Not bad for a Wednesday...

Up at a decent hour. Spent some time over coffee, then went out to the cottage to send off paperwork. Pretty day today. Blue sky, high thin clouds, and a soft breeze.

Worked out early afternoon, then came home and ran errands.

Got a note from the Berkeley Review they’re holding onto my piece, “Eyes Wide Open” for further review. Been in the same place with them on at least two other occasions only to have the work rejected, but fingers crossed as always.

Haven’t looked at the long piece for a week or so, but intend to rectify that deficiency tomorrow.

Coming to the close of my annual reading of Blood Meridian, and as always find myself in awe of what McCarthy was able to accomplish.

Just passing through...

Early morning workout with my buddy, Sol, today. Good stuff.

Retired to the keyboard late morning through lunch, tidying up the reader version of “Rogue.” Feeling good about the story, but we’ll see what others think. Tomorrow, on to green woods and pastures new.

Nice day today, but feel like we’re heading into another rainy stretch. No complaints, just an observation. Grass is looking good, and hope to keep it that way as far into the summer as I can.

Meanwhile, ordered a new (inflatable) kayak. Loved the old canoe but it just got too heavy to portage. Looking forward to getting out on the water again.

All in good time...

Clear, beautiful blue-sky day. Spent the morning at the keyboard. Wrote my first review of the month for N., knocked off a couple of letters, and revised a couple of drafts. This afternoon, went to the theater to see a revival of North by Northwest. Can’t ask for much more that that, but if I could it would be to get in a day on the water. With any luck, that’ll come along soon.

Looking at a busy Monday tomorrow. Hoping to push a story out the door, or maybe make a little more progress on the long piece. Need to start making plans for Wyoming, too.

All's well with the world...

Easy day.

Spent most of it shrub hunting. Unsuccessfully, I might add.

Got a reader’s draft of a new short in place. Calling it “Not Fade Away” with a nod to Buddy Holly.

Light rain came in this evening.

Cooking up a pot of potato leek soup for dinner.

Researching some target bows for the boys in anticipation of Wyoming.

Thursday...

Fell off the grid again. Don’t know why it keeps happening.

All over the place with work, chores, correspondence, and all the rest. Just been that kind of week, I think.

Anyway, have two good drafts in place and need to get back to the long piece again. Short story land is in another prolonged nod with more than half a dozen pieces under consideration in excess of eleven months. A lot of them claim a covid hangover, but for the most part they’re just piss poor managers of their own time.

Not to worry. Have a lot of reading on my plate, and some new N stories have come in as well.

Getting lots of yardwork done. Pruned the trees the other day, mowed the lawn for the second time, and managed a bit of cleanup to boot. Haven’t found anything to replace the dead hydrangea near the cottage door, but not for lack of trying. Maybe we’ll find something this weekend.

Saturday evening 6:20 pm...

Up late, but good to sleep in.

Spend an hour or so over coffee, then went to work on the reader draft of “Rogue.” Pleased with the revisions, and think I’ve got a pretty good story. Will let it cool for a few days and move on to something else now. Maybe the long piece.

Light drizzle most of the day. Weather people predict overcast skies and rain for a good part of the week. Let it come! Grass is shaping up, flowers are getting planted, and the bastard winds have finally died.

Did a little shrubbery shopping mid-afternoon but came up empty. Took a nap when we got home.

Have some housekeeping things to address before the weekend’s over, but most of it’s correspondence.

Going to see Rent tomorrow at the Fine Arts Center, courtesy of K. Looking forward to getting out.

Reflections on work and play...

So here it is, at last. Friday.

Worked out, mowed the lawn, moved flower boxes, cleaned the house….

Took a walk around the hood under overcast skies and hoped to God I got it right on what I believe to be the last of the revisions on on “Rogue.”

No big plans for tomorrow but start work on my other short, then move on to the long piece.

Don’t figure to make a late night of it, but I guess we’ll see.

Meanwhile, dinner.

spirits in a material world...

Been having a lot of dreams about Kitcat lately. Seeing his shadow. Not entirely sure I’ll ever get over that one, but who knows, maybe I’ll live long enough to find out.

Did some good work on “Rogue” this morning. Think I’m close to a reader draft. There are moments I’m not sure about it, but when I read it over it feels like the real thing.

Drizzly day today.

Smoked myself at the gym this afternoon, then went off for PT and was pounded on even harder.

Hit some sort of benchmark with my bloodwork today. Lowest number I’ve had in two weeks. Just wish I knew what the “f” it meant.

Quiet night.

Small expectations...

Solid day. Put in some good revisions before going off to the gym.

Had a quick lunch when I got home, worked a little more at the keyboard, then found myself so overwhelmed with Mr. Tuck’s affections, I had to take a nap.

No walk today. Wind’s were still pretty annoying. Maybe tomorrow, though the weather bureau’s calling for more rain and whatnot.

Hard copy of the Freshwater Journal arrived today with my short-short “A Matter of Optics” in it. Happy to have that one behind me.

No big plans for tomorrow outside of writing.

Tonight, ham and broccoli.

Nothing big, nothing small...

Finish a good draft of my newest short. Haven’t got a name for it yet, but feeling pretty good I’ll come up with one in the next couple of days.

Took time off from the gym and went to a movie. Fun stuff.

Came home and settled in with Tuck for a nap.

Been missing Kit. Can’t seem to get him out of my head.

Looking forward to getting back to business tomorrow. Whatever business is. Tonight? Who knows. Maybe a movie.

Bits and pieces...

Yeah.

Sleptwalk through most of the day.

Did a little yardwork, put in some time at the keyboard. Not much more. Worked out at the gym, too, but took it easy.

Blustery day. More of the same tomorrow.

Finished the Mailer book last night.

Improvisations...

Jawed with my bro, S, this morning. Always a good time.

The rest went as scripted.

Revisions, gym time, and some shopping.

Windy day. Not sure what’s blowing in, but it’s not far off.

Fixed the patio, mowed the lawn and that’s about it. Bliss.

Everything in its place...

Did my best to pull this one out.

Wrote hard and made headway with two new pieces. Got a couple of letters out the door as well.

Had a good workout at the gym and nice walk around the afternoon.

Pretty day. Looking at the Peak, I’d guess more snow’s coming.

Early session with my buddy, Sol tomorrow.

And then that happened...

Something of a lost day.

Revisions dragged, was sidetracked here and there, and failed to pull a reader’s draft from my latest short despite trying. Gonna have to look for an earlier start tomorrow.

Weather’s gotten warmer, and about to reach uncomfortable before long. On the bright side, my fishing license arrived putting me in an ideal position to escape at a moment’s notice.

A brief assessment...

Worked hard on an old story this morning. Been chipping away at the bitch for months, and only seem to get further from the truth with each pass.

Nice day today. Cooler than usual. Started overcast and drizzly but cleared up while we were at the movies. Glad we got away from the house for a while.

Looking forward to an early turn-in and some reading.

The ways and means...

Easy Saturday. Woke late, and chatted over coffee until almost ten.

Finished a good draft of my newest short, yet to be titled. Feeling good about this one. Hope to have a reader draft together before long.

Got a late start to the gym, but made the most of what I had. Went off to Starbuck’s when I got home, and did a bit of extracurricular reading.

Overcast day. Cold, too. It snowed most of the morning, then turned to rain. Grass is looking greener already.

Tuck continues to be a source of amusement/curiosity. I think he misses Kit. He spends a good deal of the morning being needy, and isn’t happy unless someone spends time with him on the bed.

Taking it easy tonight. Looking ahead to a movie tomorrow.

Settling in on a Friday night...

Can’t say I came to this day expecting much, so it turned out better than I thought. At least in terms of writing. Had a productive morning, then went off to PT.

Wrote a little more when I got home, then drove over to Rocky Top to get rid of the leaves and clippings we’ve been collecting. Not much more to the day than that. Maybe tomorrow.