This is it. The darkest day of the year. For the next six months, the days will only get longer. I am glad to see this day arrive, less happy to see the arrival of the summer solstice, which is on June 21st because I know then that the days will be getting shorter.

I got up before sunrise. This isn’t all that admirable given that sunrise is not until after 10:00 a.m. I tended to the animals, then I ate breakfast, then I worked for an hour before heading to the Palmer Senior Center where I distributed books.

I worked on Shelf Life. I added to the introduction and worked on the first chapter in Part 1, which is about my book-related relationship with my father. I did well in setting the first 205 pages of this book aside because coming at it anew has given me a fresh perspective.

I have been telling people that I am working on this book because I am attempting to ride on a wave of certitude. I know that if I give up on this, that I will never resume work on it again. The most challenging problem I am facing is that there is far too much ground to cover. Lots has happened. So I must pick and choose and focus on that which enables me to make my claim – that overabundance is as problematic and stressful as underabundance.

Pete has resumed working on his project, his chainsaw book. I encouraged him to do this. I am glad that he’s getting back to work on this. I’m for the trees. If people take time and care in taking out the deadfall, and also in tending correctly to the live trees, the live trees will end up being happier and healthier.

I am a tree hugger. Pete is not. But his book, like mine, will make the world a better place.

Doing the work we are doing is a good use of our time. A bad use of our time would be checking out Facebook. We do have a BLBP Facebook site – once in a while I send photos and a blurb to a woman who posts this information for us. I do not check it out, nor do I read other’s comments. The problem is that people do this – their personal information then becomes a part of a larger database.

Facebook is drama driven. Best to just focus on the important things in life, like getting books into the hands of seniors. The Senior Center powers that be had a Christmas dinner on hand for their patrons today. Their table numbers were called, and they stood in line, and were fed cafeteria style. The Executive Director and a board member stood in the doorway the entire time and kept their eye on the line. I finally joined it and was told by the person in front of me that since I was a senior that I needed to get in front of her. She added that this is what her boss (the fellow in the doorway) instructed the employees to do.

I told her that I was not a senior; rather, I was heading up the Bright Lights Book Project. She then told me she was the senior center accountant. I began telling her some of what I knew about grant writing, and she then shut up.

The patronizing attitude of the board members is bothersome. But I keep bringing on the books and the seniors keep taking them. And we, the underlings, are happy.

After, I went to the hotel – Lanisha, who is on the BLBP board, and Mark, who is her brother, cleaned books. I got Bill’s books ready to go, and as well, the books that I needed to distribute.

I made it home before dark, leaving Palmer at 3:45 p.m. Tomorrow, that extra three seconds is going to come in handy.

Next: 350. 12/22/23: Oddly Enough