Although I am still digging into my nest egg, in July, I didn't need to use it all, and powered some back up. So it will be this month, although I shall again start a power down after handing out my delegations (more about that below), I hope to at least continue be powering some of it back up. So. As they say, in the classics, keep your fingers crossed!

As an aside

June and July's power downs enabled me to replace an essential appliance that I need for my market prep. This month, I'll buy attachments that I need and, hopefully, I'm out of the woods. So to speak.

Hopefully, too, as the school holidays are done and things start picking up as the race to the end of the year begins, work will pick up. It's been a little quiet with only one confirmed, ongoing project.

Back to Hive business

In my usual Power Up Day ahead post the I confirmed the power of three (Silver Blogging Women) is a thing and we plan it to continue for the foreseeable future.

As a reminder:

The Power of Three

From July 2022 - three qualifying redfish that meet my criteria and the basic PUD criteria (read about it here and below) will get delegations of:

300 HP for 21 days

They will get 100HP from @lizelle, @coquicoin (herself a recipient of one of my delegations) and me (@fionasfavourites).

July Hive Power Up Day

Back to today: I keep on saying that I'm hoping not to be digging into my nest egg, and I said last month that that hope is slowly becoming a reality. I'm not going to jinx things and will still I shall start a power down after handing out my delegations (more about that below), but I hope to be powering some (as I'm doing this month), if not all back up. So thank you to my posse of peeps whom I know send a lot of good juju my way - it's clearly paying off!

For more about why we power up on the first of each month, check out this post from the awesomesauce @traciyork who pulls it all together.

Why I - and now my fellow collaborators - do this

We all have great empathy for noobs and redfish, and that's what lies behind this contribution to #HivePUD. Here's the rundown:

After all the numbers are done and official winners announced -

We delegate 900 HP, shared equally - that's 300HP per account - among three accounts that meet the basic Power Up Day Criteria as well as these additional criteria. They must:

• be less than 6 months old
• have at least two qualifying posts since the previous power up day.
  Posts that qualify must have 200 words or more and exclude posts for Power Up Day, and Actifit.
  As a reminder, the reason I added the second criterion is because -
  Hive is a social blockchain: it's for socialising, ruminating and just generally hanging out.
• have a reputation of less than 61
• have not more than 500 HP in their accounts before they power up - both on the first of the month

What if no accounts qualify?

As I always say, I don't make decisions on my own, so if, as has happened in the past, there are "slim pickings", I will be working via Traci with the @ocd team to make selections and will keep an eye out for those accounts that fall into the Silver Bloggers' league and who have joined that community. If there are no Silver Bloggers who meet the criteria, we will look for accounts that have been identified either as part of the @lovesniper curation initiative or as part of @zakludick's Hive Classroom of 2022. We will also, because of our declared bias, look for accounts that are either subscribers to the Silver Bloggers Community, or who fit that profile.

Of course, that's not all

Remember that in addition to the delegations, these accounts are added to my fanbase and receive a daily 100% upvote (if my voting power is still more than 90%; if it's not, I do try to pop over, but RL sometimes gets in the way). This is also why I ask @ginabot to notify me each time they post. If I have an opportunity, I pop over, have a gander and occasionally weigh in on whatever the post may be about. If you haven't had a vote, I then give a manual vote.

Remember, too -

Lightening does strike twice:

If you participate in this #hivepud and you still meet the criteria, you will go into this month's pot again, and stand another chance to receive a second delegation. It's happened before. I promise.

I have you powered up today? Have you?

As I have explained, twos yes, 2's, are significant this year, so I've set a goal for each of my monthly powers up: they will all be in multiples of 2. This month's is more than it's been for a while because I am returning some Hive to my pot.

Here's proof today's power up - not as much as I'd like as I'm anticipating having to top up for that emergency purchase:

Happy August!

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma
Post script

If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:

• re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
• and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.

I blog to the Hive blockchain using a number of decentralised appplications.

• From Wordpress, I use the Exxp Wordpress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click here or on on the image below to sign up.

• Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers' community.

Original artwork: @artywink

• lastly, graphics are created using partly my own photographs, images available freely available on @hive.blog and Canva.