Power Cut Panic set in this week!

Power Cut Panic set in this week! I went to the Invicta spider show in Kent last Sunday, it was great and I spent a fortune on new stock. Then on Monday evening we had a major power cut, the whole area was in complete darkness and as the temperature outside was below freezing I was very concerned for everything in my bug house at the bottom of the garden. All our phones are cordless and powered by electricity, therefore I had to keep calling the electricity board on my mobile and the recorded information messages were useless. The power came back on around 11.15pm and I then rang the electricity information line to check that it wasn't going off again. I was assured by a young man that it was fine, power had been restored and there would be no further problems. We then went to bed (having resorted to playing scrabble by candle light) and woke in the morning to discover the power was off again. I was really panic stricken (I know I'm not known for my calm demeanour but this was on another level). I had visions of all my bugs, spiders and pet reptiles being dead. I leapt out of bed and called the electricity board. They told me that there was now a serious fault and the power had been off all night! My husband was shouting at me not to open the bug house door and let any heat out that might still be in there but I had to know so I ran in and although cold, it certainly wasn't frozen. When I had calmed a little and my brain began to unscramble, I realised that I had woken in the night and turned a light on to check the power. My hubby was pretty sure that he looked at the electric clock too, so the power had probably only been off for a couple of hours. Thank goodness my husband had that day off work, as he then had to get out our generator and somehow get it up and going. We bought it two years ago when we had power problems but it was never used. It was fun and games getting it going and connected up to the radiators but we got there in the end. The power came on earlier than expected and everything seemed fine once warmed up properly. The generator could only power two radiators on a low setting and none of the heat mats or lights. Things have been ok since but I am still on alert as I know we are being powered by an emergency generator until the fault is fixed.

Back to the spider show, it was the first show that Invicta had run and everyone had obviously put a lot of effort into it. The effort paid off as there were lots of visitors and also lots of dealers. The venue was close to the Euro Star so there were several European traders which was good. The show was extremely friendly, it had a nice atmosphere and the hotel venue was lovely (I wish it had been a bit nearer to where we live but you can't have everything). The journey back took ages due to an accident so I'm glad we arranged for my mother in-law to babysit our puppy. I spent more money than I have ever spent at a show so of course this week has been extremely busy. I have sent out a lot of orders and every 'home' that has been vacated has immediately been inhabited by a new resident. I even had my daughter out there with me yesterday (it was my birthday so she had no choice). I am always aware that my whole business is so precarious. People find it impossible to believe that I don't have any help with the bugs but honestly I don't! Nobody in my home life has any interest at all. The bugs are housed at the end of the garden and nobody but me goes out there. If anything were to happen to me, my family wouldn't have a clue how to care for everything. It's a really scary thought, with the power problems and everything this week I truly think I should try and show my daughter at least. Unfortunately my business is mostly in my head, nothing is written down and I wouldn't know where to start. The spiders are continually moulting and growing so the right sized food at the right time is vital. If a larger cricket is put in with a small spider there is a big chance that by the time next week's feeding day comes around the spider itself will have been eaten by the cricket. Some spiders will be showing clear signs that they are about to moult and I just 'know' which ones don't require any food that week. There is also the very real possibility that a spider will leap out of the box once it has been opened, this regularly happens to me but I know how to catch it or which ones can be grabbed or not! My daughter wouldn't know which spiders are docile or aggressive and I cannot imagine labelling each box or tub, the problem being that I have hundreds of spiders and they change all the time. I spend hours out there every day so I just 'know' what to do and I don't really see how I could impart this knowledge to anyone unless it was by 'direct brain transfer' (not very likely but I do like sci-fi).

Anyway I had a nice birthday, we went to Richmond park for lunch. It is a journey to get there now but it holds very good memories for me and it couldn't have been a nicer February day, it was cold but beautifully sunny. We drove around the park, rather than walking, I think everyone knows that I hate the cold! Family came over at tea time and I got lots of lovely presents. My niece bought me a bee house which will be perfect in my wildlife garden. My nephew bought me a clock with butterflies around it for the new kitchen (when we get it). My husband bought me lots nice of presents but I especially like the 'chocolate meter'. Evidently you put in the amount of chocolate that you have eaten and it shows how much exercise you need to do to work it off. They will love it in my gym when I go this afternoon, they all know I'm a chocoholic.

Well I had better get on. I have a lot of emails from yesterday to get through but I would like to point out that I did get up early and do lots of work before lunch yesterday. I still have plenty more new bugs to house up and label (I did feed them all earlier in the week) and as usual Friday is a major feeding day as I don't send out due to the weekend post. Teddi has her second inoculation later and then we can take her out a week today, hurrah. Gorgeous as she is having a bored, lively puppy with me everywhere I go is hard work. She won't even go out in the garden without me, she just howls at the door until I join her and it's cold out there!