Under a Red Roof

Cutting Our Losses

October 5, 2026 in Exploring by Colleen | Permalink

After a hectic patch of changing deadlines and erratic workflow gave Greg more grief than either liked, we decided the best remedy would be a weekend near Salida, a bit of tranquility along the steady flow of the Arkansas. Unrushed, we left mid-morning, no breakfast, just the happy thought of food rewarding us upon our arrival.

East from Wilkerson Pass

Southwest

Then, after our turn at Wilkerson pass, for pictures and feeding our harrumphing pooch (you are one hour late!) we hit a slow serpentine of fellow travelers. A ten minute descent registered an hour, and I wondered aloud, if leaving the house was the actual remedy we needed.

Some very good sniffs…

and spectacular distant granite views answered, “Yes!”

Our 12:30 lunch turned to 2:00, but Salida, as ever, did not disappoint. Friendly servers and very yummy eats. We wandered about in a quick rain, gazed at many a landscape, and bought two small paintings.

We got Juniper’s wiggles out along the spur trail, a converted railroad track of lovely views, wagging tails, and friendly faces. We shopped for provisions, made some excellent choices.

A fifteen minute drive down the road found us at our assigned destination. It was not as we expected, crazy close to the highway. Deep sighs.

We unpacked the car, and while we did so, had Juniper tethered to a post for sniffs and wanderings. Legions of cars and trucks and tractor-trailers boomed along.

Relaxing was not the word. I wondered aloud if we should go home. Greg didn’t want more of a drive.

We settled in by the river, Juniper on another tether, the pair of us on Adirondack chairs. The river flowed. Juniper rolled and investigated. This is water! It is moving! I do not like it! Let me get closer to the pair of you. And so she did.

The geese meandered upstream before floating down again. They bobbed and weaved and heaved their fluffy white bottoms up to feed in the murky underwater.

Above us, the sky a perfect shade of blue. In front, grass and rock, water and Juniper, the geese. Behind us, the steady roar of engines and hiss of tires. Greg had a change of heart. We concurred. And so, without staying the night, we left.

The drive home a reward of stunning vistas, ice cream cones in Canon City, and a peaceful weekend at home, sometimes, it really is best to cut your losses.

Muncha Muncha

October 28, 2025 in Eating, Exploring, Loving by Colleen | Permalink

I don’t suppose, after any sort of absence, that it is surprising that I would highlight food. Our daily “bread”, if you will. So here we are. Unlike the legions I assume are purchasing every manner of pumpkin spice product I spy on offer at the local grocery, because ’tis the season, my fall and winter tastes lie firmly in turkey and cranberry land, even more particularly, jellied. I can, to be quite crass, eat a shit-ton, joyfully, unapologetically.

This is a turkey meatloaf (I initially typed “meatlove,” and damn, the accuracy!) topped with a glorious, mushroom with a dash of sherry, gravy, to state the obvious. I was deeply saddened when I realized I had no jellied cranberry in the house (rectified forthwith!) but made due with a little tart apple jelly I made earlier. Heaven on a plate, my dear peeps.

Further evidence of our very high-low tastes, a little snack plate of favorites, including, the sharpest of cheddar, cheetos, and slices of american. We take our cheesy products any which way.

In the olden days, I would nearly hack my fingers to pieces in order to peel and dice a ridiculously hard winter squash, bits flying hither and thither, and generally making a mess. Until, one brilliant light bulb afternoon, I decided to put the whole thing in the oven at 400 and bake until tender. The downside to this, I suspect, is not having cute cubes drizzled in olive oil, but a nice puree with said oil or butter(!) is equally tasty. My fingers are happy and Greg, too, as there is no angry cursing involved, either. Plus, how beautiful to photograph!

A few highlights from earlier ambles about. How lucky we are to have such lovely views in walking distance.

Speaking of easy on the eyes, this is my desk immediately before posting. Actually clean and tidy! For a relatively small surface, it took nearly two hours to sort through the mess. Our life has been a little upside down, as of late, and I kept robotically moving piles of this and that, in helter skelter fashion, on and on and on, until the piles became their own chaotic entities, sliding about the desk. Madness. Fingers crossed I can keep it together for a bit.

Also, a quick note about Ducky, who has been one of my best loved toys for fifty years! How cute is he, keeping company at the keyboard.

Take a Hike

August 5, 2025 in Exploring, Gardening + Nature by Colleen | Permalink

Does anyone remember the expression, “Take a hike,” popular in the late seventies or early eighties? It was not nice and largely used to reject people. This post is not that kind of hike. This is the kind you take on a weekday during staycation, with your pup and best Buddy of nearly 35 years.

We drove to Palmer Park on the tail end of morning cool and minimal people, enjoying the aptly named Grandview Trail. It is pretty amazing that a hundred feet of elevation gain garners such a vastly different plant profile. Save the flowers above, which I believe are a variety of buckwheat, I don’t know the names of any of these, but how sweet to encounter.

Also, how about the tiny butterfly? Probably the size of my thumb tip, likely a bronze copper. It flitted joyously about before posing. Thank you very much!

Pike’s Peak, naked.

scrub oak with diminutive acorns

Wee and cute pink flower (a dianthus, maybe?) with mini spider. Nature!

Not spied on our hike but the back garden, this shy gal or guy had periwinkle wings on top but kept them firmly closed whenever I tried to take a picture. I have no idea what it is, sadly, as none of the Colorado butterfly lists has anything that looks like it. Mysteries abound.

As for the hike, how marvelous to get out of our usual groove, however lovely it may be. The scents and textures more sandy and resinous, singing of the high desert – pine and oak. The sky that bit closer, the view echoing more of tree than house or pavement or car. I relished every moment. That my best pals shared it with me made it even sweeter.

Happy Hiking!

It’s a Festival!

April 9, 2025 in Eating, Exploring by Colleen | Permalink

Well, we finally made it to the updated and vastly improved Casa Bonita! Thank you Trey Parker and Matt Stone for giving so much love, and more critically, millions and millions of dollars to make it just right, like going through more than twenty shades to get that perfect pink!

Growing up in the Denver Metro, Casa Bonita was an important part of our childhoods. It was all over the television, with exciting commercials (!), and the first field trip I ever remember taking, when we studied Mexico, probably in second grade. Friends worked here in high school, rolling silverware, bussing tables, and roaming in nurse shoes. Greg and I, in our typical nerdy fashion, spent our fifth anniversary here, for the sheer joy of it, because, aside from the beans and sopaipillas (for which you raised a yellow flag), the food was downright terrible.

Oh, how things have changed! First off, there is a massive line to get in these days, and that is with an 11:15 reservation for lunch on a Friday! But will ya looky there. Now, the food is downright delicious, and there is plenty of it, too. There are still flags on the table (upper right hand corner), and you bet your bottom dollar we raised ours to get our bowl of hot-from-the-fryer sopaipillas. They are as delicious as I remembered.

In updating and bringing the woefully constructed Casa Bonita of yore up to code (some legit horror stories of fryer oil poured directly down the drain and pools of water next to electrical panels – yikes!), they absolutely retained the magical childhood feeling of the place. It remains big and small at the same time, with a wonderful air of whimsy.

Black Bart’s Cave seems bigger and more windy, and, of course there’s an Evil Knievel lunch box amongst his treasures!

There’s also live music, with a mariachi band and this magnificently talented Spanish guitarist just going and going. Beautiful!

Last but not least, the cliff divers, which are definitely better than ever!! Hooray and huzzah for memories and creating new ones for the generations to come.

Tags: Colorado

Good Company

November 29, 2024 in Exploring, Friendship by Colleen | Permalink

What is this I see? A strawberry margarita, getting extra fizzy! Made for Jett (mostly) and his girlfriend Peyton’s first visit to our house. Delicious as it is, it was quite well received.

We had a most excellent time of green chile, pinto bean, homemade tortilla, and chocolate cake eating. There was also, as you might have guessed, a fine Garden of the Gods morning, favorite dive bar hanging (O’Furrys), puzzle assembling (two!), movie watching (three!), and fine conversation. A very, very good weekend together.

I am not a clean as I go cook, so this is the detritus of baking an apple cider donut cake with caramel frosting; biscochitos; and a whipped cream cheese and feta dip, with bacon jam for our sleepover with Michael and Mary. It was worth the mess, dear friends!

Greg celebrates helping me clean up with a little port and rye cocktail. The name escapes me, but oh, the flavor!

Here we are exploring the Boettcher Mansion atop Lookout Mountain, an activity I’d long hoped to do. Not gonna lie, the company was better than the space, but we did it!

Tags: Colorado, Colorado Springs