writer
A nice reception for "Man of Letters." Many well-wishes from many sweet people. Hope I can do as much with the new piece I'm writing, though its decidedly darker in tone. Anyway, good to have another one published.
Fighting with a rag doll at the moment and losing. He's taken over the keyboard, and doesn't appear willing to give ground. May have to abandon this until later.
Guests vanished mid-morning. Spent the rest of the day catching up. Or trying to, anyway. A lot of work ahead, but with a good night's sleep might just make tomorrow a big day. Fingers crossed.
Eric the Reluctant made a triumphant return to frame the cottage doors and install the new leaded window. Job finished! Now some paint touch up, a bit of cleaning, some tech work to put everything electronic in order, and the office should be fully up and running. Again, fingers crossed.
Had a good time visiting with my writer buddy, Scott, yesterday. Fun to get out in the fresh air for a bit. Ought to look for more chances like that while the weather's nice.
"Man of Letters" should go live tomorrow on Saturday Evening Post. Looking forward to it. The new story I've been working on--untitled--is going to be a good one if I don't muck it up. Did some research that should be helpful. Now just need to find a seamless way of working it in.
Another working Sunday. Looked like a nice day. Sun and snow on the Peak, temps down low in the sixties.
Mom comes in tomorrow. A three day visit. Lots to do this week, but feeing strong--like I can make it happen. We'll see.
Got some wind back in my sails. Learned a new story of mine, "Man of Letters," is being picked up by the Saturday Evening Post. Yeah, that Saturday Evening Post. The one that published Scott Fitzgerald, Norman Rockwell.
In lesser news, painted and stained the moulding for the cottage offices today. Eric the Reluctant returns from his drunken Bacchanalia in Hawaii tomorrow, so he should be sober enough to install everything sometime near week's end. New audio equipment should arrive around the same time.
Critiqued a handful of N stories this morning with one advancing to the next round. Rumors of additional mss have trickled in. Sounds as if a busy end of month is on the way.
Need to get a jump on the commercial work. Mom due back from Sioux City on Monday, which will throw a small wrench in the works. Meetings, deadlines, and other obligations look to cause a serious log jam in the scheduling. Gonna have a hard time keeping my head above water.
Discovered the answer to life's most pressing questions this afternoon. Turns out it's another question. Namely, "Who gives rat's ass?"
Not sure how it happened, but lost interest in pretty much everything today. Probably the interminably long goddamned time it's taking to get the cottage offices in order. Don't know and don't care anymore. Just looking for a little bit of normalcy.
Missed a dental appointment this afternoon. Same with a doc's appointment a few days ago. Not sure why I'm having such a hard time staying on top of things, but it's getting a bit annoying. Gotta make some calls tomorrow, straighten things out.
Crazy day. Took care of little things, read a few pages. Spoke to my uncle. His wife passed last night around 10:00 pm. Hardly knew what to say.
Bricklayers came and finished the wall in the cottage. Looks great. Now it's the window, a bit of trim, and we're in business.
Had the truck towed to the shop. Battery's dead or worse. Either way, don't figure to get out of it cheap.
Pulled the new desk apart and reassembled it. Not sure it was worth the effort, but there you go. Frame's ready.
Some new work came in. Happy for that. Mom coming tomorrow for an overnight on her way to Sioux City.
Back at it.
Reading, writing, dinner out...a little bit of everything. Up late this morning, then off to the keyboard, gym, and back home to police the yard. Pruned the roses, then turned in to read a little Paris Trout. Coming close to the end of the book. Been enjoying the piece and learning something from it, too. Hope it sticks.
Brick wall supposed to go up in the cottage offices tomorrow. I'll save the cheering till I see it finished. Can't wait to get this mess resolved, though it still looks like a couple of week's work before the whole thing's in place.
Tired. Figure to turn in early tonight.
One of those weeks, I guess. You wake up thinking, why am I doing this? Then you remember back to the year you read Lucretius and told yourself you weren't gonna chase moonbeams anymore, and you wonder why you ignored that promise because where did it get you?
Day was looking shaky from the get-go. Then, salvation in four short words. "I have the bricks." Didn't hear anything more, but have faith it means we're going to see a wall soon in the cottage offices. After that, who know? Wiring? Trim? The leaded window? Was so goddamned excited I cleaned up the mess in the backyard and filed a library's worth of boxed books on the new shelves.
Looked after small things most of the day. Managed a walk in the park, a bit at the gym, and some reading, too.
No progress on the cottage studio. Still waiting on brickwork and sundry tech matters. The new rug for my office is rolled and leaning against the foyer wall. Leaving it there for good luck (also because I'm lazy).
Warm day today, though cool and blustery this morning. Temps are supposed to drop tonight, pulling down into the forties tomorrow.
Got a ten o'clock scheduled for tomorrow to talk about the screen treatment. Be nice to have a sit-down and see how expectations are running.
President's Day.
Up late, but for good reason. Nothing going on. Hit the keyboard after a couple cups of coffee and made major progress with the new piece. Gonna let it sit for a few days now and get on to other things.
Hit the gym early afternoon, then went to work reading the script I've been asked to doctor. Home now, looking to put in an hour or so reading.
No progress on the cottage office. Hamstrung by bricklayers, carpenters, and ultimately, tech geeks. That's democratic, isn't it?
Speaking of democracy, saw E. O'Neill's The Harry Ape last night. Holds up pretty well after nearly a century.
A hodgepodge of happenings. Some writing, some revising, some furniture assembly, some furniture moving...
Feeling good about the progress on the new story. A lot of cleanup coming, but the shape is solid and the rest is promising.
Appreciate it not being Saturday. Hate to think I would have spent the better part of my day in traffic in Denver. Drove up mid morning to pay a visit to the folks at Stark lumber. Ended up making a few crazy detours (including a wrong way down a one-way street) only to find out Stark had changed names and locations. Did manage to get things straight and place an order for the window molding for the cottage office, but didn't get back home until late afternoon. Needless to say, didn't get much real work out of the way. Can't wait to get this new office buttoned up.
Could write more, but why bother. Think I'll go out searching for a beer instead.
Like spring today. Must have made it into the mid-seventies. Best of all, hardly any wind to stir up the dirt and pollen. Was put to work early, but managed a quick trip to the grocery store, and a latte from Dutch Brothers. Revised the new ms. when I got home. Sent off a thank you to the Pikeville Review, too, and re-read and critiqued the new N. story. Mild interruptions throughout the afternoon. Decisions on new office, etc. Went on a hunt for my plumber's wrench, which proved fruitless, and wound up driving over to Ace to buy a new one. Watch. The old wrench will turn up tomorrow morning. Right under my nose. I'd bet on it. Gonna try and get in some reading tonight. Tired from the work at the gym, but in a good way. Need to get in the zone before my eyes call it quits.
Pikeville Review picked up "Eternity, Revisited." Got the notice this afternoon. Happy to see it find a home.
Desks arrived this afternoon, too. Took a bit of assembly, but they look terrific. Need a plumber's wrench to fit the pipe threads properly, but will pick one up tomorrow. Moved the mostly-assembled piece into the cottage to see how they fit, and was pleased with the result. Should work well. Getting closer to a finished office every day, but still have some nagging doubts about the completion of the brick wall. Hope to see it in next week. Pray to see it in next week.
Nice day, though with all the comings, goings, drop-offs and deliveries, didn't get to see much of it. Be nice to see the good weather stick around for a while. Maybe we'll get lucky this year.
Just past 6:30. Waiting for a dude to come and relieve me of the two tall bookcases I bought off Borders when they closed their here a few years back. No room for them in the new build out. Thought sure someone would snap them up in a hurry, but it turns out no one owns books anymore. This guy's eyed them for "shelves" of some sort.
Took a small field trip today. Trolley Museum. The restoration folk there work at the pace of the Crazy Horse Monument crew, but have to say joint's improved since my last visit. Many a new railroad diorama now. Not on the scale of the one in Golden, but pretty sweet for a small, hugely underfunded operation like theirs. Saw some neat stuff. Old trains. Cable cars. Vintage uniforms.
Made some good progress on a new draft. Mss in and out the door today. New commercial gig, too. Script doctoring, if I want it. Gotta read through the treatment in the next couple of days, see what it needs. More to the point, whether I can actually help it. Wish I hadn't let my subscription to Final Draft lapse--might have made the whole thing easier.
Sunny today, but cold. Wind took all the fun out of it. Supposed to be nicer tomorrow. Eric due back to put the molding on the door jamb. Vern the Bricklayer next week. New desks came in today, but mis-delivered to the old office. Should arrive here tomorrow, as scheduled. Fingers crossed there isn't another mix-up.
Head scratcher of a day. Tried to kick it forward, but couldn't manage. Got some writing time, some revising time, some domestic time...but nothing too impressive in terms of results. Must be the head cold. Or the weather. Or maybe even the lapse in cinthroid. Anyway, screw it.
Feline incursion. Kitties have expropriated the writing chair, leaving me the choice of ottoman or floor. I opted for the former.
Woke to snow this morning after a gloomy sleep. An overcast sky didn't to much in the way improving the day's complexion. Tried to make some headway with new material, but can't be certain I got anywhere. No biggie, except I spent a lot of time doing it. Eric was supposed to come back and finish his carpentry work, but proved no-show, thus living up to his modest sobriquet "The Reluctant."
Been feeling a bit down, but realized I've been out of Cinthroid for two days. That'll do it. Got out of the house long enough to pick up my prescription, but can't take it until tomorrow morning. Fighting a cold, too. Snorting zinc now, along with everything else. Sunshine and lollipops it ain't.
Grammy's tonight! A delightful plunge into the pool of bad taste!
In and out all day. Fitting, the door should arrive. Eric the Reluctant spent most of the morning and early afternoon installing. Looks beautiful. Feels beautiful. Worth the wait, certainly, though the wait was long and frustrating.
Put in time at the keyboard early on. Revisions, a bit composition, some strategic looking ahead. Started a new story, got to a happy quitting place and abandoned it for a bit of box moving and trash removal. After, went to the gym and hit the heavy bag for a while. Felt good to let go.
Feels like the divestiture process is working. Not as much paper around (under, in between things) as there has been for a while. Thanks to a steadily diminishing memory, don't miss any of it! Saying this, I now expect a letter from the IRS demanding a full audit of the last seven years.
Snow tomorrow. Seventy-seven yesterday, probably warmer today, and now a little bit of winter again. We'll see it if happens. Ham steak and broccoli on the grill. Time to put down the pen and pick up the flatware.
It was write this post or talk to mom. Mom won.
