The Terrifying Texas Brown Tarantula!

The Texas Brown Tarantula (looks mostly black) is on the move right now... whether because it's mating season or due to all of the rain we've had lately, I've been finding these unwanted visitors ready to greet me as I got home 3 different times this past couple of weeks!

Here they are... let me know YOUR thoughts!!!


Tarantula #1 in the past 2 weeks. There was another a few weeks previous too!!!

See how close this one was to going INTO my house (garage)?!

Tarantula #2 - I almost stepped on this one going out into my garage! (This pic is post-RAID, obviously.)

See how close he was to going inside my HOUSE!!!??? Eeek!

Tarantula #3 - This guy greeted me at the door as I got home the other night. :(

See how close he was to my front door!? (My door is directly to the left of the light.)

So, "man-in-a-can" (aka RAID) was my immediate friend, until the bug guys I use could come out & spray. And, although I'm praying there will be no further sightings, if anyone (in the CC area) is looking for a Tarantula as a pet, I'll keep you in mind for the future, but it's too late for these guys!!!

Bonne Jour Des Mères!

"The sweetest sounds to mortals given
are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven."
~ William Goldsmith Brown

My Mommy & I in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia... just a few years back!
Love you, Mom!


My Miranda Roo... my puppy Momma-bear!
She's now 8-years-young & the best puppy Momma there ever was!


Honourable mention to my sister, Jilly, & my GodMom, Aunt Carol too!
Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there...

SPEAK '09

I haven't blogged in SO long! WOW... time flies. Life has been so busy. That's my only excuse. :)

Most recently, the busyness of life has taken me to Grapevine, TX (Fort Worth) & Fellowship Church, led by Ed & Lisa Young. Our JANES (women's ministry at BAF) were invited to their Flavour Women's Conference, called SPEAK. What a great trip!
Thanks to my amazing church for such a great opportunity, to Fellowship Church for being such amazing hosts, & to my girls: DeeDee, Daphne, Jessica, Mandy, & Marta for great memories!

"Couture with a Cause" Fashion Show & "Sweets & Shopping" Social:

You like-a da soap, eh!?

One of my dogs, Brontë, has developed a strange fascination for soap!
I was getting ready in the bathroom one day, when she started sniffing & sniffing & sniffing.
She put her paws up on the side of the tub & was stretching her neck like E.T. trying to reach something. I realized it was the soap dish on the far side of the tub.
When I brought it closer to her, just to see what she'd do, she started to LICK IT! Ugh!
Since then, whenever she comes into the bathroom & smells the soap, she tries to get at it. She won't go so far as to get into the tub, though.
In the other bathroom, she sniffs & sniffs at the cabinet where I keep them... even scratches at it. It's quite funny.
Here's a photo of her:

Bravery...

My best friend, Edye's son, John was deployed to Iraq today. He spends the next month in Ft. Hood, then ships overseas directly after Christmas. John is an amazing young man. His mother & family are SO proud... as am I, his other mother (right John? wink-wink).

Please pray for the safety of PFC John White. Thank you.

The video below is a brief story about the 211th Regional Support Group (John's group) ... following the ridiculously intrusive local commercial:

Nina...

This woman's music destroys me... stripped down & bare, emotions raw, exposed... I cry.





Both performances taken from "Live at Ronnie Scott's" (1986 - DVD) feature Nina Simone delivering an intense emotional performance at the legendary Ronnie Scott's in Soho, London on November 17, 1985.

Incomparable! RIP Nina Simone.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae
Canadian Military