Apologies for the late posting–our home wireless router pooped out (2 months past warranty coverage, conveniently). I had to run to Fry’s today to pick up a new one, thus delaying all the fun times that you, the reader, and me, the writer, yes, the fun times that we’re about to have.

The water-reducing 2weeker is going well. The harsh showers are not as bad as I expected. The initial shock of cold water is tolerable, to be sure. The difficulty now is setting side enough time to rinse so I don’t end up a sudsy mess. The worst part is stepping out of the shower freezing cold. But I’ll live. More updates on this and other 2weekers to come.

Today’s main event was Spider Cleaning Day. For Justin’s sanity, I declined to take pictures, but our front staircase has been home to several families of spiders for some time. Thus far we’ve let them be because they tend to catch and munch on some of the annoying flying insects that want to visit our home. However, looking up today as I descended the staircase to check the mail I saw half-a-dozen spiders with legs stretching the length of my palm holding court above my head.

I decided to terminate their residency with a swiffer mop. I wrapped some paper towels around the swiffer head, stood on the stairs and (carefully) batted down the netting. I took generous swipes at the spiders. Those who I couldn’t smush outright against the walls I pulled down with their netting, then stepped or squished them with the swiffer. This went surprisingly well–they may have been shocked by my measly attempts to spray them with a water bottle. Still, a few concerning close calls, like drifting webs coating my hair, or a few spiders gracefully floating from above me onto the narrow stairwell, or that one time where I smacked a really fat black spider whose abdomen exploded into all these little black ovals and splattered against the wall.

Eggs? Do spiders lay eggs? Or do they just explode into thousands of tinier and deadlier spiders? I guess we’ll find out. If I don’t post tomorrow, either the new router didn’t work or one of the following two scenarios came to past. In the first scenario, the wireless router again poops out. In the second, surviving spiders (who were too far up to reach) join forces with the infant (can the word infant be applied to arachnids?) spiders to raid our house and tickle us in our sleep. To death.