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An extremely sad week

An extremely sad week, on Monday I had to say goodbye to my beautiful Akita dog Luka. She was almost 11 years old and she had been my constant companion for all those years. She was a difficult dog but she was my 'teddy bear' and I loved her dearly. I have been trying to carry on as usual but it has been a real struggle for the last few days.

On a much happier note sales have been good and it is only one week until our summer holiday. My automated website wasn't in existence last year so I have been undecided whether the site should be switched off while I'm away or left to run. I have decided to leave it on but I will be putting a lot of prices up and removing most of the special offers while I'm not here. Nobody will be manning the site so I will have to sort everything out when I get back. I have no way of knowing how busy things will be or how many orders and enquiries will await me. My main priority when I return will be to feed and clean all the spiders and bugs. I expect to resume posting out orders on Monday September 6th. I will be re-stocking frantically upon my return. I'm really pleased with the way the cutting down on livestock regime has gone over the last few weeks and I am especially pleased that a reptile supplier friend of mine has agreed to take quite a few surplus animals off me before I go. I'm glad to say that he will be taking a huge number of Hissing cockroaches. I should have used them as spider food but I just couldn't so I have ended up with a ridiculous number and there is no way that my mother in-law could cope with feeding them each day. I can now leave their feeding to my son, who will be popping in and out and staying the odd night. If you want something at the current prices you had better get a move on as Thursday will be my last day of posting. I will only be able to send items that have been ordered before that day.

I have been uncertain for ages whether I should stop accepting cheques and postal orders as a payment option but I have today finally made a decision. I have decided to stop accepting them and I have asked my website guy to remove the option from my site. It is a shame because there are a small number of customers who prefer this method of payment but unfortunately most people who choose to pay by cheque never send the cheque. This results in stock being held up and me having to manually re-stock the items on the website.

I will be spending this weekend thoroughly sorting out the bug house. I intend to clean the windows, mop the floor, clear the verandah and reorganise some of the shelves. I need to put items together that need spraying regularly and keep them away from the cages that need to be dry. I will put colour coded labels on tanks, cages and boxes and I will write lists of what needs to be done while I'm away. I will probably then alter these instructions several times before we actually go. I am a true list maker, I make lists for absolutely everything and everybody. My husband says that it's because I am a control freak but I prefer to call it well organised!

I doubt if I will get time to write my blog next week. I will be too busy packing and feeding everything before we set off for sunny Rhodes. Fingers crossed that I find some interesting bugs and maybe even a snake.

One last thing - a regular customer of mine in Finland told me that he uses IKEA washing baskets to keep his stick insects in. He says they are ideal and cheap. I have looked at the IKEA website and they look really good. http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20172887


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