A brief summing up...

Lots of running around today.

Up early. Drove the Jeep out to the dealership for oil change, etc. Had the truck serviced on Tuesday. All’s well in the automotive world.

Plumber came today to assess the soon-to-be-new shower. Will have to work though floor issues with the carpenter next week. On the positive side? All fixtures are in, tile to arrive in ten days, new shower door a little after that. Still a good month out from being finished, but at least it’s in progress.

Good workout today. Making progress. Wish I could say the same for the writing. Feels as if I’m mired in mud. The wheels keep spinning, but I don’t see much progress.

Two N critiques left to finish over the weekend. One story moving forward for certain, and maybe two.

K and C both down with Covid now. K’s case the more dismal of the two as she’s locked in a hotel room in France. Fingers crossed for quick recoveries.

Pizza tonight.

It isn't spring, but it isn't bad...

Good night’s sleep.

Out to the cottage around six, making revisions on the newest short. Getting closer all the time, but for some inexplicable reason this one’s fought back from day one. I never had a story that wanted so badly to be told, but at the same time insisted on dragging its heels all the way to the page.

Have a new one in mind. Need to at least get a draft down before I forget it, so maybe I’ll work on that tomorrow and give the other a rest.

Took a break early afternoon to police the yard. Bundled up something like eight contractor bags full of leaves and branches and drove them out to Rocky Top. Yard’s ready for planting, but still have to prune and fertilize. Sprinkler system tech due out next week.

Didn’t make it to the gym today. Maybe tomorrow.

Meantime, waiting for the winds to die and the rain to come.

Small doings on a quiet Friday...

The week got away from me, but in a good way. Lots of early rises, lots of words on the page, some minor setbacks, and more mid-afternoon naps than I’ve deserved.

Now if I can just get another story in the hopper.

Put a dent in the long piece this week, but ran aground on Thursday, and need to take a closer look at it over the weekend. Been summarizing and revising as I go along. Some good stuff, some bad. The voice is going to be key with this one, but I think I’ve got a handle on it.

Was thinking we might get out for a walk the afternoon, but the wind’s been blowing in a lot of pollen so settled for a workout at the gym instead. Neck’s sore (as usual) but not getting in the way anymore, thanks to the PT.

Hoping to maybe get out and paint tomorrow, weather permitting. We’ll see.

A spin around the block...

Another early rise.

Got in some good work on the long piece, including some outline work that should help further down the road.

Bathroom demo near completion. Kitties ain’t too happy about it, but it’s almost finished and from the look of the joists we caught the leak just in time.

Left for the gym a little afternoon. Skipped rope, hit the heavy bags, and did a little light lifting. Afterward, made a side trip to Starbucks, then came home to write a little longer.

Was treated to a terse rejection from the Minnesota Review over “Down There,” the latest of my inaccroachable short fictions.

Looking forward to a quiet evening.

Calling this one a near miss...

Restless night, up early.

Lousy day at the keyboard, but that happens sometimes. Quit while ahead and put in a long session at the gym. Came home, napped, cooked a pot of potato leek soup, and met with the plumber over the upstairs bath.

Yeah, exciting.

Gonna take it easy tonight and see what tomorrow brings.

Let the show begin...

So. Up early to the keyboard. Got in a decent couple of hours on the new, long manuscript, then pushed on with the N critiques.

Shower demo started around 9:00. Workers made pretty good headway while I was away at the gym. Kitties didn’t care for it much, but were more upset about being locked in the bedroom, I think, than the actual noise. I’m guessing the rest of the demo will end sometime tomorrow. Hope so, anyway. Like to think we’ll have things back in hand by June.

Cool weather blew in today. Not sure what’s in store the rest of the week, but hoping it doesn’t include the big winds. Like to get out and fertilize the lawn before the next rain.

K leaves for France tomorrow.

The rest of the world stuck where it is.

Sunny sunday...

Put together a decent day, though I have to admit I don’t remember most of it.

Wrote early, spoke to my bro, J., on the phone a while, then drifted off to the gym for an early afternoon workout. Spoke to my sis on the way home. Later, went to the theatre to see the 70th anniversary re-release of Singing in the Rain. Great time.

Tile guy comes early tomorrow to demo the upstairs shower. We’ll be out of commission for some time, depending on the arrival of the hardware. Can’t worry about it. Water leak is driving the utility bill sky high, and has probably caused mold damage, too. Just have to put our heads down, cross our fingers, and hope it’s over soon.

Looking to get in some early writing tomorrow.

On the grid, again...

Tech issues with Squarespace for two days. Guess I’m up and running again.

Big news. My story, “The Denunciation,” was released in yesterday’s Saturday Evening Post. Have gotten some nice feedback from readers. Hoping a few of them will pass their words along on the SEP comments section.

Bigger news. Young Jack’s birthday today. Eight years old. FaceTimed with him this morning, and he seemed to be enjoying his newly acquired status. Was wearing the Colorado ball cap we sent. Later, he modeled his “moose” Pikes Peak hoodie.

Went shopping downtown for the first time in a long while to pick up a few Easter goodies. Pretty day. A lot of new stores since the pandemic, but a lot of old ones gone as well. Saw the site for the new Tattered Cover. It’s gonna be great. It’ll even have a bar, if the signage isn’t lying.

Did some grocery shopping for dinner, then took a nice stroll around the neighborhood.

All in all a pretty good day.

Blink, and it's gone...

Another one gets away.

Up early to the keyboard.

Wrote a review, read a new story, worked out, went to the dentist, came home, went out, got a haircut, came home and talked to my sis, M.

That pretty much does it.

Need to get an earlier handle on the day tomorrow.

What goes around comes around...

Strange couple of days.

But that’s for another time.

Today, had an early rise and a solid day at the keyboard. Nearly finished with the newest short. If I don’t muff it, this might very well be one of the better pieces I’ve written in a while.

Put in a good workout at the gym this afternoon. The neck remains a problem, but the rotator cuff and bicep continue to improve. Starting to feel like my old self again.

Scouted some tile for the bath renovation. Found the stuff we want, but like everything else it’s going to depend on a very iffy supply chain. Demo starts next week, but pretty sure it’ll be months before the fixtures, door, etc. arrive. Not much you can do about it but shrug and keep going. So that’s the plan. Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky.

One story left in the N queue. Figure I’ll address it tomorrow.

Tonight? Baked potatoes and broccoli.

Hard night, easy morning...

Woke early after shaking off some bad dreams.

Hit the cottage early and steamed ahead on the new short. I’m calling it “One Way Out.”

Thought the piece might crash and burn after all the revisions, but it’s reached a point where I now believe it might be one of the best things I’ve written in a while. Put a pin in that. I might have to come back later and eat those words.

Was taking a break when an email came in saying another new story of mine, “Sister Moon,” was just accepted. Two in two days.

Suddenly, everything breaks loose.

Did some grocery shopping this afternoon, and decide to chill the rest of the day. Wrote a critique for N, read a little bit of NYer, took a short walk, and now here we are.

Cheers all around...

Got an acceptance from the Saturday Evening Post this morning while we were out in the cottage having a cup of coffee. Appears “The Denunciation” has found a home.

Nice way to turn the week around, especially after the shingles shot and all the rest.

Dryer arrived today, too. Halleluja!

Put in a nice workout at the gym, then met with our construction guy, Steve, about framing out the new shower stall and installing the new doors. If we can get together with the plumber now and agree on the details of the timing, I think we’ll be able to move forward with the demo. Sure hope so.

Pretty day today. Wish we’d gotten out for a walk.

Looking forward to doing a little yardwork tomorrow.

Still dizzy...

Thought I might have an interesting day in front of me, and I was right.

Got out of bed at decent hour and managed to put in an hour or two at the keyboard. Dyer installation guy was supposed to show between the hours of noon and three so i thought I’d head out to the gym before he came. No luck. As soon as I stood I nearly fell over. Reaction to yesterday’s shingles shot, I think. Anyway, ended up spending the entire afternoon in bed with the kitties,.

Dryer guy never showed. Didn’t even phone. Lowes said he was a new supplier, and that he’d only finished two installs the entire day. Right now, I’m hoping that’s because he’s careful. not incompetent.

Long and short of it, the day was wasted. We’ll see if we can’t do better tomorrow.

All in, at least for now...

Caught up with the real world today, spending most of it running errands and the like.

Got my second shingles shot this afternoon.

Rest of the day we spent shopping in Manitou, looking for birthday gifts for Jack.

Weather turned south mid-day. Got stuck in a hailstorm, but it wasn’t bad. Meaning, it didn’t do any visible damage to the Jeep. Happy about that.

Temps have dropped and the rain’s settled in, but we’re all happy to get the moisture.

New dryer comes tomorrow.