Blog time again?

Blog time again? This week seems to have flown by. The weather has turned very cold here but thankfully no snow and everything has arrived perfectly. I have a huge number of new bugs and beasties to collect from an exhibition this weekend, so I already know that next week will be frantic, not helped by the fact that hubby will be back in Manchester training once more. I have pre-ordered a whole host of creatures from tarantulas and bush crickets to beetles and cockroaches but I also hope to pick up some bargains. As always I will have my famous shopping list, people may scoff but goodness knows where I would be without it. Exhibitions can get very crowded and it is extremely easy to forget something or even buy the same thing twice (on more than one occasion I have bought the same spider under a different common name and not realised until I have got home). Although hubby doesn't like spiders he is very good at searching for them on the various stalls so he gets a copy of my list too. I get easily distracted and go off to talk to someone (me talk - never). If you do see me there feel free to say hello, it is always nice to meet people who I only know by email or telephone.

The bug room is already heaving, I have cleared the decks as much as I can but I do wish my bug room were twice the size! I have had a good clean and tidy up, I think that helps a little. The exhibition is five minutes away from my mother in-law's sister so she will be coming along with us and spending some time with her sister while we enjoy the show (hubby would more likely say 'endure' the show). The last one that I attended was the AES exhibition in October. It was a bit of a disaster as my back was really bad then, I didn't feel I could cope with much in the way of new animals and left fairly sharply when my back began to hurt. I'm sure I will enjoy this one much more. Mind you I hate to moan but my back is still not great and I need to find out what is going on, I have an appointment with a specialist in a couple of weeks time.

It seems to be all appointments with my mother-in-law at the moment. I am her unofficial carer but we are actually meeting up with a benefits advisor from the council later this morning. I know she really appreciates all my help but it does take a great deal of my 'work' time and it would be good to get some financial recompense. She has several hospital appointments and procedures coming up within the next month or so. I don't expect to get anything really, let's face it I was clearly put on this earth to look after everybody and everything. I was moaned at yesterday by a customer for not being available between 3-4pm when I was collecting my great-nieces from school. I will be going to Luxembourg in the half term week to help my sister and her four grandchildren. I'm sure I am preaching to the converted here if you are a regular reader of my blog but I do wish that people realised I don't earn much from my bug business (however hard I work) and I have a lot of people who rely on me. There is only so much that one person can do!

I am still working on my Facebook page, if I can get to grips with my personal one then I can move onto my 'bug' one. Since being shown how to un-follow all the consumer adverts on my Facebook, while at a dinner party last Friday, I have at least cleared it enough to see who my actual friends are. The adverts are due to entering competitions, I deleted 197 emails from my competitions group yesterday, certainly no time for them at the moment.

Well I had better get a move on. The bugs are doing great, everything seems to be breeding (which is my aim as I never bring anything in from the wild). I have introduced several female tarantulas to potential partners recently and not one has been munched up. I have the most amazing Orange Baboon ever. She was imported (clearly not by me) and she is 'huge', I have never seen an Orange Baboon so big. I'm not sure why but I think she is lovely, she is so aggressive but seems 'special' so I am keeping her as a pet (she doesn't have a name yet so feel free to suggest one but something nice, I'm told I always choose Bimbo names, I prefer to think of them as pretty names). My Mexican Red Knee Lily is looking stunning now and is really friendly, she doesn't even kick off hairs. I couldn't believe it when I introduced the poor little male to my monster Orange Baboon. She had been lunging at me every time I looked at her but the male just ran over to her as soon as I opened his box. I didn't have time to do anything and cringed as I was sure she would make mincemeat of him but they immediately started dancing around and I thought it best to leave them alone. When I checked later he was happily sitting in a flower pot next to hers. I do have another female that I think is adult, although a lot smaller than the 'monster' I may pluck up the courage to put the brave little male in with her next week (if I can find time!).

That's it I'm off, it's freezing in my office. I will warm up in the bug room before going down to my mother in-laws. It's my birthday in a couple of weeks I've been dropping hints that I want a pair of microwaveable slippers, what a great idea they are but I'm not sure if you can actually walk around in them?

Oh dear, I have just seen some notes that I wrote for this week's blog. These nuggets of information will definitely have to wait until next Friday!