Peregrine Men & Vadnais Wedding 27Jun24-28Jun24

Matt's good friend from the 'hood was married this weekend in an great ceremony at (what used to be) Craftwood Inn. The bride & groom and all aspects were gorgeous and funny. It was keen to see so many of the Peregrine boys back in COS for the event. That started with a fine casual event, attended by most, at Red Leg Brewing. Two Mitchels, 2 Matts, and 1 David are the Peregrine Boyz.

We left a smidge early and let the youngsters have at it. I didn't catch Matt & Eline at this event but did so at the actual wedding. E gave us a start when she couldn't be found early in the wedding assembly... we later saw she had kid wrangling duties and got them all to their seats safely and then joined Kala & me. She was clad in a keen orange dress dialed in with matching 4" summer heels and of course left an impression. Four inch heels on an already statuesque lady is tall. Matt suggested he mated with her outfit by selecting a tie with splashes of orange. She's Dutch so the orange is emblematic and appropriate. She way carried the day.

I don't wanna betray the bride's & groom's right to publish pics but I will do just a few. Kelley was gorgeous and David handsome... David's grandmother was officiant! Their vows were spectacular with just the right amount of humor. The whole wedding and reception was really good with our scoring the table with good friends S&P and J&M, and joining were the Palmers (Carol & Larry had plenty of other duties ~ they were very happy and very busy). Matt was one of the "best men," there were 3 of 'em, and they all gave small speeches at the reception. Each one was unique, relevant, and excellent ~ again with the right level of laughs. Kelly's bestie and others gave speeches from the bridesmaids' side.

Kala & I were there too, and very happy to have been. We took the rare chance to get our own "fancied" pic, as well as one with the kids. What a blast.

Nest Music Theater Part Thirty One Point Five ~ Finishing The MiniOnkens & Metronomes And The Nest Deck Railing 24Jun24-25Jun24

With "fun time with friends" over in Summit for a bit, and the weather nice enough, I took to scraping and staining the deck railing and finishing the NestMT surrounds. Finishing the speakers is a big task as profiled for prior models.

I'll cut back describing the steps for these speakers. I first removed the Fostex FE108EΣ drivers from all four speakers and then sanded them with 80 and then 220 grit paper in an orbital sander. I wiped them clean with a tack cloth and then primed each on all surfaces with pre-stain prep; this helps make the staining more consistent... important IMO when putting plywood edges next to finished surface plys. I then used a foam brush to "paint" all surfaces with True Black oil stain (as I've used on all NestMT speakers), and then wipe the stain off everywhere after ~15 minutes. Wear surgical gloves as all these steps are messy, especially with black. They're ready to dry for a day.

The next day I set up the compressor and air sprayer as I intend to spray on the first coats of polyurethane on most surfaces. I used 25% lacquer thinner in the sprayer to thin the poly mix a bit and set my sprayer to 25psi. It did take me 30 min to get the sprayer going. I did the first coat once the daytime temp got to 60° and then let them all dry for several hours.

I used 400 or 600 grit paper and a hand block or the orbital to sand the poly between coats... this is important to get an etch on the surface to hold the next coat of polyurethane, as well as knock down imperfections. I simply wipe off the poly dust with a wet dust-free cloth after sanding, and let the speakers dry out before hitting them again with the spray gun, and then sanding again. I did a final poly coat with a foam brush. They came out nice. I reinstalled the drivers once fully dried at the end of the day and then moved the MiniOnkens to their height/presence spots and the Metronomes to their surround spots. Of course they sound the same as prior but look keen and consistent with the rest of the Nest Music Theater now.

I found the stain for the deck railing after a conversation with Ramig, my prior paint contractor, and then scraped blistering spots and re-stained the deck railing at the Nest. I shot the stiles with flat black epoxy in needed spots to tidy them up a bit too. The railing takes a beating over winter with all the snow removal I need to do back there (to get to the hot tub).

Dual home ownership is not for the faint of heart ~ but I'm happy to be in 78° weather rather that 95° on the Front Range or 105° in Omaha.

Team Hike Up Mayflower To Gold Hill ~ Geting Around The Cornice & Dining @ Bistro North 22Jun24

After a great concert yesterday we enjoyed some spicy quiche & cherry pastry to start the day at the Nest then headed past Copper for Mayflower Gulch TH. We did about 5mi and 1Kft of vert hiking up the road (still closed) with quite a few others. It was a gorgeous day though we hiked through plenty of running water on the road. The cool pics are below the Pacific Crest of the 10 Mile Range.

 

The boys split off at the gulch mining ruins and climbed up to the Gold Hill ridge line. We had to find a way through or around the large cornice at the top and after a quick test decided skirting it on a side hill traverse was a better move. In about 1/3 mile we were able to safely get to the ridge line and follow that nearly all the way back to the car. I was guide and knew the simple but hidden & timely turns onto game paths to get us around the nose of the hill. Jim & I were standing over the next valley which holds Clinton Rez and Bro Brown is campy cabin guy. We met the ladies at the car at almost the same time!

After showers, then totties & tunes at the Nest for a smidge, we headed to Bistro North (a fav spot in Dillon) for happy hour and appys. Universal agreement that the cut price drinks and 2-4-1 appetizers were excellent and a killer deal. No pics.

Molly Tuttle & Old Crow Medicine Show Concert ~ With Jim & The Browns 21Jun24

It's always a treat to catch a Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway show... even more so when I get to go with Kala & friends. I've seen her a couple times a year for the last 6 years or so. Steve & Donna came out tonight, as did Yoho, to join Kala and me at the Dillon Amp. Kala & I "held" spots for the late arriving Jim and the Browns. NP really, folks respected our chairs and blankets. We all sat in the center right in front of the sound guys. Molly Tuttle was excellent, as always; she only played an hour though as she was opener. And, she started 30 min early! I think they were trying to beat expected rain later in the evening. Molly played plenty from the latest bluegrass album, City of Gold, but did some covers and older stuff... they looked and sounded great and worked hard for their hour.

I did record a song from Molly Tuttle when she announced a new unreleased single called "Into The Wild."

It was a great start to the show. I'd brought a sharpie and a couple pieces of vinyl from MT (including her original album) as I'd hope she'd autograph them but there was no way to reach the stage for that, or the setlist, as it was buffered 6 ft away. Oh well. Old Crow Medicine Show was good but not like Molly; we all agreed. Sure they all played 3 or more instruments and were super-energetic but half the songs were covers of classics and the shtick between songs felt a bit forced. Anyway... it was sure worth it.

Ultimately OCMS started bringing all the members of Golden Highway out to play with them... I was sure waiting for MT to join but I really only caught Bronwyn/fiddle and Kyle/banjo and heard Dan/mandolin as we chose to leave when winds stirred up and temps dropped 15°; I knew the storm would soon let loose. Even the ex-governor and current senator, John Hickenlooper, came out to accompany OCMS... cool.

Dad's Day & Tamayo 16Jun24 & 18Jun24

It was dang hot on dad's day in COS but we got up early to catch a round at Kings Deer. It was good to play with the kid and Kala but my early errant play left me with high scores on the early holes... oh yeah, the others did not fare better. Still, it was a good time... right up until we were thrown off the course. Story: through 9 we were waiting to hit, right on the heels of the 4-some ahead. They left at the turn and we were 1 or 1.5 holes back. We did not close on them over 4 holes and were asked on #13 to skip ahead a hole or leave. We left with a rain check in our pockets ~ but it was an odd ask from course management, especially on dad's day with the kid. Loyalties will be reconsidered... not for being thrown out, but for allowing my ball to land in a seriously unplayable vole hole, on dad's day; unconscionable.

We convened again at The Brass Tap for lunch and a pop. Decent ~ Kala drove. We moved back on up to Pike's to meet up with Eline and another brew. It was fairly hopping. We got a generous offer to dine at Eline's house and Kala & I offered to cook. We bought and marinated chix and sliced up some scallions, chills, and asparagus for the grill. She had a great house and we even got to meet her wonderful mom, Marianne. Great finish to dad's day except I did close the grill on top of some Pyrex and broke it, then served glass with the meal. No pics there, obviously.

On Tue we headed up to Denver for a "thank you" party with Schwab. It was held right on Larimer, a keen part of downtown, @ Tamayo, a special Mexican food spot featuring Oaxacan cuisine. The rooftop spot and outside dining was awesome and Schwab was very lucky to have scored a 20° drop since Monday's heat. It was gorgeous, the food was good, the margs were decent, and we met a cool CO couple there, the Henthorns. Jim's a volleyball ref & coach and endurance athlete and Jana is a noted non-profit exec and ballet enthusiast. We clicked, and I especially liked Jim's haircut. We also met Chef Sandoval and some guns from Schwab.

Summer Will Be Time For PMDs 15Jun24

The rivers are still raging but with total loss of my mayfly box I still need to tie up some summer flies. I have my Chubbies but soon enough it'll be time for PMD and green drakes, Today I tied my most effective PMDs: for weight, it's a jigged Rainbow Warrior and for a nymph it's my PMD pheasant tail variant. The warrior is what you expect. the DRC PMDPT is #18 PT with a red bead and a white ostrich or pale & UV pearl dubbed thorax. PMDs have big red eyes so yeah...

I've yet to do the green drakes. We did get in a 2nd ride with Kala's Skitch. The pic is from America The Beautiful park (and of the Olympic museum in the bg).

Mipso Concert @ Lulu's Downtown With Yohos & Brantleys 14Jun24

Mipso, a keen NC Americana/bluegrass band I've been following and enjoyed for a while, toured Colorado. I was pleased when they were booked into Lulu's Downtown in COS ~ so I wouldn't need to travel to Palisade for a festival they'll play there. I got tix and then convinced the Yohanans & Brantleys and Kala to come too. We made an evening of it and dined before the concert at Lumen8, a nice rooftop restaurant in downtown COS. The food was decent; the views were excellent; the friends out supreme.

We parked close to Lulu's and walked to the restaraunt and then the venue several blocks away. The music theater is somewhat new and in the old Thirsty Parrot spot (original Lulu's Downstairs is in Manitou). It's  setup with big bar, high top tables & seats at the top, and two smaller levels before the mosh pit, was excellent. Sound was not great but acceptable for Mipso; the opening acts did not sound as good. Initially Patrick Dethlefs, a Colorado guy playing folk, was OK but throughout his vocals were hard to discern.

Second up was Patchwork Jack, a threesome of mandolin (and backing vocals), bandleader with lead/rhythm guitar and lead vocals, and bass. They were much better, all were jacked into house sound, which still wasn't good enough. The bandleader was Texan, though now from CO, and delivered Texas blues and western folk. They were worth it but could've sounded better. The house speakers are very far abreast for the venue and tucked in corners so delivered a blooming and boomy sound with insufficient mid-high and treble. There was a guy walking around with an iPad likely trying to dial it in, but they should hire me.

We came for Mipso, a Chapel Hill, NC foursome (met at UNC) I've been obsessing over, and they didn't disappoint. Except that, for whatever reason, Libby the fiddle player, songwriter, and a lead & harmonizing vocalist, didn't come on this tour. She was missed but Hannah Read, a Scottish-born fiddle player and vocalist subbed and was very skilled. I imagine her work to replace Libby was huge for her, to learn all the songs, though some of the Libby-led/Libby-written songs were not played as a result, replaced instead by some Scottish sounding stuff; she did kick ass on Big Star. Anyway Mipso was very good but was still damped initially by the sound system a bit. That is until they unplugged and harmonized around a separate cool Ear Trumpet Labs Delphina mic. From that point on the sound improved ~ even when they departed from that mic. Songs were great and harmonies were decent but Joseph Terrell, a killer musician all around, was the best. And again Libby was missed.

They played a number of favorites and I was able to score the setlist after the show. Kala laments she didn't take the video as I looked like a dufus with my ass in the air reaching for the paper. I likely snagged the one that Joe intended for Hannah as it has all the chords on it. After the show, I met Joe and thanked and congratulated him, and he signed the setlist! Cool #1. Kala even got me a Mipso t-shirt with a hook, line, and fish (there's a song about fishing with real hooks, not ones bought in a vending machine) on it. Cool #2.

Really fun evening for me with really great friends. They liked it OK.