Saw this band as the first opener for Dierks Bentley. Really top not notch

https://youtu.be/cOKHBwNPQKo

Whew! 5 hours of country music last night. The last two hours standing! My dogs are barking. Taking it easy today.

Zach Top, Chase Rice and Dierks Bentley. Dierks was good, but Zach blew them all away.

I'll have a coffee.

Dang, that looks tasty.

Woke up early again today. I am getting used to it, and learning to enjoy mornings. Still tired af. I may have to learn to get used to less sleep,

I sold a story a few months ago, and it appears the magazine has gone under, the month they were going to feature me. Sigh. I tried contacting them. Crickets.

Big concert tomorrow! Dierks Bentley! Great seats! Huzzah!

Cover looks great, James. Good luck with the book! I had always pictured the background of the stories as all white ice and snow, so the pic surprised me! That I had so strongly imagined the scenery is a testament to how immersed I got in the stories. I hope the book does well.

Me, I woke up too early, so I may go read a few comp ent while Talia doses beside me. We have plans to go see Twisters today!

Hope everyone is well. A coffee and a monkey cookie please!

Quote by JamesPBear

So Verb's poem has been published, and it is lovely.

It reminded me of a Zen saying…

But you'll have to read the poem first:

Rainbow Geometry

Thank you so much for the signal boost, James. I’m not sure it is really poetry, but I did enjoy writing it. I will get to the other entries soon. How goes Girl and Bear?

And those monkey cookies are delightful, Cora. I’ll try one.

I hope Sara returns before baseball playoffs start! We need her treats!

Physical therapy today. It’s helping, so I shan’t complain.

Coffee please.

Quote by CuriousAnnie

Poetry? Seriously!

Lol, well I channeled that Welsh git, you know the one ...

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And there's a villanelle loaded under my name which I will tinker with over the next couple of days. It's not Dylan, but that's not surprising, after all I'm no poet. Many new writers start with poetry; why, I ask, it's literally the hardest writing task of all?

Good to see you will be entering CA! And a villanelle no less. Looking forward to it.

I remember that Larry used to work with different poetry forms. I always learned from them. We miss you, Survivor.

Thanks for the set up Ape.

I’m in the comp! All my poetry reads like prose, but I wrote a poem! I’ll get around to reading the other entries soon.

Slept pretty well. Yay! Off to the dentist today. Wah! But life is just a series of Yay’s and Wah’s, right? Should be a fine day.

And I’m walking again! That’s a big win.

Anyway. Have seen Sara or Red around of late. Hope you guys are okay. We have to keep an eye on each other.

Coffee and a cookie please!

I'm in! Just submitted.

Okay, I have got a poem loaded into the text editor here. I’ll rewrite over the weekend and then submit.

Thanks for the coffee Ape.

So, both political conventions are done, the race begins in earnest today. It’s exciting now, but in 70 days I’m pretty sure I’m going to be sick of the hoopla. Still, democracy in action can be a thrilling thing, for all parties. And you can trust me: I once shook Richard Nixon’s hand!

I’m walking again! I got exercises to help stretch out my foot, especially the arch, before I walk. Yay!

Enjoy the weekend everyone. Coffee and a platter of cookies please.

Quote by Mendalla

Today was a fun day. Booked it off work and spent two hours hiking with my best friend, as in the one I married 31 years ago today. By this time on August 21, 1993, we were officially husband and wife.

Putting on some of my favourite oolong tea to celebrate. Goes good on its own or with either milk or cream (if you're lactose intolerant, you can try soy or almond but I make no promises since I haven't tried it).

Congrats on the anniversary! Sounds like a fun way to celebrate.

Off to physical therapy today. I went for a short walk yesterday, and had some pain, but nothing crazy. I hope these guys can help.

Are there any cookies? Where is Sara? We need cookies!

Done licking my wounds. I got a nice follow-up email from the folks that rejected me. And hopefully physical therapy tomorrow will hopefully allow me to take walks again, which would be great. I swear I have addicted to walking.

I won’t talk politics, but purely on a speech-making level, Michelle Obama gave a speech for the ages last night. I watched both conventions, RNC and DNC, and hers was the best so far. Even better than her husband.

Gonna try to write that poem today.

Thanks for the set-up Bear. Coffee!

Quote by Cora
verbal, I am glad you do not need a boot. Strange that you need to get it checked out again. I hope you start feeling better soon. There is a lot of rejection in writing, generally speaking, which is unfortunate but there are reasons for it. If a piece of your writing was recently rejected, I am sorry you had to face that. Think back on all the times you were published. That is a great accomplishment.

Thanks for the well wishes. Yeah, I got a story rejected that I was pretty sure had sold, and I was really excited. Took me a bit to get over my disappointment.

I'm glad I don't need a boot. Going to physical therapy on Thursday - we'll see what happens.

I have an idea for a poem. We'll see if I can get it down on paper.

There is too much rejection in writing.

Coffee please.

Talia’s coming home today! Yay!

Cleaning the house is mostly done. Just a little sweeping up.

And…I have an idea for the comp! I will work on it over the weekend.

Coffee and a cookie please!

Quote by gillianleeza

Trying to navigate Medicare and get the services my parents need has me pulling my hair out. Why does the government make it so hard? I'm very cranky. I'll take a ginger ale and a few cookies. I need to find something to binge-watch. My brain is too busy to let me read.

I hope everyone is having a good week. Cheers.

Oh, man, I’ve been down that hole a time or two. I’d be cranky too. Good luck, Gil.

Talia is coming home tomorrow (yay!) so I will be cleaning the house today to make things fresh and clean. The cats will be relieved, as will I.

The Mets seem to be beginning their late summer swoon into fourth place.

I’d love a coffee. And I will take a big plate of cookies too.

Hey all.

Nothing new here, but I am doing fine. Warm with afternoon thunderstorms, and I have therapy today!

I hope you are all well.

Good morning everyone!

Still not walking - that darned heel spur - but I may try today. I’m go a little stir crazy. Talia is back on Thursday, so I have some cleaning to do this week. I’ve been neat, but those crazy cats have created pure chaos!

80s today, with afternoon thunderstorms. Yay!

I don have an idea for the comp either….

Coffee and a cookie?

Got foot X rayed today.

THAT was annoying.

Coffee please.

No boot for my foot. (Hey, I AM a poet!). X Rays and physical therapy are in my future. Feeling a little better, but still not walking. Thanks for your well wishes, Cora.

Cool and rainy here today. I like cool and rainy! Other than that, writing and baseball and video games. And the news, which I've had on constantly as of late. There's too much going on to ignore.

I hope everyone is well. A coffee and one of Sara's cookies please.

I’ll have a slice of that blueberry cheesecake please.

Off to the doctor today for my foot. I suspect a boot is in my future.

I hope everyone is well. I’m just sitting here writing and playing No Man’s Sky.

Coffee and a cookie please.

Good morning all. Thanks for setting up, James.

I'm feeling a little off today - stomach isn't doing great. In bed with coffee now, though I will get up soon. I'll take it easy today.

The Mets are in Denver! I'm so tempted to drive up and see them.

Coffee please.

Quote by Mendalla

Was out working in the yard this morning. Mowed the lawn, did some weeding and other cleanup, packed up yard waste for pickup later in the week. Now sweaty as all heck. Not too hot today yet but quite muggy still. There's a lingering chance of showers today but nothing yet. Given that we are having water problems in my office (not just the building, my actual office), less rain would be welcome for now. We are certainly getting more than enough to keep things green.

I'll throw on a pot of Deathwish Dark Roast. For tea, let's try Darjeeling and Raspberry Royale.

Later, alligators.

I like yard work. I particularly like being done with lawn work.

Talia-less, alas. The cats and I are alone for ten days. Well thinking of taking up hang gliding. Build little cat hang gliders out of sticks and garbage bags and lots of duct tape. They cats haven’t actually agreed to all this yet, but I’m sure they’ll be on board.

I’m trying to stay off my foot, so I’m not going to walk today either. Driving me a little crazy not to walk. It’s so nice out.

Oh well. A coffee and a cookie please.

Snoop Dog is a national treasure.

That said, I haven’t watched a single minute of the Olympics. I’m not even sure I CAN watch them, without cable. I’m sure they are on the internet somewhere. I’m not being too successful at avoiding politics, Gil. It’s like background noise lately.

No big plans afoot. Cori is visiting her mom next week, so I am bachelor-ing it for a bit next week. Since I can’t walk I don’t expect to get in much trouble.

I got a nibble for a big story sale today. We will see if I land a fish. Wish me luck!

Today, a coffee and a cookie. I hope everyone has well.

Cool comp - I'm glad it's poetry this time! I'll enter, though I am one crappy poet.

Quote by Mendalla

Come on, man, give it a whirl. I mean, it's not like you're up against Walt Whitman and Edgar Allen Poe or something.😊

Oh, I'll probably enter. But Lord knows I am no poet.

Sounds like a cool comp! And one for the poets, this time.

I took a walk yesterday, and could barely walk afterward. My foot is in a lot of pain now. Gonna lay around and write, all day.

Politics are crazy in the US these days. It's like someone shouting in your face, all the time. I'm trying to find ways to lower the volume, just to stay sane.

That's all for now. Good luck poets!

Hey all.

I haven’t seen a single second of the Olympics, not even the much-maligned opening ceremonies. Heard the backlash though.

I think I am going to the doctor about my foot. I imagine I will get a boot. It’s not a lot of pain, but it is not going away. My daughter’s much worse injury is healing nicely after a rough start.

Other than that, same old thang.

Coffee and three cookies please.

Getting up near 100 degrees today. Gonna be a hot one. I am still trying to keep from walking, but I have no problem with staying inside during this nonsense.

Nothing new here. Mets won last night. I got a late birthday present - a drone! - that I may try to put together this week. It’s a little complicated. Looks like Big Fun though.

I slept well, but coffee and some cook would be swell!

Has anyone heard from Red lately?

Thank you for the birthday wishes folks. It was a pretty chill time. Got a new phone and a book about ants (Superorganism) that looks bonkers cool. Cake was eaten, MarioKart was played.

We saw Mean Girls the Musical Saturday night. It was really fun.

My daughters’ ankle is pretty bad, but healing. My heel is better, though I may call a doc today.

Coffee and ALL THE COOKIES!