Yesterday I asked a couple of friends to meet me by a lake for tri-tip lunch. Those colorful teriyaki peppers were amazing. Can't see the squash but it is there, maybe in the middle, yellow. Mesquite smoke! We thinly sliced it across the grain on the toast and added horseradish along with the grilled red onions letting the sourdough toast absorb the juices.
I am a penniless bike mechanic, who takes a mini-vacation each day instead of a big one once or twice per year. I guess it is about values, I value friends, independence, and good food. I got rid of my smart phone, do not own a TV, do not stream, and read new books each week. I am making a bike for a 71-year-old woman who will bikepack from Seattle through Colorado and on to Maine on mostly gravel roads. That is valuing independence. She could afford a private cruiseship with bodyguards and servants. The fried chicken looks so good! Here is a fried chicken salad. I got to eat at that place for free for a year.
The most freeing thing I've ever done, cutting the cord with cable TV. I do stream free movies, today it was Titanic, no I had never seen it before. I have a Chromebook and smartphone, need those.