Lost and found...

Spent the morning working on a long stretch of narrative, only to have a longer one with the same storyline come stare me down in an older file. Not sure which is the stronger, or which to pursue. Serendipitously, while searching for background material, I came across the draft of a story I'd altogether forgotten about. And it wasn't bad. Guess I'll have my hands full here for a while.

So not all of the day was squandered. Which is nice after not having gotten much of a night's sleep. Cracked tooth, or whatever, shocked me awake around 2:30, and I never found my way back. Downed a couple of Aleve around 3:30, but the damage had already been done. Couldn't close my eyes.

Biding time...

Another (mostly) lost day. Errands, distractions, lots of little stuff. One commercial project out the door, but lost most of the afternoon to the dentist, repairing the new crown that lasted a whole whopping week. Thought I might have cracked another tooth waiting for the crown to come in. Hurts like hell but was told it doesn't look cracked--yet--and that I should ride it out. Got to the gym for a quick workout, then ran off to school to pick up J. Needless to say, I'm beat. Looking ahead to a productive day tomorrow. Gotta remember to take the truck in for a bodywork estimate if I don't do anything else.

Been drifting into this dark place, and can't put a finger on why. Well, maybe I can. Anyway, gotta pull myself out of it. Get lost in some new work. Try and find some real sleep. Need to get a letter off to D this week, too. Been a while since I wrote. 

Goodnight, Irene...

Not sure this one ever got off the ground. Woke up late, started slow, and except for a decent draft of a new Philharmonic letter, barely got it into second gear.

Cool today. Sunny, too, but a long way from shirt sleeves.

Made it to the gym late, and didn't stay long owing to some late day obligations.

Spent the early part of the evening on the phone with AT&T, trying to find out what happened to my longtime email account. Never mind the specifics. They make the head spin. Suffice it to say teiresias@att.net is no longer with us. Not for any practical intent.

Did I mention I hate technology? And a lot of other things?

Screw it. Like the man said...

"Sometimes I live in the country/sometimes I live in the town/sometimes I get a great notion/to jump in the river and drown"

Another short weekend...

Lazy day compared to most. Home late last night after dinner with old friends, up late this morning after a short night's sleep.

Got the reader draft of the new story in place. Calling it "Devotion." Think it's got some legs, but won't turn it loose on the world until it's cooled down and had another edit or two.

Read a little this afternoon, then went off to the lumber yard and hardware store. Could have gone to the gym, but had no ambition. Will start in again tomorrow after a better rest.

Pretty day. Had hoped to go fishing, but there again didn't quite manage. Trees have been holding their leaves (mostly), and the skies have been blue with a few high, scudding clouds. Supposed to snow later in the week. Hope that's just a rumor.

Visit from young J today. Good for some laughs, that's for sure. 

Make me an angel that flies from Montgom'ry...

Tech glitches messing with my life. Otherwise, no complaints.

Up a little late today, but at the keyboard early making revisions. New manuscript is reader draft ready. Time to move on to the next one.

Driving to Denver tomorrow to have dinner with an old friend. Looking forward to catching up.

Like to have rolled in the leaves today. Pretty afternoon, full of fall. Not ready to let go of it yet.

Sweet fall day...

Near comeback. Up late, but after a decent night's sleep. Spent the morning looking after small stuff, typing a few lines, and answering emails. Not much else. Took a brief trip downtown to Zeezo's to hunt up a chain and lantern for young J's halloween costume, but got skunked in the process. Downtown was bustling. Day was beautiful. Just no chains and lanterns to be found.

Made a brief jog to the gym and got in a light, fast workout. Home again afterward, then off to pre-school and other errands. Gonna try and finish the reader draft of the new story tomorrow. Think I'm close. Have good feelings about this one.

Don't know what's going on in the world, and don't really care. Wanna sit back and enjoy the weekend, maybe finish the cedar shingles on the shed and prune some of the trees. Bag up a truckload of leaves. Read. We'll see.

Made it this far...

Mom off this morning. Nice visit. Managed to pack in a lot of action, including a wheelchair trip up the side of the mountain in San Luis, a neighborhood potluck, and a visit to the Fine Arts Center. More in between, but too much to put down on paper. Suffice it to say we're looking forward to some time alone. Gotta regroup before the trip to Denver on Saturday.

Didn't get as much time this morning as expected, but still managed to put in some time at the keyboard--the first in days--and jot down a few revisions on the new story. Took off for the gym early afternoon, trying catch up after three days, and managed a decent workout that proved more tiring than it should have. Got home tired and ready for a rest. Looking forward to a good night's sleep.  

The shapes of things...

Trying to bend reality here. Influence the direction of things. Push the negative energy aside and find peace in the margins.

Gonna be a long few days ahead, what with visitors, social obligations, and the like. Wouldn't be so cumbersome to work with if there wasn't a cold around every corner. Seems like we've been battling back chest/head stuff for two straight years. Non-stop.

Dinner party tonight. Gotta go get cleaned up. 

Turn, turn, turn...

So, it's come round to this! Thursday again!

Shuffled back and forth between little things and the keyboard today. Made headway with both, though not as much as I would have liked. Took a late morning walk in falling leaves. Temps in the high seventies, easy breezes, lots of sunshine and smiling faces. Couldn't have asked for a nicer day.

Didn't make it to the gym, owing to other responsibilities, but that's life. Will catch up tomorrow.

Over, under, sideways, down...

Not sure where this one went. Lotta craziness. 

Somewhere in the midst of looking after little things, managed to get another batch of good revisions in on the new story. Who knows, might have a reader draft before I know it. 

Why do I keep hoping I'll find a practical way to schedule my days?

Needed a Starbuck's bad. Didn't get it. Gonna settle in with a bottle of wine instead and relive Sunday, on the water, working my fly rod.

Moving briskly along...

Wouldn't call it winter, exactly. But the first taste of brisk weather in a while. Snow never arrived--just a few flurries mid-morning--so we dodged a bullet. Leaves are still clinging to the trees, grass is still green and the forecast calls for warmer temps as the week moves along.

Put in revisions on the new story, and shored up the ending. Still a ways away from being finished, but well along and feeling like it's going to be a solid one. Funny, but I took the piece to be a bit lighter when it started out. Not that it's a downer or anything, but it's taken on gravitas I hadn't expected.

Mom coming for a visit at week's end. Dinner with J & K on Friday evening, too. Gonna be a busy few days. Glad the weather's going to improve. Like to see a few more weeks of Indian summer.

Sunday's child...

Out the door early, fly rod in hand. Drove up to Elevenmile and was on the water before 9:00. Cool in the canyon. Hands not ready for winter yet. Stuck it out and pulled two nice rainbow from the same run before heading home. Weather people calling for snow tonight. Snow? Before Halloween? Gotta start looking at a different mindset. Otherwise it's going to be a long, long winter.

Cut my lawns for the first time in a while, and have to say they both look great. Here's hoping the weather turns warm again, long enough to enjoy the green for a few more weeks.

Working the days the best I know how...

Up late last night after seeing "Baskerville" at the Fine Arts Center. Up late this morning, too, after a hard night's sleep. Put in a couple of hours at the keyboard working the new story. It's getting closer to the shape I want it to be. Have good feelings about it.

Nice fall day with clear blue skies. Spent the afternoon siding the new shed. The cedar shingles look nice. Didn't quiet finish, but it's an involved job and it's far enough along it shouldn't take more than another day to button things up. Looking forward to having it in the rearview.

Gonna relax tonight and try and get up early, and out the door to do a little fishing. Weather folks are calling for snow on Monday, so the the easy days on the water are going to get more rare. Need to take advantage of them while they're still here.

Flower children...

Weather bureau guy called for overcast skies and rain all week, but woke to blue skies that stayed blue. A rabble of butterflies flitted around in the rose bushes most of the day. Most I've ever seen in a single summer. Paper said it was an abundance of flowers, statewide, that brought them in. Whatever. They were a treat to watch.

Put in some revision time on the new story. Think it's going to be good one, providing I can get it right. Didn't have a lot of time to work on it, but enough to feel like I accomplished something. Spent the rest of the day looking after small stuff, making a brief stop at the gym and running errands. Tomorrow, clear sailing. An early morning meeting, and the rest of the day's mine.

Play tomorrow night at the Fine Arts Center. A Sherlock Holmes joint. Can't recall the title, but hear it's supposed to be good. Beat. Calling it quits for the evening.

Ready to break out, or down. Whichever comes first...

A lovely day, despite the damp. Wish I would've been able to get out and enjoy it.

Much time at the keyboard this morning. Drafted a new story, then spent the afternoon researching markets.

Didn't make it to the gym, or anywhere else for that matter, but all in all a productive run. Felt good to get something new on paper.

Small things tomorrow. A bit of business mixed in, too, probably. We'll see how things go.

Shades of gray...

Up early to gray skies and a return trip to the dentist. New crown broke within days of being set. Had to have it removed, and a new mold cast for a replacement. Major downer. Ten days wait until the NEW new one comes in. 

Didn't get much writing done today, but did manage to organize some material. Afternoon improved with a trip to the gym, and some late breaking sunshine. Be nice to make some headway tomorrow.

Tired. Didn't sleep for beans last night. Need to load up on Aleve and give it another try. Tom Petty officially dead. Hard to believe.

Cycling through...

Squeaking by on a Monday.

Got some drafting in this morning, then went into housekeeping mode with Submittable. A lot of busy work keeping after submissions, etc.

Drove over to Starbucks for a pick-me-up, then off to the gym for a while. A lot of bad news in the world today, most of it better off forgotten. Distractions are everywhere, anymore, and the best thing to do is ignore them. Be aware, take notes, then move on to something productive. What you don't want to do is wake up two years from now and realized you spend all of your time worrying over things you couldn't control. Bad people in the world. Angry people. But you can't do anything about them.

Talked to Mom, tonight. 

A man's castle...

Lovely day. Up early to sunshine and blue skies, coffee, and a quick trip to Good Earth. Spent the day on the road. First to Westcliff, then to Rye. Wind was whipping but the temps weren't too bad, and the scenery more than made up for the rest. Aspens were still looking sharp. Especially in the high valley between the two towns.

Stopped at Bishop's Castle. A first for me. My god what an astonishing place! Saw Bishop himself, knocking around in a bobcat, moving stones. Quite a character, judging from the signs and proclamations around the place. Pretty sure I wouldn't want to spend a hard winter with him, or even an easy one. Guy's got a lot of axes to grind.

Worn to a nub...

Dry gulched!  Started out with blue skies and sun, but the day clouded over early and for keeps before noon. Oh, well. At least a glimmer of a real day.

Up early with a three-year old. Zero to sixty in two seconds! Pancake breakfast, playtime, lots of wild conversation, and more.

Got around to some edits before noon. Pushed a ms collection out the door. After that, a little window shopping downtown followed by a grocery run. 

Beat from all the morning's doings and a restless night's sleep. Took an hour and a half nap, something I haven't done in a while. Kitty by my side. Sweet dreams.

Day trip tomorrow with K. Gotta get some road time in before the weather gets too cold and the snow starts falling.

Less than great expectations...

Rain. Gray skies. Low temps.

Bright spot was finishing the Philharmonic gig and pushing it out the door. Managed some time at the gym, which felt good, but couldn't carve out enough to get started on a new story. Tomorrow, baby. Tomorrow.

Babysitting tonight. Hear tell there's going to be a movie (Peter Pan) and popcorn. Where the evening goes from there is anybody's guess.

Energy level seems to be on the rise, but still congested. Be nice to get back to full strength. Tired of being sick.

Not sure what tomorrow's gonna bring, but pretty sure it won't include fishing.