I try to keep my life simple and, for the most part, it works. I have my routines that, if not followed, end up leaving me out of sorts and yes, even grumpy sometimes. And no, that’s nothing to do with my no longer drinking coffee—something I had to do cold turkey on orders of my doctor. You wouldn’t have liked me during those first few days/weeks … oh boy, no.

But where was I? Oh, yes, routines. I get up at roughly the same time every morning, 7:45, when my iWatch quietly chimes at me. And yes, it’s enough to wake me. Most morning I step in the shower even before I brush my teeth. It’s the one thing guaranteed to wake me up. I have something of a leisurely breakfast compared to most, including the OH, who never allows enough time to get themselves organised before heading out the door for work.

The last vestiges of breakfast over, I’m heading out the door by 10am in order to catch the bus to head to either the nearest supermarket or my favourite market, the Halle at Cartier, where I pick up fresh stuff for dinner before returning home.

Chores out the way, I then feel like the rest of the day is mine to write, blog, post photos I might have snapped while out, and generally hang out over on Mastodon finding out what everyone else is doing. Once lunch is over, I spend quite a bit of time throughout the afternoon writing blog posts, or reading, or finishing any other chores that need doing (think, laundry). Then, I’m prepping anything I might need to do for that evening’s dinner before the OH comes home.

Dinner over, me and mine usually spend about an hour catching up on our day while supposedly watching the news, but it’s mostly just a noise going on in the background. The end of the news usually signals us doing the dishes together before settling down on the couch to watch whatever we can find on the telly, or watching a DVD from our stash. We never stay up too late because the OH has some really early starts, so find ourselves going to bed between 10:30 and 11 pm most evening.

You could say I’m consistent, you could say I’m boring, or that I’m a creature of habit and routine. Whatever, it works for me, my routines make sure I’m not bored or lonely, and that I have direction and purposes, and these days, we all need that in our lives. Especially when there are no guarantees or certainty in life.

And you, how do you spend most of your days?