I went to work this morning. Mondays are the days in which I used to work alone, sorting Saturday books and taking care of small things. Used to. This may now be a thing of the past. I never envisioned owning a bookstore because I thought that it would tie me down. Well, I’m now tied down.

Today I had visitors and assistance, odd for a Monday. Timothy came and organized the kids’ Alaskana materials. Rebekah came and picked up books for distribution. Alicia, who attended a handful of open houses when we were back at Meeting House,

The new shelves are filling up with Banker Boxes

came and sorted and cleaned and stamped kids’ books. Pete also put in an appearance, and actually saved the day by putting boxes of books on shelves, and in an organized fashion. And Virginia, who is a so-called navigator at the Mat-Su Valley Regional Hospital came and took three boxes of books. The hospital connection was a long time in coming. I just couldn’t make contact with anyone there. Now the connection is secure.

A rather odd woman, who was holding an unlit cigarette in hand, also came in looking for a Chilton Manual. She didn’t come across what she was looking for. Lastly, Pam, who’s a volunteer, stopped by and dropped off some lilies.

As I said in previous emails, I’d envisioned a more peripatetic project. But at the same time, my adage was, “build it and they will come,” and they are now coming. I could take the books off the shelves and out of the boxes and put them directly on the shelves. This, really, is what is separating what I now have, a warehouse set-up, from a bookstore set up. This, and that the books are free because the project is now grant funded.

Maybe, deep down, I wanted a bookstore akin to what my father had. I did watch his store fail, and perhaps realized that in order to get books to the people, that I needed to give them away.

I’m now down to two very large piles of nonfiction books. Everything else has a place. I told Pete that I didn’t have enough room for all the nonfiction books, and together we determined that we could put in more bookshelves. I breathed a sigh of relief when Pete agreed to this. Lately, he’s been agreeing to a great deal.

Tonight, Pete and I planted the lilies in the upper garden. I pulled the weeds in the lilac bush enclosure, but I asked Pete for assistance when I realized that I could not break the ground. We then determined that the upper garden site, with its softer soil, was a better option. I then watched as he planted the lilies. Once again, I was reminded that I am not a gardener. I did water the lilies and lettuce in this area, but as for the rest, uh uh.

Pete now has a real honest to dog orchard. He planted two more apple trees today.

And tomorrow – it’s supposed to rain. I will go to work because this is what I now do.

Next: 176. 6/27/23: Walking Stick