A Year of Change

We’ve had internet issues and phone issues, county wide, all day long. I did the post this morning, but it somehow disappeared. Thanks to Annette for texting, “where is the blog”?

Good day yesterday. We went and dropped some stuff for Jagger and saw his new apartment. It’s super nice and in a great location. He was getting his new couch delivered yesterday. Ava’s grandma bought it for them, nice. The day before they had new carpet installed. They’re super happy with it.

Lori and I drove up from Denver after getting her hair done and mine cut. I thought I was losing my hair (might be getting thin), but my hairdresser of 25 years told me no, and to relax. Hope she’s right, ha. She said the barber up here who cut it, just cut it way too short on top.

Ty’s working away and we’re getting ready for our trip. Shultz is coming up this afternoon to hang with a long-time buddy of ours who sold his event planning company in Denver for millions. Gareth, our buddy, just bought a penthouse at the Westin Beaver Creek, among other things, like a vineyard. Good for him.

That’s about it, working away and closing deals left and right. Things are super busy with 12 hours days, but really good. Time to get moving and clean the kitchen, GB

We’re off early for Denver so Lori can get her hair done. I think we’re stopping by Jagger’s new place to drop some things off. Hope to be out of town before the afternoon rain rolls in. Haven’t had much up here.

Good day yesterday as I finalized negotiations on a couple huge deals. First was the investment in the Company and the other was my former partner’s severance/exit package. Not only did I have to get the people I was working with to agree with what I want, but I also had to get my Partners to agree! In the end, I single handily made the Company a couple million yesterday. My other Partners can sometimes let their emotions enter into their thinking and actions. I’ve never been that way. I just look at things pragmatically, meaning in a sensible or reasonable way. That’s always been a gift of mine as to me, business is just business. I always have the end goal in sight and do everything I can to get what I want. Some people are wired differently and will die on a hill over their feelings.

At 5:15pm I was on a conference call when I heard Harley bark outside. I had to tell everyone hang on for a minute to see what was up. A coyote ran up and stole Harley’s bone I had given her a couple hours earlier. Harley was not happy. I had her come in and finished up my call.

Ty’s driving down to the farm today. He’ll probably beat us back. He’s picking up some veggies for the restaurant.

Nice and cool up here this morning. I have the garage doors open to cool it down. 6am now so time to go. If I’m lucky we’ll be on the road by 7. Have a great day, GB.

Today I have calls at 8, 9, 11 and 12. Then I’ll have a couple more in the afternoon that will come up. All good though as these are the last overseas calls of the week. Tomorrow Lori and I are in Denver as she’s getting her hair done and I’ll run a few errands and get a trim also.

Lori got a call yesterday from the water department saying we might have a leak as we used 75,000 gallons of water last month! I called our landscaper who came over a few hours later. Apparently, he changed the timer so everything would be really green. No leak thankfully. The nice woman at the city told me not to worry and that she’d send me a form to fill out and they’d credit me to what I normally use, which I guess is 30,000 gallons a month. We changed our timer back to water only three days a week instead of seven. That’s fine as everything is super green and lush now and we really only have six more weeks of summer anyhow. So, all good.

The neighborhood just keeps going up. In the mail yesterday, two houses up the street, they’re building a 5400 square foot house for $5.4 million! It’s already on the market with people interested. This means, at worst case, we’re now $4 million! Nice.

Ty is driving down to the farm in Grand Junction today for work. He likes the drive, and they pay him by the hour and for his gas. Lori is in the shower and with it being 6:20, I’ll be right behind her. Marty and Mel are having fun in Montana. Big news of the day was Ozzy Osborne passed away, RIP. Glad he had the big reunion concert on July 5th. Glad James went to as Ozzy was one of his early inspirations. He texted yesterday with some thoughts, but I’ll keep those private.

Time to go, have a great Wednesday. Think we’re buying our Italy trip tickets today as Wednesday is the best day (cheapest) to buy tickets, especially international tickets. Be well, stay safe and God Bless.

We leave a week from today! Think I have everything in place. Lori will make up a bunch of food for Ty before we go. I think Jag is going to come up on the weekend to stay with him while we’re gone.

Looks like I’m one step closer to a $2 million dollar cash infusion. After dozens of calls and negotiations, I’ll write up the term sheet today and hope to close around mid-August. This is a win win for both parties.

Ty works this morning at 7. I have a call at 8 and then will go to the gym and stop and see him for breakfast. I ran some errands after running down to get some Euro’s yesterday. I had to get a couple pair of pants hemmed and picked up a few more pairs of socks along with some travel size toiletries. Looks hot in France with some rain on and off on a few days. We love Europe and will be going at least 4 times that we know of in the next 12 months.

Another person killed in Denver last night. Lori just said, “man, someone down there gets killed every day”, which is pretty much true. I Face Timed with my realtor up in Whitefish yesterday and looked at a really nice house that is new construction. It was the model home and if we ‘d go that route, we’d design our own and then have them build. The good news is the builder carries all the costs until the build is completed, like I said yesterday. We’re not sure we want that big of a house, but it’s an option. There are lots of houses for close to a million less that are nice too. They’ll come down in price as we get closer to Fall too.

Just saw that Denver is up against Perth Australia to host the 2030 Gay Games, great, (sarcasm). We’ll be gone by then for sure. The news yesterday was talking about how people leave Blue States due to politics and policies and for the most part, but when they get to a Red State, they don’t vote to change it. This was good news but a surprise as here, they come and vote for the same things they left. It then highlighted Colorado as the main exemption noting how many Californians or others left Blue States but then ironically moved to a Red State and voted for the very things that caused them to leave where they were. So that’s why we feel that way. It was also noted how now the people are pushing back by voting politicians out. An example is in California where there is a net loss of 120,000 people that leave the State each year. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but apparently that’s a huge number. New York and Illinois are other States with negative growth, while States like Texas, Tennessee and Florida are growing. Tells you a lot. We’re still pretty much sold on Montana or Idaho with Montana in the lead. We can’t wait to get out of here.

My 8am call was just pushed until tomorrow, so I’ll head out to the gym now and then go see Ty. This is fine as I’ll get in a good workout. 6:25 now, time to get moving. Have a great day, God Bless.

Yesterday morning, Lori was out back with Harley when I heard her scream. Harley saw a bear cub and took off chasing it. She chased it probably 100 yards down the hill, before listening to us and coming back. We’ve never seen a bear up here as we’re mostly sage brush, so that was a first.

Ty worked from 7am until 9:30pm. He was tired. I’m off to Denver to order some Euros from the bank. I have to sign some paper in person to order these, so I’ll leave at 6:30 and be hone by 11:30. I’ll pick them up Thursday when Lori and I are back down.

Jag is coming up to get some stuff for his new place. We’ll probably get here around the same time. Nice and cool with a pink sky outside right now, nice.

Lori works in Vail today and will head out around 7:30. It’s 6am now so time to get moving so I can be on the road by 6:45 at the latest. Have a great Monday and God Bless.

No work today. Lots tomorrow, but nothing today. Ty golfed yesterday and broke his driver! That’s not easy to do. He must have had a lot of force behind his swing. He’s off to work in a few minutes but not having the best morning.

Lori and I went into Vail yesterday and went to Gorsuch. We found a couple travel coats and called Davy who then talked to the salesperson on my phone and told them to give us a big discount. Their stuff is top of the line, gorgeous, but way too expensive if you’re paying full price. It’s almost hard to justify even with a discount, but all their clothes are things that’ll last forever and are timeless in style. All are European as you’d expect.

I threw my back out a bit with too much core work yesterday. As soon as we made it home and I stepped out of the truck, I felt it. I took 4 Advil twice yesterday and will take 4 more this morning to kick it. Getting old is hell, but it’s also a privilege. Lots of people don’t get to do it.

We’re super excited for our trip and chose our hotel in Paris yesterday. It’s in the Marais and has a great location and great rooms. Our must have at any hotel, is a good quality king bed.

Marty and Mel are on the road to Montana, pulling the boat behind the truck. They’re gone until August 3rd. James leaves Tuesday for Cabo I think for two weeks, so we’re all gone until around the first week of August. We found a great new home in Whitefish that’s new construction. It’s a little larger than we need at 5100 square feet, but the builder finances you meaning we don’t need to get a construction loan and pay interest while it’s being built. This saves like 6 or 7 % interest on $2 million dollars for 18 months which is a big deal. That’s easily over $100,000 in interest. We’ll see, we need to probably go up there in late August after we’re back from France.

Time to get moving. Have a nice Sunday and God Bless.

I was working until probably 7:30 last night. This morning, I have a call at 9 and then at 9:30. Then I hope to be done until Monday!

Our trip to France is coming together with the last remaining detail being where to stay in Paris. The Four Seasons is out as even with a friends and family rate, it’s really expensive. When we travel, our first priority is the airline, we have to get there and back comfortably, in at least business class. Next, it’s the experiences like things we do and restaurants and last, the hotel. We don’t stay in dumps, but we just don’t spend a lot of time in the hotel. We’re basically there to sleep, so why spend a ton of money on the hotel when it’s just a place to lay your head. Location is important though. There are lots of great hotels for us to choose from and we’ll pick one today.

We’re off to the gym pretty soon. Ty is off today but works tomorrow. There’s thunder outside right now, but the sky is a mix of bright white clouds and blue sky. It doesn’t look like rain.

That’s about it, time to get moving, have a great Saturday and God Bless.

Nice morning outside. We’re headed to the gym soon for a good workout. Thankfully today, I don’t have any overseas calls. I do have a call tomorrow with a former employee to go over his $1.5 million dollar investment in the Company. This guy is from India, worked for me for years and has been wanting in for over two years. Bunty, that’s his name, came to this Country with $900 in his pocket and just sold one of his hotels for $30 million. He’s been super successful and has always looked up to me, don’t know why, ha! But seriously, the guy is 44 years old, a hard worker and smart. He and his partner also just sold a pharmacy they bought and built up, for $7 million. We’ve been negotiating seriously for about a month now and yesterday he told me they’re 100% in. He’ll run our new spirits division. This has all been between he and I as he prefers to deal strictly with me as he says he and I think alike. So, this is a good deal for us both as we’re weak (due to the economy) right now, but strong, due to all our new alliances and projects and up and coming products that are launching nationwide. More on this down the road.

Six days a week, that’s what Ty is working these days. He just paid another $1200 on his truck meaning he’s paid off $22,000 of his $41,000 loan. By the time October rolls around, which will be a year from when he bought it, he’ll have paid off $25,000 of his truck! Good for him. He has also been giving me $300 to $500 every two weeks to put in savings. He’s on a roll and does so much better living at home.

Cigars last night with the guys. James is off to Cabo next Tuesday. We wanted to go back to Denver today to pick up our stuff, but the paperwork isn’t back. Hopefully we can go down Monday.

I keep forgetting to send this link showing why we all should take creatine every day, at our age. Your mind will be sharper, you’ll have less lose skin, lose stubborn fat and gain muscle, and ward off aging related diseases like Parkinsons and dementia. Check it out, here’s a link from WedMd, Creatine for Older Adults: Is It Safe? Dosage, Safety, Side Effects

Do yourself a favor and get on it. If you want to know which one to take, let me know and I’ll even send you your first jar. You just mix a scoop with water and drink it. Lori likes the pineapple flavor and I take the tropical punch one. We take it every day, and you’ll notice benefits in as little as two weeks. Just another part of our anti-aging regimen. There goes Robi rolling her eyes again, ha.

That’s it, time to get our pump on. We’ll get our Italy tickets for the first of October today. We mapped out our trip yesterday. Looks like 11 or 12 days we’ll be gone. Have a great Friday and God Bless.

These days, my days are full. I have a call starting at 7:30 and going until noon. Then this afternoon I’ll be on and off the phone to who knows when. I’m getting a lot done but really don’t see an end in sight for all the work I have to do. That’s ok though, you do what you have to do each day and do as much as you can, and then it rolls over to the next day, or something like that.

Last night we received the confirmation for one of our hotels in Provence that’s super cool! It’s incredible, check it out here, Luxury hotel Luberon | Coquillade Provence

It’s not cheap, over $1000 a night, but with our connection, it’s much cheaper. We can’t wait. Should be relaxing and fun. This is the one owned by the Swiss family that also owns the BMC bike brand. They want me to import their wines, which we’ll no doubt be tasting at their Michelin Star restaurant when we stay there, super excited.

Yesterday I was on the phone non-stop fixing things and making the Company better. Lori just took off for the gym. I can’t go today because of my early calls. Ty left at 6 for work.

Time to get in the shower so I can get ready for my calls. Have a great day, see you tomorrow, God Bless.

Lots going on at work, too much to even explain. Good news is all is going well. Lori and I are excited for our trip as two weeks from today, we’ll be in France. About a month from today, football will be in full swing. Training camp for rookies starts today! Now that’s big news!

This morning, I have a call with Italy at 8 and Slovenia at 9. Then I’ll be working on sales plans for the rest of the day. Lori works in Vail today and Ty is working too. Jag, with the help of Julie (Ava’s mom) and the movers, moved yesterday. Not sure if he spent the night at the new place or not. Ava likes her bosses at work so that’s good. She’s two days in.

A little smokey outside this morning but nothing compared to years past. Tis the season. Three separate shootings and one stabbing in Denver last night, seems to be the new normal, which is so sad. Denver and Colorado, used to be such a great City and State to live in. The State is still great, but the politics have created a culture of lawlessness. All you have to do is look at the States that are run by Dems verses the States run by Republicans. There is a clear difference, and trust me, if you have a choice, you want to live in a red State.

Lori saw Halloween decorations and candy in the store yesterday! Wait, it’s still summer! My International Driver’s License will arrive tomorrow. They’re easy to get online and cost $30, but you now have to have one to drive a car in Europe. Lori and I both signed up.

That’s it for today, almost 6am and Lori’s making us our salads for lunch. We’ve been taking a walk every morning if we have time. Gets your blood flowing. Have a great Wednesday and stay safe, be well and God Bless.