Putting together a new week...

Woke early after a good night’s sleep, and hit the keyboard with all fingers firing.

Made some solid revisions to the newest of the stories I’ve been carrying around, took care of a few submissions, then headed off to the gym for a nice, early-week workout.

Made a trip over to K’s later and helped with flowers. Short nap on the return trip.

Skies were overcast and gray this morning, but the wind blew most of the badness away and left us with a pretty evening.

No plans for tonight. Just taking it easy.

Saying goodbye to Sunday...

Decided to bag the yard work today and run off to a movie instead. Not sure if we wouldn’t have been better off staying home.

Made a pot of beef stew this morning after an early start at the keyboard. No big plans for the evening.

Got some correspondence out the door, and hope to finish up with some more paperwork tomorrow.

Meanwhile, taking it easy.

K comes home tonight after her long odyssey in France. Looking forward to hearing a few stories once she’s rested up.

Everything's easy at the moment...

For every day that goes to pieces, the cosmos always seems to deliver a winner in compensation.

Woke from a good night’s sleep, had a great day at the keyboard, put in some solid work around the yard, and got a chance to kick around the hood.

Weather was absolutely gorgeous. Sun, blue skies, and a nice cool breeze. If I’d planned ahead, I could’ve packed up my fly rod and hit the Arkansas.

Plumber came mid-afternoon and is nearly finished with the new install. Next week carpenter comes back to fix the floor, and after that, the tile dude will be on the clock. Looking forward to having this beast of a job behind us.

Taking it easy tonight. Tomorrow, a movie.

Friday musings...

Windy day, today.

Wrote early, went off to the gym for an early workout, came home for a nice mid-afternoon nap.

Resurrected some old work, looking to refashion it into a short. Think I might have hit on something. Should have a better idea of where it stands come tomorrow.

Looking forward to getting a jump on the yard work. Have a lot done, but a long way to go.

Plumber bagged on us. Supposed to come back tomorrow. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, just looking to kill time and have a nice evening.

Chugging along...

Headway.

Up around six, and out to the cottage not long after. Put in some good revisions on the Christmas story, and figure to let it sit now.

Good workout this afternoon. Patched the lawn with seed and soil, then ran off to take care of a few errands. Pretty day. A little breezy, but not bad. No rain in sight, but as long as the temps stay manageable we should be okay.

N queue is empty, K is off to Paris, Kitcat’s thyroid numbers are holding up and young Jack has managed to stay out of Covid’s way for the moment. So, for the moment, life is good.

Lifting with Sol tomorrow. Maybe getting my second booster tomorrow afternoon.

Tonight, wine and antipasto.

Back at it...

Crazy day.

Pretty day, too.

Grass is greening up, and the skies are blue.

Got to work early, put in time on a new short, then off to the gym and rehab. Made progress all the way around.

Kit goes to the vet tomorrow for blood work and a check up. He turns 17 on Saturday.

Tonight, omeletts.

Rolling along...

Another short entry tonight.

Up early to greet the carpenter. Worked on the laptop while he went about his business. Hit the gym late afternoon and put in a halfway decent workout.

Came home, cleaned up, and went back to the office to take care of some paperwork.

Passed along an N critique today, advancing (fingers crossed) one of the better stories I’ve read all year. One story left in the queue. Will take care of that tomorrow.

Cool weather.

K still stuck in France.

A rumor of rain...

Quiet day, in all.

Up early to the cottage to write, then off to a movie in the afternoon.

No gym today. Took a nap instead.

Big winds here, back to back, stoking at least three fires in different parts of down. A bad omen for what’s to come, I’m sure.

Weather people give us a small chance of rain tomorrow. Hope it shows, cause we can use it.

A brief summing up...

Lots of running around today.

Up early. Drove the Jeep out to the dealership for oil change, etc. Had the truck serviced on Tuesday. All’s well in the automotive world.

Plumber came today to assess the soon-to-be-new shower. Will have to work though floor issues with the carpenter next week. On the positive side? All fixtures are in, tile to arrive in ten days, new shower door a little after that. Still a good month out from being finished, but at least it’s in progress.

Good workout today. Making progress. Wish I could say the same for the writing. Feels as if I’m mired in mud. The wheels keep spinning, but I don’t see much progress.

Two N critiques left to finish over the weekend. One story moving forward for certain, and maybe two.

K and C both down with Covid now. K’s case the more dismal of the two as she’s locked in a hotel room in France. Fingers crossed for quick recoveries.

Pizza tonight.

It isn't spring, but it isn't bad...

Good night’s sleep.

Out to the cottage around six, making revisions on the newest short. Getting closer all the time, but for some inexplicable reason this one’s fought back from day one. I never had a story that wanted so badly to be told, but at the same time insisted on dragging its heels all the way to the page.

Have a new one in mind. Need to at least get a draft down before I forget it, so maybe I’ll work on that tomorrow and give the other a rest.

Took a break early afternoon to police the yard. Bundled up something like eight contractor bags full of leaves and branches and drove them out to Rocky Top. Yard’s ready for planting, but still have to prune and fertilize. Sprinkler system tech due out next week.

Didn’t make it to the gym today. Maybe tomorrow.

Meantime, waiting for the winds to die and the rain to come.

Small doings on a quiet Friday...

The week got away from me, but in a good way. Lots of early rises, lots of words on the page, some minor setbacks, and more mid-afternoon naps than I’ve deserved.

Now if I can just get another story in the hopper.

Put a dent in the long piece this week, but ran aground on Thursday, and need to take a closer look at it over the weekend. Been summarizing and revising as I go along. Some good stuff, some bad. The voice is going to be key with this one, but I think I’ve got a handle on it.

Was thinking we might get out for a walk the afternoon, but the wind’s been blowing in a lot of pollen so settled for a workout at the gym instead. Neck’s sore (as usual) but not getting in the way anymore, thanks to the PT.

Hoping to maybe get out and paint tomorrow, weather permitting. We’ll see.

A spin around the block...

Another early rise.

Got in some good work on the long piece, including some outline work that should help further down the road.

Bathroom demo near completion. Kitties ain’t too happy about it, but it’s almost finished and from the look of the joists we caught the leak just in time.

Left for the gym a little afternoon. Skipped rope, hit the heavy bags, and did a little light lifting. Afterward, made a side trip to Starbucks, then came home to write a little longer.

Was treated to a terse rejection from the Minnesota Review over “Down There,” the latest of my inaccroachable short fictions.

Looking forward to a quiet evening.

Calling this one a near miss...

Restless night, up early.

Lousy day at the keyboard, but that happens sometimes. Quit while ahead and put in a long session at the gym. Came home, napped, cooked a pot of potato leek soup, and met with the plumber over the upstairs bath.

Yeah, exciting.

Gonna take it easy tonight and see what tomorrow brings.

Let the show begin...

So. Up early to the keyboard. Got in a decent couple of hours on the new, long manuscript, then pushed on with the N critiques.

Shower demo started around 9:00. Workers made pretty good headway while I was away at the gym. Kitties didn’t care for it much, but were more upset about being locked in the bedroom, I think, than the actual noise. I’m guessing the rest of the demo will end sometime tomorrow. Hope so, anyway. Like to think we’ll have things back in hand by June.

Cool weather blew in today. Not sure what’s in store the rest of the week, but hoping it doesn’t include the big winds. Like to get out and fertilize the lawn before the next rain.

K leaves for France tomorrow.

The rest of the world stuck where it is.

Sunny sunday...

Put together a decent day, though I have to admit I don’t remember most of it.

Wrote early, spoke to my bro, J., on the phone a while, then drifted off to the gym for an early afternoon workout. Spoke to my sis on the way home. Later, went to the theatre to see the 70th anniversary re-release of Singing in the Rain. Great time.

Tile guy comes early tomorrow to demo the upstairs shower. We’ll be out of commission for some time, depending on the arrival of the hardware. Can’t worry about it. Water leak is driving the utility bill sky high, and has probably caused mold damage, too. Just have to put our heads down, cross our fingers, and hope it’s over soon.

Looking to get in some early writing tomorrow.