Between times...

Beat. Long day.

Up a little after five, and out to the cottage. Worked until noon, then headed out to the gym. Home to plant the new rose bushes and sky pencils.

Everything took longer than expected, but that’s okay. Managed to get a lot of work done.

Been back two days and have already lost track of time. Not sure why that is except to say I think I’m spending more time in my own head than I ought to.

FT’d with Jack and Matty this afternoon. Short but sweet.

Hope to make another good push tomorrow.

Calling it a night...

Good day back at work. A few ups and downs, but a smooth day for the most part.

Put the finishing touches on one of my new shorts, “Born Blue,” and started the submission process. Also put in some good edits on the other two new pieces.

Hit the gym early, and that went well too. Didn’t push things as hard as I might, but figure I’ll need the whole week to build up to it.

Rocky night’s sleep last night. Gonna shoot for better tonight. Lots to catch up with.

Good chat with my old buddy S this afternoon. So much seems disconnected right now, It’s nice having a familiar voice in my life.

Back in business...

Back after four days in Pittsburgh visiting the boys.

Didn’t write, didn’t edit, didn’t email. Spent the whole time building battlements out of pillows, storming castles with stuffed animals, launching arrows at invisible dragons and dueling with broadswords in the backyard.

Also managed a day of swimming, and another day building and painting a brand new bird house.

Took a year of masks, social distancing, and vaccinations to get there, but man, was it worth it.

Happy to be home, but happier still to have been able to go.

Time to settle in now, and get back to work.

Rebuild.

Taking stock of what's good...

Recharged a little bit today with a couple of catnaps.

Was up early, revising. Made some quick changes on the long piece, then set it aside and spent a while making light revisions on the last short I wrote. Think I have some good things going on.

Quit work a little after two and headed out the gym. Another light workout day, but I’m working up to bigger things and figure to start some real cross training when I get back from Pittsburgh.

Beautiful day today. Cool, breezy, the trees and flowers all inching toward full bloom.

Need to start making plans for more early morning when I get back, too.

Been thinking a lot about my mom and dad lately. Sure wish they were still around. If I get up to Wyoming this summer, it’ll be the first time I’ll have crossed that border with both of them gone. Doesn’t seem like much of a milestone, but it is. Some of my best memories of them are there.

Flying out of here in two days to see the boys. Can’t wait. We’re gonna have a great time.

I'll take it...

Well, did okay with this one.

Worked early, went to a movie this afternoon, and even cooked up a pot of soup.

Squirrely day, weatherwise. Sunshine, clouds, big deep cool breezes and a little bit of rain.

Leaving for Pittsburgh to see the boys on Thursday. Can’t wait. Meantime, gonna keep my foot on the gas. See what I can get out the door before we leave.

Yes, it's Saturday...

Good day writing. Up early, working early.

Even got to spend time on the front porch drinking coffee.

Went to Starbucks early this afternoon, and was caught in a hailstorm on the way home. Luckily, we found some shelter under the trees and kept the Jeep from being dinged.

Put in a decent workout at the gym, came home and did a little more work. All in all, a pretty productive day.

Sky looks overcast at the moment, so maybe the rain isn’t finished. Be nice to get more overnight. Grass is looking better all the time.

Sky pencils arrived today. Waiting for them to acclimate before planting. Should take a week or so. Figure to get them in their pots the same day the roses arrive. Meanwhile, need to pull out the hedge trimmer and get to the euonymous and barberrys.

Maybe a movie tomorrow. We’ll see.

Bring on tomorrow...

Up early. Spent most of the day painting the front of the house. Wanted to get things prepped for the coming of the new rose bushes, and needed to clean up the bay window before planting. Ended up painting the entire architectural bump-out, but caved in part of the flower bed in the process. That’ll make for some interesting work tomorrow.

Didn’t get to the gym, but did get in some decent writing time this morning and a chance to look at some of the revisions I’ve been making.

Took a late afternoon jaunt to Starbucks, and spent some time in the park. Weather’s warmed up considerably from what it was last week. Not sure how hot it got, but standing on a ladder with the sun to your back wasn’t any picnic.

Like to get at least one of my new shorts out the door and into circulation this weekend. No big plans other than that.

Nice to see the sunshine again. World was feeling a little lost there for a while.

Mid-week missive...

Squeezed a few extra miles out of this one.

Up early (5:30) and straight to the keyboard. Put in some good, steady edits, finishing the last (most recent) pass on the long pieces. Gonna give it a rest for a few days to revisit the shorts I was working on, and then, with any luck, see whether I can’t wrap everything up with a final pass.

Went to the gym for a light workout after cleaning house. Thought I might get a walk in, too, but it didn’t happen. Went to Starbucks instead, then drove down to the park to relax a while.

Nothing much going on tonight, so figure to retire early and get in some reading.

If the weather holds like it’s supposed to we’ll be washing the windows and painting tomorrow. Getting a start, anyway.

Punching back...

Back at it.

Slept, got up, went to work, and got one day closer to putting the long piece behind me. Took a break mid-day to skip rope and lift weights. Felt like a nice change after two weeks riding the stationary bike.

Ran a few errands late afternoon, then back to work.

Weather’s been a bit persnickety, overcast and spitting again, but the grass and flowers are enjoying it so I’m not gonna complain.

Saw my girl, R, across the street is having plumbing issues again. Bummer. Made me feel less bad about having the cottonwood in the back yard taken down. Some days you just can’t win.

Within you and without you...

Worst night’s sleep in a long time. Couldn’t make it happen. Needless to say, an early rise.

Worked away at the novel revisions, happy with what I accomplished. Went to the gym early after a two-day hiatus, and got in a decent workout.

Weather pretty much the same as yesterday—overcast and breezy. The lawn is greening up nicely after after the rain and clouds, so here’s hoping I can keep it that way for a while.

Wish I could summon up a little more energy. Feels like I’ve been dragging ass for a week now. Been trying not to look too far into the future, and stick to what’s in front of me but one tactic seems to defeat the other.

Ten days until we see the boys. Wow. Hard to believe I’m even able to say that after all this time. The world keeps shrinking, doesn’t it?

Busy, busy, busy...

Ran the circuit today.

Early morning writing and revising, mid-day work in the yard, afternoon at the Sherwin Williams store picking up paint, and home to more yard work.

Took a break somewhere in the midst of all that to run to Starbucks and kill an hour in the park, talking.

Got to FT with Jack and Matty, too.

Gonna be a busy week, I think. Hope so, anyway. Meanwhile, think I’ll sit back and see what the evening brings. Looking for quiet. Had enough surprises for one week.

Over, under, sideways, down...

Not sure where this one went.

Did okay at the keyboard for as long as the morning allowed. Gave up the late morning to scrape the trim and windows in front so we could do a little painting before the roses arrive. Edged the lawn, too, and managed some cleanup before going to the gym.

Finished two novels and started a new one. Fiskadoro.

Cooked up a pot of beef stew when I got home.

Looking ahead to a quiet night.

Honestly wish I cared...

Well, hoped better for this one. But maybe it was just me. The whole day was off kilter.

Won’t go into the ups and downs, but will say it was good to wake up and see there weren’t the five inches of snow the weather bureau predicted. We got a wet, crusty bit of stuff, but nothing spectacular.

On the positive side of life, Mr. Kitcat’s blood work is good for a gentleman his age, though by the sound of it his thyroid may have been hiding a renal issue. We’ll see. Pills for now, more blood work in three months, and fingers crossed in the meantime.

Got a nice workout mid-afternoon, and some reading time, too.

Hoping for a better night’s sleep.

Forecast: winter...

Dreary day. But we needed it. Mists all day with the promise of snow this evening. Forecast went from five inches to three with temps falling into the low thirties.

Covered all the flowers this afternoon, and moved the ones yet to be planted into the garage. Feel like we should do all right providing the snow doesn’t get too wet and heavy.

Good day on the short fiction front. Got to the end of the new story. Have the feeling it’s going to do all right out in the market. With three fresh ones behind me, I think I can get back to the novel. If not this week, then next.

Made it to the gym and got in a decent workout on the stair master, but forewent any heavy lifting after yesterday. Thought I’d give my arm a break.

Tree surgeon’s supposed to show tomorrow morning, but if the weather goes south I’m not counting on it. Expect to be up in the middle of the night brushing snow from the bushes.

Nice talk with my buddy, S this afternoon. Real nice.

Tomorrow, Kit goes in for more blood work. Curious to see what the meds have done for him.