The Miller's tale...

Appreciate it not being Saturday. Hate to think I would have spent the better part of my day in traffic in Denver. Drove up mid morning to pay a visit to the folks at Stark lumber. Ended up making a few crazy detours (including a wrong way down a one-way street) only to find out Stark had changed names and locations. Did manage to get things straight and place an order for the window molding for the cottage office, but didn't get back home until late afternoon. Needless to say, didn't get much real work out of the way. Can't wait to get this new office buttoned up.

Could write more, but why bother. Think I'll go out searching for a beer instead.

 

The Elusive Plumber's Wrench of Love...

Like spring today. Must have made it into the mid-seventies. Best of all, hardly any wind to stir up the dirt and pollen. Was put to work early, but managed a quick trip to the grocery store, and a latte from Dutch Brothers. Revised the new ms. when I got home. Sent off a thank you to the Pikeville Review, too, and re-read and critiqued the new N. story. Mild interruptions throughout the afternoon. Decisions on new office, etc. Went on a hunt for my plumber's wrench, which proved fruitless, and wound up driving over to Ace to buy a new one. Watch. The old wrench will turn up tomorrow morning. Right under my nose. I'd bet on it. Gonna try and get in some reading tonight. Tired from the work at the gym, but in a good way. Need to get in the zone before my eyes call it quits. 

Arrivals, Acceptances & More...

Pikeville Review picked up "Eternity, Revisited." Got the notice this afternoon. Happy to see it find a home.

Desks arrived this afternoon, too. Took a bit of assembly, but they look terrific. Need a plumber's wrench to fit the pipe threads properly, but will pick one up tomorrow. Moved the mostly-assembled piece into the cottage to see how they fit, and was pleased with the result. Should work well. Getting closer to a finished office every day, but still have some nagging doubts about the completion of the brick wall. Hope to see it in next week. Pray to see it in next week.

Nice day, though with all the comings, goings, drop-offs and deliveries, didn't get to see much of it. Be nice to see the good weather stick around for a while. Maybe we'll get lucky this year.

On track(s)...

Just past 6:30. Waiting for a dude to come and relieve me of the two tall bookcases I bought off Borders when they closed their here a few years back. No room for them in the new build out. Thought sure someone would snap them up in a hurry, but it turns out no one owns books anymore. This guy's eyed them for "shelves" of some sort.

Took a small field trip today. Trolley Museum. The restoration folk there work at the pace of the Crazy Horse Monument crew, but have to say joint's improved since my last visit. Many a new railroad diorama now. Not on the scale of the one in Golden, but pretty sweet for a small, hugely underfunded operation like theirs. Saw some neat stuff. Old trains. Cable cars. Vintage uniforms.

Made some good progress on a new draft. Mss in and out the door today. New commercial gig, too. Script doctoring, if I want it. Gotta read through the treatment in the next couple of days, see what it needs. More to the point, whether I can actually help it. Wish I hadn't let my subscription to Final Draft lapse--might have made the whole thing easier.

Sunny today, but cold. Wind took all the fun out of it. Supposed to be nicer tomorrow. Eric due back to put the molding on the door jamb. Vern the Bricklayer next week. New desks came in today, but mis-delivered to the old office. Should arrive here tomorrow, as scheduled. Fingers crossed there isn't another mix-up.

Let's put this one to rest...

Head scratcher of a day. Tried to kick it forward, but couldn't manage. Got some writing time, some revising time, some domestic time...but nothing too impressive in terms of results. Must be the head cold. Or the weather. Or maybe even the lapse in cinthroid. Anyway, screw it.

 

Should have gone to church...

Feline incursion. Kitties have expropriated the writing chair, leaving me the choice of ottoman or floor. I opted for the former. 

Woke to snow this morning after a gloomy sleep. An overcast sky didn't to much in the way improving the day's complexion. Tried to make some headway with new material, but can't be certain I got anywhere. No biggie, except I spent a lot of time doing it. Eric was supposed to come back and finish his carpentry work, but proved no-show, thus living up to his modest sobriquet "The Reluctant."

Been feeling a bit down, but realized I've been out of Cinthroid for two days. That'll do it. Got out of the house long enough to pick up my prescription, but can't take it until tomorrow morning. Fighting a cold, too. Snorting zinc now, along with everything else. Sunshine and lollipops it ain't.

Grammy's tonight! A delightful plunge into the pool of bad taste! 

Unhinged...

In and out all day. Fitting, the door should arrive. Eric the Reluctant spent most of the morning and early afternoon installing. Looks beautiful. Feels beautiful. Worth the wait, certainly, though the wait was long and frustrating.

Put in time at the keyboard early on. Revisions, a bit composition, some strategic looking ahead. Started a new story, got to a happy quitting place and abandoned it for a bit of box moving and trash removal. After, went to the gym and hit the heavy bag for a while. Felt good to let go.

Feels like the divestiture process is working. Not as much paper around (under, in between things) as there has been for a while. Thanks to a steadily diminishing memory, don't miss any of it! Saying this, I now expect a letter from the IRS demanding a full audit of the last seven years.

Snow tomorrow. Seventy-seven yesterday, probably warmer today, and now a little bit of winter again. We'll see it if happens. Ham steak and broccoli on the grill. Time to put down the pen and pick up the flatware. 

 

A lot on the table...

Many goings on. 

Sorted through mss for new story collection, had a late morning hike through the park looking for "tockleburs," dropped by the leaded-glass-lady's outfit, made a longer than expected detour to Sears to have the oil changed in the pickup, then bolted for the gym to get in a few lifts before I'm struck down with the mega-cold that seems to be going around.

Looks like a new job or two might be coming in. That'd be nice. Fingers crossed I can skirt the worst of this--whatever it is. Just got out from under the last bad episode of sinus/throat problems and don't need another one.

Cooking brats tonight. Yeah, that's right. Brats. With sauerkraut. So sue me.

Dreams of grandeur, and less...

Hardly remember getting up this morning. Must be because I woke at 2:00am and didn't fall back to sleep until 5:00am. Bizarre dreams. Kitty comings and goings. Phantom math, calculating the approximate hemorrhage of currency involved in the new office build-out. Funny, but always fantasized maxing out credit cards at the end of my life--a trip to Europe involving heavy meals of wine and pasta. Restful nights in expensive hotels with 5-start restaurants and oyster shells--not now while they can still track me down and make me pay. Drat. Anyway, got up, pushed some paper around, and entered "Dancing with the Devil" in something called the Wild West Literary Contest. Also managed a trip to the bank, a trip to the barber, and a trip to the barber. Ferried some old windows from the kitchen over to the leaded glass shop to be used in the making of the new window in the cottage office. Four to six weeks before any results. Office door? Who knows. Just keep plugging. Meanwhile, at work on the new collection, The Second Time Around. 

 

It's only Monday?

Monday. More clean up, a voice session, more clean up. Took a break mid-afternoon to make a pot of chicken soup. Critiqued a ms. for N, took care of some overdue correspondence, placed a few mss of my own, and tried not to get too far ahead of myself in my thinking. Know this is a topsy-turvy time, but look forward to a bit of stability. Miss the everyday in my everydays.

Mindful of my gifts...

Surprise visit by my cousin, J.J. today. Had lunch downtown and some great conversation. Always a pleasure to see the kid. Always.

Baseboard painted in new office, sofa and bookshelf moved into place. Joint is starting to look serious now. Gonna have to wait for a couple of weeks before the desks are in, but it's one step closer.

Weather came around in a nice way after the cold and wind earlier in the week. Wore shirtsleeves most of the afternoon. Had a chance to talk on the phone to my uncle, see if we might scare up some time to go fishing this spring. Have a photo somewhere of the two of us down on the Arkansas with a stringer of trout. Always loved that photo. Gonna try and find it in the office files and make some new copies.

Sneaked off to the gym for a quick workout, then made the mistake of going to Safeway. Every human being in town got there before I did, all intent on last minute Superbowl shopping. Long lines, expressholes shoving 16 items in the 15 item lanes, college kids with questionable forms of tender...  I saw it all.

Back to Monday, tomorrow. Let's hope the great experiment keeps rolling forward.

 

Saturday...

Woke early, wind piping down the eaves, rattling the lilacs. Worried we were in for another hard blow, but it turned out to be a nice day despite the early bluster. Wrote a while in the early morning, then went out to the garage to do a bit of policing. Cleaned a while, hauled debris from the worksite, then came upstairs to sort through a closet full of old files and such. Took a late trip to the dump. Made it just before closing. Home again to make another drop off at K's--boxes of books and all manner of things for the neighborhood garage sale this spring. Feels good getting organized. Champing at the bit to have it all finished. Eric the Reluctant showed sometime before noon and started the install of the baseboard and shoe molding. Looks great so far. Need to dedicate some time to the leaded-glass window the next few days. Other molding as well. Disappointed to hear the lighted door won't be shipped for another week. Who knows when it arrives. I've seen homes built more quickly, but if it looks the way it should all will be right with the world when it arrives. Haven't done a lick of real work (writing) in days. Need to remedy. Got a call from my cousin, J.J. today, saying he's in town (from Iowa). Looking forward to catching up with him. Having lunch tomorrow. 

Cold snap...

Ice, fog, cold. Tech folks coming and going. Babies coming and going. Meetings. Man, what a day. Never thought I'd hear myself say it, but thank god for that late day meeting. Behind, behind, behind. Looking forward to a sunny day, they keyboard, and if all goes well a trip to Starbucks.

New story in from N. Expect more tonight, more still over the weekend. Should make for a nice diversion.

Tired...

Long, long, long, long, long, long day.

Office empty at last. Storage unit full. Living room full. Cottage office still two weeks from completion.

Dinner with family tonight. Wish I had an appetite.

Quoth the Raven....

Back late from office. Covered 78 floors and six miles today, hauling equipment, garbage, and whatnot. Thought we'd be finished, but still have two loads left. Done with this, project. Ready to move on. Fighting off the blues in a big, big way. 

Jesus H. Christ....

Whatever the hell I posted here last night disappeared by morning. How does that happen? Must be the move, and all involved, that's put the week in a tailspin. Anyway, I'm still here. 

Another fifty walks up another fifty flights of stairs, another fifty bags of trash to the dump and I'm almost in the clear. Gonna be a long hard day tomorrow. Lots of sorting out once the heavy lifting's finished, but at least it'll have come to the end.

Floor in the new office now installed. What's next? Molding? Door? Brick work? It's anybody's guess at this point. Only certainty is, there won't be much writing time between now and the end of the week.

Oh, and by the way, what's that goddamn humming sound?