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.
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
I thought of the Beatles song, too. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteThanks 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! ;)
DeleteSeems that all of us who are "retired from days jobs" have husbands who make the coffee. An interesting observation :-)
ReplyDelete