"Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine, as perhaps it may be thought, the true poetry of life."
- -- Sir William Osler
I saw this quote this morning, and realized it's truth instantly. With the exception of visits from family and very close friends, nothing suits me better than to have a humdrum routine kind of day. There is such calmness when you know exactly how your day is going to go -- what you need to do to have a productive day, what you want to do to enjoy the day -- and time to do it all without interuption and most definitely without emergencies.
So I started to wonder what my "perfect day" would be. Above all, it would consist of having time with my son and his wife, my daughter, my grandson, my very close friends Tricia and Mark as well as Paul and Jean, or my sister-in-law Wendy and her husband Ken. Spending time with those people, with Jeff by my side, is above all else the best way to spend a day. But since that can't happen every day, what is my "perfect day" for a normal, routine day? A day that makes me feel productive, yet content at the end of the day?
I like to get up early. 6am is a good time for me to get up and get going. A leisurely shower, coffee, and clean clothes are necessities to a good day. I like to make the bed before I come downstairs. Once downstairs, I'd make a second pot of coffee to take out on the deck (the perfect day would have perfect crisp, cool morning weather!) and work on my day's To Do List. The list would include minimal housework -- sweep the kitchen, wipe down the counters, clean the sink, vac the family room. The entire house, of course, would be without clutter (you can't clean clutter!) or just take 5 minutes to pick anything up that needs to be put away. By 9am I'd be done with all housework and be happy with the way the house looks.
Then during my perfect day I'd spend 2 hours or so on the computer. Sometimes catching up on email, sometimes updating my blogs, and definitely playing some computer games.
From there, the perfect day would include being inspired to head to my quilt room, and spend two or three hours working on a project that goes along smoothly (!) and as planned.
If the creative mood hits and my back holds out, I'd stay in the quilt room for as long as it felt right. Sometimes this is an hour, sometimes it could be five or six. I'd stay as long as it's the right place for me to be. If the mood (or my back) doesn't warrant this much time in the quilt room, then it's time to bring a good book back out on the deck with a fresh cup of coffee. A good hour or two of reading is always a nice way to spend time!
Jeff would come home from work in a great mood (which he actually normally does) and we'd go out to dinner -- nothing fancy, but good food. There's enough restaurants within a 3 mile radius of our house for this not to be an all-night event.
Since the weather is perfect on my perfect day, we'd come home from dinner and head to the hot tub for a 30 minute soak. Then perhaps a little TV time, during which I'd work on hand applique or other hand quilting work. By 10pm I'd be ready for a long hot bath with more reading time in the tub! 11pm would be off to bed... to get up the next morning and have another perfect day.
Now I read through this and there's always one thing missing. And it's been missing since we moved away from our friends and family in New Hampshire. The honest-to-God perfect day would have to include -- HAVE to include -- Tricia stopping by for a cup of tea or Paul stopping by for lunch, and Jeff home from work for the day. It's just not a perfect day without those people in it!!!!
For anyone reading this that doesn't know me well, you have to understand Jeff's job transferred him to Ohio "for 3 years" -- 20 years ago. We had just purchased our "perfect home" that I can well imagine we'd still be in to this day -- on the lake, on 2 acres of land, and an absolutely stunning home. My friend Tricia and I have known each other for 35 years, and Paul has been my closest friend for 50 years -- FIFTY YEARS, PAUL!!! :) I have missed those two people every day for the past 20 years. Though we don't communicate as often as we should, when we do, it's all good. The best part is that Jeff loves them as much as I do, and when we all get together, it is nothing but the best of times. My life is just not the same without them in it on a daily basis.
OK, enough. That made me homesick. Back to reality. My To Do List today is short, because I need to leave around 12noon to head back out to the car dealerships. Most are closed on Sunday, but the Ford place is open, and I'm going to go test drive both the Fusion and the Focus. Although I wanted a bigger car, I think I may well end up with a 4-door Focus. They've got some great cash-back offers ($2500!), and I can walk off with a Focus with all the bells and whistles for under $18k. I've been forgetting how important gas mileage should be to me when buying a car. Also, this would give me $7k leftover to put against our equity loan, and that's a huge dent.
I do want the world to know that Jeff told me that my budget for a new car could be $35k :) I immediately lowered that to $25k -- and now hope to come in under $20k. I am SUCH a good wife, aren't I? LOL
