Over the summer, we had a big brown spider in residence between our top kitchen window and the storm window. I shuddered every time I saw this spider, but it was impossible to get at unless I totally took our windows out. Two weeks ago, I finally did take the windows out, cleaned up the cobwebs and killed that spider. Then this morning, I saw THIS perched in my window!

She had just started building her messy web in between the window and the screen. On my freshly WASHED window!

Well, this was war. I didn’t shirk; I opened the window, killed that spider with a fly swatter, and cleaned up that web!

This isn’t the only time I’ve had a spider conflict. Here’s an email I received from an old adversary many years ago:

Dear Ginny,

I imagine you’re surprised to hear from me. You should be. I’m still pretty po’d at you. Throwing me in the garbage like that really ticked me off. I mean, who the &#$@ do you think you are? So I took off. I made it back to Des Plaines with Ed. It was freakin’ cold on that roof rack (not that you would care). Ed let me come inside with him (and he didn’t throw me in the ~&@*ing garbage, unlike some people I know). I was just hangin’ around (get it?) when I fell into Ed’s computer. Now I’m stuck in cyberspace. It’s like I’m in freakin’ TRON. I keep getting bombarded with junk e-mails (mostly get-rich-quick gimmicks, if you must know), and I’m thinking maybe the garbage at Ginny’s wasn’t so bad after all. I suppose I did kind of sneak up on you. Maybe I did startle you a bit. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry.

Sincerely,

Little Spider

That’s the last I ever heard from Little Spider…or is it?