I really don’t like bugs, especially grasshoppers because they jump.
I am not a fan of anything that crawls, jumps, scurries or darts.
I was turning off the lights in my kitchen getting ready for bed one night last week and I saw a grasshopper dart in front of my feet. I jumped and screamed as if it bit me and threw a big telephone book on top of it only to realize it was a lizard! It was only a baby, but to me a lizard is a lizard. After my near frenzy I walked into my bathroom and there was another of the little high-speed reptiles flying behind my dressing table. How in the world were lizards getting into my house?
This reminded me of the time we had stayed at our house in Sallis for a few months and had our house in town closed. As we moved back to our townhouse, I was unpacking my bathroom things and I saw a long, black, thin tail sticking out from behind my commode. I quietly but hurriedly left the bathroom and screamed.
“There is a black snake behind my commode!”
My “don’t panic” husband just laughed and said he didn’t believe me. I insisted and he finally went to look. Sure enough, there it was and my copper pipe was shooting a stream of water all over my floor. We both made a speedy exit.
At the time, my son-in-law was working for the city, so I called him to come and see about the hole in the copper pipe. After a few minutes, he came running out and said, “That’s not a snake, it’s a sewer rat with a long tail and I am sure he bit a hole into your copper pipe.”
By the time we gathered weapons to slaughter the intruder, the thing had moved. We never did find it, that day.
The next day, my daughter’s little hound dog, a really good hunter, had treed this rodent on top of my satin curtains in my living room. She was in such a state, barking every breath, and jumping up on the beautiful golden satin. Of course, we ran away being the cowards that we were but she continued to pull on the material. Shortly, there was an awful battle taking place in the middle of my living room. The little hound had pulled the curtain down and was in combat and was actually annihilating something as big as she was. The big sewer rat lay dead in the floor and Dolly stood over him in satisfaction.
I really don’t know what the deal is with my house. We have had bats, sewer rats, lizards, grasshoppers and caterpillar worms come in as uninvited guests. And, of course, you remember “Casper” who lives on our third floor?
Believe it or not, I cooked my first spaghetti squash recently and it was most delicious. Here is my recipe.
Take one medium firm spaghetti squash, washed and pierced all around with a knife or fork. Cook in microwave 12 to 15 minutes. Remove and let cool to the touch. Cut open and remove seeds and shred the flesh with a fork. It really looks just like spaghetti. As the squash is cooking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet and saute’ 1 cup fresh mushrooms, ½ small bell pepper chopped, 1 large onion chopped, 2 cloves of fresh garlic smashed, salt and pepper. After letting these meld together, add ½ cup butter and 1 cup parmesan cheese. Pour over the squash and mix well.
This is a wonderful side dish, but you could add chicken, pork or beef and make it a main dish. So delicious.
