Sweets and Spiders

Warning: the following entry is not intended for diabetics or arachnophobics.

Sweets

Have you ever had baklava? It is a delicious, gooey, very sweet dessert of nuts and cinnamon sugar rolled in layers of phyllo pastry and drenched in a honey mixture. Mmm!

I had always thought baklava was a greek dessert, since every time I've had it, it was made by an old greek woman with a recipe that had been in the family for generations. But I was wrong. It's actually Turkish in origin, spread during they heyday of the Ottoman Empire, and is traditionally served during Ramadan.

My mistake in it's origin, however, does not take away my immense enjoyment while eating it. If you have a couple hours to kill, try making it, or if not, buy some! Even those on the strictest diet deserve a little treat now and then, and why not satisfy that craving with a cultural experience?

Spiders

Now that we have the yummy part of my post over with, let's get into the nasty. As I came out into my living room this morning, I saw that my cats were very interested in something on the wall. I came closer...then shrank back. It was a spider! Now, don't mistake my for an arachnophobic. I am not afraid of your common house spider, and whenever I come across one I take it outside. But this one was different. It was huge! It was mottled grey and brown! Not counting it's legs, this spider was probably at least 13mm across. My usual policy regarding spiders went out the window. I was not going anywhere near this one, let alone taking it outside where it could lay eggs and then my whole house would be invaded! No, this spider deserved a different fate: the vacuum. It took several seconds for that spider to finally succumb to the pressure of the vacuum and get sucked in, then I left it running for another few seconds to ensure it went all the way down. The last thing I wanted was for that nasty spider to come crawling out of my vacuum and catch me unawares! Even now, hours later, I'm still slightly disgusted.

Unfortunately, in my haste to get rid of it, I didn't take a picture of the monstrosity for you. This is the closest I could find. Just imagine it crawling up your arm, or peeking at you from the sheets!