Rockin' Out On A Country Drive

 

Song:  Detroit Rock City

Group:  KISS

Today...

I just did some light shopping...

and rocked out to an oldie...

but very goodie.

On my drive...

the temperature was about 60 F (15 C)...

and so...

as I earlier had a cup of coffee...

and was quite a bit hyped up...

I rocked out to the above song...

the whole way to get something to eat...

 to shop at Safeway...

and then all the way back.

Just after exiting my mountain ridge...

more cows were just lazily grazing.

Before shopping...

I stopped in at Savelli's for a hot Italian Sandwich and a slice of pizza.

I then stopped in at Safeway on the way home to do some light shopping.

(near home)

As I am very sensitive to caffeine...

just one cup of coffee jazzes me up for many hours.

As I drove with all of my windows down...

 with the cool breeze blowing my hair wildly...

I just rocked out to the above song...

while I dorkily played air guitar, drums, and bass guitar...

and half screaming wildly to the lyrics

(I can't really call it singing...as I simply can't sing  :)

On today's country drive...

I was a hyped up mad man on caffeine and rockin' down the highway...

and loving every moment.

The beat was maddening...

and I just had to flow to the music...

as being alone on a country drive with the windows down and with the music up...

to me...

is complete freedom.

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I had been waiting for hair clipper guards for my hair clipper...

and I received them today in the mail.

I cut my own hair...

and as it has been a couple of years since I had cut it...

and as I am starting to look like a mad mountain man

(I get strange looks wherever I go...

people just stare at me...especially when I go out to eat)...

I decided I will cut my hair tomorrow using a 3" guard.

Except during my high school years...

my hair had always been relatively short until I retired...

and now...

I just feel so free with my hair long...

but by cutting it back to just 3" long...

I can still feel free without looking like a Sasquatch  :)

I had already trimmed my beard back some.

Although I will always have the (slightly mad) mountain man inside me...

I don't have to always look like one  :)

A Passport, Tacos, and a BLT

 

Song:  Guitar Man

Group:  Bread

I had received my Birth Certificate a few days ago

(submit your request directly to the county of your birth...

and it will just be a matter of a few days for you to receive it...

and at a fraction of the cost of a private company submitting it for you

and where it takes them a couple of months to get your birth certificate to you).

Today...

I went to a local Post Office to submit my documents for a Passport.

I was on my way to the Divide Post Office for my Passport request.

I was just a short ways from home and part way down my mountain ridge.

I was almost to the town of Divide.

The Divide Post Office.

The whole passport process was very quick and painless...

and I will be receiving my new passport in a few weeks.

It was just on a walk in basis (every Thursday)...

I didn't even need an appointment

(although you could make one).

After leaving the Post Office...

I went just 10 minutes farther to the town of Woodland Park.

I had a craving for a BLT...

and I wanted to try a new restaurant for one.

Tava House...

is a combination high end restaurant on the upper floor...

and a bar with smaller meals on the lower floor.

I went to the lower restaurant as that is where they had the BLTs.

I saw they also had tacos...

so...

I just had to try them as well.

One thing I hate about upper end restaurants...

they tend to give high quality...

but in low quantities.

I could have eaten a dozen of these tacos...

but...

OMG...

were they so good.

They used prime, juicy, and uber tender...

what tasted like...

high quality Filet Mignon...

and everything else went so well with it.

They come on two shells...

one hard...

so you could eat them like tostadas...

or you could use the very soft flour tortilla on the bottom for a taco.

I just ate them like tostadas...

and then ate the flour tortillas as an accompaniment.

As the tacos were just an appetizer for me...

I also got a BLT.

It was also very good...

and...

the sweet potato fries were also a treat.

I sat near one of the windows which ran the entire width of the restaurant...

and this was my view as I ate.

What a delightful place to eat.

On my way home...

going back through the town of Divide...

I stopped in at this little roadside eatery which had ice cream and shakes.

I got an espresso shake for the rest of the drive home.

I was feeling good...

as my wife is presently booking our flights to Japan...

and I got my passport on its way...

and as it turns out...

my old passport expired anyway...

so...

especially as we are going to travel to many places throughout the world

in the near future...

I needed a new one for the coming years of adventures.

-----------

This was today's project...

and so...

I think I will just relax...

and watch more of my Korean Drama.

A lazy day...

well earned  :)

A Light Day / Snacks And A Korean Drama

 

Song:  No Direction (main theme to One Spring Night)

Artist:  Rachael Yamagata

I started out late morning with a craving for tacos once again.

I decided to eat the below package I had gotten from 

Cripple Creek Market.

These were also so good.

For today's light project...

I had earlier spilled some epoxy on the tiles in the great room...

and so...

I first spread on this solvent and let it sit for an hour.

I then used this scrubber to get all of the epoxy off the floor...

that I could see.

I then sprayed on general purpose cleaner over the area...

and wiped it up.

I will wait until I have the morning sun directly beaming on the area 

to ensure I had gotten everything up.

For the rest of the evening...

I decided I would just watch a Korean Drama

(One Spring Night)...

and eat some snacks.

I don't usually eat sweets or chips...

but for movie night...

I splurge.

My favorite popcorn so far.

It fully pops in 1.5 minutes.

I have been buying many types of popcorn to test to see which one I favor...

as once I set up downstairs as a movie theater...

I will keep a stock of it on hand downstairs for easy retrieval.

Bandi settled in for movie night on my bed.

I put on the drama...

and Bandi and I started out eating chips and dip.

After we finished the bag and dip...

we finished off two fruit pies.

As we were still hungry...

we then started out on the large bag of popcorn

(we ate about 1/3 of the bag before finally filling up).

I greatly love Korean and Japanese dramas.

'One Spring Night' is on Netflix...

and like almost all of the Korean and Japanese dramas...

they are just so entertaining and heart warming...

that once you start one...

you just have to binge watch it until you are done.

-------------

Today was just a lazy day for me.

I am still awaiting my Birth Certificate...

so I may then apply for my passport.

My wife and I have been in contact via texting...

as she is planning our destinations and tours while in Japan.

I am as of yet...

undecided as to what tomorrow's project will be...

I usually just go by how I am feeling in the morning.

Summer Clean-up / Steak Fajita Tacos

 

Song:  Take Me Home

Artist:  Phil Collins

For Today's Project...

I gathered together 13 large garbage bags of things from my moving boxes

I know I won't need here (I hate clutter)...

as well as some packaging from some deliveries I unpacked today...

and an old printer which stopped synching with my computer

(I cannot stand things upon which I cannot depend)...

and a couple of other items that were just cluttering up my room.

I threw away the trash bags into our community garbage collection point

at the community center...

and I threw away the printer at the Cripple Creek trash transfer station.

As I had done a bit more today than I had planned...

I treated myself to some tacos at The District.

I, again...

just sat at the bar as the tables were full.

This time I tried the steak fajita tacos.

They are tied for first with the BBQ brisket tacos.

These were so good.

Their Southwestern sauce and the grilled peppers really add so much flavor to these tacos.

On the way home...

I stopped in at the Cripple Creek market.

I saw these tacos which you make at home.

I am looking forward to eating them in a couple of days.

--------------

I have many...many projects lined up to do...

but as with everything in my life...

I just take it a little at a time...

all on Toller time.

An Italian Restaurant For A Lifetime

 

Song:  A Pillow Of Winds

Group:  Pink Floyd

As I had completed my window project a few hours earlier...

I decided to treat myself to a restaurant.

I played this song over and over...

as this beautiful day just made me so mellow

as I drove to Manitou Springs to satisfy a craving I had for Italian food.

I decided to try a new place...

and I was very glad I had.

Just after exiting my mountain ridge...

this small fox was just standing on the roadside...

cute.

I drove with all of the windows down...

 as I normally do...

but...

for some reason...

the summer breeze just felt extra serene today.

I just played the above song over and over as I let it take me away.

What a beautiful day.

What a beautiful drive.

This particular Italian restaurant is just 10 minutes up the highway

from my other favorite Italian restaurant...

except this one is more rustic and inexpensive.

The other Italian restaurant has my favorite Italian dish

(Shrimp and Scallop Fettuccini)...

while this one doesn't.

I will be going to this restaurant for Chicken Parmesan...

Pizza...

and I've got to try their hot Italian sandwiches in the future.

I love this place.

They have one of my favorite appetizers...

battered mushrooms with Ranch dip.

This meal of Chicken Parmesan had two large chicken breasts...

spaghetti...

and two bread sticks.

It was so good...

and it was served in a man sized portion.

I also just had to try a slice of their cheese pizza...

which was absolutely fantastic

(I will be trying some of their many toppings in the future).

This pizza had everything going for it...perfect:

crust...

sauce...

and cheese.

Everything was in perfect proportion...

and the spices used made this one of the best pizzas I have ever had.

From now on...

whenever I want a perfect pizza...

I will be going there.

I now have two excellent Italian restaurants to return to...

for the rest of my life.

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I took the above picture from my computer station in my bedroom.

The sun was just setting as I began typing up this article.

-------------

A little while ago...

a quick thunder shower rolled in...

with hail.

And although it had only lasted half an hour or so...

it was still so nice...

as the air suddenly dropped in temperature...

and the wind picked up.

I just lay on my bed and enjoyed the pitter patter of the hail and raindrops.

-----------

Today was such a mellow day...

and everything just seemed to be in the flow.

Tomorrow...

I will start another project...

but nothing too heavy...

or extensive.

I will just keep things light for a while...

as my back is still not fully healed.