A Year of Change

Here’s a comment from Grandma Dix,

Here’s a comment from Grandma Annette, I couldn’t agree more!

Yup, the misses has been doing too much once again. She laid off the pain pills yesterday and she could really tell how sore she still is. She thankfully has an appointment tomorrow as she has a bruise on her left side where she had surgery the second time. We’re hoping everything’s ok.

We left her home in bed and Lorenzo, the boys and I headed out for the party. We arrived while the caterers were setting up the mexican food. Lorenzo commented how New York has everything except mexican food. Funny if you think about it. The boys played in the lake, smashed a couple of pinata’s and then walked around all the houses sharing candy with everyone. One man, who was a little sauced, reached into his pocket and gave the youngest a dollar. The youngest wasn’t sure what to make of it but said thanks and put the dollar in his pocket. The fireworks were amazing. This group of about 40 homeowners that live on this lake all pitch in and put on this private party with fireworks each year. So you have about 40 separate parties going on around this lake. When the fireworks were over at 9:30 we loaded up to head home.

Mom was resting when we arrived and we made the boys jump in the shower to get rid of the lake water. Soon we all hit the hay, so to speak. It’s now almost 7 and I need to get to the gym as it’s been 4 days which is way too long of a break.

We’re hanging out today taking it easy. Lorenzo leaves for Chicago tomorrow night and I have appointments all day Tuesday. Then we need to get some school shopping done as there’s only 2 weeks left before school starts.

Time to run, God Bless,

We woke up early and hit the road to make it home for the oldest guys party at his teachers. Yesterday after visiting our new horse friends, Jason and Brandi, we headed into town. Before the details on town, here’s a little bit more about Jason, his wife Brandi, the twins and their 13 year old. Our friends in Wyoming had been to a horse clinic at the Stock Show in January put on by Jason. He has quite the gift with horses. In fact our friend Michelle in Steamboat says he’s a God when in the arena. We arrived around 10 am at their place where he was instructing a guy on cutting cows in the arena. The boys ran off right away to play with his kids and began exploring. They found the chicken coup and some 3 day old Bernese Mountain Dog puppies. Of course they didn’t touch them at all as that’s a no no. Meanwhile the misses and I were watching Jason and then talking to him about his philosophy on training. We’re going back up to ride with him in a few weeks. His wife Brandi, is a cute little ranch wife complete with boots and spurs on and we met her when we found the boys inside their house. The house is quite small but the barn and riding arena are big. They said they spend most of their time outside and really only sleep and eat in the house so it makes sense to have a smaller house than barn. He must have had a dozen or so horses he’s working now for clients from what we could see. After an hour or so, we all said our goodbyes with Brandi saying how polite and well mannered the boys were. We joked that we could leave them for the day and she said anytime and actually meant it. They were very polite, shook hands with all adults and were prefect gentlemen the entire trip.

Next off was a trip to town. We all walked around for a few hours until we headed back to the condo to rest before Lorenzo and I headed back to town for the wine tasting. Today’s event was a stroll through the entire town so we were at station number 5 (out of 8 spread around town) which was on the deck at Carls Tavern (an upscale tavern) across the street from the river. It was crowded so I spent most of the time off to the side or watching the Olympics inside while Lorenzo manned the table. After all, people would rather talk to an Italian winemaker anyhow, right?

We finished up around 6:45 and headed back to meet the kiddos and the misses. We had no dinner plans so I decided to call Cafe Diva as the owner was always a huge supporter of ours and always took great care of me. The answering machine said they were sold out Friday and Saturday but I tried calling back anyhow to try to get a live person. After 3 tries I reached a girl named Beth who I didn’t know but said she was his partner. She said they were sold out and Paul was busy but I asked her to tell him it was me anyhow. A few minutes later she was back on the phone asking when we wanted to arrive saying they were already setting up a table outside for us. I said we’d be there in 15 minutes. We arrived to be greeted by Paul and we spent a few minutes catching up. Soon the lobster fritters, asparagus and watermelon salads and some asian curry salad were arriving at out table. Numerous other delicacies also came from time to time. I had a peppercorn crusted filet along with Lorenzo while the misses had diver scallops. The boys had some sort of noodles and soup while anxiously awaiting desserts Paul had promised them. The food was over the top good and so was all the wine. Premier Cru white burgundy along with a great barbaresco we brought along was fantastic with our entrees and then a silky sauterne from France paired great with the peach cobbler dessert, burnt cremes and a s’more tower for the boys. We finished up and were getting ready to pay when he came out and grabbed the check, wadded it up and threw it over his shoulder. I insisted on paying something so a reduced bill was soon presented which we gladly paid and left a generous tip. (The night before we were also treated as well and it was all I could do to leave a tip then.) I have no doubt we will be doing some good business together soon. He has always really respected me and with Lorenzo there, a winemaker from Italy, Paul was in heaven. In fact, Lorenzo’s merlot was already on his list which was great. We said our goodbyes and he thanked us over and over for coming.

We headed home, the misses and I in the car with the boys and Lorenzo walking across the slopes. We woke up and were on the road by 8:15 and home about 2 hours and 20 minutes later. Tonight we have a party at a private lake with a huge fireworks display, uggh. More on this tomorrow.

Thanks again to Aunt B for looking after the pups. We walked in to see a new bed for Lacey and new toys outside for Mojo, she’s the best!

Take care, talk to you tomorrow,

Good afternoon.  Our apologies for the late post.  We all had a wonderful day yesterday.  The sky was clear blue and the mountain temperature was just right when we arrived.

After we loaded up the car with food, kids, wine, Lorenzo, luggage and ourselves we were on the road at 10:29a.m…..29 minutes behind schedule.  We put on a movie… Star Wars.. for the kiddos and served up popcorn for the 3 hour ride.  About an hour in we had to relocate one of the boys since there was quite a bit of “Whine” to accompany the popcorn.     The relocation worked for some time…of course the boys had to switch seats at the halfway point to keep the joyride fair.

Our condo is beautiful with gorgeous slope side views and just a quick hike down to the Gondola, bungee jump, gyro spinning thing and a rope obstacle course  complete with a river with lounge chairs.  The Mister and Lorenzo headed up the gondola at 4:15 and the boys and I hit all of the above activities (observation only for me).  We walked up the river bed and the boys walked through the culvert while I had heart palpitations above.  The boys swam at the pool before and after their activities and took two baths in the jacuzzi tub.

We picked up the Mister and Lorenzo at 7:15 came back to the condo loaded up wine and went out to dinner at a “friend of a friend’s” restaurant.  The gentleman that owns the restaurant and his girlfriend joined us for dinner and the kids played out front.  The restaurant is named Slopeside and is actually on the the mountain slope.  The restaurant property includes a huge grassy park and the river bed we had hiked up earlier.  We must have ordered 5 pizzas, 3 apps, 5 salads, 2 huge sprites and then they started tasting the wines.  Billy, the owner was of course impressed with the wines and the price point of the wines.  Hopefully our wines will dominate for the winter season.  I took the munchkins back to the condo at 10:00p.m. and the other “Boys” made it back just before the midnight hour.

We are off to meet an actual “Horse Whisperer” today and then go into town to walk around.  The men have to be to their tasting at 4:p.m….I’ll be taking the kiddos swimming, walking and back to the activities until 7.

Have a great rest of your day and God Bless.

LLF

Good morning.  Our bird feeder fell from the tree due to “Chippy” the squirrel jumping on top of it numerous times.  Chippy and the birds are ecstatic!  There are two little…really little finches with yellow breasts and black and white wings that stand in the seed for a few minutes before they fly over and land on  our cosmos (flowers).  The cosmos stems are so thin that it is truly incredible that the birds can perch themselves there for even a few seconds.  Chippy is enjoying the bountiful spill….and chasing off one of his buddies anytime the other guy tries to grab a snack.  He barely takes the time to look at us and run up the tree when we walk down the path. Brave critter….

The Mister and Lorenzo had a successful day in Fort Collins and made it home around 2 p.m.  The boys and I walked down to the little park (only a block and a half away).  They climbed almost to the top of a very tall tree and then we played one game of hide and go seek before the rain set in.

The Mister and Lorenzo had to take Lorenzo’s rental car all the way out to the airport to return it after dinner….ugg.  I pretty much took it easy and did a lot of reading…some chapters of Anna Karenina are tough to get through, but it is picking up.

The youngest has a huge pillow fort in his room…more like a boy cave complete with mattress and T.V. I don’t know how long I can let him leave it up…maybe I’ll just close the door.  He and his brother watched a movie in there and spent most of the day watching the…you guessed it…boob tube.  They did have to go with me to an appointment and as evening fell two of the oldest’s female classmates saw him outside playing frisbee with his dad and more kiddos and asked Shannon’s mom to walk them down to play.  We gave the kiddos a bit of freedom to walk down to the little park, play for 15 minutes and return since it was getting quite dark.  They all puffed up with this new responsibility…including the youngest two.  We saw bats as we were walking into the house…like five or so.  Boy are they quick little flyers.

This morning we are heading out to the Steamboat Wine Festival.  Lorenzo and the Mister need to be up on the Mountain by 3:00p.m. and the boys will want to be in the pool by then.  The boys and I will do some wandering and I think I’ll bring a board game and a deck of cards in case of rain, or too much sun.

The Mister needs to go to the grocery store, the bank and vacuum the car before we leave and I need to pack for us.  Aunti Blondie is once again taking better care of our pups than we do…boy oh boy do they LOVE her…so do we.  Our yellow lab can only handle about 5 throws these days…arthritis…of course she really wants at least 100 throws. The big dog just wants to be loved on or to chase a stuffed animal.  When ever he comes in he tries to sneak up to the boys room, snatch a stuffed animal and head rapidly to the back door. I have to chase him round and round the kitchen table to get the boys prized possession out of his gentle jaws before he escapes with it. This is not as easy as it sounds since we (the dog and I) have to dodge thirty some stacked cases of wine along the way and the malamute has spring in his legs.

Well I am off to make breakfast and as my dear old dad says, “Get The Show On The Road.”

Love to all and God Bless.

The misses and I left at 10am after dropping the boys with Uncle T, to go to her first doctor appointment across town to the east. After that we headed home to pick up the youngest and run home for 30 minutes before heading off to Vail for her second appointment of the day. The oldest was dropped by Uncle T at his friends for the day.

The first appointment was her post op check up from Saturdays impromptu surgery. The second in Vail, was for her neck and discs. She checked out fine at the first and at the second, after an hour plus wait in the waiting room, they performed what they call her MMI, or maximum medical improvement. This is a measure they turn into workman’s comp to determine how much of 100% she has recovered from her injury. We don’t know the final number but it’s nowhere close to 100%. The exam itself brought her headache ragging back. Our main concern is that she is able to get ongoing treatment for the next 2 years if things flare up. Finally at 4:30 we headed back to Denver to arrive home a bit after 6pm..

By the time we arrived home, the oldest and Lorenzo we already at Uncle T’s. We basically relaxed the rest of the evening with some tv and tried to get the misses head to calm down. She’s so frustrated not being able to work out but has to stick it out for another month or so and then she can get after it.

This morning I need to drop a car off for service and then Lorenzo and I will head to Ft. Collins for a few appointments. I woke up at 4:15, super, and will head off to the gym soon to wake up! The misses has another doc appointment this afternoon with the workman’s comp doctor, we think to close out her claim. Our doctor in Vail is the final word so this is just a formality.

No politics today as both sides are a joke if you really think about it. I just stopped myself from going on and attacking one side more than the other so be thankful out there! Our country’s founders would be rolling over in their graves if they knew what was going on. Where are real leaders in out World these days. We have no Winston Churchill’s, Ronald Reagan’s, John Kennedy’s, or Dwight Eisenhower’s anywhere, only self serving, short sighted little men and women that manipulate the system to further their own personal agenda and line their own pockets with cash and power. It really makes you sick if you think about it. Ok, I’m done.

Have a great day, take care and God Bless.

Lorenzo, who many of you know, landed in Denver last night around 8pm and is with us for a week. For those of you that don’t know Lorenzo, he is essentially family. He was there in the beginning when we founded the Company and we all are very close to him and his entire family in Italy. In fact, one year he lived with us for about 8 months a long time ago. He spent a few Christmas’s with us and he’s like an Uncle to the boys. Anyhow, we’re glad he’s here, especially the boys!

Today he’ll head off to Colorado Springs to work while the misses and I will go to one doctor appointment at 11 am (post op) and then another at 3pm in Vail for her neck. The oldest is going to a friends while the youngest will be coming with us.

Last night the boys and I went to the end of the year swim team awards ceremony. Both boys received awards and we wrapped up the year. I made the misses stay home as it was still only 48 hours since her surgery. She did go for a walk with the boys earlier in the day which I wasn’t very happy about as she ended up a little sore and should have stayed in bed. I made her take the rest of the day pretty easy.

Not going to dive into politics except to say the reactionary gun control dems are at it again. Now a few of them (mainly two) want to stop certain ammo purchases. They point to the guy in Colorado, once again, having 6000 rounds of ammo. Of course he didn’t have that or use that on that terrible night. In fact there’s no way even the strongest man in the World could carry that much ammo as it would be about 300 pounds. It’s just a joke but they’re coming out of the woodwork proposing useless ineffective law after law which won’t prevent anything and just hurt law abiding citizens. If someone is intent on doing harm to people, they’ll figure out a way regardless of what law is in place. Criminals don’t follow the law, wake up!

Ok I’ll stop now as the misses just came down and I have to run. Take care and God Bless,

Yesterday afternoon I finally got my desktop computer email working. I had 18,182 emails that had to download so it took until this morning. Now, for some strange reason, I have no more emails present in my comcast box or on the server, hmmm. I’ll need to get me neighbor Steve back over today to figure this out.

Yesterday I made sure the misses took it easy. The kids played hard as usual and I joined them for a game of frisbee football in the afternoon. The misses watched tv , slept (due to painkillers) and read her book for most of the day. We had some corn on the cob and steak for dinner while the kids had homemade calzones that Mom makes. Today I’ll try to figure out how to pay for the brew ha ha over the weekend. Unfortunately hospitals these days make you pay upfront for certain charges, thank God for American Express! Enough about money, it is what it is. Everybody needs it and nobody has it.

Today I have lots to do and Lorenzo, my partner from NY, arrives at 8pm tonight. We have a  busy week that finishes with us all going to Steamboat Springs for the wine festival on Thursday but will be home by Saturday am. We need to get back by noon Saturday as the oldest has a party at his 4th grade teachers house. He earned this by turning in ALL his homework on time for the entire school year! That alone is quite the feat.

As predicted, we now have Chuck Shumer, the most worthless senator there is, promoting a ban on certain kinds of guns or magazines or how you can buy ammunition. I’m so sick of hearing about what a shock it is that someone buys 200 rounds of ammunition. Whenever I or anyone I know, goes shooting, we easily shoot twice that! We’d shoot lots more but it’s just too expensive.

None of these politicians seem to understand that the 2nd Amendment was written specifically to keep the government in check. The peoples right to bear arms was to ensure that government isn’t the only ones with guns. History shows us that taking away arms from the people has never turned out well. It’s always done for “our own good”.

Look at Hitler in Germany or any other scenario in history where the people were disarmed, not good. What if the rebels in Syria had no weapons? Men, women and children would be totally wiped out with no resistance. By the time any of us so called civilized nations would act, it would be too late. Hell, it’s already too late, over 20,000 innocent (over half are women and children) victims have been slaughtered, the number would be 10 times that if the citizenry had no guns. Same thing has happened is numerous middle eastern countries. A free society is an armed society. Now I’m not saying we need 100 round magazines but 10 rounds, which is what Shumer wants to ban, eliminates 90% of the semi auto handguns out there. I cannot believe the people of New York continue to elect this guy.

I need to run as I have a lot of magic to do on how to pull some stuff together. Hope everyone is well, take care, stay safe and God Bless.

Here’s a comment from the misses,