Getting by...

So, here we are.

Managed to get started on the new life without grandkids and, with the exception of a few fits and starts, made it to the end of the day.

Up early, as always. Put in some time on a query letter and synopsis, then ran off to the tire store to see about warranty issues with the less-than-year old BF Goodrich blowout. After, lit out for the gym.

Still feeling wrung out, but have been there before and know how to wait it out. The bronchial infection’s still sitting hard on my lungs, so that can’t be helping either.

Got home and cut the lawns (I’m up to three, now, with Caitlin and Drew’s) then kicked back with a nice long shower.

Some new commercial work coming in. Happy for that. Gonna rest and take it easy tonight. Try and have a good day tomorrow.

Back in Dodge...

Home.

Easy trip back.

Casper’s the perfect town for a writer to stop and visit and take notes. The food is mostly awful (in large portions), everyone drives a pickup truck (diesel, many in much better shape than your own), all the news outlets are dialed to FOX, and the future (as seen on television) seems a long, long, long way away. But aside from all of that, the land is beautiful and full of heartbreak.

Wish things had gone better, but they hadn’t. Maybe next year.

Last night in Casper...

Up early on a three hour drive to the cabin this morning to batten down the back door. Cool up there, and pretty, but wasn’t prepared to spend any time other than the few hours to make the repair. Anyway, place is safely locked up until next spring when some real maintenance can take place. Snow’s probably only a few weeks off now.

Blew the front driver’s side tire on the truck while barreling west at 70 mph on highway 20. Damned near rolled. Managed to get to the shoulder and stop, so some good luck there. That, and having some extra tools along. Had to use a hand-wrench and WD40 to loosen the stupid lug holding the jack in place. Was on the way out to the ranch house, but scrubbed the trip with no other spare. Good news in all of this was that the blown tire wasn’t yet a year old, so the replacement’s on BF Goodrich tomorrow.

Going out do dinner soon. Been a tiring trip, which isn’t much of a surprise. Leaving for home tomorrow, an whatever that brings. Good having some time to reflect, regroup. Hoping for a quiet evening, and an uneventful trip back to the Springs.

Gone...

Nice evening with the boys. Thomas the Tank Engine. Kipling.

Woke at 6:00, early breakfast, a morning of bug hunting that produced two stone-size snails and herd of slugs.

Things got hard after lunch, but no need to relive it. They’re off now to Pittsburgh, and things have hit bottom. Tomorrow, Wyoming.

Late afternoon...

Putting in an early post.

Spent most of the morning looking after Matty. Fishing in the baby pool, collecting bugs, drawing at the kitchen table…

Didn’t sleep too well last night. Woke from a bad dream and never quite made it back. Didn’t make it to the gym, either.

Boys are spending the night. Last one in a while. Gonna make the most of it, then move on. Start living again.

Meanwhile, there’s a farewell potluck at the pre-school.

The here and now...

Slept in a little later this morning after a halfway decent night’s sleep. Up at six to start working on query and synopses drafts. Research new markets for some of the short pieces. Discovered that, in addition to waiting more than a year for eleven rejections, I have seventeen additional submissions that are still under consideration. God, I hope that isn’t going to become a trend. And yet, with those numbers, I guess it already is a trend.

Have a new short in my head I want to get down on paper before I lose it. Maybe tomorrow before Matty arrives. We’ll see what sort of time come my way.

The boys spend the night tomorrow. Last time until we visit them in Pittsburgh. Don’t know how we’ll make it through the night, but we will. Once they leave, we’ll have no choice but to regroup and move on. In that one small way, I’ll be glad to see them go.

Made it back to the gym again, at last. Didn’t have a lot of energy, despite being juiced (doctor’s orders). The will was there, but the breath, unfortunately, wasn’t. Even so, a decent workout and happy for it.

Got a ping-back from Dylan today. He’s on his way to Alaska. Sounds nice. Me, I’m ready for the drive to Wyoming—just to drive, if nothing else.

Here we are...

Another crummy night’s sleep. Got up around 6:30, but didn’t do much other than pound down a couple of cups of coffee before my doc appointment.

Guess this infection was as bad as it seemed. Told me next stop is emergency room if I don’t get things under control. Anyway, got some new meds to clear things up, and a nebulizer for backup. Took a nap this afternoon with the baby, and felt a little better when I woke. Tried playing a little ball with Jackie late in the day, but still had a difficult time finding my breath. Gonna have to wait this one out, I guess.

Burned a couple of reader copies of the ms. today, and passed one off to Robin. Guess I’ll have to stop calling it the “long piece” now that it’s officially in circulation. Glad to have it out of my hands for a while. On to outline, synopsis, query, etc.

Too much to think about at the moment. Gotta start looking ahead. Taking advantage of the time in front.

More later. Hoping for a good night’s sleep.

Stuck with what it is...

Slept for beans last night, and finally got up because I couldn’t breathe lying down. This cold’s as bad as the last one. Can only hope it ends sooner.

Closer and closer on the revisions. Just wish my head was clearer, so I could make a better evaluation of them. Regardless, looks as though I’ll have a reader copy in a day or two.

Boys came over for a mid-afternoon visit while the house was shown. Had a nice time with them. They’re both down with colds, too—no surprise there—but in pretty good good spirits even so.

Not sure what to think anymore, except not to think about anything I can’t control. Come Friday, the world will start making its own rules. Until then, we’ve got what we’ve got. Each other, and nothing else.

So...

Up at 4:00 and never managed to get back to sleep. No surprise, I guess. Hit the keyboard around 5:30, but came up short of where I wanted to be with the revisions. Maybe tomorrow.

Think maybe I picked up J’s cold. Not feeling very well. Gonna try and bed down earlier tonight. See if I can’t get ahead of things this time.

More later.

Doldrums...

Another early rise.

Warm this morning, and muggy. Looking out the cottage window at rain right now, so it was all day in the brewing. Wish the grass would make a comeback, but too much damage may have been done earlier in the month. Might have to have another fall seeding.

Other things to worry about at the moment.

Happy it’s Friday.

Taking inventory...

Long day for sure.

Up early (yeah, it’s staying darker, later) for an hour or so at the keyboard, then spent rest of the day goofing off with Matty.

He was a real sweet pea today. Great mood. He’s developed a strange interest in the Titanic over the past few weeks, and likes to run through the details of its sinking at length. Not sure what the fascination is, but he’s an intent little student.

Didn’t make it to the gym today. Stayed home instead to work on the long piece. I’m thinking, maybe, when the reader copies are out and the boys are gone, I’ll dust off my belly-boat again and hit Catamount Lake with my fly rod. Be fun to spend the day floating around. Doing nothing.

Party in the park after school tomorrow. Jackie’s last hurrah. Monday, Matty’s birthday. Friday…many farewells.

A bit of this, and a bit of that...

Got a nice note from my buddy, G, this morning. He’s on some island in BC pitching a new series. Concept is top drawer. Hope he has the luck with it he deserves.

Spent the morning running back through the last round of revisions on the long piece, and found remarkably little to hate. Hope the luck continues on that way. If it does, I may be burning a few reader copies come the weekend.

Official word came in today. Boys are shipping out next Friday morning. Jack’s going away party is in the park on Friday, Matty’s birthday is Monday, and the rest will be what it will be.

Looking at next Saturday as departure time for Wyoming. Gonna be a brief visit this time, mostly for repairs, but the drive will be good given everything else going on.

Nothing new under the sun...

Young M and I have bonded on a new level. Turns out his true vocation is construction. Woke early and wrote for an hour or two, then retired to the garage with him where we drilled, sawed, hammered, pulled staples, set screws and removed bolts with a crescent wrench—an operation that consumed much of the morning.

Stuck around the house all day, but managed to get off the last of my N critiques in the process. So I’m home free for a while, and with any luck unencumbered enough to move closer to the end of the long piece.

Took the baby for a wagon ride around one. Weather was hot, but tolerable in the shade. Haven’t been out of the house since.

Not sure where the days are going, but they’re piling up fast. Look forward to getting back to they gym tomorrow and maybe getting a haircut afterward. Something different.

Need to find my way into some new stories. A new novel, maybe. Can’t seem to find as much time to read as I’d like, and been too tired to do much at night, either, when I go to bed. Hot weather’s made me lazy.

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.