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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Yesterday . . .

. . . I got up way too early. I've now decided that 4:45 is NOT a good time to get up and make coffee, no matter how awake I feel at the time. I discovered that I did NOT get more done, simply because I got up earlier.

. . . I enjoyed some time downloading music for free though our local library. Our library participates in Freegal, a free music service available to library patrons, which allows 3 free downloads per week, and 3 hours of streaming per day. They have a pretty good selection of music, but not everything I might want. I am building a nice library of music for myself, though, and for free.

. . . I went blackberry picking again with my daughters after work. We picked 3 quarts of blackberries. We could have picked even more, but we were hungry for dinner, so will plan on coming back to that spot again another day.

. . . We used some of those blackberries for blackberry shortcake. Who says shortcake HAS to be made with strawberries?! This was yummy. I baked the shortcakes earlier in the day, using a sweet, rich biscuit dough. After spooning the fresh blackberries onto the shortcakes, I drizzled some runny blackberry syrup (from last year), then topped with whipped cream. Yum!

. . . I checked the pumpkin patch and it looks like I have a couple of pumpkins and spaghetti squash developing already. I'm making plans for some September meals.

. . . I found the last of a package of corn tortillas in the fridge, needing to be used up. So, I fried some chips for my daughters to take in with their lunches tomorrow. Home-fried tortilla chips are so delicious, and not overly salty, like a lot of commercial chips.

. . . Although I was tired all day, I did get a fair amount of housework done, laundry, vacuuming and  bathrooms cleaned for the week.


How was your day?

13 comments:

  1. Lily

    Yes 4:45a is a little early, but if you stick with it, especially in the summer, it becomes tolerable... albeit, not much easier. :-) That is my normal wake up time before heading into work. I find going in early allows me more time in the afternoon, even if I want to catch a quick nap. Yesterday, I did some laundry, haul and stacked some wood, picked rhubarb, made a fabulous dinner, go for a walk with a friend, gave my husband a haircut and my son a shower.... then sat down for a bowl of ice cream (good thing for that walk!).
    Some days you can be on fire, other day just all smoke, but that's ok, everything gets done what is supposed to get done... well most of the time, and if it doesn't, well it was probably low on the priority list! Have a wonderful Wednesday! Lisa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lisa,
      Your day, yesterday, sounded very balanced! You got a lot done, but also had some pleasurable moments. Good job!

      Delete
  2. I get up everyday at 5 am since my son is getting ready to go to work. I chat with him a bit then when he leaves I get ready for my day. I also go to work early and go home at 4 pm. Then there is the normal home things to do--wash, cut, parboil and freeze a 5 gallon bucket of carrots, same with 2 heads of cabbage, make dinner for 5 people, mow lawn and trim, lots of laundry, and I clean the shower in the early morning just prior to taking my shower. It's a very busy life for me right now and by about 9:30 pm I am ready for bed. Everyone cleans up after themselves and even washes, dries, and folds laundry when the dirty pile gets too high. We have a dishwasher but by hand washing I'm teaching my family that you can do without all the "servants" so we hand wash.

    Sounds like we all have our busy routines on our homesteads and glad to hear we are all dealing with them in our own special ways!

    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      Your day sure sounds full, but has some very nice moments to it, like spending a few minutes talking with your son in the AM. My usual "early" wake up time is 5:45, so I can see my family off. Those few minutes just feel important to me.

      Have a good day!

      Delete
  3. Being "off" on your sleep schedule can make you feel groggy all day long, or at least, that's my experience. I have found that my body adjusts to different waking and sleeping times but I need to be consistent (and I would be the world's crankiest person if I had to work second or third shift!). I have had some days recently of waking much earlier than I normally would--I feel energetic for about 2 hours and then I have to force myself to get through the day. And, you're right, I didn't get any more accomplished.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      I've learned that I need to respect my body's sleep cycle and amount of sleep needed. My day just doesn't work out well when I try to manage on what someone else thinks are the perfect hours of sleep.

      I'm much more likely to wake super early when the days are longest. Do you find this, too? While I love late spring, with approaching summer, the early sunrise messes with my sleep!

      Delete
    2. I definitely find that I get less sleep in the summer--I have a hard time going to bed when it stays light so late, and then I wake early--due more to the chirping birds than the light--but I love the birdsounds and wouldn't have it any other way. I try to get in a bike ride in the morning hours when I wake early. Sunday mornings are best, as few people are up then.

      Delete
  4. I sometimes wake up at 3:30 in the morning....that's too early and my day is ruined without a short rest lying back in bed. Of course, there are worse nights where I wake up after 4 hours of sleep, stay up 2 hours doing paperwork at my desk, and then get so sleepy, I need to go back another 2 hours. Horrible sleeping patterns, very rarely do I get a full 7-8 hours of sleep. I know this is not good for my health, maybe retirement will fix this.

    Yesterday was my husband's birthday....I had plans to bake him a nice triple chocolate cake but after a day of shopping and cooking he threatened me not to bake his cake (l can't stand up too long with my back problem). So I told him, why don't we make this entire month your birthday month, which means we will do a bunch of things "for your birthday"....like a kid his eyes grew wide and said "sure thing!!" Of course a month after that is my birthday so the tables will be turned...actually he always obliges to what l want everyday so I don't expect more special treatment lol

    Yesterday was "senior day" at many of the stores. I found a new joy recently...looking for household and kitchen goodies via thrift stores. Silicone baking utensils, baking pans, picture frames, clocks...at an extra 25 - 30 percent off on senior day. These thrift stores support a good cause (employment and environment)....and can't beat the bargains, plus it is fun.

    YHF

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi YHF,
      oh, that's hard, having a sleep schedule all ver the place. I hope it does resolve for you, once retired. I know a lady who's retired, who says the best part of retirement was not setting an alarm clock.

      Happy belated birthday to your husband! I hope his birthday month is a fun one (and yours, too!).

      Bargain shopping is always fun! And quite a deal at your thrift stores for seniors!

      Have a great day today, and I hope your back doesn't flare up.

      Delete
    2. Thank you, Lili :)

      Another good thing that happened yesterday....I think I found my craft medium...rug making. Watching some youtube videos about rya rug making, it all clicked...the years of collecting books and materials finally made sense and dabbling with colored pencils on graph paper. Recently, I made some rugs in crochet and was contemplating weaving on a loom next, but seeing in the video that I could draw my design on graph paper, paint in the colors then match with an unlimited selection of yarn mixes (using 3 strands per loop) really hit all the high marks for me. Of course, I wouldn't be using the rare rya yarn, but the technique and process is what was intriguing. Rya rug making is akin to latch hook rug making, but I think I'd prefer to work with a heavy woven base fabric rather than a grid. In the end, my rugs will probably be neither rya or latch hook (wouldn't want to taint such well known techniques with my wacky improvision). Sometimes, it takes all my life to finally figure what's up with myself.

      YHF

      Delete
    3. Oh, great, YHF! When I was a teen, I hooked a small rug and found it very satisfying. Have fun with it!

      Delete
  5. If I don't get enough sleep, I often get a migraine, then it's a several day affair. So I try really hard to have a regular sleep schedule. However recently I haven't been able to do that, so I'm not a happy camper, but am managing to plow forward. It's pretty impressive to read the other comments and see what others are able to accomplish even without good sleep. They are a group of hard working people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      I can totally understand. You really do need to respect your body's needs. I hope you can get back onto a good sleep schedule, soon.

      Delete

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