Eight-legged visitor

I found a little arachnid friend in my kitchen last night. It was traversing the wall space between two volcano pictures (both Mt. St. Helens {yes, I have a volcano wall in my kitchen. What did you expect?}). I think it's probably hiding behind one of the pictures as we speak.

I used to kill spiders because they freaked me out. Look at all their little eyes and their searching legs. Ugh. But I don't kill them any more--at least, I try not to kill them. This spider seems OK. It's not particularly jumpy, so I've decided it's welcome to live behind my picture frame...as long as it doesn't end up near my bed. Any bed spiders get a one-way trip to the front porch. This is unfortunate, in a way, because my friend, Rachel, did a little research and discovered that most spiders found inside your house are there because they're house spiders. Putting a house spider outside usually means bad news for the spider. That's why I try to abide by the bed rule. Stay away from my bed and you're welcome to hang out. That's just good advice.