Coming around...

Boys left for Pittsburgh late yesterday afternoon. Miss them already. What a terrific three weeks.

Eased back into the old routine today. Up early, writing, then off to the gym. Cut the grass and weeded when I got home.

Coffee with my buddy, George, tomorrow. Maybe a haircut, too.

We’ll see.

A day off...

Yeah. Back for another short one.

Boys left for an overnight camping trip to Rampart with their mom this morning. S and i spent the day catching up on paperwork, and whatnot.

Got in an overdue PT session with Brian, and a short workout afterword. Came home and napped a while.

Taking advantage of the quiet time, and figure to sleepwalk through the rest of the evening.

Hoping to get up early and write before the crew gets back home. We’ll see how the rest of the evening goes.

This 'n that...

Lots of running around today. Boys are full of energy. Had a semi-quiet morning if you discount the fisticuffs, bloodletting with plastic katanas, etc.

Went swimming this afternoon and had a great time.

Taking it easy tonight so they’re rested for their overnight at Rampart tomorrow.

Heard from the University of Wyoming today. Contributor copies for my newest story should be in the mail. Something to look forward to with the rest of the literary world having gone to sleep on me.

Two new stories from N rolled in as well. We’ll see if I can keep up.

Simple enough...

Laying back a little.

Took the boys to the Manitou Arcade today, had a great time. They earned/mooched enough tickets to get themselves a couple of katanas. Plastic, of course.

Overcast, muggy day. Lots of laziness.

Fishing tomorrow.

Tacos tonight.

Everything I ever asked for...

Slow day, but productive.

New draft of Long Player, good mid-morning work, good meeting with doc.

Ran some errands an picked up tickets to tomorrow’s Green Mountain Falls Skyspace.

Figure to be up early. Leave at four thirty.

Looking for a quiet night tonight.

Easy Tuesday...

Had a nice chat with my old bud, S, this morning.

Movie this afternoon.

Can’t seem to shake the case of the blues I’ve been carrying around, but was good to get out of my head for a little while.

“Long Player” seems ready to send out. One last read-through should do it. Eager to get back to writing again, full time.

Wrote a critique for a particularly ponderous N piece this morning, and was happy to send it back. Still have one story in my queue I like. Not sure how far it will go, but thought it was interesting.

Still decompressing. Thought I’d make it to the gym this afternoon, but got back late from the movie, and there wasn’t much chance of making it work.

Nice rain going on outside . Gonna stop now and enjoy it.

Decompressing...

Boys left for Yellowstone this morning. Miss them already. They’ll be gone a week, then back again for a short visit.

Went to the gym today for the first time in forever. Skipped rope, hit the heavy bag, lifted a little. Nothing too strenuous. Figure to up the action tomorrow.

First day back writing in a while. Felt okay. Looking forward to ramping up when the visitors are gone. Have a lot of catching up to do.

Weather wasn’t as hot today as it was most of last week. Mid to high eighties, I think. Got some rain late in the day, but could use more.

Read an N story this evening that was pretty good. Got some correspondence off, too. Still recuperating from all the action, and looking ahead to a nice quiet evening.

Back to civilization...

Back from two days camping with the boys. Sat out a number of thunderstorms up in Elevenmile Canyon to have a splendid time on the mountain. Our site was perfect, high in the rocks and trees above the river. Couldn’t have asked for anything nicer. Built a couple of good fires, ate s’mores. Hunted chipmunk (unsuccessfully I’m happy to say) with the new bows and arrows, and closed out the night in the tent with Aesop and a rollicking hand of Uno.

Drove out to the reservoir the following day and rented a fishing boat. Blue skies and calm waters all afternoon. Didn’t tie into any fish, but didn’t figure on it, having not gotten on the water until one. On the positive side, the marina messed up our order for a fishing skiff and put us in a pontoon boat with a canopy. A cooler of beer would have cinched the deal, but this is Colorado, not Wisconsin, so we settled for bottled water and a bag of chips.

Went swimming at this Y this afternoon. Boys off to Denver tonight with their mom. Drew flies in tomorrow. Everybody back here for dinner tomorrow evening.

Didn’t sleep well last night—bad dreams— but figure to catch up tonight.

Gearing up...

Boys arrive tomorrow evening.

Nice day today. Temps dropped into the eighties and the grass lived another day.

Wrote in the morning, cleaned house in the afternoon. Hit the gym mid-day then drove to Lowe’s to pick up some garden lights. Took the Jeep to the carwash afterward.

Passed along a couple of N reviews, too.

Enjoying the quiet now. Long day.

Nothing new under the sun...

Went to work on a new short piece this morning. Got in a pretty good run before quitting.

More work around the yard, another movie to get out from under the heat, and a quiet trip out to state patrol office to jettison the boys old car seats.

Another afternoon in the mid nineties.

Looking forward to some rain tonight, and some cooler temps tomorrow.

Hot one...

Quiet Saturday.

Was up early, writing, then went off to a movie to try and avoid the afternoon heat. Temps got into the mid nineties, and the small breeze that blew down didn’t do much to cool things. Grass is looking a little crispy, the flowers a little wilted.

Took some odds and ends to the Arc later in the afternoon, and returned some unused merchandize at Ace and Lowe’s. Not especially exciting, but it needed to be done, and gave us a chance to pick up a few groceries while we were out.

Had a nice time and J and K’s concert party last night. Good music and good company.

Taking it easy, at home, tonight.

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.