Odds and ends...

Out to the cottage not long after 6:00 am, putting the finishing touches (fingers crossed) on my latest short.

Hit the gym early and had a decent workout.

Spent the afternoon catching up on correspondence, and taking care of chores around the house. Weeded, helped repaint the kitchen, other stuff.

Feeling pretty energetic, considering it’s mid-week and we’ve had all sorts of nonsense going on. Hope I can say the same tomorrow.

Only a few days left before the boys arrive. Would like to get in a day of fishing before they come.

Saw “Woolgatherer” went live today. Looking forward to getting my contributor copy.

Busy day, quiet evening...

Up early. Back and forth between the office and house all day.

Wrote early and hard. Inches from a reader draft of a new story. Was waylaid by domestic responsibilities, but managed to get plenty off my desk just the same.

Worked out late morning, and got a haircut before coming home.

Had a brief FaceTime with the boys, too.

The week’s flying by—glad I put off the Wyoming trip until next month.

American Beauty...

No fanfare today. Not hanging out any flags, shooting off fireworks, or going to parades. I’ll do those things again if and when I start feeling patriotic about the direction the country’s moving.

Meanwhile, wrote, worked out, hung patio lights and took a nap. Also had a brief but happy FaceTime moment with Matty.

Hanging back tonight.

Thanking the powers that be for good friends, a wonderful wife, and a lovely family.

The Third of July...

Day before the Fourth.

Wrote early worked in the yard, policed the garage and got in a light workout later in the afternoon.

Place is looking good.

Have decided to hold off on Wyoming until the end of next month. Too much going on here at the moment with guests, family, and the big party.

Thunder rumbling outside the door.

Need to get on my new N critique tomorrow. Answer some mail.

Nothing to worry about...

Another one, just like the other one.

Good day. Up early to write, then cut lawn and went to the gym. Not much before or after, but hey, it’s Friday and I’m old.

Looking at a nice rain tonight. The monsoons seem to have arrived. Gonna enjoy not having to rely on the sprinkler system for a few days. Weekend’s supposed to be nice. Not too hot. I’ll take that action every time.

Going to dinner at Walter’s tonight. First time in a helluva long time. Crossing my fingers this isn’t the night we get Covid.

Nice chat with my buddy, S, this morning. Always a highlight.

Thursday, 5:30 pm...

Morning flew.

Got up early to work on a story, then went off for a late morning PT session and workout.

Rain passed through around 4:00. Supposed to be more tomorrow. Couldn’t have scripted better weather for the weekend.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but have a lot of things to organize before I get on the road to Wyoming.

Gotta shift into high gear.

No sooner said than done...

Feels like something of a lost day, but it couldn’t have been because I wrote, worked out, policed the yard, wrote a review for N, and got in some grocery shopping.

What can I say? Sometimes “exceeding expectations” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Gonna turn in early tonight and paint the shutters tomorrow. Get letters off to the boys.

Overcast and rainy...

Woke to rain. Can’t recall how long it’s been since that happened.

Didn’t do much today but make a brief appearance at the gym. That a cook up a pot of potato leek soup.

Temps are supposed to be cool much of the week. Hope that’s the case. Lawn could use the break.

Figure to watch a little hockey tonight. Embrace the sloth and turn in early.

...and a box of popcorn to boot.

Slow day that grew slower as it moved along.

Woke with a lot of energy and got in some good early writing, but decided to bail when the crowds for the Old North End Yard Sale came milling around. Went to a movie instead.

Saw Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. Wasn’t expecting a whole lot, but it turned out to be entertaining, even a little sad.

Tried to write a little more when we got home, but deserted the keyboard for a nap in the end.

Hoping for rain tonight. Weather people have been promising it all day, but it hasn’t arrived.

Putting this one to rest...

60s this morning. Had coffee out on the front porch. Pretty day with clear blue skies. Temps got into the high eighties later, but a breeze was there most of the day to temper things.

Got in an early workout. PT session as well. Drove out to the tree farm when I got home and picked out small apricot to plant in the big new pot on the back patio. Should be the last major bit of yard work left for a while.

Might have a reader draft of my new story by tomorrow, depending on how well the next round of revisions goes. Been taking my time with this one, and each new day’s been yielding up opportunities.

Been spending a lot of time with thoughts of family, lately. Can’t seem to keep up. Mom is always there, Pop, too, but of late the others have come along and made their presence known as well.

Can’t believe tomorrow’s Friday. Got a lot done this week, but would feel great closing it out with something big.

For what it's worth...

Seemed as if I accomplished more today than usual. Anyway, put a lot of things to rest.

Close to finishing a new story, had a nice workout at the gym, came home and took care of the stump on the back patio that’s been driving us crazy, and picked up the big pot for the tree. Also squeezed in a nice conversation with my buddy S.

Gotta look for an earlier start tomorrow and get some letters written. A few thank you notes, too. Meanwhile, looking forward to a quiet evening after last night’s soiree with John and Karin.

Monday evening coming down...

Good day.

Up early to write, put in a decent Monday workout, and came home to find the shower door installed.

Drove around town trying to find a small grade stump grinder, but struck out everywhere we went. Gotta be some way to beat it, but haven’t come across it yet.

Cooking up a chicken/olive dish for dinner.

Quiet evening ahead.

Looking ahead...

Temps dropped a little today. Made for a nice cool morning in the 70s. Was up early to the keyboard, but spent most of the day around the house, policing the yard.

Steve the carpenter is supposed to show tomorrow to install the shower door. If he does, that’ll be the end of the construction for a while. Still have to repaint the dining room ceiling after the plumbing disaster, but that shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.

Gotta start thinking about Wyoming. Won’t get a very long stay, so I need to make the most of my planning.

Another day in the 90s...

Clocked in early, and got some decent writing behind me. Still working on the newest short, but making good headway with revisions.

Drywall man showed mid-morning and finished mudding the bathroom. Tomorrow, prime and paint. Have some planting to do, too, and with temps being as high as they are we’ll probably get started early. Gotta dig up the problem hibiscus near the cottage door and replace it with buckthorns. Lawn needs mowing, too. Should have plenty to keep us busy all day.

Put in a good workout with Sol this afternoon. Should make for a good night’s sleep. Back’s still not 100 percent there, but it feels like it’s getting better. Just happy it isn’t hurting as much.

Took my grandma’s old prairie style lamp down to the glass shop in Ivywild to have the panes restored. Need to get the base over to the electrician now to have it rewired.

Looking ahead to a quiet night.

Closer and closer...

Pretty morning. Weather’s been warm, even in the early hours, but the sky’s been blue and we’ve had some nice breezes to keep things cool.

Got a good couple of hours at the keyboard. Think I’m close to having another reader draft. Would like to have something in hand before the week’s end so I can get back to the longer piece, but will need a bit of luck to get there.

Killed the middle of the afternoon at the gym. Came home to find the sheet rock dude hard at work on the bath. Patchwork is now finished and mudded, and touchups are all that’s left. Steve the Carpenter says he’ll be over Monday or Tuesday of next week to install the door. That leaves us the weekend to paint. Three months, or near to it, but we're finally back in business.

Hoping for an early rise tomorrow. Need to push things into high gear.

Hodgepodge...

Busy day.

Not sure how I lost Monday’s post, but not worried enough to go looking for it.

Finished the final draft of “Long Player” and am ready to send it out, providing I can find a good fit for it.

Got some housekeeping out of the way as well.

Sent out two queries over the past two weeks, inquiring after stories that’ve been held for a year, and haven’t heard back from either venue. Discouraging is the word I’d use with some of these places.

On the happier side of things, my back is close to being all right again. Just a couple of more days, I hope. Neck’s feeling okay, too.

Appointment with the audiologist went pretty well, so we’ll see what happens from here.

Quiet Sunday...

Put in some early work at the keyboard this morning, then went off to the movies to avoid the heat. Picked up a new garden hose on the way home, messed around in the office.

Had a brief FaceTime with the boys. Won’t be long and they’ll be out again.

Didn’t get much accomplished today, owing to the back problem, but hoping for an uptick in productivity tomorrow.