Day 4 - Cajun Seafood Boil / The Caffeinated Cow

 

Song:  Rocket Man

Artist:  Elton John

This song just matched my lightheartedness of today...

especially after having eaten my meal...

and enjoyed the fun loving woman at the Caffeinated Cow.

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At about noon...

I took my sister to Peak View for their live performance day...

and for her to enjoy a meal there.

Just before arriving at Peak View restaurant in Woodland Park.

The performer.

The guitarist played softly as we ate.

We had BBQ Brisket Spring Rolls as a starter.

I then got the Cajun Seafood Boil for us to share.

We finished off the remainder on our second plateful.

I was so glad I tried this dish.

The spices were so tasty...

and I enjoyed everything on the platter.

I will take my elder sister and her husband there once they arrive.

The meal was so satisfying.

I am so glad we have Cajun seafood right in Woodland Park.

Whenever I feel like Cajun food...

I know just where to go in the future.

So...so good.

We then attempted to go to an art fair at Garden of the Gods.

However...

once we arrived...

they weren't allowing any more people in due to lightning in the area.

The winds were picking up...

and it had started to rain.

So...

we left for a specialty coffee and dessert place in town.

When I had first seen this listed as a possibility...

I knew it would be a fun place to go.

The name was just so unique.

The whole of the shop was a Mom and Pop store...

and once in...

I had seen that it was a family run operation.

They had stuck to the theme of cows throughout...

and even more fun was the Mom.

She had stayed in character...

for when she received a tip...

she rang a cow bell...

and then mooed!  :)

I could tell this woman loved what she did...

and that she poured her creative talent and passion into her establishment.

I love to see this...

the amount of pride she took in her shop.

I especially loved her moos...

she was just so funny.

She just belted them out without hesitation or embarrassment.

 Her playfulness was only matched by her friendliness and warm and genuine smile.

She was just a fun loving woman...

and it was her personality that...

I believe...

had drawn in her customers...

besides having outrageously good Ice Cream and Coffee.

My sister and I had a good time there...

as it was such a fun atmosphere.

The above pictures were in the bathroom.

On the way home...

I laughed periodically as I kept remembering the owner's face as she mooed.

As we neared home...

the skies began to clear until...

...the skies became beautiful once again.

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The sad news is that my sister's number one property choice had gone into contract 

with someone else this morning.

It was the perfect home for my sister...

but...

there are other possibles for her to see in a couple of days.

3rd Day - Property Scouting / Attempted Deck Repair

Song:  One More Rainy Day

Group:  Deep Purple

Today...

I took my sister to look at the outside of a prime home for sale 

just a few miles away from my home...

and in my community.

It is an absolutely beautiful piece of property 

and an even more beautiful home.

I hope she gets it...

for it has everything she had been looking for.

We then drove to the community center where my sister asked some questions

about the POA...

and she took a short tour of the facility.

Our community center is such a great place for our mountain community.

It is now open 24/7...

including the swimming pool (which is kept heated to 82 F year round)...

the Finnish saunas...

the exercise room...

the library...

pool table and ping pong table...

and the shower facilities.

I then went to the Post Office in Cripple Creek after filling up there...

to pick up an extra large package.

Sometimes...

during storms...

the wind briefly gusts up and disturbs the deck carpeting.

I had bought these extra long carpet tacks to hopefully keep the carpet in place.

But...

today was also a bit windy.

After attempting to stretch out the carpet...

and then tack it down...

Once I had begun hammering in the tacks...

I realized that the tacks simply won't be able to do the job.

They had gone in too easily...

which means that they will come out too easily.

I will have to get far more aggressive with my tacking measures.

My sister helped me lay back the carpet...

but I won't be tacking it down with what I have available...

as you can see on the left side of the overlying carpet 

that when the wind blew back the carpets...

while most of the staples had pulled up from the deck...

some had held and the carpet itself had ripped.

And so...

I will have to get carpet transition strips...

which will prevent the wind from getting under the carpets

and lifting them off the deck.

And so...

with a week of intermittent snow or rain coming (just a few hours a day)...

hopefully they won't be accompanied by high winds.

I will be ordering heavy duty equipment before I re-attempt to tack down the carpets.

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Later this evening...

I will be making roast beef...

and then making beef Yakisoba for myself and my sister.

And with the leftovers...

I will make beef Tataki. 

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Late morning tomorrow...

I will be taking my sister to Peak View restaurant

for their live entertainment as my sister tries their food.

My Sister's Second Day

 

Song:  Pretty World

Group:  Sergio Mendez and Brasil 66'

I had started out the day by making Salmon Ochazuke 

for my sister and myself for a late morning meal.

I cannot impress this upon you enough...

this brand of Kimchi is the absolute best.

It is light on garlic...

but heavy on flavor with a lot of red pepper in the liquid surrounding 

the whole Napa cabbage.

I don't know how Kimchi can be made any better than this.

After our meal...

we relaxed for a while.

Then in the early afternoon...

I took my sister to Safeway for grocery shopping.

My sister wanted to make Beef Stew for us...

so I just had her pick up whatever ingredients she needed...

and I did some shopping at the same time.

My sister feeling all gangster  :)

These are the coolers I always have in the back of the car for when I go shopping.

We only filled up the smaller cooler and a couple of bags with groceries.

We were leaving the shopping parking lot here.

On our way home.

After a while...

I took my sister to Don Juan's Cocina.

They have the tastiest salsas there.

My sister and I shared the 6 taco combo.

They were so delicious.

I will take my elder sister and her husband there when they visit.

On the way home...

I drove to some properties my sister is interested in seeing later next week.

We didn't drive all the way to the properties...

but we got an idea as to the general areas.

We are going to take it easy for the next couple of days.

On Monday...

we are expecting some light snow.

There are some things I must accomplish before then.

I will probably work on those tomorrow.