Easing in...

So that was Monday.

Up a little after five, and down to the cottage to finish what I hope will be the last of the edits on the long piece for at least a couple of weeks. Turning it over to DocuMart tomorrow. Was going to do it today, but got waylaid by other things.

Did make it to the gym, and got in a nice workout.

Young M tomorrow, along with the first hot weather in some time. Gotta figure out a way to make the most of what promises to be a long afternoon once his bro arrives.

Tired for some reason. More tired than expected, anyway. We’ll see what the morning brings.

Calling it.

Sunday already...

Lazy day.

Up early, making revisions.

Later, off to the nursery to buy a few viburnum for the front flower bed.

Weather went back and forth for a while, and settled into a cool, breezy afternoon. Can’t say I accomplished as much as I wanted, but it is what it is and there’s always tomorrow.

Felt good backing away from the gym for a couple of days. Look forward to getting back at it tomorrow, but my body’s thankful for the rest.

More tomorrow.

Letter due family, invoices to clients. Gonna try and make a big week of it.

Make it official, it's Saturday...

Quick entry.

Up later than usual last night, up later than usual this morning. Out of bed and at the keyboard by 6:10. Put in a solid 3 1/2 hours of revisions, then went to work on the overhead hoist in the garage, assembling the cargo bed. Needed a side to Ace to pick up a couple of nuts for a U-bolt, but the job’s done except for some minor adjustments. At least I hope it’s done. We’ll see how the programming goes.

No gym today. Needed some time to recuperate. But got in a nap, which was almost as good. Kept thinking today was Sunday, a misconception brought on by yesterdays boat excursion. Looking forward to an early rise tomorrow, and an end to the current revisions on the long piece. Gonna send a file off to DocuMart on Monday and have a paper copy made that I hope to put to audio—kind of a touch point before burning reader copies. Need to start revising the outline, get to work on a synopsis, etc. Also wanna get back to the short I’ve been fooling around with.

Rains came again this afternoon. Snow in the mountains. Wouldn’t mind seeing a little sunshine, but will never complain about moisture again if it keeps the fires away. We’ll see. It’s a long summer.

A little of this, a little of that...

Got it going early again. Two productive hours before the little guy arrived.

Feeling better and better about the long piece. Or hell, maybe I’m just getting lazy, I don’t know. Either way, it’s rolling to completion and that’s a merciful thing. Want to start moving on to other things.

Managed a quick but productive trip to the gym mid afternoon, then home again to round up the boys and kill the rest of the day.

Gonna launch the new canoe tomorrow morning, and if the day’s half as nice as this one was we should have a successful maiden voyage. I’m tempted to take my fishing gear along and see if I can’t bring home dinner. We’ll see how much ambition I have after loading the boat and the rest of the gear.

K coming for dinner tomorrow night. Bringing steaks! If the weather holds, maybe we’ll have our first backyard fire of the season.

Turning the corner on a new week...

Full day. Up at 5:30, making a mad run to the end of the long piece. The structure is finally, solidly, in place, and the revisions from here should be small and manageable. Whether there’s any worth to what’s been done as a whole remains to be seen. Another reprieve is probably in order before heading down that path. Anyway, it’s on to green woods and pastures new for a while.

Got in another nice day at the gym. The new routine is energizing. Came home afterward and made another trip to Sportsman’s Warehouse for a set of adult life preservers. Then a separate trip to Memorial Park to pick up a season boating license. Maiden voyage is scheduled for Friday, destination Quail Lake. After that, who knows?

The Wells book continues to fascinate. It’s quite a tome, and I’m a long, long way from finished, but haven’t any great hurry and am enjoying the read. Also finished a re-read of McCarthy’s Child of God. What a book. Funny, but the sheriff (Fate) and his deputy are almost a prototype of EdTom and his deputy in No Country.

Feels good to be back in the swing. Young M tomorrow, so we’ll see if the momentum lasts. Wanna get back to the short I was working on, and maybe draft a new one before the week’s out. We’ll see how the time plays out, the weather being strange and all.

All this and more...

So. Back to normal, for what it’s worth.

Early rise, good revisions, little guy back, and life is good. Miss Mom, but it’s nice to get some work done. Still leaning hard on the long piece. Feels like I might have a reader draft in the next week or so, but content to take things as come. Don’t have any other choice, really.

Drove back out to Sportsman’s Warehouse this morning to pick up a couple of life preservers for the boys. (Do they still call them that? Life preservers?) Anyway, got the floatation stuff, and two sets of oars. One for the big folks, one for the small. Now all that’s left are some adult vests and a permit or two. Looking forward to the first launch.

Made it to the gym early, and got in a nice workout. Felt good getting back in that routine, as well.

Can’t believe it’s the middle of June already. Must be the weather that’s throwing me off. Rain again today, and cool too. Still feels like spring.

Jeep died for no apparent reason, which I hope becomes apparent now that it’s parked outside Stanley’s Garage. Intermittent electrical? Christ, I hope not.

The rain was incidental...

Feeling more like myself.

Woke a little after five and got back to the keyboard. Plowed along pretty well and managed some good edits. Getting closer and closer on the long piece. We’ll see how the week goes.

Spent the early part of the afternoon at Freight Harbor looking for a trailer extension. Found, installed it, and picked up the new canoe at Sportsman’s Warehouse. Even at thirteen feet, the canoe seems big. But the extension worked, and the boat rode comfortably in the back bed of the truck, and we’ll be in business if I can find the ratchet tie-downs I seem to have lost, score a couple of paddles, and manage some free time to launch it.

Gonna take it easy tonight. Ease my way back into the gym tomorrow. Enjoy what comes along. Just good to be back in the saddle.

Woke up and it was June...

End of a long, long week. Mom out the door at ten this morning with Patrick, the rest of the day spent in decompression. Had hoped to get some writing done, but that was hoping for too much, too soon, so spent the afternoon researching transport carriers for canoes.

Had a nice surprise mid-week when a big-time literary agent wrote to compliment me on my story “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.” Nice to know someone out there reads. Nicer still when you find out what they’re reading is yours.

Got a lotta ground to make up this week. Everything was thrown out of whack with all the visitors, visiting, and driving around. Only had a few stolen moments to write. Looking forward to getting back to the keyboard tomorrow.

Back...at last!

Hard to believe its been four days since checking in. But there you have it.

Home Sunday after a long drive through the San Luis Valley, guests last night for dinner, up early this morning working on new projects, and more guests arriving tomorrow afternoon. Don’t know how people do it. Looking after little ones is one thing, hanging with grownups, something else altogether.

Looking to go out for a walk here in a while, maybe wheel Mom around the neighborhood before dinner. After that, an early night to bed. Tired from all the hubbub.

Let's do it...

Well. The end of one week, the beginning of another.

Up early. On it before six. Put in some time on the fiction, then changed gears and spent the rest of the morning on commercial projects. Hit the gym around 1:30. Dry cleaners after that, and the grocery store after that.

On the road tomorrow.

C’s wedding tomorrow evening, the drive home with Mom the day after. Busy week ahead.

Got the lawns cut tonight, but didn’t finish until I was drenched during the late afternoon storm that blew in. Comes with the territory, I guess.

Fingers crossed I make it through the week.

Getting in time...

Out of bed and in the cottage, at the keyboard, by 5:30.

Got in some good work, commercial and otherwise. Hit the gym earlier than usual. Stopped by the boys’ house to say hello to P&R, drop off a couple of surprises. Young J was asleep, napping, and M was busy playing in the front room.

Came home, then took off again to go shopping for some new slacks for the wedding Saturday night. Managed to score, but not without a good deal of brain damage. Anyway, deed done.

Gonna try and relax tonight, get up early again and go as hard as I can knowing next week will be a giant bust all the way around.

What? I'm f-ing broke?

Somehow the day got lost. It happened around two o’clock when we talked to our esteemed financial advisor, and eyes glazed over in anticipation of old age, poverty and death. I’m not sure I want to be around when the rest of my generation discovers their retirement is destined to be spent dumpster diving and living in back alleys because they hadn’t had the sense to cancel their HBO and or eat at Chili’s once a month.

Screw it.

Talked to my uncle after the hackles went down, and set up an afternoon gathering for next week when mom is here. Look forward to getting everyone together. Meanwhile, on to business at hand. Mom’s excited, and that’s the main thing.

Sigh.

Was full of energy when I got home from the gym, and now it’s gone. Eh. That’s the way things go, I guess.

Watching it all go by...

Up earlier than usual. Put in some good work.

Trying to pull back a bit on the writing and give myself a little more time reading. Still putting in four or five hours a day a the keyboard, but more of it in composition. Giving the draft work more time to cool between sessions. Not sure if it’s making any difference yet, but while the weather warms and the trees come out, it seems like the right thing to do.

Good workout this afternoon. Enjoying the new things I’m learning.

Gonna have to abandon it while mom’s here and shift to a morning routine, but at least I’ll have a few new tricks to work with.

Went for a nice walk this evening. Weather was beautiful. Supposed to rain tonight, but that’s all right. It won’t be long before the high temps roll in. May as well enjoy the cool evenings while they’re here.

Tired. Gonna hit it early again tomorrow.

Yeah, Monday again...

Early rise on a nice sunny morning. Hit the keyboard hard. Was making pretty good progress, till the school called looking to send young M home with a fever. Thankfully, everything straightened itself out after some rest and aspirin.

Got to the gym later than usual, but had a good workout. New routine is tough in ways I'm not used to. Gonna take a few weeks, I supposed, before the soreness settles into something tolerable. Meanwhile, it’s just keep on slugging.

Sent my N critique off this morning. A nice story. Not contest caliber, maybe, but nice.

Last thing. Bought a canoe tonight. Simple little 13-footer that’ll play nicely on the small lakes and reservoirs around here. Give the boys a chance to fish from the water. Should be a lot of fun. It’s supposed to arrive at Sportsman’s Warehouse next Monday.

Rain’s moved in. Not sure what that bodes for tomorrow, but whatever it is, I’ll take it. Grass looks like a million bucks. Like to keep it that way for a while.

Just keep chipping away...

Restless night. Not sure why, maybe the warm weather. Kicked off the covers around midnight, but didn’t get back to sleep until near morning. Up before six, and able to put a finish on the draft of the new story. Feeling good about it. Think it has potential.

Went off to the movies early afternoon. Back in time to catch the late afternoon rains, give my uncle a call and catch up with some of my correspondence.

Mom coming in next week. Looking to get schedules in order, make sure we maximize our time. Gonna be a bit of a juggling act this time, owing to the boys being out of school, etc.

Looking to settle in and get some reading done tonight. Wake rested and push some work out the door. Also going to have to take a look at the workout schedule for next week and see if I can’t convert to mornings during mom’s stay.

Big week coming up. Big week.

Water, water everywhere...

Good day.

Up early, writing. Then off to the park with the boys. Weather was perfect. Cool, sunny, and crisp. Waited in line for a long time for a free canoe run, courtesy of Angler’s Covey, but it was worth it. J and I had a blast paddling around Prospect Lake. Young M wanted to go along, but refused a life jacket and lost out. Next time we’ll get it right. Snow cones and popsicles made up for our sins.

Went hunting for teak later in the day. Not much luck. Looking to build a potting shed on the side of the house, but it appears it’s going to take some time, given a limited supply of both materials and money. Still have a good reserve of brick from the last wall project. May look at something in that direction.

Rain came late in the day. Just a few sprinkles.

Might go to a movie tomorrow. We’ll see. Tonight, just going to hang around, eat pizza.

Friday, and taking it easy...

Good day with work, in general.

Made some nice revisions on the new story, cleaned the house, hit the gym, and finished off the day mowing my lawns.

Taking the boys to the sportsman’s show tomorrow, over at the park. Not sure what to expect except a good sized crowd. Get lucky, we might end up with a door prize or something. Read they’ll be giving a way fishing rods to the first 500 kids.

The H.G. Wells book gets more entertaining all the time. Crossed over from Neanderthal man to Cro-Magnon man last night. Apparently, they wanted nothing to do with one another! Put more crudely, the Cro-Magnon folks found Neanderthals too homely to mate with.

Just glanced out the window. The rains have returned. This is the wettest, coolest May we’ve had in a long time. Let’s hope it keeps the fires down this summer.

Keeping on...

This one went by like a streak.

Got in some early revisions on the new short piece, then spent the rest of the day chasing after the baby. Park, school, store. Lots of outdoor time. Glad we didn’t get the rain they promised. Until now, anyway.

Looking to the weeks ahead. Caley’s wedding in Santa Fe soon, mom here for a week. Other goings on. Schedule’s starting to fill up, and Wyoming’s beginning to beckon, too. Not sure when that’ll happen, but with the snow being what it is up on the Bighorns, late July and early August aren’t out of the question.

Good being away from the long piece. Enjoying this new story I’m working on and think it might be one of the better things I’ve written in a while. We’ll see. Meanwhile, I’m just going to enjoy it.

Reading a 1920s copy of H.G. Wells History of the World now, among other things. Enjoying it more than I thought I would, though Out of Africa is still hanging around my heart. Re-reading McCarthy’s Child of God again, too, for what must be the fifteenth time. Man, the guy can write.

Taking the boys to the Sportsman’s show in the park this Saturday. Should be fun. Just about time to get Jack out fishing again.

Just me being optimistic...

Slept in a bit today. Didn’t get to the keyboard until 6:30.

Working a new story. Feels like a breath of fresh air after the big push with the long piece. Got in some good work, the went to the gym to work on my new routine. Weight stuff I haven’t tried before. Felt all right to step into something new.

Weather was cockeyed today. Overcast, cool, cloudy. Started sprinkling off an on during the afternoon.

M tomorrow.

Hope we can get outside for a while, maybe kick around at the park.

Week’s gone suspiciously fast for a short one interrupted by a holiday, but it ain’t over yet. We’ll see what happens.

So that's nice...

So the day went more smoothly than I figured it would. Maybe because it got off to a good start. Was up early to have coffee with my buddy G, catch up on news of the outside world, then home again to spend the morning with young M, and finish the commercial projects I spent the weekend drafting.

No fiction today, and it felt good.

Tomorrow, back at it.

Didn’t spend as much time outside as I would’ve liked, but was impressed by what I saw of the day. Crisp clear air, blue ski with big, thick cumulus clouds, and an off-again, on-again breeze that was strong but nice.

Read that the snowpack around the state was at record levels. All the rivers are high. Hope it bodes well for the summer, and the fire danger.

Started adding some new stuff to my workout. Need a change of scenery. We’ll see how it plays.