And we have a winner...

Up early today. Surprised to find the cold front that moved in the night before had been courteous enough to move out again. They’re saying snow tonight, but I don’t buy it. It’s 5:30 and temps still have to be in the mid-forties.

Worked on a short this morning, then drove Kit to the vet to have his bloodwork. Was worried with the new thyroid regimen, but the doc called later in the afternoon to say his levels looked good. Kidneys, in particular. Was happy to hear it. Really happy.

Ran a few errands late afternoon, then came home and trimmed the tree. Had to back off when we lost the sunlight, but quit with things pretty well in hand. Tinsel tomorrow morning, and after that we’ll have most of the big stuff out of the way. Toughest thing now is keeping watch for the packages and the porch pirates.

Looking for a good night’s sleep and an early rise tomorrow. Getting back to the book draft. Pushing my latest N critique out the door.

Meantime, taking it easy in front of the fire.

Whatever...

Okay day. Didn’t do anything special, but not sure I ever do. Was up early to the keyboard, put in some decent writing time, then went off to the gym. There’s a sameness to everything at the moment and I’m not sure why. But it isn’t bad, so I guess I won’t complain.

Worked out early this afternoon, then came home and took a nap. Worked a little longer after I got up, took a brief trip to Starbucks, and started planning for tomorrow.

Kit goes to the doc a little after one. Crossing my fingers on that one.

Christmas shopping halfway in the bag with the long distance stuff nearly finished. Just in time, I think, given the current state of our delivery services.

Tuesday, 6:19 pm...

Catching up.

Another tough night’s sleep, but I guess that’s gonna be the way of things for a while. Didn’t get any writing done today, but did manage some Christmas shopping, a pretty good workout, and a haircut.

Leaving it at that.

More tomorrow.

Ramping up...

Decent night’s sleep for a change. Woke rested and ready to go.

Put in some work on the new novel, then turned my attention to the N queue and my critiques. Sent two more pieces out the door, and need to revisit a third. Day was quiet otherwise.

Hit the gym for an easy, early week workout around 1:00. Came home and made a pot of split pea soup. Took a late nap, then went for a drive around the neighborhood to check out the lights and decorations.

K leaves for NY tomorrow, and that’s about all the excitement going on in my immediate circle. Need to get a jump on my shopping. Otherwise, just taking it easy and trying to get used to the cold temps that just moved in.

Kit sees the doc on Thursday for tests. Ain’t looking forward to that.

Meanwhile, life’s good.

Sunday, 6:10 pm...

Fun day.

Easy day.

Worked a little, hung Christmas lights, put up decorations and even did a little shopping.

Ran into our neighbor, T, while the church choir was performing on the veranda.

Later, came home and wrote a review.

Wind started up this evening. Guess the cold front’s coming.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Gliding into evening...

A nice day away from the gym.

Put in early at the keyboard and did some composing, then gave over to letter writing, decorating, critiquing a few N stories, and grocery shopping.

Chicken piccata tonight. Maybe a Christmas movie.

Whatever happens, I’m down with it.

Great day all the way around.

Easy doings...

Yeah. Back at it.

Yesterday was pretty humdrum, except for the evening jaunt to Till, which made for a splendid night out. Wine…appetizers…a splendid glass of Scotch…all combined for a lovely evening.

Up early to the keyboard.

Off to the gym before noon.

Afternoon trips to Costco, Lowes, and Barnes & Nobel.

Read one of the new N stories when I got back, and now off to a quiet night.

No point in thinking about it...

I don’t know. Fell into a dead zone today and never made my way out.

Lot’s of clients coming and going this morning, more in the afternoon. Did a little bit of editing, a little bit of research, then went off to the gym to try and get things straight with myself.

Caught up with young Jack for a chess session late. Sorry, but not surprised, to see he had a cold.

Not much got done, but everybody’s tired.

Haven’t been able to find the next gear.

Maybe tomorrow.

Early evening wanderings...

Up at the crack of dawn—a little before, actually—to have coffee with my buddy, G. A great time as always. Lots of laughs. Got to work a little later than usual, made a few submissions, chatted with John S. a while, then headed off to the gym to put in a workout. Didn’t do much in the way of aerobics today, but lifted well, and even got to work the heavy bag a bit.

Preliminary word on the neck is arthritis, a slipped disc at C3-4, and general deterioration owed to old age! Can’t wait to see what the MRI coughs up. Meanwhile, Tremadol to sleep.

A new story rolled into my N queue, so I’ve got some reading to do. Finished two of the stories in the past two days, but haven’t written any of the critiques yet. Maybe tomorrow.

My bro, Joe, is closing his juvey, rehab facility today. A good decision at a good time. He put in a lot of hard work over the past thirty-odd years and deserves a break. Hope the kids he treated will have fond memories of him. He sure loved them.

Nothing big on tonight’s schedule. Just looking to take it easy. Finished the Beatles documentary last night, and enjoyed the closing performance. They were some talented guys.

Here and there...

Happy to say I believe I’ve solved the problem with my latest story. It still isn’t there, but after some major edits it’s closer to what it ought to be.

Spend the better part of the morning writing, and the less than better part speaking on the phone with medical folks in the hope of scheduling an MRI. Mission accomplished. New images of the neck to be taken mid-December. Meanwhile, no PT.

That said, got in a decent workout at the gym, and a chance to speak to my PT-ist, Brian, about the X-rays I had taken on Friday. Looking forward to getting to the bottom of things.

Pretty day. Put up the Christmas tree this afternoon, and look to be decorating it by the weekend. Kitties are covered with sap, enjoying their new watering hole (aka the tree stand). Life is good!

Coffee with my buddy G tomorrow morning. Be good to get out and catch up.

A freewheeling weekend...

Good day all around. Particularly after a rare good night’s sleep.

Wrote early, worked around the house getting things Christmas ready, then took a drive up to Woodland Park where we kicked around in the woods. A lovely day, what with all the sun and warm temps, but sure hope we get some snow soon or the mountains are going to be in trouble again come fire season.

Saw the new Disney movie yesterday and enjoyed it. Wish I could say the same for the Beatles documentary, which is in serious need of editing. The musical interludes are fine, as is the study of their creative process, but there was a forty minute interlude where no one did anything but sit and look at one another. Not sure Jackson couldn’t have used a good narrator to push some of the material along. That, and offer the occasional explanation of what went on behind the scenes.

Reading a collection of stories by Kevin Barry—Dark Lies the Island. Good, good stuff.

There and back again...

Splendid day. Up early, wrote a bit, then headed out to the Collegiate Peaks to hunt down this year’s Christmas tree.

What a beautiful day. Saw pronghorn, elk, deer…

Weather up high was the warmest it’s been in the past few years, which made harvesting a tree a little less arduous than it typically is, but no complaints. Just hope the mountains start getting some snow or we’ll be looking at another big burn come summer.

Yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner at K’s was splendid. Great food, great company, great time. Looking for a quieter time tonight. Maybe a movie tomorrow.

Great to get away. Great to be home.

Signing off.

Getting a jump on Christmas...

Up later than usual, but by my own choice after a long, pleasant, drug-induced sleep. Nothing like a couple of ibuprofen with a boost of wine to knock a guy out.

Spent most of the morning gathering together a story collection. Took a while to get all the pieces in place, but I think I have what I need and it’s time to start making submissions.

Have a new short in mind, too, but not sure when I’ll get at it. The long piece is starting to make sense, and I may have to get back to it while the ideas are still flowing.

Put in an okay workout at the gym, and managed a nice nap when I got home.

Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Friday, off to Leadville to cut down our Christmas tree.

Big medicine...

Restless night’s sleep, early rise to the doc’s office, a cup of coffee and off to the clinic for x-rays. No writing in between. Did manage some submission work afterward, though. Good to get something done before we left for Denver.

Two stories in my N queue that need to be taken care of soon. Looking forward to some reading time. No big pre-Thanksgiving plans, but hope to get to the gym tomorrow morning and address the editorial work after.

Meanwhile, it’s just keep plugging.

Pretty day today. Strange, featherlike cloud formations. Weather guys say it might snow tomorrow, but for now everything still feels like fall.

Just trying to keep track...

Mixed bag.

Rough sleep last night owing to the neck. Up early just the same, first to the keyboard then on the phone with the doc’s office. Hit the gym a little after twelve, and saw my PT while I was warming up. He did a few tests, and wrote a report for me to take to the doc tomorrow morning. Expect I’ll be getting x-rays or an MRI before long.

Meanwhile, got in a short but decent workout. A nap, too, when I got home. Weather nice again today. Sunny, blue sky, high clouds.

Denver tomorrow. Tonight, omelets and veggies.

Sunday evening...

Up later than usual, but still put in a decent day’s work. Most of it on research and submissions.

K came over and spent the early afternoon watching a game. Nice relaxing time.

Went grocery shopping afterward, then took a walk around the neighborhood. Weather was cool, but sunny. Worked a while, took a short nap, worked a little more, and now I’m quit for the day.

Neck’s been sore and acting strange. Numbness now. Gonna call the doc’s office tomorrow and see if I can’t get in for an x-ray. Think I’ll hold off on the rehab until I know more about what’s going on.

Looking forward to a nice easy week. Maybe start a new story.

Just trying to keep my eye on the ball...

Didn’t manage much in the way of writing today, but did get a chance to talk to my buddy S and later, my sis.

Neck’s been bothering me quite a bit of late. Thinking of seeing the doc again and asking for an X-ray. Therapist says there’s a strong possibility it’s a bulged disc, but who knows? Might be arthritis, too. Good with whatever it is as long as I can avoid making it any worse. Went to the gym to try and loosen it up, but didn’t really have the energy.

Boys left for Cancun today. Thought I might hear from them before they went, but i guess they were busy. Maybe they’ll send some pics once they get there.

Cleaned the house this afternoon. Hauled out a few more Christmas ornaments. Feels like we’re on track for the holidays.

Drove out to Voelker late this afternoon to see about an iPad. Forget it. Nothing in stock anywhere. Supply chain issues. Gonna take this a cautionary tale for Christmas shopping.

Made a nice sausage and been soup last night. Take out tonight. Noodle bowl from the Saigon Cafe.

Break out the x-mas decorations...

Ventured back into the long piece this morning after doing as much damage as I could to the latest short story in my queue. Have an idea where I want the narrative to go, but still not entirely comfortable with it after changing narrators, voices, and all the rest in the shorts I’ve been working on lately.

Left for PT just after noon, and stuck around for a workout afterword. Neck’s getting better, I think, but the progress is slow. Just have to keep pushing.

Temps have been dropping, slowly. Felt almost wintry today—in a global warming world. Cooked up a pot of beans and sausage to celebrate the season. Can’t believe we’re close to Thanksgiving…Christmas…the New Year. Gotta start looking ahead.

Watching the wheels go round...

Another action-packed day.

Managed some decent work with a new draft, then spent the rest of the morning with submissions, housekeeping, and correspondence. Wrote another N critique too.

Had an early afternoon meeting with Emmit, our insurance advisor, looking to work out next year’s healthcare plan. Big fun. A few surprises, but nothing unexpected. That is, nothing you can expect to make sense of, and nothing to be disappointed about when it doesn’t.

Was hoping to get to the gym, but it didn’t happen. Did, however, get to sit in on young Jack’s chess lesson.

John stopped by late afternoon to address a few more tech issues. Turns out Mac Keeper is a PUP, and needed to be uninstalled. Good news is, I can drop them from my auto withdrawals and have Amex reimburse me for the charges.

Christmas decorations slowly but surely going up.

PT tomorrow. Maybe more. We’ll see.