A Year of Change

Fun time with the boys both home. Jagger and Lori took off yesterday afternoon to go to Costco, the hardware store and then ran up valley to visit Ty. After they made it home, Ty showed up from work. Jag and Ty hung out until around 9:30 when they both took off. Lori sure loves having her boys home. Just like old times with all of us together.

Great game yesterday. I called it, knowing we’d win. I’ve sort of been on a roll. I don’t want to jinx anyone, but I think the Broncos are going to win today too. Everyone says no way, but we’ll see. Sooner or later, I have to be wrong, otherwise I should have a job in Vegas, ha. I probably just jinxed them.

Great weather up here still. It can turn in a moment, but for now, we’ll take it. A nice Fall is the best time of the year.

I’ve had a sore neck for a while but after laying off heavy weights, and just doing legs and focusing on cardio, I’m feeling almost all better. I’m going to keep that up for the week with our hunting trip coming up.

I think Ty is going to wait on a new car. Probably the right thing to do. He’s bummed but making what I think, is the right decision, at this point in time. If they had a used one, it’d be different. We’ll see what happens.

Ava gets home this morning. She was at a wedding shower in Chicago. That’s it, have a great Sunday and go Broncos, God Bless.

Jag made it up a little after 8. I guess traffic was horrible. Ty was here earlier but was gone by the time Jag made it. He’s rethinking the new truck thing. Good on him as it’s a whole lot of money. I told him he could buy a starter home with the payment he’d be making on a new truck. There are lots of nice $20,000 trucks out there, we just haven’t found one.

Hard to believe the flooding in the southeast. North Carolina looks to have been hit the hardest. Millions of people are without power, and it’ll be at least weeks, probably months before it’s restored. No fun with the heat and humidity down in that part of the Country. The lesson here is, no matter where you live, if something happens, you’re on your own. Take note! This can mean a natural disaster or manmade, like a riot or civil disturbance. Help is even tougher to get after all the issues over the past five years. Defunding the police and cutting spending on infrastructure didn’t help. You can thank the people in Washington D.C.

The big news politically is the Biden administration has let in at least 450,000 documented convicted criminals! 13,000 of those are convicted murderers and 14,500, convicted rapists! That’s about 85,000 criminals per State. Be careful, trust no one. Many older couples are posing as cleaning people knocking on your door and then robbing. Home invasions are way up too. The younger criminals are just robbing people on the street, even in Cherry Creek! Trump was right when he said countries emptied their prisons and sent those people here. How anyone can vote for Harris is beyond me. We will not come back as a Country if she wins. No question about that.

A week from today, Marty, Davey, James and I are leaving for Wyoming. James has one last show tomorrow night and then one in December and then is off until Spring of next year. He’s had a busy couple of years. They’re making bank though.

Another nice day. Supposed to be in the 70’s and 80’s for the next couple weeks. Lori and I are headed to the gym, (I’m just doing cardio these days) and then will stop and see Ty before heading home. Jag might meet us at Hovey for breakfast. The CU game is on at 1:30, Sko Buffs! God Bless.

Can’t think of many places as nice as where we live. Every place has issues these days, but if you look at the main factors of defining a great place to live, we pretty much check all the boxes. Fairly low crime, although it’s getting worse here too, good weather, if you like 4 seasons, clean air and water, and for the most part, not as much traffic or people as in a city. The only bad thing is the cost of living. I guess that’s what you get when you get all the good things, as everyone wants to live here.

Yesterday I made it to Denver by 8:45 and was out by 11. I stopped at the Sherriff’s department in Eagle on the way home to see my buddy, who is the Sherriff, and give him a few cases of wine for some benefit they have every year. I help him out a few times each year. He just got married a week ago! Small ceremony with only 8 people. Good for him. It’s his second. I asked him about the influx of migrants, and he said while we’re getting some, they’re no worse, so far, than the stupid locals that commit crimes. He was headed to a meeting with concerned parents over all the school threats. He did say things are getting worse, which is to be expected with all the building and growth we’re experiencing. He keeps an eye out for us and our hood. Good to have the Sherriff as a close friend.

While I was gone, Lori had the house cleaners here. Ty worked until 7:45 last night, deep cleaning the restaurant by himself, to get some overtime and just get things straightened up at work. We’re headed to the gym and then will stop and see him on the way home. Have a great weekend. I have a couple loads to get out of the storage unit today. Seems never ending. God Bless you all, stay safe.

Here’s a pic of the gates to heaven, or more commonly known as our backyard, ha!

Lots of stuff going on. I have a couple of meetings and a few errands today. Lori will go to the gym, but I’ll be skipping it today as I’ll already be on the road. Hope to be done by noon or 1.

Ty approached Chef Molly, (the owner, everyone calls her chef, because she’s the head chef), and told her he is willing to commit to staying through the end of next year at a minimum, but he wants to take a larger role in managing the restaurant! She was quite impressed and is working out a plan to work Ty into a larger management role. He’ll handle scheduling, some ordering and other duties to take things off Chef’s plate. Good for him. This will give him valuable experience that will make him employable throughout his life. Super proud of him. His main motivation is to make more money for his new truck, but again, good for him for wanting to advance his career, no matter the reason.

Outside it’s absolutely beautiful up here. 80 degrees and sunny with red, yellow and gold making up most of the mountains. I’m sure tomorrow and Saturday, the entire city of Denver will be coming up to see the changing seasons.

That’s it, time to get moving, have a great day and God Bless.

Yesterday I was out the door by a little after 8:30. I met Marty at the Park n Ride in Frisco, and we headed off to Buena Vista. I drove. He’s feeling 100% better having had his drain taken out. It was a nice, pretty drive with the leaves almost all turned. We go up through Leadville and then down through Buena Vista to get to the local 1000-yard range down there. I’m sure this weekend the World will be driving up from Denver to see the colors changing. Should be the peak weekend.

During our drive, we tried to figure out some more of the elusive answers to life questions, as usual. We determined that living in a small town provides the best quality of life. Problem where we both live now, is that we no longer live in small towns. When Marty first moved to Breckenridge, a big trip was driving to Avon to go to Home Depot, as there wasn’t anything over in Dillon or Frisco. I remember those days too. Not that far back, just a few years, when we moved to Eagle, there were about 800 less homes or condos than there are now! That’s a lot of growth in a little over 3 years!

Going to the range and stopping in Buena Vista reinforced our opinions as the locals there at the range and places like the coffee shop and hamburger stand, all had that super friendly, how you doing, can I help you attitude. It’s easy to spot locals, like us, from tourists from big cities or other States. So, our search continues for what to do or where to go to retire. It’s just too expensive here. We could make it work, but why spend 2 times or more to live than you can somewhere else. Then there’s all the people. Don’t get me started. Let’s just say, we’re getting invaded, by both legals and illegals.

We were at the range for a little over an hour and will go back next week. 400 to 500 yards are long shots (think 4 or 5 football fields) so we want to make sure we’re dialed in.

In other news, we thought we had Ty’s new truck locked in, but it was sold out from under us! Won’t go into details, but our guy marked it sold for us and a customer from the day before thought he had it saved for him and threw a huge fit and the sales manager sold it to him! Not cool, but shit happens. Now Ty is looking at a new one and seems all in on paying for it, even though it might take him a year. We’re going to discuss it tonight as we want certain commitments from him if we’re going to sign up for a new truck. They won’t be in for a couple of weeks anyhow, so we have time to decide.

My buddy Matt is coming up to Lori’s office this morning from Grand Junction for an 8:30 appointment. I’ll hook up with him after he’s done. After that I’ll be working around the house.

That’s it. Time to get moving. We have a doe and two fawns in the yard eating some of Lori’s flowers. At this point of the year, she says they probably need it more than she does. Soon we’ll get our first freeze anyhow and they’ll all be toast. Make it a great day! Stay safe and God Bless.

Off today to Buena Vista for a little range time. In case you’re wondering, Gone Shootin is the title of a famous AC/DC song. Yesterday I was in Big D by 8:30am and back by 1.

Ty wants to buy a new truck. He’s leaning towards a brand new one. We’re ok with helping him out as long as he stays in the valley until it’s paid off. Insurance would go up though so a lot to consider. With his trade in and savings, it looks like it’ll take him about a year to pay one off, with him making payments of about $3K a month. We’ll see. We can’t do anything until Thursday as Lori will need to sign with him and she works in Edwards today, and Vail tomorrow. I found him a 2013 Tahoe in mint condition for $16K, but he wants a truck.

Marty had his drain taken out yesterday! This is great news as it’s literally been a pain in the ass, (the tube went in through the side of his ass) and was super annoying.

The colors are beautiful. It’ll be a nice Fall weather day but then record heat tomorrow and Thursday. I didn’t get to my closet yesterday but will get it done this week. Jag is coming up this weekend and we’re going to clean out his closet and then go through mine, as he likes to go through my old clothes. Ava is going to Chicago to visit her cousin.

October 1st is one week from today! Wow! That means 92 days left in the year once we get there. 6:50am now. Lori’s getting ready and I should get moving. Have a great day, God Bless.

What a wonderful weekend. Two big wins by our football teams. I had a feeling about the Broncos yesterday, and usually when I get a feeling, I’m right. Scientists say, always trust your gut, meaning, trust your feelings. If you feel something isn’t right, or it’s off, it probably is. Remember that! Especially when out in the World these days.

5:30am now. I need to be on the road, hopefully in about 45 minutes. I’m picking up some samples at the warehouse, dropping around 75 pounds of stuff to be shredded at Office Depot, and making a couple other quick stops. Lori is working in Vail today.

Tomorrow, I need to put in an appearance in Aspen at a tasting and one in Vail on Wednesday. Cool last night but we’re in for a sunny, Fall like week. Lori has the fireplace going right now.

The big chore of the day was I deep cleaned the pantry yesterday! This was a big job going through shelves of food and staples, throwing out old stuff, cleaning the counters and floors and even washing all the canisters and containers that hold various things. Think I’ll get on my closet when I get home this afternoon.

That’s it, time to go, have a great week and God Bless.

Guess today is the first day of Fall. Thought the news said that yesterday. In any case, it’s today.

Now to the game. Words can’t describe what happened. It was back and forth, and we actually outplayed them but had two huge lapses and let them score on two special teams plays. In the end, with 2 seconds left, we had to throw a 45-yard pass for a touchdown to get to overtime. The probability of this has to be like one in a million or more, especially in the rain. But we did it! Then we scored in overtime and our best player, and probably the best player in college football, forced a turnover and we won! Jag was going crazy at the game. So happy for him being there as it was one that’ll go down in history. So much fun.

Earlier in the day we went to Costco after meeting Greg and Jae. Turns out they brought their little Ford Explorer and didn’t rent a U-Haul as they said they were going to. We gave them some stuff and they were on their way back to Denver.

Lori was busy yesterday. She made probably 8 quarts of homemade chicken stock, some more homemade pesto with basil from our garden, and then a smoked chicken, hatch green chili soup. On top of that, she made a homemade bourbon apple crisp for dessert. She’s channeling her inner Martha Stewart these days.

The chicken is great as we don’t use any salt but instead use a BBQ rub. She froze a bunch of stock and pesto in the freezer.

Today the Broncos are on at 11. I hate to say I think we’ll win, as all logic says we’ll lose. But I think we’ll win. I don’t gamble though so it doesn’t really matter what I think, ha.

Ty wants to buy a truck. Used car prices are still way up, just like real estate. They shouldn’t be as high as they are, but people are just into their stuff too deep or way too proud of their crap. We’ll keep looking. We told him, if he gets something new, he’d better take better care of it than he did his Audi. You can’t take an Audi A4 off roading or 4 wheeling.

Nice up here and it didn’t freeze last night. It’s actually kind of warm in the mid 40’s. We had a little rain last night but nothing bad. It’s really beautiful outside right now with low hanging clouds and some fog. Good hunting weather. We’re off to the gym and then will get ready for the game at 11.

Time to get ready for winter. We had our builder measure the roof yesterday to put on another 60 feet of snow fences. This helps with drifts building up from snow falling off the roof into big piles. We (he) should have done this when we built the house, ha.

That’s it, have a great day and enjoy the first day of Fall! God Bless.

First day of Fall! Here we go. Right on cue, the weather will be changing this afternoon. We’ll probably even get some snow tonight above 9000 feet.

Lori was done with her procedure by 9:20am. She’s good to go for another 7 years. Good news! Traffic was horrible by Edwards as a semi driver fell asleep at 4:30am and drove into oncoming traffic. I-70 was shut down eastbound until sometime in the afternoon. We managed to skirt a lot of the backups by going early on Highway 6 as she had a 7:15 check in.

This morning we’re meeting Greg and Jae at the storage unit to let them pick what furniture they want to take home with them. Then we’ll come back to the house and hopefully load them up with a bunch more of Dixie’s stuff in our garage. I’d like to be able to get my truck in the garage this winter.

Our builder is also coming by as we’re having more snow fence put on the roof in a few spots, so it doesn’t build up on the ground over the winter.

Around 2 I’m picking up two smoked chickens for dinner. We haven’t decided if we’ll make some chili or what. They’re really good though, and pretty inexpensive.

James and the boys are playing in Denver next June. I knew this a while ago, but it was just announced a couple days ago. I’ve already received over twenty calls with people asking for tickets. I’ve told everyone to just go buy them. The pre-sell starts Monday. They’ll be hundreds of people wanting tickets and I’m staying as far away from getting anyone tickets as I can. I texted with Ray in Mexico City about just our cigar group and a few others, like the kids and their girlfriends, but that’s it. Other than that, I’m out of it. It’s also not fair to ask them to provide 100 free tickets or more, no matter how much money they make. It’s the principal of the thing. We have already secured Churchills at the Brown Palace on a buy out for our cigar group. Think we’ll have a cigar group dinner the night before the first show too so the guys can come, with just our small group.

5:36am now. Time to get moving and grooving. Have a great Saturday and Go Buffs! God Bless.

Up early to take Lori for her procedure. Rain is headed our way, with some snow up high. Should be nasty at the game tomorrow night in Boulder. Ava’s parents arrive today for the weekend.

Yesterday at 4, a few of us got together for cigars. Tom called last night to see if we wanted Mom’s old piano. Sadly, we passed. Just no room. I told him to donate it to a school.

We need to leave in 30 minutes so time to get moving. Have a great Friday and buckle up, Fall and Winter are coming! God Bless.