atmosphere of loveliness and joy

"There, it should be woman's office to move in the midst of practical affairs, and to guild them all--the very homeliest, were it even the scouring of pots and kettles--with an atmosphere of loveliness and joy." --nathaniel hawthorne, the house of the seven gables

I haven't been able to read much this summer.  But I did pick up several things and try. It's funny that The House of the Seven Gables is the one that was able to keep my attention, even after my niece gave it to me with the caveat that it was the most boring book she ever read. I'm not yet half way but i've met Phoebe and love how Hawthorne describes her. I must reserve final judgement regarding Phoebe until I finish the book. But when we are introduced to her she takes the dark, empty, cursed old house and infuses it with light and life; she executes the most mundane and everyday of tasks with grace and joy. Let us see what becomes of her and if she finishes well.

"There was a spiritual quality in Phoebe's activity. The life of the long and busy day--spent in occupations that might so easily have taken a squalid and ugly aspect--had been made pleasant, and lovely, by the spontaneous grace with which these homely duties seemed to bloom out of her character; so that labour, while she dealt with it, had the easy and flexible charm of play. " --nathaniel hawthorne, the house of the seven gables