It's a Classical Life

 "Whether you're single and living in your first apartment, a young couple buying your first home, a married couple with a few children, a single parent, a single solo adult, or baby boomers moving towards retirement, you can create a simple home that won't burden you financially or emotionally. When you build a comfortable and nurturing home, you'll feel like you've sailed into a safe harbour, that you're where you can be your best."                                                          Down To Earth ~ Rhonda Hetzel I first became interested in the notion of 'homemaking' when I was on parenting leave with my first baby and homemaking blogs were becoming all the rage. People who spoke of their family, their homes, their cleaning routines, their meal plans and everything else that goes with being a homemaker sudd...

LEISURE What is this life, if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like stars at night. No time to turn at Beauty; glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.                              W.H. Davies  This stirring poem by Welsh poet W.H. Davies was first published in 1911 yet its message, I believe, is still just as important today. I have talked about past-times on the blog before but having read Sense and Sensibility last month, I wanted to look in a bit more detail at some of the leisure activities that these early Victorian women got ...

"Perched on its summit was a palace, built round a fine, spacious courtyard, and containing loggias, halls and sleeping apartments, which were not only excellently proportioned but richly embellished with paintings depicting scenes of gaiety. Delectable gardens and meadows lay all around, and there were wells of cool, refreshing water. The cellars were stocked with precious wines, more suited to the palates of connoisseurs than to sedate and respectable ladies. And on their arrival the company discovered, to their no small pleasure, that the place had been cleaned from top to bottom, the beds in the rooms were made up, the whole house was adorned with seasonable flowers of every description, and the floors had been carpeted with rushes." The Decameron, (Introduction: First Day) ~ Boccaccio  The passage above describes the sanctuary that a group of young people living in Florence fled to during the horrific and devastating time of the Black Death. It is a sanctuary in a true s...

When I read the classics, one of the things that I love to read about in detail is what the characters are wearing. It helps to create an image in my mind of the characters; not only of their physical appearances but also their attitude towards clothing and style. For example, I notice if they change their outfits regularly (as society often dictated, because, heaven forbid, one should wear the same outfit twice!) or if they were comfortable with their 'uniform' of daily wear. Usually, the classics will focus more on the clothing of women, but sometimes men get a look in too.  For this Classic Style Inspiration post, I thought we could look to some Victorian classics to inspire us. What does, or to be exact 'when' does the Victorian period actually refer to? Well, the term refers to the time that Queen Victoria ruled England, that is from 1837 to 1901. This extensive period of reign marked a number of social and cultural changes in England, Continental Europe and the US...

  Hello and welcome to It’s a Classical Life!  If this is your first time here, my name is Kirsty and I’m so glad you’re here to talk about all things classic, from the Ancient Greeks and Romans right up to the present day. We can draw our inspiration from classic literature, style, music and more so join us as we bring some timeless and enduring culture into our everyday lives. You may wonder, why study the classics? For me, studying the classics is part of a bigger whole – to be a lifelong learner. I am a trained History and World Languages teacher (ESL, Italian and Spanish) and have spent fifteen years studying and teaching topics I love from kindergarten to grade 12. In these days of our internet knowledge and ability to search for quick answers, becoming a lifelong learner is one of the best gifts you can give yourself and to your children. I can always tell those students who have grown up reading widely and reading well!  To be able to understand and assess how tho...

 Preserving and pressing flowers is a true classical past-time, with the practice being done as far back as the ancient Egyptians and Chinese. These dried flowers were used for a variety of purposes: fragrance, medicinal purposes, tea and so forth. However, it is believed that it was the Japanese in the 16th century who began to use the dried parts of a flower for art, known as Oshibana. This beautiful artform is continued today. Via As much as I love this delicate and whimsical art form, it is a more simple way of preserving flowers that I wish to discuss today. I have two easy ways that I dry flowers in my house, using no special equipment other than plain twine and heavy books (two things I always have in my house anyway).  The first way is to simply tie the flowers together and hang them upside down. I use a section of my kitchen wall to do this, as I really like looking at them; a simple and natural form of art that changes with the seasons. Here I have the flowers from a...