Staring at a bag of cat litter...

Sudafed. Well, that's one way to get some sleep. Made it nearly till dawn before the cold woke me, and from there the morning turned into a blur. Made some good final edits on "Love Triangle," and "If Wishes Were Horses," which I've now renamed "Sweetheart of the Rodeo." Gonna look to get both out the door before week's end. We'll see what happens in the meantime.

Cooked up a pot of navy bean soup instead of doing any honest work this afternoon. Cut the lawn, too. Read the N submissions, and as always, find the critique-ing of them a challenge, though each for reasons of its own. Both interesting stories. Both from schooled writers. But not sure either will get a pass to the next round. We'll see. Good to sleep on things sometimes.

Big day ahead tomorrow. Commercial work. Always happy with that. Want to stay ahead of the mid-week holiday, since the aftermath is always, well, tragic.

Kinda hoped this weekend would last a little longer. But it didn't, so that's that. On to the next one, I guess.

A quiet Saturday...

Just back from dinner out. Chicago dogs! In the rain!

Quiet day, start to finish. Put final revisions on two of the new pieces, talked to my old friend Bob, then off to a movie that should have been better. Short workout and a little bit of reading afterward.

Christ but this new cold has hold of me. Energy level fully at two thirds--and sinking.

Might start a fire tonight. We'll see if the rain lets up.

 

You cannot petition the Lord with prayer...

Thought I'd get more done today. Good morning. Got in some solid edits. But was sidetracked not long after and things slowed, considerably. Don't feel well, either. Another GD cold, I think, though allergies might be playing into it. Smoke from the fires another possibility. Anyway, some good final edits on "If Wishes Were Horses." Haven't been in any hurry to get the new stories out the door, but should probably amp it up just for the sake of moving forward.

Surprise text from D this morning. Haven't had one of those in a while. Pic too. He's down in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on a road trip to Iowa. He'd been fishing. Tied into some "pumpkinseed" bluegill. Never seen anything like them. Streaked with orange and a florescent ice blue. Pretty fish.

Grabbed a latte at Starbucks around 1:00 then dragged my tired ass off to the gym. Changed up my routine a week ago. A quick rotation. Skip rope, work the heavy bag, hit the weight machines. Rinse and repeat.

Got a decent night's sleep, but tired nonetheless. Old habits die hard. Some harder than others. Grateful for what I have, but hungry for more. 

One for the win column...

Wild day, in a tame sort of day. Early coffee with G, who seems happy and adjusting well to his new life. I have the feeling it's going to be a good year for him--better than he expects--and I'm happy for him. He's a talented man, and he's always made his own breaks.

Spent the better part of the morning over at the Biedleman Center with young J. Had a splendid time all around. Hiked, sloshed in the stream, and fended off armies of Blue Meanies, Apple Bonkers, and Snapping Turks with little more than sticks and stones.

Got a brief look at a ms., but not enough to do any good. So retreated into research in prep for my afternoon meeting at the Broadmoor. If all goes well, should translate into a video script celebrating the hotel's 100th anniversary.

Allergies been knocking me down for the past two days. Sore throat, congestion, the whole nine yards. Think it's the smoke from all the fires. Doesn't really matter, I suppose. Just wish it would go away.

No gym today. No time. Will get back on it tomorrow. 

The Search for Perspective...

Guess I'll be saying this for the rest of my life, but the west is on fire again. Big burns in Utah and Arizona. Small ones in Colorado. Hope we fare a little better this year than we have in the past. Air quality's not off-the-charts bad, but there's smoke in the air and you can taste it.

Got mom off to Albuquerque sometime around 10:00 this morning. Had a nice visit. She still looked a little tired from her time on the Bighorns, but was happy, as usual, and good company for as long as she was here.

Put in a little bit of time at the keyboard--research mostly--but don't figure to make much progress until the weekend. Two meetings tomorrow, one early, one mid-afternoon. Between them don't expect to get a whole lot done.

Halfway through A.B. Guthrie's The Way West, and enjoying the heck out of it. Gotta go on a search for some hardcover copies of his books and add them to the permanent collection. A reprint of Italo Calvino's "The Adventure of a Skier" in the new New Yorker. Haven't read it yet, but look forward to doing so.

Tired. Gotta stop thinking so hard.

After cutting the grass...

Caught up with some of the fiction stuff today. Made some good revisions on the newest (untltled) story. More than I'd hoped for, actually. Who knows, press hard I might have a reader draft by week's end.

Two commercial projects to crack on tomorrow. Figure to get one, if not both, out the door. 

Mom coming back from her Wyoming adventure tomorrow. Invited my bro and his kids for dinner, too, but haven't heard back. We'll see how it goes.

New N story in the queue. Gonna have to jump on that in the next day or so as well. Looks like it's going to be a busy week.

Hmmm...

Past seven, and I don't know where the day went. Little things this morning, commercial projects this afternoon, then off collecting stuff from storage for the ONEN yard sale.

Too beat to write more.

Calling it a day.

Tuesday, 5:52 pm...

Another hot but lovely day. Blue skies, reefs of hight white clouds, a gentle breeze to keep the air moving. Spent most of the day in the cottage working on a new project. Got the go ahead to proceed on the Hayden Homes project too. Took a couple of hours off mid-day to visit with the little ones, then went off to the gym.

Heard some joker from Travel & Leisure talk about how poor Americans are at taking time off. Reminded me of a conversation I had years ago with a friend who worked in the college marketing department. He had it down to a science. First week off was to decompress. Second, learn to relax. The third week, he said, was where the only restorative value actually took place. Imagine. Three weeks off. I told him the most I'd ever accrued was two, and that management strongly discouraged taking all of it at once. Not if you wanted your job back when you got home.

Put in some quick edits on the new story. Think I made headway. Itching to crack a book tonight.

Maybe it's just me...

Here we are, another Monday evening. Where did the day go? 

Up for an early morning walk, then to keyboard. Surprise visit late morning (including a bit with dog!) then back to work until mid-afternoon and a trip to the gym. How can that possibly add up to an entire day?

Still in a bit of a daze, I guess, from all the sun I took while walking the river yesterday. Arms are burned to the elbows, but the rest of me managed to come out from under the sun unscathed. Go figure, right?

Looking into a practice fly rod for one of the boys. Like to get young J out for a lesson or two.

Mothers, fathers, and Father's Day...

Mom arrived late last night, held up by business in Albuquerque. Picked her up around 10:00 pm., and fed her a late night sandwich before sending her off to bed. She left this morning around 9:00, and will get as far as Casper, I think, before calling it a day. Good seeing my bro, his son and daughter-in-law. Hope they have a great time in the Bighorns.

Picked up my f&g license on the way back from the motel, and spent the day in Elevenmile canyon, fishing. Haven't been skunked in a while, and not sure what it bodes for the rest of the season, but was happy to get in the mountains, on a river, whatever it took. Water was lower than I expected, given the big runoff we've had, but the mountain was green and the wildflowers were in bloom--woods rose, potentilla, current, willow--even ran across a few uneaten wild raspberries.

Spent most of the day on the upper two miles of the river where it's all catch and release. Hardly anyone up that high, so had the place to myself almost all afternoon. Have some pretty salmon fillets in the fridge, so it's best I didn't bring anything home. Looking forward to firing up the grill tonight. Couldn't ask for a nicer Father's Day unless it was to talk to my own father again. Here's thinking of you, Pop. 

Waiting on Ms. Bobbie...

Man. Hot and humid today. Got a late start this morning, shanghiad by neighbors while drinking coffee on the front porch. Put in some mid-morning soccer training with young J, then came home and read a bit. So hot, had to take a nap.

Woke up and went out to the cottage to spend some time at the keyboard. Got news mom left Albuquerque late afternoon, and don't expect her until well after eight. So much for the salmon dinner I was supposed to grill.

Happy with the edits I've been able to manage on the new ms. Went back to basics and kept the narrative and plotline straightforward. Temporal problems seem to have disappeared. Need a couple more long passes at the piece, but think it'll come together nicely once I'm finished.

In one of those places. Cabin fever? Anyway, happy to have had a good day writing. That makes up for a multitude of sins.

Breathing out...

Good finish to the week. Progress made at the keyboard, cold momentarily averted, and shed doors arrived. Also managed a trip to the gym and a nice visit with the boys across the street.

Went online at some point to try and score a new fishing license, but the whole operation turned out to be more cumbersome than it should have and I wound up aborting it. Hate to say it, but it's still easier to drop over to Angler's Covey and do it the old fashioned way. Gonna make a point of it tomorrow.

Home alone tonight. Missed out on tickets to "Man of La Mancha." Figure to get some reading done instead. Might go to bed early and start a new book.

Got my mojo working...again...I think...

Looks like nineties for the rest of the week. Summertime...and the living's easy. Well, maybe not easy, but not particularly burdensome either. It just is what it is.

Out the door for an early walk through the neighborhood, then home for coffee on the back patio and time at the keyboard. Worked new material into an old ms. Have to wait and see whether it was an improvement.

K and J dropped by around noon. Had a chance to do a little visiting. Put in more time at the keyboard after everyone left, but eventually threw in the towel and went off to the gym.

Downed the last of the antibiotics today, but felt a strange foreboding hearing neighbors on both sides of us hacking like walruses. Bad summer colds going around. God...oh, God, don't. Just don't. I can't get sick again. Please.

 

 

Small goings on...

Up a little later than usual this morning. No matter. Got a good start at the keyboard, plugging away until just after noon when I took a break and went to Starbuck's for cup of joe. 

Warm day, today, but it came along with a nice steady breeze that kept everything cool. Worked with the cottage door open until the neighbor started in with his leaf blower. Got in final revisions on "Love Triangle" and "If Wishes Were Horses." Gonna let them both sit a while before shipping them off. Doesn't make much difference this time of year, anyway. Schools are out on break and the rest of the literary world is on vacation.

K coming to dinner tonight. Burgers on the grill. Mom rolls in on Saturday, stays the night and heads up to Wyoming the next morning.

Life...how and what is it?

Up a 6:30 for another mile and a half walk. Beautiful morning. Cool, unlike yesterday.

Took care of some chores around the house, then sent off an early draft of the new commercial project I've been working on.

Got a surprise text my brother's in town. Had lunch with him at Noodles, caught up on the latest, said goodbye, and put in another half hour at the keyboard before taking off to the gym. Weird. Been working out as hard as ever, but seem to be losing energy. Got two days of antibiotics left in the poke, and after that I hope I'm looking at blue sky for a while.

Aphids on the roses. Gonna turn a bag of ladybugs loose on them after the sun goes down.

Tired again tonight. No accounting for it other than decrepitude.

Feeling the heat...

Went at it hard this morning. Up by six-thirty, out for a mile and half walk, then off to the cottage to put in some time at the keyboard. Got some good concepts together for the new project. Should be able to ship everything off before noon tomorrow.

Wind came up, but it felt good. Not sure what the temp topped out at today, but don't think it reached the nineties. Anyway, good day to work. At least until the Internet started crashing. Got stymied mid day and headed out for the gym. Got a haircut first. Felt good to lose some of the old topknot.

New issues of the Pikeville Review came in the mail. Look good. My story, "Eternity, Revisited" is in it. Last of the recent acceptances. Need to get a jump on copies. Submissions, too.

Feeling a little slow today and can't imagine why. The heat, I guess. No matter. Just going to soldier on and enjoy what's in front of me.

Chores and more...

Overcast and muggy early morning. Went off to the cottage to re-read the last draft of "Love Triangle." Pretty happy with what I have.  Quit while ahead and set to planting the last of the roses in the front flower bed. Cut and edged my lawn(s), swept the walks, then took a short break to buy a new hose at Lowes. Came back and teak oiled the settee and firewood caddy in the back yard. Thought I was gonna get away clean, but found myself host to couple of little visitors and am just now heading off to the showers.

Glad to have the yardvwork in order. Who knows, I may get to loaf around the house one of these days, enjoying my handiwork.

Mom comes again next Friday, on her way up to Wyoming. Just an overnight, but looking forward to catching up again.

Days have been speeding by, and I need to find a way to drag my feet and slow them down. I like being busy--it keeps my mind from running riot--but I'd like to settle in and just enjoy a day or two doing nothing.

Skies cleared up late this afternoon. Quite pleasant at the moment. Humidity's gone and there's a light breeze blowing in.

Hot town, summer in the city...

Summer showed up today with a vengeance. Temps rose early and settled into the nineties by noon. 

Went to the park this morning for some organized pee-wee soccer. Had a good time with the boys. Came home, read, and took a nap. Later, went grocery shopping. Serious grocery shopping. Haven't done that in a while. Gonna lay low tonight until the air cools. Maybe get in some more reading.

Slow day today. Seems like I spent most of it daydreaming.

 

Processing...

Well. Spent the better part of the morning trying to link a PayPal account to a bank account. You know you're in for a long day when the bank employee tells you to call PayPal for tech support.

Spent the night before on my knees in the bathroom, retching. Couldn't figure that one, but it felt like food poisoning.

Worked on the new commercial stuff when I wasn't otherwise occupied, then forced myself to the gym to blow off steam.

Dinner with S's partner J tonight. Soccer match tomorrow. Gonna try and get some rest in the meantime.