Busy Days

Retirement certainly is tiring! Who knew I'd be so busy that the days are still not long enough to get everything done? I suppose I knew that in theory, but in actuality--whew!


Yesterday was one busy day. Our bees arrived at the post office so Larry made a quick trip to pick them up. Once home he set about putting them in their hive, and while he was at it he checked on the other two hives and discovered that we needed to harvest. While he was busy with that I was making the jam I wrote about last night, baking bread and doing laundry. When we reached a stopping point we spent some "porch time" and assessed the rest of the day. Since the rain had held off we decided to plant some tomatoes. I swear this is the latest we've ever put in our tomatoes but with the daily rains we've had it's been just about impossible to get any planting done. We also got in a few hills of cucumbers, some beans and corn seed and I put out some romaine lettuce plants.

We got chased to the porch by some brief showers once or twice while planting but we got about 50 tomatoes in the ground before stopping. Dinner was followed by more planting--flowers this time. Then as evening settled in we ate spaghetti on the deck and enjoyed watching the Cedar Waxwings continue their bombardment of the mulberry tree. Larry brought the laundry in from the clothesline and I sorted it and put it away, then got to work listing a few things on eBay and packing sold items for mailing, and finished up by writing my blog for the day. Bedtime came early and was mighty welcome!

Today we relaxed a little. It rained all night (perfect for our plants) so instead of hustling out to do more planting we went into town for the Ripley on Sale event--yard sales all over town and all over the courthouse lawn. I found lots of bargains, some to sell on eBay and others for us to keep, and we saw many friends as we meandered around. I was happy to find some really big sheer curtains that I plan to use to cover my cherry trees when the cherries start to ripen. I don't mind the birds getting the mulberries, but the cherries are mine! Other cool things were wood bushel baskets, some nice kitchen utensils and, very, very best--a stainless steel egg poaching pan for $1.00. My mother had one exactly like it and I loved those poached eggs. I can't wait to try it out.

When we got home Larry donned his bee suit and headed to the hives. He brought in the frames of honey and put them in the honey extractor, whirling them around to spin the honey out of the comb. I don't have photos because I was busy in the kitchen getting jars ready. When he brought in the honey (about a gallon this time) I skimmed off the bits of wax, dead bees, etc and then jarred it up. It went beautifully this time--no bees in the house like last year! The honey is light and just beautiful. Larry also found that one hive is building a queen cell so he is planning to go out there again on Sunday and try to split the hive. Wish him luck.

Tonight I've been getting ready for storytelling at Vandalia tomorrow. I can't wait to head to Charleston to hear the great old-time music, see friends at the storytelling tent and browse the arts and crafts. It will be another long, full day of this restful time they call "retirement."