Our vacation was prolonged because we had visitors for a day. It was a good thing, not having the time to think about pressing matters, such as the relocation of our salvaging and sorting area. And it was a good thing to share good food and talk with new friends.

I retired when I was 14, and in my later years, began holding a fulltime job. So nose went back to the grindstone today.

The weather, from the get-go – was indicative of what I call the essence of summer – sunny, temps in the high seventies. You could smell the grass being cut by the mowers. And everywhere, things green, green, green. There were storm clouds at the distance, but they stayed at the distance.

Sorting and categorizing continues

After a very leisurely pancake and strawberry breakfast, I headed to the senior center, where I entered the side door and put books out on the table. It was crowded – to hell with community, commodities are the big draw. The term house of cards came back to mind again. I was told that the books that I’d left in a cupboard a few weeks ago had been moved. And someone left 25 boxes of books in the dining area closet. These books supposedly were religious based. Someone set them out in my absence – and it had to be explained to the upstairs administration that I was not proselytizing.

I felt myself growing impatient when I heard all this. I decided that the best thing will be to take in a handful of books, and when I leave, take out a handful of books.

Next stop, with our visitors, the Historic Eagle Hotel. I felt like a shop owner showing and talking books with Janey. At the same time, Pete was showing Bob the automotive books, which will be going to Car Quest in Wasilla. The Palmer Car Quest was previously directly across the street. They were evicted by the building owner who has big plans, we think for an interior mall.

After bidding goodbye to our friends, Pete and I went to Title Wave Books in Anchorage and picked up several boxes of kids’ and young adult books. We didn’t need more kids’ books, but we got them. And they will go fast. We also went to the Anchorage-based office supply store – and there purchased more boxes.

Pete went food shopping and I attempted to figure out what I’m going to need to do in the next few days. Our Saturday routine is now going to differ in that we’ll be salvaging and sorting books in the Historic Eagle Hotel. This means I have to have a work area set up, so that those assisting can work productively and efficiency. Things are a mess right now, which means that I’ll lose sleep in an attempt to figure out the best work related approach.

The pressure is now on me, to reduce the inventory by getting the books out there. This is the part of the job that I enjoy the least because there is too much uncertainty involved.

Next: 193. 7/14/23: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder