Sorry for the long silence! I have been a super busy bee this month teaching a course on basic website editing. And while I am sad that it’s now over I am glad to get back to a more normal schedule - which includes my posting here on my blog! So to reunite myself here I wanted to blog about something that is on my mind this very minute - styrofoam.
It occurred to me the other day when I bought my Jamba Juice smoothie that I should probably buy one of their plastic reusable drink cups so that I’m not continuously adding to the landfill problem. I promise that I will buy one next time I go there…because I seriously hate throwing that cup into my trash can - only being able to recycle the lid and straw. Perhaps Jamba Juice should push harder for it’s patrons to purchase those cups as well - maybe offer us an incentive? After all, if we all purchased one we’d not only be saving the landfills from even more styrofoam but we’d be cutting their costs in having to purchase those nasty cups.
Aside from Jamba Juice, the replacement graphics card I ordered the other day came to me in a huge box from Newegg.com overfilled in my opinion with the foamy peanuts. What am I supposed to do with all that? I seriously cannot feel good about dumping it into my trash can - so away it goes to the attic with the rest of the accumulation - hopefully to one day become someone elses problem when I use it to ship a fragile item. Once it’s out of my hands I can only hope that the recipient uses it in the same fashion.
I get that styrofoam offers up such great protection to fragile items. I get that it keeps things cold. But because it isn’t biodegradable or easily recyclable there’s not much you can do about it. The process for recycling styrofoam involves highly toxic chemicals - which in itself isn’t a very effective process. So I’m definitely for the ban of the product all together.
One thing I noticed in doing my Google searching is that there is a process that they are working on where they can use bacteria to break down styrofoam. This process is apparently economical and the end result is that the styrofoam is turned into a “recyclable, biodegradable product with alternative uses, like biomedical applications.” If this is something that has come into fruition I sure hope that the public utilities put it into place soon.
So last night I managed to get this huge spider (see previous blog post) inside of a lidded bowl. Now that I can get a good, close and safe look at him I cannot tell for sure if he is a common Giant House Spider or the poisonous Hobo Spider. He does appear to have the chevrons on his body, which indicate a Hobo. I happen to have exterminators coming out to the house next week, so I am hoping they can tell me for sure. Hobo Spiders are found in Seattle and the Pacific NW - an accidental immigrant from Europe. Their bites cause necrosis - which is a rotting of your flesh.
What scares me is that this big dude was in my laundry room - where my little kitten could have happened upon him. Being more curious than my older girls, I’m sure he would have gotten bitten by this thing. I must say however - I have to attribute the hypnosis I had years ago for even making it possible for me to hold the container up to a light to take the photo above - let alone stare for an hour at various spider identification photos. My skin still crawls though…
There’s nothing I hate more than spiders. When I see one my skin crawls and I sort of start to feel like they are all over me. Back in 2000 or so I had my then therapist attempt to hypnotize me into not being afraid of them - it worked slightly but not fully. It used to be that if I knew one was in my room and it escaped being killed by whomever I screamed for that I would literally sit up all night watching for it. At least now, since the hypnosis I could care less if one gets away. Just so long as I don’t wake up at any point and find it in my immediate vicinity.
This morning I got up to do my usual morning ritual of cleaning cat boxes and I picked up the kitty litter container to find a HUGE spider that seemed like it was dead. It was a good 2.5 inches long with it’s legs stretched out. I took the poop scoop and nudged his leg and he sprang to live - almost giving me a freakin’ heart attack. Again - I attribute my hypnosis for my ability to prod such an enormous and sickening thing like that with a poop scoop. He scurried under my rug shampoo machine and I ran into the kitchen looking for something to stick over him. When I came back I moved the shampoo machine and dropped a big plastic tupperware bowl over him - clear so that I could see his every move. Later when I’ve lost that “they are all over me” feeling, I’ll stick a sheet of paper underneath and see if I can get a lid on the bowl. I can’t rest until he suffocates.
A quick search this morning online reveals that he is likely a Giant House Spider - not poisonous thankfully. I grew up in California, where Black Widows are prevalent, so I don’t mess around with spiders. I also discovered while searching online that August - October is considered spider season and when one sees one of these Giant Beasts in the house it’s almost always a horny male in search of a female. The females stay out of site - and I honestly think that the males should too!
I’m attempting to get my house sprayed - the landlord wants to take care of a carpenter ant issue we’ve got going on and I guess spiders are taken care of at the same time. I can’t wait!!!!
Watch Casey & His Brother pay homage to the “Big Spider” during the “Uncle Muscles Hour”.
As usual I’m featuring two adoptable kitties - available at West Seattle’s ASHA Kitty Harbor. They are open Saturday’s and Sunday’s 11am to 7pm PST. For more information please visit them online. They have many cats and kittens who are in need of loving homes.
Sheena
“Boing! I’m Sheena, a spritely 9-month-old girl, and I’m brand new here at Kitty Harbor. I’m mostly white with pretty grey tabby splotches, which I think set off my cute pink nose perfectly. See you soon! Boing boing boing!”
Onyx
“Howdy! I’m Onyx, a small, black, 1-year-old female kitty with intense yellow eyes and the tiniest little white star on my chest. My favorite activities include purring, laying in the sun, rubbing noses with humans, and napping. What’s your house like?”
Every Saturday I will be posting some photos of cats and kittens that are available at the West Seattle ASHA Kitty Harbor. A few weeks ago I adopted my amazing one-eyed tuxedo dream “Bell’occhio” from Kitty Harbor and there are many more rescued bitties there needing homes as well.
Kitty Harbor is open on Saturdays and Sundays and welcome people who are SERIOUSLY looking to adopt. Do not go there if you are simply needing a kitty fix. To keep the kitties healthy they only allow serious adopters in (sans your shoes). Their facility is wonderful - you can go in and sit down and see who comes up to you or you can walk around and introduce yourself (to the kitties that is!)
Kitty Harbor is run by several volunteers and is funded via donations and out of pocket. They accept donations on the weekends in the form of money, cleaning supplies and cat food. If you are able to donate, please do. It’s a great tax write-off, but more importantly you help support a great no-kill rescue facility.
Welcome to my blog about anything and everything - “SeaBabble”. Why SeaBabble? Well, because I fancy myself a clever girl! I live in Seattle, WA (West Seattle to be exact) and I like to babble on about random whatevers. So - SeaBabble is born!
With this blog I hope to enlighten your day (or RSS readers) with random blatherings about this or that and engage you in opinionated conversations via the comments feature. Hopefully some day this will become yet another place where Seattlites and non-Seattlites alike can waste a few minutes of their day.
With that I’m going to get crackin’ here with a first official “post” and then finish up the beautification process so there is more to look at here.
Thanks for visiting!
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