Welcome to Spider Gulch!

This time of year we go from living in The Cabin to living in The Cabin in Spider Gulch without even moving. Spider season hits pretty much overnight. The spiders that “grace” us with their presence every year are Golden Orb Weavers and, they are EVERYWHERE. Female Golden Orb Weavers are more colorful than the males and are a great deal larger than the males. The females build large webs and there are usually a few small brown males living in the webs. (Apparently this keeps them from getting eaten.🤷‍♀️)

I didn’t know until this year that the females actually molt as they grow. Now, I didn’t learn this fact from researching Golden Orb Weavers; I learned it from Kenn’s daily Spider Update. “Ooooh. The spider outside the kitchen window (or bay window, or sliding glass door, or wherever) has molted again. She’s really getting big!” I shuddered just typing that. I have never been a fan of spiders; something about those eight legs just creeps me out. I have not witnessed the evidence of the molting, nor do I need to. Ick. Just ick.

Since the spiders are everywhere, we really have to watch where we’re going. The first person through the front door in the mornings needs to look carefully before leaving because there is a high probability that a web has been spun across the doorway overnight. Failure to check before exiting may result in a face full of web and/or spider. They also like to spin webs across the base of the staircase leading to the carport; I just take the long way around from the front of the deck in a effort to avoid webs. If one of these spiders gets on me, I will just expire on the spot. So, if I disappear, you know what happened,🕷️🕸️

On a completely unrelated note, we also have a plethora of tiny toads this year. Making it safely through the spider gauntlet to reach the carport means watching our step so we don’t crush baby toads.

Can you find the toad?

I enjoy living in a rural setting, surrounded by wildlife; I’m just not a fan of arachnids. So, do you have spider season where you live?

Love is…

Love is… a lot of things. Love can be demonstrated through big, extravagant actions, but I tend to think that the small, quiet actions can often speak the loudest. Why? Because those small things show how well we know our partner, how well we see the little things that make their heart happy. Before I get into the heart of this post, you need to know a few things about Kenn and me: when it comes to music, our tastes are very similar – until they’re not. I like John Mellencamp; Kenn does not. Kenn loves Sting while Sting is the musical equivalent of nails on a chalkboard to me. I like what I call “fun” music. (Think Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! and Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off.) I’m also old enough to have lived through disco and am not ashamed to say that I like it.

Kenn’s former guitar teacher provided him with a musical library on CD; it covered a wide range of decades and genres. On a recent trip to South Carolina to visit the kids, Kenn pulled up his library and said he had created a playlist for me; he set it to “shuffle” and hit play. I knew he had nailed it with the first song. As the music played, every couple of songs I pulled up the notepad on my phone and scribbled some notes. Kenn eventually asked what I was doing and I told him that I was making a list of all of the songs. When he asked why, I told him “because I want to remember; this is one of the sweetest things you’ve done for me.” I think he was surprised I felt that way, but I stand by my statement.

The songs on the playlist are (in the order they played):

  • YMCA by the Village People. Kenn does not share my love of the Village People, but he grinned as he drove while I did the arm motions for the song.
  • Annie’s Song by John Denver (IMO there are two singers who make singing seem effortless. One is John Denver, the other is Karen Carpenter.)
  • Somebody to Love by Queen
  • Disco Inferno by The Trammps
  • More Than A Woman by the Bee Gees
  • Wild Montana Skies by John Denver
  • That’s the Way (I Like It) by KC and the Sunshine Band
  • Killer Queen by Queen
  • Trying to Get The Feeling Again by Barry Manilow
  • Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen
  • Can’t Smile Without You by Barry Manilow
  • Open Arms by Journey
  • All Out of Love by Air Supply
  • I’m Sorry by John Denver
  • Calypso by John Denver
  • In the Navy by the Village People
  • Looks Like We Made It by Barry Manilow
  • Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees
  • Lost in Love by Air Supply
  • How Deep is Your Love by the Bee Gees
  • Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
  • Making Love Out of Nothing at All by Air Supply
  • Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen (My favorite Queen song)
  • Back Home Again by John Denver
  • Another One Bites the Dust by Queen
  • It’s a Miracle by Barry Manilow
  • Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey
  • Still the One by Orleans (This is “our song.”)
  • Saturday Night by the Bay City Rollers (In my early teens I was a die-hard Roller fan. The walls of my room were covered with BCR posters.)
  • Mandy by Barry Manilow
  • Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) by Looking Glass
  • Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen
  • Daybreak by Barry Manilow
  • You’re My Best Friend by Queen
  • Get Down Tonight by KC and the Sunshine Band
  • (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty by KC and the Sunshine Band
  • Evil Woman by Elecric Light Orchestra
  • I’m Your Boogie Man by KC and the Sunshine Band
  • We Will Rock You by Queen
  • Even Now by Barry Manilow
  • Who’s Crying Now by Journey

We discussed the list and I told him he could remove Disco Inferno, but that there are a few artists I’d like to have added such as the Carpenters and the Eagles. We also agreed that Elton John and more ELO would be good. Then I told him that I’m indifferent to the Bee Gees; I don’t hate them, but I don’t go out of the way to listen to them either. I told him that I wasn’t sure why he had recently decided that I’m a big Bee Gees fan. He just looked at me in stunned silence and finally managed to say, “It’s not just recently. I’ve always thought you like the Bee Gees.” Nope.

Originally this post would have ended here. However, Kenn came home from an estate sale last weekend with these gems for me.🥰

I will be investing in some album frames so I can hang them on the wall in my game room. Side note: I did not know until I read the album covers that the Village People had recorded Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody so I looked it up. David Lee Roth did it better.🤷‍♀️

What is your favorite type of music?

Why didn’t we do this sooner?

“Keeping up with the Joneses” has never been important to us. We may not have the latest and greatest gizmo or doodad and we’re okay with that. (As former IT people, we will never use Alexa or Google voice-activated devices.) When we do get some sort of new-to-us bells and whistles we’re a bit like kids with a new toy.

When we purchased Ruby, The Big Red Truck, we were excited to have a back-up/rear view camera and heated seats. (I thought heated seats were stupid until I actually tried them.) I particularly love having lane assist; Kenn hates the lane assist because it beeps at him all the time. (He tends to “wander” while he drives.) Daisy, our Subaru Outback, added a heated steering wheel, heated side-view mirrors, heated and cooling seats, and push-button start.

No longer needing a key to drive was a game changer – and not always in a positive way. Leaving home wasn’t a problem – lock the front door, drop my keys in my purse, and go about my day. Returning home never went as smoothly. Push the button to turn off Daisy, lock the car, and head to the house – usually with my hands/arms full – only to realize that I needed my keys, which were still in my purse. Getting my keys out entailed juggling whatever I was carrying while getting my purse open and digging my keys out. It didn’t help that I am one of those people who insists on carrying everything in one trip.

Our son and daughter-in-law installed an electronic combination lock on their house and it made a world of difference when we were helping them move. We didn’t need a physical key and if they weren’t home, we didn’t need to wait on them, we could just use the combination to get in. I decided we needed to make the switch as well. But, Kenn doesn’t adjust to change as easily as I do so I have to open a topic of discussion, such as switching locks, and give him time to think on it for a while. (Or to decide it was his idea.🙄) The idea grew on Kenn and we did our research and decided on a Kwikset brand lock. We’ve used Kwikset door knobs and keyed locks for years and didn’t see any need to change from a good thing.

I love this thing!

The change has been wonderful! We can create different combinations for different people and the app lets us know who is unlocking/locking the door. I’m thrilled that I no longer have to leave a physical key outside for the pet-sitter when we travel. We also have the added capability of locking/unlocking the door via the Kwikset app. We should have done this ages ago!

Do you use keyed locks or electronic one? Do you carry everything in one trip?