We have had two bookings in the Airbnb room, one in now with more due and hopefully extra bookings, too. I didn't mention that before we went on our holiday Airbnb awarded us
Super Host Status!
We were awarded this due to responding very quickly to bookings, our location and the facilities we provide. All this is shown our reviews We were chuffed to bits!
Anyhow, onto other things. There are various jobs that need doing around our little Homestead, as always, and one thing is the conservatory. We are going to refurbish this into being another room and not a glass house. We cannot use if much in the summer time as it is so blinking hot. Therefore we are planning on putting a proper roof on it and removing some of the windows and cladding a lot of the outside.
Materials for this sort of job do not come cheap but if you bide your time something always turns up. We love to recycle so we have managed to acquire windows from Jon's cousin who was having some of hers replaced - we don't mind second hand - and Jon found on a Facebook selling page some FREE Marley roof tiles.
This is almost 200 which he fetched from just down the road last night and we all helped to pile up from the trailer. He is going back for another 100 tonight and that will be enough for the job. This has saved us about £600 which is flippin' amazing!
Another money saver was the small chest freezer we had in the cellar store room. Well, we haven't used it for ages, we were going to have to move it to make room for a large chest freezer by Christmas but weren't going to get much for it if we tried to sell it. Therefore I had a bit of a brain wave; we were on our way to town to buy some clip top bins for the chicken feed when I said why didn't we reuse the freezer.
We got home and Jon put a dividing wall inside it so now houses the pellets and corn. Mint!
In the Poly House I managed to tidy up one of the benches, a little, as I had no space for sowing which I got round to yesterday.
These are some of my peppers, looking like all of my peppers!
The boys and I went to the library in Aber yesterday and to do a couple of jobs in town. I picked up this preserves book as I love Dick Strawbridge and have his book of self sufficiency - Jon bought it for me some time before we moved her knowing what our life was going to be like, with any luck!
The other book is by Elizabeth Luard and I have her European Peasant Cookery book. Only after reading the introduction did I realise she lived very close to us on a large estate in a gorgeous pink house which went up for sale around the time we moved to Bronllan. In the introduction she talks about the river Ystwyth,Tregaron and lots of other places nearby which is lovely. I am on a mission to find a copy of it to buy a little cheaper than the retail price of £25 as there are some lovely recipes in it. (The gloves were on sale at 50p from the £1 shop; I need a stronger pair of gloves for when I am pruning the roses at the front door and searching behind the bamboo for eggs the chickens have decided to lay outside!)
Since getting back I've got some preserving done and pickled some gherkins and beetroot; I have more to do today. (I accidentally deleted some photos which included the gherkin pickling process...)
These are the things taken from the garden yesterday. I hope to use the salad blue spuds to make veg crisps. The peas have been added to the bag in the freezer and we have some of those every other day or so which is lovely.
The toms are coming on very well including some of the beef ones - even though I have had to ditch a couple which managed to grow very gnarly and wrap themselves around the stems!
Right must dash. The bread is on first prove, chooks are fed but need to go water stuff and maybe catch the guests before they leave for the day incase they need anything. Taking the boys to the Rec to play tennis after lunch if the weather holds.
Catch you later.
Lou.xx
Love your inventive use for the chest freezer - absolutely brilliant. You won't be getting any mice in there!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I have seen people use old appliances for animal feed and thought it would just do the trick.
DeleteHey Lou, great going with the freezer, that's what we do with the horse and chicken feed too as it is the only thing that keeps the rats out. Brilliant divider from John, we don't have that! Your peppers will come, I'm sure. Finding those roof tiles was a bonus indeed! Love a freeby and saves landfill.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds just great and right up my street. Did you get a recipe from someone or google for the gherkins? I won't have any this year as they didn't work out xx
Jon and Alf went to fetch the second lot last night as planned so we have all we need now. I googled the recipe for the gherkins. I'll try and send you the link today by email or at least before the weekend.x
DeleteI keep forgetting to read your blog as it never up dates to the top of my list for some obscure reason. Anyway have caught up now. We used to use a freezer for animal feed but kept the bags in so that when they are nearly empty it's easy to lift them out to get to the bottom.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that Sue but thank you for making the effort to read my ramblings anyway.
DeleteI have the same problem with your blog not updating which is strange. Don't you just love it when you get s brain wave and it's a free brainwave! Great thinking. I have lots of pepper plants with peppers on but I also have lots that don't......strange!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry about that Tania. Maybe if you delete my blog from your list and then put it back on it might sort the problem? I spotted a tiny pepper starting to grow yesterday so fingers crossed for a slightly later harvest. Good luck with yours.
DeleteI also meant to say well done on being a super host, in such a short time too!!
ReplyDeleteThanks chic! I have to say I do work hard to make sure all our guests are welcomed, made to feel comfy and have the wish hopefully to come back again. I now have a rep to protect. Next assessment is in October.x
DeleteThank you very much for sharing information that will be much helpful for making coursework my effective.
ReplyDelete