Today I had what most people would imagine is a typical day for someone whose life is free from the pesky obligations of work. In fact it was not at all typical of my days, but it is the expected norm, and it seems that it doesn’t matter what I say to the contrary, most people are happy to be believe that it is typical, so here we go, the life of a stay-at-home, no-kids, organise-everything partner!

My day started by taking the car to the garage for the annual MOT. Then I went off to the Laundromat to wash a particularly large picnic blanket that just happens to be covered in Guinness and red wine spots from our BBQ at the weekend. Don’t ask!

Normally our washing is done at home, but our machine is very very tiny. It’s one of those washer/dryer combinations and barely fits one sheet at a time, and which takes approximately 4 hours to wash & dry that same sheet, so when a gigantic sized picnic blanket needs washing the best option is the Laundromat.

What I failed to think about when I set off at 8am this morning was that I was Glasgow. In Glasgow most people don’t even get up by 8am, let alone start their day, open shops, brew coffee or attempt any other normal task. So I found myself wandering about on Great Western Rd, looking for somewhere to take a coffee while I waited for the Laundromat to open. Tough luck!

Once the laundry opened, it took two washes and then a bleaching to get most of the Guinness out (the red wine decided it didn’t want to move). Now it just looks like a speckled stain, from an unknown source… and the overall size of the blanket is now a tad smaller thanks to the high heat, high speed dryer!

Whilst I was waiting, I took the bus into the city centre and bought some preserving jars for my new kitchen project in the afternoon. I passed the garage on the way home, lugging my new smaller blanket and my glass jars and was given the running total so far…. £155. I got home, made myself some lunch – falafel with tabouli and hummus – and pulled out my library book and settled down for a read for an hour or so.

The afternoon bought me some satisfying cleaning of kitchen cupboards. I climbed to the top of the cupboards and cleaned off the caked on dust that accumulates at the top of the shelving units. Go on, have a look at yours – I never even knew that this happened – never ever having the time before to pull out a ladder and check! But it does…. I’d hate to think how thick the dust and grime is on our kitchen cupboards in Montreal, mind you, the amount of time we cooked in Montreal can be counted on one hand, so we have that to be thankful for…

Anyway, I cleaned up there, washed the jars, then went ahead and started filling them with all our grains and pulses that were in opened plastic bags thrown haphazardly in the cupboard. This, as well as re-arranging the spice drawer, the tea shelf and sauces and vinegars, left me with a very clean and tidy kitchen – almost as wholesome as that of Isabelle & Mikes of which I aspire too (their pantry in Seattle was the best looking pantry I’ve ever seen. Jar after jar of dry beans and pulses all lined up – not a processed packet in sight).

A bit of correspondence by email, always a highlight of my day, then I left to pick up the car. Total bill £164.23.

Home again now. I have dry washing to bring in, wet washing to hang out – a soap to watch on TV, a meal to prepare (lentil & carrot burgers with salad) and then I’ll pull out my book again and wait for Michelle to get home….

And there you have it. Isn’t that what you always thought? Actually except for all the chores that I have to do, I aspire to having days like this where I get little projects completed. Mostly I don’t. I still have to plan ahead if I want to take time to go to the studio to do some prints, or go to a movie, or embark on a craft project. It’s amazing how little time we have – or how little focus we have to concentrate on finishing things. My creativity comes in spits and spurts, so I take advantage of it when I can, and everything else just has to wait and get finished at the last minute – just like it was when I was working full time!

Not all that exciting I guess.. but it would have to be the most amazing job offer to make me even consider swapping my carefree life for the rat race again! That, or an overwhelming urge to get a bigger house with swimming pool, a porsche or a new sofa…. whatever comes first!