A Mountain Top Sunset Singing Session

 

Song:  I'll Never Fall In Love Again

Artist:  Tom Jones

I was looking at YouTube in bed when this song had come up on my feed.

Tom Jones is one of the greatest vocalists of all time.

I remember my mother used to love watching his show in the mid 60s...

and I used to watch it with her.

I think this is one of his greatest songs.

And so...

just about when I started listening to his song...

I noticed the sun was beginning to set.

And so...

I changed into my cycling gear, grabbed Bandi...

and we headed out to view the sunset from atop our mountain.

On the way there...up atop the mountain as the sun set...

and all the way back...

I kept singing this song 

(okay...attempting to...and on many portions...I had to take it down an octave).

He has this fantastic resonance to his voice...

and his lower range...

I can halfway emulate...

and so...

I turned my mountain sunset trike ride into a singing lesson.

And...

this was only possible...

because for most of the route...

it is mostly just forest.

So...

my lack of vocal ability wouldn't bother anyone  :)

On many of the uphill stretches...

I had to hold off on my singing...

as I was getting too out of breath...

but...

as soon as the ground evened out...

and especially on the downhill stretches...

I could belt out my best Tom Jones rendition  :)

I was near the top when the sun was just near the horizon.

Singing to a beautiful sunset is so inspiring for me...

however...

had anyone been able to hear me...

I would have just been considered obnoxious  :)

The clouds above me were a soft pastel pink just as I was leaving for home.

Bandi and I on our way back.

We arrived at home...

whereupon Bandi went to her water container...

and then just lay on the floor in our bedroom.

Bandi is going to sleep so well tonight.

For me...

it is going to be a hot shower...

and then just looking at YouTube videos...

and perhaps watching more Korean Dramas until I get sleepy.

A Brief Hailstorm

 

Song:  Icescapes

Artist:  Annie Parker

I was taking a nap in the evening 

when I heard the sudden thumping of hail coming down...

and with intermittent thunder following.

As I keep my windows open for the country breeze...

the thunder was louder than what it would have been with the windows closed...

and so...

when I had awakened and did not see Bandi next to me...

I called out her name.

Bandi then emerged from the 2nd floor bathroom.

Whenever there is thunder...

she will often just lie down on the bathroom floor...

as it is relatively quite in there.

Although the hail storm only lasted about 20 or so minutes...

it quickly filled up my driveway and decks.

There was so much hail in such a short time that it looked like snow had fallen.

The street, driveways, and decks were just loaded with those pellets of ice.

As I looked through my windows at the falling hail...

Bandi accompanied me and sniffed the air

as she looked out at the hail with curiosity.

She and I had been caught out in the middle of a hail storm once before

during a trike ride/run to the top of the mountain and back.

I am sure she remembers it...

and so...

she must have been looking at the falling hail with relief 

that she was not outside in the storm.

As I am typing up this article...

just half an hour after the cessation of the hail storm...

you can see how quickly the skies here clear up after brief storms.

I just took this photo from my computer chair out the left side alcove window.

This is one of the many things I love about where I live.

Overall...

the weather here is very mild...

from season to season.

We average over 300 days of sunny and/or partly cloudy days...

every year.

The storms are generally short lived...

and the temperature....

even in Summer...

is cool and mild...

and in Winter...

the air becomes crisp and invigorating.

It is so important to pick your final retirement location

for the climate as well as for the many other concerns.

My home...

is located in a paradise...

a place which rewards me everyday.

This is so important...

as the vast majority of your time will be spent at home.

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.

-----------

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.