With typical folks doing things in a typical way

To be honest, I don't really have a typical day. I have a typical morning routine in getting up with Blake and sending him to work, and we have a typical bedtime routine every night, but without a job or kids, everything in between just kind of depends on the day. My schedule is fairly open and might include a class (taiko or contemporary dance, mostly), a dog walk (finally officially approved by the base to be a petsitter/dog walker), or a meeting for church (I'm second counselor in Relief Society(women's ministry)). If it's musical season at the high school, I probably have rehearsal. And I tend to run most of the family errands, since I have the time.

This schedule does leave lots of time for solo adventures or social time with friends. This week, for example, I've been to an onsen with Summer (another thing that I introduced her to, despite having lived here for 7 years) and went to Relief Society cooking group. But that's not every day. Some days are just errands and life. Today was a day like that.

I got up this morning at 5:30am, when Blake got home from his run with Malcolm. I cooked breakfast, which we ate together, and then Blake was off to the shuttle. After he left, I dawdled on the internet for a few minutes, then started some bread to bake and got showered and ready for the day whilst listening to Hamilton.  

After getting the bread out of the oven and taking Malcolm on a bathroom break, I head out to the train. I thought I was leaving lots of time to get to my hair appointment, but as I transferred trains, I remembered that my appointment was 30 minutes earlier than I thought, so I'm actually running late. Oops! 

Ultimately, I was only about ten minutes late, and it was a much needed haircut. 

Afterwards, I returned my latest library book (The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson) and then met up with Blake to go to the post office (package from his mom that we can't open until December!) and lunch (delicious curry at an Indian restaurant just off base). Blake had to head back to work for a few hours, so I picked up a few things at store on the way to the train station and headed home, where I took a little nap with Malcolm and generally lazed about.

Eventually, I got back in the kitchen and started Thanksgiving prep - toasting bread and cooking sausage and vegetables for stuffing, assembling the green bean casserole (from scratch!) that I'll actually bake tomorrow, cutting carrots, and cooking the custard for ice cream - while watching The Great British Baking Show. 

Blake came home somewhere in there and started helping, and eventually we took a break to cook some okonomiyaki for dinner which we ate while watching Madam Secretary. Malcom's best friend, Virginia, is here for the rest of the week, so we had an audience.

Now, I'm blogging, he's playing a computer game, and we're watching The Andy Griffith Show. At 10:30pm, it's an hour past our usual bedtime, but we don't have to get up as early tomorrow. 

I know it's a luxury to have such a flexible life right now. It hasn't always been that way, nor will it always be, so I'm enjoying it for the time being! Life in Japan is great, but sometimes it's just life - nothing terribly exciting, but still good.

Previous days in my life - January 2010 and October 2008.