If You Are Ever In Bayfield Colorado

Imagine twinkly lights wound through beautiful trees standing between the gravel parking lot and the small building. Now imagine that you step through the door into an entryway that leads into a beautiful little Italian cafe.

That’s the first impression of Guiseppe’s Restaurant and Bakery in Bayfield, Colorado.

We got there tired and hungry from being on the road most of the day. It was toward the end of the road trip, and dinner the previous night had been mostly a disaster. The smell of garlic wafted out of the kitchen, and the ladies working the front let us know that almost everything was made on the premises.

I’m not usually a shellfish fan or even a pasta and seafood person. But the table next to us was served as we were sitting down, and the lady was given a dish so beautiful that I had to have it. It was on the menu as Cappellini all’Katrina, but it was essentially a bowl full of pasta, garlic, and tomatoes surrounded with fresh mussels. Even with three of us working on it, we ended up taking enough pasta home from mine alone to feed two more people.

The ladies had let us know to save room for home made desserts, and even though we hadn’t, we ordered three desserts for the table. We ended up just getting one of everything they offered so we could try it all: three layer cheesecake (vanilla, chocolate, and blackberry), three layer carrot cake, and and apple dumpling a la mode. The cheesecake was devoured by TheGuyInBlack, which was the first time I’d seen him eat something sweet. The carrot cake was a dense and moist surprise with a light cream cheese icing. I did my best to put a dent in it, but gave it up as a hopeless task about halfway through. But the star of the desserts that night was definitely the apple dumpling. I wasn’t sure Ballchek was going to share it at first, but his generous nature won out over the “mine mine mine!” impulse in the end. Between the six of us, we finished that one off even though none of us had any room left.

Everyone took at least half of their meal home, and we bought an ice chest the next day so it would last the 300 miles between us and dinner that night.

We sent our regards to Sam, the Chef and owner, but since we were the last customers in the place, we called him out of the kitchen to get his picture taken:

So if you’re ever in the neighborhood, be sure to drop in. Go hungry, expect to take home a ton of food, and whatever you do, try the desserts! Tell Sam we said hello!

If You Are Ever In Bayfield Colorado

Imagine twinkly lights wound through beautiful trees standing between the gravel parking lot and the small building. Now imagine that you step through the door into an entryway that leads into a beautiful little Italian cafe.

That’s the first impression of Guiseppe’s Restaurant and Bakery in Bayfield, Colorado.

We got there tired and hungry from being on the road most of the day. It was toward the end of the road trip, and dinner the previous night had been mostly a disaster. The smell of garlic wafted out of the kitchen, and the ladies working the front let us know that almost everything was made on the premises.

I’m not usually a shellfish fan or even a pasta and seafood person. But the table next to us was served as we were sitting down, and the lady was given a dish so beautiful that I had to have it. It was on the menu as Cappellini all’Katrina, but it was essentially a bowl full of pasta, garlic, and tomatoes surrounded with fresh mussels. Even with three of us working on it, we ended up taking enough pasta home from mine alone to feed two more people.

The ladies had let us know to save room for home made desserts, and even though we hadn’t, we ordered three desserts for the table. We ended up just getting one of everything they offered so we could try it all: three layer cheesecake (vanilla, chocolate, and blackberry), three layer carrot cake, and and apple dumpling a la mode. The cheesecake was devoured by TheGuyInBlack, which was the first time I’d seen him eat something sweet. The carrot cake was a dense and moist surprise with a light cream cheese icing. I did my best to put a dent in it, but gave it up as a hopeless task about halfway through. But the star of the desserts that night was definitely the apple dumpling. I wasn’t sure Ballchek was going to share it at first, but his generous nature won out over the “mine mine mine!” impulse in the end. Between the six of us, we finished that one off even though none of us had any room left.

Everyone took at least half of their meal home, and we bought an ice chest the next day so it would last the 300 miles between us and dinner that night.

We sent our regards to Sam, the Chef and owner, but since we were the last customers in the place, we called him out of the kitchen to get his picture taken:

So if you’re ever in the neighborhood, be sure to drop in. Go hungry, expect to take home a ton of food, and whatever you do, try the desserts! Tell Sam we said hello!

And How Are You Today?

So a warning up front, this is going to be one of those long, pointless, and rambling ones. Feel free to go look at something * pretty **. Ooooh ***, shiny****!

This week has lasted forever, hasn’t it? I feel bad for wishing my life away, but I started looking for Friday back on Monday. That’s about a day earlier than normal for me. (I feel like I should have a drum ba-dum-dump on that.)

So to address the whole JeepGirl fiasco and the warm and fuzzy comments to it: boy, aren’t hormones plus self-esteem issues just a lovely combination? WhatsHisFace is fantastic, and to his credit, I’ve had the better part of 18 years of being totally secure with him. It wasn’t a happy few minutes for me, but I think bringing it up caused more harm than good. Kind of – I’m more aware now than before that I’ve got some monster self confidence issues lurking. Maybe it’s that milestone birthday that’s looming in five months (so start planning the party and the gifts now, kthanksgbyenow! LOL) or maybe it’s that I’m back at my top weight. Or maybe I’ve just gone round the bend. Who knows? And yes, I’m being flippant, but I’ll figure out a way to work on it now that it’s reared it’s fugly head. I just have no freaking idea how to go about that at this point.

One good thing that did come out of the whole mess is hearing/reading from you all. Even if we are wastes of human beings because we’re not having kids, well we made a difference in other peoples lives. Some of them have or are having kids, so that counts, right? I’m being all thorny again, I know – sorry!

I’m seriously wondering about that though. I’ve been a total bitch since I came back from the motorcycle trip. I blamed it on the stomach thing coming back, but I’ve gone back to the mostly bland diet and here I am still all thorny. Is that how it works? You’re normal one day and then you wake up a cantankerous old woman? I’m wondering now if those long Zen-like rides where I contemplated if it was good for me to be a people-pleaser and self-denier in the pursuit of peace in my immediate circle of people were perhaps a bad idea? Is this how the universe or Creator or hell, my own subconscious thinks is the best way to answer that?

In addition to the bitch factor, I’ve also become totally opinionated on everything. You! Get a job! You! Quit lurking and comment already! You! Stop whining and suck it up! You over there trying to hide, what have you done for me lately?!? No, I don’t like that. And I don’t like that either. But I like that even if y’all don’t. Go suck an egg. No really – here’s an egg! Bite my tukus! (See? Cantankerous old woman! Who else talks like this?)

But maybe some good will come of the new me. You know, if I can find a way to make this somehow serve the common good? All I need to do is come up with the proper focus, something that will help all of mankind. It can’t be that hard, right?

Oh, and one more thing! I’m really disliking this whole blogger template thing. And CSS! I’m trying to take a pretty cool free template and make it work with the new Blogger and it’s pitching fits. Who the bloody hell went and changed HTML into the hot mess it is now? I could deal with it back in the first days when it was all tags and you could learn it in an hour. But with the CSS and the XML and the dohickeys with the widgets, gimme a damn donut and a Chai. You! Make it work!

(See? I warned you it would be pointless and rambling.)

* – I have no idea, a friend sent the link as I was writing this. Yes, I have odd friends. It was even a dude.
** – I will live there one day, oh yes I will!
*** – The clothes are cool, but the dude is the pretty thing LOL
**** – Me want.

And How Are You Today?

So a warning up front, this is going to be one of those long, pointless, and rambling ones. Feel free to go look at something * pretty **. Ooooh ***, shiny****!

This week has lasted forever, hasn’t it? I feel bad for wishing my life away, but I started looking for Friday back on Monday. That’s about a day earlier than normal for me. (I feel like I should have a drum ba-dum-dump on that.)

So to address the whole JeepGirl fiasco and the warm and fuzzy comments to it: boy, aren’t hormones plus self-esteem issues just a lovely combination? WhatsHisFace is fantastic, and to his credit, I’ve had the better part of 18 years of being totally secure with him. It wasn’t a happy few minutes for me, but I think bringing it up caused more harm than good. Kind of – I’m more aware now than before that I’ve got some monster self confidence issues lurking. Maybe it’s that milestone birthday that’s looming in five months (so start planning the party and the gifts now, kthanksgbyenow! LOL) or maybe it’s that I’m back at my top weight. Or maybe I’ve just gone round the bend. Who knows? And yes, I’m being flippant, but I’ll figure out a way to work on it now that it’s reared it’s fugly head. I just have no freaking idea how to go about that at this point.

One good thing that did come out of the whole mess is hearing/reading from you all. Even if we are wastes of human beings because we’re not having kids, well we made a difference in other peoples lives. Some of them have or are having kids, so that counts, right? I’m being all thorny again, I know – sorry!

I’m seriously wondering about that though. I’ve been a total bitch since I came back from the motorcycle trip. I blamed it on the stomach thing coming back, but I’ve gone back to the mostly bland diet and here I am still all thorny. Is that how it works? You’re normal one day and then you wake up a cantankerous old woman? I’m wondering now if those long Zen-like rides where I contemplated if it was good for me to be a people-pleaser and self-denier in the pursuit of peace in my immediate circle of people were perhaps a bad idea? Is this how the universe or Creator or hell, my own subconscious thinks is the best way to answer that?

In addition to the bitch factor, I’ve also become totally opinionated on everything. You! Get a job! You! Quit lurking and comment already! You! Stop whining and suck it up! You over there trying to hide, what have you done for me lately?!? No, I don’t like that. And I don’t like that either. But I like that even if y’all don’t. Go suck an egg. No really – here’s an egg! Bite my tukus! (See? Cantankerous old woman! Who else talks like this?)

But maybe some good will come of the new me. You know, if I can find a way to make this somehow serve the common good? All I need to do is come up with the proper focus, something that will help all of mankind. It can’t be that hard, right?

Oh, and one more thing! I’m really disliking this whole blogger template thing. And CSS! I’m trying to take a pretty cool free template and make it work with the new Blogger and it’s pitching fits. Who the bloody hell went and changed HTML into the hot mess it is now? I could deal with it back in the first days when it was all tags and you could learn it in an hour. But with the CSS and the XML and the dohickeys with the widgets, gimme a damn donut and a Chai. You! Make it work!

(See? I warned you it would be pointless and rambling.)

* – I have no idea, a friend sent the link as I was writing this. Yes, I have odd friends. It was even a dude.
** – I will live there one day, oh yes I will!
*** – The clothes are cool, but the dude is the pretty thing LOL
**** – Me want.

I’m Alive, Really!

I’m sorting through hundreds of pictures from the bike trip (and man, I’m so going on a diet. Chris got lots and lots of pictures of my ass on the bike in front of him, and oy. I’m going to print a couple out and carry with me for when I’m tempted to eat anything *LOL*)

We were at Arches National Park in Utah here. Stunning views and hot as hell. That sums up the Utah and Arizona portion of the trip actually. The Colorado portions were alternating hot as hell with cold as hell, but gorgeous in a completely different way.

I’d do it again in a heartbeat, so that’s a pretty good indication of how much fun it was. The people were fantastic, both the folks we went with and all the ones we met.

Here’s the route we took:
View Larger Map

The stops for the night were:

1. Ouray, CO (here’s one of us there)
2. Monticello, UT (there was absolutely nothing to do in town except be the obnoxious bikers drinking on the porch on a Sunday night – Utah frowns on alcohol)
3. Bullfrog Marina Lake Powell, UT (the picture is actually from the ferry ride the next morning)
4. Kayenta, AZ (no pictures, but I almost brought a dog home from there. He was just a little too wild)
5. Vallecito Resort near Bayfield, CO (here’s the lake)
6. Joyful Journey Hot Springs near Alamosa, CO (we stayed in a Yurt! and it was wonderful!)

I’m Alive, Really!

I’m sorting through hundreds of pictures from the bike trip (and man, I’m so going on a diet. Chris got lots and lots of pictures of my ass on the bike in front of him, and oy. I’m going to print a couple out and carry with me for when I’m tempted to eat anything *LOL*)

We were at Arches National Park in Utah here. Stunning views and hot as hell. That sums up the Utah and Arizona portion of the trip actually. The Colorado portions were alternating hot as hell with cold as hell, but gorgeous in a completely different way.

I’d do it again in a heartbeat, so that’s a pretty good indication of how much fun it was. The people were fantastic, both the folks we went with and all the ones we met.

Here’s the route we took:
View Larger Map

The stops for the night were:

1. Ouray, CO (here’s one of us there)
2. Monticello, UT (there was absolutely nothing to do in town except be the obnoxious bikers drinking on the porch on a Sunday night – Utah frowns on alcohol)
3. Bullfrog Marina Lake Powell, UT (the picture is actually from the ferry ride the next morning)
4. Kayenta, AZ (no pictures, but I almost brought a dog home from there. He was just a little too wild)
5. Vallecito Resort near Bayfield, CO (here’s the lake)
6. Joyful Journey Hot Springs near Alamosa, CO (we stayed in a Yurt! and it was wonderful!)

Day One

This is us early in the morning (well, 9am) on Day One of the big bike trip. I’ll give ya more soon, this is just a teaser.

PS – I’m the last one on the right. WhatsHisFace is the one standing, second from the left.

Day One

This is us early in the morning (well, 9am) on Day One of the big bike trip. I’ll give ya more soon, this is just a teaser.

PS – I’m the last one on the right. WhatsHisFace is the one standing, second from the left.