Gettin older by the day...

This asthma thing is really busting my balls. Downing antibiotics twice a day now, so I guess we’ll see what comes of it. Meanwhile, not human contact. Between times, packing up Christmas presents, decorating the tree, napping and reading.

Took a short walk this evening, but didn’t make it very far. Cold, dark, lots of late-evening strollers.

Had a deep desire to get out in the garage and skip rope, but decided against it until I can catch a breath and keep it. Been down this road before—almost ever year, like clockwork—and learned my lesson about trying to do too much. Better to hang back for the time being.

Tonight, pizza, wine and rest.

Every breath I take...

Rotten night’s sleep. Asthma’s driving me nuts. Appointment with Storm’s on the 15th. Meanwhile got a new regimen of antibiotics, Symbicort, and all the rest. (Passing on the prednisone this time. Don’t need another muscle tear.)

Punched two or three critiques out the door early on, but saw four new stories drop into the queue almost immediately after. So, not finished yet, but close. Spent the rest of the afternoon working on probate stuff. That, and taking a short walk around the neighborhood.

Had a waking dream that I quit caring—about everything—and it wasn’t bad. Who knows, maybe I have a future after all.

Cold again today. But clear and sunny. Would have enjoyed it, had I been able to breathe.

Picky, picky, picky, I know.

Sleepwalking through...

Now it’s the asthma, not the arm, keeping me awake nights. Woke at 2:30 this morning, and never really got back to sleep. Tried to sit up and work, but that didn’t go so well either. Made for a long listless day.

Didn’t manage a workout this afternoon, but punched out a couple of N critiques, and finished the last of my reading. Should have all of my assignments put to rest by tomorrow, or Thursday at the latest. Also figure to have the first reader draft of the novel finished tomorrow.

Cold, overcast day. Not much good for anything. Kinda hoped to see snow, but it didn’t happen. Not sure what the rest of the week is supposed to bring.

Tired in more ways than I can say.

Crossing my fingers I can get some rest tonight and start fresh tomorrow. God knows I’ve got plenty on my plate.

Taking it easy...

Up later than usual last night, watching WA’s Midnight in Paris, but still up at a good hour this morning.

Pushed paper most of the day, but got out for a nice walk in the afternoon. Weather was chilly, especially walking into the wind, but the sun was out and the sky was as blue and smokeless as it’s been in a long time.

Read one of the new N pieces and thought I might make progress with my critiques, but got lazier and lazier as the day went on, and dropped everything for a late afternoon nap.

Guess I’ll catch up tomorrow.

Thanksgiving...

Good day.

Woke early, sent off some manuscripts, emailed a few friends, then loaded the pickup with an axe and saw and drove off to Buena Vista and beyond, into the snowy nether reaches of the San Isabel’s to cut down a Christmas tree.

The Collegiate’s were topped with clouds and it looked as if getting in and out might be more difficult than usual. But we parked on a FS access road, and hiked in west of Clear Creek ranch and found a perfect specimen near the river.

FaceTimed with the boys on the drive back home. A short visit, but nice.

Home earlier than usual. Veal piccata for dinner tonight. Maybe a movie in front of the fireplace.

Sigh of relief...

Got the tests back this evening. No covid. That pretty much makes the whole day.

Finished the last bit of revisions on the new short and will give it one last read-through before dropping it into circulation tomorrow.

Spent the rest of the morning attending to my Personal Representative gig for Mom’s estate. That, working out, and waiting for phone call from young Matt.

Leaving for the mountains early tomorrow, looking to cut down this years Christmas tree. Figure the roads to be clear what with everyone gathering for Thanksgiving.

Looking forward to getting out, seeing some scenery.

Schlepping along...

Got some traction. Out of bed early, made some revisions on the new short, wrote a letter to my boys in Pittsburgh, and got in a decent workout in the garage.

Starting to lift again. Not much, but enough to make the bicep remember what it’s there for. The new weights are great, and should work out well. Have a long way to go to get back where I was, but with the whole winter ahead of me I should do all right.

FaceTimed with Jackie this afternoon. Hadn’t seen or heard from him in a while, so it was nice to catch up. Will have to see if I can lock in with Matty later this week.

Thinking about driving out to Leadville earlier than planned. Figure Thanksgiving’s down the tubes, so why not get the Christmas tree early? Pack lunch and a thermos of coffee, and hit the road. We’ll see how the next day or two goes.

No symptoms. Test results should come along soon. Meanwhile, knock wood.

On a roll, sort of...

Knocking wood. Still symptom free. No word back about the test yet—that should come on Wednesday or Thursday—but feeling good, allergies aside.

Pushed to the end of the book today. Did a little more clean-up, but feel like I’m one quick pass from having a reader copy. Gonna let it sit for a few days and get back to work on the N stories, and other projects that’ve been sitting on the back burner.

Got out to the park today to jog the stairs at the soccer park. Felt good, being outside. Weather was warmer than I expected, so did most of the work in shirtsleeves.

Feel like I’ve got some momentum going.

Hope I can carry it over into tomorrow.

So there it is...

Just when I think I have the hang of it, an entry disappears.

Anyway, tested yesterday and awaiting the results. Should come in a day or two, Not presenting with any of the common symptoms, so hoping it all goes well.

Meanwhile, coming to the end of another edit on the novel. With luck, might have it finished tomorrow.

Pushed another N critique out the door, went for a short walk, and otherwise wasted the day doing not much of anything.

Baking a corned beef tonight. Haven’t had one of those in a while. Figure to hit rack early, get in some reading, and see what tomorrow brings.

Wake up call...

The curse of 2020 continues.

Crummy night’s sleep, later-than-usual rise, less-than-productive day. Did manage to make some good headway with the book, but lost all the emotional ground I’d gained when I got a text from my buddy Sol, over at the gym saying he tested positive for COVID. Been concerned about PT with the big county-wide spike, and now it turns out I had good reason. Going in for a test tomorrow morning. Even if negative, will be forced to self-isolate for 14 days. Fingers crossed that’s as bad as it gets.

I think I'm getting the hang of it...

More of the same.

Early rise, early day at the keyboard. Brief interlude with the jump rope around noon, then off to PT. Can’t say I accomplished a whole lot else, except for a brief walk and a bit of reading.

Pretty day today. Warmer than I figured it would be. If I’d known, I might have gone fishing again.

No big plans for tomorrow. Just more of the same.

A new Salman Rushdie story in this week’s New Yorker. Gonna get after that tonight.

Blue skies all day...

Early rise, early to work. Read-through of the novel going pretty well. May have a reader version of the thing pretty soon.

Cut loose around eleven to do some fishing down on the Arkansas. Found a bag with some vintage streamers and decided to try them out. Found a nice stretch of water that should’ve produced something but came up empty. Haven’t been skunked in a while, so I owe myself another outting the next time it’s nice again.

Meanwhile, gotta get moving on the N reviews. A new story showed up in my queue yesterday.

PT tomorrow. Not sure what time. Wish I could see my way clear to working out with the weights, but afraid the gym’s off limits until the numbers die down appreciably or the covid vaccine gets released. Heard on NPR this afternoon inoculations might start as soon as December. Don’t figure I’ll the likes of one until 2021, but fingers crossed anyway.

Here’s goodbye to a beautiful day.

A case of the slows...

Still plugging.

Rough night’s sleep with the arm, but up early to work at the keyboard. Feeling good about quality, less so with output. But we’ll get there. Got a long list of things to do, and figure to start chipping away at them tomorrow.

Mussels in white wine and butter tonight.

Can’t do better than that.

A solid effort...

Moving along smooth and steady. Up at a good hour, off to the cottage at a good hour, and put in a nice morning’s work.

Big headway on revisions, and progress on the N stories. Sent off a critique mid-morning. New pieces came in, which should keep me busy over the weekend.

Long FaceTime chat with Matty this afternoon. Got a chance to catch up with Jack as well, though the conversation was a bit more brief. Nice getting to talk with them again.

Made a trip out to Costco to do a little longterm shopping, but bailed when we saw the long line running out the door. Maybe the county Covid numbers are sending folks into a panic.

No workout today, but will make up for it first chance I get. Big winds coming in tonight and staying until late tomorrow.

Hanging back tonight. Figure to chill with a bowl of soup and a glass of wine. Hit the sack early and get some reading in.

Thursday...

A day of hits and misses.

Was up early after a decent night’s sleep, and made good headway with revisions. Took a time out a bit past noon and skipped rope in the garage. PT later. After that, home to field a few phone calls. All in all, a pretty uneventful day.

Read and re-read the two of the N stories in my queue, and wrote one review. Will catch up on the rest tomorrow.

Been wasting too much time reading op-ed pieces. Need to start looking further ahead. On that note, made a batch of cauliflower soup for tomorrow night’s dinner.

Everything else is up in the air, as always.

Somebody call me a cab...

Woke up early with a sore arm. Kitties have migrated upstairs to share the bed, so things get a little tight. Anyway, up early, and away to the cottage for another decent morning of writing.

Skipped rope in the garage this afternoon, looking to avoid time at the gym. Worked out pretty well. Better than I thought it might, anyway. If I could get into a decent set of weights at a good price, I’d be in business.

Took a walk around the neighborhood later this evening. Weather wasn’t bad, except for a mean breeze blowing down from the north. Keeping a close eye on next Tuesday when the temps go up. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to get in a full day of fishing.

Covid cases up all around the county. Can’t imagine what they’re going to number once Thanksgiving’s over.

Two new stories in my N queue. Need to get on them tomorrow. Other stuff, too.

Tonight? Same old, same old.

Tomorrow, PT, green woods and pastures new.

It was here a minute ago...

Hit the keyboard early this morning. Put in some good revisions, but the fewer there are the more difficult they are to put to rest.

Think I have what I need in the the new short piece. If if still reads well tomorrow, it’s going out the door.

Didn’t go to the gym today, but got out for a walk this evening. Haven’t heard anything new about the county COVID spread, though at last glance it suggested discretion might be the better part of valor.

Missing the boys. Gonna be a tough Thanksgiving for a lot of folks, but maybe tougher for grandparents. You only get so many shots at some point, and you want to make them count.

Weather’s cooled quite a bit in the past two days. Light snow last night, but it didn’t stick. Not on the walk, anyway. Not sure I’ll get a chance to work out the bum shoulder, but would hate like hell to rip it up again shoveling snow.

Funny, I keep thinking I’ll be back where I was by maybe Christmas. But maybe this is it. Maybe I’m just old and things are going to keep going downhill.

Guess we’ll have to wait and see.