Where to start?

Where to start? First day of February, Spring is only a month away! Just the thought of warmer weather makes me feel good. We haven't had any snow this week and I admit it is a bit warmer but it is still way too cold and far too wet for me.

The tarantula show last Sunday was great as usual, it really is my favourite show. The venue is lovely, the people running it are lovely and the layout of the two halls is so much better than other shows. I bought some amazing new stock, mostly tarantulas and scorpions but a few stick insects, beetle larvae and true spiders too. My bug house is full to the rafters and I have yet more animals coming in next week. The indoor bug house is really taking shape, my hard working hubby has been flat out on his days off and yesterday my adorable nephew worked on it all day as well. He is a roofer by trade so they insulated the ceiling and put up a new plasterboard ceiling. Not an easy task as they had to make provision for the windows which are at ceiling height, I don't want to lose any light and there are awkward pipes and brackets everywhere. The room is brick built onto the side of the house but the roof is very odd and there is nothing we can do that doesn't cost a fortune. My nephew has already reroofed it but it has terrible drainage and still leaks from a couple of points, it is flat and because it was built on the building line with next door there is no room for manoeuvre. The guy who lived here before was an avid DIY'er and did quite a few things himself!

I am so looking forward to moving the bugs indoors, it is going to have so many advantages. I am getting really excited now and just can't wait for it to happen. We have been discussing heating this week. I am hoping to do away with a lot of the heat mats and keep the entire room to a set temperature but we cannot work out the best way to do this. I was talking to an electrician in my gym a few days ago, he was very helpful with ideas. I was very keen on under floor heating but then realised that it would cost too much to lay and also to run as it would have to be electric. It would also involve raising the floor. At the rate that things are going there won't be room to stand up in there. The ceiling is now considerably lower, we cannot possibly raise the floor.

My biggest worry about the new bug house is the lack of space. This is a really busy time of the year for me and I don't want to cut down any more than I have to. I have decided that a few of my cockroach species can go and I can condense down some of the millipede boxes. Millipedes are generally fine kept together, I just need to make sure that I can tell the species apart, especially the babies. I have lots of babies at the moment but some of them are tiny dots and incredibly slow growing. The African Red Legged millipedes are going amazingly, I had quite a few babies and they have nearly all sold. I was disappointed that there weren't any millipedes at the show (that were at a price I could afford) but it was a tarantula show. I am trying to source some new millipedes but have had no luck at the moment. Talking of price I was surprised how expensive some of the spiders were at the show. I have some beautiful adults at the moment, having taken in several collections from people giving up. It will be great when I can finally have people coming to look at them again. A huge advantage to the new set up is that there is a door from the front of the house leading directly into my bug house. Tarantulas live for many years which means that people are happy to travel a fair distance to choose their new pet.

I don't really think we will know what fits and what doesn't and what heating to use until we actually start moving the animals in. All the non living things that I need can be housed in my office but I don't want things crammed in as I need to be able to move around. It's a good job I'm slim! Having a sink will be super, it means I won't need to cover the kitchen in muddy boxes and jars (but I will still use the dishwasher for things that fit in it, it washes up far better than me).

Well that's it, I must get a move on. I still have some spiders to house up properly from the show. I'm not even sure if they are all entered on the website yet. We are off to a spa hotel this afternoon and staying the night. It is a competition win from some time ago but I was saving it as a birthday treat. The hotel is only about 20 minutes away which suits me fine as we will be back before lunch tomorrow and can then get on with everything. My actual birthday is on Sunday when we are all going to Richmond park for lunch (the house will not be empty, somebody always reminds me about burglars - I very much doubt if they read my blog). All being my huge family (I just hope they don't think I'm paying!). I love Richmond park, it is my happy place with wonderful memories. Sadly Teddi will be staying at home as it is too posh to allow dogs in (even if we sat outside) and I don't like to leave her in the car for too long. I would love to walk her around the park after lunch but we need to get back for tea! I have neighbours, friends and family who couldn't make the park coming round for cakes. Our daughter has gone mad on cooking since she sat and watched nonstop cookery programs over Christmas. She is making the cakes (I will also have back up cakes made by Tesco). Just checked the weather for Sunday, it says rain, we will certainly be sitting inside then!