DITL

Over the last couple of weeks, excuse me, fortnight, three different people have asked me the same two questions: what does a typical day look like for me, and what types of meals do I have?

So, I thought I’d share a typical day/week (when I’m not driving up and down the A9 being a tourist) in this post, and my diet in the next.

I’m an early riser (currently the long days are really helping with that), and the very first thing I do is have a cup of tea. It’s a religious moment – I imagine this is how smokers feel about their first drag of the day.  I have two cups of tea while reading the online newspapers and social media (I use Twitter as a form of news gathering – I don’t follow anyone I know, only public figures or news sites).  Then Scout & I go for our first walk of the day – usually 30 – 45 minutes.  We can head in any direction and be in either a park, country fields, the shore, in town, or just in this neighbourhood. So each day is a different walk.

Then housework – a half hour or so each morning, then I sit down at my desk for what I refer to as ‘my work’.  For about two hours or so I: work on my blog, look after my finances, reply to people’s emails, write actual letters (I have a few family members or friends of my parents that I write paper letters to, so that’s about one per week).  I also look after my women’s group’s technology, pay bills, research possible trips (I’m hoping Scandinavia will be next, or maybe an overnight shopping trip to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin, or Belfast), and sometimes do some proofreading for friends.

Lunches are usually either bento boxes or buddha bowls (my meals must be alliterative it seems) that I batch make, three or four at a time, in advance.  I probably have lunch out once or twice a week, either local pubs or food trucks.

Afternoons we head out: often driving to a beach, hiking trail, or historic site for a walk – I listen to a lot of podcasts and audio books on these walks (currently listening to Kermode & Mayo’s Movie Reviews and Alan Cumming’s autobiography).  Recently more of our afternoon walks include heading into town to check out the tourists – I don’t know why I find that so entertaining, but I do. 

I probably meet a friend for coffee once a week or so. Ditto walking our dogs – we meet up with a different friend or neighbour every so often for a walk. I go to yoga twice a week and my walking group meets Friday afternoons. I probably have one ‘appointment’ each week: hair, massage, pedicure, dentist, etc… and I visit the library at least once a week.  I’ve started attending services at St Magnus Cathedral on Sundays.

Dinners fall into three categories: most evenings I make my dinner (will address dining in next post); probably once a week I dine out at a local pub or restaurant; and once a fortnight or so I get takeaway.

I have a few Canadian friends who set up regular monthly Zoom calls for us when I left, so probably every week or every other week I’m visiting with them (afternoon for them, evening for me), which is really nice – I’m glad they did that.  I am a member of a group that meets at the library monthly, also in the evenings.  But for the most part my evenings are either watching TV or reading (much like at home).  I quite like curling up on the sofa with Scout and a book, and I even set my computer up such that I have a YouTube channel playing music (I turn the volume on that way down) on one screen, and another channel with a fireplace on my larger monitor (I turn the volume way up on that one).  I even have the fire going in the summer evenings when it is still light out (because it is also still cold 😊).

I make a point of not looking at emails, social media, etc after suppertime.  A short yoga bedtime routine, then in bed by 11pm.

Well, I gotta say, re-reading that it does make my life seem quite mundane, but I suppose that most people’s lives, if broken down hour by hour, would seem fairly ho-hum.  Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.