A Year of Change

We had a busy day and 5 o’clock rolled around quickly. Lori, Ty and I packed up the car and headed to James. Jag was at some friends so he met us there. Marty, Melanie and their two boys were about 10 minutes behind us. James had been smoking a bunch of ribs all afternoon and after a bit we threw on 2 giant rib eyes which looked more like roasts. Lori’s homemade ice cream was the hit of the evening and that’s saying something as all the food was great. Around 2 before we went, the rain came in. The thunder that came with it made any fireworks sound like kids play. Right on time though it blew out around 4:45. We had a great time and before we knew it the fireworks in Vail started at 9:45 pm. We could sort of see them from the house but not as good as if we were in town. After they were over we left and were instantly caught up in traffic that rivaled Denver at rush hour. I’ve never seen so many cars in town. It’s like all of the front range came up here for the weekend. Glad they’ll be leaving today! Then we can get back to normal life.

It was great to spend time with the boys. James was explaining how he writes songs and comes up with music as earlier in the afternoon he and the band worked out a few of his new tunes on Zoom. Ty was really intrigued and James spent some time with him as he could tell Ty was genuinely interested. Jag left a bit early to go spend the rest of the night with his friends. I saw a picture on FB and it was Jag, 2 other buddies and about a dozen girls! Marty calls Ty “Crash” and Jagger “Lover Boy”.

It’s nice and cool up here which is so nice. The evenings cool off the house and then the day is about 80-85, perfect. We hardly ever use the A/C. Jag stayed at Emile’s and Ty and Lori are still sleeping. Harley is doing well as we get daily video updates. Today we need to try to find a rug for the dining room. Hopefully Costco has a cheap one!

That’s it, no virus or protest talk today. We’re just over it. Of course the news led off the day with as much bad news as they could find but I won’t play. Enjoy July 5th, Fall and Winter will be here before we know it. God Bless.

244 years ago our Country celebrated its independence for the first time. Wonder what our founding fathers would think of us if they were here today. I think they’d be disappointed yet still hopeful. In a way there’s a battle going on right now but not the one you think. It’s not the BLM or protestors fighting the establishment, it’s the rest of us, the silent majority, that is disgusted with what’s going on and about to come out of the shadows. Americans overwhelmingly do not want statues and history destroyed, we don’t want to defund the police and we certainly don’t want to live in fear and beat the hell out of each other for no clear reason at all. We will prevail.

Today we’re going to our 4th of July bbq at James’s house. He volunteered to host so that’s where we’ll be. It’ll be us, Marty and Melanie, their son Max and Marty’s nephew, who is now living with them as his sister is headed to rehab, and James. We have so much food we could feed twice as many. The town and valley is packed. The private jet parking lot at the airport is full. I’m sure most are from Texas. Our builders wife who runs the ski patrol at Beaver Creek said the other day that they had 750 mountain bikers an hour using the chair lifts compared to a normal number of 350 people. For this weekend masks are required everywhere which is probably smart. I know half of Denver came up here too as when I drove up Thursday morning the roads were already packed. So we’re staying away from the crowds until things wind down and everyone goes home.

The house is coming along. Next week and for about the next 10 days lots of stuff is getting delivered. I think we have all the necessary things we need to move in (beds, essential furniture, tv’s, mattresses, our new couch and bar stools, etc.) except for rugs and window shades. The days of putting blinds on every single window are gone. You do the bedrooms and maybe the main room and that’s it. You also use coverings like Roman Shades instead of the old fashioned blinds. They’ll take about a month once we order them on Monday. Who knew rugs were so expensive. We’re buying synthetic ones rather than handmade wool as those run about $5000 and up! We’re super excited to get in and get the townhome cleaned out. We’re also excited to host you all and you can start putting in your request for reservations now! Lori is already visualizing how she’s going to decorate for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Speaking of Lori, she applied for the Director of Clinic Operations for Vail Summit Orthopedics yesterday. The only problem is it’s based in Frisco which is about an hour drive from our new house. It will pay handsomely though and while she’d be in charge of 15 to 20 people, she can handle it. We’ll see though as I’m sure people from all over the Country with impressive resumes will be applying. Anyhow the point is she’s moving forward. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. She too feels like she is now free from the bullshit at the clinic which basically started after the buyout in November but ramped up with Covid. As Mom used to say, everything happens for a reason.

The boys are well. Jag might invite Lexi to come with us today. She’s fine as her family has been in virtual lockdown as her mom had breast cancer and I think her dad was sick a few months ago. I think we’ll go to the gym as we had to leave early yesterday so Lori could do another virtual blind appointment down at the house. I’m ready to give up food and fast for a week but that’ll have to wait for another day. That’s it, Happy 4th of July! Take a moment and remember what the day means to you. Try to put yourself in our founders shoes 244 years ago today. That’ll give you some perspective. God Bless you all and God Bless America.

After days of work Lori went to a team meeting at the hospital with Dr. Gill, the surgeon moving here to take over for Dr. C. He’s a brilliant man who will run circles around Dr. C. Lori has been working with him for a while and if he has the option to build his own team I’m sure Lori would be his first choice. The big question is does she want to go back to all the drama. She did tell him if she comes back she’d make changes to the current team, otherwise she’s not interested. It’s funny as when you know you’ve left someplace, all of a sudden it’s easy to be candid and direct about everything. Dr. Gill really appreciated Lori’s honesty.

Meanwhile I worked all day trying to get financial aid for Ty to go to Vail Christian High School. It’s the other private school in the valley and in many people’s opinion, much better than VMS. They know us and want Ty so we’ll see what happens.

I also drove our 65″ tv down to the house. We need to find a fireplace mantle for the front room as the metal beam we were going to use is just too much metal with the fireplace wrapped in steel. We’ll find a nice piece of wood or an old beam somewhere.

So today all the pressure is off Lori. She feels like a huge weight is off her shoulders and the clinic is already having issues and missing her. As each day goes by they’ll understand more and more just how important she was. There’s a competing medical group that has an opening for a Practice Manager of the neuro group but it’s in Frisco which would be an hour drive each way each day. She’s going to check it out anyhow.

We were going to a bbq at Luca’s tonight but James, Marty and I decided to opt out once we learned yesterday that Luca had invited about 20 people. Without knowing these people and their social distancing or travel habits we decided we just were not comfortable going with all the people coming to the mountains that might have the virus. Plus Luca goes everywhere. We’re going to bbq at Marty’s tomorrow.

Lori is powering up her new laptop. Her phone number is going to change too as I guess the clinic now gets her old number as she sort of gave it to them 5 years ago when they started paying for her bill. We didn’t know this but no big deal. For the next month if you call her number and she doesn’t answer, the message will tell you her new number. She’ll also be texting everyone her number.

Time to drink my coffee so we can go to the gym. Happy 4th of July! Hope you have big bbq plans. I remember always having a fun time as a kid on the 4th. Tom and Robi, remember at Lake George when the whole bag of fireworks blew up on the dock when we were kids? Fun times. God Bless.

I’m off to pick up a computer and a 65″ tv this morning while Lori meets the internet and phone companies at the house. Yesterday she had a meeting with HR who is none too happy with the way Lori has been treated over the past few months. They let her know she is at the top of the list in the clinic if and when a job becomes available. Today she and everyone has a meeting with Dr. Gill who will be taking Dr. C.’s place. It’s funny to watch the whole team lobbying for a job. One of the nurses went home sick and was tested for Covid. If she’s positive, they’re in real trouble without Lori. Should they want her to come back, at this point I think she’d decline. Funny how things work out.

Looks like Ty might end up at Vail Christian School. We’re waiting to find out if a spot is available. It’s a better fit and frankly we believe a better school than VMS and about 1/3 of the cost. We’ll know more today.

Harley is at training and was super scared when Lori dropped her off but I guess is now doing fine. Her trainer sends us videos daily. There must have been 20 guys working at the house yesterday. The carpet is in the basement now and looks great. Marty, James and I hung out last night for our weekly guy get together. We’re all going to Luca’s tomorrow for a bbq and on Saturday the three of us and our family’s are having a bbq at James’s for the 4th. He just had one of his cars (he recently donated 9 to the Peterson Museum in L.A.) shipped out. It’s a 1947 baby blue Chevrolet convertible with an ivory leather interior. Tom, you’d love it. I’ll take a picture.

Time to get going. Be well, enjoy the day and God Bless.

This morning Lori is getting trigger point injections for her headache. Hope they work. I’m picking up some more stuff for the house. Jag and I dropped the car for a software update and then opened his own bank account before he went and hung out with Tommy for a few hours. It’s cool that he’ll be 30 minutes away from Tom when he goes to college in about 6 weeks. He really likes Tom (and Ali) and it’s great he has a good relationship with Tommy. Jag said they had a good talk about Ty too who’s kind of searching for what he wants to do in life. He’s struggling a bit while Jag of course has had a life plan since he was about 3 years old! Thanks Tom for always being concerned and caring about our boys! It means a lot to us. Glad you’re their Godfather!

As I said last week, Lori is done with her current job. Yesterday she was talking with her friend at the Sonnenalp who wanted her to send her resume over. It’s one of the top hotels in Vail and the World and I think they were talking about Lori doing something like managing the spa. How fun would that be!

Ty is exploring graphic design and Jag is doing school work every day. I have to look at a bathroom mirror today for the office bathroom. We still need to decide on a mattress too. They range from about $2000 all the way up to $8000! We’re of course looking at the low end of that range.

Time to go, July 1st today, six months to go until 2021. Harley goes to board and train today and will be gone for a week or more until she’s trained. Be well, safe and God Bless.

This morning we have an appointment to set up new bank accounts for Jagger and Ty. Then Jag is going to visit Tommy after the Porsche gets a software update. He gets to drive it for about 6 more weeks before it goes back to the dealer. Meanwhile Ty and I will be picking up some tv’s at Best Buy and then driving them up to the house. Lori will be working on some things around here until we make it back up the hill.

Dixie went home last night and is doing fine. She has an appointment with a new cardiologist in a few weeks. Glad she’s home and doing well.

New cases of Covid are pretty low here. They say other parts of the Country are seeing increases but deaths and hospitalizations are not. Doctors say this is good news as it means younger people, who generally don’t have serious complications, or spread the virus, are getting exposed increasing our herd immunity. This is what it’ll take to get past this thing.

July 1st tomorrow, hard to believe. Lori told me my half birthday was yesterday, woo hoo. I missed the party. That’s it, time to get moving and wake the boys. We still need to find a bed for Ty and a mattress for us. God Bless.

We have a lot going on this week. Today painting (2nd coat) begins at the house, appliances arrive, carpet is installed, tv’s get hung and furniture starts to show up. Throw in a bunch of work for both of us, and it’s a busy week. Looks like I need to go to Denver about three times too. On top of it all, Dixie spent one more night in the hospital just for good measure. I think Lori is trying to find her a new doctor as one of hers is retiring. Lori was up most of the night and my back is sore from working out. Harley goes to board and train on Wednesday and Mojo is still plugging along. Ty’s ankle is a little better but still swollen. He might need a cast, we’ll see. That’s it, get outside today, even if only in your backyard! God Bless.

We still need a mattress for our room but other than that, we knocked out both boys rooms and the tv’s for the house. I do have to make two trips to Denver next week on Tuesday and Thursday to pick up some tv’s and/or wall brackets from Best Buy but we feel pretty good about things. One tv, for our room, won’t arrive until the 15th of July. I figure we probably won’t be in until a few days after that anyhow. On the way home we realized the store didn’t charge us for one component so we called the salesman to pay for it. He was shocked! He couldn’t believe we were honest enough to let them know they didn’t charge us for something. I told him we come from a different generation. I also told him to fire the guy at the front door who checks your receipt and stuff as you leave the store, ha. He laughed and thanked us again. We struck out on bathroom mirrors but have our designer friend looking for some. Over the next couple of weeks one of us will need to be down at the house almost every day to oversee things. Things are moving fast.

Lot’s of shootings in Denver, nice. They also want to rename John Wayne airport in California. Now tearing down statues is one thing but messing with the Duke, that’s where I draw the line. In Denver they removed a statue of Kit Carson. Wonder if I can have it? I’d put it up at the house.

Today Lori is going for a walk with a girl she hired and then I think we’re having a bbq with Marty and Mel. We’re watching Ty’s foot and might have to throw him in a cast when the swelling goes down. Jag went to Madi’s ranch with her family yesterday and will be home at 10:30 this morning. Lori realized yesterday her driver’s license is expired so that’s on the list for tomorrow. Last, Dixie ended up in ER last night with shortness of breath and while she checked out fine, they kept her overnight for observation. Lori spoke with her and she sounded fine.

How about Europe maybe blocking U.S. travelers from visiting. That’s a first. To be fair, Russia and others are on the potential list of blocked countries too. Denver was fine, lots of people out in the stores. Looks like a hot week ahead. Hopefully all of Denver doesn’t head up here next weekend for the holiday. Not sure what we’re doing but we’ll think of something.

Be well, enjoy the day and God Bless.

Things are flat out nuts, here, there and everywhere. Things are spinning out of control. A friend of mine in Denver says he got a letter that his kids school wants to change their name. It’s Thomas Jefferson High School. Wonder when they’ll change our money as all the bills and coins supposedly have racists on them, right? Lori and I are headed to Denver to find tv’s, mattresses and a few other things we need to decide on like paint for a bathroom, etc.

Ty’s foot is still swollen. He might need to have a cast put on if it doesn’t go down soon. It’s big and purple. Jag was packing some stuff downstairs and hung out with us yesterday.

Looks like the virus is still with us. It’s surreal as up here we really don’t see it but I guess some States have a high number of new cases. What we haven’t seen is a high number of new deaths though which is good. So we have the virus or let’s just call it “the plague”, (surprised the news hasn’t already), the riots and white people trying to hijack racism from black people. Even Bill Mahr on HBO called out white people saying stop trying to take racism from black people, here’s his latest tweet,

Bill Maher@billmaherBlack people have to demand that white people stop culturally appropriating how mad they are about racism. It’s great that Caucasians have finally joined the fight for racial justice, but hating racism the most? #BlackLivesMatter#VirtueSignaling#SJW

And then we have black people like Morgan Freeman saying to end racism, stop talking about it. Read this,

CBS: Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman, who endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, said that having a Black History Month was “ridiculous” and that the best way to end racism today is to “stop talking about it.”

Smart guy, right? So there you have it. White people pushing racism more than black people. They (pawns of people wanting to create chaos) are using this whole thing (George Floyd’s death, nobody talks about him anymore, hmmm) as an excuse to try to destroy our way of life. The protestors who are mostly unemployed and broke, want socialism so they can have what those of us who work have without having to work. It’s about the money, it’s always about the money.

Oh well, time to buckle down and take care of our own meaning your family and loved ones. Since it appears this is not over, don’t let your guard down. Many have as they’re tired of being told they have to stay home and that’s why cases are increasing. When out, you should still distance yourself from others and in crowds, wear a mask. This is an individual choice but if I’m in Denver, I usually wear a mask. Up here, not so much. We’re all wishing everyone from Denver would just stay in Denver next week as we think lots of people will be coming up here for the 4th. Maybe we should close the tunnel, ha.

That’s it, be well, be safe and watch your back. Unprovoked violence from loser thugs is becoming common. Keep your head on a swivel when out. God Bless.

We need the weekend. It’s been a long week and it’s time for a break. Things are moving so fast these days that sometimes you don’t even have time to think, you just do what you have to do, right Mom?

I’m off to Denver for a quick 10am appointment and then will head back up the hill hoping to be here by 1 at the latest. Lori had her 2 hour attorney meeting yesterday and was home a bit after 6. I had my weekly hang with the boys at James’s house and was here about the same time. Ty and Jag are doing well.

I think carpet went into the basement yesterday at the house. Not sure what’s going on today. They say severe storms in Denver today late in the afternoon. I’ll be home safe by then traffic permitting.

It’s 5:30am and Lori woke up to go to the gym with me. That’s it for today. July arrives in a few days and today is about six months until Christmas. Sounds far fetched right? God Bless.