Promises, promises...

Brief one tonight.

Soundproofing in cottages complete. Amen. Critiques for N out the door. Second amen. Now on to other things. 

Snow we've been waiting for since Sunday still hasn't arrived. What else is new?

More to come tomorrow.

Nature's first green...

Behind by days. What's up with that? Trying to keep my head above water, but not having a whole lot of luck. Keep getting waylaid.

Spoke to S on Friday, had a nice chat. Says he might come out and pay a visit this fall. That'd be nice. Been a long time since we've gotten together. Spoke to Mom, too. Sounds as if she's doing well, and even considering another quick visit. Wish we could get this cottage/office thing put to rest before she comes.

Putting in a lot of time on the new story, working through the rough patches in the narration. Think it's going to be a strong piece. Meanwhile, reading some new stories from N, doing my best to turn them around tomorrow. A good batch of work, though maybe not good enough to push ahead. We'll see. Also looking forward to re-reading MB's Phylacteries. Eager to see what he's done with it.

Temps dropped again. Might be snow tonight. Fertilized today, following this weekend's aeration job. Looking forward to things greening up.

Digging my way out...

Late one.

Heading to bed after a long day. Some good revisions this morning. Getting used to the new office. Got pulled away for a couple of hours, but that's par for the course. Be back on track tomorrow. Build up a head of steam going into the weekend.

Looking at rain and snow here the next couple of days. Need it. Gonna have to scrounge around the garage for the fertilizer spreader. Get a jump on things before the aerator folks show up.

Looking to score a victory. 

Let's call it a night...

Up with another cold. Geez. Was hardly out of the woods with the last one. Snorting zinc and hoping for the best. We'll see what happens.

Still noodling with the new offices. Worked out there most of the morning and into the early afternoon. Getting the hang of it, I think. Still a bit awkward, but that should go a way with the first story I finish out there.

Speaking of such, the new one's coming along. Voice is still uneven, but the narrative's coming together. Should be a decent piece, providing I don't horse it up.

Ghostwriting job on the screen treatment now up in smoke. But it's all for the best. Client was a special kind of nutty.

Jeep had some kind of malfunction this afternoon. Got it going after a few tries and escorted it to the shop. Praying the bill will be this side of reasonable, but not counting on it.

 

 

Green without envy...

Another day closer to normalcy--whatever that is.

Made it to the keyboard, though not for long. Mid-day errands to the plumbing supply store, together with St. Pat's day cooking took a bite out of the afternoon.

Guests for dinner. Corned beef a bit tough--haven't had that happen in a while--but the occasion was well served, so no complaints.

Tired tonight. Still trying to get in the swing of things after the time change. Still looking for that higher gear.

An endless progression of progress...

Must be daylight savings time burn out. Can't seem to get started. Or maybe going is a better word. Miss that hour, man. Miss that hour.

Got my project out the door today. Felt good. Also got the speakers mounted in the cottage, and came close to finishing the assembly on the new desk. Whole deal's still two day's out from completion owing to the wiring of the tech equipment. Should've seen that coming, right?

Policed the back yard in anticipation of better weather. Flower boxes need to be tended to, and a shrub or two replaced, but overall the place doesn't look too bad. Nice to have most of the big projects behind us so we can ease into spring this year.

Read an interesting piece by George Saunders in the Guardian this afternoon. Bit on poetics. Interesting how different writers come to terms with the craft.

Another Saturday Gone...

Up early. Went hard at the commercial stuff and made some okay progress, but ran out of steam mid afternoon. Interrupted by phone calls. Should have seen them coming, but didn't. Spoiled the rest of the day. Could say more, but why bother. 

Foiled again...

A nice reception for "Man of Letters." Many well-wishes from many sweet people. Hope I can do as much with the new piece I'm writing, though its decidedly darker in tone. Anyway, good to have another one published.

Fighting with a rag doll at the moment and losing. He's taken over the keyboard, and doesn't appear willing to give ground. May have to abandon this until later.

 

Looking out, looking in...

Guests vanished mid-morning. Spent the rest of the day catching up. Or trying to, anyway. A lot of work ahead, but with a good night's sleep might just make tomorrow a big day. Fingers crossed.

Eric the Reluctant made a triumphant return to frame the cottage doors and install the new leaded window. Job finished! Now some paint touch up, a bit of cleaning, some tech work to put everything electronic in order, and the office should be fully up and running. Again, fingers crossed.

Had a good time visiting with my writer buddy, Scott, yesterday. Fun to get out in the fresh air for a bit. Ought to look for more chances like that while the weather's nice.

"Man of Letters" should go live tomorrow on Saturday Evening Post. Looking forward to it. The new story I've been working on--untitled--is going to be a good one if I don't muck it up. Did some research that should be helpful. Now just need to find a seamless way of working it in.

 

Saturday evening post post...

Got some wind back in my sails. Learned a new story of mine, "Man of Letters," is being picked up by the Saturday Evening Post. Yeah, that Saturday Evening Post. The one that published Scott Fitzgerald, Norman Rockwell.

In lesser news, painted and stained the moulding for the cottage offices today. Eric the Reluctant returns from his drunken Bacchanalia in Hawaii tomorrow, so he should be sober enough to install everything sometime near week's end. New audio equipment should arrive around the same time.

Critiqued a handful of N stories this morning with one advancing to the next round. Rumors of additional mss have trickled in. Sounds as if a busy end of month is on the way. 

Need to get a jump on the commercial work. Mom due back from Sioux City on Monday, which will throw a small wrench in the works. Meetings, deadlines, and other obligations look to cause a serious log jam in the scheduling. Gonna have a hard time keeping my head above water.

The answer is apathy...

Discovered the answer to life's most pressing questions this afternoon. Turns out it's another question. Namely, "Who gives rat's ass?"

Not sure how it happened, but lost interest in pretty much everything today. Probably the interminably long goddamned time it's taking to get the cottage offices in order. Don't know and don't care anymore. Just looking for a little bit of normalcy. 

Missed a dental appointment this afternoon. Same with a doc's appointment a few days ago. Not sure why I'm having such a hard time staying on top of things, but it's getting a bit annoying. Gotta make some calls tomorrow, straighten things out.

 

Progress...

Crazy day. Took care of little things, read a few pages. Spoke to my uncle. His wife passed last night around 10:00 pm. Hardly knew what to say.

Bricklayers came and finished the wall in the cottage. Looks great. Now it's the window, a bit of trim, and we're in business.

Had the truck towed to the shop. Battery's dead or worse. Either way, don't figure to get out of it cheap.

Pulled the new desk apart and reassembled it. Not sure it was worth the effort, but there you go. Frame's ready.

Some new work came in. Happy for that. Mom coming tomorrow for an overnight on her way to Sioux City. 

 

Looking at a whole new week...

Back at it. 

Reading, writing, dinner out...a little bit of everything. Up late this morning, then off to the keyboard, gym, and back home to police the yard. Pruned the roses, then turned in to read a little Paris Trout. Coming close to the end of the book. Been enjoying the piece and learning something from it, too. Hope it sticks.

Brick wall supposed to go up in the cottage offices tomorrow. I'll save the cheering till I see it finished. Can't wait to get this mess resolved, though it still looks like a couple of week's work before the whole thing's in place.

Tired. Figure to turn in early tonight.

Cause to rejoice, if not drink...

Day was looking shaky from the get-go. Then, salvation in four short words. "I have the bricks." Didn't hear anything more, but have faith it means we're going to see a wall soon in the cottage offices. After that, who know? Wiring? Trim? The leaded window? Was so goddamned excited I cleaned up the mess in the backyard and filed a library's worth of boxed books on the new shelves. 

Just playing it cool...

Looked after small things most of the day. Managed a walk in the park, a bit at the gym, and some reading, too.

No progress on the cottage studio. Still waiting on brickwork and sundry tech matters. The new rug for my office is rolled and leaning against the foyer wall. Leaving it there for good luck (also because I'm lazy).

Warm day today, though cool and blustery this morning. Temps are supposed to drop tonight, pulling down into the forties tomorrow.

Got a ten o'clock scheduled for tomorrow to talk about the screen treatment. Be nice to have a sit-down and see how expectations are running.

Drama, human and otherwise...

President's Day. 

Up late, but for good reason. Nothing going on. Hit the keyboard after a couple cups of coffee and made major progress with the new piece. Gonna let it sit for a few days now and get on to other things.

Hit the gym early afternoon, then went to work reading the script I've been asked to doctor. Home now, looking to put in an hour or so reading.

No progress on the cottage office. Hamstrung by bricklayers, carpenters, and ultimately, tech geeks. That's democratic, isn't it? 

Speaking of democracy, saw E. O'Neill's The Harry Ape last night. Holds up pretty well after nearly a century.