A Year of Change

It’s the weekend, not that it is much different from any other day. They all kind of run together these days. There is some good news on the vaccine front. Lots of companies are supposedly close to developing one and going into human trials. Let’s hope so, right?

Last night we went down to the house. The drywall guys were taping away. I gave each of the three guys working there $20 for cerveza (beer in Spanish) while Lori walked around. Our builder bought two fiberglass doors for the garage side and rear entrances which we don’t like. He’s going to paint them black but might have to throw them away. We never gave our ok on them.

We’re still all working on getting along well in our new “in your face” living arrangement. We’re just not used to being so cooped up with each other 24/7. We’re getting there though. Jag went to Madi’s (her family has been in total lock down like us) for the weekend. Lori and Shelly (Madi’s mom) are in constant communication and she’s a dentist so she’s taking this seriously too.

Diana, one of Lori’s nurses, left work yesterday not feeling well so she went and was tested. No results yet. New cases are coming down on a daily rate up here so this distancing thing is working. Lori and I are going to the park to work out this morning. Then not sure what we’re doing. We might go back down to the house. Lori said let’s take a table and two chairs and go sit down there for the sunset. Maybe have a picnic.

I was in and out of Denver and home by 10. Retail has to be dying as nothing is open except gun shops, liquor and grocery stores. Personally for Tom and I, we don’t need much else except some restaurants, ha. Wonder if Robin and Robert have made it to the range yet. If so, give us a report.

Dogs are well, so is Ty. I think he’s going sledding with Zoe and Chloe today at Meadow Mountain. Couldn’t do that in Denver! Time to run. Hope you all are well, be safe and God Bless.

I’m off to the big city today. Leaving early to get in and get out before the hoards are up and moving. I need to pick up some wine and drop some masks at Tommy’s before heading back up. Everyone is still sleeping. Looks like a little snow in Denver, more than up here.

It was a good day yesterday. We dropped Jag’s car by 9 in Glenwood and then stopped at the house on the way home. We’re all working away at work and school. Money is tight with less income coming in but we’re adjusting. Time to move so I can get on the road. Oh, good news is I think only about 20 new cases up here compared to about 70 the day before. That could be just a lag in testing or good news, who knows. It’s still surreal like a movie. God Bless.

Last night for dinner we had elk tenderloin on the bbq. I gave our neighbor some and he grilled it up for both of us. The boys and I ate it up but Lori doesn’t like it. Don’t know why as it tastes just like beef. I shouldn’t have told her and she would have ate it.

This morning we need to take Jag’s car down to Glenwood to drop it off to get fixed from when our neighbor backed into it plowing snow. I was going to have Jag drive his car down but think I’ll see if Lori wants to go so we can stop at the house on the way home.

We’re still social distancing. No where to go anyhow. They say we’re getting a little snow today. Doesn’t seem like it outside right now. Maybe this is just in Denver. Boys are doing well and had a good day yesterday.

We’re getting tired of this whole thing. I’m sure you all are too. Could be another month or two, who really knows. I told Lori, we can do this. Things could be much worse. No one likes it but it is what it is. Get outside and go for a hike, that’s ok. Lot’s of people fishing up here. I heard birds chirping this morning for the first time. Spring is here. Be safe, God Bless.

Well it was bound to happen. With everyone locked up or locked down, sooner or later we were going to have a blow up. Last night around 5pm, over a video game, things blew up. Ty was “rude” to Jag, Jag “rude” to Ty, and then when Lori and I stepped in, all hell broke loose. Name calling, Ty throwing some things in his room, and more ensued for a good hour until cooler heads prevailed. I thought about publishing some of the language but the FCC would probably shut the blog down. Oh well, as I said, it was bound to happen and now we’re past it and back to normal.

Ty was on the mountain most of the afternoon with two buddies making sure to stay 6 feet apart. Lori and I worked and Jag worked a little and played some Wii. In past years April 1sr was a time for pranks but I don’t think we’ll see many today. Dixie is doing better, thank God, and is going to get some medicine levels checked this morning. Told you prayer works! Wish we could bring her here but that’s not possible plus we’re in the middle of it.

Dr. C is out for another day as his test showed some other virus but not Covid. He should be back to surgery tomorrow. My gym is now shut down, even for me as some people complained that they were sort of open.

Yesterday the govt. said things are going to get really bad over the next two weeks and between 100,000 and a quarter of a million people could die here in the U.S., best case. There’s really nothing we can do except stay home. At least we’re not stuck on one of the cruise ships off the coast of Florida with no place to dock. Every State needs to shut down like we are. School is over for the year for sure and things will get worse before they get better. Don’t get complacent and think we’re out of the woods yet. We’re not.

Bill Gates, who is a super smart guy, wrote an article yesterday which basically said we need to shut down all States, start building labs to make vaccines and stat mass testing. You can read his article here if you like. I really wish everyone would listen to him. He even had a TED talk in 2015 urging governments to prepare for this exact scenario. But of course, none of them listened. Here’s the article.

https://www.geekwire.com/2020/bill-gates-outlines-3-steps-us-government-needs-take-save-lives-get-country-back-work/

That’s it, we are doing our best to keep things going best we can. I need to top off our food supplies, as even with all the food we have, sometimes we think we have nothing to eat. Sauces and canned fruit seem to be what I’m missing. We need to shut our borders here in Colorado to ALL people from other States as they are not shutting down. It’s sort of pointless all we’re doing here when other States don’t and those people can fly or drive to Colorado. Realistically this Stay in Place stuff is probably going to last 8, 10 or even 12 weeks. And this is if we ALL start today! Get ready, mentally and physically. Also get what you need as supply chains are getting interrupted as I write. Here we go, God Bless and this is no April’s Fool joke!

Lori just came down and said she’s tired of this coronavirus and she’s ready to get back to normal. Hmm, I agree with her! I’m sure everyone other single person in the world does too. Finally something we can all unite on.

Yesterday we had a scare as Dixie wasn’t feeling well. The paramedics came and her vitals were fine and she didn’t want to go to the hospital so Michelle spent the night with her which was nice. Today she’ll hopefully go to her regular doctor and get checked out. We think she had a TIA or mini stroke. Lori can’t fly out there or she’d need to be in quarantine for 14 days minimum before seeing her mom plus even if she could get there, and she had to take Dixie to the hospital, they wouldn’t let Lori in. So what’s the point? Go there to drive her to the hospital 14 days after arrival. As you can see, we’re stuck. We could borrow a private jet and fly out and get her but where could she stay until the house was done. No room here as I don’t think she could sleep on the couch. We’ll know more today. Dix is 89 on April 8th! Say a prayer that she’s ok, prayer helps!

Yesterday we were back down at the house changing up a few things to stay close to budget. The Fed says we could have over 30% unemployment. Now the Great Depression was 24% and if you’re old like I am you remember the pictures of the people in the soup lines with no money, no food, and no jobs. Don’t think it couldn’t happen just because it’s 2020, it surely could. The difference is we’re far advanced scientifically so God willing, we’ll soon find a cure or vaccine.

Jag is waitlisted at NYU which is a pretty big deal but no way he’s going to school in New York. I personally think it’ll be years before New York fully recovers. Economically they’re going to be slammed with unemployment, higher taxes and crime and an overall lack of basic services. Looks like CU is going to be his choice which is a great school and close to us and Tom and Ali which provides another layer of support. It’s also the least expensive which is now a huge consideration. Who knows if colleges will even be back in session in the Fall, I don’t.

The boys are doing well considering they’ve been locked down for weeks now. They’re handling things really well. That’s it for now, time to run, keep staying away from people and we’ll get through this. I promise! God Bless.

I woke up at 1:14 in the middle of the night as my damn cell phone went through an automatic update that made it chime. Then it took me at least 45 minutes to go back to sleep. When I woke at 6:30, for a moment it seemed like a normal day. Then our “new normal” instinct kicked in. Staying away from all people, not being able to go to the gym, etc. Good news is we’ve saved a ton on eating out and haven’t been to the dry cleaner in weeks. We have nowhere to wear nice clothes. Need to keep at it so hopefully this thing will go away.

Yesterday after running down to the house, Lori wanted to bring up the table from downstairs so we can all sit and eat together as a family. It was a good call as it was nice to hang out together. We also now have a place to play board games! The national news just came on and of course they’ve titled their newscast, The Coronavirus Newscast, give me a break. It’s as if they don’t think we all (everyone in the world) doesn’t know we’re in the middle of the Coronavirus?

Dr. C is negative too which is good news as Lori has him scheduled for surgeries on Wednesday and Friday. We stopped and gave Diana, her lead nurse, four bottles of wine when we went to the house. Our bathtub arrived scratched and cracked at the house so it needs to go back. We have plenty of time so no worries.

They say a little snow today but they said that yesterday too and we had none. The boys are doing really well working from home. One of Jag’s friend was accepted to Cornell but there’s a catch. He can’t enroll until Fall 2021 and has to go to another four year college and get a 3.3 average this coming year. Lori and I have never heard of such a thing. What if the guy does that and doesn’t get a 3.3? What if Cornell changes it’s rules by next year? What if the kid decides he wants to do something different in a year? Plus on top of it all, it takes away a spot from a kid who wants to go to the four year school Jag’s buddy would only go to for a year. Stupid if you ask me. Anyhow the boys Mom and I talked about it and New York probably won’t even be open this Fall. Jag was hoping to get into Columbia but didn’t. CU is looking really good which makes Lori and I happy. Plus as I said, what if some shit like this happens again? It’d sure be good for him to be 90 minutes away from home instead of thousands of miles. Last, it’s the cheapest option there is which is a major part of the decision.

We’d love to load up the car and go somewhere warm like Arizona but all the hotels are closed too. I told Lori we just need to ride it out. If we do go out, it’s to the house or grocery shopping over in Frisco. Summit County has only like 15 cases while here in Eagle we have 187. So we’re basically staying away from everyone, no exceptions.

Time to go, hope everyone is well, do not go out if you don’t have to. If you’re over 60 and need groceries, go when the store first opens as they reserve an hour for, wait for it, senior citizens. Damn, I cannot believe or accept that I am a senior citizen, just won’t do it, ha. God Bless.

Yesterday morning they called and Lori’s test was negative. problem is we don’t know if that’s from the test on Friday or two weeks earlier. If from last Friday, well that’s to be expected. If two weeks earlier, I’m just not buying it. She still has some lingering symptoms like a bad headache. Who really knows. It was weird as they asked her if she still had symptoms before telling her she tested negative, hmmm. Why would anyone do that? makes no sense.

Yesterday we hung out after going to the gym for a few minutes and then the storage unit to get the Wii for Jagger. I hit up Whole Foods this morning at 7:30 before the general public gets in. We’re all doing well considering. Here’s something I sent a few of you which is good to know.

Dr. David Price of Weill Cornell Medical Center  gave advice on how people can prevent spreading the coronavirus.

“You may hear a little inflection in my voice like I’m emotional. It’s not because I’m scared. It’s actually the opposite. For the first time in a while, I’m actually not scared,” Price said via video. “I work at probably the premier hospital in New York City. Our hospital is almost exclusively a COVID-19 hospital, but we’re learning and we know a lot. And what I want you guys to know is that every single day we’re getting better, we know more. And I am confident that the stuff I can tell you today should make you guys feel like when this comes to your community that you don’t have to be scared and that you can protect your family.”

Price went on say the virus is primarily transmitted by touching someone who has the virus and then touching your face.

“The ways that you get this is the transmission of the virus almost exclusively from your hands to your face, from your hands to your face and inside your eyes, into your nose or into your mouth,” Price explained. “So there’s a lot of talk about contact or getting it through contacts, hands to face.”

The doctor also addressed the idea that the virus is transmitted by “long sustained contact” or through the air.

“There’s also a small thought that it can be aerosolized, that it can kind of exist a little bit in the air,” Price said. “The thought at this point is that you actually have to have very long sustained contact with someone. And I’m talking about over 15 to 30 minutes in an unprotected environment, meaning you’re in a very closed room without any type of mask for you to get it that way.”

“But very simply stated, the overwhelming majority of people are getting this by physically touching someone who has this disease or will develop it in the next one to two days and then touching their face,” he pointed out.

“The thing that makes me smile a little bit is I actually know now that I won’t get this disease because I know how to protect myself,” Price said in the video.

Price offered two practical tips to keep you, your family and your friends from getting the coronavirus.

“Become a hand Nazi. Everything you know about your hands, just keep it clean and you will not get this disease,” Price said. “The second thing is you have to start psychologically working on the connection between your hands and your face.”

“Those two things combined is incredibly powerful and will prevent the transmission of disease in your family in 99 percent of cases, to know your hands are clean and not touch your face, period,” Price added.

Makes sense. Please follow this! Could save the life of someone you love or even you!

Take care, God Bless.

Yesterday Lori was tested again at 1:45 for the virus. With no test results from over 2 weeks ago they authorized her to come down again. It was the drive up testing station again. Hopefully by Tuesday we’ll know the outcome. Tom texted it kind of doesn’t matter now which it doesn’t, unless she’s still positive! If by chance she is, I’m pretty much immune as I would have caught it for sure by now living with a walking talking virus for two weeks, ha.

The Eagles concert is now rescheduled for September 19th, whoo hoo. Guess I lost the money on my parking pass. Maybe I’ll drive to Denver and park in my spot in my reserved lot today just because we have a parking pass. In another time we would have been rockin out tonight to a Peaceful Easy Feeling!

The boys are doing well. Jag and I played chess last night and I thought he had me beat but he got excited on a move and I ended up barely beating him. We’ll play some more today. I turned in the videos of Ty snowboarding so we’ll see how that goes. I’m just not very happy with our high school for what we pay.

Lori and I are going to the gym. We’ll be the only ones there. It’s icy up here but not a lot of snow. The big warm up is on the way, thankfully. Guess I’ll go. Hope everyone is well and social distancing. That’s what it’s going to take, stay the hell away from everyone and we’ll kick this thing. God Bless.

Here’s Ty on his home made jump he and his friend made on Meadow Mountain. By the way, that’s higher than it looks as Ty is about 6’2″ now!

It’s weird as when I’m sleeping, everything seems normal. I woke up at 4am for a bit and it seemed like just another day with nothing weird going on. After being awake for a few minutes, I remembered just what the World is going through. But as I said, for a brief minute, everything seemed like it did on any other day in Spring.

I did make it to the gym yesterday and then took some medicine and donuts down to Marty as it looks like Melanie has the virus. She’s upstairs in her room isolated which is good as Marty has Type 1 diabetes and asthma. After that I took two boxes of latex gloves and 4 masks over to our friends who run the Salvation Army. They had 700 families the day before show up for food and no one had any protection. We had donated food last year to them and I just happened to call and check on them earlier in the day and she told me what they were doing. Since I’m pretty prepared and stocked up we decided to share and donate some PPE (personal protection equipment) when she said how they were around all these people with no gloves or masks. They’ve had masks on order for well over a month which is not a surprise. Anne (our friend) sent me a text last night saying “Doug, you continue to be such an awesome member of our community and we can’t thank you enough for your generosity and we are truly grateful” along with pictures of all the volunteers wearing gloves. That was nice. Later in the day I dropped a case of wine to Dr. C who is waiting on test results himself. Meanwhile Lori managed to get her PA’s full pay for another month and Ty was on Meadow Mountain making a video to try to get into SSCV. So that was our day, pretty busy. Lori worked and worked and took a walk up the mountain with the dogs too. Later in the day I went back to Marty’s to give him some N95 masks for his family of three (I don’t understand why people did not prepare better) so he doesn’t get sick. He made some green chili which he gave us which was really good. Luckily we’re pretty stocked with masks, gloves and stuff.

In 40 minutes I have a call with Macedonia. Then a bunch of calls around the country after that. Time to get moving. Hope you all are well and adjusting to the new normal. Be safe, wash your hands and God Bless.

Colorado is now on a Statewide lockdown until April 11th. This is 2 weeks and 2 days from today. Kind of bummed as I already did my 2 weeks in lockdown, ugh. I wish everyone in the entire country would do the same. Some places and businesses are still open and thankfully our construction guys are still working. Not sure how long that’ll last.

I thought I was coming down with the crud yesterday. My neck was killing me and I had a headache all day. Actually it was for about 2 days. Lori received a call yesterday from the health department saying they were sorry her results aren’t back yet and to give it one more day and then she should be fine. Knowing that, plus from what I’ve been reading, I slept upstairs last night and now my headache is gone! If I get the virus in 5 days we’ll know she still was contagious. Frankly I think if she was I would already have it. Hell I think I already HAVE had it. I’ve had a little shortness of breath, a headache and a sore throat on and off for the past 6 weeks. I could have been the one who gave it to Lori! We’ll never know well we.

Jag came home last night and is happy to be home. He also received a packet from the University of Santa Clara in California as he has been accepted there too! He’s waiting on a few more colleges which should let him know by next week. Then we can sit down as a family and decide what our choices are. Economics meaning money definitely will play a big part, especially now. So far Baylor and CU are offering him the most money. Both are good schools.

The Senate passed the stimulus bill which is good news. Now it goes to the House. They could have taken this up yesterday or at the same time but I guess Nancy Pelosi isn’t hurting for money so she can take her time. She also inserted in things like $25 million for the Kennedy Center. Not sure what performance art has to do with helping out Americans suffering from this virus. If anyone knows, please let me know. Also she stuck in a bunch of things from the Green New Deal which is the deal that eventually wants to eliminate all airline travel and emissions from cows, or cow farts! I honestly can’t believe even she would use this crisis to hold the bill hostage to put in pet projects. I wish they’d all just go away. The boys high school class could do a better job of running the Country. Good God.

That’s it, 16 days to go. We should all have one of those Advent Calendars like we do at Christmas Time to count down the days. Hope everyone is well, God Bless.