Many days there is a reason and a need to go out. Be that shopping or visiting friends. However often that is not the case and I spend the day at home.

Sometimes there is something special and additional to the norm which needs to be done. More likely though just seeing to all the day to day business is enough to fill the day.

So for the moment I will imagine it is one of those quiet days alone at home and guide you through how it might be spent.

Firstly although there is no job to go to there is no reason to be lying in bed half the morning. Anyway the sun is strong, warm and bright when it rises encouraging all to leave their beds.

That being so as the sun fills the bedroom with daylight though the curtains it is time to get up and start the day. This usually sees me up and about shortly after 7 in the morning.

First then to the shower to wake up properly and them onto breakfast.

I can’t say breakfast is rushed. Instead it takes a leisurely hour whilst I read an old magazine and consider what will need doing during the day.

My choice of breakfast reading material is old copies of National Geographic. The youngest is 20 years old and the oldest more than twice that. I have read them all before but a good bit of factual reading is a good way to start the day.

After breakfast there may be washing to do. No washing machine here. Everything is washed by hand in an exterior sink so I try not to let it build up.

Under the warmth of the Paraguayan sun clothes washed first thing in the morning will be dry and ready to put away after lunch.

Once that and any other early morning jobs are done I turn the phone on. I would have been turned off since the previous evening to stop it pestering me. As such there are always a collection of messages to sift through. Some need dealing with then, most can wait a while longer.

It is now approaching mid morning and for the next hour or two I will devote my time to those small jobs that always need doing around the house. Also to thoughts of what to prepare for lunch.

By late morning it is time for a break and a sit down before cooking lunch.

To my chair and table under the shade of a tree I take my cup of yerba and a flask of iced water to drink terere for the rest of the morning. Nothing could be more Paraguayan than terere under a shady tree.

With me I take my Kindle for an hours reading before cooking lunch. Afterwards though before I cook lunch I turn the radio on for a quick check of all that is going on in the world. All in places far from me.

Next to collect together enough firewood to cook lunch. Through many years of practice I know how much wood the stove will need and how to prepare the fire so that it can be lit with just one match.

A well organized fire may lack any form of temperature control but can be left to cook lunch with very little extra attention.

After lunch I get everything washed up. I can’t be leaving dirty pots, pans and plates lying around in the hope that they may clean themselves.

That all done I return to the internet. Over a cup of coffee the next hour is spent sending out replies, reading items and posting stuff. All those actions the internet demands every day.

This time spent on the internet is though quiet enough spent still. Once it is done I am out in the garden for the afternoon.

There are always small jobs to be done. Weeds to be cleared and the like. Further than that there are often jobs to do that require a few hours work with a machete under the hot sun. Hard work sometimes but rewarding to look at afterwards.

Later in the afternoon I will take a break from the gardening. Instead I will go exploring to see if I can find any interesting plants or animals around the garden. There are 5 acres of garden so I have a reasonable chance of finding something new and interesting most days.

Time will be getting on by now and it will be time for another flask of iced water and some more terere. In the afternoon I may pick a book of a shelf or find a documentary on the radio to accompany it.

By the time I have finished the sun will be descending and evening approaching. The sun drops swiftly in Paraguay and day quickly turns to night.

As it does I head indoors and shut up all the doors and windows that have been open all day to let in the fresh air. Doing so I shut out all the insect life and so rarely get a mosquito indoors to make a nuisance of itself.

Indoors now for the rest of the day I turn off my phone so that I may relax unmolested and prepare my supper.

That done the television is turned on for an hour or two watching DVDs. I have seen them all before but have enough to avoid repeating myself for a year or more.

Finally then after that I make myself comfortable with feet up on the sofa. There I can read and book and listen to some music for an hour or so.

After that at whatever the time is it is off to bed and to sleep before the next day arrives.