Speeee-iiiiiiiii-deerrrrrrr!!!

There is nothing worse than waking up to screaming kids, or worse, reaching into the kitchen sink to be greeted by a big hairy wolf spider.  Do you like my spider trap?  I'm not sure if I saved my 11 year-old or saved myself from this hairy beast.

Last night it was my 13 year-old who was screaming about a big scary garden spider, crawling up to the top of a door jam.  And yesterday, while weeding my herb garden, I was greeted by a baby, black and yellow orb weaver.  The rain has woken up the spiders here.  

My son, aka the "Spider Man" pulled a joke on me.  He enjoys catching these hairy and scary beasts and releasing them outside (just so they can come back in again, ha ha ha!).  He does this with his bare hands.  Ewwww!  So, back to the story.  He walked towards me with his hand curled up and smiling.  He continued to approach me while I screamed bloody murder, and none of the kids came to my rescue.  Hmpf!  After torturing me, for what seemed like hours, he opened his hand in front of my face - empty.  Another "not cool" moment.

Things were not going smoothly in regards to the tile project in the shower.  The saw we had was not cutting straight cuts, so the guys had to go rent a saw (thankful for renting vs. buying).  They ran out of grout, etc. etc.  

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, kids bickered about who was going to clean what, and the tension levels were high.  Screaming, yelling, you name it.  

And in it all, I was trying to crochet a new doily pattern, to see if it would sell at the market.  You noticed I said "try" to crochet?  

I not only fastened off too early (which is fixable), but skipped one row completely.  I was not able to concentrate with all the hoopla here that day.  

However, as it turns out, it made a nice cup coaster.

So now I am reading this book.  When I finish it, I should be able to crochet anything in any "storm."  

The beginning chapter (Escape the Lunacy) starts out with, "Somewhere along this frenzied journey called modern-day life, we've lost our sanity."

Any suggestions on how to clean this ball of yarn?  I received it in a farmgirl barter, but when I took the wrapper off, I discovered it was pretty dirty.  I may just have to make something for using here vs. selling, and then wash it after it's finished.  Otherwise, I can't use it.  I may try tucking it in a sock to wash, but I'm afraid it'd end up in a knotted mess.  I'm thinking, knit or crochet, then wash.

The tile project continues.  The grout has not dried, and today will be 48 hours.  It is still soft.  I have put a fan in there to speed up the process.  The grout to fill in, has not yet been applied.

Today, is the last day of school for the younger two.  They are excited and have jabbered all morning after the spider incident.  Weather is humid and blah, and thunderstorms are expected possibly.  I was secretly hoping for rain, so I could work inside again.  Yesterday, I managed to weed my largest herb garden, with the help of my son.  The tarragon and basil seeds have sprouted, and now I just need to plant curly parsley.  I thinned out my lemon balm, and brought some in to make freshly brewed tea with my spearmint and lemon.  Yum!

Yesterday, I was complaining that I had not done "a thing" all day for the next Farmer's Market.  My 16 year-old responded with, "Mom you are always doing something."