Monday, December 31, 2018

New Year's Eve at the Club

Nana and Papa took advantage of a special rate offered at the Flying Horse Lodge for New Year's Eve. Following dinner in the Tack Room, we intended to join the big party in the Flying Horse Steakhouse from 10pm on, but we gave up early and went back to our room for some more Christmas movies. Then breakfast at the club the next morning after watching some of the Rose Parade, then back home. It was a very cold 24-hour period. You should have seen us walking/trotting between the lodge and the restaurant I don't know how many times! Overnight lows were sub-zero. It had been a while since I heard that particular crunch sound of snow under foot. Matt dropped us off (after we all saw "Mary Poppins Returns") and picked us up so we wouldn't have to leave a car out over night. Didn't want to test the antifreeze. More photos are here.


Tuna and avocado "tower." Delicious.

Way too cold to be outside.

At the stroke of midnight! We had confetti all over the room!

1200-bottle, 4-story wine room at the Steakhouse.
This is the top floor. Stairs encircle it on the outside.
In the photo's center above the door frame you can see
a dining table one story down in the distance. Two
levels are for the restaurant and two levels have space
that can be rented for personal storage.

Friday, December 28, 2018

Scileppi’s at the Old Stone Church

Nana and Papa found this little gem in "old town" Castle Rock today - Scileppi’s at the Old Stone Church. From the website: "Built in 1888, the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church was the first one built in Castle Rock. In 1966, the parish built a larger church east of town and abandoned the building. It sat dormant until 1975 when it was converted into a restaurant, eventually, the one so many of you have known and loved. And now, in 2018 the torch has been passed to the Scileppis." Drinks were great, food was excellent. Now there's an option to the hospital restaurant.

Entry way.


At left, the confessional is a cozy table for two.




From the organ/choir loft.

From behind the bar. There are about 8 seats with this view at the bar.


A new area called Sliceworks Purgatory was added to one side of the church.
You might guess they specialize in pizza.


The men's room was also added outside the church,
see the church's exterior wall on left.

Photo in the bathroom of the original church.




Thursday, December 27, 2018

Cold Day at the Zoo

Sam's home for the holidays and had yet to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. So off we went, in sub-freezing weather. And had a great time, for a couple hours. Sorry, just a few cell phone pics, my camera is rated only down to 32 degrees.





Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Christmas Day at the Compound

Grand Uncle Craig joined us for the festivities, and laughs, this year. We had to relocate dinner to the old dining room table in the kitchen because the big new table in the dining room was COMPLETELY covered with legos; there were at least 5 projects going on. Definitely the Year of the Legos. Gramma's Rolls (our posted recipes, including all mentioned here) did not rise (at all), and would not bake. The Bubble Bread made up for it, though, by growing to absurdly large bubbles. We sweated if we had enough braised ribs, but it turned out all right. AJ got Cheaters Monopoly, just sayin'. Matt and Papa enjoyed an Old Fashioned using Papa's new spherical ice ball maker. And where were Santa's gift this year?... In the outdoor stairwell by Matt's office. They went undiscovered till well into the afternoon despite the bigs checking about a few times. The bannock and Daou wine, thank you Nipomo, were gone very early (got a head start a couple days before). All the photos are here (including Christmas Eve).

The three littlest boys had dinosaur onesies.

Sandy out-grew here Christmas sweater, so it got cut to fit.






Matt was very excited about his new dollhouse.

Lexi's new doll eats and poops. Fina was a bit grossed out.


Ahhhh, quiet.



The last gift of the day got the best reaction.

A new old-style Nintendo was a huge hit with both generations.

So much so that Tracy dinged her knee.

Matt and Papa finished the day with a gar,
a fire, and watching Youtube videos
about Christmas legends.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Colorado Nutcracker Throne

Tracy and Lynn designed and painted the new throne for Colorado Ballet Society's "Colorado Nutcracker."

Fina atop the throne.


David and Lexi atop the throne.


The family at Pikes Peak Center. Photo by Ted Mehl.

Unexpected Snow Today

California girls Christmas shopping in Colorado. The news said nothing about snow! Let the fun begin!


Friday, December 21, 2018

The Grands' Christmas Eve

Nana and Papa have had a tradition for some time now... Taking Christmas Eve to spend just the two of them doing their Christmas shopping, or at least the last minute stuff which usually includes Papa's gift to Nana. Like birthday celebrations, it doesn't have to happen exactly on Christmas Eve. This year, it was today. We started at the Promenade Shops at Briargate, but were only there long enough to hit one store and get Nana's "biggy." Then off to Manitou Springs where we spent most of the day. The first great discovery was the Cliff House. A staff member caught us in the hallway of pictures and pointed out a few things, including that the hotel was built over the winter of 1873. We had been by it, and even went in a bit, on our first trip to Manitou last year, but this time it was decorated for Christmas and the restaurant would be open in about 10 minutes. Had a delightful 2-hour lunch with great food, wonderful atmosphere, superb service; it was a treat. The off-season (Nov-Mar) room rates are quite reasonable. Among the stores we actually spent time and money in included: Christmas in Manitou, The Leprechaun Shoppe, and Salus. The Vault was pretty cool, too, but we were spent by then, figuratively and literally. We enjoyed yet another marvelous dinner at Four by Brother Luck on the way home. We're told he's re-opening his original location and calling it the Lucky Dumpling, a menu with an Asian theme. Watch for it in the Spring.

Most of these pics are from the Cliff House.






Lynn said this might have been her favorite dessert ever, a souffle.



A little "snow globe" from Christmas in Manitou.