Stuff we have to do before breakfast

  • wake up before dawn to Max puking (must’ve gotten into some cat food yesterday and he’s allergic to chicken)
  • squeeze between all the dogs and cats to get Max out the door before he throws up on the bed
  • wipe some puke off the bed
  • try to sleep a little more, listening to the most boring podcast in my queue
  • another round of Max puking, this time Hannah wants to go out and pee
  • wait for Hannah to come back from roaming so we can close the van door
  • give up on Hannah and decide to try to sleep with the door open - there are already mosquitos and flies inside, so does it matter?
  • give in to the morning and get out of bed
  • carry Booker out since he’s leaking a little pee
  • brush some dry grass and dirt off the bed and tuck the matress protector over the whole bed - blankets, pillows and all - so when the dogs come back in to nap their muddy paws don’t get on the sheets

formerly known as a matress protector
  • brush our teeth
  • find a toothbrush charger and finish brushing teeth
  • get filtered water for nasal irrigation
  • all that other hygeine stuff
  • refill tippy-tap jug from rain bucket to finish washing hands
  • refill the solar shower bags from water tank and put where the sun will warm them if it peaks out from the clouds
  • wring out the handtowel from last night’s rain and “dry” hands
  • refill cat food in the shed (out of Max’s reach)
  • refill dog food
  • put the pet beds out in the sun since it’s too cold in the shade still
  • feed chickens
  • catch and return chicken that escaped during feeding
  • give chickens fresh water
  • fill five water dishes for cats and dogs
  • change the ice packs in the cooler, which means taking half of the stuff out of the cooler and a few things out of the freezer
  • turn on the van cause we don’t have enough sun to run the freezer off the solar panels
  • breathe in disgusting fumes
  • wash a few plates cause we had the neighbors over for dinner last night, which means we used all six of our plates, and since they left well after dark we didn’t bother to wash up last night
  • oh but we need fresh water for washing dishes, which means dumping out the dishtub into the watering pitcher, which means water some gardens
  • refill a water bucket from rain tank to finish washing those dishes
  • backflush the drinking water filter with clean water
  • fill the drinking water filter with rainwater from the tank
  • heat water in a pot to make coffee in a pour-over
  • start cracking eggs onto the griddle - oh crap, one is rotten
  • finish cooking the eggs then feed them to all the cats and dogs
  • refill bucket from rain tank again to wash hands after egg incident
  • give Booker his medicine in some cheese
  • find some kefir to convince Booker to finish his medicine

Booker does like kefir
  • pour kefir into several little dishes so all the cats and dogs can have some
  • pick some kale to add more nutrients to the pancakes
  • crack eggs into a dish carefully before using in pancake batter
  • keep pouring-over that coffee
  • offer Phillip a snack - he’s starting to look woozy
  • find Fly and try to catch her
  • drink a sip of coffee
  • try again to catch Fly
  • take about five things out of the freezer to get some blueberries for pancakes
  • catch Fly and give her eyedrops
  • drink a little coffee
  • turn on the griddle and start the pancakes
  • find a dry outfit for Booker since he’s shivering and trying to climb me to get warm
  • get a dry outfit for Max, since he’s hairless and needs it
  • follow Max into a corner since he hides from clothes
  • flip the pancakes
  • find the butter and maple syrup
  • chase flies off the pancake batter

without frequent bleach cleanings we find this

Still, now we’re smiling with empty plates and a great view.

check out our pancake recipe

5 Comments:



Mom July 19, 2018

i’m impressed at how far down on your list is “make coffee”! This is YOUR list, correct? Not Phillip’s?



Anna Lisa Gross July 19, 2018

Collective list, but mostly my creation. Though we definitely share all that work. For awhile we were actually waiting until 10 or 11 to have coffee and a snack, but that was when it got quite hot at that time of day. We listened to a podcast that says caffeine isn’t very effective first thing in the morning, and it did seem to feel better to wait. But lately we’ve been wanting it asap:-)



Mom July 21, 2018

wow, that is really interesting about caffeine not being effective first thing! There was a period of time when I did not have coffee first thing on Bible study days, knowing i would have it there at 9 a.m. But then i never felt as sharp going into the Bible study, as I did if I had coffee at home at 6:30 or 7. Yes, i would think w/ chilly mornings there would be double reason to want it first thing.



Beth July 22, 2018

Thanks for a chuckle!

Also had a sad/resigned sigh with the thought that it was remarkable how much more time I had after Teddy’s death. Those precious animals . . .



Anna Lisa Gross July 23, 2018

We will miss them, and we will sleep more… Thanks for reading and commenting, Mom and Beth! So good to have your company here!


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