Get a grip woman!

Merlin's_Beard

I can sympathise with the lack of discipline for reading - although my book club chose a horror for October and as a certified coward I can only read it in daylight....

enthusiasticsaver

My book club this month chose a self help book for us to read as a change. I am really struggling with it. 

Suffolk_lass

I chose Magpie Murders as the BC choice and I briefly dipped in and read the start. I do like Anthony Horowitz's easy to read style but not enough read yet to know if I have made a terrible mistake. My last two choices have been non-fiction and not universally popular so this will hopefully be better.

My books to read pile includes Follow the Money by Paul Johnson, the latest Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club and the latest two JK Rowling as Richard Galbraith books, along with Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus, which I failed to finish but I recognise as a book I will enjoy. I just need to add that bit of discipline. 

In computer news, my little desk has two 21.5" iMacs on it at the moment and I need to explore exporting i-chain passwords as a .csv file so I can import them as the Time Machine migration did not migrate these  . Like you, @foxgloves, I can when I need to but I prefer not to. I have been updating a few as I have to recover them and my little black paper record is helping me. I have some saved in google too. It will be a wet-Wednesday-sometime-never job to add to my futile list.

In other, more positive news, DH bought nothing but coffee and a bacon roll but came back with his exhaust pipes unsold. He was however, back by lunchtime and happily fed the bees her and in the grounds of people's homes, with plenty of syrup before it is too cold.

More Bees
Today is the day to check out the five hives at the farm track. We can only feed syrup until the nights start getting cold, so this is probably the last week. Our plan is to then leave them to it until Christmas week, when it is likely that the queen is not laying, just in the midst of a cluster of workers, keeping her warm, and moving slowly around the hive, opening and consuming the food they have stored. Then we will treat them for mites again, with a treatment that causes the mites to fall dead from the adult bees. This treatment does not penetrate the brood cappings, hence undertaking it when brood is minimal. I will ask DH to do this too because he hefted these last time so knows what he is comparing their weight to. Hefting (lifting the back) is a way of testing if the weight is consistent with having plenty of stores for winter. I am anticipating feeding fondant from Christmas onwards, just so they have it if they need it. It is the form of sugar they can readily consume in cold weather, without expending too much energy.

Other stuff and money
We need to get more hedging cut before next Saturday, so that the social club can put it on the bonfire ready for the event on 3rd November.

The Village Hall treasurer has paid me and big river are refunding us the item that was not delivered. Yodel are much worse than Hermes here.

I still have bulbs to plant! - I am tempted to plant some in the churchyard as I have taken on pruning a rose in there (which has been much more floriferous since I started maintaining it). If I clear the bed around it, I can sneak a few in there. I shall look to get a few native ones I think. I may have to protect them as there are squirrels about... DH might have some old chicken wire I can spread about

Suffolk_lass

Two days in on the major pruning exercise at the Village Hall and five aggregate bags full and heavy so far. Masses of ivy pulled out too. We are only doing 2-3 hours at a time. About half way now...

Karmacat

Such a good job to control the ivy!  I've done some on one of my borders, its amazing the way it opens things up.

Suffolk_lass

Yes @Karmacat, but not sure the neighbours will be happy as there are gaps we can see through now. Back over there today. 

Mercifully in the dead zone week of finance where only weekly milk, a monthly newspaper subscription and the window cleaner are due, so a good opportunity to get myself a bit more organised for my Christmas bee products table. I still need to collect more pine cones to make into beeswax dipped firelighters, and once the aga is on I will begin drying citrus fruit peel to add to the bags, for perfume and their oil. I have my recipes for edibles but these are a bit more last knockings, a last week prior activity, and I just need to practice the shortbread again. Oh yes, I have candle moulds to try too, but I might just stick with wax blocks. And furniture polish to make, and maybe conditioner for wooden worktops and chopping boards.

Honey jarring is on my list too but I must check I have the labels and bags I need too.

I may have to make some Jingleberry jam too, for the made in our village table - (I rename my jumbleberry for Christmas) and use festive cloth tops to zhuzh it up a bit. Quite taken with hedgerow jelly (@foxgloves mentioned on her thread) but not sure if I have time. I made rosehip syrup last year for the extra vitamin C. So few birds here, what with the huge number of corvids thanks to a silly woman feeding them (she has moved from the village but their population is vastly higher now), and Avian flu reducing the migrant birds too.

That's it. HM Courgette soup made, whizzed and ready for lunches with frozen rolls I made. It needs to be quick and easy. I plan frozen meal tonight as study group starts at 7pm - Fish fingers (those Sainsbobs best range with panko breadcrumbs), oven chips and peas. A brilliant supper from stores!

Onward then. Have a good day everyone!

beanielou

Those fish fingers sound great. 

Suffolk_lass

beanielou said:

Those fish fingers sound great. 

These are the ones, @beanielou - 2 each is enough for us as they are larger than your average fish finger. Still close to 50p each, even as a nectar price. Morries do a good one too but not in our local store. Sains do a haddock one in the same style too, Tasting the difference!

Suffolk_lass

Well jarring up and correctly labelling honey takes forever. I have now run out of jars - well new lids, actually, and I've placed an order for nearly 200 of each size, plus spare lids. I found three more jars I can reuse in my jam jar reserve too (a drop in the ocean). In the interests of MSE they have emerged from the dishwasher this morning. I ended up putting 3 tubs (with 5 jars worth in each) on the side and I still have two more batches to go. I have two plastic crates, one each of summer and spring, with two different sized jars in each.

I'm hoping to get over to the churchyard clear up this morning for a while. I said I would deal with one of the beds and prune the roses. I might go early (and take the dog) as DH is away at a Bike thing until tomorrow. DH set off at 06.00 or thereabouts this morning, so it is just me, the cat and the dog here.

We have agreed to turn on the aga from 1st November so the heating will only be used in the sitting room after that until Christmas. Speaking of which, no feedback on how many we will be. With DH away I can't even check if he has contacted DS's friend, and former lodger. And I know Auntie wants to come but needs a lift. Previous years my cousin (her daughter) has brought her but she is likely to be home with her daughter and family this year. My male cousin's partner has family locally. I'm seeing them next weekend and will mention. They have brought Auntie in the past.

My cousin has her daughter and family back living with her because they gave up their rental house (the grand-daughter has no ability to budget, and has got into terrible debt, again!). I am not convinced that any debt-payment or saving is going on, judging by her FB feed. Cousin described her house as chaotic and I guarantee her daughter is oblivious to the impact on my cousin. Obviously she loves them all dearly but they have completely taken over and her daughter expects her to cook, clean, shop and look after her children (they have two, he has two a little older who also come and stay). The daughter has a reputation in the family for taking offence so it is something I am steering clear of.

Apart from picking up some meat for DH's birthday celebrations (treats and entertainment budget), and bagging a bag of frozen offal that will feed us both for £1.16, no shopping. Last night was a pot of frozen curry that we eat, far too late with a bit of homemade bread. CBA comes to mind! Tonight I will have a baked potato or egg on toast. It will do me no harm to eat light!

Speaking of light, I'm going to get a wiggle on!

Suffolk_lass

Up at 05.00 this morning (awake at 04.40) thanks to the clocks changing. Nobody tells the animals! They are now fed and snoozing and I have had my first coffee and turned the heating on 😱 - no overly hot husband to huff and puff about it being too warm this morning! He is expecting to be back by lunchtime, after a three hour bike ride home, all being well. 

I have plenty to do in the meantime and plan to complete the jar labelling, delivering honey to the final host location and then I'm on to drying some pine cones, soaking DH's bee-suit in a strong washing soda and cold water solution (he seems to have bathed in propolis) before I wash it, and resuming the write up of my revision notes for my beekeeping exam on 18th. I have just under half of my book club book to read and finish by Thursday and a few bulbs still to plant (this afternoon, probably). 

No spends planned. I found a pack of squid rings in the toolshed freezer that I cooked last night and had with my Baked potato. I should have stuck with the potato and opened some beans. Another thing gone from the freezer though! I have half a leg of lamb to roast later, and a piece of braising steak to stew in the slow cooker, for later in the week. With only 3 carrots left I will need to shop, but I will wait until November to do so.