The good life...

Settling in after a long weekend.

Up at 6:15, and off to the cottage and the keyboard. Making progress on the long piece. Near the halfway point.

Haven't been getting much sleep for one reason or another, but hasn't seemed to matter. Up early yesterday and off with J. to Green Mountain Falls for his first fishing expedition. Spectacular time. He caught his first fish--a nine-inch rainbow on a Shakespeare "Thomas the Tank Engine" edition 3- foot rod with closed faced reel--and was so overcome he couldn't speak. Never seen such happiness! Were there for hours, and his concentration held the entire time. Was really proud of him. Really proud.

Joined J. and K. for an early dinner, then off to see Tommy Emmanuel at the Pikes Peak Center. Christ, that guy can play. Went to bed late after prosecco on the back patio. What a day. Couldn't have been more perfect.

The ebb and flow of things...

So, 5:00 am seems a long time ago. 

Started early at the keyboard and had the most productive day of the week. Was forced to give up early, but for a good cause. Had a nice morning with R's boys, then came home, did a little free-styling and went off to the gym.

Cut my lawns this afternoon, edged, trimmed, and sprayed. Hot day but things look good. A little toasty around the edges, but good.

Sad new about A. Bourdain. Real sad. 

Young J coming for a sleep-over tomorrow. Fishing Sunday morning. Gotta make a run to the sporting goods store tomorrow, make sure we have everything we need.

Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown...

Can't say my circle of influence is getting any bigger. Woke early this morning and was hard at it by a little after five. Pounded away for a few hours, then spent the rest of the day looking after small stuff. Managed a wagon ride around the neighborhood, and a visit to the boys across the street, but spent most of the time making sure nobody got into trouble. There was a brief engagement with the kiddy pool, a short trip to the grocery store, but it was an uneventful day all in all. Got a much needed rain around 4:00 pm. Hope the lawn appreciates it, because there isn't supposed to be another in quite a while. Looking at clear skies and temps in the 90s for the next four days or more.

Been thinking about the long piece, worrying there isn't enough direct scene in the opening narrative. Hope I'm wrong. Most of the backstory reads like direct scene so maybe I'm good. Then again, it could be too early to tell either way. Still have a long road ahead and a lot of other issues to attend to first. Rome wasn't burnt in a day, right?

Excited about the fishing trip with J. Hope he likes it. Think it's gonna be a good day. If nothing else, it'll be nice to get out of town.

 

Be the mountain, not the monkeys...

Up early. To the keyboard at 5:00 with a steady run until 7:00. Put in some good work today. Spent the rest of the morning chasing after small stuff. Picked up groceries, took a spin around the block with the wagon, then goofed off around the house. 

Made it to the gym around 2:00. Hardly anyone there. Afternoons are looking better all the time, though it's nice to get the workout out of the way early, too. We'll see what the rest of the summer brings. Point is, be adaptable.

Drove up to Green Mountain Falls yesterday to check out their lake in the city park. Looks like the perfect place to take young J. fishing. Picnic grounds, playground...shade. Gonna make our first expedition on Sunday. 

Hot today. Skies were pretty clear until about 5:00, then something blew in. Saw what looked like smoke drifting up from the south, but now it's just overcast. Some bad fires burning to the south. Praying for rain. 

Boys across the street are doing well. Looking forward to spending some time with them tomorrow, and maybe finish writing a few reviews. Could use a few more hours in the day.

Footloose...

Took it easy today. Up at 7:00, coffee, some time at the keyboard, then off to visit with R's boys. Read a couple of N stories, made notes, had some quality visiting time with S & S, threw together a chicken for a new soup recipe and finished the day at young J's dance recital. All in all, a pretty busy Sunday.

Got a chance to piece through the longer work and do some rethinking on a specific bit of scene/character development. Wouldn't call it a breakthrough, but think I hit on something useful. Hope so anyway. Will start experimenting tomorrow.

Putting together ideas on the coming weekend's fishing trip. Weather permitting, might take a jaunt up the mountain.

Feels like summer...

Slept in this morning. Not out of bed until 7:00. Lots of goings on. Keyboard time, reading and editing, yard work. Brief meeting with the electrician. 

Not sure where the day went, but it went. Didn't get to the gym until four. Surprised I had enough to make it through a full workout. Hot again. High eighties. Don't see rain in the forecast for another four days.

Like to get an early jump on the writing tomorrow. Shoot for a 6:00 wake up call and see how far I can go before noon. After that, more yard work, and whatever else comes down the pike.

Boys across the street were really sweet. Made my day spending time with them.

One big adventure...

Up at five and out the door to the gym. Home early to get in a few lines at the keyboard. Rest of the day looked after small stuff. Young M. finally "wagon broke." Took a lordly stroll over to CC this morning with him and loafed in the grass under the trees.

R's place is looking good, the boys happy. Got a little rain last night and the grass is happy for it. Warm today (in the 80s) but a nice breeze kept things from getting out of control.

New story came in yesterday from N. Eager to read it. Still haven't found that work groove I've been looking for to make up lost ground. Maybe things will start clicking tomorrow.

Young J on his way over for an hour or so. Understand he has a dance recital this Sunday, so I know where I'll be. Still searching for the right place to take him for his first fishing trip. We'll see if I can't get that wrapped up over the weekend.

 

 

Looking to turn the corner...

Another near miss. Found a contest rejection in the box saying my joint had made it through three rounds into the final ten. But no cigar. Screw it. Had a productive day nonetheless. Up at five to the gym, home early to write, and managed a long afternoon cutting the lawns and trimming the trees. Rome wasn't burnt in a day, right?

Last day of May tomorrow. Hard to believe. Need to start making plans for the next fishing expedition. 

And then today happened...

Just when I thought I was going to get back on schedule. Guess I'll have to give it another try tomorrow.

Up early, but out to Kairo's for coffee with G, not the gym. Always nice to catch up. Always. Stayed an hour longer than usual, but had a great time and terrific conversation. Heard a funny story about a two-year-old in diapers, unattended, running up the middle of the street on Memorial Day.

Got in some middle of the morning writing time, but spent most of the day looking after small stuff. Made a couple of long wagon rides around the neighborhood. Weather was perfect. Sunny and cool. 

Going over to R's house again in a few to look in on the boys and maybe catch a little news on TV. Been having a nice time with the guys. They're a couple of good eggs.

 

 

Memorial Day weekend...

Another late start. Up at 5:00, but didn't last long. Fell back to sleep and didn't wake again until seven. 

Good morning at the keyboard. Made some nice headway with the long piece. Still haven't gotten back up all the lost ground of the past three weeks, but moved forward. Need to retool my schedule. Give myself a few more opportunities to get things done. Not sure how, or why, I lost the handle, but aim to get it back.

Relapsed into the crud. Geez. Haven't had a voice for two days now.

Strangely overcast today. Thought at first it might be smoke. Whatever it is it's stuck around, and made the sky miserable. 

Saw The Rider today. An uneven attempt a taking perfectly good documentary material and dressing it up as a piece of fiction.  Some wonderful moments. Some not so wonderful moments as well.

Company tomorrow. Backyard grilling.   

In vino, veritas...

Took a break from the gym today, didn't get out of bed until 7:00. Spent the morning working on the long piece, the mid-morning and afternoon siding up the garden, cleaning the garage, and getting the new shed in order. Got a lot accomplished, but still have some detail work ahead of me. Buddied up with the boys across the road this morning and again this evening. Had a nice time. Looking forward to seeing what the future brings.

Looking forward to a shower and a quiet evening. Blanched some tomatoes when I finished up with work. Making a pasta sauce with some of the new herbs. Hope to crack a bottle of wine soon.  

Pretty day...

Okay. So, made it this far.

Tired today. Even so, up at five, off to the gym at five thirty. Mowed the lawns, sat with the boys a while, critiquing stories, then mosyied home to put in some work.

Wrote a couple of letters this afternoon. Tried to catch up. The crud made a comeback, slowing things down, but figured it would. Just need a little more rest.

Read Philip Roth died. Haven't been plunged so deep for a while. Guy was a giant. I'll miss him.

On a happier note, glad to hear good news about R.

Too tired to think...

Yeah. Out the door at 5:40 am to the gym. Couldn't sleep. Still amazed people are willing to get up at the crack of dawn to work out. But man, they're there. 

Had a few cups of coffee, then put in some work at the keyboard. Revisions, mostly. Pushed some material out the door, then looked after the small stuff. Trying not to think at the moment. Just work. Got a lot on my mind and trying not to get mired.

Day started out cool and overcast, ended up sunny and breezy. Spring is here. 

Good news in the places it counts most.

Gonna chalk the day up as a win.

 

More comings and goings...

Off the radar a while. Sent Mom off to Albuquerque late this morning after four-night stay. Kept busy the whole time, and had a nice visit.

Policed the back patio while she was here, trimming, planting, weeding, etc. Tasked Mom with teak-oiling the patio furniture, and she did a damned good job for a blind eighty-eight year old. Place is looking good again, and should be entirely livable by the end of Memorial Day weekend.

Didn't get much accomplished at the keyboard the past four days, but sometimes that happens. Haven't been to the gym in the same amount of time, and am champing at the bit to find my old routine again.

Pushed a new version of The Outskirts of Nowhere out the door this afternoon. U of G is sponsoring a contest that looked interesting, and though I wouldn't bet against the house over my odds of winning, it felt good to get something off the desk. I'll worry about the outcome later.

Sending out warm thoughts to my sweet neighbor. It's all cake after tomorrow.

Headway...

Up early after another sleepless night. Bad dreams, and the like. Made the gym well before six and got in a pretty good workout. The place was quiet compared to the way it's been the past few months. Nice to have some space.

Spent the rest of the day between revisions on the new story and house chores in anticipation of Mom's visit. Accomplished quite a lot, given I'm still not feeling too well. Cut both my lawns late this afternoon. What a beautiful day it turned out to be. Temps were supposed to be near eighty, but I'm not sure it got that warm. Anyway, the sky was blue the sun was shining, and there was a nice cool breeze stirring the air most of the day.

Fingers crossed the next few days go well. Have three new mss to read and critique and need to stay ahead of them. 

The Wolfe, Dead at 88...

Took the dare and got out of bed early. Left the house at first light and got over to the gym for an early workout. Managed pretty well considering the layoff. No asthma attacks, and only a small amount of trouble breathing. Worst part was the crowd of people already there. Jesus. Where do they find the commitment?

Tired kind of early, but expected to. Put in as much time at the keyboard as possible, then spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of small stuff. Not the most productive day in the world, but not the least, either. Happy with the quality. That's the important thing.

Can already tell this virus is the kind to come and go. Can't go to sleep on it. Thought maybe I'd turned a corner yesterday--and I had--but I can tell by the way I feel today that it's not ready to let go. Gonna have to find a way to take it easy. Ride those burst of energy at a trot instead of a gallop.

On a more important note, saw that Tom Wolfe died. Major downer. 

Clouds sailed in, low and dark, a while ago. Hail mussed up the trees and flowers a bit, but the yard didn't take any major casualties for a change. Hope that's the last we see of that business for a while.

Off the ropes and slugging again...

On the mend. Slept through the night and woke half-way clear headed. Still tired, but much improved. Forewent the gym for the--what?--fifth day running, figuring it's best not to tempt fate. Back at it tomorrow, I think.

Did some good revising today. The new story's almost reader-ready. Meanwhile, restocked and rearranged the library bookcase, and the same with the reference bookcase in the cottage. Nice to see all the titles in their right place again.

One N critique out the door, three new pieces coming in. Good to be busy, as always. Good to get back some of the old energy. 

Yard's looking fine, no thanks to me. Everything's blossomed or come out in the past seven days and the place is beginning to feel right again. Green and shady and easy on the eyes. 

More of the same...

Long day, most of it spent in bed. Was hoping for a rally, but what I got instead was a bigger dose of what I already have. Downed some cough medicine. A couple of pills. Not sure which is worse, the disease or the cure.

Gotta re-group and hope tomorrow's better. Talked to mom this afternoon, sounded like she was doing fine. Cheerful as all get out. How does she do that? Only a few days before she comes out now. Says don't plan anything special. No worries. I told her we were going to clean the garage and she lit up like a Christmas tree.

Miss the gym. Haven't been for three straight days now. Don't want to infect anyone else, but the layoff is driving me crazy. 

 

Laid low...

The cold I'm lugging around is a nasty one. Don't remember being this under the weather for a long time--which, of late, adds up to about a week and a half. Developed a cough last night, too. Attractive.  

Nearly got some work done today, but then the cement kid came to lay the slab for the fountain on the side yard and everything started to slip. Boys came over later and put their prints in the finished product. M lent the soles of his feet and young J his hands. Should be set enough by tomorrow to remove the form, install the fountain five or six days after that. All's right with the world! 

Mom to arrive by week's end. Hoped to get a lot done in advance of her coming, but don't feel like it, frankly, and pretty sure my attitude's not going to change by tomorrow.

Putting together a new collection. Got some good pieces to work with, and who knows? Maybe it'll fly.