Orange You Glad It's October?

That joke never gets old.

Went out for a lovely walk with the camera tonight to break in my new running shoes. Got lots of great October photos, but I will dole them out over the week... I did see my first persimmon tree... I had no idea they grew on trees! But there they were, and very pretty, too.

Today started with an upsetting discovery. Terri mentioned that the plaster under the windows in our bedroom was peeling away from the wall a bit, so I went over to inspect it. Indeed, a very large section of plaster is coming away from the wall... and there is mold under it. I checked it again tonight and there's not as much as I thought this morning, but then again I didn't peel it back very far (I didn't want the whole piece to come off the wall).

So, apparently the windows are leaking water into the wall. I checked the rest of the walls on that side of the apartment and there are soft softs all over the place. It's an old apartment, probably from the 20s, and the windows are drafty, so I'm not surprised. It's still upsetting.

Clearly we need to talk to the landlord about this. I was already going to clean all the windowsills with bleach solution, but I don't want to mess with black mold growing inside the walls. I'm already allergic to mold, and with Terri so sick and the cause STILL not completely determined, I just don't want to take any chances. Not to mention I don't want to deal with plaster falling down all over the place.

So, we'll see what comes next, but I'm not looking forward to any of it. Best case scenario still involves workmen and plaster dust and paint and mess.

This past year and a half has been like falling down the rabbit hole. I totally lose perspective on this stuff. Even if it's not toxic mold, it can't be good for us to have our bedroom walls covered in mold. Ew!!

Anyway. Other than that disturbing news, today was pretty good. I got new running shoes that will hopefully help my knee injury recover, and I sold most of my beads (D'Arcy, I'll send you a care package with the rest of them!). I trimmed back all the dead and dying summer potted plants and repotted my successfully grafted geraniums. I was going to do some more cleaning and start the mold wars but Terri talked me into saving my energy for my walk -- I'm STILL not 100% after that nasty flu bug, so I reluctantly took her good advice.

I have a craft-making party to go to tomorrow in the afternoon, although I don't have any ideas for crafts to make, not anything easy to transport, anyway. I will have to do some thinking tonight. I'm reading The Terror and it is soooo good. I'm always surprised by how much I enjoy tales of arctic expeditions, even without an unnamed terror on the ice.

Oh, speaking of terrors -- this Wednesday on the SciFi channel, my favorite show -- Ghost Hunters -- will be featuring the aircraft carrier ship USS Hornet, which is docked in Alameda, just a few blocks from our house. This is supposed to be a very haunted ship, and -- cool piece of trivia -- my grandfather served on that very ship! I went on a tour of it with him a few years ago, it was pretty special to see the ship with him. Anyway, if you would like some nice ghosty fun featuring my little hometown, tune in at 9 this Wednesday! It looks like a good episode from the previews, and the Hornet is actually a very cool ship to see. Worth a look.

Hope your autumn is turning crisp and golden-orange.