My Typical Day

Greetings Earthlings:

I was recently asked what a “Typical Day” looks like for me.  I had to ponder on this for a while.  My Typical Day is very much very typically Atypical.  I guess a lot of it has to do with: 

A) What needs to be done and 

B) If Papa is home or not.  

It also depends on the season’s tasks required.  Each brings its own set of special activities!

My day typically starts somewhere between 7 and 8:30 a.m., more often than not, around 8:00.  I typically sleep until I wake up, unless an alarm needs to be set for one reason or another.  How early or how late depends on what the previous day’s activities entailed.   My brain still goes 100 mph.  My body, not so much. I need longer rest times after heavy work now.  Something I am still trying to adjust to.  

Our daily routine starts with morning tea together.   During this time, we fill each other in on what plans – a term loosely used in my world – we may have for the day.  

Tea for two

If Papa is planning a Big project – like re-laying the slate stone patio by the pond, cleaning out the chicken coop, or something equally as ugly – my day’s plans tend to get scuttled.  Nobody wants to take on a project like that by themselves and I am happy to assist in whatever way necessary, although I don't think I am often as much help as I think that I am! 

Slate patio needed to be re-installed after being lifted to do a pond liner maintenance.
Not a pleasant job for neither man nor beast!

The slate patio is complete.  We also finished the brick walkway to the
upper pond seating area the same day.  Glad to see those jobs done!
The checker board patio is part of a future project.

If I have an equally big, 2 person task at hand, his plans will get redirected to be able to help me with my project.  If he is home, he will do the morning chores, which includes feeding the steers and opening the chicken coop, greenhouse and high tunnel.  If he has to be away, that may fall to me.  There are no pink jobs or blue jobs at our house.  They are all purple jobs.

Eggs washed and sorted.  Ready to be put in cartons by
whomever should see they need be dealt with.

Once the morning tea and daily plan is brought about, he goes his way and I go mine or we take to a task together, if that is what the day warrants.  We meet at lunch to reassess if plans need to be altered for the afternoon.  We used to meet at coffee time, but we spent more time yarning and less time doing, so we dumped the coffee breaks in favor of a bit longer lunch break and perhaps a late afternoon, pre-dinner beverage on the front deck.

Pre-dinner beverage ready to be enjoyed on the front deck.
The bottle opener was a gift from my grandson in Homage to
my absolute favorite movie!  It's a Major Award!

  Whoever gets into the house first typically makes or starts lunch, which is most typically my soup of the moment and perhaps a sandwich or seasonal salad.  I typically make one or two different soups each week.  This makes the noon meal a quicker reheat and we can get back to whatever we may be doing.

Dill Pickle Soup (recipe in a previous blog) and
egg salad on homemade bread is a typical lunch

Typically, I may have spent the morning in the garden, in the chicken coop, or assisting Papa in one of our many garden areas.  Perhaps I was harvesting whatever needed to be harvested then dealt with.  I may have worked in the greenhouse.  I may also have done housework, baking, canning, or even marathon cooking of freezer meals.  Typically though, after lunch, my afternoon becomes my own to do with, as I desire.

Pressure canner rocking and knocking as it preserves . . .

. . . a batch of Corned Beef.  The jar of garbanzo beans in the middle
was to fill the canner.  No point in running a canner that isn't full!

Corned Beef, fresh from the canner!  Looks amazing!

We tried it for lunch the next day on homemade buns, with Pickled Green Peppers and
cucumbers from the greenhouse.  It did not disappoint.  So good!

And that is when it can get interesting.  It is through my morning chores where I get the inspiration for my afternoon’s activities.  Whether it is to piece or quilt a quilt, design a quilt, write an article, a pattern, letter, or blog, paint, do a photo study of something interesting in the yard, go for a walk with Wilbur, take a bike ride to pick up the mail, make a pitcher of something cold and read a book or magazine, sort thru a project, visit with a customer who had booked a studio visit, teach a lesson, create something with one of my grandchildren and so on, this is always my favorite part of the day.  

My daily activities also heavily hinge on the weather.  If it is rainy or windy or otherwise too miserable, too cold or too hot to go outside (I am a fair weather gardener), my whole day can potentially become a studio day!  Bonus!

Afternoon Studio Project was this Bucket Hat.
I had made it for myself but the crown is too long and the
circumference is too small.  Guess someone else will
get to love it.

If I haven’t made a Crock-pot meal, taken out a premade freezer meal (typically a lasagna or other single dish dinner) or we are having something leftover (always a favorite in our house!), we will typically make dinner together.  Papa is my sous chef as I typically do the meal planning and cooking.  He does like to cook and will occasionally want to make our dinner, but he tends to typically leave this to me.  

In the summer it always involves something from the greenhouse or garden.  We have a standing daily question at our house during the greenhouse season, “Have you eaten your cucumber today?”  Fresh rules!  Currently we are enjoying greenhouse cucumbers, asparagus, spring onions, rhubarb and any perennial herbs.  Add some eggs from our chickens and you have a quick and easy omelette!

The daily picking of Asparagus!

My evening is typically spent with Papa, discussing our daily conquests, sharing a beverage, sitting on the deck or in the gazebo and enjoying each other’s company.  If we happen to be in the house, my evening time is spent doing some sort of hand work – EPP, hand quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc., as we sit with our feet up.  We typically watch a movie on DVD or a YouTube presentation – typically something gardening related – or perhaps listen to a CD.  We don’t have mainstream television in our house – by choice.   

Evening hand work project

Regardless of how my typically atypical day is spent, it never fails that I run out of day before I run out of things to do!

Enjoy your typical day!

Warm regards and until next time,

Gremlynn