If you were ever curious about what my days consist of, this will not be a very good example. I picked what I thought would be an average day to do this, not realizing that it wouldn’t be an “ordinary” day at all…
I get out of bed at 7:00. To me, that’s early, and I need tea to wake up properly.
The dog is usually laying on my feet when I wake up:
After I quickly get ready, my ride to work is usually about 13 minutes, unless this happens:
And in Columbia, SC, that’s a common occurrance. Especially near my house, which is close to a major train yard. The worst is when they stop on the tracks — I always feel guilty when I’m late to work because of that.
I can’t really show pictures of what I do at work for confidentiality reasons, but I’m an LPC-I (a licensed counseling intern, which after 2 years will become a full LPC license) working at a clubhouse style day program that focuses on psychosocial rehabilitation for adults with serious mental illnesses. It’s a hard job sometimes with the overwhelming amout of things to do (we’re currently understaffed) but it’s also rewarding in its own ways.
Most days when I get home it’s just me and the dog because my fiance works late, so I’m trying to spend that time productively by taking care of myself physically (I’m starting to jog) and mentally (using coping skills). This is my corner of the living room:
I like to watch movies or TV shows or listen to audiobooks while I knit & crochet, or sometimes I’ll sit here and read or take a nap.
This day was special — in the evening Chris made homemade biscuits and whipped cream and we had strawberry shortcake with strawberries straight from a local farm that my mom gave us:
This was essentially my dinner, and we ate while catching up on one of our favorite TV shows:
A few rows of blanket knitting were accomplished, as well:
And the day continued to get more unusual… Roofers had been working on the back half of our roof the previou week — just some routine maintenance — but they dropped a pallet of shingles through the ceiling in our back room (where we keep the fridge, washer, dryer, 3 bookcases full of books, my sewing machine, a big wooden desk, & Zero’s kennel). Strips of ceiling and insulation are hanging down a bit from the split the shingles made when they fell, and while I was knitting happily, Chris informed me that the storm outside was causing water to leak into that same back room. He poked holes in the ceiling in a few places so that he could catch the water in buckets rather than it just rolling down the walls onto the floor, and we moved all of our books and bookcases into the dining rooom:
We’ve called the landlord multiple times about the leaking water but he didn’t pick up and hasn’t responded to our messages (he already knew about the hole in the ceiling and is sending someone in a few days, but we need it to be quick now with the water damage added on — it’s super humid back there and smells awful). I’m getting pretty mad about it, to be honest. In the meantime I’m just taking lots of extra allergy medicine so that hopefully the mildew and mold from the water damage won’t get to me too much.
So, that was a not-so-average day in my life! Hope it didn’t bore you to tears — I know I’m not that exciting but sometimes I really like it that way. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you soon!
not your average crochet 
Oh dear, I’d say come and stay with us but you might find the commute from Melbourne, Australia a little long!
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Hehehe I bet it would be at least 14 hours flying!
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Hi Hannah,
Thank you for sharing a day in your life with us! I found your post very interesting, and always enjoy hearing about the lives of bloggers I follow. That is one of the best things about the Internet; the way it brings people with similar interests together. You are such a talented and generous crafter. Thank you for sharing your knowledge; I know I have learned a lot from you!
Warm Regards, Lisa in Oregon
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Thank you Lisa, that’s very kind! I was worried the post would be silly so I’m glad it was interesting. 🙂
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Greetings Hannah! Your day sounds average for the most part. With all the severe weather that much of the country has had then your experience with the roof is definitely average. 🙂 I wanted to tell you that I know what PSR is! Our local facility is more of an outpatient style facility. Clients are expected to graduate from the program after about two years of intense “therapy”. After having been a caregiver in a Mental Health group home, and after surviving breast cancer with all the treatments, I found myself on the receiving side of the PSR program. Sooo….I’ve worked in a day treatment facility as an aide and participated in PSR as a client! I betcha you are one of their favorites!! I do believe you would be one of mine. Sure hope your landlord gets with it so your ceiling gets fixed right soon!
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Thank you! Good to know I’m not alone right now with the roof/ceiling thing. That’s awesome that you know about PSR services! The goal of our program is really to get people to graduate too but some of the clients have wound up there for years and years. It’s a stressful but fulfilling job!
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Indeed PSR is stressful! I believe I was the first success story from our local PSR. I know of another young lady that finally graduated after having been there for quite a few years. And they do seem to have the “day treatment” crowd still coming as well. Illinois has changed some rules and funding so I’m not sure about the future of our PSR program. For people such as myself I do so hope it continues. It helped me TREMENDOUSLY! Bravo to you for your great work in the field. I also hope you can get your ceiling fixed without too much grief from your landlord!
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Thanks! Yes they’ve been changing how it’s done here in SC too — Medicaid just made some major changes that really cut our funding, unfortunately. If only the people who made the laws had an inkling of what we do every day…
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My goodness child you are a busy one. I can relate to the Landlord and mold. I hope everything is fixed soon. Love the dog on your bed! Glad to see I am not the only one. Sending an angel kiss for you, Cecile Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2015 10:40:00 +0000 To: cecilechappell@hotmail.com
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Thank you! Yes, she sleeps on my feet every night without fail! In the winter it’s great because she’s like my own personal little space heater!
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Great montage, Hannah 🙂 That strawberry shortcake looks so good I almost licked the screen. I hope you get the ceiling fixed soon!
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Thanks! They’re working on it now but spiders are coming in from the attic… 😦
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Quiet days are always the best for me. To me a great day is crocheting and designing quietly with maybe the sound of one of my grandsons in the background. I like to have to take breaks for Nana requests.
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That does sound really nice. I seriously enjoy the calm days when I can get one!
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I like your idea of documenting an average or not so average day 🙂 I’m currently out of town but when I’m home I might just copy your idea. xxx 🙂
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I’d love to see! It was kind of fun but I kept forgetting to take pictures — I meant to have lots more! 🙂
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Love your blog.!
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Thanks Margaret!
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Goodness Hannah, you had a horrible time of it today. They are doing reconstruction in my building so we are living with dust (the least objectionable) electricity shutdowns, water shutoffs, no hot water, elevators not working (I’m on the 16th floor), and noise, loud, loud noise. I’m close to jumping thru the ceiling at times, creating another way to exit my apartment.
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Oh my gosh, that’s way worse than my situation — and no elevator?! That is SO MANY STAIRS.
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It’s almost like being in prison Hannah, but things got worse than that later, when my grandson killed himself. Nothing else was even on the horizon after that.
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I’m so sorry, that’s absolutely awful. I hope you’re holding up ok.
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I’ve learned to breathe again, and am finding my sense of humor, so things are getting almost close to normal. I’m not sure what normal is though.
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One thing I’ve learned in my study and experience in counseling is that there is no such thing as “normal,” because everybody thinks and feels and does things so differently, even though we may share lots of characteristics and traits. I’m glad you’re beginning to feel less terrible than before.
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Thanks Hannah. It’s also nice to know we also share a love of knitting and crochet. That helps keep me sane when all else fails.
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