Monday: Seven hours were devoted to editing one book, and only two chapters of that book were picked over. That link I provided a couple of weeks ago, the one with the all-encompassing list of common mistakes writers make, helped me find and correct seven typos within the total manuscript. I added ten commas to help with clarity, and made a few changes I felt strengthened my novel. I watched an hour of television, cooked supper and cleaned house; then played my game for an hour. I chased cats for a half hour, trying to get the kittens in the house for the night. I posted last week’s blog entries, checked three e-mail accounts, read the agent blogs, scanned Publisher’s Weekly online, and didn’t win the Hot Lotto last weekend. I saved the files I changed, using three separate flash drives, put stuff away, and went to bed.

Tuesday: Two hours were devoted to editing, before I shut things down due to storms. I don’t have my computer on during stormy weather, due to me replacing my modem card last year. I disconnect everything computer during bad weather. Lightning strikes are bad for systems, even with a surge protector. I made supper, cleaned, did dishes, read, and made notes.

Wednesday: Took my mother to her doctor’s appointment, a 45 minute drive up, and the same amount of time back. We stopped at Perkins on the way back. The chicken biscuits (2) topped with gravy, two over easy, hash browns, that was great. The coffee left something to be desired. She’s healthy for her age, BTW, and I have a year before her next checkup. Stopped at the library to return some books, came home, mowed the lawn. I took three breaks to cool down, drank lots of water, and still it wiped me out. Three beers later, some leftovers for dinner, I felt more like myself. I read a Star Trek book cover to cover, went to bed. Slept like shit. The book was okay. No back flips or cartwheels.

Thursday: Got up, spent three hours mowing the neighbor’s lawn. Took two breaks. Spread the clippings out in the garden, and banked dirt and clippings against my potatoes. I scraped the mower clean underneath, washed the bag out, washed the air filter, and put it away. I gave another neighbor a hand, played an hour of my game, and made dinner. I played another hour of my game, a neighbor dropped by for an hour or so, and the rest of the night was dedicated to editing. Three hours. Though, I did sneak in an hour of television. I watched Supernatural. Rerun or not, it’s a good show. And yes, I caught the death of Michael Jackson. A sad end to a very sad man. Farrah, on the other hand, put up a brave fight. For her I applaud. I checked for e-mail, looked for any new blog entries on the blogroll, went to bed.

Friday: Had toast for breakfast. Had my wife pick our first, out of three, patches of beets. I cleaned house, watched an hour or so of television, took some photos, made supper, played my game for an hour, and spent five hours editing.

Saturday: Again had toast. Washed dishes and pint jars, and my wife washed the beets. Cooked the beets for an hour, let them wallow in the hot water for another hour, cooled them off in cold water, and then my wife skinned them. I cut them up, packed five pints full of sliced beets, poured the pickling solution over them, and processed them for the required amount of time. Played my game for two hours, and edited for six hours. I saved my files, which I do every night, just in case of a computer meltdown. Watched Doctor Who. Big fan, love the new shows. Started another book until my eyes crossed, went to bed.

Sunday: Got up and made muffins. Fed the cats and retrieved the paper. My wife readied the green beans, and I managed four pints. Cleaned the house and did the dishes. Lunch and supper were whatever was leftover. Edited for five hours, finally reaching chapter eight. I averaged 30 pages per chapter, so there’s a lot of work to each chapter, considering I’m working it line for line. Watched almost no television. Played my game for two hours, instead. I posted last week’s blog entries, checked three e-mail accounts, again read the agent blogs, scanned Publisher’s Weekly online, and didn’t win the Hot Lotto last weekend, which, again, sucked. Read for the rest of the night, and made some notes. Call it a typical week for me. If I’m not editing, I’m writing, or I’m reading.

Here is a picture of my critters, minus two. Do I like cats? The almost blind cat is Baby. She loves the outdoors, and most of the time I can get her in the house for the night. I included a picture of the garden, and one of my pickled beets. See you next week.