A Year of Change

Looks like we have another nice week before it gets cold. Soon our hanging baskets out front will be done. I’ll put away the hoses today after I walk them out.

Yesterday in Denver, one of my meetings was with a fellow who has been making handmade cowboy boots his entire life. He started when he was in his early teens mentoring from a guy who is long gone now. That was like 50 years ago! He’s part of a group of craftsmen that formed a group called the CTA or Cowboy Trades Association. These guys are the best boot makers, saddle makers, hatmakers, silversmiths, rawhide braiders, and anything else you can think of that was made hundreds of years ago in western culture. Most of these guys are getting older and they’re trying to preserve their way of doing things and created this group to do so. They hired this nice girl, Nicole, who happened to be in town from Clark Wyoming, where she lives, and she came by to meet me at Jim’s place. I’m helping them in their quest to preserve the traditional ways and work, so it doesn’t die off. James’s foundation only provides scholarships or money to people pursuing trades, so this is right up their alley. They need help raising money so apprentices can learn their craft and keep the old way of doing things alive. Most of these guys do things in the way, that if not passed down to future generations, will die off forever. Jim is also making me some new boots! Should be done in about 9 months!

I found these guys, or should I say, they found me, through Ernie, the guy in the hat and brown shirt who made my best buckle I’ve had for years. I bought Lori one of his handmade buckles (actually traded two bottles of Pappy Van Winkles whisky, worth $2k a bottle, for it) and gave it to her last Christmas. The guy in the hat and glasses is Jim, my bootmaker. The took a picture of my buckle yesterday as they wanted to send it to Ernie to show it to him. Check out this video as it’s pretty interesting, https://youtu.be/Lrn1dk5H3Hs . It’s a good feeling to do something to keep the old ways alive. Dad would love these guys and I’m sure donate. Robi, go to their website and become a member! COWBOY TRADES ASSOCIATION – SUPPORTING TRADITIONAL COWBOY ARTIST AND ORGANIZATIONS.

After meeting with Jim and Nicole, I headed to Best Buy to buy a new espresso machine. Ours broke down months ago and I’ve been meaning to pick one up. I stopped at the grocery store in Frisco and then headed over the pass for home. I planned on going home and then going back to the hospital as Lori had an official appointment with Dr. B for her neck. I wanted to be there to see what’s up. Of course there was an accident on the pass, so after sitting for 45 minutes, I went straight to the hospital. We met with Dr. B and he think he found the cause of her headache. It looks like a screw on her previous fusion has come loose. You can see one of the screws in her neck on the x-rays that has what he called a halo around it. She’s getting some kind of special CT scan hopefully Friday and then could have surgery as early as next week. She also needs a few levels down repaired and said she’d like it all done at once! Dr. B said that’s a big surgery, and she will lose range of motion, sort of like Peyton Manning. She’s fine with that as long as the pain in her head and traps goes away. We’re thrilled to finally get an idea of why she has such a bad headache. I also asked Dr. B if he’d personally do the surgery and he said yes, which is a really big deal. We’ll know more after the Specter CT scan in a few days. It highlights the bone-on-bone areas that need attention.

This morning I’m running to Costco for an eye exam as you need one nowadays to renew your driver’s license. Mine expires on my birthday so I’m getting ahead of it. Then I have a call at 10am. Lots going on at work, good stuff, but challenging too.

Lori is in Frisco today and then tomorrow morning at 5am we’re headed to Denver to drop her car for service and to have the winter tires put on. I might get a new Denali as I think my guy found me a good one at the right price.

6:30am now, time to go. Have a great day, God Bless.

I need to be on the road by 6:15, 6:30 at the latest. I have a 9am in Parker and then have a call around noon. After that call, I’ll probably be on more calls until the end of the day.

Lori works in Vail today. Ty went to Denver yesterday and will be coming home today. He and some buddies played paint ball in the afternoon.

Fall is here, even though we’ll have some nice days. Snow could be here anytime. Then we’ll have a good five months until it’s gone. We’re hoping for a milder than normal winter.

Oh, here’s something funny. Yesterday afternoon I went back in the bedroom to do some work as I needed to charge my computer. Around 5, Lori came back and said to me, “I’m going to watch something now, so let’s turn off football”. I teased her and told her I was here first. Then, and this is the funny part, she said “you came back here hours ago just to stake out the tv so you could say you we’re here first”! If you think about this, it’s pretty funny. I told her, “Oh yea, I’ve just been hanging out in the bedroom, all day, so I could say I was here first”. Maybe you had to be here, but it was really funny. Of course, Lori ended up getting her way. When we were first married, I told her we’re 50/50 unless it’s a life-or-death situation and then I’m 50.1 and she’s 49.9. This really means she can do whatever she wants and I’m ok with it, unless we’re in a bad situation. So, that’s why Lori gets to watch whatever she wants and just about anything else. Truthfully, she never really asks for much, and never anything out of line. She’s a good girl!

Time to get moving. I’ve been looking for a turkey but none of the stores have them yet. Maybe I’ll find one in Denver. Have a great day, be well and God Bless.

Big win in London yesterday. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. Our defense is the best in the NFL, hands down.

Around 12:30 we went into town for the music festival. We stayed an hour or so before heading home. It was a really nice day in the mountains. Snow is on the mountain up high and the colors on the trees against is looked like a postcard. It was about 50 degrees which was coat weather, but nice, and the sun was out.

This morning Lori has a neck treatment at 8 with her PT guy and then an MRI at 1. We have to get her fixed up as this crap is getting old. Almost been a month now.

Ty is off the next few days. He and his brother are going to the game this coming weekend. We’re playing the Giants, and it should be a good game. We need to fix some things on offense before then, and I think we will. We just played down to the other team’s level yesterday, which happens in sports. Most important thing is we’re tied for first place! Go Bronoces!

Have a great day, God Bless.

Broncos play in London in about 90 minutes! Should be a good game. The highlight of yesterday was the CU Buffalos beating 22nd ranked Iowa State! It was a good win for us and for Coach Prime. He had blood clot surgery on Tuesday and was out there on the field coaching the team yesterday! Finally, we finished a game.

Before that we drove into Vail to see what was going on with the music festival. They were in a rain delay, and no one had showed up. We headed home to watch the game. The weather cleared up by 5pm but by then, we were done. We’ll go back today around 1 if the weather cooperates.

Lori has a massage at the Westin at 9. I’ll be watching the game. It’s raining pretty hard outside right now. We’ll take all the moisture we can get. I’m just glad it’s not 20 degrees out as we’d have a lot of snow!

Our close friends Jeff and Tina are at the Bronco game in London as yesterday was Jeff’s 60th birthday. They fly home tomorrow. Tuesday, I have a meeting in Denver, and on Thursday, Lori and I are taking her car down for service and to have her winter tires put on. I think we’re going to shop for a new bed. Ours is 4 or 5 years old and seems broken down. Finding the right bed is a never-ending battle.

That’s it, about an hour to go before kickoff. Ty just took off for work. Have a good day and Go Broncos! God Bless.

Looks like some wet weather today, especially in the morning. We’re headed into Vail for Davy’s festival around 1, so hopefully it stops by then. Could be snow up high tomorrow morning. Same with next week.

Ty’s getting ready for work and Lori’s still sleeping. Jag had a little bulge in one of his tires yesterday, so I told him to go get two new tires. Ty is literally down to owing about $13K on his truck. That means he’s paid off like $30,000 in a year! Quite the accomplishment. Of course, we don’t charge him rent so he can pay a lot on his truck.

Pilates was tough. I probably should have waited another week or so before trying it, but I’m doing ok this morning. It’s a whole different type of workout though.

Big CU game today. We’re not having the season we hoped for, but that happens. Hope we win. Time to get moving, have a nice weekend and God Bless.

Today I’m doing Pilates for my first time with Sarah, Lori’s trainer. I’m only doing a 30-minute session and then Lori is doing the rest of the hour. I had my annual doctor appointment yesterday, and all looks good. My doctor asked me how I was going to avoid hurting my back again and I told her I’m backing off real heavy weights and starting Pilates. She said, “that’s great”. I also told her I decided to quit a few other things like processed meats, (mainly bacon), and told her how I quit drinking the day I had a conversation with my GI doctor in Denver nine years ago. She said, “you can just quit like that once you make a decision”, to which I said yea, if I want to. She then said “Wow, that’s your superpower! Wish all my patients could do that”! I told her I’m lucky in that way, if I make up my mind to really do something, I can just do it.

Looks like a little rain this weekend. Hope the music festival doesn’t get rained out. The colors are fading fast as the leaves are dropping. In a week or so, they’ll be gone. I went to cigars yesterday to hang with the guys. I’m not smoking as I’ve mentioned, but it’s still a great time getting together.

The days are getting shorter and soon daylight savings time will be here. I thought that was going away, but I guess they haven’t made that decision yet. That’s it for today, have a great day, be well and stay safe and God Bless.

Today is my good childhood friend Harry’s birthday, and John Lennon of the Beatles too! Sadly, John is no longer with us, but Harry is plugging along and hasn’t changed much since high school. We always call each other on our birthdays. Don’t think we’ve missed a year since high school.

After 2 miles on the treadmill yesterday, now my right hip is sore, ha. I can tell what Robi’s thinking without even talking to her. We talked yesterday and contrary to what she thinks, we are pretty normal when it comes to eating and exercise, even though it seems we’re not. Must be because I’m always posting every little tweak I try to my diet or ache and pain. It’s just our way of dealing with aging, and the never-ending pursuit of youth, ha. I’ll stop posting all that crap. It’s funny as when I talk to Robi, I hear Mom in her voice often. Mom’s mannerisms are alive and well in Robi. It’s surreal and nice as it brings back good memories of Mom.

Ty’s up and getting ready for work. Lori is home today too. Not sure if we’re having cigar night tonight, but if we do, I’ll go but probably am not smoking. I’m still in my “take a break mode”.

Yesterday we had the sprinklers blown out for the year. Our landscape guys dropped off the elk fencing in the front yard to wrap around the trees and will soon put them up. To get ahead of them, I put Christmas lights up on our one evergreen tree out front. Once they wrap the trees, you can’t get to them unless you unwrap them. It took 200 lights but surprisingly, it looks pretty good. Won’t be long now before the tree inside goes up! Just a few more weeks. We just went outside to see how the tree looks as you can’t really tell in the day. You have to see it in the dark, and yes, it looks good!

Jag and Ava might come up this weekend. Not sure. Next weekend is Tommy’s party. Should be fun. It’ll be in the mid 70’s up here today and the low 80’s in Denver! That’s nice Fall weather.

Robi’s birthday is two weeks from today! We’ve already ordered up her favorite gift which should arrive the day of or the day before. We get her the same thing every year as she loves it.

That’s it, time to go, have a great Thursday. God Bless.

I’m slowly getting back to my old self. The operative word there is old. You hate to admit it as in your head you feel young, but yes, I’m old. As mom would say, it is what it is. Actually, more often, she’d say, getting old is hell! I like to say, even though there are challenges with getting old, it’s a privilege. Think about it, lots of people we know are no longer with us. Enough of the philosophical rant, on to the day.

I headed out to the gym early and did 2 miles on the treadmill and then lifted weights. I didn’t go super heavy but did do more than I’ve done since I hurt my back. It was good and I feel better from doing so. The rest of the day I was working. Around 3 in the afternoon, I did go meet up with Mark and Clark who were having a cigar. I was in the middle of a 36 hour fast (didn’t eat from 6pm Monday until sometime this morning), and didn’t smoke as these guys smoke every day which is too much for me. I might be done with cigars, if not for good, at least for a while.

I talked to Tommy yesterday. He’s getting ready for his party a week from Saturday. We’re planning on going. He’s having it catered, and the menu sounds good. Should be fun. Ty is trying to get off work early enough to go and I think Jag and Ava are coming too. Not sure of their schedule.

Denver has become a crime infested city. Every morning on the news there’s something else bad that’s happened. Hard to understand how people can’t see that all the crime is a direct result of leadership meaning who is in charge. Blame lies 100% with the Governor and Mayor of Denver. Crazy times. No way we go down there unarmed anymore. Denver now ranks worse than LA or New York as far as safety. This morning the news said Colorado is the 7th least safe State in the Country! unbelievable. Maybe the National Guard can come here after they get through with Chicago and Portland, Denver needs it.

6:10am now, time to get moving. I’m off to the gym again for a few miles and then will grab some breakfast. Ty golfed in Gypsum yesterday, good for him. It was a gorgeous day and the next few will be too. Have a great day, be safe, take care and God Bless.

It’s back to the gym this morning. I think I’m at the point where I need to work any leftover aches out by lifting. We’ll see how I do.

Last night the Chiefs lost completing the trifecta. All three teams in our division lost except for us! That makes it a perfect football weekend.

I was in and out of Denver by 9:30am. Would have been 9 but I stopped at a grocery store. That put me home right around noon. There was snow on the north facing slopes when I came through the tunnel. Weather was crappy down in the city but nice up here with blue skies.

Lori works in Edwards today. She was home early yesterday. Looks like it’s warming up today and will be a nice Fall week now that we have the rain out of the way. We should be getting the sprinklers blown out soon before it freezes.

That is it for today. 6am now and time to get moving. Have a great day and God Bless.

Big time Bronco victory yesterday. We not only beat the Super Bowl Champs from last year, but also a team that was 4-0, AND we hadn’t won in Philadelphia since 1986! Throw in a comeback in the 4th Quarter when we were down by 14 points, and it was a HUGE WIN! On top of that, the Cheaters, I mean Chargers, lost! Now we’re tied for 1st in our division. Great day.

Ty worked and then went to a concert at Red Rocks and Jagger was the best man in his buddies wedding in Evergreen. The weather was fine up here but I think it rained down there. I’m off at 6ish this morning to go to Denver. Hopefully I’ll be home by noon. Supposed to hit a little weather up high, but tis the season.

Lori just said she can’t believe it’s like 80 days until Christmas. Comes fast the older you get.

My back is getting better but still stiff now and then. I have to be careful not to do too much too fast. I have lots of work today but it’s all on the phone, so good day for a drive.

Have a great day! With a little luck, the Chiefs could lose tonight! God Bless.