I got home this afternoon just before it began snowing. It was raining hard on the drive home. The horses were glad to see me – I fed them in their shelter. As I was cleaning up the poop, it began to snow. Big flakes, falling fast – rain disguised as snow.

So I’d say we are on the cusp of winter. I’ll bet we’ll get a few more nice days.

Pete made stir fry for dinner with quinoa, then got on the computer in order to participate in a recycling center board meeting. I nearly fell asleep as he was telling me about the topics that they were discussing.

I just don’t have that kind of a mind. Earlier, Michele who works for United Way, and Bea Adler, who is on our board, came in to assist in cleaning children’s books. I was glad to have them give me a hand – there were a lot of books. I’d picked them up this morning from U-Haul. Milena had gone to Anchorage and picked them up for me.

Michele and Bea are both long-time residents of Palmer, and both have been on numerous local boards. One would mention one person, and supply an anecdote, then the other would say something additional about that person. Palmer is indeed, a large small town.

The pair advised me as to what to do about the fact that a grant check went directly to the grantee, and that thus far, we have not been contacted by this individual. Both knew what to do. I passed this information on to Pete, who said he’d take care of it.

The pair also had some ideas about the upcoming holiday season, and what we might do, event-wise. Right now, because I am doing so much, I am not jumping for joy about this. But soon enough I will jump. I will be much like the central character in the Cow who Jumped over the Moon. The horses were all preparing to jump over the moon and did not believe that the cow could do this. The cow proved the horses wrong. The analogy is this – I don’t believe right now I can pull off putting together another event. I must be like the cow, and just go for it.

I am thinking, as I look out at the falling snow, that I am glad to have a home. There are many who do not. Today several homeless individuals in Anchorage, who were living in a campground, were scheduled to be evicted. These must be the most ill-prepared of the lot; the other tenants most likely jumped at the earlier chance to move back into the Sullivan arena.

I wonder if those who will be spending their winter at the Sullivan arena consider the place to be home. It’s warm, and they get 2-3 meals a day. This begs the question, what makes a home a home? Warmth, security, kindness, I suspect that these three entities are at the top of the list.

Quietude, privacy, and time to think, these also are characteristics of a home. I am fortunate because I qualify.

Next: 289. 10/21/22: Pete and Repeat Were in a Boat . . .