It's a dull Saturday in every sense of the word dull - weather, lack of sunshine and mundane activity. Cleaned the house this morning which is always cathartic and has to be done.
<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CarrotCorianderNov19.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-5916" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CarrotCorianderNov19-150x200.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="200" /></a>Made some carrot and coriander soup with the last of the carrots from the garden. Cleaning the carrots and discarding the ones that have been eaten by slugs is the most tedious part of the process. I found in Tesco sealable "pour" bags so I now freeze all my liquid foods - plum sauce, soups, apple puree, etc into these bags. They take up less room than plastic containers and can be pushed into small gaps - brilliant design.

My Saturday morning routine is to read the Guardian, the only newspaper I read, and usually do the quick crossword while nursing a cup of Earl Grey.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/amazon_clockNov19.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-5917 alignright" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/amazon_clockNov19-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>My tech world expanded a little today - an Amazon Clock was delivered along with another Echo Dot for the bedroom. I use the Echo dot in the kitchen as a timer when I'm cooking but there's no visual display to tell you how long is left so I usually ask - "echo how long left on the timer". Note I don't use the keyword Alexa because this would give the device some semblance of humanity and it isn't human, it's a rather stupid machine with a huge memory bank. The new wall clock is linked to the Dot so it shows a countdown for timers. In the bedroom when I get up in the night (At least once) I can't tell what the time is without putting on my glasses so now I can just ask Echo. It is also easier than my Roberts radio to set alarms - not that I need to set alarms very often because I'm usually awake before 7. I thought setting up two new items of tech would at least occupy me for an hour or so, but no, five minutes and everything was connected and working as expected. Too easy!

Having spent a bit of time in the garden this week I decided it was time to plan what I'm going to do with the veg plot over the next 12 months. It helps me decide what seeds I need and make sure there is crop rotation.

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At some point in 2020 I expect to have two bee hives so over half the left hand plot will be dedicated to that. I'm thinking I will plant a variety of pollinators in front of the hive so it will be a little like a Tesco Metro on their doorstep but they'll need to go further afield for the weekly shopping.