Pat and I went to the annual Denver Powwow a couple of weekends ago. You don't have to be Indian to go, everyone is welcome but yes, nearly everyone there is Indian. I've been to powwows before but not this one (although Pat has attended it several times). It was HUGE. There were thousands of dancers and drummers competing, from places as far flung as Saskatchewan. It was so cool! If you ever get a chance to go to a powwow, you should. It's a great experience.
Spotted while waiting in line at Michael's yesterday. This woman's hair was so pretty I had to get a picture.
I saw this gravestone in Fairview Cemetery on Thursday, as I was visiting the grave of a friend. This poor family lost four children at unbearably young ages, probably from entirely preventable illnesses. I can't imagine the pain. We do not have to go back to this. Vaccinate your children, I beg you.
I never knew we had a Guamanian barbecue restaurant here! Heck, I didn't even know there was such a thing as Guamanian barbecue! Since I'm a vegetarian it's pretty unlikely I'll ever eat there, but I happen to have a friend who's half Guamanian and I'm definitely going to point her at this place. I'm sure she'll love it.
I've been intrigued by this mural downtown for some time now, but only recently got a chance to take a picture of it. It's so cool.
This is my friend Jennifer, and I chose her for my style post today because of her awesome shirt! If you can't read it, it says, "A woman's place is in the resistance." Brava, Jenn! Great message! (Oh and her pitch black puffy jacket is great too!)
I live for lazy Sunday afternoons and a chance to walk my dog if the weather's nice! We hit up Monument Valley Park and I grabbed a shot of this stone lantern on the way back to the car.
On Sunday we once again cycled back into balmy weather after several days of cold and intermittent snow. This lady in Monument Valley Park was soaking up the sunshine and enjoying a brisk walk.
I was walking Frodo down our street a few days ago when this caught my eye. I couldn't figure out what it was until I leaned down to take a picture of it. It was a child sized toy ring. I left it where it was.
Here's my friend Paula modeling a skirt that I made for her from THESE old jeans and some fabric that she picked out. She looks good in it! I had planned on making this garment during my downtime after gallbladder surgery, but I was in a lot of pain so I had to postpone things -- I didn't get it finished until a couple of weeks ago. I've become a big fan of upcycling old clothes. This was a really easy project, so even if you're a beginner sewist you can easily make something like this.
A fairly small but very determined group of protestors convened at congressman Jeff Crank's office once again on Friday, myself included. I'd say about 15 to 20 us turned up in total, and they allowed five at a time to come inside and speak with the congressman's staff. Most of us brought letters addressing various causes of concern (for me, it was the US Postal Service, since Pat is a postal worker). We handed over our letters to the men who were running interference for the congressman -- supposedly Crank wasn't in the office, but I don't necessarily believe anything they told us -- and then went outside to carry on protesting. It was windy and chilly, but that didn't discourage anyone. As we stood on the corner of Pikes Peak and Colorado holding up our signs, we got many honks and waves of support from passing motorists. Next weekend there will be a protest in front of the post office in support of postal workers, and I don't care if it's five below zero and there's a damn tornado, I'll be there with bells on.
Spotted outside my dentist's office a few days ago, this car had some funny bumpers stickers on it but this one was the funniest. The intended audience? I think you know who you are, even if you don't want to admit it.
I was in the Fine Arts Center parking lot today taking pictures of my friend Paula modeling a skirt that I sewed for her, and this was a test shot for the lighting. This is just a small section of a very long mural that I've featured on the blog before. I noticed today that the whole mural suddenly looks brand new and the paint seems much brighter than the last time I was here, even though it's been there since the eighties. It must have been restored recently. Or maybe it's just my imagination. Oh and if you check back on Sunday night, you'll get to see the skirt, too.
Here's the charming logo for Poor Richard's, my favorite local restaurant going way back to my college years. I used to spend a lot of time here, but not as much nowadays since I'm always so busy! Still, whenever I go, it's like I'm home. Poor Richard's is not just a restaurant, it's a whole clutch of small enterprises all in a row. There's the restaurant, then there's Little Richard's (only the best toy store in Colorado!), Rico's Wine Bar, and Poor Richard's Books. All of them are interconnected so you can walk through from one to the other, and all are owned by the wonderful Richard Skorman. If you're ever in town, you should definitely stop here.
This is a restaurant I've been meaning to check out for ages, and still haven't done so. I've heard it's excellent and they have great vegetarian/vegan options. Yesterday, my friend JB and I had an impromptu late lunch at Bon Ton's, where Pat and I are regulars. As we left, we drove past colorful Monse's just a block away, and both of us thought darn, we could have had lunch there instead! Old habits are hard to break, I guess, and I do enjoy Bon Ton's! But next time, next time... Monse's, I swear I'm going to eat there soon!
Yet another pair of awesome Doc Martens. Theses were adorning the feet of a woman who works at Costco, and when I asked about them, she told me that she bought them in the 1990s. They have obviously held up well, and that's a testimony to how well made Doc Martens are. Function and style.
You could say that Academy Boulevard is the main drag here. It goes all the way from the very south end of town to the Air Force Academy. The middle section of Academy Boulevard, bounded by about Palmer Park Boulevard to the south and Constitution to the north, has been in a sort of depressing, half empty limbo for years now. Academy is six lanes wide, not including turn lanes, and this part of it has a large median separating the northbound and southbound lanes -- large enough for a strip mall, in fact, probably built sometime in the 1960s. Unfortunately the little strip mall has been almost entirely empty for some time now, although there was a watch repair shop and a hookah lounge that hung on for a few years even after the rest of it slowly became vacant. Up until about 10-12 years ago it was full and bustling, though. In the 1990s there was a place called Housing Helpers, where I worked for about a year. It was my first ever office job; before that I had only worked in retail and restaurants. There was also the aforementioned watch repair guy, a large chain record store where several of my friends worked over the years, the Yakitori restaurant where I ate lunch most days (it's long since been relocated to Austin Bluffs Parkway), a plus sized clothing consignment shop, and I think there was a least one insurance agent to round things out. But times change, and recently the little strip mall in the middle of Academy Boulevard was torn down. I believe yet another giant convenience store/gas station is going up in its place.
I don't have a fresh new shot for you today, so here's a summery moment from our front garden taken on June 25, 2021.
Today I stopped by Adventures in Mini Golf just to see if there was anything worth photographing. To my surprise they were open, though now that I've had a chance to look at their site, it does mention that their winter hours are based on a "play it by ear" system depending on the weather. Temperatures were in the mid fifties with a chilly breeze, which didn't deter the two patrons that I spied putting away on the other side of the fence. As for me, I stayed in the parking lot and grabbed a shot of good old Paul Bunyan. I couldn't resist -- he's so photogenic.
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my mom turned 89 last week and I took her to brunch at Patty Jewett Golf Course on Sunday to celebrate. It was pretty crowded but every seat there has a view, no matter what table you end up with. Check it out! Oh and everyone in the whole restaurant sang happy birthday to my mom, which was awesome, too. It made her day. 😊
Sunday again brought out the classic cars as it was yet another beautiful, balmy day. My mom turned 89 last week and I treated her to brunch at the Patty Jewett Clubhouse. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this awesome Buick Riviera on the way in. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess it's a 1970, and it looks all original (except for the paint color). Nice!
Just another pretty picture of You Know What. Pat bought me a Leica V-Lux 5 last year, and it has an astoundingly sharp lens. I've been using it almost exclusively for the blog ever since. I took this shot with the zoom maxed out at 400 mm (at f 8), with a little dog yanking at his leash and threatening to dislocate my arm, and look at the clarity. You can clearly see the visitors center at the summit.
Seen downtown last weekend. These folks emerged from the Odyssey Gastro Pub and I managed to get a shot before they disappeared down the street. I love the mix of textures in her outfit. And the fact that she's in black from head to toe. You can never go wrong with black.
I had to skip blogging yesterday, because I had a root canal in the afternoon and the painkiller they gave me for afterward knocked me out and caused some serious nausea. Let's just say that yesterday was all around miserable, except for this nice moment in Boulder Park before I headed to the dentist. It was a pretty day (over 60° F!) and I had taken Frodo for a quick walk. This dad and son were a cute duo.
