And there you have it...

The day started with promise, then fizzled. Slowly.

Client meeting was a story in and of itself. Spent twenty minutes explaining the different parts of speech. Was told my facts would be checked by the client’s daughter. An English major. Wow. They don’t usually drag out heavy artillery like that until they’ve seen the first invoice. Have a bad feeling about the direction it’s going, but who knows? Maybe this time I’ll be wrong.

Managed a brief trip to the gym, then home to write another critique for N. Not a whole lot to crow about, but something.

Young M tomorrow morning. Hope the weather gives me something to work with.

Yes, it's only Tuesday...

Wild day after a sleepless night. Woke at three and thought it was six. Went back to bed until six, then got up and wrote for two hours before the baby arrived.

Somehow managed a quick trip to the gym, but the rest of the day went by in a shot.

Business meetings tomorrow. We’ll see what else comes along.

Nobody's fool...

Settling back in.

Up to work at 6:00 with some good revisions. Wrote a critique mid-morning, took care of a few housekeeping items, and got in an early session at the gym. All in all, not a bad comeback after three days of sitting around.

Weather was better expected today. Cool, and a little overcast, but not bad as springtime in the Rockies goes. Supposed to be pretty much the same the rest of the week. Even nicer come the weekend.

Got a nice rejection letter from the Harvard Review today, apologizing for the eleven and half month turnaround time. It’s turning into a record year for slow responses. This must be the fifth or sixth instance of having a manuscript tied up for a year.

Nothing to about it, I guess, but keep your head down.

There. Enough complaining.

Figuring it all out...

This one slipped by before I knew it.

Got a text mid-day that Mom was in the ER with a broken tooth, broken cheekbone…. Docs aren’t sure what it was. Calling it a branch blockage. They did CT scans, bloodwork, other tests. Keeping her for overnight observation, and probable pacemaker surgery.

Waiting until tomorrow morning to figure out whether to go down or stay.

Where the wild things were...

Young J with us all day today, in advance of his trip to New York.

Up early, did a little revising, then drove off to the zoo where we spent the entire day. Everything was perfect, including the hotdog for lunch.

Tired from a full day of lugging a wagon up and down the mountain, but in a good way, and if it makes for a sound sleep tonight so much the better.

Taught the boy “scissors, paper, rock” today. He caught on quick, like he does with everything. Can’t wait to take him fishing again when the water clears. Have the feeling he’ll be a natural, he has such an easy way of picking things up.

M tomorrow. Bright and early. Good to know the weather’s going to be nice again. Maybe I can tire him out at the park and get a few projects out the door while he’s napping.

That’s it. Beat. Calling it quits until tomorrow.

Saturday...

Went to our first ‘house concert’ last night. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but ended up having an enjoyable evening in a lovely home up in Ridgeview listening to our friend, John, play keyboards for two talented singer songwriters. Pretty good crowd. Something like forty people. Everyone seemed to have great time.

Woke up late, around 7:15, and had a slow start at the keyboard. Combed through the new short story for a while, then did a little research and moved on to the long piece. Haven’t been feeling great, what with the cold and allergies, and spent the better part of the morning fighting off a major sinus headache. It slowed me down a little, but I got some good work in, in spite of it.

Coming to the end of Garden of Eden. Not my favorite novel of H’s, but better than I remembered it to be when I read it years back. Have learned from it this time around, whereas I can’t say that was the case the first time through.

Read in the morning paper the old Starbuck’s is closing. Went down there this afternoon for a farewell latte. The barista said a new coffee shop would be coming up from Pueblo to take over the space. Can’t imagine that working out, but what do I know.

D’s birthday tomorrow. 44. Man, that’s hard to believe.

Thursday, the new Friday...

Woke up late, and never caught up with the rest of the day. Too much going on.

Young M showed early. For the next four hours we: ground coffee, sketched, played ‘baby shark’, chased each other around the block with squirt bottles, fed the ducks at the park, and picked our way through lunch. Got some reading in while he napped. That was nice.

Two of the new stories from N were only so-so, if that. Was hoping for a winner, and still am, so fingers crossed going into the third.

Looking forward to a good night’s sleep and a fresh crack at things tomorrow. Could use a good day at the keyboard. Gonna let the long piece sit and push on with the new short.

Nice day, and not at all what the weather service predicted. A little breezy, but sunny and clear.

Great expectations...

Why is it I can’t get a decent post written come day’s end? Too little sleep, I suppose.

Anyway, out of bed before dawn and down to the cottage to write. Started in one direction, changed course and drifted off into another. Think I did some good work, but nowhere near as much as I’d hoped. Went from the long piece, to the commercial pieces I noodled on yesterday, to a new short story.

Weather was good today, if a little cool. Sky was blue, and not a cloud to be seen. Be nice if the trend held so young J and I could go fishing next Monday, before he flies off on his New York adventure.

Have M tomorrow, so won’t be getting in a lot of writing, but maybe I’ll catch a break and be able to read the two new stories from N.

Read by buddy G’s new treatment and enjoyed the hell out of it. Hope someone out in LA discovers the guy soon. God knows he’s put in his dues.

Looking for a shot of energy...

Up early for coffee with my buddy G. Had a nice time, as always. Gave me a copy of his new treatment. Looking forward to it.

Spent the rest of the day in client meetings. That, and catching up with correspondence. Wish I’d slept a little last night. Might have been able to accomplish a few things later this afternoon. But the damned cold, or whatever it is, won’t let go. Woke up at three, slept off an on until four, then not at all. Finally called it quits and got out of bed at 6:00.

Need to take a better run at things tomorrow. Young M due to arrive early. So is the bad weather. They say rain and snow for the rest of the week. Happy for the moisture, but wish it would come on the day’s the baby isn’t here. Makes for a long day stuck inside.

New assignment from N. Have to push things around and make room. Hope it’s a good one.

Going up the country...

Good day.

Up early, wrote a bit, then headed up into the mountains for some spring snow-shoeing. Weather was beautiful, the snow was deep and the sky was blue. Trekked three-plus miles through the woods and was paid back with magnificent views all along the way.

Ran into a couple of deer on the return trail, and a herd of twenty elk grazing on the mountainside on the drive home. Not sure if we’ll get another big snow before the warm weather arrives, but if we don’t this was the kind you want to go out on.

St. Pat’s Day tomorrow. Kids are coming over for dinner. Gonna try out the new pressure cooker and see how we fare.

Finding new things to consider in my re-read of Hem’s Garden of Eden. Have to wonder how it would have turned out if he’d lived to finish it. Can’t recall finding it as interesting the first time around, but maybe I’ve matured. Or maybe I’m just older and more forgiving.

Beat now from all the sun and air. Calling it quits for the night.

Return of the sunshine...

Productive Friday, for being all over the place. Up early to the keyboard. Made some good revisions on the long piece, managed some research, cleared up some billing issues and even got to the gym.

Two rejection slips today. One was quick and considerate, the other came after a query I sent off the night before. They’d had the piece over a year. Handed me a standard “no thanks” without any mention of an apology for holding the story up so long. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t have seemed out of the ordinary. It’s a slow grind. Stuff happens. But here’s the thing, if you proudly state on your submissions page that you turn manuscripts around in two month’s time, then hey, turn them around.

There. Enough.

The good in all of this is that (a) it’s Friday, and (b) there’s snow-shoeing tomorrow. Looking forward to getting away. At least for a while.

Big Blizzard...

What started as a damp, drizzly morning has now turned into a full-fledged blizzard. Hats off to the meteorologists for finally getting one right.

Was up early and out the door before seven for a coffee meeting that somehow never happened. Hung around the coffee shop an obligatory forty minutes, then headed back home to catch up on my edits. No worries. They day progressed as expected until the lights went out and the internet crashed.

Pretty nasty out there with the big winds and snow, and am just happy none of the trees have fallen or been stripped of their branches. It’ll take until tomorrow to see what the damage is, but so far so good.

Allergies are picking up, presumably because of the wind. Took a Sudafed last night and woke at 1:00 am, which wasn’t so nice, but may be forced to take another tonight. We’ll see. Meanwhile, going to kick back and turn up the TV to knock down the sound of the wind.

It's only Tuesday...

Blur of a day.

Up early to work, then the rest of the day looking after the little one. Not much in between. Played a little t-ball, chased around the yard, went for a short walk, then had lunch and a nap and started the whole process over. Thankfully, the weather was nice.

Looking at a full-fledged blizzard tomorrow, but figure to meet up with my buddy G before the rough stuff blows in. Be nice to catch up, see how he’s doing. The rest of the day will go to the sundry commercial projects piling up on my desk.

Looking forward to spring. Have I mentioned that lately?

Start of the week...

Still not dialed into the Daylight Savings Time thing. Up early, but met with a few bumps in the road before finally getting going.

Busy day with research, client meetings, client calls, and tax matters. Happy for all but the very last, which is always a pain in the paperwork. Anyway, all worked out so it’s on to tomorrow.

Lots of new projects, lots of old projects, and less time than usual to get them finished.

Weather’s been nice, if a bit cool, and supposed to remain so through tomorrow. Hope they’re right. Maybe M and I can manage a trip to the park. Or play a little T-ball in the front yard.

A quarter of the way into my second reading of Garden of Eden. Glad I picked it up again. Interesting to see where Hemingway’s mind was in his final years.

Shooting the moon...

Just back from a walk around the block. Nice day if you didn’t stand in the wind. Temps dropped from yesterday and the forecasters are promising rain much of the week. We’ll see.

Up early, but an hour later than expected thanks to the winding forward of the clocks. Have come to loathe daylight savings time, and wish they’d do away with it. Made some good headway, nonetheless, and it looks as though some of my earlier revisions did their job.

Went to see the documentary, Apollo 11, this afternoon, and loved it. A lot of material I hadn’t seen before, particularly control room stories about the project’s engineering. Felt like watching a home movie at times. Really brought me back.

Lotta work tomorrow. Glad to be busy.

Fast forward to tomorrow...

Pretty day. Blue sky, lots of sun. Snow’s almost disappeared again. Worked through most of the morning, then took a break to go grocery shopping. Turns out that’s where the afternoon went. Guess I’ll have to regroup and try again tomorrow.

Was hoping to get to the gym, or at least go out for a walk, but both got scuttled by the clock. Now I’m looking at losing another hour to Daylight Savings Time. This is probably the week to think about reworking the schedule, see if I can make more out of the mornings. Be an easier decision if I were closer to the end of the long piece. Hard to come by blocks of uninterrupted time anymore.

Had a nice time at J & K’s last night. Stayed up too late, but that’s okay. The company was good, and so was the food.

Might try the movie tomorrow. Get a head start on a couple of projects when I get home. Haven’t heard much of anything from anybody lately, and I feel like I’m working in some kind of cosmic vacuum. Have three or four pieces that’ve been under consideration a year. One at two years. Another, crazy as it sounds, that’s still active nearly five years in. Just best not to think about it, I guess.

Looking forward to a quiet night.

A cup of Starbucks.

Flight of fancy...

Up early enough, but got a slower start on the day than I’d hoped. Plugging away at a number of things, some commercial, some not. Plate full, as usual.

Got some reading in between the interruptions, and trip to the gym, too. Also got a haircut, so I guess I’m ready to roll.

Evening out tonight with JS and K. Look forward to catching up. Hear there’s fondu in our future. Probably a mini-concert as well. End-of-the-week tired, but I’m sure I’ll perk up once the festivities kick in.

Like to get to a movie tomorrow. Heard the Apollo 11 documentary is outstanding, so maybe I’ll get lucky.