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Thank heavens for the rain!

Thank heavens for the rain! The bank holiday weekend was a complete washout in our area and I assume elsewhere, it would have been nice to see some sunshine but I'm not complaining as I think it was the busiest weekend that I have ever had. It seemed every time I checked my emails there was another order or two, it was amazing. I ended up working all weekend to get everything ready for sending on Tuesday but that's fine as I really wanted to clear some stock before I go away next week. I haven't mentioned my holiday before and I am only sharing with my 'blog readers' now, I won't be putting any information on the website until Monday. I am off to Cyprus for a week of sunshine and relaxation with hubby (with plenty of bug and reptile hunting thrown in). I have deliberately kept it quiet because each time I mention going away my orders completely dry up and so our week's holiday costs us a fortune in lost orders! Time will tell if my ploy has worked but I felt it was seriously necessary. Each time I go away I generally let everyone know weeks in advance even if it is just for a weekend, I never go for more than a week as the bugs cannot manage without me. I have my able helpers in the form of daughter and mother in-law who keep things ticking over, but spraying the cages with water twice a day, pulling the curtains and restocking bramble is about it. I don't allow anyone to touch my multitude of spiders and scorpions, not that anybody in this house wants to! I generally let everyone know I am going away so that they will place orders before I go but for some reason it seems to have the opposite effect. I will be posting on Monday and Tuesday so if you want anything there is still time.

It's been a busy week in all ways, family and work. There is a lot to sort out when you run a one man band and are chief carer/dogsbody to so many. I'm pleased with the way the bug room is going, I still wish it was bigger but there is nowhere to expand and no money to fund an expansion so I have to make the best of what I've got. I have cut back quite a bit on stock as I have been running plenty of special offers over the last few weeks and they have gone really well. I will be busy again after I return as I have pre-ordered new animals for delivery then.

I am very pleased with myself as despite all the work this week I have managed to write a fair amount of care information and have added it to my website. I have a very long way to go but I've made a good start. Please, please let me know any mistakes that you find, anything that is confusing or you don't agree with. It is called constructive criticism not nit picking. It is very difficult to do your own proof reading and there are bound to be mistakes. My family and friends have no interest in my bugs so I have little chance of them reading my notes. Hubby would do it but I've hardly seen him this week. Yesterday he went to work at 6.30am and returned at 8pm. I had an email from a proof reader a couple of days ago, she pointed out two spelling mistakes which I duly corrected but I would obviously have to pay for her service and believe me selling bugs does not allow for such luxuries so I am relying on you lot!

My website upgrade is set to begin after I return from Cyprus. It will make the website far more compatible when viewed on phones and tablets. I'm really hoping it will go smoothly as you all know by now, I hate change. It should improve the site a lot and is really necessary. It will be a lot of work for my website guy and he estimates it will take him about a week. It won't affect my site as everything will be done behind the scenes and then he will just switch it on one night in September (that's the plan). I'm afraid I have realised that I have to raise my postal charges for the winter. A lot of people thought I was mad not charging for heat packs last winter and some of my customers even told me so! It seemed like a good idea at the time but in reality it cost me a fortune, I was adding a heat pack to almost all orders from October to April. When the site upgrade goes ahead it seems like the obvious time to implement the price rise but it will only be £1.00 for UK customers and a little more for European customers. It isn't just the heat packs that cost money, I need to use more packing and bigger boxes which results in higher postal charges. Oh I hate the winter in every way! It is really looking like Autumn now and it is only just September.

Obviously there won't be a blog next week as I will be in Sunny Cyprus, I certainly hope it will be sunny:0)


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