Doing okay...

Busy day all around.

Up early to FaceTime with Jack, the off to the cottage to catch up on paperwork. Quit the office mid-morning to trim the tree and put up lights. Made pretty good headway, though there’s still a bit to do tomorrow. If we had one damned dependable string of lights, I think we’d have finished everything by now but of course it couldn’t be that easy. All the same, a nice productive day.

New N story showed up in my queue. Gonna have a busy week ahead of me.

Going to Denver tomorrow to see the Monet exhibit, and a show at the Oxford. Been good to move around the past few days. Stay busy. Keep my mind off Monday and the visit to the oral surgeon.

The perfect road trip...

Drove up to Buena Vista today, then to Clear Creek, the San Isabel National Forest to harvest our 2019 Christmas tree. What a beautiful day, beautiful drive. The Collegiate Peaks crushed it, as always.

Home late, but worth it.

More tomorrow.

Yeah, been there before but...

Big news of the day. Got an appointment with the oral surgeon to have the rest of my tooth pulled on Monday. Only need to survive the weekend now.

Driving up to Leadville tomorrow to cut down the Christmas tree. Looking forward to the drive, as I haven’t been able to manage much else in the way of productivity for a while. Maybe the fresh air will clear my head.

Pushed three N reviews out the door today. Feel good about that. Won’t have much time to look at the rest until Saturday, but that’s okay. Don’t think I’ll be holding anyone back.

Got another year old rejection to day. No sting to this one, though, as the story’d already been picked up—and by a better publication. Once in a while the gods show their sense of humor.

Been working to beat back the blues for weeks now, and think I hit a turning point yesterday. Feels like it anyway. So here’s to moving ahead.

Nice workout at the gym today. Real nice.

An appointment with dentistry...

Put in an hour or so at the keyboard before going off to the dentist to have the sutures removed. Saw the x-rays of last week’s “extraction” and found out a good two-thirds of the tooth is still buried in my jaw. Guess that explains the pain. Looking to meet with an oral surgeon next week and see if we can’t fix this thing up.

Didn’t feel much like writing when I got home, but I did. Read over some of the new N pieces, too, before taking off for the gym.

Good workout. Good day for reflection.

Feel like, for all the ugly that’s been showing up lately, maybe something good’s waiting up ahead. Be nice, wouldn’t it? Looking forward to getting out of town Friday. Nothing like a road trip into the mountains to set things straight.

Darkness at the break of noon...

Not much of a day.

Started slow, dragged a while, then fizzled out altogether.

Did manage a trip to the gym. A few letters. A trip to Big 5 for a croquet set.

Back to the dentist tomorrow to see what’s to be done about this broken molar.

We’ll see what sort of news that brings.

Kicking it...

No way of getting to sleep last night. Big winds. Got up around six—or was it seven—and went to work. Pawed away at the three new drafts, and somehow came up with a forth. Also got in some research for the new long piece. Not having any difficulty putting things down, but can’t seem to finish anything. Hope to get over that soon.

Spent the afternoon driving around town, picking up Christmas presents for the boys. Weather was cool all day, but turned cold, outright, when the sun went down.

Had a chance to go to the gym but passed on it. Can’t seem to get going there, either. Instead, opted for a quiet hour or so with Scout. Nearly fell asleep he was so quiet tonight. Nice to have time with him. He’s good company.

Black Friday...

Up late last night entertaining Thanksgiving guests. Had a wonderful time seeing everyone again. Woke early to have coffee with my buddy G, over at Jives.

Didn’t manage to get much writing done today, but maybe that’s all right. Been pressing hard lately, and don’t have much in the way of results to show for it. Maybe I’m overthinking things.

Abandoned the keyboard for the movies early afternoon. Saw Knives Out. Enjoyed it quite a bit. There was a good rain blowing up from the south when we left the theater, so we bagged a side-trip we’d planned and came home. Spent the last of the day with my buddy, Scout.

Extraction point is still sore and achy, but the sutures have stayed in place and I’m grateful it’s only as bad as it is. Been finding ways to distract myself, not the least of which has been reading and critiquing the last of the stories and essays in my N queue.

Looking ahead to a quiet day tomorrow. Might try and mosey over to the gym if I get a chance. Hope the wind and rain don’t get too bad tonight.

Got some new photos of my boys today, decorating their Christmas tree. Bad, how much I miss em. But I’m happy they’re happy, and February will be here sooner than I think.

Like pulling teeth. Exactly like it...

Long, long day. Spent most of it in the dentist’s office with a knee on my chest and two sets of hands in my mouth trying to extract the tooth I busted. They got most of it out, but were stymied by a chip wrapped up in a root bundle. Or something like that. Anyway, won’t be much beyond mashed potatoes and yams for this cowboy’s Thanksgiving. Jaw feels like I went ten rounds in the octagon.

May have done some editing this morning, but honestly can’t recall now. Did punch a new N review out the door. Other than that, a quiet afternoon.

Spent some time with by buddy Scout this afternoon. Nice to see him again. Think I might mosey over tomorrow and take a nap in the big chair or bring my laptop and write a few lines while we catch up again. Don’t suppose I’ll feel like doing much else.

Yeah, yeah, oh yeah...what condition my condition was in...

Woke to a heavy snow. Five and half to six inches, easily.

Out at six, shoveling, then back to work on the N stories. Pushed two reviews out the door, then got news from the dentist my broken tooth was going to have to wait until tomorrow. Major bummer, but not unexpected. Got the house cleaned in the meantime. Updated my HSA, too. Was hoping for more, but under the circumstances happy to make any kind of progress at all.

Washer repair guy showed up late morning. Fixed the filter but somehow clogged the water exhaust line. Tried to clear it, and may or may not have been successful. Hope so, or we’ll be having the plumber pay a visit after the holiday.

Looks as if I’m gonna be babysitting my buddy, Mr. Scout for a few days. Always a pleasure. Looking forward to spending time with him. With everything amping up , it’ll be nice to have a quiet place and an old friend to fall back on.

More later.

Face Timed with the boys late this afternoon. Had a good time. Miss them both. Very much.

Closing in...

Thanksgiving’s so close I can almost smell the turkey.

Been trying to stay ahead of things, but haven’t even managed to stay on top there’s so much to do. Was up early, revising, but only got so far before getting sidetracked.

Wrote a long review for one of the N stories I’d been holding, and found two new ones in my queue before noon.

Put in an early workout at the gym, then went off to the bank, the Arc, the post office, the grocery store and the garage to pick up the Jeep.

Good news is, the brake job wasn’t a back-breaker. Let’s hope the same can be said of the washer repair tomorrow, though I’m not sure I’ll care after my 8:00am oral surgery.

Need to get a handle on things before they spin out of control. Like to enjoy the next few days if possible.

Supposed to FaceTime with Jackie this afternoon, but the gig was scuttled. Maybe tomorrow. Hope so.

Situation normal...

So. 2019 continues to be a year of slightly miserable surprises. Broke a tooth last night, and found out this morning it’s probably going to have to be pulled and replaced with an implant. This after the Jeep’s brakes go out. Suddenly the sinus infection doesn’t seem all that bad. Geez. Could be worse, I guess. But now I’ve gotta sit around and nurse the thing until Tuesday morning when the dentist can do the dirty work. Fingers crossed it doesn’t break any worse between then and now.

On the brighter side, managed to write a few lines this morning and get a few things done around the house. Captained the Jeep over to the garage, too, without crashing into anyone. So there’s that.

Weather came back on line late morning. Blue skies and sun. Most of last week’s snow is gone already, except for odd patches here and there. Not sure what’s coming next week but with the Jeep back in service, the tooth issue settled, and the antibiotic regimen in full swing, I think I can hack it.

Bought a bottle of wine tonight. The gods insisted.

Four inches of snow, and then...

Muddled through the week, somehow, but not proud of the output. Gotta look to kicking it into high gear.

Saw the doc this morning and, yeah, another sinus infection. Which means another round of steroids and antibiotics. At least this time it hasn’t wandered off into my chest.

Still spinning my wheels on the new stories. Think it’s the low energy level as much as anything that’s keeping me from getting ahead, but I guess I’ll have to wait and see what the new drugs do for me. Meanwhile, all you can do is plug away.

Mom coming for a holiday visit in the next few weeks. No timetable yet, but we’ll get it figured out over the next couple of days.

Jeep’s brakes went south today. Felt like maybe it needed a shot of fluid, but put some in and—eh, maybe not. Gonna have to drive it into the shop on Sunday and see what gives. Headlight went out on the truck, too. Gotta get after that, as well.

Did some good work at the gym this afternoon. (Looking for positives here.) Around the house, too. Not sure what the weekend’s gonna bring, but fingers crossed.

Trying not to think too hard.

Chipping away...

Took a couple of hits today, but came back no worse for the wear.

Up later than usual, but again made good progress on the new stories. Also turned in another critique and got a start on a fourth—or is it fifth? Anyway, progress.

Temps dropped quite a bit since last night, and it appears they’re gonna stick around for a few days. A light mist came down this morning, went away for a while, and returned again this evening. If it keeps up, the roads are gonna ice over for sure.

Put in a good workout at the gym. Not great, but better than last week. Going to the clinic tomorrow to have this cold looked at and see if I can’t score some antibiotics. Three weeks of this is enough.

Thinking about having mom up here between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Will have to see what the prospects are.

Hung a new shelf in the closet tonight. Facelift finished. Now it’s only a matter of throwing away everything we don’t want and starting over. Difference between this time and every other time I’ve said that is, this time I really don’t care.

One more hodgepodge...

This morning seems so long ago I can’t remember its coming.

Combed through one of the new stories, then took a long break to read and catch up on my N assignments.

Went to the orthodontist to see about the broken wire in my upper retainer. They said $150 to replace it, and said no thanks. Won’t make much difference in the long run, and if teeth do start to move I can always change my mind and go back.

Missed out on the gym, but should’ve see that coming.

Too much else going on.

Got a little more work done this afternoon, then squandered an hour or so watching the congressional hearings.

Was hoping to feel better today, but the new front coming in brought allergens with it and god knows what else. Might have to pound down a Sudafed to get any sleep.

Got some nice news. Gonna have guests for Thanksgiving. J&K. Hard to believe we’re only a week away.

Another brick in the wall...

Up early working on one of the new drafts. Getting closer all the time.

Spent most of mid-morning reading and writing reviews. Broke out of the house a little after noon to hit the gym. Got in a decent workout, then came home and picked up firewood for K. Spent the rest of the afternoon unloading and goofing off over a cup of tea.

Drove past the Broadmoor on the way home, but they’d only gotten a start on the Christmas lights. Still, place looked pretty spectacular.

Taking it easy tonight with the hope I’ll get an early rise. The cold’s still there, but I’m feeling better and better all the time.

Have a 12:30 appointment tomorrow with the orthodontist to have the broken wire in my retainer fixed. After that, who knows. Might do a little more cleanup around the house. Looks like we might have a leak in the water line in the basement. Wanna be prepared.

No word on the long piece. Hoping that’s a good sign.

Note to self...

Don’t know where this day went, but managed to make a lot of it count just the same.

Put in some good revisions, read a couple of N stories and made notes…even made a trip to the gym. Guess the cold must be losing its hold on me.

Finished lining the bedroom closet yesterday. Looks great with the cedar. Smells great, too. Now on to the guest bedroom and the great clothes throwaway.

Pretty day today, from what I saw of it. Shirtsleeve weather. Hope it sticks around for a while.

Got a chance to FaceTime with the boys over the weekend. Jackie, anyway. Matt tried to work his way in, but didn’t have a lot of success. Wish we weren’t so long and far away. But always happy to see them.

Progress of one kind or another...

Beat.

Spent the early morning catching up on revisions, the rest of the day installing cedar paneling in the bedroom closet. Thought we had a good shot at finishing if we kept to it, but didn’t quite make the cut. Ran out of daylight two-thirds of the way. Looks like we’ll have to finish up tomorrow.

Sprinkling now after a nice sunny day. Not sure what the forecast holds, though I don’t think snow’s on the horizon. Guess we’ll have to wait and see. Would welcome the moisture, but if it could wait until I’m finished with the chop saw, I’d be most appreciative.

Gonna try and catch up with the boys tomorrow. My sister, too. And mom. If I manage that hat trick, I’ll be out of pocket most of the day.

Cold’s still hanging on, but feeling better. Not great, but better.

Let's leave it at this...

Fell like maybe I turned a corner this morning. Slept through the night for the first time in a long time. Still packing the baggage, but the cold seems to have let up a bit. Hope so, anyway.

Spent a lot of time digging up research for the fourth of the new pieces I’m working on. Did a little bit of rewriting on the others. Every now and then you fall into a place where you can’t see the end of a piece, and this is one of those times. Difference this go around, compared to times past, is I’ve learned how to wait it out.

Headed over to the gym a little after twelve and got I decent workout. Not as good as I wanted, but good enough, given the circumstances. Feels nice to get some energy back.

Hanging back tomorrow to install cedar lining in the bedroom closet. First step in the big facelift. Hope to finish the paneling, then get to work on some kind of organizational system.

Caught some of the impeachment hearing before going off to the gym. Gonna be an ugly winter, I fear. Might have to blow up the TV.