I had a headache. Not your run of the mill headache, I had a “the trees are budding, the trees are budding!” headache! I try not to be a crybaby about it. My allergies are so mild compared to what a lot of other people deal with, but the spring tree pollen allergies are the worst. I’m usually mildly discomforted for about a week, last week, then I have about three days where I get nasty, blinding headaches and try to fight off any worse. If I get a full sinus attack, it’s a miserable and stuffy week. If I can manage to deal with the headaches and fend off the full attack, I’m in the clear until fall! So Monday was the start of what I hope every year is just a few days of sporadic pain. Wish me luck!
The other thing I don’t like about spring, the thing I can say I truly hate about spring, is the return of the beasts that think they own the house. Those nasty 8-legged creatures that find their pleasure in paralyzing me with fear.
David works the evening shift on Mondays, so he’s usually home during the day, even on the sunny train days, he’s usually back in time to have lunch before work. Yesterday we sat having lunch and my eyes glanced up long enough to see the dark mass up in the corner where the wall and ceiling meet. I took a breath and calmly told David there was an unwanted guest on the wall. The wonderful thing about a 6’5” mate who is NOT arachnophobic is that he can, with a small corner of paper towel, reach and squish a spider, no marks on the ceiling. And he can get right up to the thing’s level, it doesn’t fall, it gets squished.
Unfortunately, that lunch time one was the lookout. Sorta like a suicide bomber. It spreads terror, then dies, but not until it send vital information back to the camp. “The tall defender is present, abort plans for a midday attack.”
Of course, since it was a beautiful day yesterday, we had all the windows open letting in the fresh air. When it started getting dark and cooler in the evening, I went to pull down the shades and close some of the windows. It wasn’t dark, just getting dark, so when I went to pull down the shade on the upstairs hall window, I almost fell backwards! Thankfully it was on the outside of the window, but The Terminator, the GIANT spider the suicide bomber contacted seconds before he was squished was sitting on the window. David was at work. It was just me and the cats at home.
I immediately closed the window. Kaline had tried to climb that screen Monday morning and, while she dismounted as soon as she heard the raised voice of discipline so I don’t think she damaged it, there was no way I was getting my glasses wearing self close enough to the window to check it out just then! After staring, shaking and beginning to hyperventilate, I grabbed a hold of myself and pulled the blind down. It took a few minutes, but I did manage to convince myself that it was on the outside and with the closed window and it was too big to get in the house.
I know it’s an irrational fear. Even the half-dollar size wood spiders that nest in the roof area of our house are much smaller than I am...much smaller than my foot or a baseball bat. Okay, after seeing the ceilings in my rooms at Dad’s house, David almost told me I couldn’t bring my baseball bat, or as I called it my “spider-squisher.” If they weren’t moving, it was nail them with the end of the bat and twist. As Grandma would say, “They won’t have the guts to do that again.” If they moved, it was a half can of spider spray until they stopped moving. Then when they fall, pound them a few times with the bat. They STILL didn’t have the guts to do it again!
Well, Ohio spiders are about five times as big as Michigan spiders. And the nastiest, biggest ones are usually on the outside of the second story windows. Sadly, what I’m most terrified of is the sight of them, followed by the knowledge that they are there. So, you can see that closing the blinds is not enough to make the goose-flesh subside. Killing them or seeing them killed is what I need to shake the creepy crawlies.
So this evening when David gets home, we’ll do the prevention drill we did last year that actually seemed to work, at least in the house. We patrol the basement, where the indoor ones camp to plot their assault on me, and shop-vac the ceiling and all the crevices. Then, David entertains the kids while I liberally spider spray the whole basement. Hot Shot spider spray will kill and keep most of them out for 3 months! Around the beginning of August, I go down and give the basement a booster vaccine.
As for the Terminator, I do ritually spray down the screens and the frames around the windows. Perhaps we could try a controlled burn on the roof? :)
Well, there’s my trauma of the day yesterday. Let’s move on to something happier, like today’s scrapbooking freebie!
As promised yesterday, part 2 of “In Only Seven Days” is offered and my sample layout for this kit is ready for your viewing too!
St. Joseph, Michigan
Credits: Kit - In Only Seven Days by Digitalegacies, Font - MA SexyAnd here is Day 2 of In Only Seven Days!
(sorry, link is expired)
4 comments:
I know how you feel about spiders. My son saw one in the van the other day and he freaked out and screamed and moved to the other side of the car. Then later that day when I was going to pick up my daughter from preschool it was on the dashboard. I tried to squish it but it ran between the dashboard and the windshield. So I called my husband. Not that he could do anything he was at work but he didn't answer his phone. So I grabbed my daughter's shoe and had it on my dashboard so if it came out I could squish it. I make it to pick her up and then on the way home all of a sudden the spider comes down from the celing right infront of my face!!! I slammed on the breaks and pulled to the side of the road. I'm screaming all this time and my kids are in the back crying. I jump out the passenger side of the van and run around to the diver's side. The spider was hanging from the steering wheel. Then somehow it got to the rubber thing on the door so I slammed the door. I have no idea what happend to the spider after that there was no squish marks on the rubber thing so I don't know if I squished it or it fell out or what. But everytime I get in the car I about have a panic attack. My husband did vaccum out the car and he didn't find any spiders. I just had to tell you because it's nice that someone relates to how terrifing they can be even though we are so much bigger than they are. Thanks for the great freebies!!!
The spiders in Ohio may be bigger than those in Mi but you have fireflies, lots of fireflies. We get the occasional stateline crosser. Thanks for the freebies. Suzanne in Oakland county
Suzanne, I definitely appreciate that I get to enjoy a lot more fireflies as an Ohiogander than I did as a Michigander, although when I was in Northville, we did get a decent amount, but not like the twinkling yard I enjoy in Toledo!
Tiffany, and to all my sisters, and brothers, in terror, I can’t emphasize enough - Hot Shot Spider Spray! Hot Shot is the brand. Look for the one that specifically includes spiders on the label. It’s great stuff! (I use it on my car too!) Inside, it really does keep them at bay up to 3 months and even outside, I spray our awning over the door once a month and it helps a TON!
That door is where David first learned how real my phobia is. We’d been dating about 6 weeks and I’d stayed here on a Friday night because we were leaving to chase trains very early on Saturday. I went to walk outside and there were TWO of those huge outside ones on the screen. The shaking and hyperventilating followed spotting them and I refused to leave through that door.
My next trip to Ohio I brought my bottle of Hot Shot!
I'm a rodent-phobic myself - just the thought makes me queasy - so I can totally empathize with you!
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