Covering the bases...

Getting used to the nice weather.

Woke early, revised. Coffee.

Got to do a little yard work with young M in tow. Put down some top soil patches in R’s yard, then went out to Lowe’s to look at some shrubbery and pick up teak oil for the benches and doors. Home in time for Sesame Street. (Episode where the autistic girl gets a haircut. Hands-down favorite for three weeks running now.)

Sneaked away for some time at the gym, then home again in time to play ball with the boys. J got knocked on the nose with a bat, so no extra innings.

Nice evening. Would sit out, but it might invite company.

Another Monday...

Doesn’t feel like Monday, which must count for something.

Up earlier than usual, long before six, at the keyboard. Made up for some of what was lost over the weekend, then went on to a bit of commercial work. Did okay.

Read a while, cleaned the house, hit the gym. Read some more.

Nothing new.

Young M tomorrow. We’ll see what the weather brings.

Blow up...

Good morning at the keyboard. Then the neighbor kids came over, shrieking, and I went to close the file and everything disappeared. Christ.

Coming on the end of the day, and if there was ever a one that deserved to be drowned in a bottle of hooch, this was it.

Worked out at the gym a while. Called Mom.

That’s pretty much it.

So 'tis clear as the summer sun...

Sun finally announced itself. Weather was still a little cool, but the day was a fine comeback after all the dreariness of the last week.

Spent most of the morning writing and revising. Made some good headway. Quit while I was ahead and drove out to the Pro Bass Shops to have a look at some canoes. Place was overrun with eager sales types trying to sell timeshares, so the trip was short-lived. Did a little grocery shopping, then came home and cut the lawns. Not the most exciting of days, but not bad either.

Mother’s Day tomorrow. Gotta give Mom an early call.

Taking it easy tonight. A little chicken orzo soup, a little TV, a little reading.

You got the mojo, you get the say-so...

Getting tired of the weather. More of the same. Cold, overcast, ugly.

Had to squander the morning at the doc’s office, begging for refills on my RXs. Hearing stories about old age and diabetes. But screw it. They get to call the shots and they know it. Just have to kowtow until I figure another way out.

Didn’t get much work done when I got back, but surprised I got any done at all. Attitude was already half way in the dumper before I left for the clinic.

Got to the gym for a pretty good workout, and that may have been the saving grace of the day.

Read a story this afternoon that sent me into existential shock. Isn’t very often anymore I read something that makes me want to put down my pen forever, but this one came damned close. If it’s the real deal, I’m as good as dead.

Need to get out tomorrow. Find a movie theater and drift into oblivion. Something.

Undecided...

Yeah, so, another rainy one. Actually, it couldn’t decide whether to rain or snow so it did both. Is still doing both. Not sure what that bodes for the weekend, but I’ll bet you don’t want to be on the roads early tomorrow. Whole thing’s about to turn to ice.

Was up and at it by 6:30, and made some good headway with revisions before M arrived. Hope I can keep things moving through the weekend. God knows I’d like to get back to some short fiction, though on that front it isn’t just me who’s ass is dragging. Can’t count the number of submissions I’ve got out there that’ve been languishing in other folks in-boxes for a year or more.

Not counting on any fishing this weekend unless I get unexpectedly lucky. Probably see a movie instead. Tidy up the rest of the yard. Stuff like that.

Annual physical tomorrow. 8:15. Talk about squandering half a day of good writing time. Can only hope it goes quickly, the scripts are all renewed without discussion, and the lectures are held to a minimum.

Working out the details of Mom’s arrival and departure. Gonna be a busy spring and early summer what with C’s wedding and all the rest. Want to try and enjoy this one.

Dreary day...

Drizzling weather hung on overnight and into the day. A breeze came up, too, and you can feel the cold in the air again. Still a way from summer, I guess.

Was up early to the keyboard. Made headway on the revisions, but not as much as I’d hoped. Reached that place where there isn’t much aesthetic distance, but you still enough wiggle room to make a change here and there. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever see the end.

Young M tomorrow. Weather folks are calling for rain, so there won’t be much outside time. There’s talk of packing him out to REI to have a look at some canoes, so maybe we’ll kill part of the morning shopping.

A touch of gray...

Short day for revisions. Still, I think I made some headway.

Also got to do a little demo on R’s stairway ceiling.

Spent the rest of the day looking after young M. Wasn’t able to make it to the gym, but the way things were shaping up, it didn’t come as any surprise. Gonna try and make up for what didn’t happen by squandering the evening with a book.

Heard there was another school shooting in Denver today. Middle school. Christ. Not sure I want to turn on the television.

Misty weather. Supposed to be like this until the week’s end. Good for the grass and trees, not so great for the attitude.

Oh, boy...

Listening to John Pizzarelli, thinking of my old man.

Got in some decent revisions today, but it’s all starting to read the same. One step forward, three steps back. Question is, how to sort it all out. Sure as hell wish I had the answer.

Wait. It came to me just as I was thinking of it. I need a canoe.

Yeah. A canoe.

How tired is tired?

Beat.

Up earlier than usual. Made some good revisions on the long piece after fighting it for days, then set the words aside and spent the afternoon doing yard work. Weeded. Fertilized. Raked. Kept at it until the asthma caught up with me.

Gonna quit while I’m ahead.

More tomorrow.

Nothing to brag about...

Well, that didn’t work.

Got a good night’s sleep, woke early and went at the revisions hard, but ended up writing myself into a ditch. Not sure what the problem is, but it’s there and so far there’s been no getting rid of it. Just have to try again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, got a short trip to the gym then killed the rest of the afternoon with yard work. Mowed, edged, trimmed, and bagged. Everything’s ready to be aerated.

We’ll see how things go.

So we're back to this...

A long Thursday. Don’t know why. Got a good night’s sleep, but woke tired and couldn’t shake the doldrums that came with it.

Put in some early revisions on the new story and the long piece, though I can’t say I made much headway with either. Just that kind of day. Hoping for more tomorrow.

Hit the gym mid-day but that was uninspired, too. Maybe the weather’s finally getting to me.

Nothing to do but settle in, get some rest and try again tomorrow.

Easing in...

Back into it.

Up early, straight to the keyboard. Started in on one of the drafts I began about a month ago and made a pretty good run at it. Worked until a little afternoon, then looked over the last edits on the long piece before heading off for the gym.

Funny, but still a little tired from all the traveling. Maybe it’s the cold I picked up before I left, I don’t know. Anyway, good to get back in the routine again.

Cool weather’s returned. Misty and wet this morning, temps maybe in the 50s. Supposed to be the same the rest of the week.

Out of Africa continues to amaze.

Goodnight, Irene...

Gone since Saturday, and glad to be back. Enjoyed seeing everyone in Albuquerque, and pleased to know the health problems of the past are mostly in the rearview. Mom looked great, R’s surgery went well. Couldn’t ask for more than that.

Pretty drive back up the San Luis Valley this afternoon. Lots of green, lots of beautiful view of the Sangres and the Spanish Peaks. Didn’t see much in the way of wildlife, but it didn’t take anything away from the trip, there or back. Lots of runoff in the mountains. Hope that means a good summer without many fires.

Not sure why, but neither wrote nor read the whole time away. Had neither the ambition, nor the energy. Just laid around and napped between the many visits.

Glad to be home. Look forward to getting back to writing. That and the gym. Have a short week ahead, and aim to make the most of it. R took great care of the boys, as usual. Good to get back to them, too. Was Mr. KitCat’s birthday today.

Yeah, it's friday again...

Another early rise.

Hit it hard and made it to the end of the long piece. Taking off for Albuquerque tomorrow, so i’ll have some time away to rest and reflect before picking it up again.

Had an unexpectedly nice afternoon. Needed it before the long drive. Gonna settle in and try to get a good night’s sleep. First, though, gotta give Mom a call and wish her a happy 89th.

Happy 89th, Mom.

Of time and time lost...

Surprise, surprise.

Was searching online for my dad’s obit today, and found a notice that my short story collection, The Second Time Around had been longlisted for the Serena McDonald Kennedy Award for Fiction in 2016. Sure wish I’d have known before now. Anyway, three years later it was still a bit of welcome news.

Up and at it early today. The revisions started out rocky, but I think I managed some quality work before I quit. We’ll see, tomorrow. Should come to the end of the long piece before the weekend. Hope so. I’d like to abandon it again for a while before looking over the final (or what I hope to be final) edits.

Leaving for Albuquerque on Saturday. Should be a pretty drive down through the valley. Gonna try and relax a little, get in some extra reading time.

Don’t know why, but this week feels longer than most. Been thinking it was Thursday most of the week, and wasn’t right a single time until tonight.

Wild and wooly...

Wild one.

Woke up early and got to it. Hammered away at the keyboard until 8:00. Spent the rest of the day with young M, shopping, playing, goofing off, etc.

Managed a quick trip to the gym, then home again and off to pick up J at school. Had a nice time till we got home and the world went to hell over a yellow marble.

Long piece is shaping up. There’s probably something akin to a twelve-step apology most writers owe their friends and family when they spend too much time with a manuscript, but I’m not sure it’s been codified yet. You can call it work, but at times it feels like an addiction. And not always a healthy one.

Nice bit of sunshine today. Wish we’d gotten out more, but that’s the way it goes. Looking forward to a spell of good weather so I can finish the yard work, start mapping out some new fishing adventures. The mountains look beautiful right now. Expect the water does, too .

Plunged into Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa last night. What a wonderful book. Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to discover it.

Not quite up to speed...

Not sure where this one went. Got up early and started strong. Kept at it till mid-afternoon then went off to the gym to see if I could clear the head.

Still making revisions to the long piece, but the big elements seem to be working and the exposition I worked in during the last pass is mostly okay. Gonna try and reach the end tomorrow, if I can. Young M comes early, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Put the Heller book to rest last night. Was a little disappointed in the epilogue. Seemed kind of hurried. A little too convenient, given the nature of the story. But hey, maybe that’s just me.

Overcast day. Cool, too. Don’t mind the latter but I don’t need anymore clouds at the moment. Need a break, I think, but I’m not sure Albuquerque’s it.

Enjoying the quiet...

Up early. Not early enough for a sunrise ceremony, but early.

Wrote till ten, then called it quits and went down to see the boys for an Easter brunch. Had a nice time. Egg salad sandwiches, pleasant conversation, a little tom-foolery for dessert, the off shopping for garden goodies.

All in all, a quiet day. The rain never came, but a breeze blew in a few clouds that hung around most of the afternoon.

Called Mom, but she was out to dinner. Happy to hear that. Also happy to hear her front tooth’s been repaired and that it looks great.

Eager to see for myself when we drop in on Saturday.

Not a whole lot else going on. Feeling rested. Ready to hit it hard tomorrow.