A Year of Change

Tonight we’re going to see Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young fame at the Vilar. We’ll be sitting about six feet from him as Gerry and Marcy own the best box seats at the theater. Can’t wait as it’ll be good.

We had some more rain last night which was nice. Rain makes for a smoke free sky. The cleaners are coming today. We need to get to the gym and back to clean up before they can clean. That makes sense, right?

Ty is going out to stay in L.A. with Aunt Kristin two weeks from today. He’ll be coming back on the Monday after he gets there. This is a recon trip for him to check out the area and city. He needs to buckle down and save a bunch of money. He should have a minimum of $10K saved up to move. I’m sure somehow mom and dad will be helping out in some fashion, but we can’t get sucked into supporting him on a monthly basis to live in California. He needs to learn how to budget and save, which has always been an issue for him. Lori says it’s our fault for always bailing him out. She’s probably right.

I’m sending a new in the box Leica D-Lux 8 camera to a dealer today for the iconic M camera. Those are the old rangefinder cameras you’ve seen over the past 50 years or so in movies and used by reporters in places like Viet Nam and even World War II. That was before the big digital cheap camera phase. I’m trading for a used one as the new, current model, for the camera body only, is around $10K! Then you need to buy a lens. I’m getting the model that was released in 2017. Super excited. I have one Leica camera which is a $5k black and white camera, but don’t have a color camera so this will complete my set. I ended up with the D-Lux 8 through Leica as Brenda, who recently retired, would sell me Leica samples and demos at the same price as the sales people at Leica. As they say, it’s all who ya know!

Ty’s getting ready for work. It’s sports day today! When he got there yesterday he ended up turning around and coming right home as the restaurant lost all the food in the walk in due to the power outage the night before. I went to Costco yesterday and they had the coolers all closed trying to get the temperature down and you couldn’t open them to buy anything. City Market in Vail lost all their cold food, produce, freezer section, dairy, everything. Good wake up call to be ready for stuff. Tommy called his friend who is the generator guy and let me know who to call to get one installed and which model to ask for, thanks bro!

Time to get moving! Hope all’s well. Have a great day and God Bless.

Yesterday at 4:15 in the afternoon, the power went out. I wasn’t sure if it was the neighborhood or just our house, so I ran down to the neighbors to check. Theirs was out too. Then Lori called and said it was out in Vail and was out all the way to Aspen including Glenwood. That’s over 100 miles! We had no internet, phones or anything. Gas stations were closed, as they need electricity to operate. I got out our lanterns and made sure we were set for an extended time with no power. Finally at 5:30 this morning it came back on.

Lori made it home with only 70 miles left in her gas tank. I told her this is why you never let your gas tank go below halfway full. The garage doors wouldn’t open as they run on power too.

After 3 hours with no power, Lori said, “we need a generator like Tommy! I can’t live like this!” I said “really, it’s only been 3 hours?” Last night was dark, pitch black dark, from Vail to Aspen and everything in between. It was like the 1800’s. I didn’t know when it was coming back on so I told Lori don’t open the refrigerator doors too often. Good mini lesson. The power was out only 14 hours but it seemed like a week, ha. Shows you how dependent we all are on modern day convivences we take for granted. Imagine 3 days much less a week or a month! People would die! Time to get a generator like Tommy!

My cheek is feeling way better. I’m not sure what I ate but it was something acidic . We still think it was the cantaloupe. All I know is I’m glad it’s getting better.

Lori has a meeting at 7 and is working out with Stacey at 9:30. Today is Cowboy Day at work for Ty. He borrowed a pair of my chaps and looks like the real deal. He wouldn’t let Mom take a picture but she snuck one from the side.

I was at the gun shop yesterday and panic buying is in full mode with Colorado’s new draconian law going into effect August 1st. I saw it coming and ordered up a couple rifles in April but pretty much have anything I want anyhow. Time to move for sure.

We did have some rain yesterday afternoon which was nice. We need it and will take all we can get. Time to get moving, have a great day, stay safe and God Bless.

As my Mom would say, he’s a tall drink of water! Looking good.

Our soccer team was clearly outmatched last night but that’s ok. We made it a lot farther than anyone thought we would. It was a good run. Mental errors cost us in the end and we didn’t look like the same team from earlier games. Still, we showed well in the World Cup.

Ty is caddying for his buddy in a PGA qualification tournament this morning. They tee off at 8:20. His friend needs to play this to be certified as a PGA instructor or something like that. He’s paying Ty $150 to caddy for him. It’s overcast this morning which will be good for them.

I’m headed to the grocery store this morning. I had to run into the dentist yesterday before the gym as I have a partially blocked parotid gland which is a saliva gland in my right cheek. We think it was from eating a whole cantaloupe the other day which is acidic. I’m on amoxicillin for 7 days and Advil at night. It’s not painful, just a little annoying when I shave or touch my lower cheek. I think this happened before with cantaloupe too. Supposedly I’ll get better in another day or two. Always something, ha.

6:45 am now. Ty just left and Lori’s getting ready for work. Time to shower and get moving. Have a great Tuesday, GB.

Tonight the U.S. Men’s team plays Belgium. I think this is the farthest we’ve been in a long time. The game is at 6 tonight. Norway won yesterday which was great and then England beat Mexico. I don’t really watch soccer,, but the World Cup is pretty fun.

Still dry up here. It wasn’t as hot yesterday which was nice. Looks like it’ll be 100 or higher this weekend. Looks hot for the next ten days according to the news.

Ty’s off to work and it’s Hawaiian Day or something at work as he needed a Hawaiian shirt. Appropriate with the weather. Lori has clinic and I have multiple calls. I think I’ll head to the gym before my 10am call.

6:45 am now. Not much else going on. Soon it’ll be August and then comes football, Labor Day and Fall. Then it’s all downhill to the end of the year. Time flies. Enjoy the day and God Bless.

We spent yesterday around the house after the gym. I cleaned up the mud room and some outside. Lori did the same in the kitchen and living room. We might go into Vail today for the farmers market and lunch, we’ll see. We slept with the window open last night but had to close it this morning as the smoke settles in at night.

I forgot to mention the other day that when Lori was going to the grocery store, a girl or woman, probably 35 years old, stopped Lori on the way into the store in the parking lot. She looked at Lori from a distance and said, “oh my God”! Lori not knowing what was going on said “are you ok’? The girl then said, “yes, I just hope I age as beautifully as you”! Lori replied, “ah, thank you”. When she made it home, she said she didn’t know whether or not it was an insult or a compliment, ha. I told her it was definitely a compliment! Too funny.

My buddy, Jim, who is one of the few, and best guys who makes handmade boots from scratch, the way they made then a hundred years ago, is almost done with two pair of mine that he measured me for last October. One pair is French calf and the other chocolate giraffe. I’m excited to get them as they’re like wearing slippers. Check them out, here’s a pic from Jim’s Instagram. He still needs to sew the rest of the sole and put on the heels, but we’re getting close.

It takes a year or so to get a pair from Jim, but they’re worth the wait. He’s a member of the TCA. Traditional Cowboy Artists, which you might remember from a previous post. When I pick up a pair, I order another so I’m always in the que. Smart decision.

Ty works at 10. Been a nice 3-day break. Lori and I will be back at it tomorrow. Dr. B leaves Wednesday for a conference in Hawaii. We were going but it was only four days long which is too short of a time for flying all the way to Hawaii and back.

Hope we get some rain. Have a good Sunday and God Bless.

Happy 4th! Hope everyone has a great day. Celebrate America and your freedom. Don’t let haters or those on the far left take away from the greatness of our Country and what it stands for.

The average life span for great civilizations throughout history is around 250 years. That’s not always true as most historians say the Roman Empire lasted for 503 years! I’m hopeful America too can stand the test of time.

Last night we went to Gary and Jens. It was nice and Lori’s cheesecake, of course was a hit. We left around 7:30 or 8 and came home. Ty made it home from golfing right after us. There was bad rainstorms in Chicago that uprooted trees. Jag sent pictures.

Today I have a huge bone in rib eye to throw on the grill along with a flank steak and some hot dogs. We’re just hanging around the house. Ty has the day off.

Have a great 4th, Happy Birthday America and God Bless the USA!

It’s less smokey this morning up here. Denver was fine, and pretty clear. I dropped my guitar with Glen to repair the bridge which pulled up a little bit due to how dry it is. Glen started building guitars in the 80’s and is the only guy to go to in Colorado for high end guitar work. He’s at the Old Town Pickin Parlor in Old Town Arvada.

The worst part of the day was the drive home. It took me an hour to go from Evergreen to Idaho Springs. I made good use of the time by making phone calls. Once I made it to the Express Lanes, it was smooth sailing all the way to Eagle.

This afternoon at 4 we’re headed to Jen and Gary’s for a party. Gary is a few years older than me and Jen must be in her early 40’s. Gary went over the front of his bike and smashed 7 ribs. He had to go to Denver to have some plates put in his chest. I think the town is having fireworks at Nottingham Lake in Avon tonight but we’ll be home way before they start. We love Jen as she’s such a sweet girl and beat cancer. Gary is nice, but sometime hard to take in large doses. He was the engineer for Beaver Creek back in the 70’s and made beaucoup bucks from that project. They actually met in DIA (the airport), when he approached her. Lori made her cheesecake to take.

Work is tough cash flow wise right now as we’re selling more than we can afford to make. It’s a good problem and we’ll get around it, but it’s tough stretch. In my new spirit or philosophy of not worrying about work every waking minute anymore, I really don’t care. How’s that for a personal transformation! It’s a challenge not to care, but I’m working on it! Ha.

Jag had a half day yesterday and is off today. Most places are closed today. Not sure about banks. Our office and Lori’s are closed but I’m sure Lori will still get calls.

Time to get moving. Have a great holiday weekend. The news just said half of America doesn’t know why the 4th of July is a holiday, God help us. Enough said, God Bless everyone and God Bless America!

Ty went camping, in the smoke, Jag went sailing after work, with some of the guys from work who own a sailboat, Lori worked from home all day long and was slammed and so did I. I’m running a guitar down to Denver to have the bridge repaired and am meeting Shultz who brought me some cigars from the Fuente Cathedral in Tampa.

Jag is in a really good spot at work. They all love him and know how brilliant he is and the older guys are all appreciative of his value and include him in everything. They’re not stupid and know how much he’s helping the Company and their personal wealth as well. He has a good support group of mentors, even though he’s smarter than most of them. The sky is the limit for him.

It’s still smokey but not as bad as it was. They say there’s not much relief in the next ten days. Wish we were in Montana or better yet, Hawaii. Europe, where we have to go in a few months, is really hot and dry.

Time to get moving. Hope all’s well, Have a great day and stay hydrated, God Bless. Go USA Soccer! Amazing game!

More socialists won last night here in Colorado. Good news is Michael Bennet lost the primary for Governor. He’ll stay in the Senate as he was too chicken to give up his seat when he decided to run for Governor. We voted cross ballot so we could vote against him. Sadly, Colorado is gone. Looks like there’s no turning back now. It’s become the New York of the west. Hard to believe the State I grew up in has turned so far left. Lots of people I know are making plans to move out.

We had a break from the smoke yesterday, but it settles in at night. Hopefully it’ll clear out a bit today. My truck looks brand new after being detailed. I washed Lori’s car, filled her gas tank up and reactivated her Sirius XM radio as the free trial ended.

For work, I had a few calls and have another one today at 9 this morning with France. Europe is having a worse heat wave than we are right now. It’s been way over 100 degrees in France and Italy and not everyone over there has a/c. A politician in France blamed global warming on air conditioners in the U.S., ha ha. Looks like it’ll be over 100 degrees, and in some places over 110, over the weekend in parts of the Country. Looks like the 90’s here for at least the next week.

Marty and Melanie took off for Montana around 3 or 4 this morning. They’re driving up for a couple days. We were going to go but it’s too long of a drive and too much of a pain to fly for only being there for 2 or 3 days.

The U.S. plays in the World Cup today at 6pm. We should win but you never know. Almost 6:30 am now so time to go, have a great first day of July and God Bless.

Mother Nature is doing her thing. You knew it was just a matter of time. Interesting that Montana is the only western State with no fires. Idaho only has a small one. The Southwest is on fire. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado are burning bad. It doesn’t look like any relief is in sight either. It’s calm outside right now with not a single leaf on any tree moving. That though will change by the afternoon as that’s when the winds pick up. Fire and wind make for a bad time.

This morning I’m dropping off my truck to get it detailed. Lori will follow me and I’ll then drop her off at work and pick her up this afternoon. Ty’s working again getting as many hours as he can.

Yesterday was my first day of my self imposed big shift at work. While in Mexico I decided to stop taking things so seriously and delegate more. I’m promoting Luisa and giving her a bunch of my duties along with a few other people. I decided I’m going to stop being the guy that has to do everything, it’s just too much and I’m over it. There’s more to work in life and I’m at that point. I feel like I lifted a huge weight off my shoulders by making this decision. In the end, it’ll all be fine too.

I was in and out of Denver by 9:30am and home by 11:30. Had some good phone calls yesterday and have one at 10 and another at 2 today. After I drop Lori I’ll head to the gym.

Pray for rain, but I don’t see any headed this way anytime soon. It sure would help. God Bless.