spiders and snakes and frogs, oh my!!

AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!! I'm going back to England on Saturday and I'm so frickin excited!!! But, alas also a little glum because I will be leaving Louis here in SA. I just can't wait to see my family and friends again, I have missed them so so much, and just don't seem to function quite so well without them. I never thought I would say this, but I've missed England too, even the British winter! Spending Christmas in 40+ heat is just plain wrong! For me Chrimbo is all about staying in and spending quality time with friends and family, all cosy. Eating too much, but loving every bite as its all such lovely comfort food. I missed wrapping up all warm to go out and appreciating the warmth when I came back home. I was seriously home sick over Christmas and new year here, its just wasn't the same. I can honestly say I love Christmas purely for the time it gives me with those I love, and its those people that make Christmas so special. Without those people, Chrimbo just isn't Chrimbo.

I'm also looking forward to a few home comforts (like hot water on tap rather than having to build a fire each day to heat the water) and not having to be so paranoid about creepy crawlies and slimey things, all of which seem to be intent on causing pain, injury or death. I always liked the Buddists philosophy of not hurting a single living thing, but here its kill or be killed!! Litterally!! Today there was a spider in the kitchen that if it bites you the venom attacks your cells and you flesh starts to rot. Just the other night, while innocently sitting here and exploring the tinterwebmadoodle a red roman spider decided to come and play with the cats. Gizmo jumped up on my unsuspecting lap with the bloody thing in his mouth causing me to jump up and squeal and shudder. They inflict a painful bite which Gizmo soon discovered, poor thing. I stood and flapped and freaked out for a second or ten before getting my act together enough to arm myself with Louis boot and a can of Raid. After much whacking and spraying in between running and squealing the thing was dead, but I was left traumatised and did indeed have nightmares. They are just so yucky!!

We also had a snake in our bedroom a couple of months ago, a pretty scary venemous one! We had to blugeon it to death, it was too dangerous to try and catch. Well, Louis blugeoned it, again I just stood and squealed.

As well as the snake in bedroom, I have encountered one in the garden, one in the log pile,
one by the dogs bowls, and a mamba cossing the road in front of me.

All of which could kill me, and Ive been far too close to them for comfort. In England I used to be scared of bees, but they don't seem so bad anyomore....

As well as encounters with spiders and snakes, we seem to be popular with frogs. We seem to have a strange frog vortex in our coffee table. Louis built us a lovely coffee table with a man draw in it (a place for batteries, fuses, manuals and the like). You can pretty much guarantee that everytime we open the man draw there is at least 1 frog in there. The most we have had so far is 4 in one day. The most at anyone time was 3. Its weird, I have no clue where they come from or how they manage to get in there!!