writer
End of a quiet week.
Been lucky with the weather the past few days. Lots of sunshine.
Took mom for a late breakfast, then killed the better part of the afternoon hanging around the back patio. Made a late trip to Whole Foods to pick up some branzino for dinner.
Didn’t get to the gym, didn’t get much writing done, but had a nice time today.
Things go back to normal tomorrow.
Gonna have a lot of catching up to do, but looking forward to it.
Still playing on Mom time. Will be for the next couple of days.
Yesterday’s skype conference with my buddy M’s class was a blast. Hope we get to do it again sometime.
Up later than usual after staying up later than usual, but still managed some decent work on the new story.
Spent most of the day laying around, talking. But did get out for a two hour walk, mid afternoon. Gorgeous day. Clear, even with the fires. Sun, blue sky, a light breeze. Everything you’d want.
Came home and caught a small nap listening to the news. Cooking pork chops in a mushroom gravy for dinner. Everything’s quiet. Relaxed.
Looking forward to getting back to the gym and getting the rest of the marketing material collected for MG, but for now, things are what they are. Moving at their own speed.
Might watch a movie tonight.
Happy birthday to R.
Goodnight my princes of Pittsburgh.
Dragging most of the day. Can’t say why, but suspect it’s got something to do with the shots. Still, was able to put in some decent time at the keyboard on the new short piece.
Took a small nap before heading off to the gym. Read the NYer, and a short piece in the new Nimrod, but can’t say I accomplished much else.
New N story’s arrived.
There we go. Wondered when that would happen.
Light day at the keyboard. Woke late after a long night’s sleep, and only managed a couple of hours work. Did some research, made some revisions on the new short, then headed down to the Arkansas to do a bit of late morning fishing.
Wasn’t the best of days on the water. Forgot about the huge forest fire in Salida, the smoke from which was blowing east through Bighorn Sheep canyon. Water was low and pretty and clear, but the fishing was slow, up and down the river. Caught one small brown and released it.
Mom comes in Monday afternoon. Not much in the way of shows or other entertainment, so it looks as if we’ll be spending a lot of quiet time around the house.
Still smarting from the shots. Arm’s red and feverish. Can live with that, but wish the cold symptoms hadn’t shown up at the same time. Gonna have to start taking the asthma stuff seriously this year.
Jackie called while I was down on the river. Sorry I missed him. Can’t wait to see him and his brother again. Nothing’s been right this year since they left. Not even the good stuff.
Rough night sleeping. Or maybe, “not” sleeping is a better way of putting it. Woke at 2:00 and that was it. Got out of bed a little while later and went to work.
Cold this morning. Had to turn on the heat and brew up coffee before getting out to work.
Eased back into a story draft I’d abandoned a week ago, and made some good headway with it. Returns on the stories still out continue to be miserably slow. Thought things might pick up with the coming of the new academic year, but not so.
The flu and pneumonia shots stirred up a new cold. Hope it’s only a reaction and will go away, but it feels like maybe it’s gonna stick around. Oh, well. Probably come down with something new on the trip to Pittsburgh. Guess I might as well get used to it.
Like to get out and do some fishing this weekend, before Mom comes. Supposed to be fairly nice, weather wise, and it might be a while before I get another chance.
Got to the gym early. Didn’t have much in the tank, owing to the vaccines, but put in a good workout all the same.
Saw a couple of articles about the fires in LA. Pics showed some serious devastation. Couldn’t help but worry about my buddy, G. Each new blaze seems to work its way closer. One of these years, the whole town could go up in smoke.
Enough. Good thoughts now.
Won’t say winter’s here, but woke this morning to snow flurries and dropping temps. Supposed to be 18 tonight. Lower or higher, the new grass seen doesn’t stand much of a chance.
Up earlier than usual—before five—and couldn’t get back to sleep. Went out to the cottage and went to work, finishing revisions on the long piece.
Stayed at the keyboard until a little after noon, then went off in search of flu and pneumonia shots.
Sent off mss when we got home. Marketing materials.
Rest is up to…whatever.
Arm’s sore, eyes are burning and it’s time to quit.
More tomorrow.
Got a headache to beat hell. Not sure if it’s because of the neighbor’s dog incessant barking, or the fact its incessant barking has thrown a wrench in my revisions. Either way, I’m quitting.
Good day in all other respects.
Snow tomorrow, if the pundits have it right. We’ll see. Not sure I’m ready to drag out the shovel yet.
Got to FaceTime with the boys this afternoon. Fun catching up with them. Jack, talkative as usual, but this time even Matty chimed in. Can’t wait to see them. Just a couple more weeks.
Need to send the revised manuscript back out tomorrow. Done about as much to it as I can for a while. One review in, the rest outstanding. It’s all a waiting game now.
Beautiful day today. Everything’s taking its last breath. Color everywhere.
Got over to the gym for a nice workout. Came home and ran a couple of errands, but struck out on the flu shot. Figure to give it a try again tomorrow.
Comp copies of the 2 Bridges Review came in the mail today. Nice to see some of my work in print again.
Wish we could hold on to the weather we’re having right now. Maybe we can for a while. Another cool dark morning turned into long sunny day. Weather people are calling for a freeze come week’s end, but maybe we’ll get lucky. Hope so. Still have a few things to do around the yard before the cold sets in.
Up a little later than usual—6:30—but hit stride pretty fast, and managed to get a lot out of the way before going off to the gym.
Working through some things. Can’t say what they are, exactly, but if I could I’d say most of them are things I can’t control.
Miss the boys. That’s one.
Miss other stuff, too.
Anyway, time to suck it up and move forward. Got a lot of work ahead of me, and less time to do it than I think.
Up early doing more prep. Gave up a good day of aspen watching to sit at the keyboard.
Blew the afternoon watching a football game. Haven’t done that in a while, but I think it was good for me. Didn’t think once in three hours.
Got in a short walk a while ago and remembered all the things I’ve been missing. Pretty night, but I should’ve gotten out sooner. Missed all the gold light that comes just before the sun dips behind the mountains.
Need to get a flu shot tomorrow. Seriously.
Need to get back reading, too. Seems like I’ve been spending a disproportionate amount of time writing.
Also need to stop thinking so hard.
Offered this one up to the manuscript gods.
All day in the cottage, hammering at the keyboard. Took a brief break to unwind at the gym, then back again, posting revisions.
Nice day. Cool around the edges, but no complaints.
Woke up and it was Friday.
Got to bed late last night after breaking form and going off to a movie.
Definitely looking at fall weather now. Mornings are cool and dark, but the afternoon light makes up for all the shortcomings. Early overcast sky lost out to sunshine. Hoping for more of the same tomorrow.
Paring away at the ms. Edits going well. Gonna try and have it wrapped up and out of my hands in another couple of days.
Like to get out on the river tomorrow, but don’t see it in the cards. Too much work. Could be talked into a drive up the mountain, though, to see the aspens. Eat lunch in some mountain-town bar.
Here it is, Wednesday .
Walked out to the cottage this morning and was greeted by rain. Just a light mist, but man did it chill things down. Supposed to be even cooler tomorrow. Highs in the 60s.
Got on the revisions for the long piece first thing. Trying to shape it up one last time while waiting for the advance reviews. Feels like it’s going in the right direction.
Took a break around one and went to the gym. Back later for more revisions.
Wished I’d had time to work on the new story, but no luck. Ran out of energy before I could tackle it.
Found a neat card for the boys this afternoon. One of those pop-up deals. A bear and a fox in a canoe.
Not a whole lot more to say.
It is what it is, and it was what it was.
Opened the paper this morning and saw an old friend, Jerry Brown, died. Could hardly believe it. Heart went out of the day after that, but we plodded on just the same. Remember reading once that sound never dies. It only fades away. I guess if that’s the truth, Jerry’s music is still out there, somewhere, and Jerry with it. He was a good guy. I’ll miss talking to him.
Pushed ahead with the new story this morning and made some nice headway. Spent the rest of the day reading. Didn’t feel like doing much else.
K coming over tonight for an early birthday dinner. Veal chops and broiled brussels’ sprouts. Cake and wine. Be a good night to kick back and remind ourselves of what we have, losses be damned.
Would have sworn it was still the middle of the night when I went out to the cottage this morning, it was so dark. But it was just after five. Anyway, got away with some decent time at the keyboard before the sun rose. Wrote, did a little research. Catalogued photos from the trip.
Turned out to be another fine fall day. A little breezy, but sunny, too with nice mild temps. Made me miss the boys. Would’ve been a great day to get out on the water with the canoe.
Spent some time at the gym early afternoon, then did a little shopping. Made some Navy bean soup when I got home. Looking forward to a quiet night, though the weather forecast is calling for a drop in temps which probably means big winds tonight.
Wish my damned eyes didn’t burn so much. Finding it hard to read right now. Expect it’s the wind blowing something in. Been having to hunker down with the Symbicort more, too, and can only hope the lungs aren’t about to flare up again.
Left for Wyoming yesterday morning, back home this evening.
Haven’t had such a strange and wonderful tip for a long, long time. Drove into Casper early afternoon, and headed west for Moneta without stopping. Ate cold ham and turkey sandwiches on the road. Potato chips out of the bag. Cold La Croix water from the cooler.
By the time we reached the turnout to the ranch, a long black cloud had settled over the hills and a light rain had already fallen. Thought we might be forced to turn back when we got on the gumbo road. Traction was awful for a while, and the prospect of high centering in the mud cast a poor light on the prospects. But, as luck would have it, we found a dry patch of road and were able to walk in.
Place looked like a abandoned town from an old movie set. The sheep shearing shed was still standing and the corrals hadn’t aged much since the last time I’d seen them, but the bunkhouse had collapsed and the blacksmith shop and cook house are both worn pretty thin. Same for the barn, which was sagging at the foundation, it's lower logs bowing out badly under their own weight. The house was in sadder shape than the last time I saw it, too, the southern foundation having pulled completely away. By some miracle, the roof is still in place. But the beautiful latillas inside have begun to give way from the ceiling and whatever was salvageable once is now lost, I’m afraid, to whatever fate has in store for it.
A bittersweet visit, to be sure.
Drive home today was splendid, though also bittersweet. Drove the western route and stopped at Independence Rock under spitting skies and wind gusts that were being clocked somewhere between forty and sixty mph, and took a brief walk around, reading the inscriptions, marveling at the countryside. Can’t see that magnificent stone without thinking of my dad. Or recalling A.B. Gutherie’s novel, in The Way West.
Beautiful trip home over the backroads. Amazing colors. Amazing fall light, everywhere.
Another dark, cool morning followed by another blue-sky sunny day. Couldn’t ask for much more.
Put in some decent work on the new short, then went back to writing letters and gathering up gear for the trip to Wyoming. Going to be nice to get out of town for a while. Looking forward to the drive.
Caught up with my old buddy Tom on the phone this morning and had a long happy talk. Sounded like he was doing well.
Headed off for the gym just after noon and managed a nice workout. Nice to be able to get away and clear the head.
Keep feeling like I’m forgetting something, and more than likely I am. I just wish knew what it was.
Looking forward to a quiet night and an early rise.
Getting darker and darker every morning. Out to the cottage at 5:30 working on a new short. Fine mist blowing down from the west. Clocked an hour on the draft, then went ahead with ask letters to editors. Had fun getting back in touch with some of the folks who were nice to me early on.
Hit the gym mid-day. The P.O. after that to send off a ms to J Hanna.
Humming along pretty good now, but need to wrap up some other loose ends before taking off for Wyoming.
Eyes have been on fire for three days. Wonder if it’s allergies?
Update to MG tomorrow. Hope he’s good with the progress we’re making.
Man, if this is fall, gimme more of it.
Weather’s been perfect. Cool, breezy, warm in the sun. Skies blue and cloudless all day. Up at work by six, and lots in the hopper before noon.
Gym was quiet today. Was in and out before 2:30, home and back to work by 3:00.
Glad not to be watching much news these days. Funny how the world goes on in spite of the headlines. Sometimes I think, god help my grandsons. Other times I think I’d like to see what the world will look like in a hundred years.
Still thinking about a road trip to Wyoming this weekend. Might be good. Real good.
Not gonna worry about anything else tonight.
Seriously.
Man, oh, man. The dark’s coming on strong these days. Up early thinking it was the middle of the morning, but it the clock showed it was close to six.
Turned out some good work at the keyboard. Cleared the queue for work on the novel tomorrow. A lot of letters to write, a lot of work to do. Eager to get at it.
