It's a Classical Life

Last year my son got his first job. It paid about $11/hour. He quickly learnt that the things that he bought were paid for, per hour of work. For example, lunch with friends might have cost $20, which he saw as two hours work. He didn't particularly like his job and two hours work just to pay for lunch wasn't worth it in his opinion. I was amazed at how quickly he learnt that important lesson - ie, our money is worth our time.  Henry David Thoreau said, The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run. My current job is a real pay-cut from my teaching job (but I love it so much more!) and yet I found that I was spending as if I were still on a teacher's income. I was dipping into my savings to pay for things I didn't really need. For the last two months I have realised just how frivolous my spending had got. For the last couple of years I had been tracking my spending (on clothes only). L...

"Self-sufficiency is the greatest of all wealth." ~ Epicurius   As February has come to an end I wanted to take the time to reflect a bit on what's been going on in garden. As I watch floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events lashing our country and others, I give thanks for the relatively mild weather we have been having. Most of February was hot though - as in over 30 degrees celsius. We have been watering the grass by attaching a hose to the washing machine and allow the grey water to go onto the grass rather than down the drain. You can see just how dry the grass still is despite this! Honestly I think the soil has become a bit hydrophobic and the water just sort of puddles. Still we are trying to recycle the water and also create a greener yard. This snake-like thing has been a great source of entertainment to Norman, our new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who has been my constant companion. There is something so precious about having an animal that shadows y...

This quote concludes our month of Bitesize Inspiration from Eric Carle. It was always my intention to focus on one person each month for inspiration but I'm surprised that my first one was Carle. I've learnt a lot about him and his creative life. This quote came from this article here , and was in reference to his own upbringing and time spent reading with his father.  There is so much love and warmth to be had when reading with a child. As Carle says, it really does cultivate a sense of security, belonging and wellbeing in both parent and child. I find it really sad when I hear people say they are too busy to read to their kids but it's okay because they play them audio books (I've actually heard this a few times over the years). I'm a big fan of audio books as an adult and they certainly have their place, but nothing beats that quality time spent with a parent who can put on silly voices, explain new words and engage with the text - all while having a little snugg...

  I wanted to start a new series this year called My Favourite Books...in which I will share with you a collection of my favourite books with the same theme, setting, or genre. First up, I wanted to begin with My Favourite Books....Set in Italy because I recently reread Diana Athill's A Florence Diary (which absolutely makes my list) and was to remember some of my other favourite books with Italy as the setting. I am a trained Italian language teacher and spent time in my early twenties living and travelling in Italy. It is a place that holds a very dear place in my heart and has inspired many writers, artists, musicians and creatives over the centuries, from the composer Giuseppe Verdi to artist Michelangelo to writer Italo Calvino. Overseas travel isn't in our plans at the moment but when I feel that longing for Italy, these are the books that I turn to. Of my list, the first three are non-fiction, and the following seven are fiction. I hope you enjoy my top 10 favourite boo...

  When I read this quote by Eric Carle I knew I wanted to include it in my Bitesize Inspiration showcasing the wonderful author and artist, Carle. Doesn't it just convey all the best things about home, whether you are a child or an adult? A sense of security is just exuded from this brief sentence.  How do you feel when you get in the door? Is there a sense of overwhelm because the laundry hasn't been folded, the breakfast dishes are still sitting on the sink and no one seems to remember to put their shoes back where they belong? Even if that may be the case (though I truly hope it isn't), there is still room for warmth, holding hands, toys and a sense of love and security throughout the house itself.  In our world of visual stimulation, picture-based learning and constant representations of what home "should" look like, we have to remind ourselves that even the most perfectly curated picture of "home" cannot possibly have a feeling. That is something we...