A Year of Change

Yesterday around 2:45, Salvatore finished up for the day. He’s a little slow but really thorough and does a great job. Our house inside basically looks brand new! For the past six weeks we have had him fix everything inside I could find. Things like a lot of dings or chips in places like the wood trim around the sliding doors or windows, or in the baseboards. He regrouted the floors all over the house where grout had worked its way out due to normal wear and tear, caulked bathroom counters and the showers, fixed things like Ty’s shower door, painted some walls and doors, installed a new panel on our Toto toilet which was broken for 4 years, and much more I can’t even remember. Most of the damage was cosmetic but needed to be fixed. The house looks really good. In a couple weeks I’ll have him back for a few more projects and then we should be good to go. I should sell now but I think we’re holding for another year.

Ty went to Denver after the gym to play paintball. He was home around 7 or 8 last night. He has my “all in mentality” as he hasn’t missed a single day of working out other than his scheduled rest days. It’s a side of him we knew he had but really hadn’t seen. The kids found an apartment in Chicago for $4100 a month! You have to “apply” for it with terms you offer, which usually require bidding over the asking price to be picked. Lori told the kids to write a letter and send it along with their offer and I said throw in a case of wine every three months for the year for the agent. We should know soon whether they get picked or not. The rent prices in Chicago are insane! That’s more than our mortgage payment! Fingers crossed.

Starting today the sun will set around 7pm and it’ll only stay light longer as each day passes. At 7:11 right now the sun is just starting to come up here. Lori and I are soon headed to the gym. Her neck has been sore since we were in Chicago as she kept looking up at all the tall buildings and trying to see out from under the hood on her jacket. Big mistake, ha.

A lot of the snow melted yesterday but there’s still a good amount on the ground. Should be gone in the next two days as it’s going to be really warm. Looks like the high 60’s or 70’s all week in Denver which means it’ll be close to that up here!

Tom and Robi, Lori made popovers yesterday! Not sure if you remember when Mom used to make them. I love them and think I ate 4 of them! That’s all I had yesterday. They sure are good.

That’s it, happy Sunday. Have a good day and God Bless.

Yesterday we ended up with a little more snow than I thought. The driveway wasn’t too bad but it was a wet, heavy snow with high water content. If you look outside in the backyard, there’s a good 5 or 6 inches on the trees and firepit. With it being such a wet snow, this will really help the drought conditions that we were anticipating. It was a good Spring snow storm. By Monday it’ll be close to 70 degrees, so it’ll be gone soon. Lori said this is what Christmas should have looked like! The trees look like they have giant cotton balls sitting on them, pretty.

Salvatore was here yesterday working and finishing painting the master bathroom. He’ll be back this morning and work for 4 or 5 more hours finishing up some other things that need to be done. The house is looking really good.

Ty is off today and tomorrow and I think going to Denver to play basketball and paintball. He’s been working hard. It’s 65 or warmer in Chicago so Jag and Ava should have a nice weekend.

I’ve been staying away from politics as no matter what happens these days, the Dems are against it, if Trump is for it. Right now they’re hoping America loses and suffers lots of losses and defending Iran. Let’s get this straight, they cheered the death of Charlie Kirk and are condemning the death of the leader of the Country that is the number one sponsor of terrorism Worldwide. They’re even happy that gas prices are going up, which is a natural, temporary byproduct of attacking a country that is an oil producer. They want America to suffer so it benefits them politically. When I was a kid, everyone rallied together as a Country in times like these, no matter which side of the aisle you were on. You can’t make this stuff up. Oh, and the House voted something like 357 to 57 NOT to release the records of House members who have settled sexual abuse claims! Time for all these clowns to go. They’re all pretty much cringe worthy. Enough said.

Time to get moving so we can get to the gym and get back before Sal gets here at 9:30. Have a great Saturday and God Bless.

We might have 3 inches of snow in the backyard, but the driveway is halfway covered with some bare spots of asphalt showing through. The closer you get to Vail, I’m sure the more snow there is. Any moisture is good at this point as we’re nearing the end of the season. Two weeks from tomorrow is the first official day of Spring.

Nice Nuggets win last night. I stayed up to watch it. I’m sure Tommy did too. He has an offer on his house. If his realtor is worth anything, she’ll have it sold. I think his realtor is a friend of a friend or something like that. Sometimes that’s good, other times, well, you know.

Ty went boarding yesterday at Keystone and works today. He’s going to Bozeman for Easter weekend. We helped him out with a ticket as he’s doing so well. We were going to Scottsdale but might go a week earlier so someone is here with Harley.

The kids didn’t get the apartment they applied for as someone offered $500 more a month for it! That’s the way it works in Chicago. People outbid people, mostly on rentals. $4600 a month is a ton for rent! Lori reached out to some people she knows that know people there, trying to see of we can find something.

Time to put the trash out and clean off the trucks. Have a great Friday, God Bless.

Yesterday afternoon I met up with Davy’s ranch hand, Aaron, down the road by the ice rink as he was pulling a horse trailer and it was too hard for him to get up to the house. I picked up my 80 pounds of steak burger and 20 pounds of steak and it’s now safe in the freezer.

I managed to get a lot done yesterday, both at work and around the house. The big job was taking down the Christmas lights. I cleaned the kitchen and did about 3 loads of Ty’s laundry too. I have a call from 9:30 to 10am this morning and then a few other calls during the day.

Ty’s off today and I think going boarding at Keystone. Jag and Ava found an apartment but don’t know if they’ll get it as a lot of people apply for any nice place that comes on the market. It’s $4100 a month which is the same as our mortgage payment! Unbelievable.

Looks like a little snow tomorrow, we’ll see. 5:45am now, time to get moving. Have a great day, take care and God Bless.

I was in and out of Denver by 11am. I had my new sport coat tailored and picked up some shirts for Jagger. Had a quick 30 minute Zoom interview and then headed up the hill. Today I have a quarter side of beef coming up from Davy’s ranch in Gunnison. Steak burger and steaks! Did you know that among other bad things, 80% of the beef in grocery stores has carbon monoxide exposure. Didn’t know that. Anyhow, nothing tastes like the beef straight from the ranch, and its way cheaper too! Marty and I are splitting a half a cow.

Ty’s off to work and I’m getting ready to go to the gym while Lori is getting ready for work. I think I’ve developed an allergy to nuts. So weird, but they now make me, and Lori, itch, hmm. I have another phone interview this morning and then am open for the day.

We’re thinking of swapping out Lori’s car. Might get her the Porsche Macan which is a little smaller but actually has more leg room. Might go Land Rover too, depends on who gives us the most for her car.

Time to get moving. Have a great day, be well, stay safe and God Bless.

We were up early and in the car by 6:15am. Once at the airport we headed to the United Club to hang out until our flight. A little over two hours later we landed in Eagle and 5 minutes after we walked down the jetway, we were in the truck headed home. That’s the way to travel. Driver, First Class, and fifteen minutes from jetway to home.

Great time and great to see and hang out with the kids. Chicago, at least the part we spent our time in, was great. When we got home, we did laundry and I ran some clothes to the dry cleaner and stopped and had lunch with Ty. He did a great job taking care of the house and Harley. He’s such a good boy.

I have an interview at 9:30 this morning in Denver and then will be headed up the hill by 11:30. Lori is working in Vail. It was 70 degrees when we walked off the plan today! Unbelievable.

Good to be home, felt like we were gone a week! Time to get moving, have a great day, take care, be safe and God Bless.

Yesterday was another good day in Chicago, cold, but good. We started out with breakfast, or I mean brunch, after the gym with the kids and then headed to Michigan Avenue to find Jagger some shoes. Nordstrom was our first stop, and we scored three much needed pairs for him and one pair of chukkas, on sale for me! After that we hit the Harry Potter store which was amazing. I couldn’t believe the store and all the people! We then headed over to the kids neighborhood to walk around and drop the shoes and leftovers from brunch..

Soon it was 4pm and we were calling a car to take us to dinner. We decided to go back to the place we went to last night as it was so good and they just happened to have an opening. Crab, carpaccio, steak, and a bunch of things the chef sent to our table made for a fantastic meal. Afterwards we walked back to our room and the kids took an Uber home around 7.

We fly out around 9 this morning and land in Eagle, ten minutes from the house, around 11am. We love our little airport. It was a really great trip spending time with the kids and getting Jag some new stuff for his new job. They are doing so well. We just need to find them a place. We’ll work on that! We’ll head back sometime in May, maybe sooner. Chicago really is a great city, especially for shopping and eating! Can’t wait to see it when it warms up. It’ll be really cool with everything in bloom.

That’s it, time to meet our driver and head to the airport. Take care, be safe, especially with the Middle East crap going on, and God Bless.

Fun day! We started out hitting the hotel gym. Hotel gyms are never good, but you go anyhow. Then we hooked up with the kids and walked around town. Jag needed an overcoat, so we went into this 5-story mall and ended up in Bloomingdales. After a scene too long to go into, Jag ended up with a cashmere camel hair overcoat from London and a navy-blue sport coat. With the big sale going on, and a little luck, both coats cost a bit under $600! They normally would have been 2 to 3 times that much, so it was a score.

We then grabbed a light lunch at the hotel before taking an Uber over to their neighborhood. We walked around there for a couple hours and then headed back to get ready for dinner. The kids met us at 4:50 and I had the hotel driver take us to Maple and Ash, one of the top steakhouses in town. The place went all out for us as I set up a little celebration. Check out the picture below, they made these up for all four of us. The lighting was all candlelight, so the pic is not that great, but it was so much fun, and again the food was great. Jag really enjoyed it and said it was epic! Afterwards we walked back to the hotel, which was only a couple of blocks, but the wind coming off Lake Michigan, is really cold.

This morning, continuing our foodie tour, we have brunch at this cool place owned by the kid of the owner of Le Boucheron! They have things like foie gras and blueberry pancakes as well as other great sounding things. It’ll be even colder today they say, we’ll see. More to come, we’re up early tomorrow and on the way to the airport around 6:30am.

That’s it, we’ll definitely be back here soon! God Bless.

We were up early and headed to the airport, ten minutes from the house, by 6:15am. No one was in line at security and yet, the thing dinged and I was randomly selected for a secondary screening! I walked through after the guy told me and the nice elderly TSA lady, looked at me and said, “ah, you’re good, go ahead” Gotta love our small airport.

The flight was easy and about 2 hours all in. Our driver met us at the curb and off to the hotel we went. The greeted us like we were someone special and walked us up to our room to show us how everything works. Our room is gorgeous and we’re on the 15th floor above the bustling city and tons of great shopping on the streets below. The city was alive, and makes Denver look like the cow town it is.

Around 2:30 Ava came and met us and we walked around checking things out. Jag showed up from work at 4:15 and we grabbed our Black Uber and headed out to Mon Ami Gabi, a French restaurant I found. 2 hours or so later, we were done with one of the most fantastic meals we’ve had in a long long time. Everything, and I mean everything, was really good. After dinner we walked back to the kids place and then took an Uber back to our hotel. One of the concierge here is from Edwards Colorado! His dad, who now lives in the Philippines, owned Boulangerie Bakery where we’d always go ten years ago or so. Their old bread cutting machine is now in Hovey where Ty works! Small World.

It was 65 degrees in Chicago! People were running on the shore of the lake, playing tennis, walking their dogs and more. It’s like the sun brought everyone out of hibernation. Today it’ll be a little different as it’s going to be 35 or 40 at most. Tomorrow, even a little cooler. Tuesday is an ice and rainstorm! Glad we’ll be home by then.

The kids are doing great and so together. It’s like they grew up ten years in the past month. They’re both crushing it. We need to find them a place so we’re reaching out to everyone we know.

More tomorrow, take care and God Bless.

p.s. we have a great dinner tonight at Maple and Ash, one of the best restaurants in town which is saying something as there’s hundreds of great places! This is a real foody town.

We’re off to the Windy City. We should land at noon and be at the hotel by 1 or so. We have an early dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, a great French restaurant. Lori, Ava and I will meet Jagger there who will be coming straight from work. We have a great room overlooking Lake Michigan and the city. I already checked in digitally and don’t even need to go to the front desk, pretty slick.

Ty’s working today and holding down the fort at home with Harley. He has Saturday and Sunday off so Harley will be happy. We’ll be home around 11:30am Monday morning.

Yesterday I ran around getting tons of food for the human eating machine known as Ty. He has steaks, chicken and hamburger, along with rice, broccoli, asparagus and other assorted high calorie foods so he can get his 2600 calories a day. It’s hard to eat that much unless you eat bad food like cookies and cake. Those are full of useless calories and other bad stuff though.

Can’t wait to see Jagger and Ava. Should be a fun weekend. Have a great day and we’ll try to post some pics, God Bless.