What is an ordinary day in my life as a cottage homemaker?

There is no such thing as an ordinary day in the life of a cottage homemaker. Every day is a new adventure, full of new opportunities to learn and grow. And I can choose what to fill it with after doing the chores of cause. :)

I wake up each day to the rooster’s song from behind the window. Such a life celebrating sound especially when the birds start supporting the rooster solo with their beautiful voices!

I start my day with a prayer, then a cup of coffee, useful reading, and then I get to writing.

I might spend my day cleaning, cooking, gardening, or doing any number of other chores but there is always creative work on the top of it that actually feels like a treat.

And I always try to find time to add a bit of fun, whether it’s taking a walk in the woods, sharing stories that we make on the go with my daughter or just having cuddles with our cow.

No two days are ever the same, and then there can be three pretty similar to each other and that’s what I love about living a simple life in the cottage on the land.

I’m always learning something new, and I can plan and break the plans.

After all there is inspiration under every leaf of strawberry or hidden in a bird's nest fallen off an old elm and who knows when it calls out :)

Morning, early start at 6 am, morning chores will wait till later, but first me - time with the coffee and a prayer, morning practices, useful reading or study, and writing. This is my hour. And my favorite time of the day.

After 7 am there is the next part of my morning and the next role. A mother is activated :)

Time for hugs, feeding chickens, peacocks, ducks and sheep, alpacas and Rosa the Cow, picking up any surprise eggs, giving water and then cooking breakfast for the human inhabitants of the household. The way from the "animal kingdom" goes past the veggie garden so I get the chance to pick up any green onion, parsley, oregano, tomatoes or even strawberries depending on the season.

And flowers of course. Nothing brightens the morning like the fresh hours.

By 8.30 I have time for the second coffee and often share it with my dear friend on the phone - she lives in another city but we have a ritual of sharing how the morning thought work went as well as the expectations for the day.

Then there is a time to do the studies in our homeschool. My twelve year old daughter is very inspiring.

She is homeschooled which gives us a chance to explore the day in our own way however we still have to be disciplined and incorporate the essentials like math and science as well as the fun times - like English, writing and reading. I know having English as a treat subject sounds strange but it feels like relaxing time.

It takes about an hour.

By 10.30 we often head to the local library where we made friends with everyone including the library cafe people. It is our place where we spend an hour and a half. I am drawing or writing and Polly is usually working on one of her fantasy stories she is writing now and then or drawing the illustrations to those stories or just does journaling. Then we pick up some groceries at the shop, visit the post office if we need to and about 12.30 - 1 we are home for lunch. After lunch it is usually outside work. Polly loves spending time with animals. This includes running around with the dog (a pug who tries to be a shepherd), watching dramas amongst chickens and just cuddling with them sometimes. She loves to think she trains them but I guess they just allow us to look after them :)

I do the work in the garden. And then more work on the book I am illustrating or the project I am working on. Sometimes we have the visits of other homeschooling families - good friends and every time it adds to the inspiration. 4.30 can be some tv time for Polly and start cooking dinner for me. Depending what it is.

Also I try to squeeze in 30 minutes of running here to energise me for the rest of the day.

As a family we eat around 6.30 pm, share duties on cleaning after, preparing and packing the bag for the next day for my husband who may be flying out for work to any part of New Zealand. We play some board games - the favorites are "the last card", professor Noggin's games, triominos and Quiddler for sure. Sometimes it is a family movie but I am usually reading or doing embroidery.

Bedtime is 8.30 - 9 pm. After the outside work it is easy to feel tired by then. We all read before sleeping, and by 10 we are usually fast asleep. Unless the cat, Andreas, decides it's time to go hunting and brings us a mouse. He announces it pretty loudly, but luckily (or not so) it doesn't happen every night.

This is an AVERAGE day. But there are AWESOME days according to Polly. These include walks in the forest, visits to other people's houses and places, like Forest school :)

Twice a week I teach local children art that makes the days way different and sometimes we have horse riding or piano lessons. That requires driving to the places.

Sometimes we need to do meal plans and a big grocery shopping; and sometimes I might have a random fantasy of changing the kitchen color into pink "before the man of the house arrives home" :)

It's a typical day, but it's also an incredible day. Just being able to spend time with my family and enjoy the simple things in life is a gift. I'm so grateful for every moment, even the mundane ones.

An ordinary day as a cottage homemaker is a day filled with many different tasks, all of which contribute to the running of a successful home. While the days may be long and sometimes challenging, they are also incredibly rewarding, giving the a great sense of satisfaction at the end of each day.

Average but totally not boring.

Please drop a comment if you feel like it. Would you struggle to entertain yourself living in an old cottage away from "civilisation"? :)