Reading Update, Babies, and Cicadas

Haven’t seen any baby ducks around the pond, but we’ve seen baby geese! This picture shows momma and daddy, but only 3 of the four babies.

Soon we'll see the cicadas, but I’m not looking forward to that. I remember them in 2004. Didn’t like them then, won’t like them now.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book #27

Dates read: May 4-8, 2021
Title: Meant to be Immortal
Year of publication: 2021
Author: Lynsay Sands
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Argeneau Vampires #32
# of Pages: 372
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased new
Blurb from book: Mac Argeneau knows all too well: immortals can be killed. Not with holy water or silver crosses, but by decapitation or being set on fire. So when Mac’s new house bursts into flames—nearly incinerating him inside—he’s sure it was no accident. But who would want to kill a scientist specializing in hematology? There is a silver lining: a blonde investigator appears on the scene and sparks feelings in him that have been dormant for centuries.
    CJ Cummings is in town on a special investigation, but she’s been waylaid by the local police to deal with this arson case. The biggest mystery is how this strapping scientist with silvery blue eyes has emerged from a blazing inferno without a burn mark on him. He’s clearly hiding something. Sure, she’d love to see him without his lab coat, but she’s got a job to do—despite his insistence that he needs a bodyguard and…he wants her.
    But when a second attempt on their lives put CJ in harm’s way, it’s Mac who will do anything to safeguard the woman who’s destined to be his life mate.
My thoughts: Breezed through this one. I love this series.

So… Are you expecting the cicadas in your part of the world? I really hope they don’t bother our house. We only have the one tree, and it’s only 3 years old and not in all that good of shape as it is. I also don’t think the lots around here had trees 17 years ago, so hopefully they don’t crawl out of the ground here. Lots of trees behind the houses across the street, so hopefully those bugs all stay over there!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Ants? Really??

I knew to expect this when we decided to build on a slab instead of a basement. I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon!

Ants. We have ants.

They started showing up in the sunroom. Then they migrated to the great room. I noticed what looked like a crack in the sunroom floor, right about where those suckers were showing up. So I called the builder.

The crack is there (which will be fixed…eventually), but it’s not the source of the ants. Even though the house isn’t insured against insects, he still did us a favor and bought a gallon container of some pesticide that’s also good on the inside. He sprayed all around the house yesterday and left the remainder on the porch. I sprayed inside after I found ants in my trash can.

Have I told you how much I hate ants?

Our builder swears by this stuff, though. Said he had a pretty bad infestation at his home and it took care of it. Keeping my fingers crossed that I’ve seen the last of them. At least until we get grass.

Yesterday the builder graded the back yard (although I have no idea when to expect our patio, driveway, and sidewalks to be poured; nothing has been formed yet). There was a killdeer nest out in the “yard,” but I’m guessing it’s not there anymore. I don’t see the bird or any sign of the eggs. I thought for sure the eggs would have hatched before the sod was laid (seeing as we need the concrete poured first). I just wasn’t counting on the yard getting graded before then. Oh well. Sorry birdie!

Yesterday I took a break from the old house. Of course that didn’t mean I didn’t work. I just put some of the stuff away, or at least moved the boxes to their correct room. Baby steps!

We had planned on having the house-warming party on the 30th. But since it looks like we won’t get our driveway and patio until after that day, we pushed it to August 11. Just as well. I wasn’t so sure I would be ready by the 30th!

So… how much do you hate ants? So annoying, aren’t they?

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz

I’ve mentioned before how the bumble bees—which aren’t really bumble bees, I know, but are actually carpenter bees, they just look like bumble bees—love our mailbox post. Used to be one or two would hover around the box. This year it’s gone up to at least 5. It’s so bad, I won’t get the mail until the sun sets and I try to get the paper before the sun rises. Otherwise, Hubby gets them for me.

Well, Hubby loves me sooooo much (or maybe he’s tired of me sending him out there), he went out and bought a carpenter bee catcher. He and Son attached it to the mailbox post. Know what? It works!

Unfortunately, other bees are taking their place guarding the mailbox post. **heavy sigh**

Eventually we’ll catch all the ones that are living in that post. At least, I hope so.

I’m tired of those things.

Penguins lost their first game on Saturday. I’m not thrilled (of course), but have to remember they did the same thing last year. Hopefully they figure out what they need to do to beat the Senators. Game 2 is tonight!

So… are there any bugs/animals/creatures that can keep you from an area at your house? Something like…your house is haunted and you refuse to go into the basement? My grandmother’s house was haunted. I didn’t care for sleepovers there so much.

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Bugs – They're What’s for Breakfast

Well, they're not for MY breakfast. No sir. But the birds around here really appreciate the fact we leave the porch light on all night.

As you can sort of see in the first picture, the June bugs are lying around in the early morning. I came back from the gym and found pieces of bugs (second picture).

And if I needed any proof the birds were responsible, I saw a bird snatch a bug up off the ground when I went out to get the paper.

I hate June bugs, and I hate that they converge around the porch light. But I don’t mind it quite so much if the birds are making sure those bugs don’t return. J

Well… I signed up for another reader/author event: Ohio Readers & Writers Expo (http://ohioexpos.com/) July 23 in Akron, OH. I’m sharing a table with another author (Donna MacMeans), plus I’m driving up there with her. It’s nice that I won’t be alone, which really takes some of the pressure off me. Why that is, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I don’t feel so alone.

I’ve gotten all the buy links for A Vampire Wedding now. You can click on the cover on the sidebar (which will take you to my website) or go to the book’s page on this blog. I’m very close to getting the print version completed. Just waiting on the cover. Then I’ll cross my fingers I can get enough books delivered before June 9th (which is when Lori Foster’s Reader Author Get Together (RAGT) starts). Nothing like cutting it close, huh?

So… Do you help feed the birds in your neighborhood? How?

Have a great weekend!

 

Stacy

Bumblebees, Big Red, and Penguins

Well, apparently painting the mailbox pole (which is wooden) did NOT help with the bumblebee problem. They’re back. And they brought friends. So now I have FOUR of those stingers flying around the mailbox instead of just two. I probably wouldn’t mind so much if they didn’t like dive-bombing me whenever I approach the mailbox. Grrr…

I got a surprise yesterday. Dell sent me one of those automated telephone calls saying Big Red (no, they don’t call it that) was on its way to me via FedEx. They had just gotten the laptop on the 19th! Then when we came home after Hubby’s doctor appointment (he got his feeding tube removed—yay!), we found Big Red waiting at the front door. I thought they shipped it yesterday, but it shipped on the 20th. I’ve got it all set up (again). Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m glad to have it back (I really don’t like Tasha Yar), but I’m not feeling all that optimistic. Big Red has been breaking down after a week of use. How would Dell know it’s fixed unless they have it on for a week? Grrr…

Penguins won last night. Yay!! If they win on Saturday, then they go onto the next round. They’re playing so good and it’s fun to watch. I love hockey.

So… Saturday looks to be a busy day (hair appointment, writer’s group meeting, hockey game), but Sunday should be nice and quiet. How’s your weekend looking?

Happy Friday!

 

Stacy

The Last Wednesday Reads for a Few Weeks

Three books finished this week. Okay, one was a novella. That’s what happens when you read a series and the author throws them in (or starts with them). Heck, I’m doing the same thing with A Vampire Wedding. Here’s what I read this week:

Jan 13: “Reflected in You” by Sylvia Day, second book in the Crossfire series, an erotica at 338 pages. Blurb from book: Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest pleasures. I couldn’t stay away. I didn’t want to. He was my addiction…my every desire…mine. My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful…except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity. We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession… I do not know what it is about this series that has captivated me so. These characters are so messed up! And yet, I have to know how they’ll work it all out. There appears to be two more in this series (so far). I’ve already ordered them. Yeah, I’m hooked.

Jan 16: “Maximum Exposure” by Allison Brennan, #0.5 in the Max Revere series, a mystery/suspense novella at 83 pages. Blurb from Barnes & Noble: In this thrilling story, New York Times bestseller Allison Brennan introduces tough-as-nails investigative reporter Maxine Revere, the compelling feature character of Notorious, Brennan's exciting new series debut available in hardcover March 25, 2014. Two years before the events in Notorious, Max travels to Colorado Springs to investigate the disappearance of a college student. Frustrated over the lack of interest from both friends of the victim and campus authorities, Max tags along with the leader of search and rescue and his dog through the beautiful and deadly Rocky Mountains in the hopes of finding answers. Every answer she finds leads to more questions—questions neither the police nor the college want Max asking. This is my first taste of this series (this novella was written after the first one as a prequel/backstory kind of thing). I like it. Guess I’ll be reading the rest, now. J

Jan 19: “The Dirt on Ninth Grave” by Darynda Jones, the ninth book in the Charley Davidson series, an urban fantasy at 326 pages. Blurb from book: In a small village in New York, Charley Davidson is living as Jane Doe, a girl with no memory of who she was or where she came from. So when she is working at a diner and slowly begins to realize she can see dead people, she’s more than a little taken aback. Stranger still are the people entering her life. They seem to know things about her, things they hide with lies and half-truths. Soon she senses something far darker: a force that wants to cause her harm. She is sure of it. Her saving grace comes in the form of a new friend she feels she can confide in and the fry cook, a devastatingly handsome man whose smile is breathtaking and whose touch is scalding. He stays close, and she almost feels safe with him around… But no one can outrun their past, and as more lies swirl around her—even from her new and trusted friends—the more disoriented she becomes, until she is confronted by a man who claims to have been sent to kill her. Sent by the darkest force in the universe. A force that absolutely will not stop until she is dead. Thankfully, she has a rottweiler. But that doesn’t help in her quest to find her identity and recover what she’s lost. That is something that will take all her courage and touch of the power she feels flowing like electricity through her veins. She almost feels sorry for him, that devil in blue jeans. The disarming fry cook who lies with every breath he takes. She will get to the bottom of what he knows if it kills her…or him. Either way. I do so love this series and this book just made it better. Can’t wait for the next one. Thank goodness I only have to wait 5 months!

This will most likely be the last of my Wednesday reads for awhile. I’ve got some judging to do (on seven books, so I’m being generous saying that I’ll get them done in a few weeks—it could be longer!) and can’t report on any of it until much later. Gosh, I don’t know what I’ll do on Wednesdays, though. I struggle enough on Mondays and Fridays! Got any suggestions?

Snow is forecasted for the morning commute, so I doubt I make it to the fitness center (my one legitimate excuse that doesn’t involve illness or injury: if it’s snowing, I ain’t going). I’d only be walking on the treadmill anyway, so I’m not missing out on my weight routine. I’m doing well with the walking, though. Back up to 3mph and a little over 2 miles a day. My knee feels fine and my foot feels fine. I swear, it seems like a miracle!

So… Even with the freezing temps and snow on the ground, I’m still finding stink bugs in my house. What a pain. What’s being a pain in your tookus right now?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

P.S. As I posted this, I realized what day it is! 40 years ago today I was sworn into the U.S. Army. It's the day that changed my life and put me on the path to my Hubby. Very glad I made that decision.

Pictures From My Cruise

I’m surprised I even remembered to download the pictures. Too many strange distractions almost made me forget! You see… I noticed a stink bug crawling on the inside of my French door.

Ugh. I hate those things.

So I got the Raid and sprayed it. It fell on the floor and I covered it with a glass, waiting for the stinker to die. I went back to my laptop and a few minutes later, I noticed two more of those things on the door. I sprayed along the top seam, and then three more crawled out! Aack!

As I mentioned on Facebook: I thought Raid was supposed to kill the bugs, not invite them inside!!!

So my attention was pretty much on those things during the afternoon, just waiting for them to die so I could scoop them up and toss them in the trash. Seems Raid doesn’t kill them very quickly. Kind of cruel, I know, but then they should have stayed outside.

Anyway, I did manage to remember my pictures, so here they are.

 

We left out of New York City. The day started out beautiful, but turned cloudy/rainy by the time we departed. I really loved that curved building in the middle (might have to click on the picture to enlarge it). Every floor seems to have a patio!

 

I was surprised at the amount of construction going on.

 

Nice shot of one of the touring boats sailing by Lady Liberty.

We arrived in Boston two hours late because of a malfunctioning engine (which did get repaired before we docked). We were going to tour Fenway park, but wouldn't have made it in time for the last tour. Bummer! It was a very windy day, though. We just walked around the port instead.

Here's the first lighthouse we visited in Portland, Maine, called the Bug.

No sand on these beaches!

This was the second lighthouse we visited in Portland. This is a picture of my hubby! Walking along those rocks was not easy. Some of the gaps were rather large. But I made it to the end.

Here's a view from the lighthouse. It was quite a trek!

This was the third lighthouse we visited in Portland. Got hubby to take my picture with my camera.

Behind the scenes of the fish market in Portland.

Birds!!

 

Still in Portland. Apparently, if you love someone and want to lock their love, you purchase a lock, attach it to the fence, and then throw the key away. At least, I THINK that's what it's all about. Teaches me not to listen to the tour guide all the time!

Here's a picture of our room. The balcony rooms are way bigger than the inside cabins. It's even got a couch!

It has a bigger desk area, too. Yeah, we take lots of stuff with us!

This was taken in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is the guard to the Citadel (I believe).

This here is Peggy's Cove. Those rocks are something, aren't they?

Me, at the lighthouse in Peggy's Cove.

This handsome fella played the bagpipes and you could hear him from all over.

On the day we were to arrive at Saint John, New Brunswick, the crew put out the towel creatures around the pool area.

Cool alligator. Or is that a crocodile?

This is the reversing falls in Saint John. You see... the Saint John River (in the distance) flows into the Bay of Fundy. When the tide is low, the river flows into the bay. When the tide is high, the bay will flow back into the river (because the tide in the bay fluctuates way more than the river does--something like a 30" difference). This was taken at low tide, but not at the lowest. During the lowest, I was told these rapids are a lot rougher.

Covered bridge in New Brunswick. Was told that whoever owned the land closest to the covered bridges were responsible for shoveling snow INSIDE the bridge so the sleighs could travel through them.

Bay of Fundy. Those are caves in the distance. During low tide, you can walk to them (and inside them) and not get wet (shows you how much the tide fluctuates here, huh?). The tide was rising when we got there and we couldn't go and visit.

Here's a shot of the reversing falls with the bay flowing back into the river. It was too calm to really see any difference, though. Again, we were a little late. Ah, what can you do? It was a tour.

 

Our last night on the ship and the moon rose. I thought it was pretty and wasn't sure how well the picture would come out. Not too shabby! You can even see some stars (or maybe they're planets--I can't tell from here).

 

Overall, we had a great time. I would have liked to have seen some fall colors, but it was warm up there (near 80 on some days). Couldn't have asked for better weather, though.

So… how do you go about killing stink bugs? These were the big diamond-back kind. I would have LOVED to squish them, but I really don’t want to find out why they have that name. You know???

Hope you liked the pics and have a great weekend.

Stacy

Uhhh...

I’m dry!

I’ve done nothing this week but edit and read. Doesn’t leave much to blog about, huh?

Oh, and watch hockey—Go Pens!! If they win tonight, they move on to the next round. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch the game. We have tickets to see the Dragons tonight. And of course, it’s expected to rain. Couldn’t have weather like we did yesterday (sunny and in the 80s), oh no. It could be worse, I suppose. It could be COLD. Guess I won’t complain too much, then.

Our carpenter bumble bees have returned. Used to be one. Last year it was two. Now there are three. They love to fly around my mail box and since I don’t care for the creatures, I have to either beg someone else to get the mail or wait until the sun sets. There’s always a price for warmer weather, though. Isn’t there? **Grumble**

I know most of us had a miserable winter and have looked forward to the warmer weather, but what do you HATE about warmer weather? Me? Bugs. YUCK!!

Have a great weekend.

Stacy

 

Road Trip! and More Bugs

Tomorrow we start our vacation! Three nights in Branson, MO, three nights in San Antonio, TX, and three nights in Austin, TX. Why, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

The United States Australian Football League is holding their National Tournaments in Austin Oct 19-20. Our daughter will be playing in this tournament. Since we’re not keen on flying (plus it’s expensive), we decided to visit a city we’ve never been to (Branson) and a city we haven’t been to since 1982 (San Antonio). Our daughter will fly into San Antonio a day early so she can sight-see with us. We’ll take her to Austin and then back home. Yeah, the drive home will be semi-brutal (right now we’re planning on making it in one day), but there will be three of us driving, so maybe it won’t be that bad. If we decide to stop, then we might (MIGHT) stop in Memphis and see Graceland. We’ve never been there, either.

I’m looking forward to the change in scenery. I love road trips. And on our drive to Branson, I told my husband we were stopping in St. Louis and picking up some St. Louis Rams t-shirts. Can you believe I don’t own any? Crazy! I love my Rams.

I will have internet connection in our hotels, but that will be at night and early morning, since I’m hoping we’re out doing fun stuff during the day. I won’t promise I’ll continue my blogs during my trip, because, let’s face it, I have trouble doing that. Let’s say I’ll try and post a picture or two! Key word: TRY.

I don’t know about you guys, but I think the bugs are out in full force this year. Luckily, I haven’t seen many stink bugs (like that picture I posted a couple of weeks ago), although two have found their way in between the back door and the screen (I will have to go outside and open that screen if I want them to leave, I think), and those moths haven’t hatched yet (if they ever do), but the worst right now are the boxelder bugs.

Boxelder Bug - Ugh!

The front of our house faces south and that’s where they have migrated to (sunny and warm). So far I’ve been lucky and they’re staying outside, but it’s forced me to enter and exit the house through the garage now! If I even open the front door, they’ll get in (that’s how many there are). We’ve tried spraying them with Raid, but I think they just laugh in our face and fly away. Certainly hasn’t reduced the numbers any. It’s so bad, it’s making me wish for winter, and that’s BAD! If you’ve had these pests and managed to get rid of them, please share your secret.

Here are the latest links to Celebrate Paranormal Month at Lyrical Press’s blog, just in case you’ve been interested in discovering new paranormal authors.

 

October 10: http://lyricalpress.com/2013/10/10/werewolves-romance-mae-clair/

October 11: http://lyricalpress.com/2013/10/11/celebrate-paranormal-month-scratch-surface-amy-lee-burgess/

Do you like taking road trips? What’s the farthest you’re willing to drive?

Happy Friday!!

Stacy

 

Pictures - Do You Know What These Are? I Don't

Today for a little fun, I would like someone to tell me what these things are on the following pictures. It's hard to gain this information on the web, since I don't know how to seach a picture. So... if anyone out there knows, I would sure appreciate you shedding some light my way.

This one is semi-easy. I know it's a bug (ooh - aren't I smart?). I took this picture from inside my house, so this is the underside of the bug and it's kind of blurry, since I couldn't get it to focus up close. I THINK it's a stink bug (although the stink bugs I used to call stink bugs back when I was a kid living in Southern California were black and looked like beetles). I hate these things, though. They like to jump at you. And, well, I don't like things that jump at me. Especially bugs! And if this is a stink bug, do they really stink? Have you ever smelled one? Curious minds...

This one is a mystery. I noticed it hanging from the top of the porch overhang a couple of weeks ago. I tried to knock it off with a broom, but it ain't budging. I think it'll need to be cut off, but no one remembers to bring out scissors when we go outside. I thought it was just a lone thing until I saw our little tree (below).

Can't tell from this picture too well, but off to the left, where it appears a different tree is growing (and it's all the same tree - I checked), more of those things are displayed. I took a closer shot, below.

There are lots of these suckers. So, is it some kind of seed pod? Or has some strange creature laid eggs? Should I worry? Should we cut the whole thing down? I mean, the tree has looked in better condition. It used to be all one shape! It's strange how this other growth has morphed out of it. Have you ever had a tree do that to you?

I think I've asked enough questions. Sure hope I see some answers! Happy Monday!

Stacy

Spider!

Wednesday morning I was greeted with this creature. Thank goodness he was OUTSIDE!

Needless to say, I will NOT be opening the door until he's gone.

And no, he hasn't left yet.

For some strange reason, I don't mind staring at him as he goes about building his web. Of course, I'd be feeling a whole lot different if he were inside the house. I'm not called the spider slayer for nothing, you know! Then again, this guy is big, and he would be messy. I don't think I have a shoe big enough to squish him.

I'm glad he's outside.

We're both safer that way.

So, what's keeping your door closed?

 

Friday Hodge Podge

Happy Friday the 13th (I had to say this for my daughter, since it's her favorite non-holiday).

It's been a good week.

I finished the short story I wrote. I wrote 1000 words too many, though. I don't know what to cut, so I'm letting it sit. But I finished it! That's the important part.

I've actually added words to Book #5. I had to read it from the beginning, and stop myself from editing (which is kind of hard after having edited three books in a row), so I could get back into their lives. I'm a little stuck on my story, but as long as I write something, something good will come to me. It usually does. And I have future scenes all ready to write, I just have to figure out how to get my characters there!

Yep, I'm a linear writer. Can't do it any other way. But it sure is nice to get back into their lives. I anticipate many words today.

I also managed to make it to the gym every morning this week. Pushing the burn, too. I'm glad to be back and I'm glad the soreness has gone away! I knew it would, though. Just have to work through it.

My former employer kind of pissed me off this week – having to do with my final paycheck. Luckily, I got that resolved adequately. Still, I hated feeling used all over again. Need to cut that out!

But the best news this week – I killed a wasp! In the house!

On Wednesday, one of those little buggers managed to get inside. Don't know how. Must have hitched a ride on me (shudder), because I don't have any doors or windows open. Anyway, every time I tried to kill him, he'd get into the blinds and hide. Of which I wasn't about to go hunting for him. No – for me to kill him, he has to be on the window easy to smack.

When my husband came home, the wasp apparently disappeared. So of course he doubted its existence (even though I had a witness – my daughter). So for the rest of the evening, I kept my ear tuned to buzzing, but never heard anything. I couldn't imagine it left. Even if it had gotten in through a crack, what are the odds it left the same way?

The next morning, I'm still looking around the French doors in the breakfast nook (where he was last spotted). Still no sign of him. And no buzzing. I go to the gym, come home, have breakfast, and check e-mails. On my way upstairs for my shower, I take a glance out the front window panel (to the front door) and find my lips inches away from this buzzing sound.

AAAGH! I back away quicker than anything and grab the fly swatter (which I had kept in easy reach because I knew that sucker wasn't gone). I don't have my glasses on, but he was big enough and he couldn't hide.

SMACK!

Yep, he's gone. I even flushed the bugger because I wasn't taking any chances. I was able to rest easier for the rest of the day. Yay!

Tonight we leave for Pittsburgh. We're taking the Heinz Field tour on Saturday. Then we might actually make it over to the Consol Energy Center and watch the Penguins in a scrimmage game (which is FREE). I'm looking forward to all the fun. Hope the weather cooperates.

And I hope your weekend is just as fun!

Now, don't walk in front of any black cats! :)

Nashville - Part I

We took our annual Memorial Day Weekend trip with our friends. Every other year we end up in Chicago, which we visited last year. In between we pick a place we've never really visited. Our only stipulation is that the city must be within driving distance after work on Friday (so no farther than six hours – and that's stretching it). Two years ago it was St. Louis. This year it was Nashville.

I have to say, our timing sucked. Not only was it the warmest weekend there (in the 90's), the cicadas hatched (which they do every 13 years). The place was swarming with the big buggers. They were everywhere!

I know they don't bite. It doesn't matter. They fly at you. They land on you. They're BIG! And they're noisy. Deafening in places. You can see them on the trunk of this tree (which was the closest I would get to take their picture) if you look hard enough. There are singles toward the bottom of the trunk, but a big mass of them up on top.

I think I became everyone's entertainment when I flapped my arms every time one of those bugs would fly by.

Besides the annoying insects, we had an enjoyable time in the Music City. We saw a show at the Grand Ole Opry, took a dinner cruise on the General Jackson, and a city tour on Segways. Even with the warm weather, it wasn't extremely humid. The wind helped keep it comfortable. I'm just glad it didn't rain. I've seen enough of that for awhile.

But it sure would have been nice to visit the city without the infestation. I've never even heard about these bugs until we moved to Ohio. We must not have ever lived in an area long enough to experience them! They certainly never lived in Southern California. I think I would have remembered them.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I know the weather was good around here. Hope it was wherever you are, too. It's about time we saw the sun.

Spiders - Ewwww!

I don't know about you, but I hate spiders.

Oh hell, why limit it to spiders. I hate bugs.

Still, spiders are up at the top of the hate list (just under those bugs that sting) and when I find one in my house, I get a little freaky.

On Sunday, one blonde spider happened to show up in my bathroom. It was up where the ceiling meets the wall. Too high for me to reach. Sure, I could have gotten a step stool, but I tend to be unsteady on those and I didn't want the thing to fall on me. And I know that would happen, because that's what always happens!

Better the spider stayed away from me. So as long as it stayed up there, I was okay with it.

Sort of.

On Monday morning, it was still there. As long as I could see it, I was fine.

On Monday evening, it was gone. I looked on all the wall space. Nothing. I looked at my cluttered countered and worried.

Could it have climbed into the vent on the ceiling? Could it have shimmied behind the mirror? Or did it crawl into my Kleenex box, or my jewelry box or any other open container I had on the counter (I said it was cluttered!).

I wanted to think it had left. I knew better.

This morning I flipped the switch and looked around the ceiling. My eyes were blurry, still getting used to the light, but no sign of the bugger. I looked at the walls. I looked at the floor. I looked everywhere. Nothing.

Once I finished doing what every other person does when they wake in the morning, I went and grabbed the previous day's towels to put in the hamper. As I walked by the light switch – there it was!

Yee gads! Did I almost touch it when I turned on the light? I could have sworn I checked that wall. But I can't imagine that spider moved that quickly. I shudder to think how close I came to touching it!!

I had towels in my hand, but I wasn't about to soil them that way. I grabbed the Kleenex box and squished the monster.

I am the spider slayer!

I can now breathe easier.