writer
Lovely day. Wish I’d gone for a walk. Spent most of it writing or out picking up yard goods.
Was up early writing, then off to the gym for a long workout while the tile guy laid the hardy board for the new shower. Picked up bags of garden soil at Costco this afternoon, and returned bags of less desirable topsoil to Lowes. In between, did a little grocery shopping.
Hard to believe that constituted the whole day, but it did. Except for a brief, late-afternoon nap.
Tomorrow, more of the same.
Spent the better part of the morning catching up on correspondence, then went off to the gym.
Quiet, pretty day.
Stopped by the grocery store to pick up fixings for chicken marsala. On the way back, found a clematis to replace the dead one on the side yard.
Took a small nap early afternoon, but never got quite back up to speed after I woke. Put in some decent revisions on the new, as of yet untitled story, and that was as far as I got.
There’s always tomorrow, right? Until there isn’t?
Guess I’ll have to look to get an early jump tomorrow.
Good day.
The writing went well, and I’m one day closer to finishing my newest story. Had a solid day at the gym, too.
Paid the vet a visit to pick up Kit’s meds, killed an hour at the park with a Starbuck’s, and came home to a nice easy rain—the first in a long, long time.
No big doings planned for tonight. Just a quiet stay-at-home.
Omelets for dinner.
Taking a pass on this one.
Good day writing, good day working out.
Behind on nearly everything.
But that’s what tomorrow’s for.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Long day, short leash.
High point: Letters from the boys.
My dad died six years ago today at home in his bed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I still had my mom, then, which helped ease the sadness of his passing. But now they’re both gone, and the world is a little smaller without them. Wherever they are, I hope they’re at peace.
Up early.
Truck to mechanic and back—clean and ready to roll.
Tooth fixed.
Early afternoon workout a success. Nap that followed, equally so.
Notes on three N stories in the works.
Good day.
Wrote, talked to the boys, worked out, walked, and cooked.
Hope all my dudes are with people they love.
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.
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.
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.
