December 30, 2018...

So here it is, another day in a week confused by the holiday clockwork.

Woke later than usual, read two stories, wrote a little, and went back to revisions on the long piece. Feeling my way.

Saw a movie early this afternoon, then came home for a brief workout at the gym. Pretty quiet all around town. Like everyone’s taking a deep breath. Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but the kids will be in our care soon enough and that should rock the world back into motion all on its own. A week, babysitting. Yow.

Gonna take it easy tonight. Try and get up early.

Between this year and the next...

Catch up day. Mss in the mail, correspondence, revisions, and a quick trip to the gym. In the meantime, made a fresh pot of beef stew, which is currently simmering on the stove.

Still trying to find my New Year bearings. Feel as if I’ve lost touch with things…or people…or both.

I know it’s wrong to say it, but I’m looking forward to some alone time. Or, maybe, quiet time.

Need to get back to work on the long piece. Soon.

The in-between...

Damn. Off the grid so long I don’t know where to begin.

Christmas in the rearview, the new year not far ahead. Had a good time with friends and family. The boys were an education, as always. Many comings and goings, some reflection in between, and now it feels as if we’re coming into something big and new.

A lot of things on my mind. Gonna spend the coming weeks sorting out what I can and finding a way to leave the rest behind.

Supposed to be cold tonight. Colder tomorrow. Glad we’re working our way into the weekend. Haven’t been able to orient myself, what with the holidays and change of schedules, but it won’t be long before the clocks aren’t striking thirteen every morning.

Look forward to that.

Meanwhile, rest.

Lots of rest.

A little of everything...

Caught up with my buddy, G, for coffee this morning. Nice to see him again. Nice to know he’s doing well out in L.A.. Spent the rest of the morning cleaning, in anticipation of Mom’s arrival.

Gonna take it easy this evening and see if I can’t get some extra rest. Big day tomorrow looking after two people instead of just one. Might take M to the rock climbing studio in the early part of the morning, see if I can’t wear him out. Make up the rest as I go along.

Pot of beef stew on the stove. Ought to be the perfect night for it.

All over the place...

It’s all been a blur since Friday. Guess that’s not much different from the way it always is in late December. Had a hard night’s sleep and got out of bed early and went out to the cottage and put the finishing touches on a new short I’m calling “Morphosis.”

Did some late shopping, then came home and made some beef stew. Shopping center was overrun.

Took a brief look at a quote from A Moveable Feast, and got hooked, like I do every year, and found myself needing to read it again. Which is okay. Better than okay.

Getting together tomorrow morning with my buddy G. Mom arrives in the afternoon. Somewhere betwix the two, the house will be cleaned! How this will happen is a mystery of the holiday season.

Part of me is already looking forward to the long, cold, dark of late January.

Denver. Delightful as always...

Back from a night in Denver.

Botanic Gardens were spectacular. Absolutely beautiful.

Dinner at Rioja also spectacular.

Fun to be an adult once in a while.

Had a late breakfast this morning, then off to the Kirkland Museum. Wow. What a treat. Definitely need to revisit.

Beat.

Gonna hit it early and try to get a good night’s sleep.

This, that, and the other...

So. The day’s such a blur I can’t remember when it started.

Had a restless night’s sleep, got up early and…pow…a two-year-old racing around the place at top end for the rest of the day. Managed to work in a small set of revisions to a new shorter piece, but that was the only accomplishment worth bragging about—besides a brief jaunt to the gym. Heading up to Denver tomorrow to see the Botanic Gardens and do a little shopping. Be nice to get the time off—especially in advance of Mom’s visit, J’s impending sleep over, and the rest of the holiday festivities.

Oh, yeah. Forgot about the trip to the allergist. Turns out I might be in better shape than I think. Whoohoo.

Tomorrow never knows...

All over the place today.

Wrote a piece of flash fiction, sent it off, then sat down and read for a while. Came across a nice story by Andrew Scobie, one time editor of Blue Crow magazine.

Took off early for the gym. Ran into an old buddy I hadn’t seen in a while.

Tonight, seeing “A Christmas Carol” at Theatreworks, and tomorrow an early babysitting date with young M.

Have finally begun to understand why this Christmas has been easier than most. Some day I’ll reveal the reason, but for the moment I’m reluctant to tempt fate.

Signing off.

Gotta find my coat and gloves.

6:18, December 11...

This one blew by.

Got some time at the keyboard thanks to K and S running off to shop with the baby. Brief visit to the gym, as well. Rest of the day was babysitting, and a lot of it hard time, too.

Well, tomorrow should go a little more smoothly—providing we get some sleep. Meanwhile, it’s forge ahead and hope for the best.

Of stories and storytellers...

It’s like the days keep getting shorter. I don’t know. Gotta start forcing myself out of bed earlier, I guess. Made some pretty good progress on a new short, but chomping to get back at the long piece. May be a while before that happens, what with Mom coming out and the holidays sneaking up, but want to be ready for it.

Got in a quick trip to the gym, and some solo Christmas shopping this afternoon. Need to find a couple more things for D. Wrap them up and ship them off while I still have the time. Hard to believe we’re already a third of the way through the month.

Read an interesting story in the Columbia Journal this afternoon. Piece about an older couple. Well, more than that, of course, but the reason I mention their age is because I had the very distinct impression the characters had been dreamed up by someone young. I’ll have to look the writer up and see if I’m right.

Young M to come early tomorrow. Let’s hope the nice weather holds.

Turn out the lights, the weekend's over...

Here’s another one that slipped by.

Worked on stories most of the morning, then re-read a couple of N submissions and wrote two critiques.

Can’t say much about the rest of the day except for some long overdue grocery shopping.

Finally got around to decorating the tree. Looks terrific, though it got too dark to throw up the tinsel, so I guess that’ll have to happen tomorrow.

Cool day. But sunny. Not sure what the rest of the week’s supposed to bring but I think we’re looking at warmer temps. Close to fifty, if I remember correctly.

Tired.

Calling it a night.

The runaround...

To bed later than usual last night. Spent the evening listening to Dianne Reeves belt it out at the Ent Center. Terrific band, terrific concert.

Up around 7:30 working on a new joint. Been trying to find my way back to the long piece, but keep getting detoured. Gotta believe it’s for a reason. Anyway, a productive stab at something new.

Spent the afternoon tilting at windmills…prescriptions unfilled, lights not to be had, foodstuffs suddenly turned scarce. The usual.

Still haven’t quite gotten around to decorating the tree. Guess it’ll have to happen tomorrow.

For now, time to retire.

Full circle...

So here we are, right back to Friday. Got some okay writing in this morning, and a little bit of reading, too. Also managed to push a new N critique through the turnstile. Kind of a wandering day, but in a good way that took me from the keyboard to the gym and back again.

Going to a concert tonight. Second this week. Figure that to be some kind of record. Kind of nice to get out again.

Looking to decorate the tree tomorrow afternoon while there’s light to work by. After that, who knows. A movie maybe, though there’s nothing out there at the moment that feels like a must see.

New book about the Arcadians is terrific. Enjoying it quite a bit. Gotta remind myself to order the Thom Jones volume I read about.

What you'd expect...

A lost day, if memory figures into it. Young M showed early, and everything spiraled into oblivion. Got a bit of work out of the way, but not much. Okay, considering I didn’t expect to get anything accomplished at all. Wrote a critique for N, pushed some correspondence out the door, read over a couple of new drafts, and managed some market research to boot.

Chilly day. 20s, I’d guess, though I didn’t have a chance to check.

Looking ahead to tomorrow. Weather’s supposed to break. A little.

Staying busy, but feeling the tug of people gone or gone silent and wondering where it all leads. Wish I were better at saying what I feel.

Wow. December 5th, Already...

Went over to the Pikes Peak Center last night. Saw the Air Force Academy Band. It was a nice concert, and they were all good musicians, but it did feel like being stuck in a lost episode of the Lawrence Welk Show.

Up early this morning doing a bit of revision. Then a bit of research for the afternoon client meetings. Day went pretty fast. Hit the grocery store afterward to pick up a few vegetables, then home again to write letters and post Christmas cards.

Hit the gym late in the day, but only for an abbreviated workout. Quiet compared to normal. Would have enjoyed it more had I not been so tired.

Looking forward to a quiet evening. Gonna drink a little eggnog and decorate the tree.

Overcast...

Woke around three, never got back to sleep. Strange dreams. Got some work in at the keyboard, then went to the gym, early, which was overrun with people. Came home and prepped for an early afternoon meeting. Went out shopping for Christmas cards when I got back. Not much to brag about other than that. Young M over tomorrow. Need to get a head start on some sleep. Working our way into that season where nothing gets done until the eleventh hour.

There you go...

Woke up to a birthday. Spent the early part of the day working on new stuff, reading some of my N stories, and putting in some research. Went to an early movie, then came home and worked a little more. Nice quiet day.

Clients tomorrow!

Tonight, kick back and take it easy.

Greening of the living room...

Big day around the house.

Finished the draft of a new story, then attended to file keeping and submissions of a few finished pieces. Got in a little reading on the side.

Went off to the hardware store early afternoon and picked up supplies for the new tree stand I’m building. Design worked out pretty well. Put the thing together and bolted the tree to it a little while ago, and it’s standing in living room now, ready for lights and all the rest. Cats are quiet pleased with the addition.

Thought we might go out and see the Parade of Lights tonight, but decided against it when young J couldn’t come along. Figure to stay in and relax instead. Order carryout or something. Save our energy for tomorrow.

Hard to believe it’s the first of December. Glad we’re getting a jump on the decorations. Mom looks to be back here in a couple of weeks. Want to have everything in place before she arrives.

Nice shirt-sleeve kind of morning. Weather turned a little afternoon and a chilly wind blew in. I think there’s supposed to be snow tomorrow.

Rejections, reflections, and more...

Woke up to rejection. Another story held onto for nearly a year. Man, that’s gotta be at least four that have passed the twelve month mark only to be deep-sixed in the end.

On the bright side, I’m only sixty-three. Plenty of time to take up the slack.

Made it to the gym today, and managed a pretty good workout. Abandoned the jump rope for the first time in a long time and tried the Nordic Track instead. Might decide to cross-train for a while. The change was good.

Found another nice story in my N queue. Been having a good month in that regard. Only hope the trend continues.

Putting up the Christmas tree tomorrow. Fingers crossed it doesn’t fall down.