Gift in Blue & Yellow Wrapping

Blundered into the kitchen, just as it was getting light (5.30 am! I need a thicker sleep-mask or better quality daylight saving). I was going to get a glass of water but the sink was occupied by a Huntsman Spider. This one was twice as big (c 7.5 cm across) as the one Lego Bob had encountered. It was also very much alive. Decided on some milk from the fridge instead and grabbed the camera. Today's blip shot and I wasn't even awake yet. Sank back into sleep with the vague hope that she would be gone by the time Mr Eyes got up to make the coffee.

She wasn't. Maybe her latest husband was particularly hard to digest. Or maybe the sink was just too slippery. Mr Eyes thoughtfully placed a dishcloth over the side of the sink for her to climb up.

Hours later she was still there. I put a large piece of drawing paper into the sink to act as a ramp (the mind focusing power of caffeine at work). She was off; those spiders are fast !


Then I got my second gift of the day. I left the paper on the bench-top next to the wok and saw a collection of different coloured shadows on the white paper. At first I thought these were reflected colours. It took us a while to work out they were coming from the mix of warm and cool bulbs in the ceiling spotlights. There was one very faint grey shadow made by the natural light coming through the window. I'd never noticed this effect before because the dark blue of the bench had obliterated the difference.
Servant of the People Theme (Sluga Naroda)