A Year of Change

Today used to be just another holiday, full of hot dogs, fireworks and apple pie. While it’s still full of those things, we need to also recognize that it’s a day to celebrate our independence or freedom. Sadly it seems more and more each day we lose some right that our parents and grandparents took for granted. I’ll leave it at that for the day as lots else to talk about, but don’t be an apathetic citizen that says or does nothing until it’s too late.

Now to the day, today around 1, Jagger gets back, whoo hoo! Then we’ll head up to Grandma’s for some fun with Aunt Robi and Robert. They arrived yesterday afternoon and we saw them for a bit last night. Ty, who was supposed to go to camp tomorrow, is still sick. Last night he couldn’t stop coughing and then threw up. We’re going to try to get him some antibiotics today as our friend Libby was out of town. In any case he’s not going to camp as it turns out we registered him at the Indian Hills Camp in California! Of course there’s no refunds so we have that going for us, and the camp here is $1700 which is out of our price range. We feel bad for him but nothing we can do about it. Vinny’s Mom sent us the link which we followed and didn’t notice was different from the Indian Hills that’s 30 minutes from us. Live and learn.

Now for a little history to put the day in perspective, read on….

Today, we celebrate the birth of our nation.

We honor the courageous patriots who cast off the chains of despotism, abolishing our bond to an unjust government.

And we remember our forefathers who fought and died for the principles of self-governance and self-determination.

As we continue their legacy, let us not forget the number 1 reason that pushed our Founders to take a stand for liberty.

The confiscation of the colonists’ guns…

On September 1, 1774, British soldiers seized hundreds of barrels of gunpowder from the homes of American patriots.

Thousands of American colonists’ homes were violated and rendered defenseless in the wake of the “Powder Alarm.”

But this encroachment sparked the flame of revolution.

Soon after, British troops began warrantless searches of colonists’ homes for arms and ammunition.

Firearms were unlawfully seized and thousands of American colonists laid plans for independence.

Finally, on October 17, 1774, the British ordered the complete disarmament of New England.

Our Founders knew firsthand that without arms, individuals are helpless against oppression.

So on July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress began drafting the document we know today as the Declaration of Independence.

With unanimous consent, the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776. It boldly declared:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The Founders later enshrined the framework necessary to defend these God-given rights from any who dared threaten them, when they drafted the Bill of Rights, including the right to keep and bear arms.

So with this war on guns, that our present day government is pushing, it’s a bit ironic that the whole movement to independence for our nation was due to the British doing the same thing our present day govt is trying to do, 239 years ago. There’s an old saying to study history as everything repeats itself. God Bless.

Here we go, the holiday weekend is here. I’ll lay off economics and all the other issues that we face and give you all a holiday too, but do be vigilant this weekend and stay safe.

I need to rush this morning as I need to get to the distributor and back by about 8:30. Then a quick trip to Boulder and back by 10 or so and then some work around here. Lori is shutting things down at work around 1pm, so with a little luck, she’ll be home by 1:30 or 2.

Jagger texted 20 photos yesterday of everything from baby owls to great pictures of the surrounding mountains. Looks like he’s having lots of fun. Ty still has a bad cough. I think the doctor messed up when she didn’t give him any medicine so now I’ve had to resort to texting one of our doctor friends to get him an antibiotic. If he doesn’t get better, we’re afraid they’ll send him home from camp as he just doesn’t sound good. He did go with Vinny and his Mom to a movie last night and was home by 10pm. He no longer sleeps with us which bums Lori out but I’m thrilled. He just decided a while ago that he was through, good for him. Now if I can only get Lori to stop trying to coax him back in!

Have a great holiday weekend. You know our actual Independence Day was July 2nd but Congress decided to make it July 4th when they set the holiday. Just an fyi in my ever ongoing quest to pass on some fun facts.

God Bless.

Don’t look now but signs of fall are peeking through this morning. It’s misty and cool with a slight breeze like an early fall day. I’m sure it won’t last but it’s a nice break.

Robi and Robert come tomorrow and Jagger comes home Saturday, then Ty leaves Sunday and I leave Monday, coming home Tuesday. Wine arrives by air on Wednesday (along with the house cleaners) and the photographer comes Thursday and then I’m sure people looking to buy a house on Friday. So there you have it.

Lots more work today for both of us but I guess tomorrow is supposed to be a holiday. Lori is closing the office around 1pm and then we’ll spend the rest of the day cleaning the house.

Lots of pressure around here these days but I’ll spare you all the details. Whatever you imagine, multiply by 5 and you’ll be close.

Now to the economy, check this out,

The “Smartest Money” Is Liquidating Stocks At A Record Pace: “Selling Everything That’s Not Bolted Down”

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/02/2015 – 06:23

Buyout firms conducted 97 stock offerings in the second quarter, more than in any other three-month period. “It’s clear that we are currently in an environment of frothy valuations,” said Lise Buyer, founder of IPO advisory firm Class V Group. Her disturbing punchline: “The insiders – those with the most knowledge – are finding this a very good time to take some money off the table.” In an echo of Leon Black, Frank Maturo, vice chairman of equity capital markets at UBS AG, said, “Private equity is selling everything that’s not bolted down.”

I hope you don’t think you’re smarter than the top fund managers in the Country. These guys make a living only if they are right more than they are wrong, and ALL of them are selling now! This means stocks, bonds and liquidation of any security that is basically not cash or precious metals. You’ve been warned, time is running out. If you’re still heavily vested in stocks, wake the fuck up! (we’ve all heard that word before, right?)

Guess I’ll run, have a great day, God Bless

Jag texted back and forth with us a bunch last night and is doing great. He’s been gone two days and won’t be home until Saturday after lunch. We all miss him a bunch. I had a bunch of work and so did Lori who made it home around 6:15. Dr. R. is up and down at work with her emotions with Lori leaving. On top of Lori, Brook ( a P.A.) is 9 months pregnant and will soon be off for a few months too which doesn’t help things.

Ty is still fighting a cold which he needs to kick by Sunday if he is going to camp. I need to run downtown today to pick up a sport coat that is being repaired. I am supposed to try to get to Boulder today but don’t think I’ll make it.

I did manage to get through my dresser drawers and closet yesterday but we have lots to do before pictures are taken next Thursday for our house. Then on Friday the 10th, our house will officially be for sale. I guess I should get the cleaners here next Wednesday.

Time to run, have a great day and God Bless.

Jagger made it to camp, finally. I guess the 5 hour drive took 7 as the church van overheated. Lori said, of course it did, as you always here about stories like this.

Lori has a sales meeting at 8am this morning so she needs to get moving. I think she needs to get breakfast or donuts or something also which means she needs to leave even earlier. I need to finish up some programs at work and clean up a couple of rooms so the realtor can take pictures of the house. I’m also supposed to pick up our bike rack and a pair of shoes and a sport coat across town. There goes another $1000!

Ty has a bad cold which we hope gets better before he’s supposed to go to camp this Sunday at 6pm. Lots going on, too much to explain. The only way to get it done is to just do it. So time to run, hope all’s well, take care and God Bless.

Jagger’s off to camp, Lori’s back to work and I have both work and lots to do around the house. Ty has to get busy on his room but it’s in pretty good shape. We now have a sign up in our front yard that says “Coming Soon” meaning our house will soon be officially up for sale.

I’m off to New York, Boston and Washington D.C. a week from today and back next Wednesday. Robin and Robert come in this Friday and Ty goes to camp next Sunday so there you have it. Where are you going? What are you doing this summer? Want to help us pack or move? Come on over!

On top of all this, it’s going to be in the 90’s all week. It’s all in God’s hands now. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to write anymore yesterday. We made it home by 8:10 and then were at church by 9:45. It seemed like the sermon went on forever but it’s always good to go. They had all the kids going to camp sit up front and then at one point, came up as the congregation has “commissioned” the kids meaning sponsored them. All of Jag’s camp is covered except about $160 which Grandma kindly chipped in. I’m sure he’ll have fun.

Time to run as we’re doing one more load of laundry and it’s almost 6:30. Hope all’s well with everyone, take care and God Bless.

p.s. All the banks are now closed in Greece! People are pissed off and trying to get their money which is all gone. Don’t think it can happen here? Think again, we’re a global society and a global economy now, and if things don’t get settled out over there, we will feel it. Just an fyi.

It’s early but we need to be at church in Denver by 9:45 and we’re supposed to sit in the front row! Not sure why, maybe because the congregation is subsidizing most of Jagger’s trip to camp starting tomorrow. Anyhow I have 5% battery remaining on the computer so time to run. I’ll try to write some more in a few hours so check back later this morning. Everyone is fine, the mountain air is still pristine and the colors of everything from the sky to the clouds to the grass and rivers are so vibrant they almost look fake. That’s what living in the city with a bunch of haze will do to your eyes!

God Bless

Well, this week will be one to remember. Lori quit and accepted a job, I managed, once again, to save the Company by securing an unexpected $95,400.00 purchase order to pull the month out, the boys visited what is hopefully their new school and Mojo got to go on a trip to the  mountains which is by far his favorite thing to do.

Last night at 7 we drove up to Vail as Jody and his family are here for a few more days and really wanted us to come up. It was also a good excuse to take another load of stuff up the hill in our effort to de-clutter the house. We mostly took up some shotguns as you don’t want anything like that in your house if realtors will be bringing people through. A sign was supposed to go up in our front yard yesterday saying “Coming Soon” but they didn’t make it out. As my Mom said, this is all happening so fast, which it really is, but when school starts in less than 2 months (August 24th), we’d better get a move on.

The mountain air itself almost makes any move to the hills worth it. It’s so fresh and clean and fills your lungs up with a feeling of exhilaration like you’d get from breathing pure oxygen. The only other comparable feeling to me is standing on a beach next to the ocean and taking in the salt air.

I think today all the kids are going to the top of the mountain on the gondola to play on some rope challenge course and then do a little zip lining. After that Jody and his wife want to walk through the 200 booths or so that make up the art show that’s in town. We might bomb down the hill tonight as Jagger goes to camp Monday and we have to be at church at 10 am tomorrow.

That’s it from the mountains, hope you all are well, stay tuned, much more to come, God Bless.

Things are moving so fast around here it’s hard to keep track of the day. Yesterday the boys and I visited the private school in Vail and although it’s expensive, it seems to be worth every penny and then some. I had no idea of the the difference between them and public schools. We sure hope we get in.

Today I think a sign goes up in the front yard that says “Coming Soon”. This means we really need to get moving around here. We might go up to Vail tonight for one night as Jody and his family are up there but more importantly, we need to get some more things moved out of here. I might rent another storage unit up there too.

So lots going on, it’s 5:16 in the morning right now and I need to run so have a great day, and God Bless.

As most of you know, Lori was presented with an unbelievable job offer to run the office of a top doctor in Vail at The World famous Steadman Clinic. The package they offered her is about twice what she’s making now and she could have gone back and even asked for more money and they probably wold have given it to her. We just don’t see how we can pass this up. It’s quite an accomplishment for her.

This morning the boys and I are headed up to meet the Director of Admissions at the Vail Mountain School. It’s expensive, (like $21,000 per year per kid) but we might be able to get a scholarship and the Director invited us up. Lori needs to sit down with Dr. R. and tell her the news which won’t be easy. We’ve developed a transition plan to make things as painless as possible for her but it involves Lori working both jobs (one remotely) for a few months, so she doesn’t leave Chris hanging.

So a big day, tomorrow’s post should be interesting. Bad storms yesterday and more today. Hold on and God Bless.