A Year of Change

It’s early but we need to be at church in Denver by 9:45 and we’re supposed to sit in the front row! Not sure why, maybe because the congregation is subsidizing most of Jagger’s trip to camp starting tomorrow. Anyhow I have 5% battery remaining on the computer so time to run. I’ll try to write some more in a few hours so check back later this morning. Everyone is fine, the mountain air is still pristine and the colors of everything from the sky to the clouds to the grass and rivers are so vibrant they almost look fake. That’s what living in the city with a bunch of haze will do to your eyes!

God Bless

Well, this week will be one to remember. Lori quit and accepted a job, I managed, once again, to save the Company by securing an unexpected $95,400.00 purchase order to pull the month out, the boys visited what is hopefully their new school and Mojo got to go on a trip to the  mountains which is by far his favorite thing to do.

Last night at 7 we drove up to Vail as Jody and his family are here for a few more days and really wanted us to come up. It was also a good excuse to take another load of stuff up the hill in our effort to de-clutter the house. We mostly took up some shotguns as you don’t want anything like that in your house if realtors will be bringing people through. A sign was supposed to go up in our front yard yesterday saying “Coming Soon” but they didn’t make it out. As my Mom said, this is all happening so fast, which it really is, but when school starts in less than 2 months (August 24th), we’d better get a move on.

The mountain air itself almost makes any move to the hills worth it. It’s so fresh and clean and fills your lungs up with a feeling of exhilaration like you’d get from breathing pure oxygen. The only other comparable feeling to me is standing on a beach next to the ocean and taking in the salt air.

I think today all the kids are going to the top of the mountain on the gondola to play on some rope challenge course and then do a little zip lining. After that Jody and his wife want to walk through the 200 booths or so that make up the art show that’s in town. We might bomb down the hill tonight as Jagger goes to camp Monday and we have to be at church at 10 am tomorrow.

That’s it from the mountains, hope you all are well, stay tuned, much more to come, God Bless.

Things are moving so fast around here it’s hard to keep track of the day. Yesterday the boys and I visited the private school in Vail and although it’s expensive, it seems to be worth every penny and then some. I had no idea of the the difference between them and public schools. We sure hope we get in.

Today I think a sign goes up in the front yard that says “Coming Soon”. This means we really need to get moving around here. We might go up to Vail tonight for one night as Jody and his family are up there but more importantly, we need to get some more things moved out of here. I might rent another storage unit up there too.

So lots going on, it’s 5:16 in the morning right now and I need to run so have a great day, and God Bless.

As most of you know, Lori was presented with an unbelievable job offer to run the office of a top doctor in Vail at The World famous Steadman Clinic. The package they offered her is about twice what she’s making now and she could have gone back and even asked for more money and they probably wold have given it to her. We just don’t see how we can pass this up. It’s quite an accomplishment for her.

This morning the boys and I are headed up to meet the Director of Admissions at the Vail Mountain School. It’s expensive, (like $21,000 per year per kid) but we might be able to get a scholarship and the Director invited us up. Lori needs to sit down with Dr. R. and tell her the news which won’t be easy. We’ve developed a transition plan to make things as painless as possible for her but it involves Lori working both jobs (one remotely) for a few months, so she doesn’t leave Chris hanging.

So a big day, tomorrow’s post should be interesting. Bad storms yesterday and more today. Hold on and God Bless.

I was talking with my Mom yesterday and I told her I’ve just been either too busy or too tired to write long posts. I just don’t know where the time goes, especially in the mornings. A lot of it is probably due to sleeping in a bit longer than usual. In any case, even if it’s short, I’ll try to get in the highlights for everyone.

So, here we go. Yesterday was a lot of work and not much else. The boys pretty much occupied themselves except for when we ran down to see Mom at work for a few minutes. We were having leftovers for dinner when Tommy called and dropped off some yummy stir fry and rice. Today I’ve got to get moving around here on the house. We have to get the rest of the clutter cleaned out and get this house on the market, like by the end of the month at the latest. Jody and his family (who works for me and is still here in Colorado until Sunday) wants to do something in the next few days so that’ll keep us busy this weekend.

I had a nice conversation for 30 or 45 minutes with Dixie the other day. Needless to say, it takes some time to adjust but she’s a pretty strong old girl. I’m sure she’ll be joining us for Christmas here in Colorado which will be good for everyone. We are all going to California around the end of July for Grandpa Don’s memorial service August 2nd. Not sure if we’re flying or driving, I think we’re probably driving.

The kids are still sleeping and Lori and I are on the couch not moving much. I need to do something to get them outside today so I have to get going and get my computer and office work done now. We’re back to that never ending end of the month pressure to get all the orders in and shipped from Italy. My leg is getting better but now I have small red bumps or blisters on my shin. Lori says it’s the poison trying to get out and boy it itches. I think Jagger has baseball camp coming up soon in addition to church camp and then Ty too is off to camp. So lots going on in our family and more big stuff to come in the next few days, we’ll keep you posted. Take care and God Bless.

I need to be at the distributor at 8:30am and Lori has clinic today at work. Yesterday the boys went to play paintball with the church group. They were gone all day long!

It’ll be 91 today which is too hot. I did have the sprinklers turned on yesterday which is good as it doesn’t take too many 90 plus days to turn the lawn brown.

Time to run as we both overslept, take care and God Bless.

Everyone but Alberto managed to make their flights last night despite almost 5 hours in traffic driving down from Aspen. Lori, Alberto, the boys and I had a nice dinner of chicken breast and salad and took it easy. He and I will leave for the airport around 7:30 for his 10:20 flight back to Italy.

The boys need to be at the church by 8:30 as they’re going to play paintball today. The youth pastor came by last night and it turns out the church raised $395 of the $500 needed for Jagger to go to camp in about 10 days. That’s pretty nice that they are supporting him like that.

Lori’s back at work and so am I. Lots to do so time to run. Hope all’s well, take care and God Bless. Now read this if you have money in the stock market!

The Worst Time In History To Be Invested In Stocks

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/22/2015 – 08:13

Today will go down in history as one of the worst times in history to be invested in the stock market. Virtually no one believes this statement. That is why it will prove to be true. Every valuation method known to mankind is flashing red. A crash is baked in the cake. Will the trigger be Greek default, a Chinese market crash, a Fed rate increase, a derivative bet going boom, a Middle East event, someone doing something stupid in the South China Sea, a Ukrainian eruption, or a butterfly flapping its wings? When greed turns to fear, for whatever reason, the house of cards will collapse for the 3rd time in 15 years. Thank the “brilliant” bankers at the Federal Reserve.

This morning at 10 we’ll head down the hill to Denver. Aleks and Jure have a flight to New York at 5 and Kristin to Portland at 7. Alberto will stay until tomorrow morning when he fly’s out to Italy at 10:30am.

Yesterday was another good day with us finishing with a dinner around 10pm. Most of our group went out to a party on Red Mountain but we came back to the Ranch. My leg is better in the morning but still swells up after being on it all day. Kim, my doctor friend, called in a stronger antibiotic yesterday and said she’s sure I have an infection in my muscle from something that bit me. By the time we made it to bed I heard a clanging sound outside and instantly knew it was a bear in the trash cans. Sure enough, I was right. And of course this morning there’s trash strew all over the dirt driveway by the old barn. You don’t dare try to scare him away, once he’s (or she’s) in the trash, you just let them finish. We made sure we went down and shut the sliding glass doors as bears will come right into the house.

I could write more but will end here for the day. Oh yea, it’s Fathers Day too, whoo hoo, not that it means much more than having a title but I’m thankful for my family, that’s good enough for me. By the way, it’s called St. Guiseppe’s Day in Italy but is on another day.

p.s. Alberto and Jure both have new Stetson cowboy hats from our friends store which is the best cowboy store in town. I think Alberto also bought a mammoth tooth bracelet and hand made pocket knife that are really really nice. He’s now all decked out to head back to Italy in style. They all love Colorado, of course, who wouldn’t!

Yesterday was busy, a few meetings in the morning and then a party after lunch with Drew Barrymore and then a quick trip home for 45 minutes before heading back into town for a way too expensive dinner. Before I left the restaurant I had received an email alert on my phone from American Express saying “Large Purchase Alert”. I have my preferences set so any charge over $1000 in lets me know as sometimes I let Luisa and others use my card.

Today we have a lunch and reception from 11:30 until 1:30 or so and then dinner at the same place with about 25 or 30 people at 6:30. Last night Aleks, Jody and his wife went back into town and made it home by who knows when. I’m sure it was late. Alberto, Jure (Alek’s son) and the rest of us all stayed home and made a campfire out by the pond and roasted marshmellows and made s’mores. Alberto had never had one and was hesitant at first but then enjoyed it by the fire with a small glass of whisky. Whenever he discovers something new he says “ah Colorado”.

My leg is still bothering me but my ER Doctor friend is coming by at lunch to check me out. Have a  great day and God Bless.

What a day, it started out normal enough but my right shin had been killing me since we arrived. Anyhow, around 11am we headed into town to start seeing people. Our first stop was a famous restaurant in the St Regis Hotel owned by Food and Wine magazine to see a friend who is the wine director. They were just sticking a whole pig that was filleted in a metal rack into a stainless steel box that they put coals on to roast it. We set an appointment for today at 11 to see him. Next up was our 1:30 lunch. We walked to the restaurant, me still with what I thought was a shin splint, to meet our group arriving from all over the country. Turns out traffic from Denver was so bad it took them over 5 hours to get here. So we waited and waited until finally at 3:15 they all showed up. They didn’t even check into their condos but just came straight to us. Turns out it was a great meeting. I had known and worked with one of the top guys years ago when he was in a different position and he and I hit it off.

So after that we headed back to the house to get ready for our dinner. First though, Peggy said the Rolls was still in the shop but instead insisted I take the Ferrari. Now I don’t care about driving it but Aleks and Jure were all in. So she told me where she parked it on the street and where the key was (she was getting her hair done) and I stuck them in it and off we went to home.

Lori and I rushed to get ready for dinner and an hour later we were off. It was ok and nice to see some old friends (literally and figuratively) but we were dying to get out of there. Aleks and Jure were at one table and Lori and I at another. I wish I had a camera as Jure was sandwiched between two ladies in their 60’s at least, trying to dress and act like they were in their 20’s! I joked with him later that having not much to say, he should have turned to the right, or left, and said, “you remind me of my grandma”! Anyhow they were great, everyone loved them and they sold a lot of wine. Miss Sweden (from whatever year, maybe the 70’s) bought a bunch!

At 8:45 my driver who was driving Alberto (Bocelli) and Kristin up from the airport in Denver called saying they were 5 minutes away. I thought this was my “out” or excuse to leave and was gathering us all up but as we were walking out Lori said, “we have to go back”. Our hosts were understanding but Lori said she could tell they were disappointed. She was right so I said hi to Alberto and Kristin and sent the driver on another 10 minutes to take them to the Ranch and back in we went. About an hour later, we were done and could leave which we did.

We made it home 15 minutes later, my shin still killing me, sort of red and a bit swollen. They had just cooked some dinner so we ate as we didn’t really eat at the party as the food was banquet food. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t serve 250 people all at once without something being dry. We hung out with everyone and Alberto but soon were the first to retire. Upstairs Lori said “let me look at your leg”. Turns out she saw a bite mark right in the middle of the swollen red part and said “you were bit by a spider or ant or something”. Upon closer inspection, she was right. So I whipped out my medical bag, pulled out some Cipro (a heavy antibiotic) and started taking it. This morning it’s still sore  but looks better. I was going to call Kim (my ER doctor friend) as she was getting off her 3 to 11pm shift at the hospital but didn’t. Earlier in the day I had her come into town as one of Jody’s kids was sick with what we thought was strep. Jody was amazed saying “who gets a doctor to come to come to you in 30 minutes in Aspen?” It’s good to have good friends which Kim turned into after we met her when Jagger went to the ER a year ago jumping off a bridge here one weekend.

So today we have the champagne party from 1 to 3 and then I need to drop Josh at the Aspen airport before we all go to dinner at 6. It’s beautiful here and the sound of the rushing water from the river behind the house is priceless. Just the sound of water is so soothing.

That’s it from Aspen, lots of networking today as it’s the first official day of Food and Wine, even though I’ve already accomplished a lot. God Bless.