Thursday, May 25, 2017

A Day in the Life by A.M.Westerling



When I first saw the title for this month’s post, the first thing that came to mind was The Beatles’ song, A Day in the Life *, from the album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
 Yes, yes and yes.
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,  Yes and yes
And looking up I noticed I was late. No. I’m happily retired and too busy to work, thank you very much!

Found my coat and grabbed my hat No and no
Made the bus in seconds flat No
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke, No and no
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream. Yes. I am a writer, after all and inspiration strikes me at the weirdest times. Which is why I always carry a little notebook and pen with me.

Anyway, the first three lines fit my life perfectly, because that’s how I start every morning, I don’t do anything until I’ve had my coffee and toast (I make the toast, my sweetie is the beverage boy as his coffee is way superior to mine!) and read the newspapers. We have three delivered every morning which always leads to a lively discussion. After that, I’m ready to start the rest of my day.

Mondays and Wednesdays, I go to the gym at lunch for spin/yoga/weight group classes, otherwise I will go for a brisk walk in the morning, 2 km or more. Then it’s time to get on with the business of writing. Almost every day, I start with the writing related activities, ie, posts on Facebook and Twitter, updating my website, blog posts, checking emails, etc. etc. That can take up to an hour.

I don’t write every day but if I’m in the middle of a project, I’ll spend at least three days a week at the keyboard after I’m finished with the social media stuff. My daily word count is 1000 words so I’ll write for however long it takes me to reach that. Usually it’s 2 -3 hours and it can be any time of the day, especially the evenings when my husband is out and I have the house to myself.

On days I’m not writing, it’s the usual things we all have to do – laundry, house cleaning, paying bills, running errands. Or you’ll find me out in my garden. 


I really enjoy geraniums and I've discovered if you keep them overwinter, they become the size of small bushes. (Left)

(Right) Hostas in my shade garden. I love the foliage although they can take a bit of a hit during a hail storm. I've been known to run out with sheets to cover them up!


 I also enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes although I will admit I have my favorites and they seem to pop up on the menu frequently. We’re on a bit of a Greek kick right now so lots of Greek salad, youvarlarkia, keftedes, souvlaki and tzatsiki sauce. My favorite recipe for Greek Salad is from Diane Clement's Chef on the Run, Copyright 1982, Sunflower Publications Ltd. 

In the evenings, we’ll either do a bit of shopping or relax with a movie or whatever series that has caught our fancy on Netflix or Masterpiece Theatre on PBS. I adore costume dramas and currently we’re powering our way through Agatha Christie’s Poirot. 




*Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
A Day in the Life lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

3 comments:

  1. I thought of the Beatles song, too. Nice post.

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    1. Thanks Diane. Yeah, it was the first thing that popped into my head so I thought it would be a good intro. The only problem, I suppose, is now we'll be singing that song for the rest of the day! ;)

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  2. Seems that all of us who are "retired from days jobs" have husbands who make the coffee. An interesting observation :-)

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