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A Day in My Life

November 10th, 2010

Sustainable Eats tagged me to do a “Day in the Life” post. I’ve been thinking about doing one of these, so I figured I’d give it a go yesterday. My days are often very similar, get up, work outside when it’s warm and sunny, do my office work when it’s dark or raining, make lunch and dinner, read and go to bed. On days we film we get up early, leave, spend all day filming and then arrive home too late, often after midnight. I tried to pick an interesting day that was indicative of my “normal” day to share in this “Day in the Life of” for you. So here goes, my boring life broken down in hourly segments.

4:15 am – up at at ’em. This wasn’t really the plan, we were going to make good use of the time change and start getting up at 6 (which was the same as 7 which is when we were getting up), but we both woke up super early. Mr Chiots made us some coffee and we both got to work in the office. I like to work inside in the morning when it’s cold & dark outside, then I can spend the warm sunny afternoons outside. It was cold this morning, in the high 20’s, with a very heavy frost on the ground, there was even a skim of ice on our small pond. I chuckled and thought of Thomas Jefferson saying “Whether I retire to bed early or late, I rise with the sun.”

5:00-8:00 am – Since Mr Chiots and I both work from home, we spent our extra hours this morning working in the office. I worked on accounting and receipting some donations. I work for my parents who are missionaries, I take care of all the donations, receipts, accounting, newsletters, publicity, etc. for the Colombian Christian Mission. Mr Chiots and I also have a small production company (2nd Mile Productions), so he spent his morning working on a website and rendering out some videos.

8:00-8:30 am – Usually I’d just be starting to work in the office at this time, so I’m happy to have already put in a few hours of work! Generally we eat a simple breakfast of scones or toast with our coffee. Since we were out of bread, I decided to make some scones. I had pulled some sour cherries out of the freezer earlier that morning, and used them to make a batch of cherry macadamia nut scones. (for all of you wondering, that is a cast iron pizza pan that I baked them on) Mr Chiots made some coffee and we enjoyed our breakfast.

8:30-10:30 am – More office work, accounting, bills, lists of things to do in November, answering e-mails, etc. Not very exciting, but it pays the bills and I enjoy it.

10:30-11:00 am – Spent some time chatting with my dad, he came over to head down to Cabela’s with Mr Chiots to get some supplies for hunting season. When they left I mixed up some sourdough bread dough.

11:00am-1:00 pm – I noticed it was warming up nicely outside, now sunny and 45, so I headed out to start crating the hydrangeas. The large hydrangea up front had some beautiful dried flowers on it so I cut a 2 bushels of blooms. I won’t use these in my house, I usually save them in the attic and give them to friends or sell them at a garage sale. While I worked outside Miss Mama and Little Softie scampered about being very entertaining. During this time I was wearing a stop watch so I could remember to come in and fold my sourdough at the appointed times.

1:00-1:30 pm – Around one I started to get hungry and came in to warm up some lunch. I had 2 small potatoes in the fridge, so I fried them up in some bacon grease with some onions. I roasted some cauliflower in the oven and ate part of it as a side, the rest went into the fridge for tomorrow. As I enjoyed my simple lunch I spent some time checking e-mail, blog comments, writing a bit on this post, and a few other little tasks. (recipe for roasted cauliflower over at Not Dabbling today)

1:30-3:30 pm – Back outside to water the hydrangeas. I’m making sure I give each hydrangea 30 gallons of water since it was such a hot dry summer. I wan to make sure they go into winter in the best condition, and I have to empty my rain barrels for winter. This is hard work, the 3 gallons watering cans are heavy, so I usually do 5 trips, then work on another task for a while. During these breaks I took some photos and I added some burlap over my garlic and shallot beds to keep the cats from using it as a litter box. This works like a charm if you have trouble with cats using your beds throughout the winter. Dexter came out with me after lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the beautiful day.

3:30-3:45 pm – Came inside for a short break and to enjoy a cup of afternoon coffee. Mr Chiots made me a latte before he left, a big thanks to Mr Chiots!

3:45-5:45 pm – Spent more time watering and wrapping hydrangeas, plating a few remaining plants, emptying pots, moving things into the garage that can’t be left outside throughout the winter and I also spent 10 minutes looking for Dexter, who decided to go on an adventure into the woods.


5:45-6:30 pm – Downloaded all the photos from today, tagged them and picked out a few for this post. Spent some time reading and responding to e-mails, approving comments for my blog, and of course writing this post.

6:30-7:00 pm – Enjoyed a nice hot shower after a day of gardening. While warming up some leftover venison roast with carrots and potatoes for dinner, I unloaded the dishwasher and formed the bread dough into loaves. It was nice to spend some time sitting down to eat! While doing this my printer was busy printing off some newsletters to give to my dad when he got back with Mr Chiots from a gun auction.

7:00-8:00 pm – Selected photos, did some editing, uploaded them and put the final touches on this post. Mr Chiots arrived home from Cabela’s and the gun auction and told me all about his trip. I gave my dad a few little plants I had started for him and he headed home.

8:00-10:30 pm – More work in the office, receipts, invoicing, answering e-mails, stuffing envelopes and other things on the to-do list. I also took a few more photos to fill in a few spots in this post, like the alarm clock one at the beginning, there’s no way I would have been cognizant enough to take that at 4:25 this morning. During this time I also baked the 4 loaves of sourdough that I started that morning. We enjoyed a cup of mulled cider and a quick slice of sourdough with butter for an evening snack.

10:45 pm – Off to bed, so tired from getting up early and an active day. I’m not always this busy, some days we spent an hour or so watching TV or reading in the evenings. I am, however, not much of one to spend a lot of time sitting during the day unless I have to. I prefer to busy myself with things, so I love days like this! We had a beautiful sunset this evening with just a tiny sliver of a moon, quite lovely and a perfect way to end this post.

As I was proofreading this post last night, I thought about Thomas Jefferson saying “Whether I retire to bed early or late, I rise with the sun.” I must admit, getting up early really helps me be more productive during the day, I feel like I get so much done before breakfast. I don’t think I’ll be getting up at 4:15 every morning, 6 is good for me right now. Perhaps after hunting season we’ll start getting up earlier as Mr Chiots will be used to getting up at 5 am.

Are you an early or a late riser?
What about at the end of the day – night owl or early to bed?

I’d like to encourage you to do a day in the life of post on your blog. If you do, link back in the comments so we can all go check them out.

30 Comments to “A Day in My Life”
  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mark mile, Susy Morris. Susy Morris said: A Day in My Life http://goo.gl/fb/CYWs9 #aboutme #miscellaneous […]

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  2. Shannon on November 10, 2010 at 6:42 am

    I loved this. I find posts like this so inspiring because it celebrates every day life tasks like working out in the garden, paperwork, etc. I may have to do a post like this sometime just for fun. I wonder if anyone would be interested.

    Oh, and up at 5 a.m. currently. It’s easier now that it still feels like 6. I am much happier and more productive in the mornings as well.

    Reply to Shannon's comment

  3. David Bentz on November 10, 2010 at 10:05 am

    A day in the life of a retired Nebraskan would be up by 7am to get the grandson’s breakfast. Then look at email and blogs. After Bradley heads off to school, work some out in the yard and garden durning the summer. Each day has a life of its own. Mostly I wait for the phone to ring to decide what the day will bring. Will it be hauling, building, fixing. or whatever folks need that fall into my skills. When the day is finished it’s back to email and blogs for a bit and usually one TV show from HULU and then lay me down to sleep. There is no typical day and I like it that way.

    Have a great day from Nebraska Dave

    Reply to David Bentz's comment

  4. misti on November 10, 2010 at 10:18 am

    Love seeing your day! I miss spending time at home and doing things around the house—heck I miss having a house! Your kitty reminds me of my Leo!

    Reply to misti's comment

  5. LB on November 10, 2010 at 10:34 am

    I like the ways that food and family were central in your day. I have an hour and half commute each way to work and I often wish I had time to bake bread or make scones. My job ends in January, and I’m going to find a way to prioritize the things I think are important. Seeing what other people do with their days reminds me it is possible.

    Reply to LB's comment

    • Susy on November 11, 2010 at 7:52 am

      Food does play a central role in our lives, it’s very important to me, so I spent a good amount of time each day making healthy food. When I know I’m going to be super busy we have a few homemade frozen items or I make a big pan or pot of something to eat on all week.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  6. Mrs. Mac on November 10, 2010 at 12:10 pm

    I work from before sun up until way after sundown (which now is quite early with the time change). Our garden is just about tucked away for the winter … have to plant the garlic soon .. yesterday was probably the last to pick our second crop of raspberries. I like the rest winter time affords .. and the vigorous exercise (snow removal;) too.

    Reply to Mrs. Mac's comment

    • Susy on November 11, 2010 at 7:52 am

      That’s rough not seeing the sun! There were a few years when I had a similar schedule. I too love the simplicity of winter, we love going on long walks on winter afternoons.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. amy on November 10, 2010 at 1:10 pm

    I am by nature a night owl….but homeschooling and life on a small farm dictate a different scenario:) Thank you Susy for the glimpse into your day…..Had I got up at around 4:00 I would have been dead by noon! I cook with cast iron and having seen your cast iron pizza pan…..I find myself in the unfortunate state of coveting:)

    Your parents…….very cool!

    Reply to amy's comment

  8. Sense of Home on November 10, 2010 at 1:17 pm

    I am definately an early riser. I can’t sleep past 6am and sometimes it is 5:30, and with those early mornings I am usually in bed between 10:30 and 11pm, falling asleep while reading.

    I like the diversity in your day and the simple home tasks sprinkled throughout.

    -Brenda

    Reply to Sense of Home's comment

  9. Vegetable Garden Cook on November 10, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    What a busy day!

    Reply to Vegetable Garden Cook's comment

  10. Helen on November 10, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    My typical day would be very dull – as I work in an office all day at least you get outside when the weather is nice

    Reply to Helen's comment

    • Susy on November 10, 2010 at 3:47 pm

      Very true, on reason I enjoy working from home (even though the pay isn’t as much as if I worked elsewhere, worth it to me).

      Reply to Susy's comment

    • Conny on November 10, 2010 at 4:13 pm

      Yes, Helen, I’m with you. I’m afraid my typical day would read: B.o.r.i.n.g. I head outside for my break no matter the weather (not that we get much weather here in N. Calif.).

      Reply to Conny's comment

  11. MAYBELLINE on November 10, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    I get up early but enjoy staying up late. If I can’t grab a nap then late night is out.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  12. Conny on November 10, 2010 at 4:16 pm

    Your day sounds like one I’d like to have – at least every once in a while. I try to fit bits and pieces of days like that into my days as much as possible – sometimes it’s only 15-30 minutes of gardening, knitting or reading. I loved reading about your day. Cheers~

    Reply to Conny's comment

    • Susy on November 11, 2010 at 7:54 am

      I try to do that as well, often my days are broken up into 15 minutes breaks to get little tasks done: kneading bread, reading a chapter in a book, cleaning up a drawer, etc.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  13. Kelly (The Sorry Gardener) on November 10, 2010 at 5:04 pm

    That’s a very nice, grounded, and full day. That’s why I read your blog. Also impressed that you would go through the hassle to reset your alarm clock for the photo. Cause I really hate resetting the alarm clock, especially having just gone through that for daylight savings changeover. LOL

    Reply to Kelly (The Sorry Gardener)'s comment

    • Susy on November 11, 2010 at 7:55 am

      Well, I do like to have photos for all my readers. Resetting the alarm clock wasn’t that bad, I thought it would be the perfect way to start the post.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  14. Blake @ Salt, Teak & Fog on November 10, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    How fun. I love celebrating the beauty of the every day… I’m inspired to do a post like this! I have two sorts of days: home with my toddler, baking bread and gardening; and some days I go to an office downtown. Could be a fun contrast?

    Reply to Blake @ Salt, Teak & Fog's comment

    • Susy on November 11, 2010 at 7:55 am

      I agree, I’m considering doing a day in photos. Taking a photo every 15-30 minutes of whatever I’m doing in that half hour and doing a collage of them, might be interesting.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  15. Laura on November 10, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    my day in the life would be unbelievably boring right now and would warrant that you would fall asleep quickly. but i really enjoyed your day!
    blessings
    ~*~

    Reply to Laura's comment

  16. melissa on November 10, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    I’m definitely a night owl although my body won’t really let me sleep in any more unless I’m out uncharacteristically late. part of getting older, I guess.

    I would do a day in the life post but I work in an office so it would be mind-numbingly boring. maybe on the weekend sometime.

    Reply to melissa's comment

  17. Jennifer Fisk on November 10, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    5:30 is the usual time to arise. Out go the dogs, in come the cats and on goes the coffee. Out to feed the meat chickens who will be gone on Monday and on to the laying hens. Their light comes on at 2AM so they should be laying up a storm. Back to feed the dogs and have the first cup of coffee. The day is filled with farmette chores, work and community chores. By 9PM, I’m ready to commune with my pillow and read briefly.

    Reply to Jennifer Fisk's comment

  18. Cathy on November 10, 2010 at 11:39 pm

    A lovely glimpse into your day. I envy you the hydrangeas. I cannot for the life of me get them to grow in southwest OK! I have one struggling along. Up between 5:30-6:00 to get hubby off to work, then take care of the 4 dogs, a little running, a little training then off to their kennel. Followed by farm chores, garden chores, business chores. And then my favorite part of my day, soap making! Then I fix dinner, sometimes get to indulge in a little baking, everyone comes home, they watch tv and I work, or get on the internet and read the blogs I follow, such as yours, until bedtime about 10:30. I rarely watch tv these days. Seems I always have a show, festival or farmer’s market to get ready for. I, too, look forward to the slower days of winter. Then I actually get to sit down and read a book!

    Reply to Cathy's comment

  19. Melissa on November 10, 2010 at 11:44 pm

    I think it is very interesting to see how others spend their days. I am usually an early riser at about 5:30am and a late to bed about 11pm. With my work and not having a set time to come home, I always try to squeeze so much into my evenings that is sometimes impossible. Thank you for sharing your day!

    Reply to Melissa's comment

  20. nic@nipitinthebud on November 11, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    I really enjoyed this post Susy. I thought I was an early bird but I’m a slow coach by comparison to you! I find I like getting up early but also end up going to be way too late sometimes when I’m engrossed in something so when my day is as full as yours it usually features a little snooze around 4pm :o)

    Reply to nic@nipitinthebud's comment

  21. Denise on November 12, 2010 at 8:24 pm

    oh, I loved this post. I feel the same way and actually wrote about it today. I like to be on the move and going. Sitting too much is just not me. Thanks – I think I need to get outside more indeed.

    Reply to Denise's comment

  22. Frances on November 19, 2010 at 5:39 pm

    What a wonderful peek into your life, thank you so much for writing it. I felt like a voyeur, but enjoyed every minute, especially the eating and cooking bits. Lovely photos, as well. :-)

    Reply to Frances's comment

    • Frances on November 19, 2010 at 5:41 pm

      oops, I forgot to answer your question. We are early risers here, often getting up at 4:30. My husband is gone by 5 AM. We also go to bed early, needless to say.

      Reply to Frances's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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