Row Row Row ! Chapter 9 is done!! ("Cask")

     I've written Chapter 9, so I'm 18,000 words or so into the new book, and things are going swimmingly -- rowingly -- but that's another story. I bought a rowing machine this past week, thinking I would use it while watching my shows.  I also just bought a treadmill, and I know I'll use it when I watch my shows, but the row machine, sadly, was quickly disassembled and placed back into its box. The UPS people will swing by and pick it up sometime tomorrow. Nope... not doing it. I'll tell you why.

    Rowing is a great way to exercise, and shame on me for thinking I could buy a less-than-stellar piece of workout equipment and it would actually work. I'm just really happy Amazon has a 30-day return policy. I didn't need 30 days, more like 30 seconds once it was assembled (Thank you, Laura) and set up in my office. I literally nearly tripped over it, it's so low to the ground, but once I got my body down that low, I was unable to knot myself up and position myself in the seat properly. The way it was designed, I would have had to pull it back, hold it in place, sit down, and put my feet into the little flat pedals.

    There was another way, of course. Since the seat slid forward, I could, if I could, squeeze myself into a ball, straddling the thing, with my knees in my face, then put my feet into the pedals so I could push myself back into the right position to begin the first "row" which wasn't even a row, it was a pully sort of thing.  There were supposed to be resistance "dials" you could use to make it seem tougher to pull, but no, it really didn't do anything for me, except maybe annoy me - does that count?  It was discarded immediately, undone, boxed, and now awaits its final ride back to where it came from.

    Laura hasn't put the treadmill together just yet, but she will today, and then I'll use it after she does. I'll let her work out the kinks first. I want to use it every day for at least 3 miles a day - I can put on a 42-43 minute episode of Law & Order or Perry Mason and walk, just casually walking while solving a crime. I may tune into Charlie and listen to a good sermon while strolling through the Highlands in my mind -- always Scotland, it could be the streets of Melrose, I'm not that picky.

    Anyway, I stayed home today and used 8 hours of my paid time off to write. I do love the options I have with this job. I worked from home again, of course, and I wrote three more chapters of the book "Cask", which I think is my 19th book. I can say that and be telling the truth. I wrote three more chapters, and it's just about to get into the nitty and the gritty - it's always the first several chapters that set a book up before setting the characters loose to tell their stories. Nick, Eoghan, Ralph, and even Daniel Ramsey are just about to embark on a very intricate crime plot that will (or could) shock the world to its core!

    I won't get to the shocking part for another chapter or two. Right now, they're reviewing the documents, eating well, and getting to know each other a little better in ways that will solidify their bond forever. A good book - already a good one. I like it. Tomorrow and Sunday will be fun. I'll add at least five and possibly six new chapters. Woot! I'll keep you posted, I'm sure. Right now, they're in New York, enjoying the after-holiday hustle and bustle of Wall Street, and taking in the sheer beauty of Central Park.  Nick has been there before, but this is Eoghan's first time. He and Ramsey didn't have a chance to go when he first arrived.  

    OK, gotta run, remember, if you think you're too old and fat to get on the ground to row the fat off your body, you should probably listen to yourself. There's no shame in realizing that you're not bendable; not the way you used to be anyway.

Photo Credit:  Amazon.com