Five Firsts

Five members of the Compound attended rehearsals today for Anne of Green Gables, the Musical. It's being produced by Colorado Ballet Society's Elevate Productions, the same company that produced Chitty Chitty Bang Bang a few months ago.

So, what are the firsts?

Jamie has his first lead, as Matthew Cuthbert.
Matt has his first role since high school, as Cecil the farmer.
Fina has her first understudy responsibility, as Diana Barry.
Matteo and AJ have their first parts in community theatre, as schoolboys.

This already breaks our previous record of four Compound Dwellers involved in a given show (Chitty, Annie, and Legally Blonde), and if Lynn and/or Tracy get sucked into sets, as is often the case, we could easily hit six or seven with this one. Update: we hit seven!

The show runs October 5-7, 2018.

Here is an interesting story, including photos, about a trip to Prince Edward Island to visit Green Gables (someone else's story/photos). The image shown here is from that trip on page 3 of 13.

Mulch

A very large pile of mulch. We got it a few days ago and have been working it an hour or so in the mornings (when it's cool).

It protected the plant as desired.

Horseback Riding at Flying Horse Ranch

Who even knew there was a Flying Horse Ranch until the ads came out from the Club for horseback riding. Yes, please. Two hours we spent riding around a portion of the 1400-acre "recreational" ranch complete with a herd of cows, 30-some horses, wedding/event center, and who knows what else. It's all about 20 minutes north of us. Thoroughly enjoyed our horse master, Jasper. All the photos are here. Great experience.

Brown Jug left, Yetti right.

That's the event center in the background.

We did a little cattle rustlin' while we were out.

Roadside weed roping.

Trucks

And this is a small subset of the twins' truck collection that was gathering on the hillside by a gopher hole. Nana thought a run through the truck wash might do some good...

Karma. The next day, walking into the club, a newlywed couple gave
us several bouquets from their wedding the night before.

The 4th at Flying Horse

Nana and Papa had a wonderful little 4th of July while the Regusci clan was in California. We hit the pool first thing in the morning, and got about the last seat there. By the time we left (noon-ish), no seats were left and half the grassy area was covered with blankets and lounge chairs brought from home. We lazied our way through the afternoon till it was time to go back to the club for a 4th of July Buffet Dinner. Best value we've had at the club yet! The entire restaurant (Steakhouse and Tack Room) was taken over by the buffet, which was served outside. Kinda risky given the threatening weather. But it turned out fabulous. The weather continued to threaten. In fact, we had far more lightning show than fireworks show from dusk on, along with at least three rounds of rain. But that did not deter the fireworks (as best we could tell). We could see them in the distance (southern end of Colorado Springs), all the way up to the club's display which they launched from somewhere in the middle of the golf course, about 3,000 feet from our back deck. We went to bed with continued thunder and lightning. A few more photos are here.

Denver Art Museum

After safely dropping Vickie at the airport around noon, Lynn and Jamie stopped by the Denver Art Museum on the way home. We mainly saw traveling exhibits. Most of the permanent collection is in the North Building which is undergoing a renovation program for the next few years. We did see some of the old masters scattered throughout these more modern exhibits, but only a fraction. Armed with some ice cream money Vickie gave us, on the way home from the art museum we hit Jing Restaurant again. This time we sat on the bar side; as great as ever. All the photos are here.

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer

Landscape Photography. This artist buried photos of Hawaii and let things
seep into the photo for a few weeks.

Drawn to Glamour: Illustrations by Jim Howard

Ganesha: The Playful Protector

The North Building is in the back, being renovated.

Stampede: Animals in Art

There are 56 piglets following.

Bar side at Jing.

Jamie's favorite self portrait to date using a unique
mirror in the Jing restroom.

The fried cauliflower was outstanding,
as was the dip for the grilled artichokes.

Hospital Food - Redefined

Our waiter at Jing Restaurant (bringing Vickie in from the airport last week) told us about a hospital "cafeteria" in Castle Rock (about 25 minutes north from our house). It's called Manna Restaurant, very apt name, and is located in the Castle Rock Adventist Hospital. Very unassuming decor-wise, but the food was fabulous. And we understand that's the kitchen for the hospital, too, everyone gets their food from this kitchen. OMG! Step aside, green jello. Now a trip to the Castle Rock outlet mall (the shoppers love it!) will be interesting for the non-shoppers as well. Didn't look like they had a bar (we didn't ask) - I guess that's reasonable for a hospital. We'll be back! Tips and donations are used to benefit health inspired wellness projects within the Castle Rock community. Did I mention the pricing is fantastic, too?!

Snuggled in our booth it felt like we
were the only people there.

There are seats that view the kitchen.

Wood Oven Queso: local cheeses / pepper jelly / pepitas, $7

Grilled Haloumi: rocket / heirloom tomato / mint / pomegranate molasses, $6

Whole Roasted Artichoke: sauce pierre / lemon balm / grana padano, $8

Romanesco Cauliflower: romesco / fennel agrodolce, $3.
I missed a pic of the Fried Brussel Sprouts: nuoc mom caramel, $3.

Whole Roasted Radishes: chimichurri. Surprisingly good, a little kick. $3

Boston Maple Steak: crostini / arugula / tomato compote / onion / balsamic / shaved parm, $15

Lemon Cake. We had a scoop of espresso gelato as well. $5

On the Market side was a window into the pizza oven.