There's always tomorrow, right?

Okay. So the up-early thing paid off, but the dividends weren’t quite as big as I hoped when I learned we were having a surprise visit by the mayor and his film crew. Even so, got in some good edits on the new short piece.

Took off for the gym while the crew took over the house, and had a nice leisurely workout. Did a little grocery shopping afterward, then came home and wrote upstairs on the laptop.

Been fighting this inward-turning feeling for a while. The blues? Can’t put a name to it, but can’t say I like it, either.

Speaking of not liking. Whoa. The Bill T dance troupe last night? What an incredible let-down. Self-indulgent. Ponderous. Ugly. The dancers were talented, no doubt about it. But the theme(s) was sophomoric and unimaginative and infuriating. Worst production of any stage performance since Buddy Guy. Sat up half the night fuming over it.

Anyway.

Never mind.

Doing the leg work...

Just jettisoned young M.

Busy day to say the least. Many comings and goings, including a trip to Spenser’s Market to pick up pumpkins.

No gym today, but got in a good walk this afternoon pulling the wagon around the neighborhood. Pretty day. A little cool when the wind came up, but not bad for a stroll. Sky was a beautiful blue.

Working through the newest short piece. Feel like I might have something good if I can manage not to horse it up.

Re-read Mavis Gallant’s “The Concert Party” this afternoon. Man, what a story.

Off to the ENT center tonight.

Another evening in...

Dinner at K’s last night. A nice pork tenderloin served with two young hooligans on the side. Well one, anyway. Highlight of the evening was watching a big brown bear eating grubs in the hollow down the hill from her backyard.

Young J slept over. Had a terrific time. Bad winds during the night kept knocking the windows open, and this morning we woke to a light dusting of snow. Temps supposed to drop into the teens tonight. Glad I bled the sprinkler system yesterday.

Looking forward to a quiet night tonight. Didn’t get much done in the way of writing, but figure to make an early jump into it tomorrow.

So this is what Friday looks like...

Up later than usual. Didn’t mean to sleep in, but by the time I opened my eyes the sun was up. Guess I needed the rest.

Went back to work on the new story, then took up the Philharmonic piece and shuffled the draft out the door early afternoon. Put in some time at the gym, then came home and made a big pot of mushroom soup.

Nice to see the sun again. Real nice.

Gonna be a busy weekend with the boys, etc., but as long as the weather doesn’t go completely south a good one.

Be cool if we could get another movie in, too.

Of time and weather...

Fall continues to come forward in its own cold, wet, overcast way. Pretty, but full of longing too. Weather report calls for the skies to clear by afternoon tomorrow. Expect if does we’ll be looking at snow on the Peak.

Up early working on a short piece. Got as far as I could before M arrived, ready to take the house apart. Had a good day, all in all, and even got a brief trip to the gym before driving out to the school to pick up J.

Project tomorrow for the Philharmonic. Nice to have some commercial work coming through. Wish I could work up something steady in that vein, but after thirty years in the business I know better than to think that’s possible.

Was thinking about Wyoming today. Wishing I hadn’t spent my time up there working. Next year it’s going to be different, even if I have something big going on. Gonna hike more, fish more, nap more.

Had a good time getting out yesterday afternoon.

Wish the stars would align so I’d be able get down to the Arkansas this weekend, but the good weather isn’t supposed to last. We’ll see. Stranger things have happened.

There you go...

A day of many goings on.

Up later than usual (6:30 am) by design with some slight variations at the keyboard. Put in time on a new piece of short fiction, and tacked a few pages to the ongoing memoir. In short, a nice easy morning.

Young M arrived just before 8. From there, a mixed bag.

Never made it to the gym, but hope to correct that tomorrow with an early workout before catching up with my buddy Scott.

Cold, wet, fallish day. Should build a fire tonight but probably won’t, ambition lacking after a full day of children.

Like to take J fishing on Saturday if it’s nice. We’ll see what the weather brings.

Getting there...

Pretty good morning of revisions. Knocked off just a few pages from the end. Figure to get at it early tomorrow, and if all goes as planned wrap things up for a while. Move on to something new.

Weather not so nice today. Light sprinkles, low cloud cover, dropping temps. Looking at more of the same in the coming days.

Got a lot on my mind. Need to make a better effort shifting gears. Staying fluid.

Saturday, and all's in order...

Up early. Decent run at the keyboard, then off to a movie. A long movie. Didn’t get home until a little after four, but the break was a good one. And much needed. Looking forward to a quiet evening.

Attitude Adjusted!

Strange how a day of fishing can fix almost anything. Put in some good early-time at the keyboard, then drove up to Elevenmile Canyon and spent the rest of the day on the river. Caught some nice trout. Missed at least three, released two, kept one for my neighbor Robin. All’s right with the world again.

Don't, just don't...

Ended the day at the preschool, boys strapped into their seats, the Jeep dead of--what? despair? Got a ride home in the tow truck.

Rest of the day wasn’t much to write home about either. Crabby baby. Fits and starts at the keyboard. No gym.

Christ.

Won’t start the list of people and things I’m sick of, because, well, what would be the point. In fact, is there a point? Ever? To anything?

Gotta get this long piece out of my hair. Move on to something new. Even if it’s the same shit on a different day, at least it’ll be a different day. F-all!

Circadian rhythm & blues...

Wild night with the boys yesterday. Big sleep-over. Early morning mayhem over pancakes and sausage.

Hit the keyboard later than usual, but it probably didn’t make much difference given the evening that preceded it. Hardly slept and woke up tired, and knew I was going to slip a bit in production and did. Even so, progress. Small but detectable.

Young M comes back early tomorrow, which means I need to get an early start on a good night’s sleep. Was hoping for a trip to the park in the morning, but the weather folks say cold and wet. So we’ll see. Was hoping for a clear weekend to get out and fish, but might have to shelve that as well, given the forecast.

Heard from a couple of old friends tonight.

Pretty evening.

Another one gone...

Thought myself out of bed and down to the cottage by 5:00 this morning. Still slogging through revisions, though most of them are small now and before long the piece is going to have to stand on its own merits, one way or another.

Pretty day, today. Cool and fallish. Wish I would have gotten out for a walk, but was at least able to make it to the gym for a quick workout. Need some new bag gloves. Opened up the second knuckle on my left hand last week.

Been ruminating on two new drafts. Maybe I’ll pick one of them up tomorrow and try to make a run to the end. Something different.

J dropped by this afternoon to help with the garage lift. Not sure how far he made it in his troubleshooting, but as far as I can tell the thing still doesn’t work. Man, what a drag that thing’s become. Like to set it on fire. Or better yet, take an axe to it.

Boys are spending the night tomorrow. That’ll liven things up.

No hurry...

Easing back into normal. Quiet day without many goings on. Wrote until noon, went to a movie, picked up some RX at the grocery store, and came home. Pretty day. Gotta find a way to do some fishing this week. Wednesday or maybe Friday. Will take whatever comes.

Starting over...

And, just like that, or so it seemed, Mom was on her way back down to Albuquerque.

Looking forward to some R&R...

Mornings keep getting darker. Thought I was out of bed before five, but was off by an hour. No matter. Did some good work at the keyboard, then cooked breakfast for mom and ran a few errands.

Day went pretty quickly. Managed a quick trip to the gym, a few more errands, a long spin around the neighborhood, and some overdue correspondence. Hard to believe we’ve been entertaining for the past ten days, but there it is. Be good to get back to the old routine tomorrow. Tonight, grilled pork tenderloin, baked squashed and roasted Brussels sprouts.

Saw Raisin the Sun last night. Nice performances all around. Good to get out and away from politics.

Figure to settle in and take it easy tonight. Regroup in the morning.

So dawn goes down to day...

Up early again. Not a tough time getting started, but slower than usual.

Read an essay today for N, and was kindly taken with its subtlety. Very nice piece. Some wonderful language.

Somehow managed a quick (and much needed) trip to the gym early this afternoon, and a nice late walk around the neighborhood with Mom. Enjoying the visit, but looking forward to the weekend and the old schedule. A lot of work ahead, and windows are closing left and right. Need to punch things into high gear if I hope to meet any of my ridiculous, self-imposed deadlines.

Thinking about a trip into the mountains this weekend. Catch a second look at the leaves. Might toss the flyrod in the back and see if I can get in a few casts along the way.

Young M tomorrow. Looks like a trip to Green Mountain Falls to try out the musical swings. Weather should be great. A Raisin the Sun tomorrow night.

Never get out of the boat...

Woke at four. Couldn’t get back to sleep, so went out to the cottage to write. Put in some good revision time. Mornings are getting cooler, more like fall.

Left for the zoo just before ten. Had a good time with Bobbie and the baby. Fed the giraffes, checked out the new elephant compound, played with the wallaby, and ate lunch. Young M fell asleep on the way back and took a long nap. Did the same when I had the chance.

Made a pot of mushroom soup for dinner.

Still working through the tough news dropped on us. Sometimes I just want to pack up and leave. Disappear into the mountains and never come home again.

Beautiful fall day...

Sunday evening.

Up at five revising. Got in some good work before mom came downstairs. Took care of some mid-morning shopping, missed the movies we were scheduled to see, and ended up taking a nice long walk around the block instead.

Lots of conversation. Lots of good weather.

Grilling salmon tonight. Figure to turn in early.

Oh, yeah. I get it...

Sideways sort of day. One nice conversation with an old buddy, followed by two bits of sad news on other fronts.

Trudged ahead with work. Progress here and there, setbacks here and there. A lot that didn’t get started, and even more that didn’t get accomplished.

Not sure if another fire’s broken out, but the air went bad late in the afternoon, and the sky’s turned an ugly blue-gray.

Mom coming tomorrow for a ten day visit. Plumber coming, too, for a pro-active rooting. Coincidence, or fate!

Another monday...

On the mend for the millionth time this year. At least enough to write a few lines and make it to the gym for a quick workout. Was a pretty day, if hot, and it felt good to get outside for a while.

Young M tomorrow.

Gotta get a good night’s sleep.