Not bad for a Thursday...

Another rainy one. Temps fell into the forties, and the air was full of fall. Even so, not a bad day altogether. Got another project out the door, and managed a some time at the gym.

Respiratory thing feels like it's breaking. The cough is all but gone, and even though the congestion's there, things have improved. Energy's coming back.

Not ready for winter. Not yet. But it already feels like it's just around the corner. Oak trees on the side yard starting to produce acorns. Big green ones. Never seen anything like them.

So much water so close to home...

Things are looking up. Rain, three days in a row, and I haven't cut anyone's throat! Yet. 

Up later than usual, to work later than usual. Guess that's okay once in a while. Put in some good work once I hit the keyboard, but was waylaid for one reason or another anyway, and didn't finish the project I was fixed on getting out the door. So much for ambition.

Retitled the new story. Need to jog ahead with revisions so I can get it in the mail by the weekend. Special submission stuff lingering on an end-of-month deadline and want to try not to miss it. Meantime, gotta keep punching.

Pneumonia thing feels better today. Still hard to catch my breath, but not as hard as it was yesterday or the day before. Fingers crossed tight the whole mess dries up in the next couple of days. I'm fond of oxygen. It makes the day go better.

 

Rainy, overcast, quiet...

Not sure I'd put this one in the win column. But it's over, so there's that. Lots of running around, lots of wasted motion, lots of hurrying up and going nowhere.

On the positive side, got the Propaganda piece on Wild Honey out the door. Next up, Classic. After that the Philharmonic. 

Able to make a brief trip to the gym, but took it easy so's not to irritate the lungs. Feeling better today. Want to stay on track until the antibiotics are used up.

Beat from chasing down little things. Might call it an early night. 

A healthy attitude is everything...

Good news! The respiratory thing is just walking pneumonia! Whew. Thought I might be coming into something heavy. Annual physical went well, otherwise. Good till next year, or the sod overcoat, or whichever comes first.

Didn't get much done in the way of work, other than push the Broadmoor video back out the door. Had some doings with the bank over my HSA, but leaving that story for another day. Suffice it to say we forgot to put all the bankers in prison a few years ago, and the statute of limitations has undoubtedly expired. So let's just all crack a beer instead and watch Monday Night Football.

Man. Man, oh man.

Day trip to Victor...

Up later than usual, but not too much later. Packed the Jeep mid-morning and drove up the pass for some aspen watching. Cloudy day down below, but up on the mountain clear and sunny with blue skies. 

Drove to Victor and ate lunch at the hotel. Been a year or more since the last foray up there, but found the town the same as always. Cheerful, tumbledown, deserted. Visited a couple of antique shops, walked the streets, took a few snaps. The old Isis theatre, a quirky curio shop in its last incarnation, is closed now and looks as if someone might be looking to gut it. Same for a number of other shops. But that's the life up there. A hard one, for sure. Happy to say the Broom Shop was still open, the owners still there making brooms like there was no tomorrow. There's story material in that place, but I haven't yet figured out what it is.

Got home late afternoon and spent some time researching. Haven't written a lick of fiction in days. Looking forward to getting started again.  

Stormy weather...

Big rains this evening. Temps fell into the 50s.

Entertained guests last night and spent too much around the fireplace. Woke this morning sick as a dog, the respiratory stuff coming back in a big way. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything. Went back to bed and didn't get up until 12:30. After, spent the day in the cottage finishing the "Wild Honey" piece and making amendments to the Broadmoor video script.

No gym, no walk, no going out. Even had to skip the final performance of "Heisenberg" I was so beat up.

Took a long bath, and read some. Ready for bed again.

Need some breathing room...

On the mend. Again. Restless night's sleep. Was down about an hour when one of the cats decided he needed to lick, then bite, my fingers. Things spiraled out of orbit after that. Up till almost dawn.

Managed to get a few decent revisions on the Wild Honey piece I'm writing for Theatreworks, but had to abandon the piece by mid-morning. Little things followed by dental things. Broken crown replaced.

Realized somewhere along the way that it was an absolutely lovely day. Clear, soft beautiful sunlight. A cool breeze. Blue sky. If ever a day came along that begged you to do nothing but sit back and enjoy, this was it. Who knows, maybe luck will hold and another will come tomorrow.

Miss my Starbucks. Feel like I've been locked in a dungeon these last few days. Happy to have new work coming in, but disappointed, big time, with the respiratory thing.

More tired than I should be...

Fitful night, but up early anyway. Shared time looking after little things and writing the promotional piece for Propaganda. Didn't make as much progress as I would have liked, but did okay given the circumstances. Got in an early afternoon stroll, a little more work, and some time at the gym. Beautiful late summer day with the sun lower in the sky and a nice breeze blowing in from the east. Gonna make another attempt at taking it easy and slowing down this cold. Getting rid of this spider bite on the neck, too. 

Goings on about the house...

New week, new start. Beautiful day today.  

Spent the morning making notes on the Wild Honey piece. Gonna launch in tomorrow, get a good draft going, then move on to the final (I hope) rewrite of the Broadmoor 100 year anniversary video. Might have made more headway today, but somehow managed to catch the little guy's cold. Can't believe it. 

Pushed some stories out the door, checked the status on a couple of others. Twelve in the mail, one about to be. At least three of the twelve have been under consideration for a year, but that's a rabbit hole I'm not going down today.

Didn't sleep much last night owing to the cold, and a newly acquired spider bite I took in the neck. Hoping I'll fare better this evening. Want to come at tomorrow fresh and rested.

 

Trout fishing in America, redux...

Up at a decent hour, considering all the hard labor put in on the lawn over the last few days. Drank a couple of cups, then loaded up the gear and drove down to Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Spent the better part of the morning and afternoon on the Arkansas. Good day's fishing. Brought home some small but nice brown. Shared them with folks who count. What a wonderful getaway. What a beautiful day.

Born fly...

Last of the yard clean up. Another trip to Rocky Top, one to Bill's Tool Rental, one to Lowe's, and a last to Good Earth. Things finally look good again.

Managed a reader's draft of the new story early this morning. Working title,  "Stones Throw." Gotta start pushing some of the old pieces out the door.

Might go fishing tomorrow. Hope so. Be nice to get away for a couple of hours. 

Lawn and order...

Sod in, front yard beautiful once again. Long day under the sun with trips to the tool rental, Rocky Top, Lowe's, and Starbucks. 

Ken, the young minister across the street helped lay the sod. What a nice gesture, and nicely timed, too, after a long day of shoveling topsoil. Love my neighborhood, love my neighbors.

No writing today, but may be no more than a few hours from a reader draft of the new story. Hope to finish tomorrow, as I'm back playing team leader for N, and the stories will begin floating in soon.

More tomorrow. Too tired to write more.

The dirt between us...

Big day. Top soil arrived. That mean's a new lawn tomorrow, providing the sod folks hold up their end of the deal. Can't wait to see green again.

Took care of a lot of odds and ends today. Raked the roto-tilled dirt, shoveled the debris into the truckbed, revised a few lines here and there, looked after little stuff, went to the gym and wrote a critique. So why does it feel like I didn't accomplish anything?

Eager to have done with the lawn and get back to the keyboard. The exercise is nice, but like most of those endeavors, it's time consuming gums up the schedule.

Enough bitching.

Gonna settle in for the night.

 

When the smoke clears...

Back to square one, Monday. Weekend went faster than usual what with work, guests, and the like. Managed to get some writing time, but not enough to finish the reader draft on the new story. It's close, but still a few days out.

Winds must have shifted, or maybe the rains have knocked down the smoke, but the air quality's improved each of the last two days. Happy for that. Imagine the aspens will start turning before long. Need to figure out an escape plan soon and decide where and when to see them. Think I'll bring my fly rod along this year.

Lawn's up and needs to be roto tilled this week. Topsoil after that, then sod. Looking forward to having grass again. Green grass.

Day's end...

Day started with blue skies, but they've gone gray and smoky again. You could smell the burning wood smell by late afternoon. Hope snow comes to the mountains soon to help put the fires out.

Had a good morning making revisions on the new story. Feels like I'm getting close to a reader draft. Hope so. Thought I might get the lawn roto-tilled today, but fell behind and couldn't catch up. Scoped out the options at Home Depot. Know the model I need. Just have to find a spare four hours to get it done.

Tired today. As in tired-like-you-didn't-realize-you-were-tired tired. No gym today. Will have to get back on top of things tomorrow.

Fireproof...

Busy day. Many goings on. Need to jump on the commercial stuff tomorrow and see if I can't make strides before the next surge comes through.

Temps not bad today, but air was awful. Lots of soot riding in on the jet stream. Couldn't see the mountains for the third day straight. Glad fall comes early in Wyoming. They need some snow up there to help tamp down the fire. Heard the Eagle Creek fire out in Oregon might have been started by a fifteen year old. What a tragedy.

Made good progress on the new story, but haven't finished it yet. Took a peek at an older untitled piece, too. It's got the legs to be a longer story, and maybe even a novel, but I'll have to get serious about outlining it before I take that leap.

Gloomy night owning to the haze. Gonna make a drink and settle in.

 

Miles to go, promises to keep...

Week keeps slipping by. Hit the keyboard early, working on the new story. Moves along fine until the last two pages. We'll see where it goes.

Spent the afternoon doing research, then cleaning up the rest of the front lawn. Sod's out now and ready for roto tilling. Beguiled away a good thirty minutes at the landfill emptying the bed. Rest of the afternoon at the gym.

Skies still smoky.  Could use some rain.

Blisters on both hands. Can't remember the last time that's happened.

Where there's smoke...

Full day. Already. Up early working on the TA script. Pushed hard and took a lot of good notes. At it until mid afternoon, then took a break and went to the gym. Pounded the hell out of my back and arms tearing up the lawn over the weekend. Sore in places you don't want to be sore. Laid back on the weights today. Skipped rope, hit the heavy bag, came home and wrangled the little ones for a while. Thought I might finish with the grass tonight, but maybe not. I'll get on it tomorrow when I can make a run to the recycling center. Skies gray the past couple of days from the fires. Saw there's a new one up around Sheridan. Air quality's awful.

Workingman's weekend...

Up later than usual, but up nonetheless. Got a little writing time early on, then went fishing/picnicking with young J. Got skunked but had a good time. Took him to a skateboard park before going home, and man was that fun. He wanted to get out there with them. Wrote for a while this afternoon, then took on the remnants of the lawn. Most of it's cleaned up now. Another hour digging and I'll be ready for Rocky Top, the roto tiller and sod.

Birthday doings tomorrow. Hope to get some reading in as well. Have a feeling it's gonna be a bear of a week.