Challenges and Triumphs

I keep thinking of myself as a modern pioneer in our new adventure. It makes the challenges seem more adventurous and conquerable. What do I see as a challenge?

Here's "The big one": BUGS.

Our house exterior is not sealed well. Or at all. I've discovered that pesticide doesn't make a big difference if you have cracks providing a personal invitation to any bug that wanders by. We also discovered to our chagrin that much of the 'landscaping' that had been done by the previous owner merely created the IDEAL breeding ground for scorpions. I'm not exaggerating. We've delcared an all-out war. Luckily no one has been stung yet and we've only found 4 of them actually in our house....but still.
I. Hate. Scorpions.

I keep finding spiders in places- even though I've thouroughly cleaned, scrubbed, pesticided, disinfected, etc. I can't figure out where they are coming from. It's very frustrating. We've adopted several new family rules in light of our unwelcome guests. We don't let any bedding touch the floor and we don't use bed skirts any more. I can just imagine creepy-crawlies hiding under the bed, hidden from view by blankets hanging down. Now we make beds with hospital-corners tightly tucked away. All the furniture is kept several inches away from the walls so I can easily check behind them for webs or bugs. Everything is elevated off the ground, so there's no hiding places left. I'm much more meticulous on cleaning now, which I suppose is a blessing in disguise. :)

We adopted a cat last week. Several neighbors have told us that indoor cats help with the bug problems in the country. It's an orange kitten named Saffron. He fits right into our family- we love cooking and we adore Indian food. It's a perfect fit. I was very hopeful that his hunter-instincts would help  him chase little bugs. As an experiment I rolled a live rolly-poly bug (wood louse) towards him last night. When the little ball touched his paw, Saffron leaped away in fright and shook his paws in disgust as if he'd just been contaminated. Bother. He might not be much of a help in our war. At least he's cute and the children love him.

Blast- the library computer I'm using says I'm out of computer time. I'll have to finish this article next time. Coming soon: some triumphs of our experience!