Melt down Wednesday!

Melt down Wednesday! On Wednesday this week I had really had enough and decided that a menial job where someone else takes all the responsibilities was a great idea for me. Since then I have calmed down a little but I do need to get more of a work/life balance. I cannot continue to work every waking hour just because I work from home. I won't bore you with all the details but Monday and Tuesday were very busy days, catching up on posting orders due to the snow the week before. Then on Wednesday I had so many bugs to feed and clean that I didn't know where to start. I had non stop phone calls and emails and then at 3 o'clock in the afternoon a huge order of spiderlings arrived and it took hours to sort them all out, feeding, housing and watering. In the middle of this chaos I had a guy call at the door to collect his order. He came with no warning to collect an order that he had placed online. He refused to come back and said he would cancel the order. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, I had no choice but to stop what I was doing and pack his order. Things have got to change! If people keep turning up on my doorstep without an appointment, don't turn up at all when they have made an appointment, turn up hours late or even call at my neighbour's house and discuss tarantulas and scorpions (oh yes, it has happened) then I will have to stop people calling altogether and provide a totally mail order business. This would be a great shame but it isn't fair on my family (and neighbours) when this keeps happening. Somebody got my daughter out of the shower last weekend, I was visiting my very sick aunty in Essex. Ok that's enough ranting but it is serious, I am trying to think of a tactful way of putting this at the top of the welcome page on my site. It is due to these problems that I decided to cancel the open afternoon. Quite a few people have booked appointments for the following couple of Saturdays, wish me luck. It is really nice to meet customers face to face, it would be a shame for everyone if it were to stop.

The bugs are going really well, especially the spiders, the lucky things haven't been effected by the weather in their cosy log cabin. Two more spider egg sacs hatched this week, it's a good job I managed to get out to collect the crickets for them. It's a shame I can't breed my own crickets but I don't have the space and it really isn't that easy. I generally have a few of my own 'home grown' micro crickets. Most of the Stout Legged baboon spiderlings have gone, I sold them really cheaply as it a huge job to pot up (yes, I know it's a gardening term but there really isn't much difference) and feed all these spiderlings. I was really pleased at the time but I have since been told that spiderlings of this species are very rare, in fact a large European breeder said he has never heard of them being offered for sale before. Oops, I have needless to say put the price up on my few remaining ones. I have never seen a male of this species but I'm told it is quite distinct from the female. My egg sac was produced by an already gravid, wild caught female. I am hoping that my huge Natal Brown spiders will lay an egg sac soon, one of them has webbed herself under a coconut shell so that looks promising. The other one is living permanently with the male. They seem such a happy couple that I just couldn't bring myself to separate them. They are in a huge tank and I haven't seen any aggression from the female.

I am still trying to add a little new information to the website each day. If you find any spelling mistakes please, please let me know - there is no spell checker! People often apologise for pointing out mistakes but it is really useful to me and I certainly don't take offence. Even if you only think it may be wrong, I can always check. I get lots of questions by email that I then realise should be answered on the site. Ok, another moan, well not really a moan, I am no longer answering all emails, I try to but I just don't always have the time. I do answer all relevant and reasonable questions but I can't give information on an animal that has not been purchased from me, I still don't know when XY&Z is coming in (keep checking the site) and I don't speak any other languages so I cannot reply if the email is not in English. If you don't get a reply to your email, you are always welcome to call me. I really am aiming at working 8am-4pm Monday-Friday with some Saturdays off and most Sundays off (something nearer that anyway). I know my family and friends think I am hyperactive but my batteries need recharging sometimes, I'm not getting any younger, another birthday is approaching in just a couple of weeks!