Next steps; grip-relaxing bimbling, and avoiding the temptations

rtandon27

We've not been to the cinema lately, but when we did last it was one freebie through the healthcare plan plus a concessions ticket (much to OH's disgust) - we each had a water bottle and a hot flask and stopped at the supermarket for a bag of cheap popcorn that went in my shoulder bag. It was still 12 pounds between the two of us which in our world is a 2x a year splurge!

I remember toonie Tuesdays fondly from my teenage years! 2 dollars for chicken and chips from kfc and 2 for the movie. Summer holidays were bliss! Though I'm sure back then my Mom recoiled in horror at the cost!

Suffolk_lass

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993275#Comment_81993275

Ah, the equivalent here was "Saturday morning pictures" but I never went; because that was when we were allowed to use the tennis courts as juniors at the local club. I took tennis very seriously, back then!

Suffolk_lass

Right, a day off from bees (maybe) - I need to shop, pot on some plants and get some things given out to others to make up. I am expecting a delivery (due yesterday but ParcelForce are ignoring the 24 hour paid-for delivery and have left it at their Coventry Hub according to their less than wonderful tracking). I might message the sender if it isn't here today!

Suffolk_lass

Another routine update. I shopped. I overspent. I shall not shop again, except for milk (and the little treat of almond croissants from the in-store EoEC-op bakery). To be fair, it wasn't all my fault. Just mostly.

After sending the bee equipment I ordered to the Isle of Man, 24 hours after it's guaranteed (paid for) delivery, Parcel Force excelled themselves. The tracking journey went collection Monday 17.44, arrived Coventry 20.23 sat there for 36 hours until tracking reported it in IoM on Wednesday. I contacted the seller who said they would follow up with their account manager. They rang me back on Thursday to say it would stay there and eventually be returned to them, so they would re-send. They did. It arrived yesterday at 3.30pm. The thing was, so did the IoM delivery; having been returned to Preston, then back to Coventry on Thursday, and on to Ipswich. Four huge boxes the lovely local delivery chap could barely lift. The complication was that I asked the seller to double some of the items in the original order, because we have been notified by the National Bee Unit that we are within 3km of a notifiable disease. We took a punt and unpacked the later customer reference number and it was the right one. So the duplicate is sitting in my house, and on Monday I will ask the seller (we are on first name terms) to arrange collection and return. He has already offered that. Ho hum.

So the lovely team of Association Apiary helpers have committed to collect more frames to make up and Mr Sl has made up the boxes they go in. All good. We just need to delay deploying the new frames until the Seasonal Bee Inspector has inspected our bees for signs of the notifiable disease. He's coming on 26th and doing four apiaries with me (he might want to do my other three too). The four are not all mine, but I have bees at two but not the Association one, or the garden of the person I mentor.

Today I am at the local Agricultural Show, and I have a ragu in the slow cooker, prepared and cooking for tonight's supper. Have a good weekend!

Suffolk_lass

The local Agricultural Show was a pleasure - the weather was better than they forecast and the sales of honey were better too. It was a chance to chat about bees with members of the public, what more could I want! The rest of the show was lovely too, with some great looking sheep that were being judged as I arrived. A quieter day for me today, I need to plant, weed, visit the Teaching Apiary and generally chill a bit. I could visit some of my bees and feed the small colonies, but only if they need it. I shall have small dog with me (he can't be left), so bee activity is a little limited.

Enjoy your Sunday! Treasure your time and routine things. The quiet rhythm of life is so good for us all and none of us know when things will stop or change

Dakota_Rose

Very true words spoken @Suffolk_lass. When life was very disrupted when our eldest child fell extremely poorly, I would’ve given anything for a normal day at home with us all together. I do try to appreciate the ‘normal’ nowadays and love Sundays 😊.

Really glad the show went well and sales were good!

Watty1

True words @Suffolk_lass and something i have been thinking about this morning. Agricultural shows are just such lovely events. Glad you enjoyed it, sales were good and you met lovely people.

Suffolk_lass

I popped along with some kit to the Teaching Apiary on Sunday and a colony that had a Queen Cell in swarmed! The person who inspected them the previous Monday must have missed one. So my plans to use the spare brood box I bought, with the new roof and floor has gone to pot as the team used it for the swarm on Sunday. Reports that it was a big swarm are an exaggeration, I think. I shall find out later today as I intend swapping them into a smaller home to liberate the kit I had earmarked for substituting in to permit cleaning of the kit the bees over-wintered in. I bought another batch of kit, four nucs - two each of the two types we use. Needless to say all my made up frames I was keeping back until the inspector had been, have now been deployed 🙇🤦.

My house is even more full of bee kit. I really should be getting my stuff ready for the Show entries - I am keeping it small this year. One jar of honey in the Hospice class (to be donated afterwards) and two different honeys in the "judged on flavour only" class, plus a cake and some fudge. I might make the fudge today…

The place I went to for fudge making is my dream - a farm down a track in some woods - I would need a few million - I might look and see if I have a live lottery ticket in a minute. I looked on RM last night and found another place near that for under £1m! I would still need lots to make it how we would want it. Dreams, eh!?

Turning to money saving things, lots of plants are growing now - weeding is out of control. I will need to weed before the squashes go out (targeting the weekend for that, in the hope that things warm up). The bank accounts are nearly recovered from the truck being bought but my credit card is hammered by Association purchases. Only £50 in the running costs account until Mr Sl's pension arrives on Friday. We will manage. The bee shed remains on hold until that pot has rebuilt. Ho hum!

Fingers crossed for good weather today - have a good one - keep the MSE faith

Suffolk_lass

Back to the Teaching Apiary today, delivering refurbished kit and seeing if any honey needs to be removed and extracted. I am hoping to do some queen rearing there next year so I want to mention that to some of those present too.

In the meantime, morning and evening, we are in the garden, weeding, planting out, watering and (still) potting on. Better after about 5.30pm now, I am indoors doing some prep for Tuesday and changing the bed linen over to summer weight duvet. I am boiling! Even in my cool thatched cottage

Suffolk_lass

A busy week for us both, with the Bee Inspector on Tuesday (the hottest ever day here in May - naturally we were in the great outdoors all day! 38 hives, belonging to four parties, across 6 apiaries; it was exhausting. I just had time to shower, eat and relax before a bee friend arrived and we went off to the Showground to register our Honey Show Entries. I won't go into details about which classes and results but I received two firsts and a VHC (Very highly Commended) - so a good hit rate with three out of five entries receiving certificates. One of the best parts of the show is chatting to fellow beekeepers, as well as the public, who always ask really good questions!

So yesterday was a much slower day and focused on removing bindweed and cleavers (known as Sticky W*ll*es in our childhood) - more to do today but I made some good inroads - trying to remove it before it seeds - I also need to remove the waning seed heads of the milk thistle (Silybum marianum) which is well over 2m high and in flower. The ground is very dry here (no thunderstorms to help here, @foxgloves so it was fracturing lots of roots as I gathered. I weeded the onion bed too but my squashes are yet to make it into the ground. I have a bee friend coming to swap my bees into her kit this morning, as I am gifting her two colonies (for the second time) after she lost her bees over winter. After that I hope to get them planted. So late!

No incoming money yet for June so the finances review can wait. Oh, and it is our DS's birthday - so we must drop his card and a pile of cash off!