Today, on Martha Stewart Living - Capturing giant spiders.

I live out in the country. If you want a nice aerial view of my house, you can type in the address - 657 Dry Bridge Road, 02852. See the stuff to the North, and the Northwest? Those are giant farms, and to the South, you can see forest. We've been advised by the neighbors to NEVER let the cats out of the house, since they've been domesticated now, and there are all sort of creatures - coyotes, foxes, skunks, deer, even bears - lurking out there.

For the most part, living out here is really nice. There is a pleasant breeze off the fields, and the critters stay hidden during the day, which is the only time I could see them. However, all the animals and plants do attract something else:


I found this little bastard scurrying across the floor this morning, after I awoke from an impromptu nap. Sure, I've seen bigger at my old house, but that was DEEP in the woods. And this wasn't the first one I've seen - There were about five just hanging out in the kitchen when we moved in, plus one or two in each of the four closets, plus a couple in each of the two bathrooms. And you don't even want to venture into the basement, which was destroyed by the last tenants, and is full of cobwebs and holes and a musty smell.

Sooo, anyway. That little guy? I trapped him under a pint glass as he scurried across the floor. I'm undecided if I'm going to kill him, or let one of the cats. Cleo, who is the older, better behaved cat that I don't photograph as much because she is older and better behaved, has had her eye on it the entire day. I think I will indulge her and let her do the deed, and then toss the spider in the trash.

Rent vs. Buy

Even though I don't really have much means, I'm struggling with an odd decision - Should I look into buying a house?

It seems like an odd question to ponder, since at best, I probably make $30,000 a year, and my guaranteed income is only about $18,000. But because the economy is historically bad, and the real estate market has collapsed, and there is a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homeowners, and because my credit rating is really good - I still pay everything on time - it might make more sense for me to buy a house as opposed to renting an apartment.

I looked into a $100,000, two-bedroom cottage, very preliminarily, online last night. Even if I put $0 down, the monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage for me would be about $423. Meanwhile, most one-bedroom apartments in the area go for about $525 to $650, more for two bedrooms. I would have to pay electricity, heat and cable, but I'd have to do that in an apartment as well, and I wouldn't be getting any equity into the place. There are things like upkeep to think about, but relying on landlords to fix problems in my past apartments has been as big of an issue as relying on myself to call someone anyway.

Thoughts? I know at least one person on here has bought a house recently, so I'm curious about getting some perspective on the whole situation.