writer
A nice day away from the gym.
Put in early at the keyboard and did some composing, then gave over to letter writing, decorating, critiquing a few N stories, and grocery shopping.
Chicken piccata tonight. Maybe a Christmas movie.
Whatever happens, I’m down with it.
Great day all the way around.
Yeah. Back at it.
Yesterday was pretty humdrum, except for the evening jaunt to Till, which made for a splendid night out. Wine…appetizers…a splendid glass of Scotch…all combined for a lovely evening.
Up early to the keyboard.
Off to the gym before noon.
Afternoon trips to Costco, Lowes, and Barnes & Nobel.
Read one of the new N stories when I got back, and now off to a quiet night.
I don’t know. Fell into a dead zone today and never made my way out.
Lot’s of clients coming and going this morning, more in the afternoon. Did a little bit of editing, a little bit of research, then went off to the gym to try and get things straight with myself.
Caught up with young Jack for a chess session late. Sorry, but not surprised, to see he had a cold.
Not much got done, but everybody’s tired.
Haven’t been able to find the next gear.
Maybe tomorrow.
Up at the crack of dawn—a little before, actually—to have coffee with my buddy, G. A great time as always. Lots of laughs. Got to work a little later than usual, made a few submissions, chatted with John S. a while, then headed off to the gym to put in a workout. Didn’t do much in the way of aerobics today, but lifted well, and even got to work the heavy bag a bit.
Preliminary word on the neck is arthritis, a slipped disc at C3-4, and general deterioration owed to old age! Can’t wait to see what the MRI coughs up. Meanwhile, Tremadol to sleep.
A new story rolled into my N queue, so I’ve got some reading to do. Finished two of the stories in the past two days, but haven’t written any of the critiques yet. Maybe tomorrow.
My bro, Joe, is closing his juvey, rehab facility today. A good decision at a good time. He put in a lot of hard work over the past thirty-odd years and deserves a break. Hope the kids he treated will have fond memories of him. He sure loved them.
Nothing big on tonight’s schedule. Just looking to take it easy. Finished the Beatles documentary last night, and enjoyed the closing performance. They were some talented guys.
Happy to say I believe I’ve solved the problem with my latest story. It still isn’t there, but after some major edits it’s closer to what it ought to be.
Spend the better part of the morning writing, and the less than better part speaking on the phone with medical folks in the hope of scheduling an MRI. Mission accomplished. New images of the neck to be taken mid-December. Meanwhile, no PT.
That said, got in a decent workout at the gym, and a chance to speak to my PT-ist, Brian, about the X-rays I had taken on Friday. Looking forward to getting to the bottom of things.
Pretty day. Put up the Christmas tree this afternoon, and look to be decorating it by the weekend. Kitties are covered with sap, enjoying their new watering hole (aka the tree stand). Life is good!
Coffee with my buddy G tomorrow morning. Be good to get out and catch up.
Good day all around. Particularly after a rare good night’s sleep.
Wrote early, worked around the house getting things Christmas ready, then took a drive up to Woodland Park where we kicked around in the woods. A lovely day, what with all the sun and warm temps, but sure hope we get some snow soon or the mountains are going to be in trouble again come fire season.
Saw the new Disney movie yesterday and enjoyed it. Wish I could say the same for the Beatles documentary, which is in serious need of editing. The musical interludes are fine, as is the study of their creative process, but there was a forty minute interlude where no one did anything but sit and look at one another. Not sure Jackson couldn’t have used a good narrator to push some of the material along. That, and offer the occasional explanation of what went on behind the scenes.
Reading a collection of stories by Kevin Barry—Dark Lies the Island. Good, good stuff.
Splendid day. Up early, wrote a bit, then headed out to the Collegiate Peaks to hunt down this year’s Christmas tree.
What a beautiful day. Saw pronghorn, elk, deer…
Weather up high was the warmest it’s been in the past few years, which made harvesting a tree a little less arduous than it typically is, but no complaints. Just hope the mountains start getting some snow or we’ll be looking at another big burn come summer.
Yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner at K’s was splendid. Great food, great company, great time. Looking for a quieter time tonight. Maybe a movie tomorrow.
Great to get away. Great to be home.
Signing off.
Up later than usual, but by my own choice after a long, pleasant, drug-induced sleep. Nothing like a couple of ibuprofen with a boost of wine to knock a guy out.
Spent most of the morning gathering together a story collection. Took a while to get all the pieces in place, but I think I have what I need and it’s time to start making submissions.
Have a new short in mind, too, but not sure when I’ll get at it. The long piece is starting to make sense, and I may have to get back to it while the ideas are still flowing.
Put in an okay workout at the gym, and managed a nice nap when I got home.
Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Friday, off to Leadville to cut down our Christmas tree.
Restless night’s sleep, early rise to the doc’s office, a cup of coffee and off to the clinic for x-rays. No writing in between. Did manage some submission work afterward, though. Good to get something done before we left for Denver.
Two stories in my N queue that need to be taken care of soon. Looking forward to some reading time. No big pre-Thanksgiving plans, but hope to get to the gym tomorrow morning and address the editorial work after.
Meanwhile, it’s just keep plugging.
Pretty day today. Strange, featherlike cloud formations. Weather guys say it might snow tomorrow, but for now everything still feels like fall.
Mixed bag.
Rough sleep last night owing to the neck. Up early just the same, first to the keyboard then on the phone with the doc’s office. Hit the gym a little after twelve, and saw my PT while I was warming up. He did a few tests, and wrote a report for me to take to the doc tomorrow morning. Expect I’ll be getting x-rays or an MRI before long.
Meanwhile, got in a short but decent workout. A nap, too, when I got home. Weather nice again today. Sunny, blue sky, high clouds.
Denver tomorrow. Tonight, omelets and veggies.
Up later than usual, but still put in a decent day’s work. Most of it on research and submissions.
K came over and spent the early afternoon watching a game. Nice relaxing time.
Went grocery shopping afterward, then took a walk around the neighborhood. Weather was cool, but sunny. Worked a while, took a short nap, worked a little more, and now I’m quit for the day.
Neck’s been sore and acting strange. Numbness now. Gonna call the doc’s office tomorrow and see if I can’t get in for an x-ray. Think I’ll hold off on the rehab until I know more about what’s going on.
Looking forward to a nice easy week. Maybe start a new story.
Didn’t manage much in the way of writing today, but did get a chance to talk to my buddy S and later, my sis.
Neck’s been bothering me quite a bit of late. Thinking of seeing the doc again and asking for an X-ray. Therapist says there’s a strong possibility it’s a bulged disc, but who knows? Might be arthritis, too. Good with whatever it is as long as I can avoid making it any worse. Went to the gym to try and loosen it up, but didn’t really have the energy.
Boys left for Cancun today. Thought I might hear from them before they went, but i guess they were busy. Maybe they’ll send some pics once they get there.
Cleaned the house this afternoon. Hauled out a few more Christmas ornaments. Feels like we’re on track for the holidays.
Drove out to Voelker late this afternoon to see about an iPad. Forget it. Nothing in stock anywhere. Supply chain issues. Gonna take this a cautionary tale for Christmas shopping.
Made a nice sausage and been soup last night. Take out tonight. Noodle bowl from the Saigon Cafe.
Ventured back into the long piece this morning after doing as much damage as I could to the latest short story in my queue. Have an idea where I want the narrative to go, but still not entirely comfortable with it after changing narrators, voices, and all the rest in the shorts I’ve been working on lately.
Left for PT just after noon, and stuck around for a workout afterword. Neck’s getting better, I think, but the progress is slow. Just have to keep pushing.
Temps have been dropping, slowly. Felt almost wintry today—in a global warming world. Cooked up a pot of beans and sausage to celebrate the season. Can’t believe we’re close to Thanksgiving…Christmas…the New Year. Gotta start looking ahead.
Another action-packed day.
Managed some decent work with a new draft, then spent the rest of the morning with submissions, housekeeping, and correspondence. Wrote another N critique too.
Had an early afternoon meeting with Emmit, our insurance advisor, looking to work out next year’s healthcare plan. Big fun. A few surprises, but nothing unexpected. That is, nothing you can expect to make sense of, and nothing to be disappointed about when it doesn’t.
Was hoping to get to the gym, but it didn’t happen. Did, however, get to sit in on young Jack’s chess lesson.
John stopped by late afternoon to address a few more tech issues. Turns out Mac Keeper is a PUP, and needed to be uninstalled. Good news is, I can drop them from my auto withdrawals and have Amex reimburse me for the charges.
Christmas decorations slowly but surely going up.
PT tomorrow. Maybe more. We’ll see.
Another one in the can.
Finished the draft of “The Denunciation,” went off to PT, worked out, and took Kit for blood work.
Made the most of this one.
Banged away at the keyboard for a couple of hours before abandoning everything and heading down to the Arkansas to do some fishing.
Lovely day all around. Warm, sunny, just a bit of a breeze, and no one else around. Action was sketchy, but did take one nice brown home for breakfast tomorrow.
Needed a day away.
PT tomorrow, and a late day appointment with the vet to see how Kit’s medication is doing. Gotta hope we’re making progress, but also have to remind myself he’s old and tired.
Looking forward to a quiet evening.
Lost Saturday’s entry to the great dark of cyberspace.
Good day today. Up early to finish the final draft of “Eyes Wide Open.” Made a few last edits, and shipped it off. Also made more headway on the newest story, “One to Ten,” got a letter off to my son, played a game of long distance chess with young Jack, fixed the wing frame of our Christmas angel, read the last of my N stories, and put in a nice workout at the gym where I finished Paul Beatty’s The Sellout.
Pork chops in mushroom sauce for dinner tonight. A movie, maybe.
Looking to amp things up tomorrow, and get another story out the door.
That, or go fishing. Yeah. Fishing.
Pretty good day, despite my being lazy.
Woke at a good hour, put in time at the keyboard, then ran off to the gym to try and make up for yesterday’s somewhat half-assed workout.
Should have gone back to work when I got home, but took a nap instead. No regrets. It was the perfect day for it.
Baked chicken tonight. A movie, maybe.
Tomorrow, a last pass—I hope—at “Eyes Wide Open” with submissions coming on Sunday.
Beautiful day today. Cool, and a bit breezy, but beautiful.
Pretty day today. A little cool, but plenty of sun and a nice blue sky.
Was up early working on a Christmas project that ultimately went south. Did manage to get some writing in, though, and an okay workout at the gym after PT.
Cooked up a pot of beef stew for dinner. Finished the last of my N reading, too. Gonna sit back and take it easy this evening, shoot for another early rise tomorrow.
Just back from the gym. Good workout. Lifted, cycled, hit the heavy bag. Was hoping to get a walk in this afternoon, but am being called away for some fixit work at K’s.
Good night’s sleep thanks to a couple of hits of Tylenol. Made it till morning before the neck woke me up.
Put in some good revision work at the keyboard, then took care of a few housekeeping chores including ordering a new driver’s license from the DMV before my old one expires in December.
Weather turned a bit cooler, but otherwise it’s been lovely. Sunshine and deep blue skies. If it stays like this till the weekend, who knows, I might head down to the Arkansas for some fishing.
A lot on the mind. Be nice to shake some of it, but can’t seem to figure out how. Guess I’ll just have to muddle through.
Looking forward to a quiet evening.
