All Change!

All Change! My goodness, everything is different, the new and improved website went live last Thursday. It was necessary so that viewing and ordering on a mobile phone or tablet became a great deal easier, sadly the oldsite just wasn't compatible enough with modern technology, even though it wasonly a couple of years old. I certainly think it is a huge improvement and mycustomers have said the same. I'm really surprised that when I asked forcomments on Facebook I didn't get any! Facebook on the whole is going verywell, I am getting much better at it, both posting information and answering enquiries.I am nudging towards the 21st century but it's a slow process. I am in fact seriouslythinking of buying an Apple computer. I believe that I would find it mucheasier to use than my current Microsoft desk top. They are very expensive but Ineed a new computer so it seems like a sensible idea. I just hope to make somemoney soon, I cannot believe how few orders I received in September. My websiteguy (who hosts a lot of websites) told me that it was a slow month for everybodybut that didn't really make me feel better as we have the cold winter monthsahead when sales of bugs always slow down, especially before Christmas.Thankfully things seem to pick up in January, my theory is that this is a hobbyand people don't have the spare money to spend on themselves until after thefestive season (when they have their Christmas money to spend). The schools andcolleges of course don't want to order anything new before the festive break.Anyway it is nowhere near Christmas yet, plenty of time to buy new creepycrawly pets and I will have a lot of new stock coming in next week. Keep an eyeon my site as I am expecting spiders, giant millipedes, scorpions and hopefullyplenty of other bugs too.

It now seems a long time ago that I was out in Cyprus but it isactually only two weeks since we got back. Our daughter is now in Lanzarote onholiday. One of the biggest problems with my work is that we can't all go onholiday together as someone always has to be here for the animals. Thankfullythe animals are thriving and my breeding efforts are going really well, I havea Costa Rican Chevron tarantula (Psalmopoeus reduncus) with a large egg sac (themale lived to tell the tale) and I have a Giant Flat Rock scorpion (Hadogenestroglodytes) with lots of little babies on her back. I have never bredthese scorpions before so they seem extra special. Just three of my cute baby DuneDevil scorpions (Vaejovis waeringi) survived but they are looking strongand healthy. I should probably separate them as I don't want to find just theone fat and healthy one next feeding day!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago I have had to put up the postalcharges before the winter. Last year I didn't charge for heat packs but itturned out to be very costly as most parcels sent between October and Aprilneeded a heat pack. I wish people would stop telling me that we are due to havea really cold winter with lots of snow! Two very good reasons that I don't wantto hear it are that I really, really hate the cold and secondly it plays havocwith my work. If it snows I can't get to the post office as our village isperched on a hill. I must admit though that posting in the winter rarely causesa problem with the bugs, the heat packs work incredibly well, even when I postto places like Scandinavia the bugs arrive fine. I am just such a worrier, Ican't bear the idea that something 'might' perish in the post. I can be aterrible pessimist, I mentioned in my last blog that I thought I had killed offmy Giant Florida Katydid eggs. You may recall reading that just one nymphhatched the day we went on holiday. I wasn't sure what to do with the eggs so Iput them in with my Little Log stick insects and after the holiday realised howdamp they had got. Well thankfully I was wrong and I now have plenty of babies.This is another creature that I have not bred before so I am especiallypleased.

I can't help moaning again that I wish my bug room were bigger.If it were twice the size I could breed twice as many bugs! Or at least I wouldhave space for all the tanks that I would like to have out (they are stored inthe shed since moving the bugs indoors from their log cabin at the end of thegarden) and I wouldn't have to pile things on top of each other and have boxes stackedup to the ceiling. Perhaps I should chuck my daughter out and use her room,she's old enough but I somehow don't think she would be too keen on that plan. Herex-boyfriend has only just left, he had been living in our spare room for threemonths after they had split up (you really wouldn't believe all the things thatgo on in my life, I am never ever bored).

I am still considering having customers visiting again, perhaps anopen afternoon or a regular day, Saturday maybe but it is so complicated. I wasgoing to put some info on the website about visiting on a Saturday but when Ilooked in my diary I realised just how many Saturdays I have commitments for. Itis good when people call in, I had a nice couple visit last week and buy aspider, I always like a chat (that's probably why I find it so easy to write ablog each week but it is a bit one sided!). It is especially good if peoplewant to choose a spider, tarantulas are long lived pets and each one isdifferent. They are different sizes, colours and temperaments and that is verydifficult to convey in an email or on the phone.

My wonderful web guy has been working so hard on my upgradedsite. He 'finished' it last week but every day this week I have been asking himquestions and he has had to add bits, change bits, explain bits (which he doesvery patiently). I am trying to do my bit, I still have loads of things thatneed sorting. I must re-write the page that tells everyone about me, I haveloads of care notes that need adding (I have to write them first!), there arecontinual things that need updating. Please help if you can, I know I'm alwayssaying it but it is such a help if you point out any mistakes that you find. Ireally think that an Apple computer would help me, I now use my iPhone and iPada lot, having a computer that works the same way would mean that daily jobs onthe site wouldn't be half as stressful. I long for the day when I can pick aphoto out of my iCloud and put it on the website without any help from my husband.Ok, that's it, I'm going to order one this weekend!!

I have written this a day early so that my husband is on handjust in case I can't figure out how to post my blog on the new site. Hopefullylots of people will open and read the blog because it now has a counter on it.