A Year of Change

Lori is supposed to land at 4:15 this afternoon. Hope she makes it as there’s going to be a little snow. I think the wind is supposed to be the larger issue. I’ll pack a bag just in case we get stuck in Denver. Nevertheless I’m headed down and will be there when she is scheduled to land.

Ty and Jack were out until 9 last night and then sometime I think around 11 pm Ty threw up. He said it was from nachos and other movie food. Hope so as we don’t need anyone getting sick here. I was driving both boys to Denver today but I think I’ll leave Ty here and just take Jack down. Jagger spent the night at Zach’s but will be home this morning.

Lori and Dixie made it to California but not without a little drama. A guy sitting behind Lori in First Class dropped his suitcase right on top of her head when they were boarding! Are you kidding me? A United supervisor came on board and documented the accident and will send us a report. Hopefully she’ll be ok and we won’t have to sue!

Looks like we’re getting a new Range Rover today. My accountant called yesterday and told me we’ll save about $25,000 on our taxes if we trade in the car by December 31st.. Owning a business gives me certain tax advantages and buying a new car yearly, if it weighs over 6000 pounds, is one of them. Not sure why it needs to weigh over 6000 pounds. Anyhow we get to write off the full purchase price from our taxes! This is unbelievable. You have to use the vehicle for business which I clearly do as we put 36,000 miles on the one we have right now in the past year. Think we’ll get white or silver this time around. It’s a big deal and something you have to take advantage of with the taxes you have to pay these days. He also told me we overpaid about $25,000 in estimated payments last year. That means this might be the first year in decades where we don’t owe money. We could even get a refund but I think any over payments just roll over as a credit. Taxes are really complicated these days.

Not much else going on. Can’t wait to get Lori home. It’s been nice to have her Mom visit. Lori and Dixie enjoyed their time at the Sonnenalp and the boys really enjoyed time with their grandma. Lori is a great daughter. She goes to see her Mom almost every month, calls her every day and stays on top of the long term healthcare plan. She is back to work Monday. It’s my birthday and she asked me what I wanted to do and even said she’d go to the Bronco game but I told her let’s just rest. Although it would be great to watch the Bronco’s beat the Raiders! That’s it, have a great day and last weekend of 2019, God Bless.

This morning I’m taking Lori to Denver to pick up her mother and take them both to the airport so Lori can fly Dixie back home. They’ll arrive at the house around 6 pm and then Lori will spend the night and fly home tomorrow. Lots of driving but Dixie can’t make the trip alone.

Yesterday we made a trip down to exchange and return gifts that didn’t work out. We were back by 3 and then headed to the gym. We hit some traffic coming back up which I hope I don’t hit again today.

Ty’s buddy jack is up here for 2 nights. Jag was out who knows where until a little after 11. Ah to be 18 again! It’s coming up on 5 am as the dogs woke me about 30 minutes ago. No new snow up here but a storm is supposed to hit the eastern plains tonight and tomorrow. Of course it’ll be nasty with wind and snow tomorrow when I pick up Lori. Hopefully it won’t impact us too much.

Three work days left in the year. I need about $600K and the proposed tariffs are causing some concern. I should be ok but you never know. That’s it, time to feed the dogs and get moving. Have a great day, GB.

Today is called Boxing Day in Canada. Must be because you box up the stuff you don’t want or that doesn’t fit and send it back. For us, Lori and I are headed to Denver to return a car load of stuff. More on that later.

Yesterday was a nice day. We woke early and had our Christmas which the boys loved. We did really well for them this year for the most part. Then after some 24 hour French toast Lori made, we were off to Denver. We picked up Dixie and headed to Tom and Ali’s. When we arrived Ali was out getting her dad. Earl had a nice time and is doing really well for 89. We all had a nice time before taking Dixie home around 3. She commented a few times how that was the first Christmas she’d been to with no alcohol. Not sure what she meant but I think she wanted some. If so she should have said something, ha. You see Lori, Ali, Earl and I were not drinking and I think Tom, if he had anything, might have had a beer before we arrived. I didn’t think twice about it until she mentioned it. Oh well, we had a nice time and Tom made a great prime rib and had leftover ham from the night before.

When we made it home the boys ran out to get sushi to go and Lori and I grazed on leftovers. We were going to go to the gym this morning but I think we’ll go after we get back so we can try to get down and up. Lori didn’t sleep much so she’s pretty tired this morning and moving slow. Tomorrow Lori is flying Dixie home which is good as it’s been a long trip for her and I think she wants to get back to her familiar surroundings. We offered to take her to see where Earl lives as he just loves it and it’s close to Greg and Jae’s and Tom and Ali’s but I don’t think she wants to go. Hard to make that decision. Saturday Lori will fly back to Denver and I’ll pick her up in the afternoon. What a good daughter to fly there and back twice to get her Mom. She does so much for Dixie that it’s almost like she’s a hired caregiver only she doesn’t get paid, ha. That’s it, time to get moving, God Bless.

The big day is here, Christmas Day, the birth day of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whoo hoo!

it’s a white Christmas up here in God’s country. We had a light dusting of an inch which is just enough to blanket everything in white. Ty came bounding down the stairs right after us and Jag is up but not upstairs yet.

We went to dinner last night and sadly two years in a row we’re 0 for 2 on dinners. They had too many reservations and were not set up to handle all the people. Lori and I sent our dover sole back but it didn’t much matter. I told her we would have been better off just giving each of us $100. Oh well, we had a nice dinner. Right now I’m taking Harley out so Ty will be a guest author, here’s Ty!

Hello, for it is me Ty, we all are sitting here in our one room in this one house while Jagger pulls up his one chair. My dear mother has just let our big wolf Mojo in. Soon after we do a small celebration we will head to Denver to see the rest of the family.

Thanks Ty! I just took Harley out so now we’re taking a break to open our stockings. Santa is off to a good start as I see a long board leaning up against the fireplace and a package in the tree, both from Santa. More to come later, time to run, like Rudolph! God Bless.

Not long now, Santa comes tonight. Hope you all are ready and have been good this year. We have a lot to do today around here so no time to waste.

Yesterday we drove Dixie down to Denver and then headed back up the hill. We were home by 2 or so. The Sonnenalp was really good to Lori as usual. When we made it home we had to get some things together before getting ready to go to Marty and Melanie’s for our annual little pre-party. It was them, Tom and Jennifer Ebner, Jen Bruno and us. Melanie has kidney stones so she was on valium and moving slow but feeling good, especially after a few glasses of wine. We had a blast as usual with them and Tom and Jennifer did too. Ty had so much fun with Max and the Bruno boys he spent the night. Jag left after a bit to go meet up with friends and stayed at Zach’s last night.

Today we have lots of wrapping to do for Tom and Ali and a few last minute stops like the mailroom at the hospital and Walgreens. We’ve done our best to continue the extravagance known as Christmas that Mom always had. At 5:30 we’re going to La Tour for our annual Christmas Eve dinner. Then it’ll be off to bed as we need to be up early for the big day tomorrow.

We should leave here by 9 in the morning at the latest to go get Grandma and then head over to Tom and Ali’s. Hopefully we’ll arrive there by 11 and have a nice Christmas until around 3 when we’ll head home to go take care of the dogs. So that’s the agenda for the next 32 hours or so.

Now it’s off to the gym after coffee. Hope everyone is well and ready. Have a great day and God Bless.

This morning Lori and I are taking Dixie down to Denver. We’ll pick her up Christmas morning from Greg and Jae’s. Yesterday we brought her over to the house and we watched football and ate chicken soup I made earlier in the day. Apparently according to Dixie I make great chicken soup!

Ty hit the mountain for most of the day while Jag caught up on some sleep. I cleaned and cleaned and made soup. Jag picked up Ty for us at 2:30. Dixie did well but the night before took a toll on her as we had a big day and ate a lot.

I also wrapped some presents and did some laundry. My back felt like it was going out when I woke up so I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill stretching it out. That along with some glute bridges and ab work fixed me up and saved the day. This morning I’m going to the gym at 6 to get in a workout before getting Lori and Dix. Oh yea, Sonny spent the night with Ty. That’s it. Tonight after taking Dixie to Denver we have a party at Marty and Melanie’s. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Ho Ho Ho, get ready and God Bless.

Yesterday was full of non stop activity. After the gym and a quick shower we headed to town to get Dixie. Once at the hotel while Dixie was still getting ready I headed in to town to buy Jag a last minute gift as Ty was one up on him and Jag wanted a money clip. Soon Dixie was ready so I headed back to the hotel and we borrowed a wheel chair to push her around the village. The boys drove in and met us at Vendetta’s for lunch. Then it was back to the hotel to get the car and head down to the house to take a look. After that we drove back to town to drop Lori and Dixie until 5 when we went to dinner.

In the village we ran in to Johnny and his 5 Pomeranian’s. He had 4 in the basket of his bike and one in his coat. Johnny runs a bike service with his bike that’s a three wheeler and he rides people around town in the bench seat on the rear of the bike. We had him come back to the hotel at 5 to take the boys to dinner while the hotel’s valet guys drove Lori, Dixie and I to the restaurant which wasn’t more than 2 blocks away but much easier than taking the wheelchair.

Dinner was fabulous. The Left bank is our favorite restaurant in town as it’s authentic French food and Jean Michelle, (the chef) is born and raised 100% French. We were done by 8 and headed back to the hotel to drop Lori and Dixie and get the car and then the boys and I headed home.

Today I’m not sure what’s going on but we all agreed no one needs to eat. Food is like a drug and it’s so hard to resist good food you know you shouldn’t eat (citron soufflé’s ) but you eat it anyway. I think I’ll fast today, not. 3 days to go, God Bless.

It just keeps on coming. Big news everyday. Yesterday both boys report cards came out and both did really well on their finals and have good grades. On top of that, Jag found out he was accepted to Pepperdine in Malibu! Whoo hoo! It’s another great school and I’m sure by the time the end of January rolls around he’ll have a half a dozen schools to chose from. Last but a bit harder to explain is that the largest beverage company in the World wants to enter in to what we’re calling a six picture deal with us by Monday! They wanted to sign us to a deal on Wednesday but we said we needed a few days. This essentially is a 3 year or so deal that gives us a chance to make a whole bunch of money and may even force the company we just partnered with to buy us early, like within the next 3 months! Of course a lot of things need to go right but we’re in the game big time. Last, I made it up here safely with Dixie and all’s good.

Dixie is at the Sonnenalp in a nice suite that Lori’s friend Patricia (who runs something over there) secured for us. We had a good drive up. Dixie is a pretty good old girl for a Democrat. She is 89 after all. Hard for anyone to change their mind on things at that age, even if they’re wrong. Lori spent the night with her at the hotel and I’m going to get her to go to the gym. Then I think we’re going to breakfast and doing some shopping. Dixie just loved the drive up here reveling in the mountains and all the snow with the bright blue sky and tall trees blanketed with pillows of snow on each branch. She talked non stop in a good way about how beautiful it is. Living here we sometimes take it for granted but with all her comments, I took a fresh look too and said, “you know, you’re right”. It reminded me of when I’d go take Mom every year for a drive in the Fall to see the colors change. She really loved that. Funny how as you get older those are the kind of things that matter to a person. Tom and Robi, I talked with Deb Rubin yesterday who wore Mom’s Christmas sweater I sent her to a party last night! It was the black and gold one. Deb told me it’s a bit small but she was wearing in anyhow and I told her no worries, men like tight sweaters. She also said she remembers when she met Mom and Mom found out she had no family and told her “that’s ok I’ve decided to take you in as my little sister”. Good memories.

Today Ty needs to clean his room and Jag has some picking up to do too. We’ll bring Dixie over sometime today I’m sure. We’re going to Left Bank, my favorite French restaurant in town for an early dinner. Time to get moving so I can go get Lori. Have a great day, football is on today, whoo hoo! God Bless.

Under our little tree it looks like an explosion of presents. Not sure if this is because our tree is so small or because there’s a ton of presents. It’s actually a little of both. This morning after going to school with Jag and Ty to drop wine to teachers, I’ll head down to pick up Dixie. First I’ll stop and get some tamales I ordered that are homemade and really really good. I also ordered up some oatmeal and coconut and chocolate chip cookies with some mini apple pies and some monkey bread. I was going to pick them up yesterday but was too late. I’ll send Jag today.

It’s Lori’s last day at work for 9 days! Whoo hoo! She will drop in Monday to have a talk with one of her girls that’s causing a small brew ha ha. After I get Dixie around noon I’ll bring her up here and hopefully her hotel room will be ready. Not sure what we’re doing for dinner tonight.

Lots going on the next five days so hope everyone is rested up. I have a couple packages I should get out that’ll probably have to wait until Monday unless I can get it done this afternoon. Right now though it’s time to get moving so I’m not late. Have a good day and Merry Christmas! By the way I saw that this comedian is in trouble with HR at a tv network for saying Merry Christmas to an intern. Good God and God Bless.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today my brother is 59. If Ty was there he’d say Happy Birthday Old Man! How do I know this, well, he says good morning Old Man to me and uses it other times when he feels like it. He also is a big fan of the Neil Young song Old Man. Of course he says it and means it with affection. But still…….old man? Tom is 59 today and in a year will join the club Robi and I are in. Tom, if he ever says it to you, just say “what’s up Young Goo”. He’ll know what you mean as I’ve twisted the name of one of his favorite musicians and call him that when he says old man.

Yesterday Lori and I made it down to the house, to the appliance store, and to the bathroom/plumbing fixture shop as well as work and Frisco. I found a really cool brass sink for my office. I don’t know why there’s all these jokes about building a house as so far (knock on wood) it’s been fun for us. Jag is done with finals as he had his last two finals yesterday, lucky him. Ty has one more (math), this morning and then is going to the mountain with some buddies for the day.

Lori and I, well ok, Lori, wrapped a bunch of gifts last night. We have a few last minute things to do to get ready for the big day. Tomorrow I’m getting Dixie and driving her up. Driving Ms. Dixie will be the theme of the day.

Harley and Mojo had their breakfast and are looking at me like “let’s go Old Man”, ha. I need to get showered as Lori has clinic and Ty has to be at school early. That’s it, have a great day and text the other old man in the family a Happy Birthday! God Bless.

That’s him on the right! Look, we both have brown hair!