A Day in the Life

I thought I'd give you a glimpse into my (not very exciting) life, on two days this week

For my lessons at home I am sitting in my study in front of the computer. It's quite cosy, with a petrol heater because that's cheaper than using the fairly feeble electric wall heater (we don't have central heating), although this week it has felt cold! There is a door through to the guest bedroom, which is not heated (as there's no-one staying) so, as the doors don't fit their holes very well in this house, I have an Indian shawl pinned over the doorway to stop the draughts from there! In our house the floors are not parallel to the ceilings, the walls are not perpendicular and the doors don't fit the doorways. I remember when we first moved here, Mr FD was putting up a curtain rail, and he said to me
"Do you want it level with the ceiling, level with the top of the window, level with the floor or at right angles to the side of the windows?! You can choose one!!"

What's behind the curtain?!

It's not a very exciting life - it feels a bit busy at times (like Tuesday morning!) but generally life here is so much less stressed than in the UK. Things will become a bit trickier as Mr FD starts a 9 week course in St Etienne, necessitating borrowing cars on certain days as I travel in the opposite direction! But I am so lucky to be doing a job I really enjoy (especially the face-to-face stuff) and to be finding I have fairly full days in these times when not everyone has a job. I'm picking up one or two new clients as well, so my days are varied and interesting.

My slightly chaotic desk, with a large ginger cat slap in the middle!

George knows how to make his presence felt!

TUESDAY 12th NOVEMBER	FRIDAY 15th NOVEMBER
7.00 Alarm goes. Get up, showered, breakfasted, ready for an 8.00 lesson	7.30 Alarm goes. Get up, showered, breakfasted, ready for an 8h30 lesson
8.00 – 13h I have a 45 minute lesson every hour on the hour. The 15 minute gap is used to catch up on paperwork, go to the loo, make a coffee.(Except for between 9h and 10h when I don'thave a lesson, so I have time to do my day’s blog post)	8h30 – 10h I have three 30 minute lessons straight after each other.
13h I should have another lesson, but this is cancelled. A moment to breathe! Mr FD has bought bread, there’s soup already made so I have a sandwich & some soup	10h – 12h Catch up on paperwork, lesson summaries from today and yesterday, and some emails.
14h Back to my desk to catch up on paperwork & preparation for lessons. Also a sneaky internet surf as well. Bib creeps onto my desk and settles down with her head on my arm	12h – 14h Make soup (Golden lentil & chorizo) and chilli for tonight’s dinner. Have lunch (soup & sandwich) and watch “Bargain Hunt”
15h15 Another 45 minute lesson followed by a 30 minute one at 16h30 and another at 17h. Then it’s more paperwork, as each student requires a Lesson Summary sent to them, and also something to read for next week.	14h – now (14h50) : Surf the internet a bit (waiting for replies to emails) and write blog post for today. Sharing my desk with George the cat who keeps rolling around on top of papers and crumpling them up! At the moment he is very interested in a reel of sellotape and a paperclip! From now on, this is what is planned
18h15 Go down to cook dinner, slurping back a glass of wine and nibbling on a few snacks. Cook stuffed peppers. Quite nice	16h: Leave for 35 minute journey to Roanne for a 45 minute lesson with a 10 year old boy. This is a pain, but I had a late cancellation of another lesson. I don’t usually travel so far for such a short lesson. Mr FD is coming too so he can get some DIY/ cycling supplies while I’m teaching
19h Eat dinner in front of TV. Watch “It Takes Two” and nibble on a square (or two!) of chocolate.	16h45 – 17h30 Teaching 17h30 – 18h (or so) travelling back 18h 15 + heating up tonight’s chilli and making garlic bread etc. I'm planning on having a glass of beer with my chilli.
23h I’m afraid we do sit in front of the TV all evening – it’s warm and cosy. I knit blankets for Spanish Stray Cats, and also check my tablet from time to time. A cup of tea is sometimes drunk at sometime during the evening. Feed the cats (they start getting antsy at about 22h30!) and go to bed with my hot water bottle	18h45 – 23h Again, in front of the TV, I fear – but  it saves on heating other rooms, I am knitting and reading blogs and we are together. We know it’s winter, because all 4 cats come and join us...usually Bib on my lap, Pomme and one of the others on Mr FD’s lap and the other on top of the bookcase/ on the back of the sofa/ on the cat fleece on the sofa. There is cat frenzy at about 22h30 when they think it’s feeding time – mad racing around.Then bed time!