On the hump...

Working late tonight. Big meeting tomorrow to present the video script I’ve been banging away on all day.

Got an email from the San Antonio Review. They’re nominating one of my stories for a Pushcart.

Was supposed to have PT, but it got mis-scheduled. My bad, I think. No matter, I used the time to write and it wasn’t wasted. Arm hurts, but I have another session on Thursday, before I leave.

Nice day, I think. Didn’t see much of it, but the sky looked blue this morning.

Calling it a night in expectation of a very early rise. Fingers crossed it all comes together in time tomorrow.

Different kind of week...

Different kind of Monday.

Up early, wrote well on the new novel, then stood in on a shoot for a couple of old buddies. Didn’t manage the gym, or a nap, but made good headway on the research I’ll need for tomorrow’s script work. Got to talk to Jack and Matt on FaceTime, too. Their rods arrived today, and they’re looking forward to the weekend fishing trip we’ve got planned.

Proofs for two new stories also showed up in the mail. One for the San Antonio Review, the other for the Red Rock Review. Who knows, maybe things are taking a turn for the better.

A couple of N stories need to be written up in the next day or so, but the biggest part of the next couple of days is gonna be carved up for the video script. Good way to go into the week.

PT tomorrow. Arm’s feels better one day, useless the next. Don’t mind the pain, but want to get back to a decent workout routine again.

Beautiful fall day, or would’ve been if the smoke hadn’t been so bad. Still, colors are coming. So is snow.

Can't quite get it all in...

More progress on the new novel, but won’t quite make it to the end of the revision cycle owing to script work due mid-week.

Busy day tomorrow, too. Shoot at the house. Full day. Have a lot to juggle in the meantime.

Wish I could shake this thing that’s got hold of me,

Maybe tomorrow.

Tired...

Hard night, late rise. Made up for the slow start with a good morning at the keyboard. Coming close with revisions of the long piece.

Smoke yesterday, smoke today. Air quality awful, no relief expected anytime soon. Trying really hard to beat back the blues.

Long meeting this afternoon, and short deadlines staring me in the face this coming week. Not sure how I’ll get everything done, but know I will.

47 Days...

Tough night with the arm. Tough morning having it worked on.

Made more good progress with the book. Three quarters through in this round of revisions and hoping for a strong run to the end.

Sky smudged with a brown film again, and no relief in sight. Winds are blowing the smoke this way pretty steadily these days.

Video crew stopped by today to scout locations. Shooting on Monday. Friday, I’m off to Pittsburgh for a long weekend.

Things’ve been creeping in lately. Need to start pushing back.

There it is...

Better night’s sleep. Made it nearly till dawn. Wrote well this morning and only gave up the keyboard to get in time at the gym. Only a few people working out indoors these past couple of weeks and hoping it stays that way for a while. Arm improving, but still a long way from lifting anything.

Smoke from the fires boiled back over the peak. Sky a bluish brown all day. Looking forward to another snow in the high country to tamp things down. Afraid California’s a long way from being in the clear.

Lots on the mind. Most of it hopeful. Tired of this goddamned pandemic, but isn’t everybody. What I wouldn’t give for a week in the mountains, on the water.

You know how it goes...

Beat.

Up early, banging away at the keyboard. Worked until a little after one, then went to have m teeth cleaned. Whiled away the rest of the afternoon buying a new Jeep. Sorry to say goodbye to the old Liberty, but breakdowns were becoming more frequent, and repairs more costly. A lot of great memories in that baby, a lot of great memories.

No gym today. Not much of anything other than paperwork. Weather was nice, but missed most of that, too.

Back to normalcy tomorrow. Or what’s passing for normalcy nowadays. We’ll see what’s in store when the sun comes up. Tonight, back to pizza and a celebratory bottle of wine.

Almost forgot. Got an acceptance yesterday. Number seven, I think, for the year.

A breath (or two) of fresh air...

Good night’s sleep. Up a little later than usual (but before seven) and at the keyboard most of the morning.

Got in three FaceTime sessions with Jack and Matt, but still managed some pretty good output with the new novel.

Took off for the gym a little after one, then home again to pick up some fishing gear at Pro Bass Shop followed by a trip downtown to Terra Verde to get the boys and advent calendar. (A nifty wooden sculpture of a snowy toy shop. Open a door, it plays a carol.)

Weather came back to respectability to day. Blue sky, soft autumn sun. Cool temps. Wish the rest of the west was doing as well. Fires still blazing out of control all along the coast.

Grilled cheese and soup tonight.

An early rise tomorrow. Maybe a walk to the park to jog the stairs again, now that the smoke has pulled back. We’ll see.

Your guess is as good as mine...

2020 continues with its foibles.

Nonetheless, made decent progress with revisions on the long piece.

Labored all day under the assumption it was Saturday, so tomorrow ought to come as a kind of pleasant surprise.

Finished mending the big tree, putting in additional bolts and sealing the damage with pruning gunk. Then went off to the gym.

Read the bike while re-reading A Moveable Feast for the millionth time. Why does that piece hold up so well?

Weather finally returned to normal and I won’t lie and say I didn’t miss it. Air was clear, skies were blue, and all the rest. Probably won’t stay this way, but plan on enjoying it for as long as it lasts.

Got a lot to think about.

A lot.

This is it, this is what I do...

Woke to a chilly morning without snow, and was happy to discover the locust in back still standing. Put in a good couple of hours of writing before going off to PT. Toughest session I’ve had in a while, but productive. Range of motion is getting better all the time.

Came home, worked a little longer, then put in for a short nap. Cool, dreary weather made the bed a little more inviting.

Worked more on the long piece this afternoon. FaceTimed with Jack, too.

Gonna kick back this evening with a bowl of homemade chicken soup.

Would like to see the sun again, and soon, but willing to put up with a few more cool, overcast days if it means tamping down the fires.

Have dreams of fishing this weekend. We’ll see what happens.

If a tree falls in the forest...

Looked out the window early this morning and was heartened to see there wasn’t much snow. Enough to tamp down the fires, but not so much to make a mess of things. Then I went out back to the cottage and saw one of the locusts had split in half.

Spent the rest of the day working with ratchet straps and ladders trying to repair the damage. Got it the halves back in place a little after twelve with the help of our friend Solomon, and bolted them together. Everything’s upright again, but we’ll see if the surgery works. Gonna leave the trunk strapped throughout the winter, and hope the graft takes. Meanwhile, gotta look after the bad arm, which was put through more gymnastics today than I would have liked.

Crept ahead with the novel. Too distracted to get much done, but was able to put in some decent revisions. Hope tomorrow goes better.

PT in the morning. Already wincing at the thought of it.

Is this typical?

Snow coming down as I write this. Not much, but something. Hope to wake to a few inches by tomorrow morning. Fires contained.

Good day at rehab. Arm still hurts—hurt all night—but in a different and better way than before surgery. Maybe it’s something I’m just gonna have to get used to.

Anyway, the long piece is coming and the revisions are coming too. Story’s getting cleaner and stronger all the time. Not sure if I’ll have an agent come the end of the month, but that’s no big deal either. Everyday’s a new adventure.

Don’t want to wish the summer away, but it wasn’t much to hang on to and maybe the fall will be better. Once the snow clears, I’m thinking another day on the water. Other stuff. Mostly, want to try and get my energy level back where it was. Can’t believe how early, and tired, I get anymore.

Miss the boys. Wondering if we’ll get out to see them.

Christ...

Fire.

Again.

Pretty good morning at the keyboard, but the day devolved into smoke by early afternoon. Another big blaze, this one up near Ft. Collins.

Spent a couple of hours on the phone with bro Joe while watching the sky turn brown. Hope we get the three inches the weather service is promising, otherwise the year may literally go up in flames.

Looking hard for things to be happy about.

Sunday, 5:47 pm...

Late night revelry. Up late, too.

Dinner under a moonlit chestnut tree, garden to table dishes, good company, a late rise and, despite a bit of fuzziness, a strong day a the keyboard.

Back in the nineties today.

Snow on Tuesday.

Tried a nap, but the arm wouldn’t cooperate. Gave up and went grocery shopping instead. Brats tonight.

Still trying to pull my mind back to the place it belongs. Having a hard time believing mom’s gone.

Navigating the weekend...

Dinner at K’s last night, dinner at John and Karin’s tonight. More socializing that we’ve done in six months.

Got in more good revisions on the new novel this morning. Who knows, might have a reader draft before too much longer. Also close to having a reader draft for the new short I’ve been working on. Feels like things are coming along.

Weather people are predicting snow on Tuesday. Five to six inches. Hard to believe, given it’s ninety-one today, but there you have it. If it does happen, I just hope we rebound into a nice long Indian Summer. Last year’s early freeze took its toll on everything in the yard. Like to avoid that this time around.

Went to a movie today. Rented the theater for S’s birthday, and saw the new David Copperfield release. Nice way to spend a blistering afternoon.

Gotta give my uncle a call, see how he’s doing. Have a feeling tomorrow’s gonna be hectic. Gotta give my brother a call, too. Catch up on family business.

Trying not to think...

Rough night with the arm. Guess it’s healing?

Anyway, up early to work. Got back into the long piece for the next round of revisions.

Worked till 9:00, then off to PT. Therapist feels happy with my progress, says I’d didn’t compromise anything while fishing, but only woke up muscles I hadn’t used in a while.

Stuck around the gym after my session to work out a while. Then came home, showered, and went out looking at new cars.

S’s birthday tomorrow.

Taking it easy tonight.

Busting loose...

Up early after a night of bad dreams. Put in some good work at the keyboard, finishing a respectable draft of a new story.

Was going to start in on the long piece again, but gave it up in favor of a day on the water.

Took a late start up the mountain and spent the better part of the day fishing the Tarryall and South Platte. Couldn’t manage the fly rod because of the arm, but had a nice time spinning despite not being able to access all the places I wanted.

Caught a smallish brown on the Tarryall, and rolled snake eyes in Elevenmile Canyon. Thought I might have enough in the tank to make a late afternoon of it, but the arm started hurting and had to call it quits. Even so, a beautiful day. Lots of good memories of that river. Someday, maybe I’ll write about them.

Good to be outdoors. Great to be outdoors, actually. Gotta start planning a new trip, this one with the fly rod.

Yeah, yeah. I know...

Seem to keep losing ground here, and don’t know why.

Up early to work. Sunrise is coming later than usual, so maybe fall’s finally on the way. Been plugging away on a new short, and have it pretty well in hand. Which means I can get back to the long piece again.

Was pushed out of the office early, and made an attempt at a walk but was turned back after a few blocks owing to the cool air. Came home and wrote to the boys instead. Then went off to the old office to pick up a mysterious package that turned out to be a self-help book mistakenly mailed to me. Or at least I think mistakenly. Anyway, not the most efficient of days.

Thought I might get to the gym, but had to scuttle that as well. Ended up taking a long walk around the hood. Better than nothing, I suppose. With luck, maybe I’ll get in a good workout tomorrow after PT.

Read the Broadmoor’s now seen its first COVID cases. Even in Arcadia, right?