writer
Flying blind tonight. Or, mostly blind. Spent the afternoon with the opthalmaologist and the eyes are still dilated. As such, no real writing today except for a brief forty minutes early this morning.
Talked briefly to the boys this afternoon. Everyone’s excited about their visit.
Meantime, some new work from the Philharmonic, and lots of revisions on a number of other pieces.
Lazy morning. Up a little later than usual, then off to work.
Cleaned up an old short, then went back to work on the long piece.
Spent the afternoon shopping. Bought some new kayaking pants and shorts. Some new t-shirts too. Talked to my bro, Joe, about plans for Wyoming when I got home.
All in all, a quiet day.
Back to it tomorrow.
Good day.
Managed a full morning at the keyboard straightening out the structural problems of the long piece. Now if I can only get the rest in order.
Spend the afternoon on the phone with the boys. School’s nearly out and they’re getting antsy for their summer vacation. Two weeks at camp back east, another two cooling their heels in Silver Spring, then a month here in Colorado and Wyoming.
Was hoping to get the new canoe out on the water this weekend, but rain and lightning keep getting in the way.
Taking it easy tonight.
Hot temps have descended upon us. High eighties today.
Worked hard on the long piece this morning. Lot’s of shaping, lots of note taking.
Good workout at the gym. Made it home in time to cut the lawn(s) before the rains came. Or should I say, before the rains that were supposed to come. (Never happened.)
Beat.
Gonna take it easy with a pizza tonight.
Hot today. Hot tomorrow, too. Even so, the sky was, and will be blue.
Good night’s sleep made all the difference.
Killed it at the keyboard this morning, had a nice even workout at the gym this afternoon.
Temps way up in the eighties today. Supposed to reach ninety-something tomorrow. Then rain going into the weekend.
Got a chance to speak to young J this afternoon. Made my day.
Dragging today. Woke up around three last night and never got back to sleep. Had an okay morning at the keyboard, and a better than expected afternoon at the gym, but sitting here now wondering how I’m gonna make it to 8:00 pm.
Temps got up into the eighties this afternoon, reminding us summer’s standing on the doorstep. Wish it wasn’t because the lawn looks great. But with the ashes having picked up some serious umbrage over the winter, who knows, I might be able to keep it from burning out as early as it’s done in years past.
Worked on the long piece most of the day. Felt good to take a deep dive after all this time. The pieces feel like they’re in place, but the prose needs pruning.
Not a whole lot else to report.
Drove out to Sportsmans Warehouse and picked up a couple of compound bows for the boys in anticipation of Wyoming. Still working on a decent set of fly rods.
Took a late afternoon walk. Wished I gotten over to the gym, but that’s what tomorrow’s for.
Looking for an easy evening.
Put some time in on the long piece today. Felt good to get back to it.
Got some time at the gym, early afternoon, then came home and took a walk around the hood.
Feeling a little bit slow today. Not sure why, but it’s definitely there. Laid down for half an hour with Tuck, and that helped. Still dragging though.
Made a pot of split pea soup for dinner. Hope it lives up to the hour I spent butchering the ham shanks.
Trump guilty on all counts.
Back to it.
Early rise, early to the keyboard.
Got in a nice workout with my buddy, Sol, then came home to send off a ms and take a brief snooze with Tuck.
Looked like rain most of the afternoon, but no dice. Just overcast skies.
Starting to make plans for Wyoming. Hope to get up there twice this year.
Yardwork. A little reading, a little writing.
Just as it should be.
Lovely day. Breezy, but beautiful.
Dinner with K. tonight on the back patio.
Woke early, spent some time over coffee, then went off to the cottage to make revisions to my other new short, “Not Fade Away.”
Hit the gym early, and worked out hard. Thought maybe I’d catch a nap with Tuck when I got home, but went out to Harding’s nursery instead and picked up the last (I hope) of the shrubberies for tomorrow’s yard work.
Mowed & weed whacked the lawn before calling it quits. Grass looks great right now, and if I’m smart I’ll find a way to keep it that way. Summer’s have been hard, what with water restrictions, but the trees have gotten bigger so there’s always the hope we'll have more luck this time around.
Pretty day.
Yard’s looking special. Should look even better come the weekend.
Easy day at the keyboard. Hard day at the gym.
Looking forward to a quiet evening.
Up at a decent hour. Spent some time over coffee, then went out to the cottage to send off paperwork. Pretty day today. Blue sky, high thin clouds, and a soft breeze.
Worked out early afternoon, then came home and ran errands.
Got a note from the Berkeley Review they’re holding onto my piece, “Eyes Wide Open” for further review. Been in the same place with them on at least two other occasions only to have the work rejected, but fingers crossed as always.
Haven’t looked at the long piece for a week or so, but intend to rectify that deficiency tomorrow.
Coming to the close of my annual reading of Blood Meridian, and as always find myself in awe of what McCarthy was able to accomplish.
Early morning workout with my buddy, Sol, today. Good stuff.
Retired to the keyboard late morning through lunch, tidying up the reader version of “Rogue.” Feeling good about the story, but we’ll see what others think. Tomorrow, on to green woods and pastures new.
Nice day today, but feel like we’re heading into another rainy stretch. No complaints, just an observation. Grass is looking good, and hope to keep it that way as far into the summer as I can.
Meanwhile, ordered a new (inflatable) kayak. Loved the old canoe but it just got too heavy to portage. Looking forward to getting out on the water again.
Clear, beautiful blue-sky day. Spent the morning at the keyboard. Wrote my first review of the month for N., knocked off a couple of letters, and revised a couple of drafts. This afternoon, went to the theater to see a revival of North by Northwest. Can’t ask for much more that that, but if I could it would be to get in a day on the water. With any luck, that’ll come along soon.
Looking at a busy Monday tomorrow. Hoping to push a story out the door, or maybe make a little more progress on the long piece. Need to start making plans for Wyoming, too.
Easy day.
Spent most of it shrub hunting. Unsuccessfully, I might add.
Got a reader’s draft of a new short in place. Calling it “Not Fade Away” with a nod to Buddy Holly.
Light rain came in this evening.
Cooking up a pot of potato leek soup for dinner.
Researching some target bows for the boys in anticipation of Wyoming.
Made it.
Beautiful day.
Caught up with my bud, S, for a nice mid-afternoon talk. Worked out, kicked back, took it all in.
Looking forward to a nice lazy Friday night.
Signing off.
Fell off the grid again. Don’t know why it keeps happening.
All over the place with work, chores, correspondence, and all the rest. Just been that kind of week, I think.
Anyway, have two good drafts in place and need to get back to the long piece again. Short story land is in another prolonged nod with more than half a dozen pieces under consideration in excess of eleven months. A lot of them claim a covid hangover, but for the most part they’re just piss poor managers of their own time.
Not to worry. Have a lot of reading on my plate, and some new N stories have come in as well.
Getting lots of yardwork done. Pruned the trees the other day, mowed the lawn for the second time, and managed a bit of cleanup to boot. Haven’t found anything to replace the dead hydrangea near the cottage door, but not for lack of trying. Maybe we’ll find something this weekend.
