Sorry, your server is down.

It's been one of those days. It began dubiously enough with the downstairs neighbors in a row, slamming doors and breaking pottery at 6:30am. (sigh) (I AM looking for a new place.)

Then... oh bother! Email isn't working. Hm. I know a workaround to get to my server from the web. Oh, double bother. My entire server is down. No website. No email. The problem is at the host server, and "my tech guy" is working on it, but he's been at it all day, and still no fix.

Conference call at 8:00am, rescheduled from yesterday afternoon because just as the call began, the New York office of our project leader was evacuated for fire alarm. Just as TODAY's call began, a fire DRILL commenced in the office of our editor. We tried again at 8:30 and managed to get all the way through the meeting without further mishap.

What next, pray tell?

I spent the rest of the morning finishing the linocut "icons" for the Southeast Colorado Heritage Trail project. These will be used on maps and brochures and interp stuff: simple illustrations of the major historical sites on Colorado's eastern plains. It's a surprising mix: fabulous native petroglyph sites, a once-genteel settlement along the Santa Fe Trail, the site of the Sand Creek Massacre, Bent's Fort, and Camp Amache, a relocation camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Most people regard southeastern Colorado as a featureless plain, if they regard it at all. But this prairie girl will tell you that the High Plains are pure magic for anyone who will take the time to see them. There are hidden canyons and great birding spots all OVER the place out there.

Once all that flurry of morning activity was over, I began to enjoy the lack of email blips. Sure, I can't send my icons to the client, but they don't really have to be there until tomorrow, so I won't panic yet. And I have some other projects for which I am anticipating feedback that isn't here, but it'll get here. And if there's new stuff coming up... I guess I don't mind not knowing about it for a few more hours. This afternoon I was able to catch up on some writing for another project, visit with a friend, sweat through a workout, and chat with the FedEx guy when he dropped off packages.

"Sorry, your server is down."

OOOOOOOh.

GREAT.