Good Vibes

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Great Art Explained: The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck

Note: The dress worn in the Arnolfini Portrait was covered by a costume historian during an episode of A Stitch in Time. The video is found below.

 

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Musings

Learn how to combine prayer and cleaning.

I love Fridays! I spend the day attending to the home and puttering about. My pace is slower and carries through the weekend. The major tasks are done and I can take my time. I've finished two books and heartily recommend This Victorian Life if you're interested in implementing earlier periods into daily living.

I've covered a similar theme in homesteading and may do a post with recommended reads on the subject. I contemplated the same and worked on an organic production farm, sold at farmers markets, and continued my education with organizations that focus on sustainability and survival skills. Developing proficiency in traditional practices allows you to weather the unexpected.

Labor is divided according to two principles in our home: competence and enjoyment. Gender isn't a qualifier for us. Excellence is empowering and promotes a sense of pride in one's tasks. When you do something well and people recognize it the mood shifts. You develop positive associations with the job. You know the work is appreciated and you're good at it.

Recognition fosters domestic harmony. No one wants to be ignored or feel taken for granted. If someone excels at dishes, laundry, or carting the garbage out; let them know! Thank you is fine. But acknowledging the benefit of their assistance is even better. 'I couldn't do this without you' speaks volumes. They know they're needed and that's the gift that keeps on giving.

I believe in double dipping when doing chores. I listen to audiobooks, music, podcasts, or think out loud. I'm connecting pleasurable activities which reinforce enjoyment. When I'm done I feel a greater sense of accomplishment.

Today, I've decided to read Anne of Green Gables. I enjoyed the program on Netflix and wanted something light. If you're a fan the cookbook is worth a peek. You can find a few recipes here.

 

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Light Academia Reading List

Light academia is a celebration of life. The mood is light, upbeat and positive. Favorite past-times include literature, music, art, and history with an emphasis on the Renaissance and Classical Period.

Recommended Reads

A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft
Aesthetics of Architecture by Roger Scruton
Alexander’s Path by Freya Stark
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Belinda by Maria Edgeworth
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Candide by Voltaire
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Emma by Jane Austen
Evelina by Frances Burney
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Franny and Zoey by JD Salinger
History of Art by Anthony Janson
Howard’s End by E. M. Forster
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Inferno by Dante
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Midsummer's Night Dream by Shakespeare
Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
Nine Stories by JD Salinger
Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov
Oroonoko by Aphra Behn
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Poetics by Aristotle
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Raise High The Roof Beam Carpenters by JD Salinger
Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare
Salome by Oscar Wilde
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Aeneid by Virgil
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Bacchae by Euripides
The Bell Jar by Silva Plath
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Greeks and the Irrational by E.R. Dodds
The Iliad by Homer
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
The Republic by Plato
The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot
Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson
Twelfth Night by Shakespeare
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Watership Down by Richard Adams

 

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Musings

I'm halfway through Anne of Green Gables and thoroughly enjoying it! The story is heartwarming and wholesome. If you've never read the book or have young children I recommend it.

I love Saturdays. The sun is bright and the farmers market is buzzing. Little Miss is happily shopping and bringing breakfast. And pie of course! A scrumptious slice of blueberry pie to accompany tea while I read. Life's little indulgences are worth savoring.

It seems my reading funk is over and I'm glad. I'll finish the book today and I've added a related title to my list. I'm uncertain if I'll read the series now. I may pick it up in the fall or next spring. The latter seems ideal.

I checked my progress on the classics reading challenge. I've completed 193 titles. I have a ways to go but I cover 100 books or more each year. I'm not worried about it. If you need inspiration, List Challenges is a great site. They have everything.

I have two remaining selections by Anthony Trollope. I love his work! I'll try to squeeze one in this month. If you've never read him you need to. He's just that good. But if gloom is your thing opt for Thomas Hardy instead. You don't get through his pieces without tears. He's splendid but a wee bit sad.

My primary goal this year is to finish Proust. I completed the first three books in the Remembrance of Things Past series. That's his opus. Admittedly, I didn't like it at first. The main character was whiney and I wanted to throttle him! But Proust won me over. His prose is unforgettable. The flow is silky smooth like butter. He's meant to savored. You don't rush through him.

 

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Blists Hill Victorian Town

Step back to the year 1900 at Blists Hill Victorian Town in IronBridge, A living museum of working class Victorian Life. Experience how a Victorian worked and lived in Blists Hill, Ironbridge. Meet the locals in Victorian costumes, as they demonstrate and teach you all about the struggles of a working class Victorian town. Step inside shops, workshops and homes beautifully retaining the Victorian charm. Have lunch at the vintage fish and chip shop cooked in beef fat or spend your shillings at the sweet shop!

 

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Affording Country Life

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. —1 Timothy 5:8

 

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Market Day

Alas, breakfast was sold out and we had smoked salmon on bagels with herbed cream cheese and sprigs of dill and fennel. Little Miss returned with lots of veggies and four mini pies! She said they had a special. I didn’t complain. Farmers markets bring her joy.

Some of the produce is a little damp from rinsing or storage after harvest. I like to lay it out in a spot where there’s little light and let it dry. It stays out half the day. I turn it in a few hours before putting it away.

We have scallions, basil, swiss chard, garlic chives, tuscan kale, lemon balm, flat leaf parsley, thyme, rhubarb, dill, oregano, and fennel. She picked up yellow cherry tomatoes too.

I eat the greens raw and use them in salads. Lemon balm makes a wonderful tea. Leftover herbs are dried and added to homemade bath salts, body scrubs, or potpourri.

Fresh ones are used in meals and with homemade oils, vinegars, salts or sugars. Lavender and vanilla sugar tastes really good in tea! Flavored sugars are good for dusting baked items or enhancing a beverage.

 

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Viewing Days

I'm picking out a Netflix blitz. I do it once in awhile and finish a show in a few days. Anne with an E was the last one. I recommend reading the book afterward. They changed a lot.

I haven't seen Bridgerton or watched The Crown in years. And I have a season left on Versailles. I may do Versailles and Bridgerton this month and save The Crown for August.

That leaves The Last Kingdom and Medici (behind 1 season on both) and others I haven't started like: Queen's Gambit, Outlander, Turn, Young Royals, The English Game, The Guernsey, The Princess Weiyoung, The Last Czars, Frontier, Roman Empire, The Rookie Historian, Rise of Empires Ottoman, Knightfall, Charite, Yanxi Palace, and Kingdom.

Ninety-five percent of the programs I watch are historical or period pieces. I love the costumes and pay attention to overlapping themes. It helps me understand the narrative and where things are heading.

While I don't watch the news or read the paper that isn't necessary. The reveal always occurs in films. Then the domino effect follows.

 

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Lessons from Anne of Green Gables

The relationship between Anne and Diana should be studied by those desiring lifelong connections. It may be fiction but it contains the elements the bible heralds.

Love, kindness, forgiveness, acceptance, faithfulness, and so on. It’s a beautiful testament of togetherness that they sealed with a vow. A promise to remain close no matter what.

Life provides more opportunities for separation than we can count. But there’s something redeeming about stick-to-itiveness that’s ratified through heartfelt admissions by each.

They’re not ashamed to say I love you or to show it. They’re not afraid to cry or be less than their best with one another. They’re not unwilling to look beyond themselves when the other’s in need of an encouraging word, support, or even a hug.

Anne and Diana know how to love. I don’t know who taught them how but I suspect their hearts are the culprit. In one another they found all they’ve sought and needed too. Without request for change. They’re good enough as-is. Warts and all.

I wonder what would happen if we did the same? Imagine the kindred souls we’d find.

 

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Morning Routines

Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. —Proverbs 20:13

A popular YouTuber implements morning routines of well-known people who excelled at productivity. He mentions Mason Currey’s Daily Rituals. It’s a pretty good book with examples of work routines for several disciplines. Some are inappropriate for Christians. But many can be adapted.

Ben Franklin’s Schedule

Pablo Picasso’s Schedule

Maya Angelou’s Schedule

 

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Organize With Me
Closet Transformation

 

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Shirakawa-go
Japanese Village

It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living. —Eckart Tolle

 

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For People Feeling Behind in Life

My world is turning pages while I am just sitting here. —Tame Impala

I clicked on the video earlier and a quote caught my eye. I included it with the message.

 

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Victorian Afternoon Tea Party

 

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The Perfect Spring Picnic

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. —Hebrews 13:16

 

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A Ballerina’s Tale

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. —Ecclesiastes 7:8

Born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in San Pedro, California, Misty Copeland began her ballet studies at the late age of thirteen. At fifteen, she won first place in the Music Center Spotlight Awards.

She studied at the San Francisco Ballet School and American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive on full scholarship and was declared ABT’s National Coca-Cola Scholar in 2000.

Misty joined ABT’s Studio Company in September 2000, joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in April 2001, and in August 2007 became the company’s second African American female Soloist and the first in two decades.

In June 2015, Misty was promoted to principal dancer, making her the first African American woman to ever be promoted to the position in the company’s 75-year history.

 

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Secrets to Drying Herbs

Drying herbs by hanging them is the method used for thousands of years, but knowing when to harvest them is key for the strongest medicinal properties.

Plus, a few ways to dehydrate them if you don't have enough hanging space and when I will use a dehydrator vs. the hanging method. Most important how to store your herbs properly after they're dried.

 

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Karl Lagerfeld Sketches Fendi

A gem from the vault! In January 2015 I filmed Karl Lagerfeld drawing his vision for Fendi. He worked for Fendi from 1965 to 2019, doing his last fitting with Silvia Venturini Fendi the day before he passed away.

Here he draws many self portraits: KL. as a young fashionista getting Rome at its feet, KL as dandy, KL as Karlito the world known mascot. This is my director's cut of this afternoon spent with Karl, who always said his real job was to sketch fashion.

Note: Karl never attended design school. He studied history and drawing. He became creative director at Chanel and Fendi and produced collections for Chloe and KL simultaneously. No one has ever done four at time besides him.

 

[GOD Shines Forth!]

Karl Lagerfeld Sketches Fendi

A gem from the vault! In January 2015 I filmed Karl Lagerfeld drawing his vision for Fendi. He worked for Fendi from 1965 to 2019, doing his last fitting with Silvia Venturini Fendi the day before he passed away.

Here he draws many self portraits: KL. as a young fashionista getting Rome at its feet, KL as dandy, KL as Karlito the world known mascot. This is my director's cut of this afternoon spent with Karl, who always said his real job was to sketch fashion.

Note: Karl never attended design school. He studied history and drawing. He became creative director at Chanel and Fendi and produced collections for Chloe and KL simultaneously. No one has ever done four at time besides him.

The work ethic was strong in that man!

 

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The work ethic was strong in that man!

Amazingly so! I read about his sketches in the past. They said it only took a few strokes. He was really fast.