It's a Classical Life

  Solon was an Ancient Greek poet, lawmaker and statesman. He overhauled many of Athens' laws in the 6th century BC, often in favour of the poor and the vulnerable. Although he has many critics - Aristotle amongst them - he did, at times show insight and compassion into the plight of others that had, up until that time, been overlooked as insignificant or irrelevant to the law-making Athenian aristocracy.  Despite criticism, this quote still rings true today. Every time I watch the world news I am reminded of how blessed I am, and that as an educated female in a first world country, how many opportunities have been afforded to me that so many miss out on. Closer to home, I don't live on a flood plain, or in an area prone to blizzards, cyclones or earthquakes. We can have extreme heat in summer, storms that produce hail, heavy winds, and the threat of bushfire, but we have access to emergency services, running water and the ability to stock up our pantry to be prepared for...

  Home is definitely one of our favourite topics around here, and in continuing with my inspiration from Victorian England Literature, I couldn't go past this quote from Elizabeth Gaskell. We have spent the better part of ten years renovating our home, and all of those little personal changes that we have made add to the charm of our home. My daughter's friend called it "vintage," which I took as a compliment. Another friend said that our house it neater than either of her two homes (her parents have divorced and she lives equally between the two homes). This isn't a question of pride, or feeling better than other people about our homes. It's looking at the things that you do to your home - and in your home that add to its charm. Even if you don't love your house and wish you lived somewhere else, can you find at least one thing about it that charms you? I hope so. Thanks for stopping by. We've been having so much rain here that I am mostly indoors en...

Gladys Taber was a North American writer, born in 1899 and who lived through most of the twentieth century. She wrote a variety of fiction, prose and non-fiction works. It is her reflections from her time at her country Connecticut home, Stillmeadow that has been the most enjoyable for me. So much of what she shares from that time resonates with me and my own quest for simple living. For me, living well means living simply. Read on for some simple, classic tips from Gladys Taber and her reveries at Stillmeadow.  Have faith and hope Taber poignantly reminds us that we all have hard times in our life, and that we should always have faith and hope that good times will return. "It is very important, in winter, to remember that spring is coming along...In the spring of the heart, too, we have gardening to do, planting seeds of goodwill, helpfulness and  faith."  She makes a beautiful comparison between gardening - the planning, purchasing of seeds, careful planting, and ...

  If you follow me on Instagram , then you will know that I am currently participating in a reading challenge called #victober. The challenge is to read literature from the Victorian era for the month of October. I also thought it would be fun to find some quotes to use this month for our bitesize inspiration from some great Victorian personalities. H.G. Wells is one of my favourites, because in the 50+ novels that he wrote he traversed a variety of genres, themes and settings. My favourite is The Invisible Man, but he also wrote The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau. Although he was known as 'the father of science fiction,' so many of his novels deal with contemporary and relatable issues.  This quote of his that I have chosen fits in so well with his exceptional understanding of the human race and all our quirks. If this quote does not apply to you, if you are already living your life as the person you are , then I think you are wonderf...

  Do you suffer from procrastination? I do. I think that Christina Rossetti must also have suffered from it, to make such a poignant statement. And I don't use the word 'suffer' lightly, because honestly procrastination can be quite debilitating for some of us. It goes hand in hand with distraction , and we all know how much there is waiting to distract us from our work, from our family, from our chores, and so on.  However, I think Rosetti also hits on a key point here. Just start. Get started. Take that first step to clean the fridge. Or start writing that report you need to do for work. Or set out all the ingredients for dinner, ready to be chopped and cooked. Often, when we take that first step the rest of the job follows quite quickly. It's amazing how much time we actually have when we take the time to honestly reflect on how much time we have wasted! It's not a pleasant task, but being honest with ourselves is the first step. If phones are your weakness, ...

Last week we talked quite a bit about the change of seasons, and reflected on Charlotte Bronte's work Jane Eyre . This novel is a beautiful example of how our lives change and our circumstances change - often times outside of our control. If you haven't read it already, please consider doing so, especially if the change of season is passing you by.  How has your week been? Have you seen changes in nature this week? Perhaps there are leaves turning glorious orange and amber, or the first new buds are blooming. Autumn and spring are by far my two favourite seasons and bring the most gorgeous colourful changes into our world. It is so easy to take advantage of this colour burst by bringing cut plants or leaves into our homes as decor. Listen to the animals. The cuckoo doesn't usually arrive here until December, and I love to hear it when it does. It says summer to me. Today, I thought we could continue our seasonal theme by listening to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. But firs...