Actually, I’m more of a jogger than a jigger, but you know what I mean. While I was away I missed a great wedding– Joanne and Phyllis got married on the Port Chilkoot Dock– and my friend Larry celebrated his 65th birthday. (Impossible!) And I didn’t get to write Lola Knutson’s obituary, or even say goodbye to her. I really enjoyed Lola’s dry wit. I will miss her. There are new doors at the swimming pool and at the Chilkat Center too, which look very up-town, and the hotel is under construction on Main Street and the brewery has also broken ground. The Churchills are turning those piles of rocks, sticks, and dirt on their lawn into a Hugelkultur, a German word for a big raised natural looking hilly garden. (I really just wanted to write that word, Hugelkultur, but it’s even more fun to say.) As soon as I got home I had to get working on the page proofs of my new book.
Page proofs are pages that are laid out just as they will be in print, the same design, page numbers, all that- like a real book, only not bound yet. Next, the publisher prints what they call uncorrected proofs that are paperbacks for bookstores and reviewers to read to see if they like it. Usually there are still some mistakes in them, and the cover is often not quite the same– (The Haines bookstore donates many to the Friends of the Library used book table, so you may have even read a few and not known it, sometimes they are called Advanced Reader Copies or ARCs.) Then, after a few more tweaks, the real hardcover will be published on April 28th. (Which isn’t exactly true, as they are printed by then, but it’s the first day they are for sale, unless you count pre-orders, which can be done even now.) What all this means is that I am getting nervous, and that means I need distractions, and that means I’m going on a home improvement jag. The bathroom needs paint, the rugs need new pads, and I may get a wall knocked down to make our bedroom bigger, if I can talk Chip into it, and if the house won’t fall down because of it. He’s in a pretty good mood now thanks to sweet baby James, so I’m hopeful.
And finally– there’s a bunch of fun stuff this weekend– the Fair’s 5K Zombie Run and Walk– dress in costumes and meet Friday night at 5:30 in Dalton City, the annual Doll’s Fair is at the museum on Saturday 1-4pm and Saturday night is the Haines Chamber of Commerce banquet, 6:00pm at Harriett Hall. The theme is Harley riders and fans, and dressing up is encouraged. Winter yoga is in full swing, with more classes than they even have in Juneau. MWF at noon-1:00pm and Sunday at 9:30-10:45 at the Zumba studio on Main Street, and Tues-Thurs evenings at 5:30- 6:45 or so at Marnie’s tower.
