Up, down, up down...

Screwball Monday.

Mornings are definitely getting darker, but this one happened to be warm. Thought maybe I was going to be looking at an early rain, but not so. Worked a couple of hours, then drank a couple of cups and went off to the see the dentist for a teeth cleaning.

Read the new essay from N when I got back, wrote a quick critique and wandered off to the gym. Can’t say I pushed things—felt tired for some reason—but did enough to get by. Working through a new bout of the blues, I guess.

Worked a little more when I got home, then went off to Stanley’s to free the pickup. Turns out the window motor isn’t broken. Or at least not broken enough to replace. The mechanic monkeyed with it and got it to roll up, and that’s where it’s going to stay until hell freezes over. Or I do.

Young M. tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing him.

Meantime, lots of niggling paperwork to try and get out of my hair. Guess I’ll have to shoot for another early rise.

Sunday...

Big day.

Boys came over yesterday afternoon and spent the night. Hamburgers and watermelon for dinner, roasted marshmallows for dessert. Mattie’s first fire, Jack’s second or third. Great time all around.

Up early with Jack. Bug hunting, followed by pancakes, and sausages. Took them canoeing on Quail Lake after breakfast. Again, Mattie’s first time. Beautiful day, beautiful time all the way. Boys were great the whole time. Took them home after lunch, and got big hugs from both. Big hugs.

Took a quick nap after the boys left. Went out and did some construction.

Good thing it's Friday...

Woke just after midnight last night, and never quite got back to sleep. Some of it aches from working out, the rest from thinking about the boys. Still, put in a long solid day of editing, and while I'd didn’t get as much accomplished as I’d have liked, did okay. Would have gotten the lawns mowed, too, but for a giant toad strangler that came along late afternoon soaking everything.

In keeping with the tragic nature of the month, the back window on the pickup’s decided not to work. Wait. Lemme revise that. It rolls down, but refuses to roll up. Discovered this during the aforementioned toad strangler. Duck taped a garbage bag to it as a temporary fix, but can’t get it into the shop until Monday. Suppose it’s better it happened now than up on the Bighorns.

Had a good day at the gym. Light, compared to yesterday, but nice. Afterward, came home and went back to work. Got a new piece from N to look at. An essay. That should be fun.

Boys coming for a sleep over tomorrow. Gonna take them out in the canoe Sunday morning. Have an old CD of Danny Kaye stories I’m gonna spring on them at bedtime, providing I can find something to play them on.

Have this picture of Mattie in my head. He’s holding my drill, looking at the sawhorse. Knowing he’s only allowed to use the drill on appropriate materials, he points to the sawhorse’s leg. Says, casually, “Is that wood?” Earlier, in the kitchen, a butcher’s pinking shears in hand, he was seen to look up innocently and ask, “Got a chicken?”

Everything's getting close...

Up early, but not as early as I thought. The days are getting shorter. Woke at 5:30 but would have sworn it was half an hour earlier, judging from the light. Anyway, at the keyboard early.

Worked well until 7:30, then sat out on the front porch having a cup of coffee and watching the hawks play. Young M came late, but in a happy mood. We messed around in the garage a while discussing power tools, then went off grocery shopping. Had a nice time all day.

Jack was very sweet, too. Said he had a “good idea,” and why didn’t we move to Pittsburgh, too. Man. These next couple of weeks are gonna rip our hearts out.

Just need to keep our eyes forward and do what we can do.

One N story left in the queue. Gonna have to read it one more time before making up my mind to push it forward. A lot to admire about it, but one or two jarring bumps I’ve had a difficult time making my way around.

Raining. Big storm moved in fast at day’s end. Wonder what it’s like in Wyoming.

Midweek hodgepodge...

Pretty even day. Up early to work, then on with the rest. Still noodling with the long piece. Making last minute repairs to the errors, inconsistencies, etc., that turned up in last week’s read. All in all, not much more to mess with before making reader copies. We’ll see how quickly it moves from here.

Read another of the N stories. Nonfiction. Wrote my critique and sent if off before noon.

Good day at the gym. Got back early and drove the toxic stuff from the garage out to the hazardous disposal site on the east side of town. Hit Lowes on the way home and picked up a couple of extra hooks to hang the last of the gear.

Hot day. Grass is looking weak despite constant watering. Be happy to see some cool weather move in.

Boys back tomorrow. We’ll see what the day brings. Might have to fill the pool for an end of day swim.

Gave Mom a call to see how she’s doing, but no answer. Probably sitting in front of the TV, watching tonight’s debate.

Steady, steady...

Here’s one that slipped by.

Up early making revisions, then off to Lowe’s and Costco to pick up shelves and water. Got back and installed the shelf in the garage with Mattie’s help. Showed him how to use the cordless drill, and pulled a video of him drilling holes in a piece of scrap. The kid loves anything mechanical.

Busy client day, so no gym. Hate playing catchup, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes. Besides, was still sore and tired from yesterday, so maybe it was a good thing.

Looking at another cloudy sky that’s having a hard time deciding whether it wants to rain. Humidity was down today, which was nice, but I’d welcome an evening shower to cool things off.

Need to finish up with the N pieces. One of them keeps speaking to me. It isn’t perfect but, you know what? I think I’m going to let someone else be the judge. Have the feeling more will be coming in soon, and want to have my queue ready.

Had a nice time with Jackie this afternoon, playing trains. Gonna miss that kid.

A Random thought for a random universe...

Back at it.

Good morning at the keyboard. Feel like I’m getting back into the swing. Revisions to the long piece are pretty well in hand, and I’m looking to put a reader copy out the door sometime soon. Get to work on the outline, synopsis, and query.

Good day back at the gym. Thought it might be tough after a four day break, but actually felt pretty good. Looking to get back in the swing this week and make up lost ground.

Garage is a day away from being clean, providing I can hang another shelf and jettison the old wood I’ve been saving. Nice to have things in their place.

Need to make a trip out to the toxic disposal dump before the week’s finished, and another trip to the Arc. Meanwhile, the projects go on. Gotta cut some stabilizers for the cabin door, make a new flue cover, and cobble together some shelves for the shed. After that, fashion a leg for the new pot planter stand from some of the scrap teak. After that, who knows.

Another story, maybe?

Oh, my Grace I've got no hiding place...

Finished the read on the long piece this morning. A lot to think about before sitting down to revise again. Story seems to be in place, but there are niggling little things that still need cleaning up.

Abandoned ship before noon and went on another cleaning binge of the garage. Got a lot accomplished, but still haven’t finished. Organization is mostly complete, but a few details need to be addressed. Worked through the afternoon until after four, then went off to Office Depot in search of file cabinets.

Can’t say it was much of a weekend, but happy to know a lot of things that’ve been out of kilter for a long long time are now coming together.

Mowed the lawns.

Bought some groceries.

Ready to hang it up until tomorrow.

Just trying to figure it out...

So. Woke to the muffled drumming of artillery last night. Then the sound of someone mumbling gibberish. Got up to piss and heard strange talk coming from the guest room.

Knocked, went in and found my mom sitting on the edge of the bed, mumbling “b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b”  Thought she was having a stroke. She asked me if there were “girls in the room,” which further enforced the idea she was dying. This is at 3am. What a night.

A hook and ladder showed up three minutes later, and a van full of EMTs. It was some sort of diabetic episode brought on by any number of things that were not insulin-related. Great month, in all.

Back on our own tomorrow. Time to regroup. Some day I’ll make sense of all this, but not tonight. Tonight I’m just gonna put my head on a pillow and try and find some peace. Wake up and write. Or wake up and hope to write.

Breathe in, breathe out...

Figure this will go down as a milepost. Boys spent the day with us, and expect it will be the last time they ever see their great grandmother.

On the positive side, we all had a nice, really nice time. Jack and Mattie made breakfast for her, and engaged with her all through the day. Took them all up to the North Pole. Rode the rides, ate cheeseburgers. The whole nine yards.

Not sure where things will go from here except to say it probably won’t come clear until they pull out of town.

Taking mom on a picnic tomorrow at Lake Manitou. Canoe a bit. Should be a fun time.

Take these stripes from off my shoulders...

7:30 already. Don’t know where the day went.

Little Mattie was sweet today, but crabby. I wonder if he isn’t coming down with something. Hope not. Gramma Bobbie comes tomorrow, and we’ve got a trip to the North Pole planned for Thursday. Last shot she’ll have at seeing them for a long time—maybe ever.

Got some good revisions in this morning. Didn’t have a long time to write, but made the most of what was there. Came up with a new short, too. In my head, anyway.

Days ahead will be tangled, but maybe that's a good thing. Sure had a nice time with Jackie this afternoon. I’m gonna miss that kid. Him and his little brother both. Will have to wait for things to flatten before knowing what the next move is, but I’m okay with that. It’s the not-knowing that’s driving me nuts.

Strange day, all in all.

Strange day.

Need to get my head together, read and critique the new N stories that’ve come in.

Still kicking...

Up early researching a new story. Or stories. We’ll see what comes. Finished the reader draft of the new short piece yesterday. Working title: X.

Recorded more of the long piece after coffee, coming within fifty pages of the end. Been instructive, for sure, to take it through the process. Eager to get it behind me and begin shaping the outline and synopsis. Get it into the hands of a couple of people I trust.

Put away the keyboard around eleven and went back to work on the garage. Took a trip to the hardware store to pick up chain, got the canoe hung and stowed a little while later. Storage system seems to work pretty well. Good to see the garage and shed begin to look ordered again. Next up, shelving. Like to see everything in order before the weekend, though that may be a bit ambitious with Mom and the boys around.

Days have been something of a blur. Guessing it’s going to be that way a while. Look forward to seeing Mattie tomorrow. Won’t have many more times alone with him before long and want to savor them.

Good day at the gym.

Good day all around, considering.

Sunday evening coming down...

Everything cooled off after the big rain last night. Still didn’t sleep very well, but laying awake in with temps in the 60s wasn’t all that bad.

An early rise. Finished the reader draft of the new story, then read from the long piece after a couple of cups of coffee. Spend the afternoon working on the garage. Progress was slow but good. Managed to get the canoe in by days end, but haven’t quite perfected how to hang it. Gotta make sure it isn’t too high, but at the same time leave plenty of room for the Jeep.

Jettisoned the bookcase we bought from Borders after it went bankrupt, and can’t say it wasn’t a pleasure to say goodbye to. Once the paperbacks were put into storage, all it did was collect dust. Now we’re back to basics. Clothbound editions only.

The weekend turned out to be a blur for the most part, so maybe it’s good the new week is starting. Guess we’ll see.

Rain. No dance necessary...

Big, lashing rain tonight. Came down hard starting around 5:00. Flash flood warnings and all.

Was up early after the first sound night’s sleep in a week. Muddled along at the keyboard until I came within an inch of finishing the reader draft of the new story, then set it aside for coffee, a little recording time on the long piece, and after that some pruning.

Drove up to Woodland Park and down highway 67 to scout Lake Manitou for places to put in the canoe the day we take Mom up on a picnic lunch (Friday). Had a nice drive, and stopped for Starbucks on the way down the mountain.

Did some grocery shopping on the way home, thinking to grill teriyaki chicken tonight. Given the rain, looks like it’ll be grilled cheese and soup instead. No matter. It’s all good.

Working through the rest.

Will be for some time.

Heat stroked...

Hot one today. Was already in the 80s by nine o’clock. Even the early hours are a bit warm, though turning on the A/C at 5:30 in the morning seems a bit extravagant. Only problem with leaving the cottage door ajar is the marauding mosquitos.

Anyway, more progress on both the long and short projects. So can’t complain. Think I’ll have a reader draft together on the short piece before the weekend’s out. Hope so, anyway. Also giving some serious thought to pulling out the memoir again.

Had a nice workout. Picked up brats for dinner after leaving the gym. Came home, shot the breeze with our carpenter, Steve, while watering the lawn, then called it a day. I don’t know. Feels like we’re waiting for the other shoe to fall, only it’s already fallen.

Just trying not to think...

Out to the cottage early, early to the keyboard. Wrote a script, messed with some files, and enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee on the back patio before the little guy arrived.

 Nice day. Weather’s still unbelievably hot, but other than that not much to complain about. Goofed  around the house for a while, then drove out to Sportsman’s Warehouse to pick up an extra life vest and kill a little time.

 Got in a nice workout at the gym while M napped. Filled the pool and let it warm, and sat around the last part of the afternoon while he and J played.

 Been working out this “news” gag with the boys. They get a charge out of it. I pretend to pick up the evening paper and find myself in shock after reading the headlines. Been working it for two weeks now, and it’s still drawing laughs.

 Skirting the headlines, and not sad for it. With everything else going on, I couldn’t give a good goddamn about politics or much of anything else. Kind of liberating. I’m sad about the sorry state of the movies at the moment, but hey, maybe that’ll improve soon, too.

 Need to get my last review off to N tomorrow.

 Hit the sack early again. Keep taking small victories where I can.

Inching forward...

Okay. Another uneven day in a series of uneven days, but an okay one in the end.

Up early, worked on the new draft, then resumed recording the long piece. Stayed at it for about an hour, then went off to see the insurance rep about upcoming changes in the healthcare policies.

Hit the gym when I got back and put in a nice workout. After that, grocery shopping, then and home again to read more of the long piece.

Garage lift is finally working the way it should. Garage itself is still a mess, but it gets cleaner and more organized by the day. Who knows, one of these evenings I may be able to park the Jeep in it.

Been looking at some new water to take Mom on next Friday. Found some nice places nearby. Might check one or two of them out this weekend. Providing I’m still above ground.

Realized this morning, I’ve been giving away little bits of myself all summer with pointless wishes. Trying to stay out in front of things has its drawbacks, too, I guess.

Where's Wyoming when you need it?

Threatening to rain again, but I have my doubts. For some reason, the clouds just won’t let go. Been hot all week—mid 90s—and supposed to stay that way for a while.

Feeling good about the new story. Might have a reader draft soon. The long piece? Keep getting waylaid, but maybe that’s okay. It’ll come when it comes.

Didn’t get to the gym today and missed it. But had a pretty good time at home nonetheless. Took Mattie out for ride in the wagon, and he fell asleep a block from home. Would have stayed asleep, too, if it hadn’t started raining. A three minute shower, and we get caught in it! If that doesn’t speak to the the way the month’s been going, nothing will.

Mom coming out for a visit next week. Who knows? Maybe that’s the antidote to everything.

Gotta keep chugging along.

It’s all we can do.

Felt like Monday because it was...

Didn’t sleep much last night. Some kind of allergy-spawned asthma attack. Hit the cottage early and worked on the short piece, then read a few chapters of the long one. Pretty good morning, work-wise. Not great, but all right.

Was tired, but had a nice hard workout at the gym, too. Then came home and started cleaning and organizing the garage. Got big hopes of getting everything in its place. For good. Who knows, maybe this time I’ll win out.

Broke the news about the boys leaving to Mom last night. A tough conversation. But we’re moving on again.

Young M here early tomorrow. We’ll see if we can’t make a day of it. Supposed to be ungodly hot, so we might have to get creative.

Gonna hope for a decent night’s sleep and an early rise. See what the day brings.

Ain't dead yet...

Lawns mowed, garage lift fixed, Robin’s tree limbs split into firewood…

Productive weekend.

New story’s getting better all the time. Long piece is getting better all the time. Lots of projects in front of me.

So breathe.

Breathe.