There is not a single song that I know all the lyrics to, except for “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” I do sing this song quite often, to the horses, of course they hear my own lyrics.

Another beautiful day spent inside – I am going to regret this. I did work for over an hour on Shelf Life – I got to the point near the end where I am going to have to do some major thinking – and then, not coincidently, my writing time was up. I like what I’m attempting to do here, which in writing about giving a TEDD Talk, is to talk some about how taking this project on affected me as a writer.

It is a bit gimmicky, like the band that wrote the song, “Can’t get my picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone.” I’m saying something similar here.

I do still believe that getting this book published is going to provide the project with much-needed notoriety. Heck, nothing else seems to be working.

Alys with the Raven Box

I’m going to have Pete print up the 300 plus page draft when he gets back. I have just one draft. In the past I have written innumerable drafts of books. This seemed to me to be counterproductive. This book, there will be just three drafts.

I guess I’ll see if Christopher wants to edit this. But first, I must do at least one more draft.

In the afternoon I got the literacy library into better shape and got most of the books that are going to the Alaska State Fair, packed and ready to go. It is now being duly noted – Pete gave me a huge assist. I was packing the books by genre. He decided that they needed to be packed by place, meaning in boxes indicating which newspaper box they were going in.

I do not know why I didn’t do this. But he very cheerfully took books that were in the wrong boxes and put them in the right boxes, and only chided me once, saying that he didn’t understand why I didn’t do this. I would normally have taken offence at this, but because I was so glad to get his help, I let this matter drop.

I had been concerned that I would not have completed this job by Wednesday, when I am to meet with those who are partnering with me in our use of the Alaska State Fair Wineck Barn. I want Hally and Milena to be impressed – and by gosh they are going to be blown away by my incredible organizational abilities.

It was a hot day, and very hot in that back room. It will be far better in the winter when it’s cold and there is excess heat in that room.

Pete took a break and went to Lowes, where he purchased boxes. There he talked with a woman who said she had an extra newspaper box. Turns out that the newspaper box was a single paper box – not the big ones that we can paint and put around the fairgrounds. So we are still on the lookout for a box upon which we can paint reptiles.

Next: 204. 7/28/25: Go, go, and go some more