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I am aggravated. I wrote an entire post last week, went to publish it, and Blogger was down. I didn't have time to rewrite it and republish it later, so it's lost forever. In fact, I don't even remember what it was about. Pathetic.

Today is a holiday. The library is closed. It's a gorgeous fall day and where am I? In front of my laptop doing work. I have switches and a new firewall to configure and it's not often I get days like this - uninterrupted by coworkers or patrons or family members. Also, if I do get the new firewall configured, I can go install it today without worrying about taking down the library network. I will take a day off later this month to make up for the missed day off. It is rather glorious outside. The sun is out, the trees are spectacular - and they've just gotten started changing colors. The maples are well on their way, but the aspens at this elevation are just starting to change. I love looking out the sliding glass door at the brilliant golds that clothe the birches and maples in the yards around mine. It has always intrigued me how the look of the sunlight actually changes this time of year. It is obviously more golden than during the rest of the year. I am sure it has to do with the angle of the sun at our latitude and longitude, but that's all so scientific. I prefer just wallowing in the golden beauty of the rays as if swimming in a sea of molten gold. The air is crisp with the smell of change. Cheeks glow like crunchy apples, made even sweeter by the brisk fall temperatures. There is a sense of anticipation, of uncertainty, a surety that tomorrow will be different. I do love fall.

Yesterday we went to Greenbluff, the farming community just north of Spokane, for the apple festival. Farms in the area invite people in to pick apples, grapes, and pumpkins, partake in harvest celebrations, take the children on a hayride, make their way through a corn maze, and munch on apples dripping with caramel or fresh apple pie a la mode smothered in steaming cinnamon sauce. I enthusiastically took them up on the latter offer, although my piece of pie was apple huckleberry. It was wonderful! The weather could not have been better. The grandkids had a ball. And to top off the perfect day, Jonathan called and invited us to visit him briefly at his dorm. The fact that he needed some cash to put value on his laundry card, I'm sure, had nothing to do with asking us to stop by. We got to see his room, now decorated with posters and surprisingly clean and fresh smelling. He and his roommates were having a "pre-frosh" stay with them that night. It was Fall Preview Weekend at Whitworth so the campus was crawling with prospective students and their parents being escorted about campus by glib, personable student representatives. They should have asked me my opinion. I would have given Whitworth a glowing recommendation. We watched some kids play Ultimate Frisbee. They were in the power league, according to Jonathan - the kids who are really, really good. Jonathan plays in the less demanding challenge league. He looks good, looks like he is happy at school, looks like he belongs there. In two weeks we will be back for Parents' Weekend. I can hardly wait.

So, back to work. I need to get this stuff configured. I wish I understand better some aspects of networking. I hate it that I have to learn everything by the seat of my pants. I wish I could take some classes. I really wish I could go back to college. If I lived in Spokane, I would totally be doing Whitworth in the Evenings, their program for working adults who want to get their degree. I'd kill for that opportunity. For now, it's just read the book or documentation and try to learn on my own. Wish me luck