I did not realize the enormity of the situation that is having to do most of the chores around here while also having to do BLBP stuff. I’m doing it. I’m complaining some. But not much because the worst is yet to come. April, to be exact. Perhaps a baby goat will be born. Then I will have to both milk and make cheese. It will also be breakup, which means that the horse enclosure will need extra care. And Pete is going to have surgery on his right or dominant hand.

I am guessing that a lot of the BLBP stuff will have to be put on hold. Today, when I was at U-Haul, sorting through the Native materials, I had this realization, which was that this project is seemingly endless. There is always more than I can do.

Maybe the other BLBP board members came to this realization. Maybe this is why they are doing far less than I am. Either they are older and wiser, or just plain old. Maybe when you get to be in your late 70s you naturally do a better job of prioritizing as a way of conserving your energy.

There is nothing I can do about the work ethic of my cohorts. Absolutely nothing. So I have decided to lower my expectations when it comes to others. I will focus on doing my work. No one else has done any fundraising except for Pete, so I will need to up the anty (there is a cartoon in that phrase).

I keep reminding myself that change is a constant. And further, I keep reminding myself that this is a truism. The change, then, that is going to occur is going to be for the good. We’ll get a staff – they will be young and have considerable energy and initiative. They will be computer literate and see the importance of getting books into the hands of appreciative readers.

Today I went across the street, to the new combination coffee shop/gift shop. Previously, the space was occupied by Car Quest, an automotive parts store. The Poppy Lane people saw a good thing coming and purchased the old building. It is very trendy. Millions went into renovating the place. Those of us hanging out in the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel watched as the parking lot was ripped up and then excavated. The same was true of the building. I now wish that I’d paid even closer attention because then I’d have a mental framework in regard to the progression, from automotive shop to trendy gift store. In my mind, it went from one to the other, over a year’s time.

I had attempted to connect with the owner about our putting a bookcase in her gift shop and was put off by the clerks. So today I went upstairs, and low and behold the head barista is Masa, who I knew when she worked at Vagabond Blues, down the street. We greeted one another like old friends. I noted the BLBP was across the street. She said she’d stop in. And she will. She’ll make having a bookcase in the coffees hop work.

Next: 75. 3/16/25: The Light at the End of the Carpal Tunnel