Redemption of a sort...

Good day all around.

Up early, got a little work out of the way, answered some correspondence, then went fishing.

Was on the water by 10:30, and a couple of hours later had three nice brown in my creel. Decided to forego the flyrod for my spinning gear with the hope it would hurt the arm less, but no such luck. Be paying for those three trout for the rest of the night, I’m afraid. Even the neck is chiming in. Oh, well, only three more days till the real pain kicks in. But at least it’ll be for a good cause.

Smoky and overcast most of the day, but it was good to get out. The water was low and clear, and while the fish weren’t exactly going wild, it was a decent way to spend a Monday.

Gonna take it easy tonight, hope for a good night’s sleep. Ham steaks and sweet potato for dinner.

Oops...

Okay. So screwed up and misinterpreted the COVID testing time. Means I’ve gotta get over to the clinic early tomorrow and make sure it gets to the surgeon’s office by Thursday.

Wrote well this morning, but not as long as I would’ve liked. Got to the end of the novel draft, and feel pretty good about the prospects. It’s coming in a little over 77 thousand words, so should hit the sweet spot by the time I’m finished. Lots of work to do yet, but it should be fun. For a while, anyway.

Got in an early two-mile walk, then came home and sat out the heat. Mostly. Did take a trip to the grocery store to stock up for a couple of weeks. Place was tolerably uncrowded, and we got what we wanted without running into any bozos, so hey, thumbs up.

Took a nap when we got home. Rest seemed to do the arm some good. Gonna take it easy tonight as well. Maybe pick up a noodle bowl from Saigon Cafe and watch a movie.

At long last...

Up three hours when, at 9:00 am, I get a call from the surgeon’s office. When do you want to come in for surgery?

Wow. First nothing, then everything.

Long story short, going in next Thursday. Providing I pass the COVID-19 test I take tomorrow.

Walked this morning, worked out this afternoon, stopped by the gym to talk to my physical therapist, Brian, and came home and FaceTimed with Jack.

Failed in cutting my lawns, but will set that straight tomorrow.

Looks like things are moving. Need to keep it that way.

Wanderings...

So. No call back from the doc. Again.

Put a rough night’s sleep behind me, and got up early to work. Pounded out some good pages. Got another acceptance, too. Red Rock Review picked up “Rocky Mountain Sweetheart Murder Ballad.” They’ll be publishing it this fall.

Took a nice walk this morning, skipped rope later on. Later later on, took a nap. Also wrote a letter to the boys.

Gotta start pushing some submissions out the door tomorrow. Start thinking about a new short story.

Sent off the last of my N critiques this morning, but figure I’ll find a few new ones in my hopper by the weekend.

Maybe I’ll get in some good reading tonight.

Waiting for Godot...

Slept better last night. Nothing to underrate, believe me.

Up early to do some good work at the keyboard. Structure of the new book feels sound, the writing passable and getting better. I like what I’ve been doing and only hope I can repeat those word at a later time.

Worked out skipping rope this afternoon, but have abandoned all lifting for the time. Got a call from the doc’s office while I was out front talking to the TrueGreen man. Missed it and called back, but of course no one answered.

Uncertainty has been the theme this whole year, hasn’t it? Even if you manage to get something going, it’s never sustainable.

Nice to be able to lose myself in work. Feel for people who aren’t as lucky. Think it’s gonna be a long time before the world feels normal again.

Looking forward to a quiet night.

Feels like been there, done that. But maybe not...

So here’s where it stands. Slept in the guest room last night, giving us both a chance to rest. Was up early, coughing, and went down to the cottage straightaway. Put in another decent morning of writing. Got antsy around noon and called the doc’s office. Left a message and waited for a call back. Skipped rope in the meantime, and when the call did come it was to tell me they’d call me back to discuss the surgery in four or five days. Screw it.

Did a few more chores, talked to MP about a new scriptwriting gig, then went upstairs to read a while and nap. Also drew up some new cartoons for Jack and Matty.

Need to give mom a call soon. Only been a few days since I spoke to her, but it feels like weeks.

Wyoming seems like a distant dream at this point. Probably won’t get up there this year the way things are working out. Should probably try and get in a couple of days of fishing when I have the chance, though I’m not sure what sort of figure I’m going to cut with my casting arm being what it is.

No, no. Not the time to throw in the towel. Gotta keep a clear head and keep punching—even if it means punching with one hand. Still have a novel to finish and new stories to write. Lucretius suffers no whiners or malingerers, and neither will I..

Leaning forward...

Another rough night with the arm. Can’t seem to get ahead of this thing.

In the office a little after six, and got in some good work. Had coffee on the back patio then went for a nice walk over to the college. Thought I might work out, too, but when the afternoon heat came the best I could muster was a short nap.

No word from surgeon’s office on scheduling. I’d have been annoyed about being ignored, but since the doc called on Saturday, I’m giving them a break.

Dark edges starting to gather around this summer. Gotta do what I can to beat them back. Find some new ways to keep the days productive.

Here and gone again...

No idea where this one went.

Up at 6:00, working. Took a break mid-morning to finish cutting the lawns, now that the mower’s decided to work again.

Face-timed with Matty—not sure where Jack was (the dog house, probably)—then took a nap. No workout today. Thought I’d rest the arm. Should hear from the doc’s office tomorrow about surgery.

Gotta start thinking ahead to a post-op world. R suggested an audio-transcription software yesterday. I wasn’t keen on the notion at the time, but have come to realize she might be right. Think I’ll install one and see if I can’t start acclimatizing myself. If nothing else, it should help with the composition of letters and critiques. Who knows, I might even come to like it.

K coming for dinner tonight. Ribs, corn, wine. What’s not to like, right?

Might get some rain this evening. Hope so. Could use the moisture.

Give it up, just give it up...

Good day. Sort of. Got up early and made headway with the novel, took a brief excursion into editor land where I wrote one of my N reviews, and even started cutting my lawns before the mower expired. Hoping it was a flooded fuel line, but you never know.

Surgeon called while I was editing. Told me I’d torn my rotator cuff, front and back. Also partially tore my biceps. All good news—in that it wasn’t bone cancer. They’ll schedule me for surgery on Monday.

Was going to write more, but the arm is bad tonight. Pain keeps reaching up into the neck. Can’t wait to try and write with one hand.

More tomorrow.

Jinxed...

Shouldn’t have made so many wishes in yesterday’s post. Ended up having one of the slowest days in weeks.

Didn’t get a chance to work on the novel today, nor did I manage either of the N critiques. Put some polish on the short story I talked about, but even there I’m running behind.

Gym? Nope. Home workout? Nope. PT? Nope.

Major accomplishments of the day were getting dinner prepped in advance, and taking a drive out to Lowe’s to pick up a new weed whacker.

Guess I’ll have to get a jump on things tomorrow.

Weather cooled. Rain!

Not sure what the rest of the weekend will bring.

And other observations...

Woke up twice last night with searing pain in the arm. Man, this is getting old. Didn’t sleep afterward but still managed some decent work at the keyboard this morning. Also worked through my PT, etc., without too many drawbacks.

Thought I might get some work out of the way this afternoon, but fell into a long desperate nap instead. Didn’t wake until just before five.

Need to figure out a new metric here. Maybe turn in later, I don’t know.

Like to get a jump on my work tomorrow, and turn in the critiques on the N stuff. Settle in and finish the last of the revisions on “Existential Question.” Put it in the mail and start on something new.

Got a couple of cards today. One from D, one from my Uncle Joe. Smile just thinking about them.

Drove to the liquor store tonight to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner. Noticed how few folks are wearing masks. Curious times.

A hot time in the old town...

Pikes Peak vanished overnight. Smoke from the California and Arizona fire came down hard on us today. Didn’t hear any air quality reports, but let’s just cut to the chase and say it sucked.

Got in some good revision time on the new book. Also had a chance to read both new N stories, one of which will move forward.

Heard from the doc’s office just before noon and was told the MRI results are in and I’ll be contacted by the surgeon in the next three to five business days for a consultation. Was hoping for something sooner, but at least the thing is moving forward.

Went to the fitness center for the first time in two months and did a little lifting. Wore a mask and gloves the whole time, and had limited contact from a nice social distance with the other gym rats. Nice to handle weights again.

Things pretty quiet otherwise. Might have a meeting for a new project next week. Meantime, I’ll keep plugging away at what I have.

Garbage men come tomorrow. That makes it Thursday—for what it’s worth.

Letting go of another one...

Hot one.

Up early working on the new novel, liking what’s there. Spending most of my time on structure, making sure the plot’s moving forward as it should, but addressing other details, too, along the way. Just trying to keep it smooth and efficient.

Got in an early workout, but tried not to press to much. Skipped a lot of rope, kept the lifting to a minimum.

No word from the doc’s office on the MRI. Will call tomorrow if they don’t beat me to it.

Throat’s raspy from the forest fires and heat. Nineties already, and it’s only mid-June. Ought to try and get out fishing before week’s end, but want to get the medical stuff in line before I disappear into the mountains.

Two new stories came in from N this afternoon. Haven’t read anything exciting for a while, so look forward to sitting down with them.

Been thinking a lot about Wyoming. Wondering what my chances are of getting up there. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

Funny. Got an email from an editor early this morning, unrejecting a rejection and telling me they loved the story. A glitch in the system. Anyway, nice to know. Fingers crossed it turns into a full-fledged acceptance.

Change gonna come...

Wow. Crazy day.

Progress with the new book, minor setback with a pair of rejections. MRI mid-morning, then home for a pointless Zoom meeting with insane ex-clients. Got a small nap with the kitties, and had a nice chat with our wonderful neighbor, R, too.

Day went well until I stopped by Safeway to pick up a few groceries. Got into it with a MAGA jerk while standing in line. Man. We were this close. Where do these people come from?

Enough.

Weather got real warm and maybe that’s part of it. Just looking forward to mending what’s broken now.

The world will fix itself. It always has.

Sunday...

Up a little later than usual (6:30) after a good night’s sleep. Put in some good work on the novel before abandoning it to yard work. Hot day, today. Still, got the trees pruned, and most of the edges trimmed (before the weed whacker died).

Bagged everything for short nap, then worked out while. Went back to the cottage afterward and wrote a couple of N reviews.

MRI tomorrow. 10:30. Interested in seeing how well I’ll be able to lie still, on my back. Also curious to see the extent of the damage, though I don’t suppose that’ll be available for a few days.

Taking it easy tonight.

In no hurry to do anything.

Make me another one, just like the other one...

Decent night’s sleep for a change! Even the arm didn’t wake me.

Put in a few hours worth of work at the keyboard, then got outside to mow my lawns, prune the locusts in back and do a little reading.

Got in a workout late afternoon, caught up with some correspondence, and monkeyed around with my tools for a while. All in all, not a bad day.

Clouds rolled in late afternoon, threatening rain, but so far no dice. Maybe this evening.

Leaving it at that...

Progress on the novel.

Storage unit emptied, cleaned, and relegated to history.

Picked up K’s old patio furniture and made a short but gratifying trip to the thrift store.

Home for some FaceTime with the boys, and a long nap to quiet the aching arm.

Called mom, but she was napping.

Hoping to get back on track tomorrow.

Another day in CovidLand...

Good work this morning at the keyboard. Good session of PT. Rest of the day chugged along as usual.

Got a nap in late afternoon, then went off to storage to get the rest of the heavy stuff out of the unit with the help of my buddy, Solomon. Coke machine now safely stored in the garage. Everything else off to the ReStore or the dump. Glad to have all of that over with.

Ortho’s office called to say they’ve put in the order for the MRI. Hope that can happen soon. Meanwhile, I’ll do what I can do.

Got letters from Jackie and Matty today. Really sweet. Got contributor copies from DASH, too.

Hoping for a quiet evening, and a good start on tomorrow. Feel like maybe something good might happen.

Many goings on...

Arm drove me out of bed earlier than usual today, but no complaints. Got some good work done at the keyboard.

Worked until 11:00 then drove out to the ortho specialist to have my arm examined. Three hours later—including a near run-in with a MAGA hatted imbecile who refused to put on a face mask—had a new battery of x-rays taken and was tentatively diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff. MRI’s been ordered, but not taken yet. Maybe Friday or early Monday.

Best news of the day, Mom was released from the hospital this evening. Throat sore from intubation, but otherwise ready to get on with things. Didn’t want to talk tonight, so we’ll catch up with her tomorrow.

Got a nice card from young Jack today. Friendship bracelets he made. Miss, miss, miss that boy.

Tomorrow, Solomon and I clean out the last of the heavy stuff from the storage unit. Be happy to shut the place down. Tonight, gonna hang back and do as little as possible.

Thankful...

Glad to have this one behind. Up early, worrying about mom, then off to a tough session of PT. Good news is, everything turned out as hoped. Mom came through strong, and if all goes according to plan gets released tomorrow.

Put in some good time at the keyboard before therapy. Got in a halfway decent workout, too, and had a nice visit on the phone with young Matty before the afternoon drifted away.

Made a pot of leek and potato soup. Weather seemed to call for it. Been cold and damp all day.

Can’t say how much I’m looking forward to seeing the doc tomorrow. Wanna find out what kind of damage I’m carrying and see what the hell I can do to mitigate it. Meantime, it is what it is.

Lots of stuff up in the air. Got our hands out waiting for them to come down, but the going’s slow. Haven’t read anything interesting in the past couple of days. Maybe that’s got something to do with it.

Onward.