Adjustments

As an expatriate of Southern California now living in the Inland Northwest, I have had to make many adjustments in the the way I live. SoCal has two seasons; incredibly hot summers, and the rest of the year (which consists of variations in mild weather). Living with four seasons still amazes and delights me! For one thing, it has afforded me the excuse to add whole new wardrobes to my eclectic collection of clothing; a shopaholic's delight! I gush over and photograph the seasonal changes and blast them with comments to my friends in Los Angeles. They, in return, never tire of trying to convince me that year round mild climate trumps winter storms. There are however, adjustments that must be made when switching climatic gears as I have.

Of all the changes, the most difficult has been something for which I was emotionally unprepared; one that has brought horror to my life. I speak of the tendency of the creepy crawlers in my garden to move indoors as summer heat shifts to autumn frost. This is where a cheerleader for the preservation of Mother Earth admits to an irrational fear, nay, terror of spiders. Little did I suspect that cooling temperatures would bring spiders into every sink, shower and tub in my house (not to mention hampers, shoes, closets, and blanket trunks). Even writing this makes me cringe! One adjustment I have had to make consists of shaking out all clothing and shoes at arms length before drawing them close to my body. I also now cautiously approach all vessels with drainage pipes ready to flee at a moments notice should I see potentially arachnidian shapes within.

My husband has had to make his own adjustments to this major crisis in our new home. Knowing that my insane fear of arachnids is accompanied by an equally fierce reluctance to destroy creatures of nature, he solved the problem in a creative way. My wonderful husband now has at his immediate disposal, a "spider capture kit". This consists of a plastic container and a piece of cardboard. Whenever the fierce warrior hears my blood curdling scream, he springs into action. Grabbing the kit, he cups the offending creature, slides it onto the cardboard and transports it back to the outdoors (to freeze? I don't know or care. I just know we didn't kill it! Even a nature lover has her limits.). My job is to open doors for him before bounding away to safety. I often wonder if my neighbors notice an increase of spiders seeking refuge in their homes since we moved into the neighborhood!