September 30, 2006

I am a serious arachnophobe.

My earliest memory is when I was two or three, and I woke up in the middle of the night and looked under my pillow. There was a spider the size of my pillow there, and I ran downstairs to be comforted by my parents.

That might have been a dream, but something else must have scared the crap out of me because when we moved into a new house when I was about four, I refused to sleep in my new room because I’d seen a spider in there. I called it “the Spider Room” for a long time.

I get nauseated when I look at pictures of spiders (including the one on this post). The few times a spider has been in my car and made itself known while I was driving (can you say heart attack?), I nearly ran off the road trying to get away from it.

My husband has become used to “saving” me from spiders in the shower or in our bedroom. (We live on a lake, so there are plenty of them.)

And as for the scenes in Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets and Return of the King with the big spiders…I can’t watch. I get sick to my stomach.

I’m not squeamish about anything else: mice, snakes, frogs, crawfish, toads–you name it. Nothing else bothers me. I’ll gleefully catch frogs, toads, turtles, crawfish…and I’ll eagerly pet or hold a snake that someone else has caught…but no spiders. Thank you.

So, today. I had just put my youngest daughter to bed and I was alone in the house. I walked into the living room, ready to sit down and have a big cup of tea and relax…and what do I see on the middle of the wall.

(See picture.)

I can’t ignore it. It’s shoulder level. In the middle of a light-colored wall. It could crawl on me!

Maybe it’s not a spider. Maybe it’s a June bug (no matter that it’s October and the June bugs have been gone since, well, June). Maybe it’s one of those big mosquito bugs. Or even a Daddy-long legs. (Those don’t bother me. Too much.)

No. No sirree. It’s a big fat Funnel Weave Spider (I only know the name because I Googled it to find a picture). And it must be a pretty tough one, ’cause it’s only got 6.5 legs. And it’s about three inches from leg to leg.

Yeah. I got close enough to look at it.

Shiver.

Anyway, I hate spiders–in my house, at least. But even worse is the feel/sound of smashing them when they’re big like this. That’s enough to make me want to toss my cookies right there. So I have little choice. I’m not going to let it be in my living room, where I’m ready to relax.

I’m not going to knock it to the floor so I can step on it, 1) because I would have to feel it smash under my shoe, and 2) it might crawl on me when I’m knocking it down!!

Shiver.

So, I find a paper bag. I open it really big. Swallowing back the nausea, I walk up to the wall, place the bag below the spider (fingers very clear of the edges so it can’t possibly touch me/crawl on me) and, using an old magazine, knock Spidey into the bag.

Quickly! I close up the bag.

I run to the back door, open it and, feeling the spider crawling frantically around inside the bag, its legs pounding on the flimsy paper walls, trying to force its way out onto my hands and up my arms…

I throw the bag onto the deck, and run back inside, feeling oh so squicky and crawly and creeped out.

But then.

You see, I love spiders. When I can’t see them and when they aren’t in my house. Because, of course, there’s Charlotte. And also the fact that they, like bats, eat pests.

So I didn’t want Spidey stuck in the bag.

So, I creep back outside, warily watching the bag. It’s not moving. The closed up end isn’t open. I gingerly pick up the bag, quickly, unsteadily unfurl the edges of the bag just enough so it’s slightly open, and toss it back onto the deck–this takes all of five seconds–and I run safely back into the house.

Whew. I’m safe, and Spidey can live to catch a mosquito another day!

September 29, 2006

Have I mentioned how much I love fall?

One of my favorite aspects of the season is the annual trip(s) to the cider mill we make as a family. Music Man and I take our three little munchkins (who aren’t so little anymore) to the cider mill we went to when we were first a-courtin.’

The mill is a real mill, on a small river, and it’s quaint and contained. It’s not a big fancy experience like some of the other cider mills in the area, with hayrides and large crowds and “stuff.” There are trees by the little river, a few picnic tables, and usually a pig or two in a pen. Maybe a rabbit as well. A little trail leads off into a small wood for a short hike along the river. And there’s also the tree that Music Man and I climbed on our first visit to the mill, sixteen years ago.

It’s a lovely reminder of those early days in our relationship, not to mention a fun treat for the family.

But the best part (besides the caramel apples with peanuts and the fresh warm donuts) is the cider we bring home.

I’m a sucker for hot mulled cider. My mom makes it every Christmas, and I love the smell when I walk into her house. It’s fall and winter and the holidays and comfort, all rolled into one warm mug.

I usually put cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, cloves and lemons in my hot mulled cider. Tastefully Simple has a Mulled Cider spice that you can just shake into the cider if you’re in a hurry. Heat it up and bang! you’ve got a great-tasting drink.

And then of course, you can always add apple schnapps to the cider. Or cinnamon schnapps, depending on your preference. It’s great for hayrides and Halloween parties. Caroling and ice skating, too, if we want to get ahead of ourselves.

Speaking of hot drinks, one of my friends introduced me to another great fall/winter drink. I don’t drink coffee, but I like this one: she adds a shot of butterscotch schnapps and a shot of Bailey’s to a mug of coffee. It’s really good! (But they kind of sneak up on you, so be careful.)

How about you? Hot mug-drinks? Fall traditions?

September 28, 2006

Zeek, Janet, and others! I’m sorry to say. So feel free to add below here, or wait until it gets its act back together.

Sigh.

September 27, 2006

I don’t know why, when I was thinking about what to write today, Alan Rickman popped into my head. “I should do a blog entry about Alan Rickman,” I thought.

So, okay. Here we are. Let’s talk about Mr. Rickman.

What is it about him that is so appealing? Obviously, that voice. My word! That voice. (I wonder what his singing voice is like…anyone?)

The eyes. The intense, dark eyes.

Oh, and the mouth. Yes, definitely his mouth.

Not to mention the way he throws on the role of a character as comfortably as Snape does his cloak. Gotta love those long black cloaks/coats (Angel, anyone? Spike?).

I loved him in Sense & Sensibility, especially during the scene where Marianne is ill, possibly dying, and he says to Elinor, “Just give me something…anything to do.” The expression on his face, and in his voice was so intense, yet underplayed. Perfect. If I were Elinor, I’d have swooned right there!

And anyone who knows me well also knows that if I were Maid Marion, I would have picked Alan Rickman over Kevin Costner any day. Sure, he was a little overzealous…but that was the script! Alan over Kevin is a no-brainer. Those eyes. That thick dark hair. That voice….

I just saw Love Actually recently, and once again was enamoured with the guy, and the way he played the role so sensitively.

But the role I absolutely love him in is, of course, as Snape. It was brilliant to cast him as Severus, and for many reasons.

I think Snape has become a most beloved character, that, despite what may or may not have happened in The Half-Blood Prince (which I haven’t read yet, thankyouverymuch!), having Alan Rickman play him has done more to create sympathy, and a following, for the character than anything else.

I’m convinced that, despite appearances to the contrary, Snape’s a good guy. Actually, the best of guys.

Based on his backstory, his trials and tribulations, his unpleasant youth…he reminds me of a person having to kick an addiction (in his case, to Voldemort and the Death-Eaters), and being strong in his own brooding, quiet, arrogant, misunderstood and cranky manner.

Plus there’s the whole story that Rickman didn’t want to play Snape, because he didn’t want to be cast as a villain once more (and I say, what’s wrong with that?)…and after a private conversation with JK Rowling in which she may have divulged some very interesting information, he agreed to play the part.

I’m dying to know what she told him, but I guess we’ll have to wait until all becomes clear.

So, what’s your favorite Rickman role? I’m looking for recommendations. And…has anyone heard him sing?

Edited to add: My friend Janet had a special fragrance made that she thought of as Snape’s (musky, spicy, with a touch of lapsang souchong), and just just emailed to let me know she’s sending me a sample of it! How cool is that?

September 26, 2006

Name the song and the artist! Good luck. Some of these are tough.
(answers posted later today)

1. I used to think maybe you loved me now I know that it’s true
2. Animals strike curious poses
3. Religion is a light in the fog
4. I don’t know where I’m going but I sure know where I’ve been
5. If you want to find all the cops they’re hanging out in the donut shop
6. And there’s a heart that’s breaking down this long distance line tonight
7. I’m always working, slaving every day
8. Feel like I could run away, run away from this empty heart
9. Kick off your Sunday shoes
10. Daddy says she’s too young, but she’s old enough for me
11. He turned to me as if to say, “Hurry boy it’s waiting there for you.”
12. You’re not naive, you must be strong
13. Darken the city night is a wire, steam in the subway the earth is afire
14. She had the body of a Venus, Lord imagine my surprise