October 23 - Monday

23 October

What a wonderful day, I now have an Internet connection at home.

Yesterday, I walked the 1-1/2 miles to church in the powdering of snow we received, but as I sat in the office checking my email after church the sun broke through the clouds and I watched it melt. The temperature has been in the 40's all this week, at a time of year that they expect about 10 degrees.

I attend the non-denominational church where I am one of 17 including the minister.


I am learning fast that the job needed is overwhelming (especially with the antique computer I had on my desk. I spent 2-1/2 hours to read only about 36 messages, and answering only about 5. The shift key would stick, and in the middle of something, the computer would spontaneously throw me somewhere else, like while reading a message and without prompting, the compose screen would suddenly come up. Friday I had prepared an Excel spread sheet with half of my information, when suddenly, the machine informed me that I was locked out without the password. I tried to open Word and again it demanded a password. Of course when the computer tech was here, he had no problem, although he did admit the computer was extremely slow. When I typed something -, I timed I - it took 15 to 20 seconds for it to appear on the screen, over a minute if I change screens) -Wow!, my parenthetic is longer than my paragraph. Today got off to a wonderful start when Billy brought me a new computer.

This evening I substituted in the library for L so that she could pack for a few days in Anchorage. The reading teacher came in and as we talked, we discovered that we were substitute teaching in Kenai, Alaska at the same time. She had looked familiar when I first met her, but I can't say I really remember her.

The temperature is dropping fast and the little bit of snow that came today has stayed on the ground.
So I was happy to receive my order from Cabela of warm underwear. I think I will be needing it very soon.

The high-school students from all 8 villages are to spend this week in Holy Cross doing a vocational workshop, kind of a career event. The five girls from McGrath came into the library to kill time because it was too overcast in Holy Cross to go. When they complained that they were missing lunch, the sponsor checked with the school cook and discovered that it was too late for her to prepare enough to feed them, so the school district paid for them to get burgers at the local café. Thus prompted, I took a lunch break and walked into town to try Susie's Iditarod Café. The man that waited on me, (I assume it was Susie's husband) hurried into the kitchen and told Susie that the new librarian was there and she came out to meet me.

As I was leaving the district office building for lunch, the sponsor told me that the girl's plane was now able to leave and she was driving back to the school (the district office sets in front of the school) to get the girls out of class. I hope the boys' plane also was able to make the trip. Explanation: the bush plane is not large enough to carry all the students so it had to make two trips. Wisely, I think, the administration decided to split up the boy and the girls - less maddening for the pilot.