A Year of Change

Off this morning for a 9:30 sales meeting in Denver. Need to be out of there by 10:10 for a 10:30 haircut. Then I’m dropping Jagger’s suit at Tommy’s before dropping clothes at the dry cleaners and heading up the hill. Ty works today and has his next day off on Monday. Jag crushed his test last night and finished in about 30 minutes. He’s really a special kid with academics. The best thing is he understands how to apply that to the real World which not a lot of people with his intelligence can do. We’re really proud of him. Ty excels just as much in other areas. His empathy for people and general happy gene are infectious and people constantly tell us how polite and joyful he is and how he made their day. Often we’re told how funny he is and that he doesn’t even know it! Two remarkable boys that both make the World a better place. We’re very proud and blessed.

Yesterday in Grand Junction I hung out with Derby who is an 80 year old cowboy who is a hat maker. He was a great rodeo guy who started riding broncs and bulls in 1961. He’s still doing well and working every day. Some guy randomly came in the shop and said he was a photographer from Virgina Beach Virgina and asked if he could get his cameras and take pictures. Jerry, who goes by his last name of Derby, was reshaping one of my hats and the guy took photos of Jerry and I for about 30 minutes. He was mostly taking pics of Jerry steaming and shaping one of my hats. I just happened to be there and was caught up in a few photos. I stopped by the farm earlier and picked up a bunch of spices and 6 quarts of strawberries. Randy also made me a rifle rack for down in the basement. He’s a cabinet maker by trade so it’s real nice. I was out of town by 11:30 and home around 1.

Today I should be home around 2 or so. Hoping to see Tom if he’s done at the bank in time. Time to get moving now as it’s 5:30am and I should be out of here in 30 minutes or so.

But before I go, don’t know who has seen our President on tv overseas. What an embarrassment. Other World leaders are directing him where to go as he’s clearly lost everywhere he goes. He skipped the dinner with all the World leaders as the White House said he’s been working hard for 4 days straight and is preparing for a big speech. That’s a flat out lie as two days ago the news showed him on a beach in Rhode Island. The real reason is he can’t stay up that late plus his handlers know it’d be a gaff fest is he was at dinner alone without people to tell him what to say, do and even where to walk. Yet over 40% of the Country supports him and his reelection. What are these people smoking? God help us.

Time to go, enjoy the day and God Bless.

I have two drawers left in my closet and that’s it. Think I’ll tackle the basement next. Need to get through every room by the end of summer. Sounds easy but it’s not. Amazing the things you find when you do a really deep purge.

It’s going to be hot the next few days. Should be 100 in Grand Junction today where I’ll be from about 10 until 1. Lori is in Vail again today and Frisco tomorrow. Ty went fishing with the guys yesterday and was home by 11 or so. He has today off too. Jag has a big test today and we’re sure he’ll crush it.

That’s it, time to move, make it a great day, one month until the Bronco’s first preseason game! God Bless.

Here we go. Lori is in Vail and I’m in Carbondale. Ty is off today and tomorrow but now works Wednesday through Sunday every week. The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday. Lori and I both cleaned our closets yesterday and are pretty much done. We still have to clean out our drawers but we both went through all the hanging stuff, managed to get everything off the floor and cleaned off all our shelves and cubby’s. The top of the closet and shelves can get dusty after a while. We filled two large trash bags with stuff, and I have a huge pile to let Jagger and Ty go through that they’re already fighting over. Jeans, shirts, coats and more and it’s all cool stuff, as it was mine! It feels really good to purge crap and simplify your life. None of us really need all the stuff we’ve accumulated over the years. Just get rid of it, it’s liberating.

Earth hit the highest recorded temperatures since they’ve been recording them which isn’t all that long in the grand scheme of things. Hope winter is not the coldest on record! We’re lobbying for a mild winter!

We have a bunch of paintings to hang up. Yesterday we went to the gym and then walked the loop. In total I got 5 miles in. Lori went and picked up her mom again and brought her up for a visit. She was freaking out as she thought she didn’t do a good job at her job. Of course she doesn’t have a job but try telling her that! She’s pretty frail and easily confused but still has moments where she’s pretty sharp. She’s just not strong enough anymore to even get out of the chair. At least she’s not in a wheelchair. Once we get her up, she can walk, although it’s really hard and she’s really slow. She read in her hometown paper yesterday that someone she knows just turned 90! I told her we should call the lady as Dixie remembers her. That made her happy. I’ll see if I can find the phone number.

Guess it’s supposed to be warm today. They say maybe the warmest day in Denver so far. I think Lori said her car said it was 91 here yesterday.

Yesterday I fasted meaning zero food. Think I’ll give it one more day. It’s good to fast every now and then to clean out your system and reset your body. I’m really not all that hungry which is a little surprising. You need to drink a ton of water and a black coffee here and there.

That’s about it. July 10th already, wow. Soon it’ll be Fall and the leaves will be changing. That means football will soon be here, whoo hoo! Have a great week, God Bless.

Headed to the gym at 6:30 as Ty works at 7. Yesterday he ran the farmers market for the restaurant and took in $1940 selling veggies outside. He likes working the market as he’s outside all day. He then went to the gym before taking the bus home around 6. Jag was studying most of the day as he has a test on Tuesday.

Nice up here again. We didn’t get to our closets but there’s always today to try again. Tomorrow I’m in Carbondale after my morning call and Wednesday and Thursday I’m in Denver. Then Jeff and Tina are coming up for the weekend. Then the following Tuesday I’m off to California for 25 hours so I have a busy ten days coming up.

It’s been a little windy but not too bad. Wonder what the winter will be like, hopefully we’ll get a mild one as we’re due after the last two years. In 90 days it’ll almost be mid-October, hard to believe. Then 90 days after that mid-January! When you look at it like that, next Spring isn’t far away, ha.

Biden is kicking off a 5 day European tour! Get ready for a bunch of gaffs and embarrassing moments this week! Should be funny, which in reality is sad. Hard to believe people elected this Bozo. Can only imagine how the history will look back on us as a Country. The one take away from this is that you’re on your own! Don’t forget that! God Bless.

Today Ty works at 8. We’ll drop him and go to the gym and then be around the house all day. Nice and sunny with blue sky and no clouds. It’s been raining a lot in Denver but just about perfect up here. I didn’t get to my closet yesterday so maybe today.

Jag has a test on Tuesday. I hooked him up with my buddy who is the President of the crypto bank in Wyoming whose dad is the godfather of Quant. His dad started writing books on the subject in the early 90’s and was a professor at Harvard. Zev, my buddy, has lots of connections at the big firms and banks Worldwide. They’re meeting Monday.

I’m changing things up a bunch at work. Time to take the gloves off as I need to shake things up in some markets. It’s actually fun and exciting going rogue as no one expects it. I don’t care as some things need to change and if you’re a market where I want change and don’t like it, too bad. I’m prepared to go nuclear and make a switch if I need to in those markets. I’ll even switch employees if they are not on board with my vision. Nothing is safe anymore. Time to adapt. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is not smart, and I’m being pc!

Our side hustle is coming along too. It’s not only exciting, it’s fun. More on that in the coming months. Ty just came down at 7 and realized his alarm didn’t go off as he needed to be at work now for the farmers market so we’re in a mad rush. I guess Chandler texted last night. Gotta go! God Bless!

Yesterday I finally cleaned out the coat closet. We have a bunch to donate that are too small or that we just don’t wear anymore. Looks like I’m headed to California for 24 hours ten days or so. I’ll fly into San Francisco and then drive up to Santa Rosa for my afternoon meeting and dinner before flying home the next morning. This morning though, I’m off to the gym of course.

Ty doesn’t work today but does tomorrow and Sunday. Looks like it could get to 120 degrees in Phoenix while it’ll be 85 to 90 in Colorado. Probably around 75 or 80 up here. Today I’m cleaning out my closet, time to continue the purge. It looks like a painting outside right now with patchy clouds layered over the blue sky. I have the door open to let the fresh air in to cool things off.

Dixie is doing fine. Lori went down to visit her yesterday afternoon while I finished up some emails after picking up Ty from work. The cleaners come today and Lori is making enchilada’s for James, Adriana and the kids who get home from Florida today if their flights aren’t delayed.

Time to put the trash out and get moving. Oh, cocaine in the White House! Party party. They say there’s an investigation going on but they know who it was. There are cameras covering every inch of that building, give me a break. More lies and spin from the most corrupt administration ever and that’s saying something! You can’t make this crap up. Have a great day and great weekend, God Bless.

Last night we went with Nate and Dea, our neighbors, to dinner at Wild Sage, the new restaurant owned by another friend, down in Eagle Ranch. It was really good, yea! Ty works at 7 so we’re up at 6 and out of here in 30 minutes. Jag went to Tommy’s for dinner last night which was nice for both of them. Nate is a hip doctor in Lori’s practice and our next-door neighbors with 4 young kids, we love them. Lori jokes we’re now the old people in the neighborhood like we had when the boys were growing up, Problem is we still think we’re 30 or 40 years old. Life is funny in that way as your body gets older but your mind still thinks you’re young. Guess it’s better than the alternative, ha.

I guess there’s a chance of severe weather in Denver today, nice up here though. Not much of a summer as we’ve had only one 90 degree day. That’s fine with us though. I have a conference call at 10 and then will do some work around the house. 6:06 now so time to get moving. Have a great day and God Bless.

It’ll be a short week with today being Wednesday but we’re both back to work. Dixie is doing fine and we now can check on her through the cameras whenever we want. You can also talk to her through the camera’s which is kind of convenient. She doesn’t think twice about it meaning she doesn’t wonder where the voice is coming from, ha. Lori feels a lot better being able to check on her whenever she wants.

Lori and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie yesterday at 12:30. It was fun with lots of action. We had read mixed reviews, but it was good, we’d give it a thumbs up! Lori works in Vail today and I have lots of computer work to get back in the swing of things. Ty works tomorrow through Sunday and is off again today.

Think I’ll head to the gym first but I stretched my left hamstring yesterday, so I need to take it easy. Jag is doing well. He hung out with friends for the 4th. James and Addy are having fun at her brothers in Jacksonville. She texted pictures of them out on the boat. They’re back Friday.

Lori and I are both going to clean our closets tonight, at least that’s the plan right now. We were talking last night how in 90 days it’ll be October 5th! Hmmm. I think we’re going to some 3 day festival where James plays with him and Addy. It has Ozzy, AC/DC, and others and is in California October 5,6 and 7. Time never stops!

That’s it, enjoy the day and cherish life! God Bless.

Often an overlooked holiday in the year for its meaning, July 4th is right up there with Christmas if you think about it. Besides Jesus’s birthday, what’s more important than the birth of our Country and our freedom! We all love Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, etc. but July 4th is much more than hot dogs and fireworks. Sadly, I know our Founders would not be happy with what we’ve done with the gift of freedom and oppression from a government. You see, government is supposed to be for the people and the people we elect are supposed to be our representatives. Yet today those elected people act like our leaders and continuously do things for themselves or a small minority of folks and not for the people in general. Man is imperfect and we have a glaring example of such on display in front of our eyes daily. Just watch some tv or get on the internet. Luckily things will always change over time but often things must get worse before they can get better. This is where we are today so hold on to your hats! I still believe freedom will prevail and endure. We’ve seen this movie before in countless periods throughout history. It’s going to be a wild ride for the next 10 or 20 years. So now that you’d had your lesson for the day, go have some hot dogs, apple pie and enjoy the parades.

Yesterday I dropped my truck around 8:45 and had Ty to Maddie’s by 9:10. Then it was off to the grocery store before heading to Tommy’s to hang out and smoke a cigar. Tom’s now into cigars! We had fun for an hour or so and then I headed back to get Ty before picking up the truck and heading home. When I made it home, we had found out Dixie had fallen so I told Lori, let’s take the security cameras down there and put them in her place. After picking up eggs from Kellie, we stopped and hooked them up to wifi at Dixie’s. Lori can now see the whole apartment on her phone which puts her at ease a bit. We think Dixie is forgetting how to eat or to actually eat at all as she’s losing a bunch of weight. She was always a good eater. Viviana, one of the caregivers is now sitting with her feeding her like a little kid. This seems to be helping but she’s definitely fading. I told Lori, be thankful as she’s still enjoying each day and isn’t in pain or suffering and remembers who you are! She’s lucky in that way, both Dixie and Lori!

That’s it, beautiful up here again! Enjoy the day and remember, freedom isn’t free! God Bless you all and God Bless America, 247 years old!

Ty and I are headed down for a quick trip in about an hour. We should be down by 9 and leaving by 11 or 12. Hope traffic is not too bad coming back up. Yesterday Lori and I ran over to Aspen and Basalt. We were back around 3 or so and then brought Dixie up for a visit. She’s like a little kid looking at the birds outside. She looks at them in awe as if she’s never seen them before. She’s getting much thinner but still happy 90% or more of the time. Lori has been a remarkable daughter as without her, Dixie would have been gone years ago.

I’m meeting Jag this morning to give him his license plate tabs and a couple things he wanted from the house. Lori is staying here and will hang around the house. Nice outside again, no smoke or clouds to be seen anywhere.

The airport looks packed on the news. Not sure where people are going the day before the 4th. You’d think people would have traveled on Friday or Saturday, not today. Really hoping the traffic back up the hill isn’t bad. I wouldn’t go today but it’s about the only day to get the oil changed in the truck and it’s way overdue.

That is it, time to get moving. enjoy the day, be safe and remember, freedom isn’t free! God Bless.