First post of October

Got really irked at the radio news yesterday. One of the stories was about some "amazing evidence" that Columbus may not have been the first non-native to set foot on North American soil. Apparently a man on the east coast found an ancient Phoenician coin, which has historians "astounded." What a bunch of BS. Historians, paleontologists, and anthropologists have known for decades that Columbus was nowhere near the first non-native to the Americas, having been beaten to the punch by yes the Phoenicians, the Vikings, the Polynesians and others. And for that matter, the "native" Americans themselves migrated here originally. Gah.

Speaking of the radio, one of the local stations did a fun thing the other day. They called it "Alphabet Soup," and each song title began with the last letter of the previous song title. This led to some rather interesting segues, such as going from "Squeeze Box" to "Xanadu," and to the playing of songs not normally heard on a rock station such as "New York, New York," "Candy Man," "Another One Rides the Bus," and "Time Warp." People would text, e-mail, or phone in with their suggestions (the next day the DJ said they had over 3,000 people sending in song titles). I really enjoyed it and hope they do it again someday.

Ralph is tearing out the bathroom floor today. We've got some major water damage going on (the floor actually flexes if you step on certain areas) and are trying to get it taken care of before the wood gives way completely. Unfortunately we've got more leaks than we expected, from around the shower, the sink, AND the toilet. Sigh. Just what we need right now, more expenses.

Dad has to have his pacemaker replaced. Not sure on when the surgery will be; he doesn't have an appointment yet but should be hearing from the doctor soon. Dad says *he's* fine, it's the pacemaker that is having troubles.

Did something kinda silly the other day. I was wandering through a Halloween store, and they had some life-size "psycho killer" type props. I was so convinced that they were going to move when I walked past them, that when they *didn't* move I was startled & jumped a bit. Felt rather foolish, I must say.

Making good progress on the first Dark Mark scarf; I've got about 110 rows left to do which really isn't that much considering I've already done over 560 rows. Hmm, wonder how many stitches that is? 560 + 110 = 670, times 41 stitches per row = 27,470 stitches. Egads. I really should know better than to do the math, it's always a bit overwhelming to look at it that way.

Today's photo is a hibiscus that bloomed in our backyard last week. Still need to find the camera (haven't checked the Saturn yet), especially as I'll need it for the Photo Scavenger Hunt next week.