Spider Party

Halloween is All Hallows Eve and/or All Saints' Day. (Can you imagine wishing someone 'Happy All Saint's Day!' instead of 'Happy Halloween!') I started thinking about costumes and, as usual, began wonder when people first began to dress up for Halloween. It turns out, the tradition goes back to Scotland and  the late 1500's! After that time, it took off at Celtic festivals and such and went from a religious celebration to a secular celebration. Costumes can be creepy and scary or sassy and sexy but either way, we have some Scots to thank!

Even though my girls are past the "trick-or-treat" age (and my husband and I are not) I still like to decorate the house with a few touches of both the "spooky" and the "cute." I tie in touches of Fall, like leaves from the outdoors, and pilgrims and other tchotchkes. I tend to stay away from the "creepy." You know, "creepy" things like spiders and masks that fill with blood when you press a button.  Yuck.

How do you feel about spiders? I say "feel" because spiders definitely evoke an emotional response. Personally, spiders and me are not friends. I don't mind them when they are outside (unless they are poisonous and then it's 'hasta la vista baby!') I have killed my share of black widows, Arizona Brown Spiders and even a few Brown Recluse spiders. I always need a companion-killer/witness and use each horrifying opportunity to educate my daughters about what these spiders look like before I squash and smear them until they are nothing more than a nasty, large smudge. (When it comes to bug-killing, "squash and smear" is an excellent technique. It's the only real way to be certain the suckers are dead-dead.)

There is another way I deal with spiders. That is to not look for them. We have a basement and that means bugs, insects, critters and things that are so scary they have their own category called "arachnids." I sometimes see clear evidence of "arachnids" here and there in the basement (the tell-tale web) but convince myself it's an "old" web and that the spider (lets call him "Jeff") does not live in our home anymore. You see, if I go searching for "Jeff" I will inevitably find "Jeff" and sometimes I just cannot begin my day with "Jeff." Why? That's simple. There is NEVER just one flipping "Jeff!" EVER! "Jeff" likes to party! "Jeff" likes to invite many friends over and encourages them to move in too, that free-loading "Jeff." So, I just ignore the "spider party" ragging in the basement and get my husband to deal with it. He calls in reinforcements, the vacuum, and promptly puts an end to the goings on. 

Now, if you're thinking, 'what about the vacuum? NOW, the spider party is going on in there! Nope. No. Definitely not! That vacuum bag is emptied toot sweet and sometimes, I make Russell put it outside! After all, I cannot take any chances!

How do you feel about spiders? Love them, hate them or scared of them? Please share in the comments section.

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