And here it is, Wednesday...

Pretty good day. Had some solid revision time, got in a long jog on the soccer park stairs, drafted some new material for the Philharmonic, paid the bills and even got off a letter to Jack and Matty.

Air’s still smokey, but the temps have been kind. A little warm out there this afternoon, though nothing to complain about. Hope the good stuff lasts long enough for a late week fishing excursion.

Debates tonight.

Not sure what tomorrow’s supposed to bring, but I’d like to button up my stray projects and move on to something new. Maybe teak oil the backyard furniture.

Only Tuesday?

So, kinda let this one slip by. Don’t know what happened, except that I didn’t accomplish half of what I set out to do. Did a little research, made some revisions, spent a couple of hours at the gym, then home again for a quiet afternoon.

Gonna have to hit it hard tomorrow. Meanwhile, looking forward to a quiet evening.

Did get out for a short walk, but the sidewalks were busy and had to spend half the time dodging other walkers.

Caught up with some of the neighbor folk, which was nice, but it made me wish all the more this Covid business was behind us. Tired of the smoke, tired of being cooped up. Tired of talking to people from six feet away.

Locked and loaded...

Up again a little after four, young Tuck deciding he wanted to play. Hung back for an hour or so after the toe-biting game, and made a break for the cottage around six. Put in some good work at the keyboard. Think I’ve got a couple of good stories in the making. Reader draft of “Down There” ought to be in place before the end of the week. The other? We’ll see.

Jogged the stairs in the park this afternoon. Weather was cool, which helped. Felt pretty good when I got home, but took a nap in anticipation of company tonight. K coming over to watch the game.

New copywriting work came in. Happy for that. Gonna try and get a good night’s sleep, come at strong tomorrow and maybe have something ahead of deadline. Like to get in a day of fishing this week, too. While the weather’s nice. Smoke is still sitting over us in varying degrees of thickness, but wasn’t as bad today as it’s been earlier.

Owe a few letters. Need to get started on that, too. PT tomorrow. Full steam ahead.

Galavanting...

Woke at 4:45 with a kittie sleeping on my bad arm. Got up thinking to hit the office, but laid down again after getting dressed and dozed until a little after 7:00. So much for an early start.

Worked hard at the keyboard, and got in some good revisions on the two new shorts. After, went on a long drive through the San Isabel forest looking for Christmas tree country. Saw some nice streams in the backcountry, but didn’t have my gear, so had to pass. The aspen were pretty, but not quite there yet, giving a good excuse for another long drive next weekend. Found one possible tree-harvesting site at the southern end of the forest, but still not counting out a trip to Leadville where we’ve taken our last three.

Pretty day today, or would have been if the smoke had cleared a little more. Still, nothing to complain about. Temps were nice, the air smelled of fall, and winter can’t be far off.

Eager to get back to the gym tomorrow. Tonight, just gonna take it easy.

Couldn't ask for more...

Late to the keyboard this morning, but not too late and not to any real detriment. Came close to putting the final touches on a new short, and made good headway composing the draft for another.

Meanwhile, did a little pruning and cleanup in the back yard. Got in a trip to Rocky Top, too, and cleaned out the back bed of the pickup.

Cut the lawns when I got home—first time I can say that in a while—and managed to do it without screwing up my arm. Biceps still a little sore, but shoulder’s coming online.

Beautiful fall day, by the way. Even the smoke backed off a bit.

At arm's length...

Stepped away from the novel this morning to work on a new short piece and make a few overdue submissions. In short, a quiet day.

Smoke rolled in again from the border fire, and hit as hard as anything we’ve had in a couple of weeks. Went to the gym to work out, and had a pretty productive time despite not pushing myself too hard. Tried skipping rope for the first time in three months and had to quit owing to the biceps. Shoulder’s coming along, but the arm still feels like it did pre-operation. Doc says that’s normal, and to keep pushing.

Might go for a drive in the mountains tomorrow. We’ll see. Meanwhile, gonna hang back and take it easy.

Read a couple of good short stories today.

Astonishingly, didn’t win the lottery.

Getting a groove on...

Another early rise.

Made it to the end of the new novel this morning, then went off to jog the stairs at the park. Arm was sore as hell today, but everything else was clicking.

PT mid-afternoon, then home again for more work at the keyboard.

Want to get into a new story tomorrow. Catch up with correspondence. Read a couple of new short stories.

Feel like I made a pretty smooth transition back to work after the long weekend with the boys. Hope I can keep the momentum going.

Nice cool day, in the sixties. Felt good to get outside and not have to face any smoke. Warmer tomorrow, I guess. Will have to wait and see.

Anyway, good day.

Easy peasy...

Did it again. Up early, wrote well.

Abandoned the keyboard around nine and drove out to the orthopedic’s office to have the shoulder examined. Ahead of schedule. Doc expects I’ll be back in good order by December. Meanwhile, new exercises.

Worked out this afternoon, came home and wrote two N reviews.

Looking forward to quiet night.

Coming around to it...

Put together a decent day.

Up around 5:30, and off to work in the cottage. Made a nice run at the long piece. Took a break around noon to climb the stairs in the park. Four plus miles up and down.

PT this afternoon. Still a little stiff in places, but the worst is the biceps. Maybe I can get a few questions answered when I see the ortho-doc tomorrow.

Home in time to catch up with submissions, and get a couple of bits of correspondence out the door.

Cooking tonight. Omelettes. After that, settling in to watch the debate.

Home again...

Flew into DIA a little after seven. Spent a long weekend with the boys in Pittsburgh. After all the soul-crushing events of the year, I finally got something to smile about.

Had a terrific time all around. Went fishing on Saturday in Canonsburg. Matty caught his first fish—a bluegill. Went out again on Sunday—this time in a row boat—on Raccoon Lake. Didn’t catch any fish, but had a great time casting and trolling the lake. Playing on the beach afterward, too.

Needed that. Boy did I need that. Can’t wait to see them all again.

Tired. Gonna have to turn in early and come back hard tomorrow.

Sent back the proofs for Rock Mountain Sweetheart Murder Ballad this afternoon, but didn’t do much in the way of work otherwise. Need to send in my N reviews, get back at the keyboard.

Worked out this afternoon, then came home and cleaned the cottage offices. Hope this unexpected spurt of energy carries into the rest of the week.

Leaving...

Leaving for Pittsburgh in the morning. Long day at the keyboard. Lots on the mind.

Had some PT this afternoon, trying to catch up from the missed session earlier in the week. Spent a little time on the elliptical, too, but by a little I mean a little. As in half an hour. Need to revisit this workout stuff when I get back. Fires through me off schedule with the stair jogging in the park and I never quite got it back. Guess that isn’t much of a surprise, but even so it’s still a drag.

Gotta get packed. Not worried about rest—I’ll manage that on the plane.

Taking a short breath...

Up at the crack of dawn, strapped to the keyboard the entire day. Got the script out the door, but just barely when the client moved the presentation up by half an hour. Haven’t worked a project as massive as this on deadlines as short as this for longer than I can remember. Hope they pay fast.

Way behind on my correspondence, N reviews and everything else. Need to pick up a few more fishing supplies too, before I get on the plane. Can’t believe I’ll be in Pittsburgh the day after tomorrow.

Looking forward to getting few things done tomorrow, but tempering expectations with PT moved to the middle of the day. We’ll see what the morning brings. Might get lucky.

Wondering about D lately. Been forever since we’ve seen one another. Forever since I’ve seen anyone, come to think of it, but a helluva long time since he and I have even talked. Need to remedy that when I get back.

Nice day today, despite the smoke. Air was a little cleaner. More like fall.

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.