This picture was taken before I lost patience. I am not looking forward to the second coat.

(Sunday Paper, Year IV, Issue 21)

It’s a little hard for me to believe it’s the last Sunday in May, but here we are.

I guess it just seems odd to me whenever Memorial Day falls this early - in my mind it feels like it should always be May 30 or 31.

And since June is when I typically start handing over the Sunday Paper to some other folks so I can recharge the ol’ writing battery, this will be my last post for at least a month…longer if I can get some extra guest writers lined up.

So I thought today I’d devote the column to what I hope to accomplish between now and the next time you hear from me…

*I did a little painting on Saturday, which you can see pictured above. I certainly hope that’s done by the next time you hear from me…and if it’s not done by tomorrow we’ll have a big problem on our hands. I had been waiting for two consecutive nice-weather days and days where I also had no obligations. Those stars have not aligned too easily. But this weekend presented the opportunity, so I got a first coat on Saturday, and I’ll do a second on Sunday. I’m fairly happy with how it came out…and I also threw some paint on the garage door and we’ll see if that turns out OK.

*So that’s the front of the house. I'll have some work to get done around the back too - still some cleanup…and hopefully there will be a fence put up. (Not by me.) The patio will probably wait until next summer…but I will continue to clear a place for it and clean up around the yard in the meantime.

*(It’s worth noting that by the next time I write we may be dog owners…stay tuned for that. And, equally exciting, maybe, I’ll probably get a new grill.)

*Comedy-wise it’s been a slow week. I didn’t get out at all - so I hope that I don’t repeat that sentence any week between now and when I write again. I did appear on The Comedy Studio podcast, which I told you I would be doing in last week’s Sunday Paper…so maybe that counts. You can listen to that at this link. As for getting on stage, though, I’m hoping to hit a couple of open mics this week and getting back in the groove. (I have been writing, so that’s good. That’s what I would like to try out this week.)

*The only good thing about not getting out for comedy is it’s been a nice week with family. (Well, that and I save a lot of money on gas not driving around to shows.) We’ve watched a couple more Marvel movies, and we’ve actually had some nice evenings at the softball field. We’re making good progress on the movies. (Some might say we’re watching them at an unhealthy clip.) Maybe by the next time I write we’ll be all caught up on ‘Avengers’ movies.

*I’ll continue to work on my 2019 Challenges (which might as well be called ‘4 New Things In 2019’). (That’s a reference to ‘365 New Things in 2013’ from six years ago. You can check that out at the link at the top of the page.) Anyway, maybe I’ll finally start yoga. Maybe I’ll finally squeeze in another game of cribbage.

*I’ll certainly continue to run. I put in another 60-minute run on Friday. What’s notable about this one is I took a different route and it was mostly uphill…and it didn’t feel horrible. My legs were a little sorer the next day, but I’ve really increased my stamina. It’s cool. I guess maybe by the next time I write I’ll hope to have done a run or two that were longer than an hour.

*I’ll probably have a more definitive answer about the marathon by then too. It’s looking unlikely at this point that I’ll have a marathon spot in December…but I’m working on alternative runs that won’t quite be marathon-length, but still worth all of the work I’ve been putting in.

*Of course, I’ll still be tweeting and posting on the Facebook page even though I won’t be writing the Sunday Paper. You can Like the Facebook page here (we’re at 400! That’s a big milestone.) and follow me on Twitter here.

*I also won’t be back to promote the June Comedy Night at Exhibit ‘A’, which will be on June 8th. You can buy tickets at this link. I might not even be back before the July show…if I’m not, I’ll leave the summer poster here as a reminder for you to buy tickets to the July or August shows too. I like this poster:

*OK. That’ll do it for me. I hope you read and enjoy the guest posts. If you need me I’ll either be watching a Marvel movie or still painting that friggin’ patio railing.