writer
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.
Up late, but good to sleep in.
Spend an hour or so over coffee, then went to work on the reader draft of “Rogue.” Pleased with the revisions, and think I’ve got a pretty good story. Will let it cool for a few days and move on to something else now. Maybe the long piece.
Light drizzle most of the day. Weather people predict overcast skies and rain for a good part of the week. Let it come! Grass is shaping up, flowers are getting planted, and the bastard winds have finally died.
Did a little shrubbery shopping mid-afternoon but came up empty. Took a nap when we got home.
Have some housekeeping things to address before the weekend’s over, but most of it’s correspondence.
Going to see Rent tomorrow at the Fine Arts Center, courtesy of K. Looking forward to getting out.
So here it is, at last. Friday.
Worked out, mowed the lawn, moved flower boxes, cleaned the house….
Took a walk around the hood under overcast skies and hoped to God I got it right on what I believe to be the last of the revisions on on “Rogue.”
No big plans for tomorrow but start work on my other short, then move on to the long piece.
Don’t figure to make a late night of it, but I guess we’ll see.
Meanwhile, dinner.
Been having a lot of dreams about Kitcat lately. Seeing his shadow. Not entirely sure I’ll ever get over that one, but who knows, maybe I’ll live long enough to find out.
Did some good work on “Rogue” this morning. Think I’m close to a reader draft. There are moments I’m not sure about it, but when I read it over it feels like the real thing.
Drizzly day today.
Smoked myself at the gym this afternoon, then went off for PT and was pounded on even harder.
Hit some sort of benchmark with my bloodwork today. Lowest number I’ve had in two weeks. Just wish I knew what the “f” it meant.
Quiet night.
Solid day. Put in some good revisions before going off to the gym.
Had a quick lunch when I got home, worked a little more at the keyboard, then found myself so overwhelmed with Mr. Tuck’s affections, I had to take a nap.
No walk today. Wind’s were still pretty annoying. Maybe tomorrow, though the weather bureau’s calling for more rain and whatnot.
Hard copy of the Freshwater Journal arrived today with my short-short “A Matter of Optics” in it. Happy to have that one behind me.
No big plans for tomorrow outside of writing.
Tonight, ham and broccoli.
Finish a good draft of my newest short. Haven’t got a name for it yet, but feeling pretty good I’ll come up with one in the next couple of days.
Took time off from the gym and went to a movie. Fun stuff.
Came home and settled in with Tuck for a nap.
Been missing Kit. Can’t seem to get him out of my head.
Looking forward to getting back to business tomorrow. Whatever business is. Tonight? Who knows. Maybe a movie.
Yeah.
Sleptwalk through most of the day.
Did a little yardwork, put in some time at the keyboard. Not much more. Worked out at the gym, too, but took it easy.
Blustery day. More of the same tomorrow.
Finished the Mailer book last night.
Jawed with my bro, S, this morning. Always a good time.
The rest went as scripted.
Revisions, gym time, and some shopping.
Windy day. Not sure what’s blowing in, but it’s not far off.
Fixed the patio, mowed the lawn and that’s about it. Bliss.
Physical day. Met with Sol early at the gym and burned up every muscle I own. Took a short nap when I got home, then pressed ahead with revisions on the new mss.
PT with my dude Brian went well. Have the feeling I’m gonna sleep well tonight.
