Comments on: The Simple Life: Freddy and Fredericka

By: ann

ann — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:04:26 +0000

oooh, Mark Helprin, my favorite non-serious author! Have you read Winter’s Tale yet BlogLily? That book literally changed my life. It made me realise I wanted to live in NYC and that I never wanted to let go of my imagination. I’ve only been able to finish a handful of books this year, unfortunately Freddy & Fredericka is one of the unfinished ones… I’ll have to give it another go.

By: Patti

Patti — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:17:30 +0000

I could so relate to the line “…and then someone brings home a free water bottle…” ~ so true in our home. Still, I continue to strive for the simple, uncluttered life.

By: Max

Max — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 08:59:57 +0000

Don’t lets forget the life coaches, who will charge hundreds or thousands of dollars/pounds in order to reduce clutter not only in your life, but also in your bank balance. How thoughtful!

By: realruth

realruth — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 03:20:23 +0000

I’d like to recommend “Simple Abundance – A Daybook of Comfort and Joy” by Sarah Ban Breathnach. I picked it up at a Library booksale several years ago and love its simple grounding messages and suggestions of ways to enjoy an uncomplicated life. Because it’s written by an American and I live in the Southern Hemisphere, I sometimes have to turn to the date that’s six months away from my calendar, but that doesn’t detract from the pleasure and inspiration I get from it.

By: everythinginbetween

everythinginbetween — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 13:54:21 +0000

I’m not quite sure what it says about me that I never once fantasized about living the simple life a la Laura Ingalls, but every time I read an end-of-the-world novel, I’m quite convinced I could survive radioactivity, throw a backpack over my shoulders and bond with other survivors on our way to starting a new life in, say, Colorado. Thank you, Stephen King. I might be a little disturbed.

I know exactly the zen you are talking about regarding a clean cupboard, though – last week I cleaned out our refrigerator and experienced Pure.Joy. Today, though, we are throwing a dinner party and I’m quite sure all the necessary food and drinks will ruin my pretty, clean, organized refrigerator. Something about brie and apple appetizers …never simple.

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 13:03:21 +0000

I’m always saying to my husband (who should be living with Litlove’s husband and son, it sounds like) that it’s time to live a simpler life and to get rid of everything except the books. But, if you were to see our house, you’d realize how absurd that is. The books are the biggest problem, and we could take a GIANT step toward living a much-simpler and less-cluttered life by getting rid of them and keeping everything else. But then where would I go to escape the closets overflowing with clothes we never wear and the kitchen cabinets full of stuff that seemed like a good idea at the time we bought it?

By: charlotteotter

charlotteotter — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 07:10:28 +0000

I remember reading Little House on the Prairie to my kids and thinking, I could do with a bit of that simple stuff. Sooooo romantic and uncomplicated, except of course when the wolves come or when Papa has to eat the Christmas candy in order to survive in a snowstorm.

My one solution to fighting THE STUFF is to avoid magazines as much as possible – they set everything up so gorgeously that you want to hit the High Street THAT MINUTE and acquire that ESSENTIAL fluffy throw immediately. Keeping out of the shops helps too.

I like the idea of the book, though. Perhaps it’s time for me to join BookMooch … books aren’t stuff of course, they’re food.

By: smokey

smokey — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 01:15:43 +0000

What would libraries do without you? They are lucky to have such a devoted friend. No need for library bonds on the Berkeley ballot!!

By: bloglily

bloglily — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 00:32:02 +0000

Hi Jessica — US Weekly. That’s another failing of mine. I love catching up on that kind of news. Still, a big fat book is much nicer on a long plane flight.

Litlove, fictional solace, indeed. I’m going to compile a list of comfort books — sort of the mashed potatoes and apple crisp of literature.

marymom (sistah!) — I want to report to you that today at the library I checked out FIVE such books, and it’s all Mark Helprin’s fault: The Mindful Cook: Finding Awareness, Simplicity, and Freedom on the Kitchen; Downsized but Not Defeated: The Family Guide to Living on Less; The Tassajara Recipe Book (they’re the zen people, so they count for simple eating); Celebrate Simply: Your Guide to Simpler, More Meaningful Holidays and Special Occasions; and Simplicity from a Monastery Kitchen.

Clearly, somebody’s realized that all you have to do to sell nonfiction is add the word Simple to the title.

me, I’m going to get SimpleBlog going. Which reminds me, isn’t “simple” another word for fool?

Hello Dorothy — Agreed. I keep getting BookMooch packets and cannot keep up with them.

By: Dorothy W.

Dorothy W. — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 00:13:40 +0000

The book sounds quite interesting. Book Mooch can perhaps be a part of simple living, but it’s having the opposite effect on me — it’s cluttering up my to-be-read shelves!

By: marymom

marymom — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 00:13:11 +0000

Bloglily, we are truly sisters. Yes, I now subscribe to three yes three simple living magazines. I have a whole shelf of books on dealing with clutter. My favorite one, I can no longer find in all the chaos which is my life. Thank you for the book recommendation, and for the feeling of simple fellowship.

By: litlove

litlove — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 19:02:50 +0000

I really fancy simple living – just me an’ the books, you know. But in the meantime I live with the two untidiest males you could find, so I think fictional solace is the best I can hope for!

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:15:05 +0000

Ah, I have been the subject of a crash course in simple living lately, which is difficult, to say the least, during the holiday season. I’m at a point in my life where I can do more for my family than they can do for themselves and yet, as much as I want to rain glittery bits and gold coins down on them, I realize that it’s the small, sentimental gifts that will be remembered year after year.
And thank you for your gift of a glowing recommendation. I will be on many flights the next two months and it’s either a great book or the latest US Weekly (groan!) for me.