Happy Malanka !! Jan 13th Is The New Year In The Ukraine

So I'd Like To Know Where You Got The Notion     Said I'd Like To Know Where You Got The Notion   To Rock The Boat    Don't Rock The Boat Baby     Rock The Boat     Don't Tip The Boat Over     Rock The Boat    Don't Rock The Boat Baby     Ever Since Our Voyage Of Love Began    Your Touch Has Thrilled Me    Like The Rush Of The Wind And Your Arms Have Held Mine    Safe From A Rolling Sea   There's Always Been A Quiet Place To Harbor You And Me    Our Love Is Like A Ship On The Ocean   We've Been Sailing With A Cargo Full Of Love And Devotion

The Hues Corporation 

Freedom From The Stallion 1974

The beginning of this year is rolling in like an asphalt paver. I am optimistic or maybe just pleased that we are a year closer to The Donald's end. Phuc That Guy & His Useless Followers 

And now , to be a stereotypical American , let me fill you in on me. Me Me Me , I I I , Me Me Me , I began the year of 2025 on a crushing low , like all of us were knowing The Donald was stepping in to , well , todays current situation. January 2025 dragged on for me and I really battled with overall depression. Maybe it was the slice of those 31 days but like a snail it slimed me good. But the rest of the calendar year , flipping blur!!! That Year Of 2025 Flew By 

DOGS:

This past winter was a banner year for house and dog sitting. Like everyone traveled somewhere this past winter and that equalled Cha Ching For Me. Yahooo0000 

TECHNOLOGY:

The downside to owning dinosaur technology is this , they fail at some point. They Do

The old Garmin 500 , most folks use the new Garmin 1050 solar , ran its course. This little guy fits in my pocket , logged races , uploaded rides , tracked all those Friday Night Bike Night Shenanigans , and finally decided that it was dead. It just refuses to spark to life. In miles and according to STRAVA , this little cycling computer circled the earth with me. STRAVA holds me accountable at just over 29,600miles / 47,000kms on the bike and just under 2,000 miles / 3,200kms of dog walks. Sleepy Time 

The other side of old electronics is that I unearthed my 20 year old Garmin 305 Forerunner. Charged it overnight , this old sucker discovered satellites , tracked my commute , but my MacBook Pro will not read the files to upload to STRAVA. Phuc Me 

I am currently researching COOSPO cycling computers. If any of you have an advice , recommendations , or products you swear by , PLEASE let me know. Please 

Isn't this situation a bummer?? I was super excited about this holding a charge and accurately calculating the distance. I was under the impression that I was cutting a big Ol fat one. Nope 

So My Commuter Miles By The Numbers:

302 Rides during 2025

287 Hours

4 Personal Records

1,864.4 Miles / 2,999.8 KMs because 3,000 would've been cooler 

42 Dog Walks because 42 is always the number

125 Miles / 201.1kms

11 Rounds of Disc Golf

3 Snowshoe Trips on the Grand Mesa and 1 in Crested Butte

7 Town Floats

1 High School Musical 

14 Concerts Attended

18 Foxie Flo Performances

311 Uploaded Time Lapse Videos

7,671,546 Steps in 2025 and that is almost 21,000 steps a day!!

Might need a new pair of shoes for stepping into the future 

Overall , these numbers are not anywhere near bragging rights status. Sort of impressive that I accumulated almost 2K on the Cannodale commuter bike in 2025. But as you can see , rode 302 times at almost 300 hours. Meaning , reach ride averaged an hour for the year. Yikes !! Maybe I should buck up in 2026. Maybe Yes , Maybe No  

HANDYMAN:

Yes , cut back on helping out but still cashed in when necessary or when time allowed. Still set up and winterized swamp coolers , still walked behind the mower , still completed a number of painting projects , and still replaced a few irrigation heads / values / pipes for some righteous cash. And the photo below was so close to a proper palindrome. Only if the last 2 was a 5. Right 

XMAS:

Yes , still rode the bike around town for my very own private light parade. December flew on by as everyday was filled to the brim similarly to that coffee commercial. Hell , it is already two weeks into this new year and my schedule is chock full for the rest of this month. I can't pack in any more but I probably will because that is just how I roll. Why I do not say no , I will never know. I guess it is better than sitting on the couch like a gelatinous blob. Kick It 

The pattern 

These 2x4 were destined for the landfill baby !!! 

Of course I fabricated Xmas gifts  

Cut these bad boys at 54 degrees and somewhere around 7 1/4 inch to 8 3/4 inch

Busted out the grinder with 80 grit paper and shaped these snowflakes 

Added the burnt appearance with my standard suturing torch 

Masking tape and wood glue for an overnight good time 

Drilled these sucker at an angle from the backside , dab ah glue , and shoved in BBQ skewers for a little more integrity. Sanded off the remaining bit and shaped the backside for a 3D pop if hanging on a wall. Stellar 

Rubbed on a beautiful strain to a couple of them and painted on the Colorado flag for H&B. Side Note , they have the wooden trees from last years gifts on top of their cupboards year around. So That's Cool  

Let's All Try ( JUST TRY ) And Appreciate The Small Wins This Year ,

Cheers 

A Dry A$$ December I Tell Ya

Where Do We Go From Here    Now That All Of The Children Are Grown Up    And How Do We Spend Our Lives   If There's No One To Lend Us A Hand     I Don't Wanna Live Here No More    I Don't Wanna Stay    Ain't Gonna Spend The Rest Of My Life    Quietly Fading Away   Games People Play    You Take It Or Leave It    Things That They Say    Honour Bright     If I Promised You The Moon And Stars    Would You Believe It   Games People Play In The Middle Of The Night 

Alan Parson Project 

The Ace Of Swords 1980 

TURKEY DAY:

Finally , a low key holiday without all the standard BS , time restrictions , labeling of who needs to bring what , and none of that rearranging the entire house for company to play a Martha Stewart living room charades. My A$$

One of the dishes on my aJENNda was a creation of vegan mashed potatoes. Following the Bernard YT tutorial to a T , totally spaced snapping photos from this point moving followed. Call it focused over stupidity. One of the steps was to wallop garlic bulbs , roast them in the oven , and then squeeze them into the mix. The other import step , save a full cup of the water from the boiling concoction to make the roux for the tasty gravy. So Delightful 

The key was to eliminate all the butter and milk fat and simply whip in Oat Milk and the first wave of the gravy. These mashed potatoes were unbelievably good. Like everything that you would expect of Turkey Day , without the heavy blob in the after meal gut pouch. While that was taking place , Humus Time. And this was also from Mr Bernard and talk about smoking hot. Super easy to make , simply tasty for sure , and what a fiber enriched appiteaser. Yes, appIteaser over appetizer. When you first tried the humus , just OK , the after taste is what nailed this dish. Needless to say , it was devoured. The only appetizer that disappeared from the table. So Good

Also on my list , happy pie time. Of course they were both 100% vegan severed inside of a homemade (vegan ) gram cracker crust that held together. Much to my surprise. And below , two gorgeous pies , Toby passed , every else  raved , and only then did I mention that they were both Tofu based. Classic  

Once the kids arrived after spending time with their families , they wolfed down slices of pie. The Dude nailed a pot of homemade whipping cream. Talk About Fluffy!! Of course they told us that they weren't hungry when they showed up. Soon after pie , they scarfed down some smoked turkey. Lucky us , we "left" the smoked baby back ribs in the garage. The Dude & I enjoyed them much later into the evening as we remembered later on. Those were beautiful and the tenderness was top shelf. We had to stop because it would have been so easy to over indulge as the flavors exploded between our fingers , in out mouths , and all over the sides of the trash can. I Do Love Ribs 

DOGS:

Yup , it is that time of year. Dog/House Sitting 101. And it is the best part time job ever!! Like Ever 

A Full Moon hike in the snow above Glade Park. Unfortunately , I have not strapped on the snowshoes yet this winter. Good News , booked solid with house and dog sitting gigs until the 20's of January. You should have witnessed the faces lighting up when I said that I was available for dog sitting throughout the holidaze. Hopefully this trend continues throughout 2026. More Wag , Less Bark 

RADIO ROOM:

Guess who performed live in the Radio Room?? 

Yup , This Guy !!! 

We , Foxie Flo , were privileged to showcase Steve O The Clown on stage with us for a one night performance. I met Steve some 20 years ago when he was dressed as a clown while tying balloon animals for children during Thursday Evening Famers Markets on Main Street. He is also a professional drummer and he brought EVERYTHING that our songs are missing. Everything

When our originals offer a breath between notes , Steve played something perfectly. Sometimes it was brushes on a high hat or the perfectly timed drum roll. Sensational 

I swiped a page out of the Weird Al handbook and changed personas every third to fourth song. Numerous wigs and even simply eye glasses were the main staples. A couple of shirts found their way as well. Misty continues to shake her head my way as ya just never know what's coming down the pipe. As It Should Be 

I also decorated the stage with Gnomes , mushroom houses , and tons of rope lights. The Dude helped me strings lights across the seating area and I happily trained The Honey Lady as our official greeter for the evening. And that was a bonus because the sound guy and his girl dog overheard my instructions. I explained to The Honey Lady that her number one projection is beauty. When someone walks into the Radio Room , immediately compliment them. Say something nice about earrings , jacket , hairstyle , or whatever you see fit. Kill everyone with kindness and welcome them to our show. Duh 

I explained myself again to Kalinderrrrrrrrs and Miranda on the bar front. Just hand out compliments and please make everyone feel welcome. I promised them that the tips would flow if they follow this tactic. And surprise surprise!!! With The Honey Lady , Robert , And The Bar Backs mingling about with handfuls of smiles to deliver , the $$$ rolled in. Boom Shaka Laka Boom 

SET I

Black Mamba - Glass Animals

Cage I've Made - Original 

Nightmares - Original 

Wagon Wheel - For The Madre

Witchy Women - A Three Song Set For Patrick As He Loves The Eagles

Passengers - Original That I Wrote And Feel Free To Ask Me About That Song

Hotel California - Eagles 

Come To Me - Original 

Tea Time - Original 

When The Doves Cry - Prince 

Don't You Forget About Me > Naive Melody

Fever To The Form - Nick Mulvey 

Stray Cat Strut - For The Dude 

SET II

Human Condition - Original 

Ghost Town - Original And The Gang Floated My Homemade Ghosts Through The Audience 

Trampoline - SHAED

Patience - Original 

Dreaming & Scheming - Original 

Mad World - Tears For Fears

Toxic - Britney Spears 

Love Potion #9 - For The Madre 

Love Song - Original 

Meow - Original 

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd 

Psycho Killer - Talking Heads 

In The End - Original 

Pixie - Original 

E: Boots Are Made For Walking For The Sing Along & Everyone Sang Along For Sure  

What A Performance , What A Night , And My Heart Smiled For Weeks Afterwards ,

Cheers