Saw a bear this morning. Across the street. Came charging out of the Lutheran church’s gates at dead run.
Sigh...
Late start this morning. Have to remedy that tomorrow.
Spent most of the day rehabbing.
Top excitement: getting the washing machine back on the rails.
What's next is what's next...
Quiet Sunday. Still catching up.
Went to a movie this afternoon following a good morning of revisions. Getting closer with both the new short and the novel.
Big week ahead. PT, haircut, coffee with Sol, S’s birthday. Should keep me on my toes.
A fine-looking Saturday...
Been losing track of the days. Lots of comings and goings. Rehab, keyboard time, letter writing, phone calls from old friends…. All good stuff. Some of the best of it was making friends with Gus, our neighbor Allie’s little Tabby. Took care of the boy all week, and never met a sweeter cat.
Weather’s been cooling off a little, though it’s still hot. Thank whoever for the evening rains and cool breezes. Lawn’s looked better, but then again it’s looked worse, too. Just happy to be on this side of the fall weather to come.
A lazy weekend so far. But my recently-repaired shoulder needs a break, so no complaints.
Looking ahead to a quiet night at home and an early rise so I can send off the new short I’m calling “Terminus.” Have tickets to an afternoon movie. If all goes well, might even find some time late in the day to lay down a few more edits on the novel.
Short note on a Thursday...
Don’t know where the week’s gone, but it’s near the end.
Coffee on the front porch this morning, then across the street to look in on our buddy, Gus. Worked hard on the novel until noon, then packed up and headed off to the gym. Afterward, to PT.
Trying to get the new story into a submittable state, but it might not happen until the weekend. The memoir? That’s on my mind, too. Just wish I had a few more hours in the day.
Enough for today...
†ech badness most of the day. Found some revision time for the novel, but not much. Late morning ran the stairs in the park, then headed to the gym for some light lifting. Repaired arm still hurts, but there’s progress. Took in a couple of rejection slips today. Guess classes must be back in session. Good. Things should begin moving again.
Looking after A’s kitty, Gus, for the week. What a sweet boy he is!
Saturday evening under a cloudy sky...
…phoning this one in. Up late to a beautiful Saturday morning. Coffee on the front porch, a nice walk around the hood, then an hour or two of writing time. Dallied away the afternoon while making plans for a future project. Lunch as Chili’s. Spent the late afternoon visiting with MC over manuscript. Clouds have rolled in. Lots of thunder. We’ll see what the evening brings.
Friday!
Wild day by old man standards. Up early, off to Home Depot for the rental ramps, then over to Rick’s to pick up the new fountain for the back patio.
Got a little writing in, headed to the gym.
Lots of nothing that took up the entire day.
Had a nice glass of iced tea at Starbucks, and here it is evening.
Oh, well. That’s how some of them go.
A Rainy Thursday...
…the day went fast. Was up early, working on a critique and later, revisions on the novel. A good productive morning. Hit the gym early afternoon, then off to PT.
Rain tonight. Hail, too. But hey, it’s wet.
Picking up the new planter tomorrow. Gonna take a dolly and some ratchet straps. Looking forward to the weekend.
Thoughts on a quiet Tuesday...
Out to the cottage by six-fifteen. Worked on the new short for an hour, then turned back to revisions on the novel. Productive, but not overly so. Rest of the day went to car detailing, PT, and a long cardio workout at the gym. A lot of cloud cover today but no obvious smoke, and with temps in the eighties the weather was fairly tolerable. Not trying to wish my life away, but I can’t help looking forward to fall. All in all it was a miserable summer—except for having the boys. Need to shoot for a good night’s sleep and wake up strong tomorrow. Feel as if I haven’t been pushing myself as hard as I should.
...short take on a long day.
Up at four this morning. Worked on the novel, the new short. Ran the stairs then went to the gym.
Back to uneventful...
…later start than usual this morning. Downstairs for coffee at 6:30, then off to the cottage to write at 7:30.
Did some work on the memoir, then on the novel. Made headway with both, but now it’s the memoir that looks a long way from anywhere.
Took the afternoon in stride. Talked to my buddy S for an hour or so, then went off to the gym for a light workout. PT afterward.
The shoulder’s seems to be getting better in terms of mobility, but the pain is still there. Intense pain, sometimes, though intermittent and not a huge bother except when it comes at night while I’m sleeping.
Got a light rain this afternoon. El Nino seems, at last, to be on the way.
One step at a time...
Up early to work on the memoir. Wasn’t expecting to open that can of worms again, but ran out of steam witih the novel, and didn’t want to revisit the new short just yet. Anyway, the writing went well, I think, and I’m happy to have some thing new on the burner. Will probably get back to the novel tomorrow, or put the finishing touches on the new short story, but for now happy just to have something to do to kill the time.
Went to the gym late morning and got in a nice workout. The bad arm’s still sore as hell, but I think I’m making progress. Rehab again tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes.
A surprise rain showed up on our doorstep this afternoon. What a great surprise. It didn’t last long, but at least it happened and, who knows, maybe there’s more in the future. Meanwhile, the temps remain in the 90s.
...waiting for fall.
…Jesus. Another hot one. Temps have run in the mid to upper nineties all month. Maybe longer. Worked on a couple of shorts this morning then went off to the movies. Skirted the worst of the heat in a cool theatre, but there’s more to come for the foreseeable future.
Taking it easy today.
Gonna enjoy a nice Caprese salad and a glass of wine for dinner. After that, who knows?
P.S. Recieved an acceptance slip today for “Cold Reckoning.” Nice to have it back in play.
...all over but the singing
…nice day nearly ruined by hot, smoky, miserable weather. Spent the morning and early afternoon at the zoo with the boys. Had a great time. The work the zoo’s done for the new giraffe exhibit is nothing short of marvelous.
Celebrating Matt’s birthday tonight. Mom and the boys leave tomorrow morning, and the long summer we’ve enjoyed will come to an end. Will be sorry to see them go, but happy to get our lives back to what they were. The kids feel the same way, I’m sure.
Tired of the heat. Tired of the fires. Looking forward to fall and some cool weather. A bit more fly fishing when time allows.
This and more...
Quiet day with the kids in Buena Vista. Wrote a little this morning, took in a move (Toy Story) this afternoon. Spent the rest of the afternoon working up a batch of Vichyssoise. Looking forward to a quiet night. Or what passes for a quiet night anymore. Had a good run in the park this morning. Looking forward to getting our lives back to normal.
...A change of pace...and scenery
Up early, but only for a two-mile walk. Big weariness from yesterday’s fishing expedition. Spent the morning goofing off with the boys and getting in a quick edit on the new short. Kids are off with mommy on a two day side trip to Buena Vista to hike and hot-tub. Those of us looking for a bit of peace are hanging back and picking up the pieces of yesterday’s life (apologies to you, Jimi). Hoping to run the stairs tomorrow morning then get back to work on the novel. We’ll see how that goes. Tonight? Peanut butter sandwiches and wine!
...meanwhile, back at the ranch.
Back from the M Lazy C tonight. Had a nice time up in the mountains. Rode horses and fished between two days of gully-washers. Looking to take the boys up to Elevenmile Canyon for one last day of fly fishing before they leave for the summer. Been a long haul this year. Should make for some splendid memories. Right now, more than running water, I’d like to get back to the keyboard to finish a draft or two. My other great wish would be to see the temps drop with the turning of the trees. Haven’t looked forward to Fall this much in a long, long, long time.
...hot, hot, hot.
Shopped today for tomorrow’s excursion into the mountains. Three days at a dude ranch. Not sure my entourage is as excited as I am, but I guess I’ll find out. Temps ran over 100 day. Too much. Been the hottest, suckiest summer I can ever remember. But hey, fall’s only this far away. Looking forward to getting my life back one of these days. I’ve always been good alone and always will be.
...a day of reflection. And Chores.
Up early to work on the novel. Got pulled away at nine to let the workmen in to install the new washer. After a brief parlay in broken English we learned the old washer couldn’t be taken away because it had residual water in its reservoir. Needless to say, spent the better part of the day taking apart the old washer, buying parts for the new unit, and fielding phone calls from Costco. Did manage to cut the lawn for the first time in weeks, but even after allowing it to grow, untrimmed, the summer heat’s done a number on it. It’s better than previous years—and still the best lawn on the block—but man, two solid weeks in the 90s didn’t do it any favors. Looking forward to spending a few days up in the mountains with my dudes. Monday can’t come soon enough.