It's a Classical Life

  I love Bitesize Inspirations like this! You read it once and think automatically of how to successfully grow a garden, but then you read it again, and perhaps a third time and suddenly you are able to glean all sorts of inspiration. It can be relevant to something as simple as a garden, but it can be relevant to something as big as our life's goals. Whenever we want to see results for the effort we have put in, this quote by English author Rudyard Kipling is right there, inspiring us to get started! In fact, I actually had trouble titling this article. I ended up with "on action" because I thought that action summed it up nicely. We must act before we can reap the benefits of anything. It is not enough to simply dream, or praise the work of others. We need to get out our hats and shovels, step out of the shade and get to work! Our dream includes living a simple life, incorporating a sound level of self-sufficiency, free from debt and the obligations to work long hours. ...

  Nonna Knows Best  - she knew it then and she knows it now! The summer continues to roll slowly along in our little corner of the world. The grass has died off, leaving funny brown patches and sporadic spots of vibrant green weeds. The tomatoes, zucchini and capsicum plants are all full of flowers. The potato plants are looking sad on top but are flourishing deep beneath the warm, brown soil. There is nothing better than potatoes for producing a rich, nutrient-dense soil. Every afternoon I give the chickens and the rabbits a cooling shower. I spray the trees above their enclosures so that drips of water continue to drop down on them long after the hose is turned off. In the cool mornings, we collect eggs, feed the chickens, water the plants and breath the summer air. By late morning we are inside, enjoying the slow days with board games, lego, movies, paper crafts and reading. The children want to play on their devices (of course) but we encourage as much creative play as we ...

  Happy Monday, friends! I hope that you've all had a wonderful, relaxing weekend where you able to rest, plan, get ahead, and all those other good things that we know are necessary for a life well-lived. If you follow Annabel from The Bluebirds are Nesting on the Farm then you will will no doubt be aware of the #everylittlebitcountschallenge, where we are encouraged to do one small thing every day to get ahead and to be prepared. There are many other Youtubers and influencers participating in this challenge too.  This quote by Vincent Van Gogh just sang to me when I saw it. It reminded me so much of that challenge that I wanted to share it with you all today. It doesn't matter if the things that we do seem small and insignificant. If we have a plan and know the ways in which we want the direction of our lives to go, then doing small things on a regular basis will, over time, lead to great things. Now, you may not want to be prepared in a practical sense (ie garden,...

  I absolutely love this quote! I'm a big believer in being prepared , and making hay while the sun shines . Sometimes as homemakers we can get a bit down on ourselves for the things that haven't been achieved on a given day. Stevenson reminds us, though, that more important than the "harvest" are the seeds that we plant. Where do we find these seeds in our everyday lives? They're in the quality time that we spend with our family.  They're  in the good food and produce that we grow ourselves or put away in our pantries.  They're  in the books that we read and the things that we watch that support a healthy mindset of growth and contentment. They're  in the routines and schedules that we set in place for ourselves. They're  in the warm and welcoming home that we cultivate as a sanctuary for ourselves and our family.  All of these are the little ways that we plant seeds for the future. And as spring is just arou...

  I know that many of you may be experiencing hotter than usual temperatures, and I really feel for you. Extreme summer can be such a tough time to endure. I hope that wherever you are, you can find cool moments in your day to rest and relax. For those of you that are walking through winter with me, how is your winter garden going? Extreme weather can really impact our food supply, especially if we are dependant on our gardens for food security. Additionally, it can affect our farmers who provide produce for our local shops and markets. We haven't had much luck at all in the garden this year - even summer was a dud after a severe hail storm took out our flowering fruit trees and plants. But, on a more positive note, I thought I would take you all on a little walk-through my winter garden in which I have been working this past week. It doesn't look like much, I know, but every little bit helps! As Charles Kingsley tells us in his poem, My Winter Garden, is it not worth mor...

Do you want to live well but don't know where to start? Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of sites out there guiding you with mega motivation, twelve-step programs, or throw-everything-away-and-start-anew mantras? I have a little secret for you. If you really want to live well, consider this classic proverb by John Heywood. It truly is the perfect place to start.   Heywood first recorded this proverb all the way back in 1546; you may recognise it as its more common, modern interpretation: Make hay while the sun shines. I bet you've heard it before! But have you stopped to consider what it really means to us in our modern day lives? It's simple. It means, get ahead and get organised while you can. Our dream life will not suddenly fall into our laps. We have to plan for it and take advantage of moments when we can get that one step closer to our goals. Got an extra $50 left at the end of your pay period? Add it to your emergency saving fund. Spent a little under on...

While we are not deserted on a tropical island like the Swiss Family Robinson, we are still able to look over our supplies and be prepared for whatever may come. This is something that our grandparents and grandparents did, although they managed to get by with a lot less than we do today! It is such a classic thing to be prepared. The books and quotes that I have shared during this series are only a fraction of books that talk about preparedness. We can't always predict what will be waiting for us around the corner, but we can ensure that our we, and our loved ones, are as prepared as we possibly can be. Shortages, job loss, sickness, strikes and more all a part of our daily life, and while many of these things are out of our control, to live a refined and simple life, is one of intelligence and preparedness. We need to be formed by reliable sources and make intelligent purchases that will benefit our family and not waste our money. By having a little bit extra we can help those wh...

I'd like to thank all of you who have been following along with me on this Preparedness journey and a big Thank You shout-out to Annabel who keeps inspiring us daily on this journey. I hope you enjoy what you are reading here on my blog and consider leaving a little message or introduction of yourself. As for me, I am Kirsty, a languages teacher and mother of three. I am also a trained History teacher and it is my true belief that we can learn from history and from the classics (novels, movies, philosophies, music, you name it!) to live a refined yet simple life. I talk about different things here on my blog and hope you will settle in with a cup of tea or coffee and have a look around. If this is your first time here, please consider reading my previous posts on the 30 Day Preparedness Challenge.  Now, without further ado, let's continue on our journey to being prepared.   Day 20 - Security Annabel covers the idea of Security very thoroughly in her blogpost  so I w...

The only sound, sure and enduring methods of defence are those based on your own actions and prowess.  Machiavelli, The Prince We are continuing today with Annabel's 30 Day Preparedness Challenge and I am reflecting on where we are in our preparedness. I love this quote by Machiavelli, as really, we have no one to blame (or thank) except ourselves in certain situations. How well we plan and prepare, how we live, the risks we choose to take, the things we believe in and the things we fight for are all on us. Our actions and our prowess are what matters here, and I think we are naive if we expect others to step up for us in times of need or rely on others to help us. Of course, we all want to help, but how can we be in a position to help others, if we haven't helped ourselves? Day 15: Your Vehicle Annabel offers such a comprehensive list of things to keep in your vehicle as a matter of course. As of today, we have a First Aid kit, including things necessary for snake bite (they...