This exactly describes today. I don’t often have days like this one – I can’t say that I enjoy them, but every so often one materializes on the horizon.

The weather has a lot to do with it, the feeling that I’m running to a distant shore, while in deep water. Woke up to snow. All day it either rained or snowed. I cheered on the soft fluffy flakes and scoffed at the rain, this from my standing computer desk. I have a view of the woodshed, so I can keep my eye on the weather.

Alys cabin under snow

So I mainly focused on doing book project administrativa. I would much rather have been doing the hands-on work. I should have been writing about the book project – I think that right now I am so busy living it, that I can’t get to writing about it.

Well, my administrative efforts were not for naught. First of all, the education coordinator at the Bethel Department of Corrections sent me a list of DOC facilities that might want books. I called the Fairbanks and the Goose Creek Facilities and got positive responses. The Fairbanks coordinator is coming to Palmer in a few weeks’ time and will take 20 or so boxes. And the Goose Creek coordinator lives in Palmer and will take 30-40 boxes. They both want paperback books.

This is going to greatly reduce the stock at the Meeting House.

I also spent considerable time attempting to locate temporary storage space. I got a positive response from the Trinity Lutheran Church in Palmer. Then I later realized that we need more than just a small temporary space. We need a warehouse.

So I called the Palmer City Hall and first talked with an administrator there about the Nyborg place, which is on the street behind the Meeting House. I was told to write the Nyborgs, which I will do.

Then another woman in the office and I talked about places around Palmer. Clare said she’d give the matter more thought. She called this evening and asked for specifics in terms of what we might want.

This gave me reason to pause. What is it we want? I had to do some serious envisioning. I am now thinking that I would like to have the Meeting House be the place from which we sort, clean, categorize, and distribute books. We’d also keep the classic books here. I’m going to call the Fairbanks Literacy Council and see what their ideas are about this.

I like the thought of Palmer being known for being the home of the Bright Lights Book Project. I like continuing to have the Meeting House be the project base camp.

This is, some days, like climbing Mt. Everest. There are easy and there are challenging days. But every step forward is another step forward.

Next: 48. February 17, 2022: The Calm Between Storms