Had anyone told me six months ago that I’d put together a kid’s day at the Sutton Library, and that I’d include my animals in the mix, I would have been incredulous. Now I’m incredulous because I somehow pulled this off. My final thought on the matter, beforehand, was that if it wasn’t coming together the way I’d hoped, that I’d fake it, and just take it all in stride.

As it turned out, everything went according to plan. Imagine that! It helped that there were so many take-charge people in attendance, and that all had somewhat of a plan.

Alys with Hrimmi and Dilly Dally and Nan

The day dawned sunny and stayed this way throughout the day. Pretty amazing considering that there was so much rain last night. Pete and I got up at 7 a.m. in order to prepare for a 10 a.m. departure. This is what one must do if they have animals to tend to and a goat that needs milking.

The last thing we did on the home front was load Hrimmi into the trailer. I ended up having to use the target (a bucket lid) and treats. Off we all then went, to Sutton. Once there, we were greeted by our crew: Nan, her grandkids Macy and Eva, Lois, and Dilly Dally the Clown, aka Sheila.

We arrived, and Head Librarian, Carol McNamara, assisted me in finishing up putting together the silent auction. I have to say, it looked pretty damned good, once we got the sheets with the book project logo in place.

Outside, Dilly Dally took books out of Hrimmi’s pack, Nan took care of the art supplies and newspaper boxes, and she was ultimately the one in charge of the painting project. I began with a talk about libraries, noting that even Hrimmi was carrying a library. Then Lois read The Biblioburro, a kid’s book.

The kids divided into three groups and painted the three boxes. The oldest kids did the best job of all – they splatter painted the green box that I originally painted.

Shadow was in the thick of it and enjoying herself immensely. I put her up on Hrimmi’s pack come midafternoon., so it really was a dog and pony show.

After the boxes were painted, most everyone left. I worked with Carol on finishing up the auction stuff, then we began preparing a flier advertising the upcoming Bright Lights Book Project Reading, which will be held on July 22nd, at 5 p.m.

The biggest surprise came at the day’s end, after everyone departed. Carol came forth with a box of books, children and adult – these were a donation from Fireside Books. This was fortuitous because up until this point in time, we didn’t have any fiction. This donation rounds things out.

So many have been so generous since the inception of this project – the question that repeatedly comes to mind is, how do I thank everyone? Hopefully, the answer will materialize in the very near future.

Next: 193. 7/14/21:Veterinarian Appointment