This.

Open house can be slow and make a long day even longer. But my wife drove up here with a burrito from Sheetz and sat and ate with me, and that made the whole business better. These are the kind of small supports that keep me upright and energized.

It has been a beautiful bunch of days. Color in the leaves, air cool but not too cold-- just about perfect. I live in one of those sorts of places that people dream about vacationing to, except that I LIVE there!

To have Barbara and Nick here yesterday for just 7-8 hours of hanging out and talking was a great capper to a frantically hectic couple of weeks. Even the crazy race to Butler to eat with them at Red Lobster was worth it. It was so great to see them.

The evaluation system is not as horrifying as it might be. This seems like a pretty low bar for thankfulness, but I spend a lot of time these days fretting the world of my profession, so to find something that seems to include even a bit of sense is a relief.

Applefest with my wife not working allows for a full day of coming and going at will. Want to sit for a few minutes and listen to three cellos and a drummer play rock? Sure, we can do that. Way cool, and still one more day left.

Sarah and Sebastian are in the US. It was exciting to see them last evening, even if jet lag left him somewhat less than fully sociable.

Applefest is coming, and my wife has no work. For the first time in ever, Amanda has no work, no show, no nothing except the inevitable school prep stuff to do when the giant festering of appleness comes. We get to go all-in on the applosity.