Alpineglow

 We've been back and forth to Bend a few times this month for family stuff. We did a little kayaking before and during the trip.

 Fires in the mountains areound us are turning the moon red. The sky’s over the last 2 weeks has been unreal.

When I last posted we were just getting sight of the Coronavirus and cases were popping up in Seattle and NYC. But you could tell the fire was lit. I had a neighbor in St Louis who came into the country and was tested positive but in the time before they got results had gone to a school dance and god knows where in town before they finally went into quarantine.  Less than a dozen cases on the St Louis area. I took that as a sign it was time to go home and sit this out until things got better. They have gotten worse and now people are getting antsy and are breaking quarantine. I believe the shit is really about to hit the fan in ways we have not imagined. This is not a cold virus. Not even close.  The way it infects and the damage it appears to do is unlike and influenza virus we have ever seen. It's also unlike a slew of other pandemics of the past in that there seems to be no acquired immunity! This makes a cure very difficult. Anyway, my dilemma is I have a work apartment in St L

What a year so far. I'm working another year on a contract that has me traveling a lot in the midwest. So I have an apartment here I travel to and stay in for weeks at a time. Its a central base for the work I do in NJ, Chicago and St Louis. All are under 10 hours to drive to so I can cut back on flying and I love my trips back to my home in Nevada near Carson City. This year I have driven through 2 blizzards, been rerouted across 2 states dues to highway closures and its looking like it will be a chilly drive across this time too. But that is nothing. Living in New England for 40 years seasoned me to white knuckle driving. But all the weather pales to this trip challenge. The Corona Virus pandemic. I have been in the middle of some really big Hyper Converged hardware installs in 2 states so I have tried not to panic about this but last nights declaration of emergency was a game changer. It's time to get out. Back home to my wife and family. There are no huge outbreaks in m

I came home to the ranch the last week in November for some medical procedures and to refresh myself. I had my gallbladder removed on the 11th of December after waiting almost 19 years. It was everything I thought it would be. A pain in the ass. The last year of this role was interesting and lucky me, I got selected to enjoy yet another year with this customer. So in January it's back to St Louis for another summer of fun. I plan to start spending some weeks in New England being I'm 2/3 of the way there anyway. Tamara is finally feeling better and has been doing a lot around the ranch. The kids are in school and all is good. This area we live in is growing way too fast for us and we are exploring options to either build another house here or move out of Reno. Traffic is reaching a frantic pace never seen in Reno of the past. Houses are being built on every hill side and flat space. I love this place but I and going to have to consider else outside Washoe Valley.

Well, the summer has flown by and winter is at my door. I am home for the remainder of the week doing fall chores to the house at the ranch in Washoe. The weather here has been warm for the most part giving me the opportunity to get some yard work done and the last dump dun of the season. I just had my 60th birthday last week (the primary reason for driving home) and this weekend I head back east in what should be the last road trip to St Louis for the year. The chances are even that this job will end in January but it could extend until April. This last year with this customer has been very taxing for both Tamara and myself. But the road trips back and forth have been awesome. I was in Denver 2 weeks ago and explored the area and the Boulder area. I am hoping for a role in the Boulder area but may work from home in the next year. I could use some time home for the next year but we will see what I find. This current role has been worth it to learn about this vendors product line but