Thursday, June 2, 2016

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.



22 comments:

  1. You are one busy gal. I envy that you get up so early, even if it's in a fog. I sleep longer in the morning and stay up late at night. On mornings I do have to get up early, I really love the scent of morning dew and that damp feeling in the air. birds chirping. But not enough---Ha!

    You do quite a bit in a day. I've never tallied up my activities but I know that with or without a job, sometimes we women carry a lot on our shoulders. I love hearing how my kids share so much with their partners. Could be a whole new Generation X that's much improved and ahead of its time.

    Your yard looks wonderful, Mel. Very peaceful. Enjoy your free time out there, you deserve it!

    Jane

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  2. Melanie, what a busy day! I have those also and I'm so blessed to be able to be at home, help my Mom and take care of my Grands sometimes. life is good!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  3. This was a fun read with lots of beautiful photos, especially of your yard and blooms. Love the tee shirt over a box for the cats idea! My favorite photo was the light streaming in on them...such a pretty capture of an ordinary moment that is oh-so-special :)

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  4. Your lawn and neighborhood are beautiful. Love the daises (my favorite flower) in the little bottles and that black and white shot of your cat is tops. You should enter it in the fair this summer.
    Have a sweet weekend.
    Your blogging sister,
    Connie :)

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  5. What a lovely post, Melanie...it is so beautiful there! I love your gardens and your view. I am not a morning person either and coffee is what I do, too...wish I could sit a share a cup with you!

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  6. Melanie, You gave me a great idea. I recently purchased a chair for my balcony but it's pretty noisy in the middle of the day. I am a morning person so I will check it out before 7am tomorrow. Sylvia D.

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  7. Holy smokes lady, how do you keep it all going? Love these little snippets of your day - and your gardens look wonderful!!!!!!! Gorgeous! I just finished mowing the lawn for 3 hours and it's time for a shower and a cocktail - I'm pooped!

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  8. A busy day =)
    I am twiterpated with your cats. They all look so sweet ♥
    If I had a backyard I would want it to look like yours!

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  9. Your yard is absolutely beautiful, Melanie. I, too, like being a homemaker.

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  10. Sounds like a perfect day to me. I love being at home, too.

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  11. I'm slow getting started in the morning too, but my cats don't let me wait. They want to be fed immediately. I wish I had your energy for the rest of the day! Don't you love Chewy? I love getting kitty litter delivered to the front door. Great customer service too! It's the only company I know of that has a real human answering the phone.

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  12. Your day sounds like my day...every day. I still have kids at home, too, they add to the busyness, in a good way. I love being a homemaker and as you said, I am so lucky to be able to do what I love.

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  13. It doesn't get much better than - "Tired, fulfilled and grateful.".

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  14. Like you, I know how lucky am I to be a housewife, especially with no children left at home. It amazes me how much housework is needed to run a household with just two tidy people in it! But with summer here, the housework tends to get neglected, while I work outside. I'm not as energetic as I used to be, I find I need to sit quite often to rest my cranky back. But it's okay, I have that luxury. Isn't it lovely?

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  15. Ok, your day sounds completely lovely and I adore that you are so full of gratitude about it. I'm the same way after being home for 15 years. I still have nightmares about my last corporate job! Sometimes when I'm fussing to myself about some chore or other around the house, I will stop and remind myself that it is a blessing to be here doing what I love and no job, whether within the house or not, is all pleasure!

    Your cats are the cutest!!!

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  16. Melanie, your days are much like mine. Just like you I wouldn't have it any other way! Blessed for sure. :)

    Happy Thoughts of Home ♥

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  17. Your furry friends make me smile so much :) cats make my heart happy. As does your blog!

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  18. Hi Melanie, I'm just catching up with your blog. I'm sorry to have missed some posts lately. We're getting settled into our summer routine and I hope to have more time for blogs now. Anyway, I loved seeing snippets of your day. I like to see the mundane, everyday stuff more than anything else on blogs, actually. I just really like to know how people live. I love to be a homemaker too. I was a teacher before I had my children but I know I won't go back to that if I do return to work someday, which I may not do at all. I really love managing the home and like you said, it can be a huge amount of work all by itself. I think that if you want to stay home, and your family's budget allows for it, it's a very good thing. I'm fortunate that I don't have to work outside the home and I never forget that, it also keeps me going when I feel bored and annoyed with the SAHM lifestyle - it's a privilege and an honor, even if it doesn't feel like one every second of every day. :)

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  19. Melanie, this was beautiful. Some of my favorite books are journals where the everyday events are recorded and this post reminded me of them. It's the stuff of life. But my goodness, you get a lot accomplished in your day, my friend. I think I used to be like that long ago, at least when I read my old journals I'm shocked by how much I used to get done. The best thing of all in this post is that your contentment and enjoyment in these things is very clear. I was able to work from home most of the time after my kids were born as we ran our family business from our house, and I was very grateful not to have to commute to a job elsewhere.

    Your pictures were so good--the views of your gardens and front yard show a lot of care, they're so pretty. And those columnar trees or shrubs are beautiful. Your fur babies are always adorable!

    A blessed week to you, Melanie,
    Dewena

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  20. Melanie, thanks for stopping by and leaving comments on my "how I lose weight" post. Was really glad to hear about your own weight loss journey, and especially what happened when you cut out processed sugar - I think it must be worse for us than we originally thought.

    Mary

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  21. You have such a eye for color! Love reading your blog!

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  22. I had to laugh when you said your are busier at home than in an office. I couldn't agree more! I retired a couple of years ago and home life is filled with so much that the hours fly! I'll have to try your cat bed idea for Lizzie (who bears quite a resemblance to Zippo!) Great idea, and I love your pretty flowers in the ball jars, which attracted me to this post in the first place! Cheers! ~ jeanie from Marmelade Gypsy

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment - I read and appreciate each one!