I think that I’ve outlasted Larry the Cable Guy. Remember a few years back, I took up his rallying cry. He marketed his own potato chips. I’ve been marketing books. I’ve been going for the healthier lifestyle.

The question that I am often asked is, how do you do all you do? What those who ask this question have been seeing is the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel. It is really the tip of the iceberg. Books in, books out. I got that figured out.

But we’ve been told that it’s not enough, that we have to have a literacy component. Okay, add another item to my job description and also to Pete’s job description. So today we had a meeting with Raga, an AmeriCorps/Vista volunteer coordinator, and she is

enthused about our project and wanting to assist us in getting a staff together. There are many (as she calls them) subsets, meaning possible worker variations. I don’t get it – I’m going to leave this to Pete to figure out.

But back to what people see, versus what is. I don’t let it be known, but I feel as though I am not doing all things well because there is so much to be done. I am like taffy, being pulled in many directions.

And this is most evident on the home front. This place is a mess. I am surrounded by book clutter. The horse pen is clean, but the horses are not getting exercised. The goats should have been bred and they should now have babies. They do seem underweight to me. Their outside pen needs to be cleaned.

The fencing needs work. The plexiglass on what used to be Tinn’s shelter needs to be replaced. We must soon go back to filling buckets of manure for Bill and filling the compost station. This is because I am post-holing in hauling the manure up behind the hoop house.

Tonight I walked Hrimmi and Pete walked the dogs around the loop. It became a business meeting in which we talked about getting another senate appropriation grant. Then tonight I generated some ideas, on paper, for this. Children reading to seniors, a good idea. Got the seniors, just need the children. Children are little people. Goats are kids.

Now where did I get the energy for this? The answer is that I raided one of the pantry bins – I found Pete’s chocolate chip stash. He uses the chips when making chocolate chip cookies. I was surprised to find that he had not hidden them. Careless boy. So of course, chocolate chips contain caffeine, and this gave me the energy and the impetus to get my ideas for the senate appropriation grant on paper.

I am not burnt out on what I’m doing. I am like a piece of toast, cooked around the edges. I have to start watching out for me. Self-medicating with chocolate is not a good idea. Self-medicating with coffee might be a better idea.

Next: 86. 3/28/24: The Unsaid