Full circle...

So here we are, right back to Friday. Got some okay writing in this morning, and a little bit of reading, too. Also managed to push a new N critique through the turnstile. Kind of a wandering day, but in a good way that took me from the keyboard to the gym and back again.

Going to a concert tonight. Second this week. Figure that to be some kind of record. Kind of nice to get out again.

Looking to decorate the tree tomorrow afternoon while there’s light to work by. After that, who knows. A movie maybe, though there’s nothing out there at the moment that feels like a must see.

New book about the Arcadians is terrific. Enjoying it quite a bit. Gotta remind myself to order the Thom Jones volume I read about.

What you'd expect...

A lost day, if memory figures into it. Young M showed early, and everything spiraled into oblivion. Got a bit of work out of the way, but not much. Okay, considering I didn’t expect to get anything accomplished at all. Wrote a critique for N, pushed some correspondence out the door, read over a couple of new drafts, and managed some market research to boot.

Chilly day. 20s, I’d guess, though I didn’t have a chance to check.

Looking ahead to tomorrow. Weather’s supposed to break. A little.

Staying busy, but feeling the tug of people gone or gone silent and wondering where it all leads. Wish I were better at saying what I feel.

Wow. December 5th, Already...

Went over to the Pikes Peak Center last night. Saw the Air Force Academy Band. It was a nice concert, and they were all good musicians, but it did feel like being stuck in a lost episode of the Lawrence Welk Show.

Up early this morning doing a bit of revision. Then a bit of research for the afternoon client meetings. Day went pretty fast. Hit the grocery store afterward to pick up a few vegetables, then home again to write letters and post Christmas cards.

Hit the gym late in the day, but only for an abbreviated workout. Quiet compared to normal. Would have enjoyed it more had I not been so tired.

Looking forward to a quiet evening. Gonna drink a little eggnog and decorate the tree.

Overcast...

Woke around three, never got back to sleep. Strange dreams. Got some work in at the keyboard, then went to the gym, early, which was overrun with people. Came home and prepped for an early afternoon meeting. Went out shopping for Christmas cards when I got back. Not much to brag about other than that. Young M over tomorrow. Need to get a head start on some sleep. Working our way into that season where nothing gets done until the eleventh hour.

There you go...

Woke up to a birthday. Spent the early part of the day working on new stuff, reading some of my N stories, and putting in some research. Went to an early movie, then came home and worked a little more. Nice quiet day.

Clients tomorrow!

Tonight, kick back and take it easy.

Greening of the living room...

Big day around the house.

Finished the draft of a new story, then attended to file keeping and submissions of a few finished pieces. Got in a little reading on the side.

Went off to the hardware store early afternoon and picked up supplies for the new tree stand I’m building. Design worked out pretty well. Put the thing together and bolted the tree to it a little while ago, and it’s standing in living room now, ready for lights and all the rest. Cats are quiet pleased with the addition.

Thought we might go out and see the Parade of Lights tonight, but decided against it when young J couldn’t come along. Figure to stay in and relax instead. Order carryout or something. Save our energy for tomorrow.

Hard to believe it’s the first of December. Glad we’re getting a jump on the decorations. Mom looks to be back here in a couple of weeks. Want to have everything in place before she arrives.

Nice shirt-sleeve kind of morning. Weather turned a little afternoon and a chilly wind blew in. I think there’s supposed to be snow tomorrow.

Rejections, reflections, and more...

Woke up to rejection. Another story held onto for nearly a year. Man, that’s gotta be at least four that have passed the twelve month mark only to be deep-sixed in the end.

On the bright side, I’m only sixty-three. Plenty of time to take up the slack.

Made it to the gym today, and managed a pretty good workout. Abandoned the jump rope for the first time in a long time and tried the Nordic Track instead. Might decide to cross-train for a while. The change was good.

Found another nice story in my N queue. Been having a good month in that regard. Only hope the trend continues.

Putting up the Christmas tree tomorrow. Fingers crossed it doesn’t fall down.

Making something out of nothing...

Another wild one.

So tired by 12:30, had to lie down. Didn’t manage to get much of anything done, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Took one long walk around the block, and it seemed to be a pretty nice afternoon. Not sure what the weather ahead’s supposed to bring, but I expect the word “cold” is going to work into it. Just a guess.

Need to make a serious bid at hitting the gym early morning. Been putting it off because mornings got so crowded, but looking back on it, I think I made better progress the rest of the day. It’ll change the working dynamic on the long piece, but prospects there are waning anyway with the holidays coming up.

Glad to put this one to rest.

Looking ahead to a more productive tomorrow.

Yow...

Busy one. But came at it rested and ready.

New stories in from N. Read two so far, but haven’t started on the critiques. Working on research for next week’s meetings, too.

Not sure, but I think it was cloudy most of the day. Feels like winter’s about to make another appearance. Gonna have to look for new ways to entertain young M. Think I’ll take a shot and pushing him around in shopping carts tomorrow since the weather’s tapped to turn south.

Didn’t get anytime to work on the long piece today, but maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Laid awake much of the night thinking about it, and may have reasoned myself into understanding where it is I want to go from here. We’ll see.

Prime directive. Christmas tree goes up on Saturday. Gotta get jump on it while the time’s available. Outside decorations? Who knows when that’ll happen.

Meantime, keep pushing.

Works and days...

Overcast day with a chill. Up too late to manage anything significant at the keyboard, but did do some housekeeping and letter writing. The rest of the day went to young M. Did get a brief trip to the gym, which was cool. Found myself all alone there for the first time in years. Was nice.

Restless night’s sleep last night, but it gave me a lot of time to think about the long piece. As in, what I want to do with it now. Answer: trust in what brought you here, and push ahead with fingers crossed.

Rough end of day. The whooping and hollering eventually does it. Anyway, looking forward to a good night’s sleep and an early rise. Getting in some fresh work.

Bits and pieces...

First of the week, and not a bad start. Put in some good time at the keyboard early on, editing the long piece. After that, finished two reviews for N and passed them along to the higher powers.

Had a funny moment on Thanksgiving. Walked in on a football game playing on the TV and was struck with the thought I should call my dad. He’ll be dead, what, three years in April?

Made it to the gym for a quick workout. Felt good to get back in the swing. Been thinking about going in the mornings again so I can keep on schedule. We’ll see.

Descant sent along a copy of the new issue, volume 57. My story “Love Triangle” appears on page 67. Stylish looking pub.

The day after...

Yeah.

Out of town early. Drive across Wilkerson Pass beautiful, Collegiates smothered in mist. Felled this year’s Christmas tree with young J wielding a hatchet and me an axe. Had lunch (cheeseburgers, what else?) in Buena Vista, then drove back home. Nice day all around. Went by pretty fast.

Back now. Gonna give mom a call.

As always, much to be thankful for...

Spent the early part of the day reading and writing. New novel excerpt from N was pretty good. Abandoned the keyboard before noon and took the axe and hatchet to Tony’s to have them sharpened in advance of the drive up into the San Isabels in search of a Christmas tree.

Hit the gym just before one, then came home and did a little more reading. Quiet afternoon.

Thanksgiving tomorrow. Should be a nice one. Lots of company set to drift in.

Weather’s been cool, but not too bad. Skies clear despite the fires in CA.

What it is...

Long, long day.

Up early to take the pickup in for new tires. Came home in time to have a cup of coffee before young M arrived.

No break to the gym today—to many people coming and going—but managed to write a few reviews before heading out to the school to pick up J.

Full day of babysitting. Full. Day.

Picked up the truck just before six and drove straight home to find a new submission in my queue. Was kinda hoping to get around to the Edmund White piece, but I guess that’ll happen soon enough.

Gonna shoot for an early rise tomorrow. Put in some time on my own work. We’ll see how it goes.

On the road...

Quick postscript to a long day.

Drove up to Leadville this morning to scout Christmas tree possibilities in the San Isabel’s. Found two, marked them and drove home.

The Collegiate Peaks were, as always, an astonishing sight. Mount Princeton is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful mountains in the country—with or without snow.

Good day for wildlife watching. Must have seen forty deer, and a herd of at least eighty pronghorn. All in all a fun, but tiring day. The Arkansas was running clear and hard, and made me wish I’d had time to fish. The same seeing Clear Creek. Maybe next summer, right? Love to get J up there for a day.

Home late. Hoped to get the pickup in the shop for some new tires. Guess it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

Edging into the holidays...

Lots of reading today. Lots of editing.

“Money Shot” is nearly there.

Read two long N pieces today, and began making notes. One story left to read before I weigh in with the critiques.

Gotta get back into the long piece. Might take the ms along tomorrow when we drive up to Leadville, scouting Christmas trees. See if I can get to the end. Decide what comes next.

Put in a brief appearance at the gym. Nice to get back. Hadn’t been there since Thursday, and was alternately dreading and looking-forward to it.

Got a text from bro Patrick while at the grocery store. Mom wants to come out before Christmas. Looks like it’s gonna be a busy month what with clients, family, and all the rest. What else is new, right? It’s the holidays.

Thanksgiving this week. Hard to believe.

Slick...

Up until after one last night. That’s a first. Or a first in half a decade. Had a great time with John and Karin last night. Slept hard, and didn’t wake until morning. Got in some good revisions, and finally found the closing graph to “Money Shot.” Not much left to do now before I have a reader draft.

Movie this afternoon. A Private War. Liked it quite a bit, though I’ve always been a sucker for war correspondent movies. Killed a dreary afternoon in the theater, then came home and made a pot of tomato soup.

Some new submissions from N for the Under 30 gig. Gonna have to roll to get them back out the door. Meanwhile, a nice quiet Saturday at home.

Misty night. Everything’s turning to ice.

Reading between the lines...

Woke early, made some revisions to “Money Shot,” then cleaned the house and took Kit to the vet. The ride over wasn’t much fun—he’s not a good traveler—but the checkup was overdue (he hadn’t had a wellness exam in four years), and the initial opinion of the doc was that he seemed fine. Nineteen pounds of sweetness and charm. They drew blood, the results of which will come in next week, but more as matter of precaution against elderly diseases than anything else. Everyone was incredibly sweet to him. In the end I think the whole ordeal was worse on me.

Guests tonight. Made three separate runs to the Safeway before getting everything we needed. Only hope I can hold up past eight after the day’s drama. Throwing game hens on the rotisserie. Uncorking a nice wine.

Note from TJ this evening regarding a NYer piece.