New shoes!
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(2)
03:37:20 PM,
Tuesday 10 June 2008
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Verizon has just come to try to sell us high speed internet again. I told the eager young man that we already have it, thank you. This makes six times. You'd think that they would at least arm the sales kids with a list of addresses that already subscribe.
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02:08:10 PM,
Tuesday 10 June 2008
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Delicious summer dinner
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08:06:45 PM,
Monday 9 June 2008
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Summer lunch dessert
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(3)
03:05:35 PM,
Monday 9 June 2008
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First scary spider encounter in Massachusetts: Phidippus audax.
It was on the car when I went to get in this morning, and I made the involuntary, "Uuuungh!" that happens when I encounter a scary spider. Lost my grip on the door in my startled jump, and in that second, P. audax slipped into the inside frame of the car door, up near the top. It all happened so quickly I wasn't even sure it was a spider. It could have been a beetle, I thought, feeling silly. Moss backed the car out, and then looked at me in alarmed way and told me not to open the door.
"Do you see it, then?" I asked.
"Yes. It's on the seat."
"So it is a spider?" (Desperately hoping it wasn't. Not wanting to have to face the fact that scary spiders live everywhere despite me having only seen wispy ones here before.)
"Either that or a bit of fluff," said Moss. He tried to sound reassuring, but the quick manner in which he hopped from the driver's seat belied his true guess.
I opened the door. There it was, sitting where I was meant to. Definitely a spider. Thick body, thick legs, fuzzy, and staring up at me. But of course I was probably making the staring thing up. Right?* Moss went inside to get a glass, and I watched anxiously as the spider decided that the seat was maybe not the safest place, and started to crawl up and around to the back.
A tense 15 seconds later, Moss was back with the glass (and a town of Arlington calendar to trap it with -- thank you, town). P. audax was on the side of the seat in a tricky place to try catching. The first try was a no go, but Moss managed on the second, by which time it had scurried onto the back of the seat. Still, the transfer went smoothly overall. Once he had it out of the car, safely trapped between glass and calendar, I asked to see it.
"Are you sure you want to?" This last with a bit of a shudder.
"Yes, please." It was crawling all over the inside of the glass with no trouble. Not something most spiders can do, but apparently jumpers are built for it with special hairs and claws on their feet. I got a good look at both sides to be sure I would remember the markings, and then had Moss release it in the grass. I did not say, "Please release the spider and my innocence over there," but I may as well have.
Good things: 1) P. audax is a pest eater, actively hunting common garden pests and mosquitos. 2) P. audax is mostly found outside, and is an active daytime hunter, so less likely to be the one you find in the bedroom at night. 3) P. audax is really very pretty if one can ignore the sickening rush and the goosebumps it brings. 4) P. audax usually will not bite humans unless handled (and the venom is not harmful to humans).
Bad things: 1) P. audax scurries very fast on thick legs! 2) P. audax has a thick body and is terrifying. 3) P. audax can jump! 4) P. audax is an aggressive hunter and has no problem entering houses even though it usually lives outside. 5) P. audax is "inquisitive" and will not run away from a human hand, but will stare at it and possibly come closer.
Sigh. I will live. That did not stop me from singing, "It was more than a spider that we ended up throwing in the grass..." as we pulled out of the driveway.
*Wrong. P. audax has incredibly good eyesight and actually does stare at people. It was totally staring right at me
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(2)
12:08:07 AM,
Sunday 8 June 2008
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Helpful kitty is helpful
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04:53:00 PM,
Friday 6 June 2008
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Found while cleaning
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(3)
12:22:04 PM,
Friday 6 June 2008
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Sometimes I think she looks like a muppet
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(2)
02:50:55 PM,
Wednesday 4 June 2008
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My plane
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06:23:17 AM,
Sunday 1 June 2008
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Airport blue screen
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06:02:32 AM,
Sunday 1 June 2008
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And going back home
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11:39:08 PM,
Saturday 31 May 2008
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Pudding has seven toes on each front paw
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(3)
08:00:40 PM,
Saturday 31 May 2008
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Jacaranda tree
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(3)
06:25:15 PM,
Saturday 31 May 2008
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Madre and Cap hanging out in the living room at Crate and Barrel
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06:07:19 PM,
Saturday 31 May 2008
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Caprina Lynn writing postcards
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(1)
07:02:48 PM,
Thursday 29 May 2008
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Revisiting my childhood with chocolate malted crunch
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06:19:33 PM,
Thursday 29 May 2008
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Me with my birthday dessert
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(3)
05:07:00 PM,
Wednesday 28 May 2008
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Madre and Marianne
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04:21:21 PM,
Wednesday 28 May 2008
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Cap me Deidra at tea
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(1)
04:19:42 PM,
Wednesday 28 May 2008
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Gold Rush version 2.0.
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01:11:02 PM,
Wednesday 28 May 2008
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Marianne prepares to sink the orange ball
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01:26:24 AM,
Wednesday 28 May 2008
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Deidra breaks
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01:15:58 AM,
Wednesday 28 May 2008
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Cory isn't sure about this
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01:11:38 AM,
Wednesday 28 May 2008
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Marianne wanted to go to a bar since being 21 means something in the USA
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01:05:42 AM,
Wednesday 28 May 2008
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Cory wins the one ring
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09:42:06 PM,
Tuesday 27 May 2008
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Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit
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09:16:25 PM,
Tuesday 27 May 2008
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Trixie
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09:14:02 PM,
Tuesday 27 May 2008
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Nooooooooo!
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12:11:48 PM,
Tuesday 27 May 2008
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CapLynn chops basil
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11:29:42 PM,
Monday 26 May 2008
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Also soaked. Time to clean up. Idgey smells tolerable now though.
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11:14:06 PM,
Sunday 25 May 2008
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Covered in dog hair
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11:06:58 PM,
Sunday 25 May 2008
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Coming back down from Idyllwild
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07:03:31 PM,
Sunday 25 May 2008
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Outside the Gastrognome
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05:15:30 PM,
Sunday 25 May 2008
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It's cold enough that we had to light a fire
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10:56:31 PM,
Saturday 24 May 2008
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In case it isn't obvious, I have decided to photoblog extensively during my trip. Now you can experience Majestic Wildomar with me!
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(1)
09:11:55 PM,
Saturday 24 May 2008
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More with the yoga superpowers
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09:09:07 PM,
Saturday 24 May 2008
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site & script courtesy of Moss