Close encounter of the eight legged type

Why is there a spider on my arm? Not just any spider, but a tarantula. As the kids and I were coming in from our morning of play outside, they spotted it, and screamed. I had on gloves, been creating a new flower bed, so I picked up our little friend, just to show there was nothing to be afraid of. I must say, I myself was not sure enough to take off my gloves in order to test this idea. Our friend was not content to say on my hand, where else to go except up my arm. So of course I grabbed the camera to capture my calm/fear. It creeped me out just a little. I really hate most spiders. I am not sure why, but tarantulas aren't as scarey to me. He was kind of small.

Fall

It is more than the chill in the air, and changing leaves, getting up before the sun. Or the smell of chili being roasted, the shorter days and orange pumpkins. It's the light. The way the sun shines and the heat of the afternoon just doesn't feel as hot. There is some thing about the light this time of year that is unmistakable. Then I woke up a couple of days ago to find my house was cold. It is usually cool in the morning, but this morning I was cold. I feeling I hate! After the sun had spread it's warmth for a few hours I went outside to enjoy the feel of fall. I always water my garden in the morning, but this morning I was shocked to find my tomatoes looking as if they had been froze. Can it be? Already. The Weather Channel says no, it was only 37 degrees that night, but I have proof they are wrong. So now I must admit the the fact that it is time to snuggle down at night, closing my windows and turning off fans. Time to take the air conditioner back to the garage, and buy pellets for my stove. Good bye to summer and fresh veggies. Hello to sweatshirts and sweatpants, thick blankets and hot soup. No more flip flops and tank tops. Here we go again, another summer come and gone. I love this time of year!

Tonight my heart is breaking. Gabriel is crying his little heart out because Arnold had to go back to Phoenix. I am not sure how much more of this I can take!

The sweet smell of skunk!

As you may have been able to guess by the title of this blog, I have a skunk story. It begins a little like this, actually exactly like this. The day is August 30, the time 9;55 pm. I put to dogs in my back yard. A yard that has a 6 foot tall chain link fence around it. A yard I feel is safe from predators. There is a light in my back yard, some might call it a street lamp, I don't because there are no streets around it, but it does light up my yard. On with the story. I go to brush my teeth, wash my face and get really for sleep. My bathroom window is open, so when the dogs start barking I hear them immediately. Their barks don't alarm me, as I said I feel my yard is a safe place. But I knew the instant I smelled the skunk that their barking had caused this foul odder. I quickly dried my face and hurried to the back door. I can see the skunks tail standing straight up behind my 6 foot chain link fence and my dogs barking feverishly at the varmint who dared to get to close to our yard. I know it is to late, my momma dog comes running to me, mouth watering and, for lack of a better word, foaming. The puppy, who is a year old now, continues to bark, even as I beg for her to come to me. The skunk is unfazed by their noise and continues to be doing whatever it is that he was doing before he was bothered by my pack. My yelling does not even disturb this creature of the night. I then venture out into to safety of my yard to collect the biggest rocks I can find. I hurl them at the skunk, only to be disappointed as they hit the fence or fly to far over the fence missing the target. Still the skunk will not budge. I consider the guns for a brief, let me emphasize brief, moment, I don't even know how to shot the guns. So I go for the next best thing, the hose! No animals wants to get wet. Success at last! I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to soak my pest, he ran as soon as the first drop hit him.

Needless to say, my dogs slept outside last night. Now today I must see if tomato juice will really get the smell of skunk out of dog fur!

Loose screws

Have you even been sweeping and you find a screw where a screw does not belong? On your floor with no apparent hole from which it came. You put the lost screw some place safe, just in case you ever find where it belongs. Then a month later your kitchen chair starts to fall apart because it is missing a screw. Good, you think, because you kept the screw and now you can fix your wobbly chair, you think. When you look in your safe place you realize it was not a safe place, it was a place with a portal to an alternate universe, because that is the only explanation to where your screw went. No way a child would have found your screw and decided to do what ever it is that kids do with things they are not suppose to play with, no, no way your kids would do that! So that is where I am this morning, no not the alternate universe, the place where you are trying to find a screw to fit into your kitchen chair.

Home again

The kids and I made it safely home from Phoenix last night. We had a wonderful weekend with Arnold. Swimming, shopping, and eating out. I think it is much cheaper for him to come visit us than the other way around! They did need clothes for school, which unbelievably starts next week. I will have all three in school this year. Wow, is all I can say. Well I could probably say a lot more, but not tonight!
I took my placement test last Thursday, I did great on the reading and writing portion. My math was better than I thought it would be, but not good enough to get me into a college level algebra. I need to score a 40, I got a 38, bummer. The good news is that I can take that part of the test again, and I placed in the developmental math 102, not 101. I don't have to start at the very bottom. I think I will buy the book and just refresh what I once upon a time knew. I can't take the class on-line, which is all I am planning on doing for now. It is not a good idea to decide to go the college in July when classes start in August, all the classes that I need to take are full. So I will take what I can for now. I am sure my brain will appreciate easing into learning again, rather than trying to go full force all at once.

Last night as I was laying in bed listening to the owls as I fell asleep, my heart began to pound and my stomach felt a large rock sitting squarely in it's pit. No it was not the sound of the owls, I fear not the owls. All owls make me think of is tootsie pops and how many licks it takes to get to the center. No, my anxiety came from the thought that today is Sunday which means we are entering a new week, the week in which I have decided to take my college placement test. I am determined to go back to school, the classes I am only mildly intimidated by. But this test, this test I fear. I hated tests in high school, but I was always prepared. There was never any material that I hadn't thought about in 16 years on those test. It all became extremely real to me last night. All my doubts and insecurities came crashing down on me with all the wrath they could muster. Then for an instant I wanted to quit before I had even begun. How easy it would be to just not do it. I could stay in my comfort zone. Never pushing myself, never changing. This must be some thing I need to do, why else would I feel such fear? Some force trying to stop me from doing what will ultimately lead me to where I need to be. Some many thoughts running around in my head. I feel like a bouncing ball in outer space.