It's a Classical Life

  In her book, Cosy: The British Art of Comfort , writer Laura Weir says: "In my daily life, I am surrounded by noise and opinion, and over the past few years I have found myself seeking comfort from politically dark winters and the relentlessly bleak news cycle. My instinct has evolved and become an undeniable urge to hide away and find solitude. Rather than swipe and scroll my way through life, I want to feel protected and nurtured. I don't just want to drink a warm cup of tea, I want my emotional state to mirror that cuppa too - warm, predictable, reassuring. Perhaps I'm just getting old, but I want to swap toxic politics and anxieties induced by social media for reliability and kindness. I want to feel more cosy." Oh my, yes please! Count me in! She goes on to explain that cosy is what you do when no-one is watching - it's your definition of cosy, not one that is being prescribed by current trends or marketing techniques. This book really made me think. In Aus...

"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...

  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...

This January has been a bit atypical in the garden. November and December were very hot here in south-east Australia and a lot of the grass died off earlier than usual. January, however, has been peppered with cooler days and rain. Generally it is the time that we get some of our worst thunderstorms which have arrived this week. The days have been 30*C plus and then there are storms at night. We even had hail this week, but thankfully they were only tiny pieces and didn't do any damage.  Spending time in the garden is always a relaxing and therapeutic activity for me. This year I have decided I'd like to cultivate more flowers in the garden; something that I find even more enjoyable and less strenuous than vegetable growing! Last year when I dropped my bundle I spent very little time in the garden - and I'm beginning to think that one may have been affected by the other. There is something so mindful, grateful and grounding about working with soil, plants, animals and natur...

Source Have you visited Jane Austen's house before? Classified as a "cottage" in Chawton, Hampshire, it is a Grade 1 listed building kept in the original condition of the house Jane lived in. The cottage is open to the public and offers guided tours, lectures and other Austen-inspired activities. And the best news is, you can visit it from the comfort of your own home!  Today I want to share some home decor tips based on the Jane Austen Virtual Tour. If you haven't before, pop over to the website here and have a look around. Then come back and join the discussion on how we can de-clutter and decorate with Jane Austen.  Tip 1: Don't be afraid of blank walls When you step into the Drawing Room the sense of space is magnified by the fact that there are blank walls devoid of both furniture or decoration. Of course, there is artwork on some parts of the wall, but there are swathes of blank wall that contradict the modern notion that all parts of a room must be filled....

  I know that many of you are entering autumn and getting ready for the winter season, but here spring has well and truly sprung! We have had above average temperatures all week and the weather has been warm and pleasant. It's a nice change after our cold winter, but I don't believe we've seen the last of those wintery days just yet. Our spring can be so variable, even knowing when to plant seedlings can be a challenge because frost can occur as late as November! This quote by Joan Chittister, one of my favourite authors and theologians, is right on the mark. I recently spoke about a winter reset and how by living seasonally we can ensure that our plans for the year are on track, we are producing what we want (or don't want), and that we finding joy and contentment in our everyday lives. The beauty of spring.- literally and metaphorically - is the perfect time for this sort of reflection, to consider the "endless possibilities of life," and more importantly, ...

Good morning (or afternoon!) and welcome! If this is your first time, I'm so glad you've found us, and if you are returning then it's lovely to have you back. A few weeks back I mentioned Flora Thomspon's 1938 classic, From Lark Rise to Candleford in a post on happiness. This trilogy of books, which has since been turned into a television series, focuses on life in a small village, Lark Rise, towards the end of the nineteenth century. There were a lot of little observations which I found quite inspiring and enlightening and thought that you might enjoy them too.  "There were no bought pleasures, and, if there had been, there was no money to pay for them; but there were the sights, sounds, and scents of the different seasons: spring with its fields of young wheat-blades bending in the wind as the cloud-shadows swept over them; summer with its ripening grain and its flowers and fruit and its thunderstorms, and how the thunder growled and rattled over that flat land ...

Hello, and welcome back to It's A Classical Life. I'm so glad you have chosen to stop by. I know your time is precious, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing to spend some time with me today. For many people around the world, the end of June symbolises an end of a year and the beginning of July, the start of a new one. We are in the depths of winter here and although it doesn't technically feel like a new year, it does feel like time for a reset and a reevaluation. I've been reading Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy lately and I loved his descriptive writing. This quote spoke to me, especially the use of "transformation." We don't often think of winter as a time for transformation, but it absolutely is. It got me thinking about how special this time is; not only to transform, but to reflect and reset. I finished my finance subject last week (such a relief!) and have a couple of weeks break before the next one begins. Currently the...