Connie's Corner

One day in the life of....

My current daily routine I would have to say is based around my cat. She is 17 and has chronic kidney disease so I have to make sure she drinks plenty of water which means getting up a couple of times through the night. I add some water to her wet food to encourage hydration, and she prefers a freshly filled water bowl. I expect I would be waking up anyway at least once so it is not a problem to me.

In the mornings Mopsy comes first again with fresh water and food. Then it's making coffee and cereal (Special K Protein or overnight oats) with blueberries and almond milk. I've been eating this for a thousand years...almost.

Next it's on to the computer, checking email, Facebook, the weather for the day, youtube news, and of course writing.com. I'm retired so there's no work to prepare for. Once my morning stiffness has worn off some, I'm in the shower, then getting dressed for the day. There is always something to do around the house even though I live alone, floors to mop, dusting, bathrooms to clean, bed to make, laundry to do, etc., etc. This varies from day to day. I have bird feeders and birdbaths to clean and fill, some yard work although that is limited now by arthritis, and on some days of the week places to go, grocery shopping, book club, writers' groups, doctors' appointments, a life history group, and other special things that come up. Saturdays are always one of these special things which may include eating out somewhere (never a fast food joint though).

Lunch is almost always the same, a Morningstar Original Griller on a hamburger bun with spinach leaves, tomato, and mayo. I limit myself to one cup of coffee because I've had tachycardia (svt) so my drink is either water, a yogurt and banana smoothie, or a Crystal Light mix. I've been eating this lunch forever too. Once in a while I may vary it with an egg salad sandwich, a grilled cheese, or a tuna salad sandwich (Mopsy gets the other half of the can of tuna). Tomato soup is sometimes a go-with. But the griller is by far my preference.

By 1:30 or 2, I need a short nap, 45 minutes or so, I can barely keep my eyes open if I'm home. If I'm out, this doesn't happen. Go figure. Home is boring I guess. If I'm reading a good book prior to the nap, sometimes it's delayed. Today, for instance, the weather is so nice (80 degrees and sunny) I've been pulling weeds and trimming some shrubs, too busy for a nap.

If I have an art or writing project going on, morning and afternoons can be devoted to that so I do have some variation depending on when things are due. I always need a new story for 3 writing groups I belong to, and I sometimes do pet portrait commissions.

Suppertime is between 5 and 6 and depends on preparation time. It could be a veggie stir fry, veggie chili, eggplant parm, a fav curry recipe I have, pizza, always a spinach salad with chopped apple, pecans, blueberries or strawberries with blue cheese dressing, and sometimes I'll just have an Amy's frozen dinner microwaved. No bread. My only bread is for lunch, pizza being the exception.

I always try to watch PBS News Hour live on youtube at 6 although sometimes I can't make myself watch the entire show. I'm always checking FB and WDC throughout the day. Evenings are almost always devoted to reading and bedtime is around 11.

The blogging here everyday has varied my routine a little, and it feels nice. I'm reading others' posts throughout the day and thinking about what I will write. Although I don't always comment, I always read everyone's post and really appreciate the time and effort each of you invest.