The day before mother's day...

6:00 pm, Friday. 

Up early, off to gym. Home, time at the keyboard, then errands and yard work. New story is close to being finished. Happy with the way its come along. May have it ready for the mail in a few days. We'll see.

Lawn's looking good. Trees, too. Need to see a few more days of sunshine before knowing where the Locust trees in the back yard stand. They took the big snow pretty hard. Everything else is doing all right.

Mother's Day tomorrow. Flower arrangement delivered this afternoon. All's good with the world.

Nice day, today, though a little cool. No matter. Sun was out, the clouds were high and pretty, and there were good smells in the air. Let's see what tomorrow brings. 

Yeah, yeah. Real good now...

Gym early, a bit at the keyboard, some yardwork, then to the dentist. Who could ask for more variety in a day!

Gotta bear down on the new ms. Didn't realize I'm staring Friday in the eye.

P.S. Promise to self. Start writing posts worth reading.

Brain drain...

Another "where did the day go?" day. Started at the keyboard, then orbited out into errands and one long, nearly interminable meeting. Meanwhile the weather went to hell. Looking at tin-colored skies and a brisk breeze on the side. Not sure when the sun's due again, but hope it's before the weekend.

Picked up a couple of used books while galavanting around. Kittredge's The Willow Field, A.B. Guthrie's Murders at Moon Dance, The Complete Stories of Truman Capote, and a slick "new" Barnes & Noble Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. The Bookman may be the last, best, most magnificent used book store in town. Found a cloth cover edition of E. Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon there a few years back, if you need proof.

A lot on the brain at the moment. Can't seem to sort through it all. Worse, I'm beginning to not give a rat's ass. 

 

Comings and goings...

First in the gym this morning. Haven't seen that since the old days. Anyway, nice workout, then home for a bit of time at the keyboard, editing. "Love Triangle" keeps chugging along. Who knows, might have a strong reader's draft by the weekend if I'm lucky.

Looked after little things most of the afternoon, then escaped for a haircut toward end of day. Good to get out. Been drizzling most of the day, a steady wet that's bringing up the new grass. Now if only the trees and shrubs will decide to play along. Most everything looks healthy, except for the old cottonwood in the back yard, which took some serious hits during the wind and snow storms. A lot of limbs down, a lot of leaves lost.

Taking my time through "The Crossing." Amazing piece of work. Like most great books, it's even better the second, third, and fourth time around. The book's diction is owned by McCarthy. It couldn't be cheated by anyone but Faulkner. Love to watch him work.

Saw the director of the FBI was fired. Need to clean up, have some dinner, and check out the news.

 

Putting words to it....

Good progress on "Love Triangle" today. Sandwiched writing time between voice sessions, phone conferences, a run to the grocery store and cooking dinner. Almost forgot the early jaunt to the gym. There by 6:15 and had to run the gantlet anyway. Must have been 7 new members draped over machines when I walked in.

Sunny early on, looking at rain now. Guess that's the forecast for the week. 

Mixing it up...

Five days since my last post. How is that? 

Mom left this morning after a nice visit. Looked good, as always. Managed some nice dinners (clams and linguini last night, an Asian pork dish the night before), high tea at Glen Eyrie, a couple of jaunts to Lowe's, an afternoon at Theatreworks to see Pride and Prejudice,  and a lot of conversation. 

Haven't been getting much writing done, but didn't expect it either. Will try and hit the ground running tomorrow.

Weather's shaped up again. Well into the seventies today. Clouds drifted in come late afternoon, but as a welcome sight. New grass, new flowers will enjoy the rain. Looking at a week of it, if you believe the weather people.

Macron wins the election in France.

Many business doings tomorrow. V.O.s Script conference for TA Ranch in Buffalo. Be nice to see things hit stride.

Water works...

Not sure where the day went. Spend the early hours brushing up my ms. collection and publication history, then plunged back into the new story. Need to set that baby aside now. Take a deep breath and dive in again later.

Cool and cloudy most of the day. Got a little rain, too. Grass looks great, even without the new stuff having sprouted yet. Gotta keep at it.

Drove the pickup to the car wash for some much needed interior work. Opened a bag of unshelled peanuts in there a month ago, and it looked like it had been savaged by monkeys. Nice to have it clean again, although the "new car" scent I asked for smells like industrial waste.

Mom coming tomorrow. Got a bit of grocery shopping done, but not as much as I needed. I see a trip to Whole Foods in the future.

Milestones...

Kit and Irene share a birthday. Many memories, much love.

Temps warmed overnight, and the snow melted today. Everything seemed to survive. Up early after a night in with the boys. A wild and wooly time, to be sure. Pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

Went to a movie this afternoon (Lost City of Z) then back home to finish the last of my N critiques. All's well with the world.

Hunkering down...

A bright crisp morning has since turned wintry and gray. Another big wet snow tonight, they say. Spent the morning writing, the afternoon putting up protective coverings on the arbor vitae, roses, hostas, lilac, and anything else that looked vulnerable. Don't need anymore downed limbs or crushed shrubs.

Lost day after all that. Crossing my fingers tomorrow doesn't go in the same direction. Missed getting to the gym. 

This explains it, for the most part...

Stayed up late reading. Wondering why I can't find what I'm looking for in this new story. Too much on the mind? Who knows.

Spent the better part of the day looking after small things, wondering how I could be so in love with what's come into my life. Christ.

Looking to cash in early and clear my head. Start strong at the keyboard and go as hard and fast as I'm able.

Re-read the Lotos Eaters this morning. Even that got to me. 

Overcast...

"Occurrence at the Night Owl Liquor Store" appears in the new edition of the Dime Show Review. Looks great. Happy to see it in print, at long last. Got lots of positive feedback along with a many cautionary words in the time it was in circulation. Thought maybe no one would have the guts to publish it.

Worried about my pal, Mark K.

Rainy day. Then sun. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Another Monday hodgepodge...

Day went fast. Too fast. Up to a nice clear morning, off the keyboard, a little bit of voice work, and a trip to Rocky Top. Got in a good workout at the gym, then home again to look after the boys next door. Can't believe I'm looking at 6:00 pm. 

Made some good edits to the new piece today. Think maybe I'm on the road to seeing a reader draft. Meanwhile, need to push a few more mss out the door while the door's open to submissions.

Temps ran a little cooler today, but not bad. Still shirtsleeves when the sun was out. Like to get some rain, but not sure there's any in the forecast.

Mom coming for another visit next week. Looking forward to the company.

Turning the page(s)...

Up early to a cool morning. Worked on the new story most of the morning. Still struggling, mightily, with the last page and half. It gets better with each telling, but the going's slow.

Day warmed up well enough to work in shirt sleeves. Grateful for that. Helped the neighbors take down a tree, then gave up the keyboard to mow the lawns, fill and seed a few more patches, and plant some new shrubs. Mended the stones in the back patio, too, that plumbers messed up. Been looking to take care of that little project since last fall. Nice to finally have it out of the way.

A quarter of the way through my re-reading of The Crossing. Always thought it was the saddest book I'd ever read. This confirms it. Christ, McCarthy can write.

Behind on my other reading and correspondence. Need to kick it in high gear. Owe letters to at least three people, return phone calls to another three.

Rain with a chance of Snow...

Little bit of everything today. Wrote early, looked after small things, pegged burlap over the yard patches...

Cold front moved in toward late afternoon. Won't be much outdoor frivolity this weekend. Sounds like rain, snow, mud and all the rest. Was hoping to get up in the mountains again, but doesn't sound like there'd be much point to it.

Read a couple of new stories for N. Neither anything to write home about, sorry to say. 

Kitties on the prowl. Guess it's time to quit.

Please, God, I Need to Win the Lottery...

Slept like I'd been pounded on a rock. Made it the whole night through, and woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning.

Ramped into a different gear, after morning coffee. Got out, wrote and revised, then drove the truck out to Rocky Top to get rid of the leaves and other debris from the storm. Full load. Nice to have it off the property. Came home and dug up the sinkholes the decayed roots left in the front yard. Note to self: sod busting sucks. Powerful. Toted up fourteen bags of topsoil to fill in the depressions, and might have to wrangle a few more. Picked up grass seed too. Hoping to have the patches sown and growing by week's end.

Got to the gym later in the day. Tired, but made it through. Home now and ready for a new go at another ms. Need to get back to my buddy B. about his work on the memoir. Want another day to think about what he's done. Excited for him. He's sitting on some fine material.

Brief exchange with D. the other day over a culinary issue. Came and went as if we talk all the time. Good to hear from him.

Saw there's a new Hemingway book out. Something about the Key West years during WWII. Need to grab a copy.

Blue skies, big sun...

Drove the Jeep up to Leadville today. Been a while since I've spent a day in the mountains. Beautiful drive. Wildlife everywhere. Spotted six or seven heard of pronghorn, four of deer, and the big buffalo herd up in South Park.

The Arkansas was blue and the water was low, and I wish I'd had my fly-rod along. Saw a few anglers out, but not many. 

Ate cheeseburgers at the Golden Burro Cafe. Haven't had a cheeseburger in a coon's age. Did some antiquing and sightseeing and kicking around, and had a good day all around. Got in some good thinking time on the road.