Tales from The Shire

Fortune_Smiles

Achy, Breaky Back

I weeded the whole veg patch and herb garden yesterday morning and all in double quick time to finish before the rain.  It was hard work and I knew it by the time I'd finished 🤕

Lunch was Leek, Cheese & Bacon Tart with salad including lettuce and radish from the veg patch.  We followed up with some raspberries from the fruit cage with strawberries and blueberries and cream 😋

My F went off to the barn to tinker in the afternoon so I kicked back for a bit and watched films whilst doing some paperwork.  We've had a third booking for the Annex so I ordered some supplies.  I'd been holding off until I was certain we were going to get some guests this year.  Also ordered my new pillow 😴

Supper was steak with mushroom and blue cheese sauce with chips and roasted vine tomatoes for Mr F (to compensate for not going out to the brewery).  I had the same but with a cauliflower cheese bake instead of the steak.  We opened a bottle of red as it is the weekend after all 😉

I'm off to a lazy start this morning.  The garden waste bin is full and the weather forecast not great so I think I might have a relaxed morning and get on with some ironing this afternoon.

Hope you all have a relaxing Sunday.

Fortune x

in_need_of_direction

I am always in awe of the balance you bring to your life

themadvix

Likewise! And all the delicious food!

 I’m surprised you’re not fully booked yet for the annex though - places we’ve looked at seem to be filling up fast. I’m sure things will ramp up soon as people get more confident.

Fortune_Smiles

in_need_of_direction said:

I am always in awe of the balance you bring to your life

themadvix said:

Likewise! And all the delicious food!

 I’m surprised you’re not fully booked yet for the annex though - places we’ve looked at seem to be filling up fast. I’m sure things will ramp up soon as people get more confident.

Thanks guys - I feel it's either all or nothing with me.  I'm either super productive and getting stuff done or sitting on my bum watching telly all day 😆  I suppose that is a balance of sorts 🤔

We are now fully booked for July MV and have two longer bookings for August 😁  I think people are still being cautious and thinking very hard about whether to go away at all.  Our market is largely older couples so that will have a bearing as many are still shielding.  Our latest August booking is for a honeymoon 😁  The couple didn't think they'd be able to go ahead with a wedding at all this year and have had to rush around getting things sorted out last minute.  I'm sure they had grander plans for a honeymoon originally but I'll try to make things as lovely as possible for them here.  Ideas for romantic touches?

Fortune x

themadvix

That’s great news about the annex Fortune! And how lovely to have some honeymooners staying. How about a bottle of (cheap) fizz and glasses for their arrival?

Fortune_Smiles

Picking Up

Things are getting busier for the Fortunate household as lockdown restrictions lift.  We now have a decent number of bookings for the Cottage and I'm more confident that others will come in.  My strategy of upping my minimum booking from two nights to three has worked - we are getting slightly fewer bookings but for longer stays so we'll at least make the same amount of money for less work and cost.  I also raised our rates slightly for this year to bring us in line with the local market.  We may lose about half of our potential Cottage income due to Covid which means some of our home improvement plans have been put on hold.  But I'm not complaining - if that's the worst that Covid does to us I will feel very, very fortunate 🙂

The garden is producing produce 😁  I have even managed some teeny, tiny, baby cauliflowers 😁  Not big enough to eat yet but they have potential.... if I can just keep the slugs off 🐛

Spending has been minimal.  The grocery spend has come down a little due to all the fruit and veg we've manage to grow ourselves.  Still over budget though but I think that's down to Mr F being home all the time.  Before Covid I could manage without a whole week's shop sometimes if he was away.  I've had to re-stock Cottage supplies but that can be off set against income received.  I'll need to get some treats in for FDawg soon.

We went out for an adventure on Friday.  As Wales was still largely closed we went east and explored some of the beaches on the Wirral Peninsula.  It was soooo nice to be out in the world.  I have booked a hair appointment for next week and my next challenge will be getting to the Post Office.  We're still being very careful and limiting indoor visits as much as possible but are more confident now about outdoor trips.

A bit of sunshine would be nice 🌞 - come on July, you're letting Summer down ☔

Take care all

Fortune x

ruby_eskimo

Glad to hear you have bookings planned in.  Have you got a cancellation policy that could guarantee you some income if people cancel say 48 hours before the booking?  A few family friend's are adding that as a clause to their B&B because of the reduced capacity they have to enforce.  As for the honeymooners, I agree with a bottle of fizz (Lidl's Prosecco is very nice) would be a nice touch.

PurpleFairy26

Glad you’ve got some decent bookings for the annexe. Could you do a small slate or stone with their names on and the location of the annexe for them to take away for the honeymooners. 

beanielou

PurpleFairy26 said:

Glad you’ve got some decent bookings for the annexe. Could you do a small slate or stone with their names on and the location of the annexe for them to take away for the honeymooners. 

What an awesome idea   

Fortune_Smiles

ruby_eskimo said:

Glad to hear you have bookings planned in.  Have you got a cancellation policy that could guarantee you some income if people cancel say 48 hours before the booking?  A few family friend's are adding that as a clause to their B&B because of the reduced capacity they have to enforce.  As for the honeymooners, I agree with a bottle of fizz (Lidl's Prosecco is very nice) would be a nice touch.

Hi Ruby - yes, we have a 'strict' cancellation policy.  People can cancel within the first 48 hours with no penalty then there is a 50% fee up until 7 days before the booking after which it's 100%.  Having said that, Air8n8's extenuating circumstances covers cancellations due to Covid-19 so we'd lose 100% of the income in that case.

PurpleFairy26 said:

Glad you’ve got some decent bookings for the annexe. Could you do a small slate or stone with their names on and the location of the annexe for them to take away for the honeymooners. 

Good idea Purp and friends have suggested something similar so I've made them a chalk board.  It's my last slate though so I'm going have to find some others pronto.

Fortune x