Grilling Spiders?

   While clearing hurricane debris, it dawned on me that I had better clean the grill.  It is so large and awkward to move that it was left outside during the storm.  To keep the salt air that comes on the winds from rusting the metal, it has to be washed thoroughly and the a thin layer of cooking oil applied.  (Yeah, sounds strange to people not in hurricane prone areas but, hey, whatever works.)  I removed the cover and started "dismantling" the grill.  Any part that could be easily removed was set aside to make the cleaning easier.  It was after lifting the griddle plate that I became leery of the job at hand.

  Under that griddle plate, there were several pea-sized round things.  They were creamy white and had little spikes on them.  Uh, oh!  I recognized those things!  Those were brown widow spider egg sacs!  While I have no problem with spiders in general, widows are not to my liking.  After suffering a black widow bite, I have become quite uneasy when dealing with these critters!  So...it was time to get rid of the sacs!

  I have found that holding a lit match under the sacs works well at getting rid of them.  The things sizzle and then shrink.  I figure that I got rid of a number of the critters but where, oh where was the adult female?  I kept cleaning the grill and never found hide nor hair of her so she must have laid the eggs then died. (At least, I hope!)  

  The grill is now in good working order sans the spider egg sacs.  Hopefully, I won't be finding more of the critters any time soon.  I could do without them!  Folks, be careful where you put your hands and where kiddos put theirs.  The brown widows love to find secluded, warm places for their egg sacs. Outdoor toys, flower pots and grills are all happy hiding spots.  Be careful!

Coffee Cups and Plastic Light Covers

  The conundrum for the day is....what do coffee cups and plastic light covers have in common?  To be more distinct, I am referring to the little flower-shaped plastic light covers that used to be on the strings of Christmas lights back in the 1970s and 1980s.  Any ideas?  Probably not since the connection is one that is specific to the Bayou or at least the Little Bayou House and its residents (particularly, my kids).

  The incident occurred years ago when they were young...probably too young to be doing what they were doing unsupervised.  This was nothing unusual as I pretty much let the kids be daring as long as it did not result in someone getting hurt, the house on fire or emergency vehicles showing up at the house.  Their actions in this case pretty much caused all three.  With my oldest son being about nine years of age and the other two perhaps about five and four, you can see where any one of the above would be cause for concern.  Lets just say that this is one time that I nigh on panicked.  

  We were doing what I am currently trying to accomplish...sort and pack Christmas decorations.  Each year, I try to toss any non-working strings of lights instead of storing them.  I had a huge wad of the plastic light covers that did not fit any of the newer strings so they were in the discard pile.  The kids were helping to gather them all together when Oldest Son had an idea.  "Hey, can I melt these on the stove and make something with them?" he asked excitedly.  "NO!  NO!  If you did that in here, you would asphyxiate us all with toxic fumes!" My answer must not have sounded demanding enough or perhaps he figured there should be another way to accomplish his intended task.  He gathered the light covers and poured them all in a bag.  I assumed they were going to the trash.  After a bit, the kids wanted to go outside which I appreciated. With no kids undermining my cleaning attempts, things would be much easier. "Yes!  Good idea!  Go outside and play!"  It never crossed my mind how quickly the day would change with that statement.

  About ten minutes later, Darling Daughter (being the five year old) came ambling inside.  "May I have a cup of water, please?" she asked being super polite. I handed her a coffee cup filled with water and watched as she turned to go back outside.  My question of why she was taking water outside was met with a very nonchalant.."Oh, the grill is on fire."  WHAT????

  I raced out the door to sure enough find that grill blazing!  Fire was shooting about five feet high and the smell of burning plastic was enough to suffocate any critter within the county!  Darling Daughter was going to fight THIS with a cup of water????  After yanking the kids away from the grill, I used the hoe to slam down the grill lid on top of the fire. Immediately, flames started shooting out the side vents like a blowtorch. The whole things was starting to crackle!  Uh oh...this thing sounded like it was going to take off like a rocket!  I turned to find the kids giggling like this was some circus act!  Oh, geez!

  It took about a good twenty minutes for the fire to cease roaring and come to a sputtering, slow burn.  Smoke filled the yard and barreled through the Bayou.  When I asked Oldest Son why he was lighting the grill, he merely answered "I did not want to smother you in the house when I melted the plastic."  Ugh!  When I asked Darling Daughter why she did not tell me the grill was on fire, she answered "That is why I needed water."  When I asked them all why they did not yell for me to come, I got "You always told us not to panic when bad things happen." Youngest Son, the four year old, merely said "It was a big fire!  A great big fire!"  Oh, geez.  Well, at least they did not panic....I did!

  So you can now see how a coffee cup and some plastic light covers hold a definite connection...at least in this family.  Oh, yeah....I am so relieved to say that there were no injuries, no devastation to the house due to fire and no emergency vehicles racing to save the day.  Thank goodness only the grill suffered massive destruction.  And Mom aged about twenty years that afternoon.