Yesterday we put on our new sheets we had bought in Italy probably 7 years ago or more. Lori had been saving them, ha. A couple days ago we found a new duvet cover and bedspread and now our bed is like we’re living at The Ritz Carlton. Jag made it home from Aspen around 10 and Ty hung out all day doing homework. Both boys might come up next weekend, we’ll see.
Today Lori is working in Vail and I have some work to do around the house. I hope to go to Denver tomorrow for an oil change and run a few errands. Football starts Thursday, finally.
It’s going to be hot all week in Denver but in the 50’s and 60’s up here this weekend. Big fires in California but so far, we’re ok here. Time to get moving. Make it a great day and God Bless.
Today is the unofficial end of summer. Here we go! Labor Day was first celebrated in New York in 1887. It was a day created to celebrate workers. Coming up are the big three, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, time flies.
Yesterday Lori and I were back from Glenwood by noon. We went up to Carbondale for breakfast but didn’t want to hang out and wait as the lines were long. In the afternoon we went to the gym and then last night went to see the movie Bullet Train.
Today we’ll hit the gym again and Jag will be driving home from Aspen while Ty is wrapping up some homework before classes begin tomorrow.
I texted a bunch with Tasha who might have covid. A bunch of people from her trip to France now have it so she was testing last night. Shelly seems to be rallying which is great news. I’ll know more today.
Lori is still trying to kick her headache. She has an appointment on the 14th but is trying to get in earlier. It’s going to be 100 degrees in Denver this week but cooler up here and then on the weekend, a cold front is coming. Get ready. Hope the winter is not going to be as long and cold as they think it might be.
This morning Lori is getting her hair done in Glenwood at 9. That should take about 90 minutes and then we’ll head home. Think I’ll go with her, so she doesn’t have to drive and to keep her company.
The boys are doing well. Ty was at Cherry Creek getting some new pants yesterday. Jag is having a blast in Aspen. So far, no ants! That’s good news. Not sure what we’re doing this afternoon.
Shelly seems to be doing better. We had some tough texts back and forth with Tasha yesterday but seem to be more on the same page now.
We took Dixie to lunch yesterday where she had a beer and a sandwich. Of course she forgot 2 hours later that she went but had fun in the moment. She thought Lori was her sister Katie and told us she hadn’t seen her mom and dad earlier in the morning and was wondering where they were. We just let it go and said they were not around, which is the new normal. We might take her again today or tomorrow if she’s up to it. Lori is such a good daughter as she sees her mom 29 out of 30 days each month (or more) and works her days around taking care of her. I keep telling Lori she’s great at taking care of everyone except herself which is 100% true.
Time to get moving as we need to leave in 45 minutes. Enjoy the day and God Bless.
Man, what a day. Besides cleaning up all my gear and the truck, we managed to get Orkin out here to finally get rid of the ants once and for all. Lori worked most of the day and we went to the gym in the morning. Later in the day we went to Home Depot and did about 5 loads of laundry.
On the way home from Home Depot I called Robin as the text thread about Shelly wasn’t adding up. Tasha, her daughter and my niece, literally said she was not leaving hospice and that she was just going to die! This made no sense so with Robin on the phone, I said let’s call Tasha. Finally, after a bunch of back and forth, and a direct conversation, Tasha called or texted Tommy, who agreed with Robin and I that Shelly needs to go to the hospital. Not sure if she went last night or this morning but I told Tasha she needs to go or I’d either call 911 or fly out there. Tasha wanted no part of either of those scenarios. To be fair, we understand that this is tough on Tasha, but you don’t just give up and say, “oh well, time to keep her comfortable and let her die”. While Shelly does have some fractures in her back and a UTI infection, that might be colonized or chronic, neither of those shut down your organs and kill you! Tasha told Tom that Robin and I were yelling at her which is not true at all. I think she hung up on us, not sure. She also asked Tom to, in her words, call off the dogs, meaning Robi and I, ha. In the end, here’s the deal, if Shelly, our sister, wants to live and wants to go to the hospital, you take her, period. If Shelly needs 24-hour care that costs $25k a month, so be it, she has the money. Tasha will inherit some money from Shelly and money makes people funny, but for right now, it’s Shelly’s money and if she wants or needs to spend it all on her care, that’s what it’s for. We’ll know more this morning, ugh.
Jag went to Aspen for the weekend with a couple of buddies. One of the guy’s dads manages 750 billion dollars and has a $40 million dollar, 17,000 sqaure foot house the boys are going to hang in for the weekend. Ty is doing well in school and making lots of new friends. I think he’s seeing some girl and Jagger is seeing her older sister. Not sure how that worked out, but it’ll make the holidays fun, ha.
Almost time to move and groove. We’re headed to the gym and then I’m not sure what we’re doing. I’m sure Lori has something in mind. She kept us up last night as her headache was pretty bad. I should still be sleeping now!
Make it a great day and have a great weekend. The unofficial beginning to Fall starts on Tuesday. We call it the off season up here as everyone except us locals leave town until Thanksgiving when the snow starts. Fall is beautiful but late this year due to all the rain. Normally the colors should be starting to change but not much happening yet.
Thanks to Lori for doing the blog and all the hard work she did both here and in California while I was gone. Sorry her trip was so rough. For us, it was a good trip. We headed out yesterday around 2:15 and pulled in around 10:45 pm. If we didn’t hit rush hour traffic in Salt Lake City, I think we could have done it in less than 8 hours arriving by 10 pm.
James, Marty, Castor and I all had a good time and of course there were some ups and downs. Not with us but with some logistics. While gone, Shelly has seemed to rally, yea! Guess she had a UTI which can cause all kinds of issues. I have a lot to do this morning, so I’ll write some more details about the trip over the next few days. Now it’s off to the gym.
Again, I know how tough it was for Lori to let go of the house in CA. I think it was the right move but of course, it’s not easy to get rid of the house your mom lived in. It takes time to let things go that were a part of your life. Same thing happened with my mom’s place. I still look down the driveway whenever I drive by to see the old place. At least that won’t happen too often for Lori.
Time to go, enjoy the holiday weekend, God Bless.
Morning sunrise with the Grand Tetons behind the tree on the left.A few elk early in the morning.
Good evening, please forgive me as I have been crazy busy today.
Let me start by saying I dictate the posts as I am driving, working, walking, etc., so please forgive all the double sentences and spelling errors. (I edited some of the errors)
I got up at 4:30 this morning and started purging Jagger’s room, Ty’s room, the mudroom, and what I could get out of Doug’s office safely. I am amazed at the sheer amount of stuff we have, it seems the more space we have some more stuff we get. I think I am going to implement the rule something comes in, something goes out!
I was buried with work yesterday and today as the people that were supposed to cover me Monday and Tuesday didn’t do anything and I came back to work yesterday with 33 surgeries to schedule, plus Instagram, Facebook, booking conferences, and scheduling dinners and appointments. At one point today I was almost ready to text the team “I quit”.
fortunately, or unfortunately, CastlePeak called to tell me that my mom got dressed and walked out of the building telling them I was picking her up. I had talk to her an hour prior to this phone call and told her I would take her for a drive after work around 5:30 PM. This was at 2 PM . I quickly changed my clothes and drove to CastlePeak to pick up my mom. I took her for a long drive and tried to multitask by dictating emails and answering calls as we drove. I took her down the river frontage Road into Avon and up into Beaver Creek resort. The flowers and foliage are spectacular in Beaver Creek.
Mom really enjoyed the ride and told me how great her parents looked yesterday when she saw them. She asked me if Doug was married and wanted me to drop her at the farm. The brain and neuro connections really are strange. Ty called on speakerphone while we were sight seeing, so she got to hear all about college.
I took her back to CastlePeak around five
I took her back to CastlePeak around 5:00 PM and she of course, did not want to get out. She wanted me just to take her up the road on the way to my house and drop her at the farm. I feel horrible when I make her get out of the car because she literally grabs onto the handle and tells me no. I try to distract her and remind her of the painting of the road to Happy Valley that hangs above her TV and then she is a little less resistant. I asked if she wanted to ride a little more or come to my house and she said “no”. As the lump in my throat continued to grow, and the tears started to well up I helped her (pried her hand from the car) and walked her in and took her up to her room. When we walked through the door she said shed stayed there before and she liked it. Whew!
I’d like to pick her up for another drive tomorrow but I am seriously behind in work, so it may have to wait until Saturday. Thank you for excusing my errors as I dictate and have a great night!
Good news, Doug is back doing the blog tomorrow so it will be prompt and not dictated.
I picked Harley up yesterday and as you can imagine she was overjoyed to see me. She was trying to be a good girl and sit but she just couldn’t contain her excitement and jumped on me a few times. The vet hadn’t given updated her shots or given her the wellness visit that I had scheduled For while I was gone, so we had to do that. Of course, Harley nipped at the vet tech to tell her she didn’t want to be with them anymore and then she nipped at the vet. The vet asked if she was protective of me and I thought, that seems pretty obvious. I muzzled Harley and left the room so the vet and the tech could do what they needed to do. The vet came out after the shots were done and said she sat like a good girl and didn’t nip or growl.The vet came out after the shots were done and said she sat like a good girl and didn’t nip or growl.Once we got home, Harley ran and ran all around the backyard and we played fetch with her new toy for at least an hour. She came over and sat by my feet and put her head in my lap while I was eating dinner. She’s very happy to have her human.
Monday, while I was mopping the basement floors the new owner, Sean stopped by. I walked him through the house and he was ecstatic and in disbelief at how much work I had done as he and his wife did the final walk through during the last day of the estate sale/rummage sale and witnessed the devastation first hand. I walked him through the house and showed him where the extra hardwoods for replacement are stored as well as extra pieces of the rod iron fence. I showed him the plants that I was leaving on the back deck and he said they were going to take very good care of them and the only thing they were updating was putting in a swimming pool. I always wanted that house to have a swimming pool!
We walked through the dining room, and I told him I was leaving the dining table and hutch as my mom had the linen closet cabinet doors mitered to match the design on the back of the dining chairs and hutch. I did mention that Habitat for Humanity was willing to come and pick up the dining table, chairs and hutch at no charge if he and Kristin didn’t want them. He seemed quite happy and surprised that I was leaving those for them and he said “no way” on calling habitat for Humanity.
I told him that I hope he and Kristin enjoy the tranquility and serenity of the house as it was always a peaceful place and such a great home for parties and celebrations. I’m glad he stopped by as I know they will take really good care of the house and make it their home.
I bought them a beautiful purple orchid, a bottle of small vineyards LaQuercia, a nice bottle of Champagne and dog treats for their German Shepard with a card and letter. I left one of mom’s jade plants that’s lived at the house for 20 years, I’m sure it will continue to thrive.
I’ll let Doug fill you in on how the hunters going when he’s in range to do the blog.
Today is the one year anniversary of Alison’s passing and our condolences and heartfelt love go out to Tom as it is such a difficult day. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year already. I was scrolling through texts deleting spam and I found a text thread from Ali- Ali gave my mom a doll for Christmas in 2020 and mom named her Ali. I was texting Alison that mom remembers that she received the doll as a gift at Christmas from Tom and Alison and that she loves that doll. Tom and Alison were/are always so kind and inclusive with my mom….I am forever grateful.
The new owners of mom’s home will be moving in tonight or tomorrow…sad day for me. I spent the last four days cleaning out what looked like a foreclosure home. When I arrived at mom’s I was shocked at the state of the home as there were greasy boot prints on the hardwood floors and carpet, dirt clods, broken glass, leaves, clothes, and miscellaneous trash throughout the house. let me say, and estate sale is a fancy word for a rummage, indoor garage sale where people have no respect for the belongings of others.
I started upstairs boxing up what I feel mom may still remember and things that I will eventually need for her memorial service as well as some key pieces I’d like to have at our house. Rolling and wrapping 2 10 x 16 rugs alone was so hilarious, I wish I would have thought to set up a camera to make a TikTok video. I rolled the rug which was not the most difficult part, wrapping the rug was the hilarious part. Suzanne Somers would’ve been proud of my strength. I had to hold the rugs with my knees and wrap it with a plastic roll an inch my way backwards until I completed the rug. It doesn’t seem so funny on paper.
Oh I was really happy that mom and Don installed their slow elevator as I loaded it with boxes to get down to the basement for the moving company.
I used it for the big potted plants to transport the pots downstairs so I could get them over to Marcy’s. I took mom big orchid plant that she’s had for 15 years to Marcy to hols for Anneete. The orchid blooms giant yellow orchids every year in April and again in November and I’m so happy Annette will get to enjoy the blooms!
My flight this morning was supposed to leave at 8:04 and at 6:30 AM I got a text from United that my flight was delayed until 2 PM and my connecting flight to Eagle would be leaving at 7 PM getting me in at 8:05. I quickly got online and found a Southwest flight that would get me in at 1:20 so I could potentially make my 136 flight. However, the southwest flight went to Sacramento to Long Beach sat for 45 minutes and then on to Denver. I booked a one-way ticket from Denver to Eagle with the 1:36 PM departure. I had planned to cancel it if I didn’t make it to the gate on time… Option number two was taking a cab to Tommy’s and driving Ty’s car up to Eagle. Thankfully, the Southwest flight was a little bit early and I was able to run from the C gates to the train and take the train to B and run from B37 to B59.
I made it with one minute to spare. I had Don in my tote and I was terrified I was going to trip and fall and break the urn. actually, when I got on the escalator my wheel caught and jerked my suitcase which turned my tote and Don sideways. He came out and I caught hold of the velvet bag he was in…crisis overted.
We, Don and I, made it to Eagle and our neighbor Brian picked me up at the airport and now I am off to get Harley.
I am saddened by the anniversary of Alison as well as the end of my mom’s reign in her home on Walnut Road.
We left around 8:15 in the morning as Marty, of course, was 45 minutes late. After a few stops, we pulled into Pocatello Idaho around 5 in the afternoon. We headed out for dinner and even here, James was recognized. We don’t think of him as a celebrity so it’s always a little weird. Comes with the territory I guess.
Today we’re headed to meet our guides around 1 and then will head into spike camp in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Should be fun. Lori is working away and will fly home tomorrow morning. She spent the afternoon, or part of it, with Annette and Jean. Glad she got to spend some time with them.
Not sure what we’re doing for breakfast. We each lugged cases full of rifles and gear into our rooms and put our giant coolers in some meeting room downstairs at the hotel. September is right around the corner. We’re all looking forward to getting into the wilderness as in a strange way, we feel really at home when out away from everything. This is our fourth year as a group and next year is Alaska. Can’t wait.
Yesterday was spent packing and battling ants coming up from between the hardwood floors. As bad as I wanted to just kill them, I laid out bait traps so they’d eat the stuff and go back to the nest and hopefully kill them all. So far this morning I’ve only seen one when yesterday at the peak there must have been 20 or 30. I might seal the crack up with clear silicone this morning, not sure yet.
Ty went to the Bronco game with some friends. Lori worked her tail off cleaning and packing, and Jag was hanging out in Boulder. I’m all packed and the truck is cleaned up ready to go. The guys should be here in 90 minutes, and we’ll head out.
Shelly seems to have rallied. Guess she was home sitting on her back porch smoking a cig and drinking coffee yesterday afternoon. She needs to stop smoking. Not sure how anyone can smoke cigarettes these days although it’s super hard to quit.
Time to get moving. I’ll do the blog tomorrow, but Lori needs to do it Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as I think I won’t have a signal. Tom, please remind her if it’s not up.
Everyone take care and have a good last few day’s of August. See you in September! God Bless.
