The plan today was to head to town, do some errands, and for me to try out a fat tire(d) bicycle at the local shop. I have been like a little kid, very much looking forward to the prospect of trying out one of these bicycles. But this was not to be.

I said in the title of this dispatch that it was a snow day, sort of. The low-lying sun shone brightly, and there was no snow. However, it was extremely windy and the temps were in the single digits. I did not go out except to tend to the animals, who were in no discomfort at all. In fact, the mares seemed to be invigorated by the weather extremes.

Was I being a wuss? I decided yes, this afternoon when I watched Pete saunter down the road, dog and leash in one hand, and cross-country skis in the other. I did want to go with him but could not convince myself that this would be a fun experience. It just seemed too cold out there to me. So he skied, was out for a few hours in fact. And when he came back, he provided details that indicated that he had had a really good time. And yes, he said, the groomed trails are now ideal for bicycling.

So it was mostly inside business as usual today. Mostly. Tinni got his Adequan injection and his slurpy.

Mother's cat

Daughter's dog

I attempted to use my inside time wisely – last night I resumed work on the Fork in the Road book. I realized two evenings ago that if I did not do this that I would not get back to it all. I made the project more manageable in my own mind by deciding to work on Part 1 exclusively rather than work on Parts 1 and 2 simultaneously. A very wise decision. This morning I set up three interviews – this is actually the hardest part for me. I’ll be meeting on Friday with Judith and Dave who were instrumental in getting the recycling program going at the Alaska State Fair. And I will also meet with Elaine who was instrumental in getting the education booth up and running. And on Monday I’ll meet with Glenna, the woman who was in charge of the agricultural barn.

As I was making calls I got a call from the Alaska State Fair office. Betty Shapira, Fair Marketer, is going to make a series of videos about varied individual’s State Fair experiences. As I was talking with her, I had a great idea, which was to include Stormy in on this. So she will come here and interview me with the goat.

I joked to Pete that this is going to bring me closer to being in Palmer’s inner circle. Remember – behind every joke is a half-truth.

I then spent a better part of the day recording additional body awareness information. On Sunday, I’m going to do an introductory class at VCRS, the local recycling center. Tonight I’ll send out a flier to friends, in hopes that some will attend. And I’ll work on The Fork book some.

Next; 10. 1/10/18: My Big Fat Tire(d) ! Bike