A Day in The Life

Yesterday was a fairly busy day for me. I did not get anything posted as we were forecast storms and I wanted to get the computer off and unplugged before they hit. Turns out, we did not get storms like the weather dummies said.

I started my day just like usual. I get up with my husband and start coffee. I then make sure my son is up. He swears to me every time I talk to him about responsibility that he gets himself up most mornings. So not true. So I make sure to wake him up. If it's cold, I start a fire if needed. I get my husbands lunch for the day ready. About this time, we sit down for a cup of coffee together before he leaves. Then it's time to make sure my son gets out the door on time to catch the bus. As we only have one working vehicle, unless it's a day my husband can take the bike, I cannot get my son to school if he misses the bus.

Since I knew we were supposed to be in for strong winds and storms, I figured that I would finish my coffee, have my cup of tea (I switch after one cup as I have found that too much coffee doesn't agree with me), and then get started on my day.

I started outside as I wanted all the outside stuff done before the weather moved in. First, I chopped wood.

See, no firewood.

 

Pile growing.

Some of the pieces to be chopped.



 



A mostly full tub.

 

Then it was time to take the awning down. We put up the awning to give us some shade and a place to sit outside in case it was raining. My mom had a gazebo that blew over a few years ago and she gave us the screening from it when she got rid of it. We attached that to the awning to help cut down on bugs. Mostly the mosquitos as wherever I am, there are also mosquitos having dinner on me. We also set up a table, which I had already removed, the grill/smoker and our cowboy grill. We hope to set up a "more permanent" moveable outdoor kitchen so that when the time comes for us to move we can take it with us. But that's for another day.

See? Gone.

 

This is where the pictures stop. Once I got the awning down and put away and the grills moved and covered, it was time to bring in the wood. I got distracted by one last look of summer.

It was the only one left in the yard. I love dandelions. They may be considered a weed, but in my book they are a welcome addition in the yard. They are very beneficial. And I hear they can make a pretty good wine.

Anyway, back to the wood. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to haul the tub all the way to the door and up the steps. So I got out my trusty dolly. I wheeled it out there and slid it under the tub and off I went. For about five feet. Then the tub dumped over. So I tipped it back upright and tried again, holding the dolly a lot lower trying to avoid another mishap. No such luck. It tipped a second time. So I picked it back up again and thankfully made it into the house. Out I went to get the wood that fell out. I stacked it on the dolly, kept the handle low again and still the wood would not stay on it. So I gathered about half of it and tried again. I got about 3/4 of the way to the door when it tipped and some of that wood fell off. I got it picked up and finally into the house. The third load, Woohoo!, I got it inside without a hitch.

By this time, the morning had gone by and I still had plenty I wanted to get done. I wanted to take a shower because it is true, using wood to heat with definitely warms you more than once!

I had already started a load of laundry before going out to chop wood. I took that out and hung it on our drying rack and started a new load. Remember, I am trying to save as much money as possible, a dryer does not do that. A hanging clothes dryer can.

Then I sat down to eat lunch. Leftovers from dinner the night before. Still trying to save money and throwing food out does not do that either.

After lunch, I hung the second load of clothes. I only have one of the clothes drying racks, but I do have hangers and a shower rod. So that's where I hung the second load.

Then it was time to get started in the kitchen. I mixed up some bread dough and set it aside to rise. Then I got all the clean dishes put up and the dirty dishes washed. Next I went looking for chocolate chips as I was going to make cookies. I DON'T HAVE ANY!! Wow, that is just sad. So I decided to make brownies. And popcorn. And most definitely not the microwave kind.

 

With all the snacks out of the way, it was time to bake the bread and get started on dinner. Hamburgers, mushroom gravy and roasted potatoes. I think it was yummy. My husband and son said so. Did I not eat any, you ask? Oh, I did. I just couldn't taste it. You see, I woke up with a really yucky cold yesterday.

 

By this time, Hubby is home and he makes me a hot toddy. I think it was good, too, but again, I couldn't really taste it. It did ease my sore throat and I coughed a little bit less. We spent the evening vegging out since at that time I was about done for. We do not have cable, but do have an antenna so we can watch local channels and stations like PBS. We watched a really neat show about some cultures and their manhood ceremonies and how they earn money for a living for their families, and about the people that lived in America before it was "discovered". I do like shows like that. Then another hot toddy and off to bed. To hack and cough and not sleep.

 

Needless to say, I have not gotten much done today, except try to get rid of this cold. And try to sleep some. Didn't work too much better today. I have started a productive cough now and my throat doesn't hurt anymore, so I believe I am on the mend.

 

This does make me wonder though... Today I was able to just take it easy and rest. What would I have done if we had some sort of catastrophe going on? Pick any one of the things that could happen. Snow/ice storms, thunderstorms with power outages like many parts of the country right now, the myriad of social/economic issues, etc. Would I have had time to rest? To take a day off?  What would happen if my family's survival counted on me being at the top of my game? Or even if not that drastic, just their comfort. What if we already lived out in the country and I had animals and chores to do? Take a bit and ponder that for your situation.

 

Until tomorrow.