Spiders give me the creeps. I live in a state of uneasy truce with them; what with all the fiber arts I do or have done over the years, they are one of my totem critters. Besides, I don't like killing things unnecessarily (I used to trap mice live. Used to trap 'em dead, too, when the infestations got too bad, but always hated that.) On the other hand, I really don't like them. I assume if the Goddess wants them to survive, she will divert them if they try to come in my house. They're fair game if they get in my way! Often, I will leave them alone if they are up high in a corner somewhere--if they want to sit waaaay up there out of reach and eat bugs, fine.

I couldn't leave one sitting on a dresser long enough to set up shop. Not that there's not dust enough to attract them on some of the furniture around here! :) And the type that spin those funnel shaped webs I find especially creepy.

The other day I went out to the laundry room--when you go out the back door from my kitchen, you find yourself on a little staircase. At the foot of the staircase, you can go left and you're in the laundry room/work room; go right and you're outside. Straight ahead, if you go past the back door to the outside, is the door to the garage (which is mostly storage at the moment, as is most of the work room area). I went out and put in some laundry the other day, and on my way back in, I noticed that there was a neat little funnel web tucked into a corner on the next-to-bottom step--complete with visible spider parts just sticking out. Eeeuuuww! And me barefoot! My first impulse was to get a stick and evict it with extreme prejudice. Then I decided it was kind of in no-woman's-land tucked away in there; not quite outside, but not quite inside either. So I left it there--although I fear for my little bare toes every time I go out there without shoes. I look carefully before I step! But I hope that it is eating bugs that would otherwise find their way into the house, and if it is, it's doing me a favor.

So, I was sitting here a few minutes ago, and a movement of something small and dark catches my eye, on the wall next to me, just along the edge of my poor disintegrating Historical Map of the United States. I look up, and less than a foot away, there is a big ol' black spider. Holy Crap!! I leaped up and grabbed the first book I could lay my hands on. *SPLAT* and the crumpled up body of the arachnid clung there for a moment and then tumbled in slow motion to the floor, landing in a multi-legged heap in some carpet fuzz and paper scraps. I scooped up the debris, fuzz and all, and unceremoniously deposited it in the trash can.

Sometimes you can take this living in harmony with our fellow creatures shit just too far.

(From an e-mail message sent August 18, 2004)

Evergreen (The Evergreen State College, where I am currently taking classes) is sort of an odd place. Walking onto campus is like walking into the Sixties, but with computers. Or something like that. The place gives the phrase "liberal arts" a whole new meaning. After being on campus for a while, you might be surprised that the buildings don't all lean a little to the left. Or a lot to the left. It can get to be disconcerting for the occasional Conservative Christian type who wanders in out of the cold; for a tree-hugger like me, it is simply exhilarating.

Anyway, Evergreen doesn't "do" grades. Students are evaluated--by their instructors, and worst of all, by themselves. Self-evaluations are hard. At least, I find them so. It is interesting to see what the instructors have to say, although most of mine have been pretty brief. I just got my latest evaluation, though, and I was both pleased and surprised by what she had to say. If asked to describe myself, "powerful personal presence" are not words that would have come to mind. I did think that I did a very good job as Clytemnestra--but I wasn't so sure that anyone else would think so. Anyway, here's what Marla had to say:

"Ceridwen has developed a deeper understanding of the philosophy and practice of criminal justice through her work in this program. She has also challenged herself to become more orally expressive. Ceridwen brought a wealth of experience to our justice studies this quarter that gave her insight into the challenges of balancing rulemaking, compassion, and punishment.

Ceridwen found it difficult to complete all her written work this quarter. The essays she did turn in were thoughtful and well-constructed. She is capable of doing excellent academic writing; I hope she will take advantage of the remainder of her college career to thoughtfully address her writing obstacles.

Early in the quarter, in her oral presentation on the philosophy of policing, Ceridwen did an excellent job of highlighting and communicating key issues from the text but seemed hesitant to connect closely with her listeners. At the end of the quarter, however, Ceridwen gave a powerful performance as Clytemnestra in our staged reading of Aeschylus' The Libation Bearers. She was an effective member of the creative ensemble and strongly contributed to the effectiveness of the presentation. Ceridwen has a powerful personal presence that deserves to be further developed along with her critical reasoning and writing skills."

I "commissioned" this to send to a friend, and Caitlin is thrilled at the idea of it going some where far away and really wants to share it with the world, so I am posting it here for the world to marvel at.

Ribbons
by Cata
Coloured Pencil on Typing Paper
8-1/2" X 11"