Whoa, Nelly! I had to adjust my eyes Monday morning after hooking up my laptop to the 12" x 24" monitor I haven't used in 15 months. After working from my 7.5" x 14" screen over the past year and a quarter, it kind of shocked me to see everything much larger.

Yes, we have opened the newspaper office to the public once again...masks required for visitors, however.

It feels nice in some ways: The AC unit near my desk; watching the steady flow of traffic rather than shoeing my animals away from my home desk while trying to work; and seeing my co-workers face-to-face once again.

A couple of the downsides of being back in the office again include: Getting used to my chair (it used to be comfortable but for some reason, it isn't); leaving our dog (I tried to ease her anxiety of my not being around by "disappearing" for a few hours here and there lately; I hope it helps); and feeling like I need to be staying in the office more often in case "something happens." I guess I have to realize that things worked out fine without being at the office. Being connected via internet and phone was never a problem.

With the office being "downtown" and my home being over five miles away from "the action," I feel more connected to what's going on and visitors can drop by more easily – as they did on Monday.

One thing that has changed is that our office voicemail is asking callers to contact me and other staff members through our cell phones rather than leaving a message on our office phones. I need to get better at checking my cell voicemail!

And returning to the office this week makes it easier to cover Windjammer Days festivities. Hope you're enjoying them.

From 97 Townsend ... giddy up!