Hump day...

Bunch of kids playing in the alley. Kinda fun to hear them.

Up later than usual, but not too much later. Went for an early morning walk, then came home for a couple of cups of coffee and some time at the keyboard. Put in draft-work on two new pieces. Midmorning spent some time looking after little things.

Hit the gym early afternoon, then home to cut the lawn(s). Still got that thyroid monkey on my back. Energy level not where it should be.

Gonna call it early tonight. Blue skies, high clouds, cool weather. Digging it.

Playing catch up again...

Woke early, left for gym before six. Don't remember much after that. A bit of editing, a long morning looking after small stuff, and home for a thyroid crash. Got in a good nap while strangers came and went, capering through the house. Oh, well.

Back in the saddle...almost...

Sun came out strong today, but temps were still cool so gave up on fixing the front trellis and went off to a movie. Good to get away from books for a while, though did spent a few hours at the keyboard this morning, drafting and revising.

Still in a bit of a fog after letting the thyroid RX lapse. Got some of my energy back, but it faded pretty quickly. This cold I'm nursing, or whatever it is, isn't helping either. Sore throat keeps waking me up in the middle of the night. Takes fits and starts to get back to sleep again.

Letter off to D today, but have once again fallen behind in my correspondence. Spent part of the late afternoon researching, looking for an article worth writing. Can't believe how haphazard my work routine's become. Always prided myself on being able to write pretty much anywhere, and anytime, but a steady, reliable schedule is still best when you can manage.

Was hoping for a different shade of day, but what the hell. If I wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Always tomorrow, right?

Upping the intellectual ante...

Up early, getting in some good revision time. Worked back and forth between stories. Took time to run a few errands, regroup, read a few pages from the Kittredge novel. Hit the gym mid-afternoon. Home again to run a few more errands. Had a thought while driving around, but lost it in the interim. So much for trying to elevate the conversation. 

Most of the plants and trees seem to have weathered yesterday's snow and rain. Keeping them covered, just the same. If they make it through the night they should be all right for a while. Warm temps supposed to be drifting in.

Looking forward to tomorrow. Bumming the death of Chris Cornell. Need to learn how to put stuff like that behind me.

Hostage to the Weather...

Odd bit of a day.  Hardly slept (sore throat). Up early, into the gym a little after six, then home to look after small things. Shipped off both N critiques, and read Tom Jenks's terrific new short story "Come, Labor On," on The American Scholar.

Didn't accomplish much of anything in the way of writing, but did manage to upgrade my submissions bin.

Cold, blustery day. Snow fell this morning, and there's more to come this evening. Saw a feed from The Lodge at Willard Spring up on the Bighorns. Snow, wind, and an inhospitable looking sky. In another month it'll look like an alpine paradise. Can't wait to get up there.

Drive time...

Let's see. Woke up three times during the night with a sore throat, then got out of bed, hit the gym, hit the keyboard, and hit the road with errands. 

Finished the drafts of the N critiques this afternoon. Daydreamed a while, then worked a little more.

Back and forth on a construction-riddled Uintah today more times than I care to think. Third time around hoped to stop at the drugstore and pick up the RX I've been out of for two days. Got all the way out to the store before I realized I didn't have my wallet.

Came home, found wallet, but by then the drugstore was closed. Went to the liquor store instead. Like they say, life's a series of trade-offs.

Another storm on the way tonight.

Tuesday, 5:18 MST...

Up before six. Got in a good mile walk through the neighborhood, then home to the keyboard for revisions, etc. Looked after small things mid-morning. Read second N story and made notes. Need to try and get the critiques off tomorrow before anything new drifts in. Spent the early afternoon policing the yard and catching up with the neighbors. Afterward, went off to the dump to jettison what I can only hope will be the last of the major yard cleanup. Air cooled toward late afternoon and some rain fell--those big, sloppy drops--and I held my breath that it wasn't going to be a hailstorm. Which, mercifully, it wasn't. Cooked up a pot of spit pea soup in the midst of all these doings, and by virtue of that small accomplishment am calling the day a winner.   

A new week...

One of those mornings where the air's so sharp and clear it almost hurts. Sunny, cool, beautiful. Took another pass through "Love Triangle." Feeling really good about this story. Think it'll find a good home, or hope so anyway. It's one of those pieces you want to hang onto because you know you're just a few small changes from taking it to another level. Not dinking just to dink, but heightening it with each pass.

Looked after little things this afternoon, then took a break and read a new N story. After, drove off to gas up the truck and do some grocery shopping. Heard it's going to get cold again before the week's end. Hope that won't mess up the yard. Just got it policed after that big snow.

Was in the gym before 6:30 this morning. Had a sore throat, restless night, and was happy to climb out of bed. Crowded today, but managed to make good time despite the traffic. Don't mind rising early, but hate fighting for time on the equipment.

Heard the president divulged classified information to the Russians last week. What next? Guess I'll finish up here and go check out the news. Sigh.

Just remembered. P coming in a couple of days. 

Sundry labors of love...

Think I got it. Put in a good last run "Love Triangle," and managed to get all the pieces in place. Worked at the keyboard until noon, got in half an hour with the new Kittredge novel, then set to work clearing the side yard and building a form for the concrete pad that's gonna be the foundation of the new tool shed. A lot of heavy lifting. Had to move about a hundred and fifty bricks into storage behind the cottage. Glad to have it all policed and ready to be poured. Warm day. Think maybe it hit 80. Not sure what tomorrow's gonna bring, but hope it doesn't get any hotter. Gonna kick back with a beer now. Watch the world go by.

The day before mother's day...

6:00 pm, Friday. 

Up early, off to gym. Home, time at the keyboard, then errands and yard work. New story is close to being finished. Happy with the way its come along. May have it ready for the mail in a few days. We'll see.

Lawn's looking good. Trees, too. Need to see a few more days of sunshine before knowing where the Locust trees in the back yard stand. They took the big snow pretty hard. Everything else is doing all right.

Mother's Day tomorrow. Flower arrangement delivered this afternoon. All's good with the world.

Nice day, today, though a little cool. No matter. Sun was out, the clouds were high and pretty, and there were good smells in the air. Let's see what tomorrow brings. 

Yeah, yeah. Real good now...

Gym early, a bit at the keyboard, some yardwork, then to the dentist. Who could ask for more variety in a day!

Gotta bear down on the new ms. Didn't realize I'm staring Friday in the eye.

P.S. Promise to self. Start writing posts worth reading.

Brain drain...

Another "where did the day go?" day. Started at the keyboard, then orbited out into errands and one long, nearly interminable meeting. Meanwhile the weather went to hell. Looking at tin-colored skies and a brisk breeze on the side. Not sure when the sun's due again, but hope it's before the weekend.

Picked up a couple of used books while galavanting around. Kittredge's The Willow Field, A.B. Guthrie's Murders at Moon Dance, The Complete Stories of Truman Capote, and a slick "new" Barnes & Noble Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. The Bookman may be the last, best, most magnificent used book store in town. Found a cloth cover edition of E. Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon there a few years back, if you need proof.

A lot on the brain at the moment. Can't seem to sort through it all. Worse, I'm beginning to not give a rat's ass. 

Comings and goings...

First in the gym this morning. Haven't seen that since the old days. Anyway, nice workout, then home for a bit of time at the keyboard, editing. "Love Triangle" keeps chugging along. Who knows, might have a strong reader's draft by the weekend if I'm lucky.

Looked after little things most of the afternoon, then escaped for a haircut toward end of day. Good to get out. Been drizzling most of the day, a steady wet that's bringing up the new grass. Now if only the trees and shrubs will decide to play along. Most everything looks healthy, except for the old cottonwood in the back yard, which took some serious hits during the wind and snow storms. A lot of limbs down, a lot of leaves lost.

Taking my time through "The Crossing." Amazing piece of work. Like most great books, it's even better the second, third, and fourth time around. The book's diction is owned by McCarthy. It couldn't be cheated by anyone but Faulkner. Love to watch him work.

Saw the director of the FBI was fired. Need to clean up, have some dinner, and check out the news.

Putting words to it....

Good progress on "Love Triangle" today. Sandwiched writing time between voice sessions, phone conferences, a run to the grocery store and cooking dinner. Almost forgot the early jaunt to the gym. There by 6:15 and had to run the gantlet anyway. Must have been 7 new members draped over machines when I walked in.

Sunny early on, looking at rain now. Guess that's the forecast for the week. 

Mixing it up...

Five days since my last post. How is that? 

Mom left this morning after a nice visit. Looked good, as always. Managed some nice dinners (clams and linguini last night, an Asian pork dish the night before), high tea at Glen Eyrie, a couple of jaunts to Lowe's, an afternoon at Theatreworks to see Pride and Prejudice,  and a lot of conversation. 

Haven't been getting much writing done, but didn't expect it either. Will try and hit the ground running tomorrow.

Weather's shaped up again. Well into the seventies today. Clouds drifted in come late afternoon, but as a welcome sight. New grass, new flowers will enjoy the rain. Looking at a week of it, if you believe the weather people.

Macron wins the election in France.

Many business doings tomorrow. V.O.s Script conference for TA Ranch in Buffalo. Be nice to see things hit stride.

Water works...

Not sure where the day went. Spend the early hours brushing up my ms. collection and publication history, then plunged back into the new story. Need to set that baby aside now. Take a deep breath and dive in again later.

Cool and cloudy most of the day. Got a little rain, too. Grass looks great, even without the new stuff having sprouted yet. Gotta keep at it.

Drove the pickup to the car wash for some much needed interior work. Opened a bag of unshelled peanuts in there a month ago, and it looked like it had been savaged by monkeys. Nice to have it clean again, although the "new car" scent I asked for smells like industrial waste.

Mom coming tomorrow. Got a bit of grocery shopping done, but not as much as I needed. I see a trip to Whole Foods in the future.

Milestones...

Kit and Irene share a birthday. Many memories, much love.

Temps warmed overnight, and the snow melted today. Everything seemed to survive. Up early after a night in with the boys. A wild and wooly time, to be sure. Pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

Went to a movie this afternoon (Lost City of Z) then back home to finish the last of my N critiques. All's well with the world.

Hunkering down...

A bright crisp morning has since turned wintry and gray. Another big wet snow tonight, they say. Spent the morning writing, the afternoon putting up protective coverings on the arbor vitae, roses, hostas, lilac, and anything else that looked vulnerable. Don't need anymore downed limbs or crushed shrubs.

Lost day after all that. Crossing my fingers tomorrow doesn't go in the same direction. Missed getting to the gym. 

This explains it, for the most part...

Stayed up late reading. Wondering why I can't find what I'm looking for in this new story. Too much on the mind? Who knows.

Spent the better part of the day looking after small things, wondering how I could be so in love with what's come into my life. Christ.

Looking to cash in early and clear my head. Start strong at the keyboard and go as hard and fast as I'm able.

Re-read the Lotos Eaters this morning. Even that got to me. 

What to make of a mid-week celebration...

Many fetes, as Mr. Fitzgerald wrote.

Complicated doings, followed by more complicated doings, followed by champagne, caviar, wine.