Ideas Days, you just have to be attuned to them. You must make note of them when they consciously register. Today was one of those days. Last night, Pete talked with Luda, one of the owners of the historic Eagle Hotel, and she told him that an additional room might soon be available. It’s the room across the hall, on the first floor level. Pete really had no idea as to what we would do with the space. Me, I didn’t at first, but told him that I’d think about it.

I did. Or I must have. Because it hit me like a rock between the eyes, midmorning. I thought we could use this space, have it be a bookstore of sorts. It could be the area where we put books on eBay.

The cost would be $800.00 a month. I think we could make this month. The site would also be ideal in that it’s near the entrance, across from the former banquet room.

I mentioned this to Pete on the drive home tonight and he didn’t say no. So we’ll see if and when the person who is occupying this room leaves and then go for it.

Next idea. I spent a better part of the day straightening up the back room, the area that I call the literacy annex. I just have to put myself in the zone to do this. As I was working, I again thought about what Pete said a few days ago, which is that he didn’t understand why I was wanting to send books to Kenya.

I didn’t have an answer then. It came to me as I was putting the annex in order. I now have an answer, and this is that this project is not just about sending books to Kenya; although, this is a big part of this. It’s also about what’s happening in the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel. During the ASF, Melissa and Alexi, both juniors at Wasilla High School, signed on as volunteers. They’ve since been involved in all phases of the BLBP starting with sorting, categorizing, and cleaning books. They began taking BLBP books to their high school and stocking the bookcase that we gave the school before Christmas break. Yes, they need books in Kenya. And we have the books. I don’t know what exactly they are learning and neither do they. What they are learning may make itself apparent to them years from now.

So I further decided to include this in my Shelf Life proposal in the epilogue section. Yep, this is what I am going to do. In fact, I am going to copy the above paragraph.

It was in part an ideas day because I was feeling less overwhelmed. And I was feeling less overwhelmed because for the next few days both Pete and I will be pulling the cart. He had planned on going to Juneau, but his trip was cancelled. It has looked like the weather would be good here in the few days he’d be gone. Now it’s just plain sucky. If, say, he was still going, I would have been spending my time figuring out how to get things done around here. Funny how some things work out.

Next: 27. 1/27/26: Snow Day, Sort of