A Year of Change

Today at 4:30 is our neighborhood annual chili cookoff. We have these neighborhood parties often, but we’ve never been able to make it. So, today we’re going. Davey and Abby and the kids are going with us. Lori made her famous Basque cheesecake. The CU game starts at 8, so that’ll be on when we get home.

Cool outside but not freezing yet. I give it another couple of weeks.

Tasha has been calling Tommy as Shelly, my older stepsister, isn’t doing too well. At first, a few days ago, we were told she had a heart attack, then that turned out to be pneumonia, and now they say she has some bacteria in her blood. As of last night, Tom said Tasha said they’re keeping her in hospice at the hospital and only giving her a few days. If she makes it through that, I guess she’ll go to another hospice. Hard to tell what’s really going on as Tasha said she wouldn’t make it a week, a few years ago. Shelly is not healthy though and we’re kind of surprised she’s made it this long. She lived a hard life of smoking, drinking and abused a lot of drugs. She’s a couple years older than me but is a tough old girl. Still, this might be it. You can’t really talk to her on the phone, and I guess she’s not very responsive. I wouldn’t even know where to call. Tasha doesn’t talk to Robin and I after we questioned her care of Shelly a few years ago. Prayers for her.

7am now. We slept in a little. Think we’ll go to the gym. I did pay some extra taxes yesterday. This morning, I got an email saying some State returns were rejected. That’s because Ty filed on his own, per our accountant’s instructions last April. Our accountant must have forgot. Guess we’ll lose his child tax credit. As I said yesterday, something has to give, as making working people just pay more and more for poor government choices, just isn’t sustainable. I know lots of guys who are just saying, screw it, I’m not going to work as hard and make as much money. Maybe this is what the govt. wants, all of us equal (socialism), and easier to control. They for sure want you 100% dependent on them, that’s how they control you! Of course, the elites, like the Biden’s, Obama’s, Soros’s, Shumer’s and others, have different rules for themselves. Better wake the fuck up people, before it’s too late!

The silly season is almost over. Thank God, then the political ads will stop, for a few months anyhow. Everyone has already made up their mind. We saw an older, angry lady in Costco yesterday wearing a Harris Walz shirt. People were staring at her with some laughing. I kind of felt bad for her, but she brought in on herself. Before I saw the shirt, I noticed how angry she was pushing her cart down the aisle. Once I saw her shirt, I knew why. Democrats are just angry people, think about it, it’s true. No one burned down cities, defaced monuments or beat people up when Obama won! Sad some people are so misguided and swayed by personality rather than policy. Not much you can do.

That’s it, have a great day, stay safe and God Bless.

We all gained 5 pounds or more on our trip, so for me, I’m back on the program. No carbs, no sugar and calorie restrictions for the foreseeable future. Dropped 3 pounds since yesterday.

James, Marty, Ken and I got together for cigars yesterday afternoon. This morning Lori and I will head back to the gym and then probably stop and see Ty. His check was $2400 take home! That’s damn good. He also worked an art show last night and made an extra $100 in tips as well.

Tax Day is coming up. While my accountant was right and we don’t owe much, (I think about $600 which is close to zero), he did suggest we pay some more in estimated taxes, so we don’t owe next April. Something has to give. Those of us that work, pay and pay, and get nothing in return. Our infrastructure is falling apart (roads, bridges, etc.), crime is rampant, schools are failing our kids, food and everything cost more, and the only thing you can bank on, is taxes go up on everything, every year. I figured it out and we pay about $4000 a month in medical, car and home insurance. Thankfully the Company pays about $1500 of our medical insurance so our out of pocket is about $2500, but that’s still $30,000 a year! And that doesn’t even include the $20,000 in annual property taxes! Then with income tax, for us to pay out $50K, we need to make $80k! All that is before any mortgage payment, income tax payment, cars, food, utilities, clothing, and anything else. You can see what a shit show things are and why I say, something has to give. When we retire, we might have to move to a more rural area, and most likely for sure, another State. Wyoming and Texas, for example, have no State income tax, which when you’re retired, is a big deal. I get bummed out when I do the math as it’s just not fair. Thankfully we make good money right now, but we do work really hard. Sorry for the rant.

The northern lights were out last night. Ty sent a couple pics to us and Jag, they were amazing. We’ll try to see them tonight. Our neighborhood has the annual chili cookoff tomorrow afternoon at 4:30. Lori, Davy, Abby and I are going. Our neighborhood always has these parties, but we’ve never gone to one, so we’re excited to meet some people.

6:30 now and still dark. Not sure if we’re going to the Bronco game Sunday or not, we’ll see. Time to get moving, have a great day and God Bless.

We pulled out of Buffalo around 8:45 in the morning. Casper is about 90 miles south, so we decided to have breakfast there. I looked up the best breakfast places in town on my phone and found a small little place called Sheri’s Diner. We found it ok and after throwing our guns in the cab of the truck (so they don’t get stolen), we strolled in.

As soon as we sat down, I knew this big dude at the table next to us recognized James. I went to the bathroom and James slid over to the seat closer to the wall and I took his seat. The guy them made a comment to me saying, there’s Lars from Metallica. Now Lars of course is the drummer and I’m way taller and better looking than him, but I just ignored him.

I could see the guy immediately get on his phone and thought, uh oh, this could get crowded. The food was great, and the portions were giant! Our chicken fried steak had to be 12 inches long as it covered the entire plate, and the eggs and hash browns were buried underneath it. While we were eating, another guy walked in and yelled “James”. To James credit, he didn’t flinch, and the guy kept walking. The owner Sheri, who was serving us, asked if we were fishing or hunting, and then said, are you guys a band, or cops? We laughed and pretty much ignored her and enjoyed the food. A few minutes later she came back and said “are you guys Metallica?” and I of course shook my head no. She said, that’s what everyone is saying. At this point, I could feel a lot of eyes on us. We finished up and stood up and walked toward the door. As soon as we got outside, the crowd was there. There were kids with magazines wanting autographs and other people along with the guy who earlier called “James” in the restaurant. We walked briskly for the truck, half waving at people, (James said don’t turnaround and just keep walking and wave, ha), with people yelling, including the guy from earlier, who said “my brother just died and he was a huge fan, and some other things we didn’t hear. We made it to the truck and quickly loaded the stuff into the back of the truck and took off., as the crowd was slowly advancing onus. So, no harm done, but it was weird having a mini mob in little old Casper Wyoming. We decided people showed up to see Marty looks so much like a rock star, bwaaaahhh. Of course Marty looks nothing like that or anyone for that matter.

Marty did well on the trip and was relieved he made it through ok. We all watched out for him and carried his pack and gun, and other stuff, most of the time hunting, as he wasn’t supposed to exert himself too much. He now goes in for a 4 1/2 surgery on Monday and then begin 3 weeks of recovery in the hospital (4 days) and then a good 2 weeks at home. Then it’ll take another 3 weeks before he’s back to normal. He wanted to go hunting so bad so that’s why they delayed the surgery.

The rest of the trip was noneventful. We had a blast and I drove half the way home. It was bittersweet driving past our ranch in Walden. Wish that was still in the family. Not much has changed up there. We pulled into our hood around 4:30. I had done all my laundry before leaving so not much to do except put clothes and gear away. Lori made it home about an hour after me. She’s fighting a cold as her PA is pretty sick. We’ll head to the gym this morning and then she has a dentist appointment at 1. I have cigar night at 4:30ish.

Good to be home but what fun. We’re already deciding where to go next year. Maybe Newfoundland for moose, we’ll see. Here’s a few pics, but I’m not posting James as shit just gets out on the internet. Have a great Thursday. Nice here still, probably mid 70’s today. Be well, stay safe and God Bless.

Me and Davy

My Goat

Davy was out the door by 6:30 and had his buck by 8am. He was back here by 9. One shot at 405 yards. Around 9:30 we decided to head up the highway 30 minutes to Sheridan Wyoming. We parked on Main Street and walked the town shopping and looking around. The highlight of the trip was King Saddlery and Rope. They’ve been around forever and have a museum in the back with hundreds of saddles and old west memorabilia from historical figures long gone that you only hear about in history books or the movies. There must have been over 5000 artifacts there! Super cool place.

After lunch we made it back around 2:30 and the four of us just hung out telling stories and laughing and smoking a cigar or two, for the rest of the afternoon. This morning at 9 we’ll pick up our meat and head for home. We saw a bumper sticker today we wanted to buy but they didn’t have any for sale. It said Colorado is Wyoming’s Mexico! How funny is that? It’s funny cause it’s true! Different life up here, because they’re still free! A lot less regulation and restrictions on your freedom.

We should be home around 4. We’re already planning what we want to do next year. It’s such a good thing for the four of us. Kind of like a soul-searching guy movie. I’d post hunting pics but don’t want the Peta people upset if anyone sees it on the internet, ha. What a World.

More to come, but we had a blast, with a lot of guy bonding time, which is important to be a good man. It centers you and reground’s you as a person and a man. That might sound weird but it’s true. Hope everyone is well, have a great Wednesday and it’s also John Lennon and my good friend Harry’s birthday today! God Bless.

Yesterday we took two more antelope. Just before noon, after a 90 minute stalk, I shot mine at 300 yards off a mountain down across two ridges. He’s a great looking buck and one of the largest ones we’ve seen. After running into town to drop him at Bighorn Meats, we headed back out to find Marty’s buck. We saw one driving into the ranch but thought we’d leave him be and see what else was out there. After 90 minutes of glassing animals, we headed back to find him. Luckily we headed back at that time as Davy, James and the other guys had just pulled up on another road and saw the same buck. We called them on the phone, as we could see them a mile or so away through binoculars, and told them to stand down. 30 minutes later or so, we had Marty’s down.

We then headed into town to take Marty’s to the meat processor and then Marty and I headed home. Davy was out until probably 7 and had a few shots at a couple nice ones but missed both. That happens, as with antelope hunting, the shots are long.

This morning at 6:30, he’ll head back out. Later today I think we’re running up to Sheridan which is 20 miles north. We’ll head home tomorrow as we need to wait for the meat to be processed and frozen. You only get 25 pounds or so from an antelope so not a lot of meat.

It’s been a great trip, loads of fun. I miss Lori but this was much needed for all of us guys as everyone has stuff going on right now. More to come, Have a great day and God Bless.

What a day! Antelope hunting is unlike any other type of hunting there is. It’s basically a game of chess. These animals can see you from 1000 yards so it’s a game of cat and mouse. Shots are usually around 500 yards, which is five football fields long! We were in them early this morning on a ranch that stretched over 30 miles! We spotted and stalked and played with them all day. James and Davy were in another truck and at the end of the day, James had one down. I passed on a number I could have taken but am looking for a mature goat. We now know where they are and will be back after them early in the morning.

We’re having a blast as we always do when we’re hunting. The Broncos won! Whoo hoo! So over all a great day. There’s a saying, A bad day of hunting (there’s never a bad day of hunting), is better than a good day of work!

Ty went to the game was all face painted up! Jag texted me too. Lori is doing fine. More tomorrow, God Bless.

What a great little town, about 4400 residents, set up against the Bighorn Mountains. Our trip took six hours and was uneventful. We did stop in Casper and had a little bit of a fan issue, but nothing too bad. That’s normal, but we thought we’d be ok in Casper.

After arriving at the lodge, we went and did some shooting to make sure we were dialed in. After that, we hung out and had dinner and had fun visiting with our guides (who are basically 20 something kids) until about 10pm.

Up early this morning around 6 and we’ll leave at 7 or 7:30. We’re headed to a ranch about 40 miles south first as we’re looking for trophy goats. We’ll be out all day and I’m sure could be done by noon but we’re going to be selective. We’re in no hurry.

More later, Go Broncos and have a great day, God Bless.

Heading out around 7:30 this morning. Marty will be here at 7 and we’ll throw my stuff in the truck, then we’ll drive two houses up to get Davy and his stuff, and then it’s off to get James around 8. Seven and a half hours later, we should be in Buffalo Wyoming, Time to cowboy up! We’re all super excited and we all need the guy time.

Lori made peanut butter cookies and Rice Krispie treats for the road. She always takes care of us whenever we go on a trip. We’re taking one truck which is fine as the weather is good, it’s a short drive, and we can get away with two giant Grand Canyon rafting coolers as antelope just aren’t that big. All the gear will go in the back of the truck easy.

Good day yesterday as I said in the post. Sadly, the World evolves around money, but that’s the way it is. Truth be told, happiness, contentment and peace don’t all come gift wrapped with money. Sure, it helps, but we’ve all heard stories of older people who die alone, unhappy and have tons of money. It’s a balance, like everything in life. The trick is finding that balance. That’s where we all are now, at least in my circle of friends. Which brings me back to our trip. We need this and should do more of it. Life isn’t all about work, trust me.

Not sure if I’ll get the blog up tomorrow morning as I’ll be out early. I also didn’t get the pics of Lori’s great decorations, but I have plenty of time until Halloween, so hang in there.

Be safe, take care and live well. God Bless.

I left at 8:30 yesterday morning and was home at 7:30 last night. It was a good meeting with the guys, and we accomplished a lot.

This morning Lori has a dentist appointment at 9, so I’ll go with her and go see Ty while she’s getting her teeth cleaned. Then I need to organize my stuff for tomorrow. Cooler this morning. Lori did a lot of decorating while I was gone. I bought her a few fun Halloween things at a little store down in Monument. I’ll take some pictures today.

In other news, we closed our deal on selling one of our larger brands yesterday. This has been seriously in the works since last March or April, but I couldn’t talk about it. I don’t want to write the name of the brand as it’s confidential, as we have a transition period and the announcement of the sale won’t go public until 2025, meaning it’s business as usual and we’re still selling the wine. That’ll last until April 2025, but like I said, we’ll announce it to the public January 1st. It was a good 7 figure deal for us and a long time coming. I didn’t want to say anything until the funds were wired and in our bank account. Building and selling brands has been our philosophy since 2017 when we made a conscious effort to do that realizing this is the play and future rather than selling the Company.

This is also what my meeting was about yesterday, developing and building brands for the Company that owns Bud beer and other products. There’s another meeting in New York on Monday with a big VC firm that is starting a fund, and our Brand Lab is the incubator. So, good stuff going on and our transition from selling wine to little wine shops to developing products, including spirits, wine, and alternative products, from larger companies that can do all the selling, is working. Keep your fingers crossed for more success. You have to change with the times to stay competitive.

The long drive didn’t help my neck. I’ll get it checked out when I get back. Hope it continues to calm down. As long as I don’t turn my neck in a quick movement, I’m fine.

Guess I’ll wrap it up for the day. Have a great Friday and a great weekend. GB.

I have a 1pm meeting in Monument meaning I’ll leave around 9am. Should be home between 6 and 7. Long drive but I hardly ever get to see a couple of these guys as Steve lives in Atlanta. He and his brother Mike, are partners in a couple brands.

Yesterday I headed back to Buena Vista with Marty as he changed some things around on his rifle the night before. Turns out he was turning the parallax knob on his scope which controls windage from side to side, instead of the elevation turret to control distance. It didn’t take long for me to dial his rifle in, so now, as long as he doesn’t mess with it, he’s good to go.

My neck seems all better today, knock on wood. Lori will be working from home and as I said, I’ll be driving most of the day. Harley woke us up at 4:18 which is even a little early for us. I went back to bed until 6am.

Sprinklers are blown out. Looks like between the 11th and the 14th, we could get some moisture up here. 27 degrees in Kremmling this morning, mid 30’s here. Won’t be long now until we see some change in the weather.

Trump mentioned Aurora during a speech yesterday and Polis (the Governor) countered saying how safe it is. I don’t about you, but no way I’d go to Aurora for anything. There was another shooting there last night. Gangs HAVE taken over various apartment buildings, that’s a fact. Of course, the democratic Governor has to say it’s safe, but anyone who lives in Colorado and sees the news every morning, knows it flat out is not safe. Hell, none of Denver, or any other blue city is safe these days. There was a sidewalk robbery last week in Cherry Creek, as I mentioned the other day, where a guy was robbed of his watch at gunpoint. I could go on and on with stories from friends, but you get the point. Most people we know that still live down there have changed their habits of when and where they go places, which right there, shows you things just are not safe. When you as a citizen have to consider changing anything you want to do, due to crime or safety issues, there’s a problem. What choice do the dems have though, they have to tell you it’s safe. How would the election go for them if they told the truth and said, it’s not safe outside due to the mass illegal immigration and lax enforcement of our laws. That wouldn’t help, so they have to lie. So, be safe and watch out for yourself, wherever you are.

Nice morning outside right now, perfect hunting weather. Cool and clear with the leaves beginning to fall off the trees. Just about perfect. Lori is messing around with her box of Halloween decorations that arrived yesterday. She’s all in on decorating. Good for her. Tomorrow I need to pack so we can leave Saturday am. Ty is using the Bronco tickets and going to the Raider game this weekend. Should be fun. We’re glad he’s going. Jagger is at a friend’s wedding.

That’s it, 7am now. Guess I’ll get moving. I might head out early and stop at Scheels which is a great outdoor store down by my meeting. One last thing, I read an article the other day about our food as RFK keeps talking about it. Turns out everything from Doritos to Gatorade to McDonalds, and tons of other products that they make for us here in the U.S., have more and worse ingredients than the same products they sell in the U.K. and Europe. For example, McDonalds fries over there have 4 ingredients, while ever here, they have 11. This is because Europe has outlawed things that they have proven are bad for you and even cause diseases like cancer. Lesson here is companies will knowingly make and sell things that they know can make people sick, to make more money, and our government lets them. Nice, right? What a Country.

Have a great day, God Bless.