Tough Day

A rare moment of relaxation after a busy day in Holland.

Now that the mid-summer heat is in full swing and it's been 3 months since I semi-retired, some of you have asked what a typical day in "The Summer of Dan" looks like. So I put together this little journal. Remember, these are "typical" activities. They vary pretty wildly and no two days seem to be the same.

07:00 AM – Wake-up at first alarm. Make coffee. Let animals out. Do exercises. Read email.
07:30 AM – Take coffee up to wake up Beth. Do dishes, clean kitchen.
08:00 AM – Eat breakfast with Beth.
08:15 AM – Walk to Zannenpark with Sage. Play with Nikos, Roxie, Max, etc.
Talk politics, work (theirs, not mine), etc. with friends in park.
09:00 AM Return to house. Write the great American/Dutch novel.
11:00 AM Get on the “cruiser bike” and do some grocery shopping. If it’s Monday or Thursday, go to open air market in the city center.
11:45 AM Lunch.
12:15 PM Drive to Caprera and do the rounds with Sage in the doggy park….rain or shine.
01:00 PM Stretch, put water, towel, and book into the backpack, load the MP3 Player and head to the dunes on the mountain bike for some hard riding.
02:00 PM Spread towel on the beach at Bloemendale. Catch some rays. Watch people. Read book. Listen to surf or MP3.
03:30 PM Hard bike ride home. This time on the bikelanes of the zeeweg….a faster route.
04:00 PM Check email. Do homework for Dutch lessons. Lessons are Monday and Wednesday, so schedule changes on those days.
05:00 PM Clean the house and backyard for a BBQ that we are having with friends tomorrow evening. We entertain, or are entertained at least twice a week. Adjust schedule accordingly.
05:45 PM Check in on Beth. Start dinner.
06:30 PM Eat dinner with Beth.
07:15 PM Beth and I walk with Sage to Zannenpark. Play with Diesel, Herda, Jolie. Talk with friends.
08:30 PM Drive to Bloemendale and run on the trails through the dunes with Beth. Sage isn't allowed in dunes...she stays home.
09:45 PM Back home. Have a beer in the back yard on the patio. (Remember, it’s still light out in Holland at 9:45 in July!)
10:00 PM Shower, put on jammies.
10:30 PM Open bottle of wine. Sit and talk.
11:15 PM Walk Sage.
11:30 PM Pet treats and Bedtime.

Repeat until April 1, 2007.