The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout...

Here in the middle of nowhere there are a lot of creatures of the creepy crawly kind. I grew up in this neck-of-the-woods which may be why they don't bother me so much, but rarely have I ever met a person who enjoys watching them as I do rather than shriek and lay a large stomping foot down on these innocent offenders. Spiders seem to be largely responsible for what I call "the shrieking housewife syndrome" - something which just as many men seem to suffer from. As if I couldn't get any more strange, I decided to start making beaded spiders inspired by folklore, myth, and the real deal as an ode to those very misunderstood arachnids. These beaded spider attention grabbers can be purchased on my Etsy shop at http://souldier.etsy.com/

Spider facts:

- Contrary to popular belief, spiders aren't all out to get you.

- Unlike the big bad wolf's large eyes to "all the better to see you with," spiders don't have up to 8 eyes to lay them all on you. On the contrary many of them are nearsighted.
- Spiders can clean your garden of up to 2,000 insects a year. Think about that fact the next time you lay a rubber sole down on one of these hard working arachnids.

- Almost all spiders carry venom, but not all of them will kill you.

- Spiders are hunted as much as they are hunters.

- In some cultures spiders are a delicacy and some even believe that if they are eaten they can heal.

A penny for your thoughts

"Here's a penny for your thoughts, a quarter for the call, and all of your momma's love." I could still hear my mom singing the song while standing over the stove watching the chocolate chip cookies as they bake and eager for them to be ready so that her children could relish in their ooey-gooey yumminess. She still sings it from time to time and it, in my opinion, represents everything she is to me as a mother. Always willing to listen, stubbornly wanting to lend a hand, and full of love. Yesterday as I sat in my new little studio space, that I share with the spare bedroom, this bit of song played over and over in my mind. So I decided to stamp it out with a little creating! Ha! Not a fan of country music, but I do have to say that I am a fan of my mom. Mama's girl you say? A little.

My first blog

The human experience is full of firsts. Some of these firsts are embarrassing moments that we would rather burry deep in our memories like that high school photo memorializing your first giant pimple or that first car that might have driven better if you took out the floor and hit it like a Flintstone. Then there are the firsts that make us proud. Things like a first home, a first child, or our first promotion – even if it was at a more or less crummy job. As humans we have first kisses, first steps, first loves, and first pets. We get first haircuts, speak first words, and get stoked about our first pair of converse shoes. We grieve at our first funerals, cry over our first breakup, and make first best friends. Firsts can be terrifying, mesmerizing, and downright gratifying. What most forget to consider about firsts is that they most often lead to seconds!

Here’s to all the firsts, and the seconds that inevitably follow!

Cheers!

Rose-Anne Cardinal