Friday, yeah...

Quiet day. Didn’t sleep very well last night owing to number of things, not the least of which is the bozo who lives on the top floor of the apartment across the street. Been worried about Kit, too. Doesn’t seem himself. Not sure if he’s just getting old, or if something’s amiss. Taking him to the vet on Monday to see if they can tell me anything.

Met G this morning for coffee. Had a great time. Got his new piece to read, so that should brighten up the weekend.

Missed the gym today in favor of a trip to the restore, then the roofer’s warehouse in search of cedar shingles. Managed to find a bundle, and after a quick trip to Starbucks, came home and very nearly finished the shed. Should be able to wrap everything up by tomorrow—fingers crossed.

Was hoping to get the canoe out tomorrow, but it looks more like Sunday now. That’s okay. Work first, play after.

Was going to go into a long missive about loss but decided against it. Anybody who’s been there already knows.

Keeping it light...

Good night’s sleep for a change. Woke rested and went to work a little before six. Hit pace with a new story draft and logged in four thousand words before quitting. Drank a couple of cups on the front porch and enjoyed the morning cool. Pretty day all around. Did some research before heading off to the gym, then came home and went to work shingling the shed.

Early coffee with my buddy, George tomorrow. Eager to hear about his exploits in LA, and pick up a copy of his new treatment. Been a while since we’ve spoken. Always good to catch up. Always fun to read his latest script.

Been thinking it might be nice to take the canoe out again this weekend. Maybe up to Catamount. Weather sounds as if it’ll be perfect.

Let's leave it at that...

Fighting off the blues since I got up this morning. Maybe even before. Hear the clock chime a two…three…four…

Did some decent research this morning, then went off to the gym. Early workout didn’t work, but that’s the way it goes.

Came home early, dragged out the power tools and went back to work on the potting shed. Have about half of it shingled now. We’ll see how long it takes to finish the rest.

Worried about Kit. Age seems to have caught up with him after all these years. Think I need to get him to the vet in the next couple of weeks.

Thought I was moving the energy forward, but maybe not. Or maybe I just took a step back today.

Missing the boys.

Keeping things close...

Nice cool morning. Up at 6:00, and off to the cottage. Made notes on a new piece, took care of some correspondence. Did a little housekeeping with old files. Ready to ramp up again.

Took a mid-morning break and drove out to Rick’s with a sample of the dead grass. He listened to my pathetic tale, told me I was doing everything right, and suggested the problem might not be an insect infestation but fungus. Surprised me, as I always thought fungus turned the grass blue. Anyway, bought some fungicide to arrest the problem, and have now set my sights on next spring when the new seed sprouts.

Nice workout at the gym. Was the only one there for a while. Haven’t seen the place that sleepy for almost a year.

Put in a little more time at the keyboard when I got home, then went off to C&D’s to water the lawn and pick up a few groceries at Safeway.

Beautiful fall-ish day today. Clear blue sky, cool temps, small friendly breezes. Couldn’t ask for much more. Hope to see more of the same tomorrow.

Getting to this...

Cool this morning. Starting to fee like fall.

Out of bed, to work a little after six. Managed a handful of different things. Prep work for class, research for new projects….

Worked until late morning, then went off for an early workout at the gym.

Highlight of the day, catching up with Jackie on Facetime.

Need to get started on something new tomorrow. Restless. Thinking too much or too hard, not sure which. Anyway, need a change.

Finding the way...

Getting at this later than usual tonight.

Been a busy weekend.

Took the canoe down to Lake Isabel yesterday and had a great time. Beautiful day, good fishing, lovely drive through the Wet Mountains. Trout dinner at the end of it all.

Today, up early to work, coffee on the back patio, some solid keyboard time, a letter off to the boys, and an afternoon of shingling.

Pushed “X” out the door today. Happy about that. Been neglecting the short fiction for a while. Good to get back in step.

No gym today, but feel beat nonetheless. Figure on an early start tomorrow. Nice talk with Mom this evening.

D texted late last night. Says he might get a dog. Didn’t see that one coming, but hope it works out.

One way or another...

Well, did it.

Put in early, finished the query. Synopsis, too. Gonna start dishing things off here and see where it takes me.

Made some new submissions on the short story front before going off to the gym. Need to push “X” through a last read/final edit and get in the mail, too. Energy’s coming back at just the right time.

Taking the better part of the day off tomorrow with a drive down to Lake Isabel. Canoe’s already loaded, gear’s ready, and with luck we’ll be on the road by nine—or earlier. Never fished this place—only know it’s pretty—but hope to tie into a couple of nice trout.

That bug on the birdbath yesterday? Understand it’s a katydid.

Got some letters to write tomorrow. Reading, too.

Imagine the possibilities...

Woke a little before five and knew it was over. No going back to sleep. Tossed and turned for a while, then got up and went to work. Happy I did. Had a productive morning putting what I hope were the finishing touches on my synopsis and query. If the words still look agreeable tomorrow, I’ll toss a few bobbers on the water and see if I get any bites. Fingers crossed, as always, but no big expectations one way or the other.

Wrote till noon, then grabbed a bite and headed off to the gym. Had a nice long workout. Needed that. Especially after taking Tuesday off.

Quite day for the most part. No emergencies, no tragedies. No big excitement, either, but maybe that’ll come tomorrow.

Came across a strange insect sitting on the birdbath this morning. Looked like a cross between a leaf and a grasshopper. Very green, very delicate, very pretty.

Missing the boys pretty seriously today, but the game is what it is and there’s nothing to be done about it.

Making plans to drive down to Lake Isabel on Saturday. Get in some fishing from the canoe. Be nice to get out of town for a while, take in a breath of fresh air. See the mountains up close.

Sorting through...

Pretty good day, despite a bad night’s sleep.

Up earlier than usual, and hard at the keyboard with revisions, research, and a bit of reading. Been able to pull focus a little better every day, though still a long way from being where I should. Haven’t pushed anything out the door for weeks, and need to get in gear soon while the new submission periods are opening.

Grass thing is still bugging me. Wondering if maybe I need to pull a soil plug and have it analyzed. Still can’t figure how it could have gone so far south with all the right things being done. Read up on grubs and other insects. Nematodes. Don’t know, but might have to try an insecticide before reseeding. Nothing to lose, right?

Good day at the gym. The day off made for hard going at the start, but everything worked out.

Went to the Broadmoor tonight for drinks on the patio. Nice time, despite the rain.

Boys still much on the mind. No outrunning it. Just gotta find new ways to work through.

The big picture...

Hot one, today.

Fortunately, missed the worst of the heat sitting in a movie theater watching a big screen presentation of Lawrence of Arabia. Wow. What a flick.

No gym today, and not much of anything else. Did put in some good work at the keyboard this morning, but still have a way to go.

Gonna get back on it tomorrow, all cylinders firing.

Tonight, rest.

Saved again from eternal silence...

Dinner at K’s last night. Pork tenderloin and lots of nice conversation. Pretty evening.

Hard time stay asleep. Kept waking, thinking I was hearing things, and when I got in the truck to go off to the gym this afternoon I knew why. Somebody’d broken into the cab and rifled the glove box. Nothing missing as far as I could tell, but then there wasn’t anything to make off with either. Lesson learned. Leave a rattlesnake on the front seat next time.

Up early to a nice morning. Worked on the query letter yesterday afternoon, and think I tapped into something decent. Re-read it and think it has promise. Now back to the synopsis for a little more paring.

Hit the gym early afternoon, and did all right. Was a little tired, but made the most of things. Mowed my lawns when I got home and had a chance to gab with my favorite neighbor, R. Hadn’t seen her in a while and it was nice to catch up.

Speaking of chats, gotta give Mom a call tomorrow. Catch up on other news. Balloon festival here, but will probably pass on it, and the crowds, and celebrate from a distance. Didn’t see any craft in the sky this morning, but will keep an eye peeled tomorrow.

Lazy weekend so far. But that’s all right.

Inching ahead...

Getting to a better place all the time with the synopsis. It’s under three (single-space) pages now, and getting tighter as I move along. Want to have one at three, then pare it down to a decent two, and finally, strip it to a single page. Not sure where that’ll leave the plot, but someone’s sure to ask for it so I may as well be prepared.

Was up and working by six thirty, but took unhurried passes at most of the drafts. Expected a lawn expert to show between eight and ten, but he didn’t get here until eleven. Good news is, he found the lawn damage as inexplicable as I have. Said it must have been sun, but couldn’t account for it completely, knowing we keep a strict watering schedule. Bad news is, it’s start over again. Reseed in October, hope for a long wet winter.

Took to the gym late, owing to the rest of the day’s setbacks, but got in a decent workout. Came home and read more of the Notes on Blood Meridian, then caught up on the news.

Not much of a day. But not bad, either.

Just thinking, that's all...

Another early start with more work on the synopsis. I know it’s taking a while to get it in place, but I also know how important it is to get everything right. Fingers crossed I can put it to bed soon.

Hit the gym around 12:30. Had a good workout. Went grocery shopping afterward and picked up some fresh veggies for soup. Riffing here. Threw together something not quite vegetable beef, not quite minestrone. Hope it turns out okay. Guess we’ll see in a little bit.

Figure to go fishing again on Friday. See if I can’t get my head untwisted. Might drive down to the Arkansas, try and tie into a couple of brown down there. If nothing else, the drive’ll be pretty.

Sepich book on Blood Meridian is good. Appendix a treasure trove. Makes me want to start the novel all over again.

The long and winding road...

Up, out to the cottage, and at the keyboard by 5:00.

Sent off the spots I’d been working on yesterday, caught up on some correspondence, tweaked the synopsis, and cleaned the office. Got a text from D up in Alaska while I was writing him a letter. Sent a pick of a giant salmon he’d just caught. Looked like fun.

Wish I could say I had a more productive day, but it feels like I came up short. Been feeling that way for a while. Think it’s because I haven’t started any new stories for a while. Have two in my head, but need to get them on paper.

Reading an historical analysis of Blood Meridian. Pretty interesting by most accounts. Hadn’t realized how heavily Chamberlain’s ride with Glanton figured into the text. Gonna have to dig a little deeper when I get the time.

Facetimed with Jackie tonight when I got home from the gym. What a treat. Been missing him and his little brother quite a bit. We did kind of a free range call with him walking through the house, traipsing around outside…. All big fun. He asked when we were coming out, and warned me the water there wasn’t as good as it is in Colorado. Out of the mouths of babes, right? Never wanted to get on an airplane so bad in my life.

Cool, quiet evening. it’s beginning to feel like fall might come after all.

It's Monday, right?

Up later than usual—6:00—but had a good night’s sleep, so no complaints.

Put in work on the GS synopsis, then went at the new commercial stuff until I had a couple of solid drafts.

K came with notes on the long piece. Had a good sit-down with some interesting back and forths. Looking forward to getting the bits and pieces in place.

Made a brief trip to the gym, but left early to come home and finish the spots I was working on. Day’s already gone and it feels like it just started.

Falling behind on correspondence. Need to get a critique off to JH, too.

Missed a call from Jackie.

Gotta get organized.

Yeah, we're okay...

Off the grid for a while.

Packed up the fly rod and hit the south Platte yesterday. Skies were overcast, but it was warm up high and the fishing was good. Must have caught seven trout, brown and rainbow, and released all but three. Day got prettier as it went along. Had a nice time, even with all the traffic getting there.

Noodling with the synopsis for GS. Trying to condense it. Making headway, but haven’t pushed myself to finish it yet. Feels good to relax, not worry about deadlines. They’ll come again soon enough.

Heard from K today, saying she liked the read. Who knows, maybe it’s got a future? Hope so. Meanwhile, have to stick with the business at hand. Push forward.

Face-timed with Jack this morning. Seeing his face, hearing his voice, was what I needed. He seemed so happy. Wish Matty would have been around, but that’ll come. Gotta give it time. I keep trying to look at this from a distance to gain some kind of aesthetic perspective but it isn’t working yet. Hopes up it’ll happen soon.

The days blend, don’t they?

Here’s to tomorrow.

A week without...

Nice, easy morning.

Wrote a little, then spent an hour with R going over the long ms. Glad to have had her as the first reader. Lucky, actually. She brought it when I didn’t think there was much left to bring.

Put in on a new commercial project and made some nice headway, then went off to the gym. Didn’t have a whole lot going today, but saw it through just the same. Came home afterward and finished cleaning the flower pots at C and D’s place and hauling them away.

Think maybe I’ll go fishing tomorrow.

The South Platte.

Got a new short in mind and need time to think about it. Day on the water might be nice. Same with a trout dinner, providing I can get lucky.

Missing my boys.

Yeah.

Pressure. Atmospheric and otherwise...

Feels like zero gravity, every step an uncertainty. It’s not bad, just different. Got up early and went back to work on the marketing materials I need: synopsis, in particular. Not sure I wrote anything worthwhile, but I wrote and that was enough for the time being. Things will work themselves out.

Had a good long session at the gym, then drove across town to the glasses repair man who told me he couldn’t put my good frames together again owing to some kind of heated titanium problem. Guess I’ll have to default to superglue as I’m not ready to toss them in the dumper.

Found out the boys had called to Facetime while I was away. Why am I not surprised?

Tired. Bone tired and hoping for a nice long sleep. Haven’t written a damned thing worth reading in a week, and need to turn things around. Gotta find the sweet spot between pushing and waiting.

Elephant on the chest.

Hoping it’ll go away