October is done and dusted and for sure is one month I do not want to visit ever again!
There were some good stuff, but also a whole lot of bad stuff! As my friends know very well, I carry my heart on my sleeve, and here on Hive, you'll see that in my blogs.
My bookings nose-dived, and a booker defrauded me, but I got up, dusted myself off, and kept on fighting the fight.
The kitchen's been my best friend, a place I love as I can drown all my sorrows in the cooking pots, or beat the life out of pastry or bread dough! All utensils find themselves being tossed into the sink when they've served their purpose, enough banging and clanging to wake the dead!
I promise you it's good therapy!
A friend blames all the October nonsense on the strong influence of the Hunter's Moon. I quite believe her, as all the nonsense peaked with the rising of the Moon!
The one constant is Poe, who sees me as his Mommy, or rather his personal chef. He's on a diet, and starts asking for food long before breakfast and suppertime;) He has found his way into the heart of a woman who swore she was not a cat lover. I must say though, his days of hunting birds seem to be waning, for now at least! He's not brought a bird in for a long while!
Calm seemed to return, but this sight greeted me on Wednesday morning:
The very tall concrete electric light pole right outside our fence had fallen. Unbelievably parallel to the fence, and it did no damage! Not even the overhead cables were damaged as the streetlight was still working. Yes, it stays on 24/7, despite our country's energy crisis!
I heard three versions of what happened.
Our unfriendly neighbour spun an unbelievable tale.
Version one
...neighbour said he grabbed the opportunity to arrange to cut down the branches of the tree on their verge when he saw the pole had fallen as the overhead cables were out of the way.
Naturally, I assumed it happened during the night. I'd heard a loud thud just before I left for an appointment, but neighbour said that was the tree branch I heard.
Their verge was full of tree branches at that point.
The pole had been leaning slightly after the floods of 2022, as the mudslide took out the next pole, and 'our' light pole no longer had any stays. I assumed it fell as the ground softened after quite a bit of recent rains.
By some miracle, the electricity department was there in no time, and by the end of the day, the new pole was planted, and cables sorted.
Version two
...was broadcast on the neighbourhood WhatsApp group when the electricity was turned off while they were working on the cables. Messages from irate residents were coming in. I explained that our light pole had fallen in the night, blah blah blah...The wife corrected me - the gardener saw the pole fall when he was cutting a couple of 'small' tree branches.
Version three - the truth
...My gardener heard the true version!
Neighbour had hired two unlicensed tree fellers to cut down some branches. A large branch hit the cable which in turn tugged at the light pole and led to its fall from grace!
My gardener and I had a good chuckle, and we both agreed hubby would not have been as naive as I was, but perhaps the concrete pole could have fallen of its own accord sometime in the future?
Hive PUD
Back to the business of the day.
The awesome @hivebuzz give out Power Bees for Hive Power Up Day and explain why we power up:
Why participate in the Hive PUD
The first reason is to have fun and get a badge!
And here are some other great reasons to power-up your HIVE:
Strengthen your influence on the blockchain with stronger votes on content, proposals and witnesses.
Earn more curation rewards. The more Hive Power you have, the more you can potentially earn back
Earn "interest" by holding Hive Power. You will also earn HIVE passively at about 3% per year of what you currently have powered up so the more HIVE you have, the more you can earn from just holding!
Finally, several amazing members are offering prizes that include delegations, Hive giveaways, and other cool stuff to the Hive PUD participants.
I wanted to power up more, but I am being cautious. The average occupancy in my BnB has been excellent this entire year, but October was unexpectedly and unbelievably dismal!
1 October saw me at 22 009HP, so I have moved up somewhat, but I'm not sure I will reach my goal of 25 000HP by 1 Jan! The BnB keeps me away from Hive during December, one month that I need not worry about bookings!
Happy Power Up Day everyone!
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Artwork by @artywink
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
Create your own Forever Memory Bank
Join our community of awesome content creators
right here on HIVE
𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩
Join our Silver Bloggers community
Artwork by @artywink
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
Join our Silver Bloggers community
Artwork by @artywink
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
You will see, my dear, that November will bring you new challenges and joys, as well as more clients. Not to mention the company of your friends, who are always by your side, and of us at Hive, who will always support you. By the end of the year new recipes for those tasty desserts you make. There is your happiness today. A big hug and let's start November with new joys. 🤗🥰❤️
Thank you dear @mamani for always encouraging me with your sound advice and wisdom. November bookings are looking better already!
Have a wonderful weekend😘
It is lucky nobody was hurt when it fell. Let's hope November is better
Exactly, it could have been worse! Probably a good thing the branch fell as it forced the pole to fall straight and not into the road or on our fence!
November is looking much better already. Thank you @mypathtofire
I wonder why the bookings nosedived in October!
Happy LPUD Lizzie
Hi Ed, it's a whole lot of factors. A ripple effect of sewerage spills into some rivers during the 2022 floods, effectively closing the city beaches every so often. The municipality has not dealt with fixing infrastructure, hence my surprise that our street pole was dealt with so quickly!
An upmarket seaside suburb that is close to one of the affected rivers, dropped their rates drastically as their occupancy nosedived. We've all adjusted our rates, but guests not in the know can book large condos with sea views, so inland visitors of course book there! October usually is a busy month with school holidays, but then we were dealt another blow with snow on the major route to Durban where many motorists and truckers were stranded, some for up to 2 days, just before the holidays! I had a cancellation there as well.
Plus a company booking fell through, so I was left high and dry.
Loads of complaints from me Ed, but I think you'll understand the implications!
The figures below tell the story - maybe time for me to pack up and go!
Or I'm just being morose, things already picking up for November, and December will fill up!
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-20-de-lille-gets-a-few-thumbs-up-and-pleas-to-help-durban-challenges/
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Well done @lizelle! Your dedication to powering up is inspiring.
😍
50% of my vote on this post is because of Poe!
What a handsome boy!
!LUV
Ha, now I know what to do, he sure is a handsome dude😍 A real rascal though, knows how to twist my little finger. The vet's diet is not going according to plan😅
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I can just imagine!
!LOL
@lizelle, @zakludick(1/10) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community | HiveWiki | <>< daily
@lizelle, you're rewarding 4 replies from this discussion thread.