Enjoying the wet...

More rain.

It started earlier than the weather guys predicted, and hung around this neck of the neighborhood all day long.

Got some good work in place today. Not as much as hoped, but it never is. Treated myself to a shorter workout than usual, and got in a short nap before catching up with the boys on Facetime. Everybody seems to be in good spirits. No word yet on when they’ll come out, but that should get decided soon enough without my worrying about it.

Had plans to mow the lawn, but tossed them out the window when the rain started. Maybe tomorrow, though the weather’s supposed to be about the same. Love seeing everything grow. Don’t remember a spring this wet in all the years I’ve live here.

No plans for the weekend. Looking forward to whatever surprises happen along.

Yes, it's Thursday...again...

If you’d have told me it’s been a week since I left Iowa, I wouldn’t believe you.

Lots going on a the moment, most of it trying to catch up with lost time. Three new projects in the hopper, revisions on manuscripts, summer plans to be hashed out—a little of everything.

Looking forward to an early rise tomorrow and getting a jump on a new day.

Tonight, more rain.

Tuesday evening...

Slept in this morning. A little, anyway. Put in some good time at the keyboard, had a nice conversation with my buddy, S, then logged in time at the gym.

Got in a late afternoon walk, then wrote a little longer. Getting up to speed with a few new projects.

Early morning meeting with G. tomorrow.

Everything else is up in the air.

The last of the good ones...

Back from my uncle Joe’s funeral in Iowa. Seems like a dream. Met with a lot of rainy weather, both there and on the drive back. Sioux City was like I remembered. Some good, some not so good. Visited my grandparents house before the wake, and was shocked to see how the owners had mistreated it. To be expected, I guess. Funeral was a somber occasion, which was also no surprise, but quite moving, owing in part to a Naval color guard. Visited my grandparents grave while I was in the cemetery. My great uncle and great grandmother’s as well. Joe was the last of that generation of McGuills, and I’m going to miss him. He was a fine outdoorsman and a good guy. Kind, gentle, smart…the whole thing.

Coming and going...

A day of many doings.

Worked on a new short until 11:00, then cleaned up and went off to see David Berkeley in concert in Manitou. Great time.

Mowed the lawn when I got home, pruned the trees and trimmed the shrubs.

Also got a chance to talk to the boys for a couple of minutes.

Gearing up for the cross country drive to Iowa to bury my uncle. Lotta things to do before we hit the road.

Killing time in any number of fun ways...

Lost two days here, and I’m not sure where they went.

Maybe I just thought I was making posts.

Spent the morning working on a story, the afternoon trying to replace my computer with something from the 21st century. Picked up a new desktop at the Apple store, a two and a half hour endeavor, then went off to Target to buy cat food.

Was hoping to mow the lawn when I got home, but a rain shower spoiled the effort. Guess that gives me something to do tomorrow.

FaceTimed with young Jack last night, but saw hide nor hair of Matthew. Their vacation plans for Colorado appear to be moving away from June into July, owing to the move to D.C. We’ll see.

Concert tomorrow afternoon in Manitou. Looking forward to it.

Uneventful, again...

Smoke from the Canadian fires sat down on us pretty hard today. Skies were an orange-ish brown all day, and the air was toxic.

Meant to get some yardwork in, but didn’t manage.

Did get to the gym for a quiet workout.

Spoke to my old buddy S this morning. Ran errands most of the afternoon.

Haven’t spoken to the boys in a while. Need to catch up, figure out when we’ll be seeing one another again.

Looking to drive up to Denver again tomorrow, providing the weather doesn’t go too far south.

Tonight, just hanging back.

Enough change to choke a piggy bank...

Socked in all day today. Lots of drizzle, lots of grey skies. We’re probably lucky. The Canada fires have sent a lot of smoke our way and the moisture is keeping a lot of it down. Even so, the skies are tinted brown.

Worked hard at the keyboard until noon, the went off to the gym for a light workout. Afterward, hit the grocery stores for dinner fixings.

Living the days of personal uncertainty. Kit’s losing weight by the week, Uncle Joe’s gone silent in his hospice room up in Denver, and the boys’ summer vacation with us is subject to change anytime, depending on K & D’s situation with the move to D.C.

All you can do is be prepared, and not think about it too much.

Sometimes, it's the best you can do...

Overcast skies all day, drizzle too.

Sent my philharmonic project out the door this morning, then put in some time on one of the new shorts.

PT appointment was bumped up, so spent the better part of the afternoon out of pocket. Did manage a late workout at the gym. Surprised to find I had any gas left in the tank.

Home now.

Been fretting over my uncle most of the day, and giving some thought to visiting him again this weekend—if he lasts.

Hard few weeks. Gonna do my best to take it easy tonight.

Putting it together...

Pretty nice day, today, though I spent most of it running errands.

Woke to sunny skies, put in some good time at the keyboard on the long piece, and got in a decent workout at the gym. Afterward, went to Rutledge’s and bought a new pair of dress slacks. Took my blazer to the dry cleaners, did some grocery shopping at Costco, then hung up my spurs for the evening.

Heading back up to Denver tomorrow if all goes well. Meanwhile, looking forward to a peaceful evening.

Coming down to this...

Up early, finished the philharmonic project, then went off to spend the afternoon in Denver.

Tough day at the nursing home. Lots of sad goings on. Spent my time reading to Joe over the screams of another patient. Not sure how cognizant he was of my presence, but he did acknowledge me before I left.

Had a long drive home during rush hour. Looking forward to an uneventful evening.

How soon hath time...

Busy day. Pounded away on a couple of new projects, then headed off to the gym. Worked a little more when I got home, then went to the doc’s.

Still haven’t mowed the damn grass.

Going up to Denver tomorrow. Have a feeling I won’t be making too many more trips to the nursing home.

Was a pall bearer for the first time when I was a young boy. All these years later, I’ll have carried five of my dearest relatives to their graves.

Another Easy Saturday...

Overcast morning.

Put in time with some edits on a new story, read a couple of pieces for N, then wrote letters to the boys. Spent the afternoon at the theatre watching The Wizard of Oz.

Couldn’t have had a better day.

Sorting through a lot of emotions these past few weeks. My Uncle, Kitcat. Other things I can’t do anything about. Glad to have some new work come in, if for no other reason that it keeps me busy.

Weather people predict rain for the next week. Gonna have to look for a time when I can cut the lawn.

Nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands...

Just when I thought we were out of the soup, rain clouds appeared over the mountains again. Snow in the high country, rain down here. Happiness high and low.

Put in some quiet time at the keyboard this morning, then wandered off to the gym for a quick workout and PT afterward.

Made a pot of potato leek soup when I got home, then went for a walk around the neighborhood.

New Symphony project in the wings. Something to keep my busy this weekend. Need to pick up some gas, too, and get a start on the lawn.

A straight-up dose of reality...

Two straight day of rain. Thunder came down through the night, and all but sat in our laps. Sounded like it does up in the mountains. Close by.

Grass looks happy, and to the best of my knowledge none of the flowers have died or been trampled down by hail. So that’s good.

Spent the day in Denver, visiting my uncle. Not holding out hope he’ll make it a whole lot longer. Had an episode just as I was walking into his room. Took three nurses 20 minutes to get him across the room into his bed. Read a short story to him, then visited a bit. But didn’t stay a long as I’d have liked. Had to leave early owing to the threat of snow on Monument Hill.

Back home now, exhausted.

Ready for a quiet night.