from dawn to dusk ~ snippets of my day

I've never been a morning person. I'm in a fog for a good 30-45 minutes when I wake up. The first thing I do is make coffee. This morning was absolutely gorgeous...dappled sunshine, blue skies and a cool breeze. I took my coffee outside on the front porch and plopped myself in a chair, relishing the peacefulness of the morning. No lawn mowers going yet and no playful, shrieking neighborhood kids. Just chirping birds and the occasional car going by.

I do not take casual mornings for granted. It's been over 3-1/2 years since I left my paying job and there hasn't been a day since then that I haven't been grateful for where I am now. I know not everyone has the luxury of choosing to staying home, so that's another blessing I count.

I also realize that not everyone wants to stay home either, and that's cool, too. We're all different. I think as long as we're happy where we're at, it's all good. In my case, I've always loved being a homekeeper. And I can tell you this much: most days I work harder at home than I ever did in an office. Though office work was mentally exhausting due to the never-ending piles of paperwork, staring at a computer all day, and being on someone else's timetable.

 Once my morning fog wears off, I am raring to go. I naturally have a ton of energy. Sometimes I get so busy that I have to remind myself to take a break. I tell myself that even in an office, you get a morning and afternoon break, plus an entire hour for lunch! Today, I didn't even sit down to eat lunch until 3:00.

After I got showered and dressed and made my bed (I make my bed every morning - how about you?), I threw in a load of laundry, scooped cat boxes, fed the cats, brushed Zippo, took out the kitchen garbage, and made a pan of roasted potatoes.

Makings of tuna salad came after the potatoes.

I got the dishwasher going, then took off to run errands. I did a big grocery shopping and returned items to Kohls and TJ Maxx. Got home and unloaded the bags from the car, put away all the groceries, transferred the clothes from the washer to the dryer, unloaded the dishwasher, watered the inside plants, cleaned both bathrooms, then finally sat down for some lunch. Got the cat food order from Chewy and got that put away. As you can see, Monkey loves boxes. I'm going to keep this one to make another cat cave...

I saw this simple idea online to stretch a t-shirt over a box, as cats love hiding places. Monkey and Clementine love this smaller box, though Zippo wasn't interested at all. 

He'd rather just crash on a chair.

Back to work...laundry needs folding and putting away.

Cat litter and extras like toilet paper, paper towels and vinegar need to be hauled downstairs to the basement and put on the storage shelves. I go up and down the basement stairs at least 20 times a day. 

 Early evening today was just as beautiful as the morning. I walked around the yard, watering plants and pulling weeds.

 I swept the porch and patio and then sat here and painted my toenails. ;-)

My greens are already wilting with the warmer weather, so I picked the last of them this evening, gently rinsed them, and laid them on a dishcloth to dry.

Did a short yoga practice, washed berries and made a fruit salad, and now...

 I'm writing this blog post while the second load of dishes finishes in the dishwasher. I'll be unloading that and putting the dishes away at 9:30 p.m. And then, finally, my day will be done. Except for giving the cats their last feeding of the day at 10:30. I'll read for a bit, then go to bed. Tired, but fulfilled and grateful.

Sharing with At Home With Jemma ~ Thoughts of Home on Thursday

and Art and Sand ~ Share Your Cup.