spiders!

i have always loved spiders...sometimes they make me shiver with nervy tingles, but all the same, i see no reason to do them any harm. Spiders are actually very important players in ecosystems. They do us humans a good service eating their way through insects that some of us dislike. The Australian Huntsman spiders, for example, gulp large amounts of mosquitoes, reducing the chance of us getting bitten by them and contracting diseases. Also, leaving the flies to the spiders is much more environmentally friendly than the chemical pesticides that humans spary around with abandon.
So, next time you reach for the first object you can to kill a spider that has wandered into your home, think about these points and maybe reach for a jar instead, coax it in, and return it to the great outdoors to continue its good work..

if you want more facts about spiders, click on this cutie-pie.

snails...

i thought i'd write a little bit about snails...as you are all aware by now, i make it my business to respect and honour the most maligned creatures-rats, cockroaches etc ext...
Well, i think snails are amazing and do everything i can not to kill them. Wet nights find me walking my dogs with a torch so as to see and move and roving snails from the path, so i don't step on them and neither does the next person to come along...i happily let these amazing creatures much on my garden as its unlikely that they will eat the whole thing into oblivion and if they eat my vegies, its not a disaster, i can just go to the shops and buy what i need but they depend on the plants in my garden for their survival...
consider snails for a moment: they carry their home around with them, they glide smoothly on one economical 'foot', and, in the scheme of things, they tread softly on our earth causing little significant damage. How wonderful it would be if we humans could live as simply and sensitively.

Some more interesting snail facts for you. Click on a snail picture to go to the link :

Look forward to the next bulletin: SPIDERS!

a busy week...

what a hectic week i'm having! i've been helping my mother move house which has primarily involved me in transporting car-loads of my own things-things i left behind when i moved to live with my partner two years ago!!! i had no idea i had so much 'stuff' stashed at her place still! i think i need to have big sort through it all and throw a lot out-i am such a hoarder though and i have all sorts of sentimental attachments to inanimate objects from my past that makes it really hard to discard anything...i have to learn to let go.

I've been putting my mind to my craft-swap and i've got a pretty fine swap "on the go", i think...i can't wait to have it finished and sent, and most of all i can't wait to receive mine. i love snail mail, it's so much better than email in that it really allows the reader to get inside the writer's world. I have had a snail-mail friendship with someone for close on 24 years now! i class her as my oldest and closest friend and i hope that we never cease communication with each other...

well, as i'm writing this at work, i have to get off now. back soon though.

i'm sorry, again...

i feel terrible, i havn't 'blogged' for so long! It's not for lack of inspiration, but just a lack of time to sit down, gather my thoughts and write...
well, now here i am:

there have been many transistions:

• my sister has left the country now and is settling in to her new home and job in Virginia, USA. I miss her so much but i am also happy for her and proud of her and i know she will do great things...
• my mother is moving house which is all very stressful and exhausting for me and i am not even the one relocating. It's a big job helping her pack up her things, clean up and move on...
• and me? well, i'm finally coming to the end of a crazy, busy, over-committed year. In 2006, i won't be a student juggling part-time work and homework anymore, which will be such a relief!

Aside from all of these things, in the recent past i have juggled the stress of my doggie with a terrible ear infection (read some sleepless nights caring for him), the never-going-away hovering shadow of disaproving in-laws (when will they accept our mutual differences and allow us to get on with our lives) and the ongoing management of my health.

Exciting things:

• i'm very excited as i am about to participate in my first ever craft swap. Can't tell you who my swap buddy is now or what i'm making to send to her, but when the secret can't be spoiled i'll post details and pictures.

well that's my post for now...i will try and be more regular in future, but before i go completely, i want to tell you all to check out SPARE. Please donate to them or sponser an animal ( just 20 Egyptian dollars can save the life of so many animals per year).

ciao

i'm back, for the second time...

i apologise for my absence, but this time it wasn't anything to do with being slack or busy. There has been something inexplicably wrong with our phone-line and hence, no internet service for 5 days...its amazing how dependent i am on being able to just go 'on-line' or pick up the phone to make a call...without being able to do either i felt really isolated and frustrated. It also made me reflect on how life was before i had internet access and i honestly can't remember what i did when i neded to research something-i went to the library i guess. Come to think of it, i used to spend hours in the library, especially when i was in Art School, just savouring and browsing in books. i used to pull out books from the shelf at random to see what new things i could discover, then, not wanting to leave any of my new discoveries there, i would lugg home arm-fulls of huge books and hoard them for much longer than i was supposed to ( i ended up with many library fines during that time)
i still love books and would much rather spend hours in a bookshop than looking for clothes or shoes.

This journey into memories has reminded me how much i love to hunt for information and immerse myself in books so i think i will try and allocate time to this every now and again...i don't want to become technologically dependent and forget the old ways of learning and experiencing....but have no fear, it doesnt mean i will stop blogging...
Have a great day!

"sickie" monday...

well, homework won out yesterday, and today as well, to such a degree that i've taken a "sickie" to get more done ( which i havn't done yet but i promise i will as soon as i have done this post!).
So, without more ado, i'm off, to procrastinate no longer...

p.s. just thought you might be interested in a piccie of me, attending to animals as usual, its from a few years ago but the only real difference is that my hair is longer...

ciao.

sleepy sunday...

trying in vain to study, but my head keeps meeting the pages of my books...the dishes need washing but i need to sleep...should i give in or fight through this fatigue? i'll let you know what happened when i next post...right now though, i'm off and i leave you with some things useful for weekend procrastination:

1. tiny grow

2. stumble upon