local car dealership. They paid for all the adoptions that day! His mom was a stray but he has no fear of humans and loves to cuddle. A few days after we got him, he did develop the sniffles, so we had to put him on antibiotics. Typical animal shelter upper respiratory infection.


Even though we got him to keep Joon company, he's taken to hanging out with the dogs. Baxter, our Chihuahua, decided that a kitten was fun to play with, so Leo has learned how to play like a dog! Zoe tries to play with them, too, but Baxter seems to think that Leo is only allowed to play with him, so he chases Zoe away to have Leo all to himself. Leo does hang out with Joon a bit, and Joon has become more social now that we have brought another cat into the household, but Leo is more like a puppy than a kitten! If you watch this video, you'll see what I mean.

Scooting Around

In other news, I finally got the motorcycle up and running. When we got here, it was in need of a new battery, an oil change and a transmission fluid change. I didn't get around to it for a while because of the heat. I just couldn't imagine riding a motorcycle in 100 degree weather! Despite some setbacks, like not having the right tools and encountering a black widow that had built a web in the front forks, I got it done in a weekend.

Not mine, but pretty much what my Harley looks like.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to bring the Harley to Arizona because I don't ride it much. I'm not comfortable riding it to work because I have to change my pants, my shoes, etc. Also, helmet hair annoying. While I've been here, I've seen some people riding around on old-school scooters, like Vespas. Those would be so much better suited to riding around back and forth to work! Less heat to worry about coming from the engine and melting my pants (yes, it has happened to me!) Plus, since there is no braking or shifting to be done with the feet, I could wear work shoes.
 

What our new Leela looks like!

Since Susan also wants to be able to ride, we decided that getting a scooter would be great for both of us! She could learn on the scooter (because she doesn't have her license yet) and I could ride it to work (because most of my work doesn't require going on a highway.) Plus, we could ride around together, one on the scooter and one on the Harley. Not to mention the fuel economy and the savings on gas. So, we bought a little 125cc Sym Fiddle. I think it looks like a smiling cyclops, and since I'm a geek who watches Futurama, I decided to name her Leela! I ride her to work as often as I can and even cut my hair a little shorter to help avoid the helmet hair issue. Susan has gotten her permit and we've started to ride around together. So much fun!

Sneak Preview - Pin Collection

I've been collecting Hard Rock Cafe pins for years, and I've been able add to the collection as we made our way West. I decided to post some pictures of the pins and some details about when I got them. The pictures aren't be best because if you use flash, everything reflects, but without flash, they're a little dark.

My first ever Hard Rock pin. This is from approximately 2002. I had the opportunity to go to the Cayman Islands because my fiance at the time had an Aunt who lived there. We spent Christmas there with his Aunt, Uncle, parents, brother and brother's girlfriend. I got to scuba dive for the first time. It was also the first time I went outside of the country, except for Canada. Got a passport and everything!

Next time - more from the pin collection as well as news about my upcoming trip to San Antonio, Texas!