In reality, I was having a few problems with my grand plan. The windows and doors would NOT stick to the fence – I tried several adhesives. The wires connecting Alma’s shoulders broke and her head was very wobbly on her neck (poor girl) – long knitting needles helped, but posing her became more and more difficult. As soon as any little breeze came up, the felt stone walkway blew over – bigger rocks solved this but needed frequent tending. The HOA decided the spiders were ok – thank you.

And .. now I get to blog good things happening in October. Like, last Sunday. Maria and I had brunch at High Hand … so special to spend a few hours with a “bestie.”

I imagined how the story would unfold …

While I wasn’t at home during the month of October, two opposing forces would move into the backyard. From the east side of the house, a large tarantula would crawl over the fence and move slowly around the front of the house leaving a trail of baby spiders behind. Meanwhile, an adorable crocheted skeleton named Alma (“soul” in Spanish) with heart-shaped eyes would move in on the west side. When the spiders eventually invaded her environment, she would scare them away and chase them back to their side of the house. Everyday, I would post pictures on the blog telling the story – odd days for the spiders, even days for Alma.

This morning, I got an email from the HOA compliance officer to take it down.

The stone walkway completed:

This sign showed up yesterday.

This morning …

The tarantula appeared in a new location this morning. But what is that in the background? Uh oh …

You won’t be seeing me here during the month of October. I’m taking a leave of absence … sort of. Stay tuned …