A Year of Change

Last night Jagger cooked salmon for us and the Franks. He did an amazing job and it was at their house! We made it home a little before 10. Before that we went to the house and then to Frisco to pick up a mirror. Earlier in the day we picked up rug samples that we took down to the house trying to see what looks best.

Today the boys, (and us) are cleaning around here. Our boys just are not very good cleaners.

Looks like, in my opinion, this mess will be with us until at least 2022. That a sober thought but after analyzing all the medical data I can find, I don’t see this ending anytime soon. My thoughts are based on historical data showing how long it took similar pandemics to run their course. What I haven’t been able to get my arms around is the civil disobedience. There are things going on behind the scenes that are stoking the fires of division for political and economical reasons. Without knowing the details it’s hard to tell what the end game is here. One thing is for sure, there are many people that are easy and willing pawns for people in power to use to continue to try to divide us. The internet and social media is directly responsible for tons of misinformation and stirring up people with false facts and encouraging them to act. Half of what you see and read on the internet and most of what you see and hear on tv, is flat out false. Knowing what I know and more importantly what I don’t know, I would again encourage you to prepare for just that, the unknown. Stay stocked up on the essentials, food, water, medicines and other things you need and use daily. Don’t know on if you’ve been in a Home Depot type store lately but many of the shelves are empty. Everything from cleaning supplies to plywood to duct tape are hard to find. Keep a little cash on hand, always keep your gas tank at least half full and be aware at all times when out in public. Keep your head on a swivel. Unprovoked indiscriminate violence is becoming common, especially in the cities. Avoiding large crowds by now should go unsaid. Hopefully then you’ll ride this mess out. By the way, I think masks will be here long enough that I’ve gone to using silk bandana’s from the cowboy store to use as a mask instead of the flimsy annoying paper ones that end up getting dirty and thrown away. You can always wash your bandana. So there you have it. My take as of 7/12/20.

Ty’s ankle is getting better. Mine is a little swollen from having a spot burned off at the dermatologist. We’re waiting to see what award we can get from Vail Christian for Ty. My main concern is with the way things are going we’re not sure if school will be in person in a little over a month. Jag and I were talking and while we believe CU will start in some fashion, we think he could be sent home earlier than Thanksgiving if things continue to progress. Hard to tell here too.

So we’re living in a time of unknown. Anyone that says this is the new normal is only talking about where they are on that day as things seem to change as fast as the wind does. Don’t count on anyone, especially the government to save you. That’s it, be well and God Bless.

Looks like Lori is officially done working for Dr. C. as of yesterday. She cleaned out her office and they’re cashing out her remaining PTO which she’ll receive at the end of the month. She does get to keep her phone number as I guessed we raised enough of a stink that they gave in. One of the I.T. guys tried to say he told Lori 5 years ago that she’d lose her number. Anyone with any common sense understands if someone told them they’d lose their cell number of over 20 years, that that person would just say, give me a different number. To close things out she also had the opportunity to tell Dr. C.’s wife that she thought the way this whole thing went down was shitty and that she knew what they did. Kim tried to deny it for a few minutes until Lori pointed out things Kim didn’t know she knew and then basically just shut her mouth. So finally we have some closure, yea! Now we can move on.

Last night we went to Marty and Mel’s for tacos until about 10. Our boys sure are tall. When we go somewhere as a family, this sure stands out. We took a rug down to the house yesterday but it was too small. There are a few things that need fixing or fine tuning at the house. I imagine it’ll be at least another week before things are really livable. I’d like to find a rug today. Then all we need is our bed to arrive. Over the next few months we’ll be looking for a coffee table, some night stands and other smaller pieces to fill out the house. It’s a lot to do but fun.

Looks like the virus is picking up in some places. I think on top of everyone wearing mask, if everyone would just stay home, (and I don’t mean not go to the store or anything), and not travel from their home in Denver to here or Texas to California, we wouldn’t see this increase in cases. I don’t know why everyone is flocking to the beaches in some States. Thinking about it, maybe I do, people are just over staying at home and doing nothing. Guess we’ll soon see how the whole herd immunity thing works. As for us, we’re still basically staying away from anyone we don’t know that hasn’t been social distancing and for sure we’re staying away from any crowds.

It’s hot and dry and we could use some rain. Thankfully we don’t have many fires. That’d be all we need. If you read the bible you might think we’re getting close the the End of Times. Plague, drought, civil unrest, division and more are all outlined and eerily alike what’s going on worldwide. Everyone has their own relationship with God in one way or another. All I’ll say on this is if you don’t, you should probably pick up a bible and check it out.

Time to go to the gym. Not sure what we’ll do after that. We should clean but we’re kind of waiting until we can move stuff to the house as then things will go one of two places, to the house or to the trash. I guess they’ll be a third option which would be a donation pile. That’s it, be well, be safe and God Bless.

Lori was at the house until probably 6 last night and then Mojo woke us up at 1 or so. Lori told me to sleep and said she’d go down this time. I guess he had to go pee. I think he also peed in the house again but mostly on a pad Tom and Ali gave us the other day. I don’t know what we’re going to do in a week or so when we move. He might be sleeping in the garage at the new house. Work is crazy and we’re racking our brains right now figuring out how to change things to capitalize on how people now buy and sell wine. It’s like you need to forget everything you ever knew and start from scratch. More here later.

I was on the phone most of the day while Jag slept until about noon and Ty was at Sonny’s until the same time. Today we have the dining room table, couch, a couple chairs and four barstools being delivered. There are a bunch of things we’ll add to the punch list which need to be fixed. This is common and will be fixed over the next few weeks. The sod went in yesterday and the landscaping looks great. You can’t have over a certain amount of grass so we planted a bunch of native grass by seed as well.

Internet and one phone line are in but tv hookup’s come next Wednesday. Still lots going on. Time to go now so I can get to the gym and then we can try to see if we can pick up a cheap rug locally before the afternoon deliveries. God Bless.

Lots happening at the house. Yesterday a couple beds were delivered and the phone guys were there. More happening today. I have a financial call at 10 so Lori will be going down before me. Today we have a rug and some furniture being delivered and they are supposedly going to install our internet.

Yesterday Jag and I were at Libby’s by 8:45 to have a bump froze off my ankle. Then it was off for haircuts before stopping to see Dave, our gold and silver guy (gold is testing it’s all time high!) and then we headed to see Art to have my watch band fixed. Then a quick stop at the grocery store and we were off to Tom and Ali’s for a visit before going home. They’re doing fine and it was good to see them. The boys sure like going over there. Ty was bummed he didn’t go as he didn’t know we were stopping there.

We were home around 2 and then Lori and Jag headed to the house while I did some work. Then at 5 pm I headed to James to meet up with him and Marty for our weekly guy hang. We’re trying to figure out where we can go hunting as the border with Canada is closed and our outfitter up there just cancelled all his moose hunts. Lucky moose.

Ty went to town and spent the night at Sonny’s. We’re still working on getting him into Vail Christian High School. It’s beautiful up here, not too hot, mid 80’s, perfect.

While driving in Denver we drove past numerous homeless camps. Tents lined the streets surrounded by garbage. Not sure where all these people came from or what their plan is. It’s clear this is organized by some group trying to continue the protests and divide us as people. It wasn’t a pretty site.

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

Today, in about 45 minutes, Jag, Ty and I are headed to Denver. I have to go to the dermatologist and the boys are getting haircuts. Lori will be down at the house as our bed is getting delivered today. Not sure when the mattress comes but at least we’ll have a bed frame. It’s the first time since we’ve been married that we’ve had an actual bed. About time, right?

We did walk the stone yard yesterday with Chris picking out a 7 foot piece of stone for our fireplace hearth. It’s one of the finishing touches you need to decide on. It’ll take a few weeks to get put in but that’s ok. I don’t think we’ll be using the fireplace anytime soon.

Dinner was great last night with our friends. It was really good to catch up. We made it home around 10:30. It’s hot in Denver, really hot. It’s super nice up here but was in the 90’s down at the house. It’s 6 am now and the boys need to get moving so I need to run. Be well, be safe and God Bless.

Lots going on. Denver tomorrow and dinner tonight at Marci and Jerry’s. Lori cleaned out her office last night and opted out of doing any medical legal work on commission. She’s doing the right thing as if Dr. C. wants her to work, he needs to pay her. Cheap idiot. The news of the day is Dr. Gill is not coming to Vail to take over for Dr. C. I don’t know how much Lori had to do with this but I’m sure her being candid gave him a clearer picture of what’s going on. For him, it’s the right decision. For the people still working with Don, it’s a bummer. They now face a future of unemployment when Don retires next May. Hmm, karma anyone? I’m sure they’ll find another doctor to take over but it might not be too soon.

Lori still needs to get on her computer at work and go through her files. She spent about 2 hours going through mounds of papers that were client files. She feels like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders as the place has turned into a toxic mess since she’s been gone.

We need to get down to the house today and get a few things done. I think we get to start moving things in this weekend. We won’t be sleeping there for another week or so but I have lots in the garage that we can start taking down. They clean tomorrow and I think the grass goes in then too. I know the couch and dining room table gets delivered Friday. Internet and phone go in Thursday.

Lori is headed to the dentist in about 30 minutes to get her crown put on. I think I’ll go do the treadmill at the gym while she gets this done. So time to go.

Last but not least, today is Aunt Ali’s birthday! Happy Birthday Ali! Hope you have a great day. We’ll see you soon. God Bless.

Looks like temps in the upper 90’s in Denver all week long. That means upper 80’s up here which is fine, but still hot. 3 more shootings in Denver last night. When it’s hot out, shootings and violence go up. 3 were shot on Saturday night too. Luckily it doesn’t look like any fires started from all the illegal fireworks over the weekend.

Lots going on this week at the house. Each day starting tomorrow, things, (mostly furniture) is getting delivered. We figure a week from this weekend we should be officially moving in. We’ll move stuff starting at the end of this week but won’t be sleeping there for another 10 or 12 days most likely. Then we’ll start cleaning and fixing things up around here and hopefully by the end of the month at the latest have this place on the market.

Work is a shit show for me as I probably will need to furlough some people this week. I’m racking my brain trying to figure out new sales channels that work around people’s new habits. The trick right now is getting direct to the consumer. Meanwhile Lori is looking for opportunities. James thinks she has to move forward with her ice cream business as it’s that good. More to come on this soon.

I think Jag is headed to Denver today to get some things and see a buddy. Lori and I have a few things to do for the house. Mojo is losing control of his bladder, ugh. We need to find some kind of diaper for him or something as there’s not much else we can do. We’ll have to set up a new area in the garage of the new house. It’s basically part of the house though, heated and all with direct access to a huge outdoor area with a new dog house and all. That reminds me, I need to get on finding a dog house!

That’s it, only a couple hundred new cases of Covid in Colorado which is really low. Surrounding States like Arizona and California are slammed though. We stayed away from the crowds all weekend and hopefully all the visitors have gone back to Denver or wherever they came from. Be well, be safe and keep preparing for the Fall and Winter. I don’t see the economy getting much better anytime soon and there will be food shortages. Now is the time to stock up a bit, God Bless.

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.