August 2026 Theme Day: Purple

The first day of a new month means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers, and this time the theme is purple. Since I'm sure you've seen enough purple flowers on this blog (ha!), I decided to find another subject for the theme. For as long as I can remember, this liquor store on Fillmore Street has been purple, although it seems to have faded to more of a pastel lavender in recent years.

For more depictions of purple by CDP bloggers everywhere, click HERE. Enjoy!

Who You Gonna Call?

I think you know the answer to that question! This Ghostbusters themed van can usually be found parked outside the Auto Zone on Nevada and Fillmore. Love it.

And now, for your listening pleasure...

Just kidding. I won't curse you with that ear worm. 😉

Long Live The Mill Outlet!

If you read this blog regularly, you probably already know that I'm an avid sewist. That and knitting are really my only "crafts." I'm not handy with a glue gun and don't know how to pronounce Cricut. That kind of stuff was never my jam. But I do love to sew and knit! I can crochet, too. These skills were taught to me when I was a child in the Philippines, so maybe that's why they've stuck with me. At any rate, sewing makes me a fan of The Mill Outlet, which is a locally owned fabric store on Prospect Street just south of Fillmore. I've been a regular customer for many years. This is a large city, and people don't like to drive far outside their zone to get what they need, but with the nationwide closing of Joann's Fabrics and Crafts, The Mill Outlet has suddenly become a hot spot, even for those who rarely venture west of Academy Boulevard. I'm so glad of it! I went there a couple of weekends ago and it was actually hard to find a parking spot. The place was buzzing. When a big box store opens, it makes the mom and pop stores wither and die. But when a big box store closes, here's your proof that the opposite thing happens. Long live The Mill Outlet!

May 2024 Theme Day: Cyclists

It's already Theme Day again for City Daily Photo bloggers! This month the theme is cyclists. We certainly have plenty of those around here, but I opted to take a picture of this mural on Fillmore Street rather than the real thing.

For more interpretations of cyclists by CDP bloggers the world over, click HERE. Enjoy!

Daydreams of Springtime in Holland

Today's picture is a bit mediocre, but since I didn't have time to wander around with my camera, I plundered my archives instead. Bad picture notwithstanding, I do enjoy the mural on Boonzaaijer's east facing wall. In my defense it's hard to get a good angle because there are always cars parked in front of it. Most people around here just call this place the Dutch bakery, since the real name is a little challenging to pronounce! 

Dutch Christmas Treats

I took this photo at Boonzaijer's on December 1st, when I was there to pick up a photogenic treat for Theme Day. If you're Dutch or German this place is a good stop for you around Christmastime, because they have all the European goodies you miss from your homeland, including festive marzipan. I can't say I'm a fan of the stuff but I've never met a Dutch person who didn't adore it.

December 2020 Theme Day: Comfort Food

 

I'm generally not a sweets kind of person, but when I heard that the theme this month would be comfort food, I took it as the perfect excuse to hit up Boonzaijer's, a.k.a. the Dutch Bakery. They sell many, many goodies, most importantly my favorite, carrot cake! It's the kind of treat you crave every now and again. I wasn't totally self centered when I picked up this delectable little piece of mouthwatering goodness -- I bought Pat a slice of cheesecake while I was at it. Yum!

For more pictures of comfort food from City Daily Photo bloggers all over the planet, click HERE. Enjoy!

Mr. Fix It

Just wanted to put in a plug for a great local small business today! I have a beautiful table lamp that broke -- it wouldn't turn on -- and Nelson Appliance Repair on Fillmore Street fixed it up as good as new for me, quickly and cheaply! They have been in business since 1957 and can fix just about ANY small appliance. So if your toaster oven, mixer, lamp, vacuum cleaner, or other small appliance needs fixed, or if you just need parts, call Nelson, they'll fix you right up!

'63 Caddy

Ah yes, remember when 2-door cars were 20 feet long, weighed over four thousand pounds and got under ten miles per gallon? I do! (Just barely!) This '63 Cadillac was parked outside Boonzaijer's Bakery on February 1st when I was there having a coffee with my friend Jennifer. How could I resist taking a picture?

The Dutch Bakery

Much to my sorrow, Montague's Parlor has recently closed its doors. It had been my favorite go-to spot when I was craving a decadent dessert and I will miss their delicious coconut cake! The last time my mom and I went to lunch, without Montague's as an option for dessert we stopped into Boonzaaijer's instead (a.k.a. The Dutch Bakery), and I was seduced by their key lime pie. It was delicious! The Dutch Bakery may not have the ambiance of Montague's, but it does have delicious desserts, so I'm happy!

A Tale of Two Vehicles

Pat and I spotted these two cars driving side by side on Fillmore Street last week. You'd be hard pressed to find a more disparate pair! A yellow 1980s Cadillac DeVille and a... whatever that is. You'd have to ask Pat. German military vehicles are not my area of expertise!

Okay, okay, I looked it up. Apparently it's called a Pinzgauer and it's Swiss.

Holy Theophany

Holy Theophany Orthodox Church is located on Chestnut Street just south of Fillmore. I think it's the only Orthodox church in the area. It's definitely the most unique looking church in the area! I've blogged about it before but since that was over seven years ago, I figured it wouldn't hurt to post some new pictures of it. HERE is the church's website, if you're interested in knowing more about it.

Another mass shooting in Colorado Springs

The man in this picture is Officer Garrett Swasey, and he was killed yesterday by a gunman who stormed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, resulting in a hostage situation and a standoff with the police that lasted hours. Officer Swasey was 44 years old and, as you can see, he had a kind face. Two citizens were also killed (as I write this, their names have not yet been released). Nine people were wounded; four police and five civilians.

For my non-U.S. readers, Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization providing low cost reproductive health services, mainly for women. It is partially funded by the government. It is also an abortion provider, although abortions comprise only 2-3% of Planned Parenthood's services (and are not funded by the government). Abortion is legal in the United States, however there is a segment of our population that believes it should be outlawed, and even some that go so far as believing birth control is a form of abortion. A few of these people feel so strongly about it, they attack Planned Parenthood clinics around the country. Some of these attacks take the form of arson or vandalism or bomb threats. Some of these attacks are deadly. This is the fourth attack on a Planned Parenthood in the last few months. It is still not clear if this shooter's agenda was in line with other Planned Parenthood attackers.

Yesterday was "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving when those who can tolerate the crowds and the din make their way to the big box stores and malls, in search of Christmas gifts at deeply discounted prices. Day Two of the four day Thanksgiving weekend. It was cold and snowing, but plenty of people were out and about. The madness started a little before noon. Planned Parenthood sits behind a King Soopers -- the King Soopers where we bought our Thanksgiving turkey just four days ago, actually. There are a number of small businesses in the same strip mall: a Japanese restaurant, a bank, a liquor store. Everyone in all of these businesses, as well as the surrounding homes and office buildings, was put in danger in the blink of an eye. Hundreds of people. Little did they know that they would be trapped in place until well after 7:00pm, hiding from a madman. At first the description was that there was a shooter at large and citizens were on a "shelter in place" notice, then three police officers were shot, then it became clear that the gunman was inside the Planned Parenthood and had taken hostages. My friends frantically posted on Facebook, "Stay away from Centennial and Fillmore!" And we all stayed glued to the TV and internet, feverishly updating Facebook and Twitter with whatever information we could glean. The gun battle wore on sporadically all day, with a fourth police officer wounded sometime during the afternoon. Finally, after six agonizing hours, the gunman was apprehended. My friend Isaiah, shooting for Reuters, got a photo of the arrest. You can see it HERE on the NY Times website. The gunman looks very tall but very average to me. Like any guy you'd see on the street.

It has not yet been disclosed what his motive was. It seems to me that he was a sharpshooter and at least somewhat tactically trained, to be able to shoot all those people and evade the police and SWAT for hours. I have heard that he was using an AK-47. I listened to the police radio live feed all day, eavesdropping on law enforcement as they strategized their way through the situation. It was mesmerizing and terrifying, hearing it from the mouths of the agents who were actually inside the building, hunting a madman. One of the disembodied voices described some duffel bags that the gunman was carrying, speculating about the contents. Could they be bombs? The assumption was made by another disembodied voice that they might be IEDs, homemade bombs. Be careful, the voice said.

This is what I spent yesterday doing. Listening to police chatter, watching KKTV's Don Ward and Dianne Derby repeat the same information for hours on end. It was eerily similar to how I spent September 11, 2001. Sitting on the couch in this same room, watching surreal events unfold on the TV in front of me.

I have a lot of praise for our first responders. There were over a hundred police deployed, as well as the Fire Department, the El Paso County Sheriff's Department, and what looked like a thousand ambulances lined up on the curb. Everyone handled the situation professionally and calmly. They did so well. And they got the bad guy. I'm sure that in the coming days, we'll hear more about what motivated this man, this terrorist, to perform these atrocities. And oh yes, people have already taken sides on social media. They've twisted his agenda to suit their own agenda, shouting their opinions in all caps. As for me, I just want to repost this picture that my friend Bill took last week. You saw it here on the blog on Monday. We appreciate your thoughts as Colorado Springs recovers from yet another mass shooting, exactly 27 days after the last one.

© 2015 William Davis

Moonrise

Yesterday I finally felt good enough to venture outside, which basically means that I went to my studio and worked for a couple of hours (I was so happy to be productive!). Afterward, running a quick errand to the Post Office, I captured the rising moon as I sat captive in heavy traffic on Fillmore Street. I'm glad I had a camera with me. It's not the prettiest perspective but the moon sure looked lovely!

Purple haze

"Purple haze" is too poetic. Let's just call this a depressing haze. The last couple of days, we've been cloaked in a terrible fug, the result of a huge forest fire raging in Oregon (yes, that's 1,500 or so miles away). The photo above was taken on Fillmore Street, looking west. You can barely see Pikes Peak. Squint your eyes and look hard -- it's behind that tall pole on the left! Can you find it? The air quality has been so bad, I've had to use my inhaler, which is a rare occurrence indeed. Anything to stop this coughing! All of my asthmatic friends are miserable right now.

Yesterday Pat and I decided to take a drive through the mountains, but there was no escaping the gloomy haze. Even so, it's good to get away and take a drive, even if you can't see the view!

This shot was taken from inside the Garden of the Gods, driving west. Pikes Peak is barely visible on the right side of the frame, behind the darker foothills.

This was taken from a favorite stopping point along Highway 67. Normally the view here is magnificent, but not yesterday. Way too much haze. I enjoyed it anyway!

Old Hollywood drama in Colorado Springs!

I took this photo in mid-March and am just now getting around to posting it. This wall at the Omelette Parlor, one of our favorite breakfast places, pays tribute to Ruth Etting, a famous singer and actress of the 1920s and '30s. An extremely popular recording artist, she had over sixty (!!!) hit songs, including "You Made Me Love You", "Mean to Me" (give that one a listen HERE, it's wonderful) and "Love Me or Leave Me". She was also a film star, appearing in three feature length films and a number of shorts. Ms. Etting led quite a colorful life before she chose to live out her retirement quietly in Colorado Springs. In 1938, she and her husband Myrl bought a property at 900 East Fillmore and lived there, also operating a supper club at that location called the T-Bone Club. I'm not clear on exactly when, but at some point the T-Bone Club became the Hackney House, which lasted for quite a long time there. 900 East Fillmore is now the Omelette Parlor.

Ruth's colorful life was so dramatic, a movie, "Love Me or Leave Me", was made of it 1955, starring Doris Day as Ruth and James Cagney as her malevolent gangster husband, Marty "The Gimp" Snyder. Her story was definitely film-worthy! Here are the highlights:

• Ruth was born in 1897 in David City, Nebraska. Her mother died when Ruth was only five years old. Ruth was raised by her grandparents, as her father remarried and disappeared from her life.
• At age 16 she moved to Chicago to attend art school. She got a job designing costumes at a nightclub, and was soon drawn into performing, eventually becoming their featured vocalist.
• Chicago was notorious for its violent gangsters during this time. In 1922, Ruth met and married Marty "The Gimp" Snyder, a member of the Chicago criminal underworld. He managed her career for many years, but their relationship was apparently not ideal.
• In 1927 she signed with the famous Ziegfeld Follies. This was where her career really began to take off. Soon she found herself in Hollywood, recording numerous hit songs and appearing in films. Ruth was scrupulous about saving money, investing, and living frugally. She made some wise investments in real estate in Los Angeles. Smart lady!
• In 1937 she divorced Marty on the grounds of cruelty and abandonment, paying him $50,000 in settlement (about $680,000 in today's money).
• Ruth then fell in love with her pianist, Myrl Alderman. This didn't sit well with her ex-husband. In a series of increasingly aggressive phone calls, Marty threatened to kill her and Myrl, causing Ruth to seek police protection.
• In 1938, Marty traveled to L.A. to make good on his threat. He tracked down Myrl at a recording studio, forcing Myrl at gunpoint to take him to Ruth. Marty's grown daughter from a previous marriage, Edith, was home with Ruth. Marty gathered Ruth, Myrl and Edith together, threatened to kill all of them, and shot Myrl. Edith then fired a gun at her father, but missed. The whole scene must have been incredibly dramatic!
• Marty was arrested and, after a sensational, complicated and public trial, convicted of attempted murder (although he apparently did very little time in prison). Ruth and Myrl married in Las Vegas in December of 1938. By then, Ruth was largely retired from entertaining. She and Myrl bought the property in Colorado Springs, where he was raised, and they lived here for the rest of their lives. Myrl died in 1966, and Ruth died in 1978, at age 81.

So there you have it. There's more to the story, so I'll refer you to her Wikipedia page if you want some interesting reading over your morning coffee. I've heard that, in addition to the T-Bone Club, Ruth and Myrl also reportedly co-owned Henri's Mexican Restaurant in Old Colorado City. If you're an long-time Colorado Springs resident like me, you'll remember it fondly -- especially the margaritas!

Ruth Etting in 1937, via IMDB.

It really does fix everything

These funny signs sit in front of Founding Fathers Auto Service on the corner of Hancock Avenue and Fillmore Street.

Even vampires crave junk food from time to time

I captured these two goth-y types walking down Fillmore Street the other day.  Yes, even the darkest among us must have the occasional french fry indulgence ;^} 

The Omelette Parlor

Ever since our favorite brunch place, the Olive Branch, closed its doors, Pat and I have been a little at a loss on where to find a good old fashioned breakfast. Finally I remembered how great the Omelette Parlor is (900 East Fillmore Street). I used to eat there all the time, years ago, but for some reason fell out of the habit. I'm glad to have rediscovered this place, and so is Pat. With its huge, hearty menu, the Omelette Parlor is super popular for good reason. Now you can call us regular customers!

War of the worlds

I thought this vignette was rather funny, especially given the content of my previous two posts ;^) Who is winning this little culture war on the corner of Fillmore and Nevada?