Taking a look back...

Nice fallish day today.

Was up early to work on new story. Got the bones of it down, then went off to the gym for a workout.

Spent the afternoon talking to the boys (only one, actually, Matty), and shopping. In that order.

Been reading a book my buddy S passed along to me. 365 Days. Thought I’d run the gamut with stories about Vietnam, but there’s something about this one I can’t put down. It’s not as poetic as Herr’s book, or the books of Tim O’Brien, or even Phil Caputo, but man, it’s got the juice. Don’t know why, but reading it has made me embarrassed for John Steinbeck’s Dispatches from the War , which felt like a stylishly-written bit of fluff by a deluded old man.

Mid-way through Banditti of the Plains, too. Enjoying it quite a bit. A good companion to the Wyoming Cattle War book I read a while back. I can catch a glimpse of my grandfather between the lines now and again. Tough life those guys led. Tough and full of hardship.

It's all just guesswork at this point...

Up early.

Spent the better part of the day cranking out projects for the Philharmonic, but did manage a quick workout a little after noon, and a PT session with Brian.

Ran a few errands this evening. Wrote a letter to my bro, Joe.

Gotta check on my Uncle tomorrow, see how he’s doing.

Quiet evening. Think it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.

It wasn't much, but it was something...

Didn’t wring everything i wanted out of the day, but managed to do okay just the same.

Got in a late morning workout, saw to the lawn aeration, sowed the new grass seed and put in some solid research/writing time on the new Philharmonic campaign.

Also mailed the trinkets I picked up for the boys in Wyoming.

Fall in the air last night. Slept with the windows open and woke up half-frozen around one. Sun’s sitting lower in the west now, too.

Looking forward to a long, colorful autumn.

A break from the heat...

Still in the land of the half-dead. Can’t seem to pull myself out. Beginning to wonder if maybe my thyroid’s off that I can’t seem to muster any energy.

Shock of cool air in blew in last night, breaking the heat wave, and that was the best thing that’s happened all week. It’s too late for the lawn, but that’s getting dug up come Monday, so it doesn’t make much difference either way.

Put in a good morning at the gym and answered a few letters. Got a chance to catch up with my bud, S, this morning, and that was nice, too. Tried to dig into some new pieces when I got home but couldn’t find the energy.

Lazy evening. Gonna take advantage of it.

Another hot one...

Switched things up today. Took an early workout.

Did some good work on a new story this morning, then caught up with a bit of correspondence.

Hot, hot day. Grass is brown and brittle. Aeration guy comes next week, and when he’s finished I’m going to reseed with something a bit more drought resistant. Seems like i do this every year, but never make much progress. Gotta hope this the one.

Went over to Angler’s Covey and picked up some new flies this afternoon. Gonna head up to Elevenmile tomorrow and see if I can’t kill the day on the water.

Tired, but in a good way. Should sleep well tonight.

The Heat of the night...

Another day in the 90s. Must be some kind of record.

Still, had a good morning. Finally put an end to “You Say Salida.” Need to send it out now, and forget about it. Found a rough draft of another story I’d started and then forgotten about. It’s short, but punchy. Think it might have the legs to go somewhere. Meanwhile, more than half a dozen pieces languishing in the mail.

PT this afternoon. Feeling pretty good compared to the way I was back in the spring. Neck’s doing well, and the shoulder only talks back on the rarest of occasions.

Need to delve back into the long piece. Was making progress on it before I headed off to Wyoming, and I’ve lost track of where I was going since coming home.

Gotta jump on the boy’s storybook too, or there won’t be much chance of getting it to them by Christmas. Dropped a note to G. B. today to see if he’s got any interest. Hope to hear back. Worst scenario, might have to dump it in the lap of the BookBaby design studio.

Ramping up...

Easy day.

Wrote early, finished some correspondence, worked out, then came home and cut the grass.

Stacked wood later this afternoon and trimmed the shrubs.

A little more tired than usual, but making an effort to get back in the swing.

Warm day. 90 or so. Looking at the same tomorrow, and maybe all of next week. At least the mornings are cooler now.

Home...

First day back from the Bighorns. Nice to be home, but miss the mountains.

Didn’t do much today other than try and catch up on paperwork. Did make a trip to the dump to jettison an old tire and some ratty foam rubber I dragged down the mountain. Otherwise, took it easy.

Still tired from the long drive.

More tomorrow.

Wyoming, here I come...

Busy day today. Lots of time at the keyboard.

Took a brief walk around the neighborhood, but back in time to ship my project off to the Philharmonic.

Leaving for Wyoming tomorrow. Wish S was coming along, but happy she’s home to look after Kitcat. He seems to be having a hard time lately.

Calling it a day. Got most of my gear in order and should be able to finish the rest without much trouble in the morning.

A road trip in the making...

Good day writing. Worked on the long piece, exclusively. Hit the gym a little before noon, then came home and tried to sort out some tech stuff. Called JS in the end, and all was resolved.

Pretty day today. Thought it might rain, but the skies cleared and a breeze blew in and we settled for sunshine and cool.

Bro Joe finally got his truck out of the service bay (after only a month!), so I’ll be pulling out of town on Friday, and heading up to Casper. Gonna be a shorter trip than originally planned, but that’s okay. Looking forward to getting back in the mountains.

Not much else to report.

Hope to have some stories when I get back.

Waiting for the rain...

Another one under the belt.

Productive day writing. Went back to the long piece after finishing edits on my newest short. Pleased with both.

Pulled some weeds when I got home from the gym. Killed some time reading and catching up on the phone.

May not sound like it, but had a pretty good day.

Looking for another one tomorrow.

Sunday, 6:47...

Holding pattern.

Waiting on word from my bro, my illustrator, and half a dozen editors who’ve been holding various pieces of mine for nigh on a year.

Took things easy today. Forewent the gym. Wrote, read, revised, and took a late afternoon drive out to Harding’s nursery instead.

Also got in a walk around the neighborhood.

Looking to hit the road for Wyoming any day now.

Not bad for a Wednesday...

Cool morning. Felt a little like fall.

Up early to the keyboard, and beyond. Had some good luck with revisions, then headed off for an early workout at the gym. Been switching up my routine a bit—forewent the jump rope for a half an hour on the bike—but not sure I liked it as much as I wanted. Still lifted and hit the bag, so no complaints. Just looking to keep things fresh.

Spoke to my bro, Joe, about meeting up in Wyoming. He’s having maintenance issues with the Ford dealership over his truck, and may arrive a day (or two) later than expected. Won’t change my plans, but I hope he gets past his troubles without losing too many brain cells. Sounds as if he’s got a real mess on his hands.

Talked briefly with my buddy S this afternoon. Always the highlight of my day.

Still missing the boys, but there’s nothing to be done about it so I’ll leave it at that. New resolution: eyes forward.

Looking to the weekend...

New week, new day.

Put in some good time at the keyboard, then went off to the gym. Tired, don’t know why, but managed a decent workout nonetheless. Think I’m still coming down off the month-long high with the boys.

Quiet afternoon.

Waiting on the rain now, and a quiet evening inside.

Come Saturday, I’ll be in Casper.

Remind me again what I'm doing...

Sluffing most of the week with my entries. Still tired from the boys’ visit, I guess. That and the hot weather.

Been plugging on some short pieces, but haven’t dropped anything in the mail for a while and need to change that. “Long Player” and “You Say, I Say” are both ready to fledge. Meanwhile, need to get back to the long piece and maybe send out some queries to agents looking for short fiction collections.

Send off some correspondence when I got home from the movie this morning, and managed a light workout at the gym, but haven’t done much otherwise.

Salman Rushdie incident been on my mind all day. What a damned obscenity.

Making plans to leave for Wyoming a week from now. Looking forward to seeing the mountain again. Getting the hell away from everyone.