Rocktoeber Is In The Books

I Hear The Ticking Of The Clock     I'm Lying Here The Room's Pitch Dark    I Wonder Where You Are Tonight     No Answer On The Phone     And The Night Goes By So Very Slow     Oh I Hope That It Wont End Though      Till Now I Always Got By On My Own     I Never Really Cared Until I Met You    And Now It Chills Me To The Bone      How Do I Get You Alone    You Don't Know How Long I Have Wanted To Touch Your Lips And Hold You Tight     You Don't Know How Long I Have Waited And I Was Going To Tell You Tonight     But The Secret Is Still My Own And My Love For You Is Still Unknown 

I-Ten Alone

Taking A Cold Look 1983

written by Billy Stienburg And Tom Kelly 

Alone was made popular by Heart in 1987

ROCKTOEBER NUMBERS: 

Cycling - 432mi / 695km

Running / Hiking - 14mi / 22km

Activities - 30

PR's - 3

Hours - 47

Not a bad effort at all for the month. Much better than the previous two months but nothing worth bragging about. Claimed the leader board one of the weeks this month. But again, not tooting my horn by any means. BARKtoeber Baby 

The Mighty Colorado River is showing improvements as well. To keep this in perspective here, the irrigation canals have been closed off for the season and a few reservoirs up stream are draining in anticipation of winters snow melt. If It Snows 

The photo below is when I realized that I spaced my helmet. What a jack off I am. Will say that the legs felt stronger for the higher averaging miles per week. Hope this will be a continuing trend for me.

FRIDAY NIGHT:

Amber The Human was the last of our tribe to enter the 50's club. Her husband brought us all together to celebrate the occasion at a fancy dancy prancy cuisine in Palisade. Peche is an unbelievable restaurant here in the valley that blew my socks off. Four items for appetizers , four main course options, and two desserts on the menu. Decadent

The dishes were top shelf culinary art forms and the flavors were remarkable. In a cream , very airy, sauce were dashed with hints of rose hip oil. The Foie Gras was served with fresh peaches on the tastiest type of Fried French Bread Slices. The Ravioli appetizers were spicy and so flipping delicious. Those could have been a meal by themselves. My roasted carrots were prepared to perfection and complimented the Pork Cutlets and fresh spring salad mix. Again, another cream sauce for the Pork was a buttery smooth delight. Its a high end upscale restaurant that I clearly don't belong and don't see myself patronizing in the future. But if I had the slush funds, I would dine there every Friday night!! My poorly delivered descriptions just doesn't do these plates justice, IT WAS THAT GOOD. So Good 

Here are a few of my latest art pieces and the above photo was for Amber's 50th. These are my first attempts using a glue gun on canvas and I learned a great deal. Below is just after the pour and the glue is almost undetectable. After the second day of drying, all was well again.

I then finger painted on a metallic gold acrylic paint to highlight the tree of life. The more I worked with this piece, the more it spoke to me.  I was pleased to offer this to Amber The Human as she is a true artist of many mediums of work. 

So back to the dinner, my only complaint was that I am the only one in the group without a partner. They are all happily married and I couldn't be happier for them but it sucks. As we were discussing meal options, they ordered with the intention of sharing plates with each other. Me, it sucks. Don't get me wrong, The night was ideal and how can it not be with this jovial bunch. We all enjoyed the atmosphere, the savory flavors, and each others company. I never once felt left out from the group. 

But like this photo below. I'm solo so I am not in the photo. L to R; Uncle Karl, Judd, Janet, Susan, Amber, And Hippie Jim. Been rocking with this motley crew now for 20 years. Amber and I worked together and she was living in the same house with Mr Jim. They introduced me to Uncle Karl and Janet via the radio station. Judd came on the scene around 2003 and married Amber years later. Susan and Mr Jim married a few years before Amber and Judd. Love These Guys 

We laughed a lot all night during dinner but it sucks for me to not share the moment with someone I cherish. Yes, I am jealous. Random moments during dinner would have been so nice to rest a paw on that special someones thigh, to share the experience with, to lean over for a quick embrace of smiling puckered lips, and I really felt alone when we all departed the restaurant. How I would have loved to held hands while walking under the moonless evening. Giggling our way to the car, opening the door for, and pointing out something gratifyingly meticulous about their demeanor that I appreciate. It is those insignificant gestures that I ache for. I want what everyone else at the table has. Someone I Can Count On 

SATURDAY:

Went to the office early, casual bike ride to move around the previous nights meal, and then raked leaves in three separate yards. The street sweepers arrive this Thursday so all the leaves need to be raked out to the street by then. The Dude surprised me with a phone call and inquired if I wanted to maraud around downtown on bikes. Hellz Yez

We quickly threw Sassy Cowboy Costumes together and ventured towards downtown with adult beverages in hand. For the past two summers, duh, downtown has been dead. We rode downtown for the 4th and there was nobody out and about. But Saturday before Halloween was another story to write home about. 

The madness poured onto the streets and caged up costume wearing yahoos were in full force. The Dude and I slowly rode around the mean streets of GJ and rang out our bicycle bells. Cat Calls After Cat Calls! This would be the first time in years that The Dude busted out the spirits. The hard stuff has ripped his guts up and heartburn just isn't worth it. So when he handed me over a flask of Pendleton Whiskey, I was shocked again by his behavior. I forgot how much I appreciate the kahlua overtones of Pendleton's Whisky. 

We caught up with a number of hooligans that we hadn't seen in years. My niece and her boy were out and in costumes and we chatted for awhile. Pretty much a steady stream of characters lined Main Street throughout the evening. When we decided we had enough Reindeer Games, having no clue or concept of time, it was 1:30am. 

HALLOWEEN:

Now we are talking!! Sunday night was Halloween and I couldn't wait as it is still my favorite holiday. Hands Down!! The theme for our group this year was Guardians of the Galaxy.  

They all had costumes they ordered online and I wasn't all that excited about the leftover cast to choose from. So I made the bold move to render my own space alien from a Galaxy just beyond M55. The face paint took me almost a full hour to finally pass my standards. I cut the bottom off of a 2 litter soda bottle, filled it with battery operated lights, and hair sprayed the hell out of my hair. I am fortunate enough that I can wiggle my hairline/ears which allowed the latex eyelash over my third eye to wink. That was a huge hit with the group!! That and my hidden laser pointers in my flight suit. 

L to R; Tanner the farmer, The Dude as Thanos, Roni as Cousin to Yondu, Hailey Bird as Gamora, Avery as Groot, Jo Jo as Rocket Racoon, Baby Daddy as Star Lord, Kalinderrrrrrrs as Nebula, and Me Myself & I. Did have one little snafu as I had glued a bunch of rusty bolts to a strap of fake leather to wear over my shoulder like Bandolier Style. But the glue just didn't hold and turns out was just A OK because navigating my spacecraft was nearly impossible already. Thats A Whole Other Story

The neighborhood kids we crossed paths with all made mention of my character. Clearly was a roaring success and worthy of the efforts. I went to every door with little Jo Jo. Reminded her to say Happy Halloween, Trick OR Treat, and THANK YOU. If I didn't remind her, she wouldn't say a word. Total Classic 

Wasn't all that late when the parents called it a night. I could have easily embarked upon another neighborhood but was denied by the responsible adults. Cant wait for Avery and Jo Jo to grow up so we can get after it. Below are the beverages of choice over the weekend. The Ozark Blues Brew's Double IPA was delicious at 8.7% APV but the holiday STONE Brewery Best Before 10/31/2021 @ 9.2% was a chewy suburb handcrafted masterpiece. Should have purchased a full case of that limited edition. Only Two Cans Left - Hint Hint 

November 1st was truly the day of the dead for me. I rode the commuter bike to work and my thoughts drifted off about so many of my friends that have passed on to the other side. Even feeling pretty rough I was able to manage somehow to fix a treadmill and solve a squeaky bearing on an elliptical trainer. And after work, yes, did more raking of leaves. It pays well but manual labor so blows. Pretty sure I only have about two more weeks of mowing yards and I shouldn't have anymore swamp coolers to winterize. So Thats Cool 

NOVEMBER GOALS:

1. Dry Out The Liver
2. Add Plant Based Meals To The Diet
3. Notice The Joyous Occasions 
4. Cultivate More Happiness 
5. Elevate My Game

As Always, You All Rock 

Cheers