There are seldom weather days like this – temperatures in the low ‘70s, a gentle breeze, and the sun shining brightly. I was at the hotel – I left for a while so as to distribute books. A good excuse to get out.

This evening, Pete and I went for a horseback ride. He was back on his buddy Tyra, and I rode my buddy Raudi. We did our trails – took Ryder, Shadow, and Zellie, the dog we are house sitting.

Zellie is great dog, very mellow with fruit bat ears. It’s impossible not to like this dog - -she is very unobtrusive and yet sticks close by. She’s a large black dog with a tail that goes slap, slap. Zellie enjoyed getting out this evening but was lacking in the sort of energy that Shadow and Ryder have. She didn’t veer off into the woods as the other two dogs do, but rather, she was, the entire time, just a few yards behind whatever horse was last, Raudi or Tyra.

Sharon preparing silent auction baskets

She’s here for a few days and will go home when her owners get back. This is the sort of a dog that dog sitters miss. She reminds me of Jenna, a dog that we had many years back in that she is loyal, but unlike Jenna, not at all cloying.

I was inside far too much today. I do wonder how much longer I am going to be working long hours without pay. I keep reminding myself that change is constant, and so my situation will improve.

This morning, I worked on Shelf Life – and got up early to do this. So many things keep coming to mind with regards to this last section. Like today, it suddenly occurred to me that there are still many missing pieces – like about my hip problem and Pete’s having to do things for me that he would not ordinarily have to do. I also might write about his wrist surgeries and knee problems.

But for now, I’m finishing up the section in which I am trying to sort and categorize the animal books. Some are even going to Slana.

Imagine that. We are sending books to Slana, Alaska.

Pete and I are working at hiring an individual to do online book sales. And next week we talk with a representative from the Anchorage Literacy Project about partnering and sharing our space. We did get additional space, so I can work on projects in this particular area.

Today I assisted Sharon, a former student of Pete’s, in putting together silent auction baskets. She decorated the baskets which is something that I cannot do readily. I say cannot do readily because I believe that when we humans put our minds together, that we can do just about anything. The only thing that really holds us back is our own lack of self-determination. Yes, if I wanted to, I could learn to fix cars. This would be a big want.

Next: 161. 6/13/25: The Days Fly By