Life goes on

Life does go on but it is very different. I am still sorting out over forty years of bug things. It’s bin day again today so I have distributed, plastic boxes, tanks and wood from the shelving, into my friendly neighbours bins. Many little everyday things seem odd to me, throwing fruit and vegetables away is truly weird, I have always fed them to one animal or another. I’m thinking of getting some guinea pigs, they are great pets, the boys would love them and they could live in my ex-bug room in the winter and outside in the summer. Only a thought, after so many years of being tied down by all my animals I am trying hard to resist the urge of getting anymore pets at the moment. Sadly, my lovely snakes are not interested in eating a plant-based diet 😊

We had a super weekend in Brighton recently, just before the cold weather descended. It was good to simply lock up and go and then when we returned I sat down and relaxed! Normally we would get back and I would be replying to emails, feeding bugs and sorting everything out for the Monday morning posting. It will be amazing when we go on holiday to Cyprus next year, I won’t have to spend a week feeding, cleaning and setting everything up and when we return (often in the early hours of the morning), I won’t need to go straight into the bug room to check on everything and then spend the next week doing it all again. Sounds like bliss! Mind you, I can’t wait to get the room decorated as I still feel very sad when I walk into my cold, empty bug room 😢

It is great to be free from so many worries, freezing weather is approaching, no more dilemmas about should I or shouldn’t I post bugs this week, Royal Mail last posting dates before Christmas, no I don’t care. Actually, I have only posted in the first week of December for the last couple of years and then given up until January. Royal Mail was certainly a factor in my retirement, it is nothing like it used to be and this last year the service has monumentally declined. I have reclaimed my postage on a ridiculous number of parcels, they either arrived late on the day (after the 1pm guarantee) or not until the following day. This is totally unacceptable for me and my poor customers who are waiting in for their new bugs, often having taken time off work!

I think that after Crazy Christmas I will have a lot more time to figure out what I want to do. I’m sure I was put on this earth to look after everything! People, animals and plants. I spent yesterday taking my sister (she has Parkinson’s) to look at a local day centre. My mother in-law already goes there (she has dementia). Then I spent the afternoon with my daughter and gorgeous grandson, he’s 21 months now and for some weird reason completely refused to take his afternoon nap. Today I intend to stay in and catch up on everything, I started this blog yesterday but ran out of time. It is currently pouring with rain and I have a doctor’s appointment in an hour, just a cholesterol check but I would rather stay in the warm. At least it isn’t snowing, everything comes to a halt in the snow as our village is up on a hill and it is difficult to reach anywhere, the doctor’s surgery and the post office are both downhill.

Well I had better speed up as I need to get ready. In short, I’m making a large wormery to put all my fruit and vegetables in (it will be good for the garden and I won’t actually be throwing away food 😊). I am still tortured by what I should keep or let go, I am finding things that I no longer need, like a long roll of Special Delivery labels this morning, they are now in the bin. The dinning room table is still covered but I am gradually sorting things out and should be finished by Christmas 😅. I think it will be some time before I stop hesitating as I throw away egg cartons (cricket housing), cardboard boxes (posting boxes) and many other things but I’m going in the right direction.

I can see how many people read my blog, it’s no longer in the thousands but still in the hundreds so I will continue each month until nobody wants to hear from me 😁

I am hoping to be at the SEAS show (Kent, last Sunday in January), I’m sure I will see some of you there and I will have plenty of time to chat as I won’t be hunting around for stock but I might just buy a few praying mantids for my precious tank. I have spent ages cleaning the tank, it was made for me by Custom Aquaria many, many years ago and will make a great display in my, soon to be chill-out room. It’s a bit cracked and is never going to scrub up that clean but I’m going to put plants and a few bugs in there. I can use the skills that I learnt last month, when I did a terrarium workshop at the local garden centre.

Update: I went to the doctors, had my blood test and then it started snowing, big cotton wool balls but I made it back and I’m now sitting in my office with my heated jacket on as I can no longer go in the tropical bug room to warm up 😂