From early childhood I was an early riser, I still am. Awake at 5.00am has been normal for me all of my life. My parents made it clear that they did not share my propensity for such an early time, and I quickly learned that waking them at that hour was not a good thing to do. I learned how to entertain myself quietly – I looked at books, I had a shoe box full of treasures, and an egg-shaped crystal radio. In Portland at that time KEX was the main station I could pick up since it was the strongest signal in the area.
Over the years I came to savor mornings. My current routine includes reading the news, mini-crosswords, and Wordle – I save Duolingo for after Tricia gets up. For years I have recorded the current temperature, the forecast high, and sunrise – sunset times, adding the location when we travel and what we did for lunch the day before. These small notebooks record a lot about our travels and life. It is also a good time to meditate and say a prayer or two, we sure need it.
Sunsets seem to get more attention than sunrises, but I have seen some amazing things even before the sun is up. Here are a couple from our condo in Mukilteo.
Tricia prefers getting up more like 7.30 – 8.00 am; she had to rise much earlier when she was a project manager so this is a benefit of retirement. Thankfully my childhood lessons of being quiet are now applied to making coffee quietly and tending to my routine. When she had her eye surgery in Paris a couple of years ago we had an apartment in the 15th arrondissement with a deck, perfect for morning coffee.
When we travel I often go out for a morning coffee and a sketch. One of my favorites was this cafe in the Place de Alpes, Geneva. The weather was bright and brisk, the fire perfect.
One morning in Basal, Switzerland I sketched the streetcar.
Of course there have been many mornings in Paris.
When we are at home I must have just the right chair. In Normandie we made quite a find at a brocante. This chair was buried behind some other furniture and we only paid 40 Euros. It was my morning spot, but Neville might have disputed that. We brought it to Portland with us and it is where I spend my mornings now, of course still missing Neville.
Mornings in The Pearl are nothing like mornings in Normandie, but I do have some wonderful views of people walking dogs, and, in the winter, this view… how can you beat it.
So what about you? Do you love mornings? If not, we can still be friends, but I don’t do well staying up late so it is nothing personal if I pop off at 2100 leaving you to your late night high jinks.
theTravelsketcher 
Like you, I love the early mornings. That quiet time when it is just me in the land of the living. I can catch up with YouTube whilst swigging tea from an oversized mug, browse a bit of facebook (not much) and generally just potter about the kitchen emptying the dishwasher and popping the first load of washing on the clothesline. If I’m lucky, I will get about 2 hours to myself, but, boy-o-boy, those two hours simply fly by… It’s a good time for reflection, to be grateful for life and thankful for living the life that I have, send a few messages to friends, just to let them know that they are in my thoughts and important to me… Yeah, early mornings are a good time for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, and yes it is good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Terry, I remember that little egg radio! On my goodness, I thought it was the coolest thing! And I also remember you getting up early and sometimes we’d go outside and ride bikes or play a game in your room being very careful not to wake Mom or both of them as once they woke up the fun part of the day was over and we’d have to start cleaning house or something! Janice
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes i do remember us doing that, and it seemed there were always chores, then dad wanted to dig the basement, argh.
LikeLike
Hmm! My name ‘Eha’ means ‘twilight’ or ‘dusk’ – well, that is the time I come awake . . . early mornings until about 8am are a ‘horror story’ which I love to ‘get thru” very quietly all by myself, so others are not affected by my total ‘lack of courtesy’ 🙂 ! Love your story and photos tho’ . . . 🙂 !
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am definitely a morning person – much more productive, able to think clearly and, to the annoyance of my husband and my mother when she was alive, I like to talk and make decisions. At the moment I get up at 6am and go to work, but on Wednesdays and the weekend I still wake up early. Like you, I have silent tasks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tricia prefers quiet mornings, we talk later.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kindred spirits, we are. I’m up at 4:30 most mornings, even on summer break. It’s so peaceful. Early mornings just after sunrise are a great time to explore a new city, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, exactly, if i on some rare occasion dont get up until 800 i feel like the day is half over, and i missed it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Morning Terry,
I’m definitely a morning person, 22:00 is as late as it gets for bedtime.
In my eyes nothing beats getting up about 5:30, sitting on the step waiting for the day to come to life.
What a gorgeous cat Neville was. Our old cat (Eric) has decamped to next door after 17 years with us.
They do say you own a dog but a cat has servants, so in Eric’s eyes we didn’t bow down to his every need.
Another lovely post of your life, thanks for sharing.
Linda
Sent from my iPad
LikeLiked by 1 person
Neville was the best. He thought his time in Normandie was heaven, he wa so happy there.
LikeLike
Not a morning person, not a late night person, it seems I’m mostly an afternoon person which I think is unusual. Even then I like a little nap after work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Naps are always good.
LikeLiked by 1 person