I was half asleep when I poured the hot water into my mug. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something tan, about the size of a pencil eraser and shriveled up floating in the water, next to the tea bag. It was a spider. A SPIDER IN MY TEA. A couple months later, I still have no idea where he (or she??) came from. Maybe he was already in the mug when I pulled it from the shelf or maybe he was already in the tea kettle and came pouring out with the water. I'm not sure which one is better. But you never can be too careful, so every morning when I make tea I:

Check the inside and outside of the mug I've chosen
Take the lid off the tea kettle and bring the whole thing over to a window while slowly turning it to get a thorough look inside
Inspect the tea bag (because, like I said, you never can be too careful)

I'm not sure how long this will last. I guess until I get the thought of DRINKING A SPIDER out of my head. Really, one wrong move on that fateful day and I would have had that sucker in my mouth.