broken computers

I am not bad luck! But after my computer died I borrowed one of Phil's two laptops and within two days it was also out of commission. Phil cannibalized my Toshiba for a part to fix his computer (the screen was going out on his). Now this computer is working, but the screen is flickering and I don't know how long it will last. I guess I will have to give in and buy a new laptop--our state dividend check will be out soon and is supposed to be around $1200 this year, so at least I will not have to use up my savings.

Phil is finally done moving all the stuff from his old place out the road (which he sold about two months ago). We now have seven vehicles in our yard (only one is mine and only two of the other actually run). Phil has this plan to use parts from the three wrecked trucks to get one working vehicle. Hopefully this will happen sooner than later as I do not want to be living in a junk yard.

Last Saturday was a lovely day. Quin and I went for a walk out at Exit Glacier. The leaves are already falling off the birch trees and it smelled like fall. We had a fun time crunchy and kicking up the leaves as we made the mile or so loop. I took some great pictures and video and hope to get some posted soon.

Sunday it rained all day. This morning I noticed a lot of fresh snow on the tallest mountain peaks. We call that first snow sighting, termination dust, as it means that summer is over and snow on the ground could be in as little as six weeks. Wednesday's low is expected to be 34 degrees, so we are not far off. Tomorrow is the first day of autumn, which in Alaska is a very short season.

School is going well. I have some pretty easy and generally fun students and I am enjoying this year. I am also finding a good balance between work and home.

Quin's School Work

Quin now knows how to spell her first name. She is working on spelling Fischer. They practice at school and we practice using the fridge magnets.

*What is cool is I was able put this image on the copier at school and scan/email it directly from there to my account. Unfortunately, it didn't copy in color.

Ugh!

My computer died last week. My last back-up was in May. With being a new parent and everything, I just didn't get around to it (although it was on my list of things to do). I have (had) a Toshiba and according to Phil, there are lots of reports on the web of Toshibas having the same problem. When you try to boot up it just says, "Enter Password" in a basic dos-like screen and you can't get it to even reinstall the system software. Phil thinks he might be able to take it all apart and fix it (based on the research he was doing), but he (a) doesn't have time right now and (b) doesn't think he could actually put it back together after he fixed the problem. So for now I am using one of Phil's two laptops--the one he usually just uses for music. My Toshiba was just three years old. Phil wants to get me a new one for Christmas (the last one was a present from his as well). We won't be getting Toshiba again.

Luckily all our China pics and pics of Quin since we have been home are still on the camera memory cards. I haven't really lost too much, although I have lost email I was saving and all my bookmarks. I'll survive.

I hope to get the camera software loaded on this soon so I can upload pictures from Quin's first pre-school project and of the black bear that was in our yard last Saturday night!

Yes, we had a black bear stop by. It was around 8:30 at night. Phil and I were sitting on the couch and I saw it walk out of the woods just past our porch. It was a big black bear and it walked over to the porch, munching berries along the way. It stood below the window in the eating nook gnawing on some plants and then it turned and walked across the yard, past our cars and down the hill onto the road below. It was about this same time last year that I first saw a bear in the yard. I wonder how many times I haven't seen bears that have been here. It was very exciting. Still, every morning when Quin and I go to leave for school I first look around for bears or moose before we go out.