Neversleep

Eli a.k.a Will wrote this morality play (he wrote the music, apparently his girlfriend Natalia wrote the libretto but it sure sounds like Will's kind of themes.)  This was a project he had to do to graduate.  It was held at the Cloud Club which is a kind of artists' salon owned by Amanda Palmer and some other person.

It is avant garde, but I actually think the singers pull it off (I did giggle a bit when the lady singer climbed up the tree).  Watching the whole thing I was overcome with a deep appreciation and fondness for youthfulness; youthful creativity, energy, dreams and hope.  I think the piece must have been so hard to sing, but I think a lot of the melodies really worked.

Anyway, it is just over 22 minutes long.

Literature-based Studies

I thought I would list all the literature-based programs and guides that I have found useful over the years.  These are more than just book lists but actual helps or even unit study lessons that worked for us at some point in our homeschool endeavor over the years.

I have found that many of these types of programs are overkill; trying to wring out every single educational drop in terms of product.  I have always thought that book reports pretty much kill the love of reading.  If you make your kid do worksheet after worksheet for reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling etc you will be sure to kill any love of reading and learning (unless your kid is a nerd that way!  And then if that is true,  go for it!  But 99% of kids are not that way!).  So take whatever works. Feel free to pick and choose.  You do not have to do every single suggestion.  You can choose to skip everything but the actual reading!  Or you can choose whatever seems to suit your student's learning style, whatever appeals to him or whatever you think he might have to practice a bit to master.  Even in the case of something as sweet and gentle as Five in a Row, if your kid does not want to read a book five times in a row, don't do it!  Do it twice maybe.  You can rearrange the program to suit your own needs.  You are the captain of your homeschooling ship, not the program or curriculum.

I am roughly starting with helps for the youngest student up through high school, but a lot of these span different age groups.

Peak with Books - no one ever talks about this fantastic early learning guide that has been around for forever.  I loved it.  I don't know where my copy is anymore. Maybe I gave it away?

Five in a Row - Christian, gentle, fun.  Pre-school through about age 12.

Catholic Mosaic - lovely, lovely, lovely!  Pre-school through early/middle elementary.

For the Love of Literature - written by a Catholic homeschooling mom; a treasure trove kind of resource for all ages.

Geography through Literature  - we didn't do a lot of formal unit studies but this one was fun.  Early elementary through junior high.

P.A.C.E.   This stands for:  Program Achieving Character Education.  We did the early version of this loosely one year.  Lovely!

Kolbe Academy Elementary Literature program (we actually didn't do this one but we liked the Jr High one so much that I am recommending this one on the strength of the other, plus I like the fact that books on the saints are included).

Kolbe Academy Jr. High Literature program  - we did this in 8th grade with one of my sons and it was the highlight of that year.

Teaching the Classics  - this helped my struggling daughter 'get' literature.  It also set her up for her interest in great books and classical education.  She went on to attend a Great Books college which she deeply enjoyed.

Lightning Literature guides for high schoolers  - Christian; I have only ever used some of the ones at high school level.  I found them very useful but a little uneven.  Some were to me at college level (reading Canterbury Tales in Old English?  Too much for my 10th grader).

Questions for a Thinker series (Greek, Roman, Old Europe) by Fran Rutherford  These are treasures!  They are worth the money if your oldest is a teen and you've got younger siblings who will come after him.  If you get these books you are set for Greek, Roman and Old World lit.  They mostly are comprehension questions which we found useful to read before we tackled whatever classic we were about to delve into.  Then, after reading, we'd go back to the questions and just orally discuss the answers.  I also liked the essay prompts.

The Reader's Odyssey - this book is a guide for how to set up a reading program mostly for your high schooler.  This is more unschoolish in approach - sort of teaching you how to take the reading the student has done and turn it into something more formal sounding.  Unfortunately, it seems the book got published before its final proofreading as there are a lot of errors.  However, it is so full of practical advice, I still recommend it.

The Bird in the Tree - Book 16

Everyone should read an Elizabeth Goudge book in the spring.  Her gorgeous, lush descriptions will give you a heightened sense of beauty and glory as you witness the flowering and greening of the earth.  You'll notice how beautiful the clouds are and how lovely the song of birds and the sound of the rushing wind.  She will give you a Psalmist's heart that delights in the bounty of the Lord.  You start to think like her and life will be a little bit richer and a little bit more meaningful.

Not that much action happens in this story, The Bird in the Tree.  David, a beloved grandchild of Lucilla, queen and matron of her family and her beautiful seaside estate, Damerosehay, comes home to break some bad news.   He is desperately in love with his uncle's ex-wife and he plans to marry her.  Nadine was very young when she married the much older George.  They had three children, now being cared for by Lucilla since the marriage fell apart.  He knows his grandmother, whom he has always been close to, will see this as adultery, as she is very religious and does not acknowledge civil divorce.  He knows this will throw the family asunder, but he is young and selfish, though he does not realize it.  In spite of this, he has a good heart and is someone who wants to do right, if he can figure out what 'right' is.  For him, as World War II looms over England (the novel is set in 1938) he thinks right is being true to himself and that means having Nadine.  Nadine also is not a bad person but very weak and only knows how to operate out of her self-centeredness.  She admires what is good but doubts that she can ever be like that.

But Lucilla wisely asks David and Nadine to stay with her for two weeks at Damerosehay and then tell her their decision.  She has a secret history to disclose to them that may change their way of thinking.  And then there are the other members of the family who each in their own way, teach David and Nadine to consider the harm their marriage would do them; Nadine's children Ben, Tommy and Caroline.  David's uncle Hillary and his aunt Margaret.  And then there is the sanctuary of Damerosehay itself; the mystery behind it, the power of its healing nature.

This novel is a profound and beautiful exploration of what love is.  Love is patient, love is kind. . . true love wills the good of the other, no matter what sacrifice it may take.  It is only in loving truly we are actually free, even though it is often painful.

I am sad that I read this on my Kindle because there were so many good quotes in it and unlike a book, I can't easily leaf back through the pages to read particularly inspiring or moving passages.

If you want to read a beautiful book, read this one.  This book is actually the first in a trilogy.  I am anxious to read the next book, Pilgrim's Inn.

For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Movie Review - Much Ado About Nothing

We watched Joss Whedon's 2012 version on Thursday 4/23, the Bard's 451st birthday.

Overall, I thought it was really well done and the actors who portrayed Benedick and Beatrice were excellent.  There were many clever and funny things done very well, especially the modern twist on the nightwatchmen cum security guards with their computers and security cameras.  I also liked it when instead of having the song sung by Balthasar, they just had someone play music from their ipod.   And I also liked when they showed Don John getting arrested via video on their phone.

Stuff I didn't like:  the opening is of a man who seems to have just had relations with a woman and seems very down about it, leaves her as she pretends to lie there asleep.  It has no connection whatsoever with the story at all.   It is completely thrown in there to 'hollywoodize' the story.  I felt like the director didn't trust modern audiences to get into the story without putting a little modern existential twist on things. Blah.  Also they made the minor character, Conrade, a sexy blonde woman so they could show soft porn scenes of Don John climbing on her.  It was completely unnecessary and forced and again, the director doesn't trust the audience enough so he's got to stick some sex scene in to hold their jaded and prurient interests.

I have to say also that though I know it is supposed to show how timeless Shakespeare is, the idea of filming the story in a modern day house with modern dress while at times is clever, was also a little forced.  And frankly I think whenever I see a production that tries to update Shakespeare it does seem a little forced to me.  Just trying a bit too hard.

It must be weird for Hollywood to do this sort of thing because the whole story turns on Hero's purity.  So the scene where Claudio accuses Hero of being unchaste at their wedding ceremony just doesn't work.  Even Sean said:  "this is what makes this not work in a modern setting."  And I think he's right.  Although I guess even in Hollywood someone having an affair with another person on the night before their wedding might be a little much.

One thing that I had forgotten how much I appreciated in this play, is the little twist that Shakespeare throws in with Dogberry.  How Dogberry (the ass) gets to the truth of the scandal and saves the day while the the two noblemen, who are recent war heroes, have been blinded by a ruse.  Dogberry may be of low birth and clownish speech,  but it is Claudio and to some extent Don Pedro, who are the real dupes.

Some of the dialogue between Beatrice and Benedick reminded me of Pride and Prejudice.  I think Jane Austen certainly must have been influenced by Shakespeare's sparring lovers, especially in her portrayal  Elizabeth's cutting wit.

Anyway, I did enjoy the movie and I think it does show that plain old Americans can do Shakespeare in their flat American accents and things still come off pretty well!

Movie Review - To Kill a Mockingbird

Sean and I watched this movie this week.  I hadn't seen in it years and had forgotten just how brilliant it is.  I think it is the best book to movie adaptation I've ever seen.  From the opening credits, which are slightly eerie and yet nostalgic for childhood, to the decision to film in black and white, to the amazing acting abilities of the boy and girl who play Jem and Scout, to Gregory Peck's iconic Atticus, to the whole atmosphere of sleepy, poor, sometimes noble, yet deeply racist Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, to spooky Boo Radley who really is a hero, everything works together.  It is a marvel to behold.

The two things that we didn't like so much.  1) the fact that they kept leaving Bob Ewell at the Robinson house.  Twice Atticus goes there to visit Tom's wife and Ewell shows up drunk and ready to fight.  Atticus leaves and there you see the black Robinson family standing in the background.  To me they seemed as much in danger from Ewell as Atticus.  Yet the scenes fadeout and we were left wondering:  well, then what did Ewell do???  It seemed like the Robinson family only mattered in relation to Atticus - which I am sure Atticus would reject as unjust!!!  So that just felt like an overlooked detail.  

And, 2) we thought the lady who played MayElla Ewell overacted a bit.  Somehow her acting style jarred a bit against the more, subtle understated acting of everyone else.

But besides those two little annoyances, everything else was masterly.  The soundtrack music has been stuck in my head.  It makes me choke up, it really reflects the painful beauty of this story.

To Kill a Mockingbird was a novel I reread many times as an adolescent and young adult.  When I was in law school it made me smile to find that so many fellow law students when asked why they wanted to become lawyers would say, well, I want to be Atticus Finch.  The public perception of lawyers is usually of money-grubbing opportunists but at least in law school, they tend to start out much more idealistic.

Anyway, this is a great film - just excellent.  Here's a link to some clips from the movie.

And here's the haunting soundtrack.

Reducing Waste

One thing I really want to focus on is reducing waste.  I am so wasteful, it truly is sinful.  And my kids of course have taken up my bad habits.  I really feel called to try to reform myself but frankly, I don't reform so easy!  I do things in feeble little fits and starts and it takes me years and years, if I do indeed achieve any level of improvement.  I'm pathetic.  Anyway, here is a great list of ways , very practical, to reduce waste.  I am going to try to adapt some of them at least.  I already try to remember to bring my own bags when shopping, though lately, I've forgotten a lot.

Anyway, if anybody happens along to read this and also happens to have a waste-reducing tip they want to share, I'd appreciate it so much!

What We've Been Up To

We've had a slew of celebrations; Josh's birthday, Easter, Passover and my birthday.  This has kept us pretty busy.

Josh is so happy he is no longer dishwashing at the restaurant.  He is back working at the marina.  He came home from work one day and said to me:  I like working outside, I like working with my hands and I like working with people.  The last one surprised me as he is so introverted.  It is very nice to see him happier.  Rick gave him a ridiculous gift for his birthday - a K-nex Grandfather Clock.  It was ridiculously expensive, but they've been putting it together so it is a nice father-son bonding thing (though the other night Becky and Rick worked on it because Josh was too sleepy.)

Sean has come up with a plan - he's decided he's going to be an animator so we are trying to get him registered at the community college so he can get a certificate in multimedia design.  Gotta work on that some more today.  Meanwhile getting Sean through the courses he's studying right now is like pulling teeth.  He has completely lost motivation for everything.  In fact, I had to lower the boom and say no computer until you pick up your game.  Hate being like that but he needs a kick in a pants.  On the upside, Sean passed his learner's permit test.  Rick took him out driving and said out of all the kids he seems to be the most natural driver.  Whodathunk?

Becky is really busy between volunteering at the community theater and her AHG troop, plus last minute confirmation prep and voice lessons.  She had a recital on Saturday right after the fastest Passover seder we almost missed - I tell you, it felt rather sacrilegious to me.  She was so nervous.  She had nervous stomach for two days prior.  She was a mess!  The funny thing is, she is fine on stage with a group of people in the context of a play, but don't ask her to sing all by herself.  But she did really well.  She was shaking like a leaf but she covered it up and she sang well.  I could tell she wasn't in full voice because of nerves but she still sounded good.  Now she is getting ready to audition for The Music Man, that's in a couple weeks.  She is so looking forward to that.  Please God, let her get in or there will be no living with her this summer!

We hardly see Hannah at all.  She is so swamped with work and finishing up her masters, plus the whole being newly married and everything.

Will was home for Easter and we got to meet his girlfriend.  She is very lovely and we are all intimidated by her smartness since she has a B.S. in physics from MIT!  She was nervous and a little shy but she warmed up.  She and Becky got along splendidly, Sean was painfully awkward around her.  Will seems happy.  I am so proud of that boy.  He gave a talk at Boston University on homelessness.  He's become a speaker on the issue.  He has also become friends with Father Michael Gaitley, which is cool.  As Hannah said, if his girlfriend isn't the one, then it definitely is the priesthood for him.

I had a birthday yesterday.  I am 55.  Honestly, I can't believe it.  I am so grateful for being given this gift of years.  Lately, I've been noticing all these people who died younger than I, and the fact that life really is a gift has really come home to me.  Rick and I did a weird impulse buy on Sunday as a birthday gift to me  The day was so beautiful - the first truly beautiful spring day and we suddenly decided we needed to plant fruit trees.  Rick wanted apple because he had those in his yard growing up, but I remembered my old childhood neighbor's cherry tree and since it was my birthday, I prevailed!  So he and Josh planted the two trees.  One is a Sweet Van and the other a Bing tree.  I have to wait three years before any harvest though!

I started teaching myself piano.  I've been working through Alfred's Adult Piano Book 1.  My goal is to be able to play the very last song in the book by the end of summer.

One good thing about celebrating so many things in row is I have kept the house cleaner, or at least the main living area, cleaner and less junky than usual.  I like sitting in my nice neat, airy living room.  It is very peaceful.

There's more going on, but it is time to get started with the day!

Through Russian Snows - Book 15

I have been really slacking on the reading-a-complete-book front.  I keep starting one or another and then drifting off after not being able to really immerse myself.  But this book I stuck with, and I am glad, even though I had mixed emotions while reading a lot of it.

Through Russian Snows was my first Henty!  G. A. Henty was a historical novelist who wrote back in the 1800s for school children.  Boys especially seemed to like his stories.  He is big in homeschooling circles but weirdly we never got into him.  Jim Weiss has recorded several of his books.  I bought one of his recordings a long time ago, Beric the Briton.  The kids just didn't get into it.  I also bought the book The Cat of Bubastes and it has sat on our book shelf unread for a long, long time.  Then, very recently, when I was mentioning our study of Napoleon someone mentioned this book, Through Russian Snows.  I got it on my Kindle for 99 cents.

Henty writes in that rather formal, vaguely stuffy style of Victorian children's literature.  Every single character in the book speaks exactly the same way.  Honestly, you can not tell one from the other.  But at times the story had a lot of pathos and it certainly has lots of history in it.  I found it rather uneven, but in the end, I have to say I enjoyed it.

The first third of the book is taken up with two English brothers, Julian and Frank.  They live with their very sweet aunt and they are both just reaching manhood.  Julian is vaguely thinking about joining the army but puts it off and instead spends his time fishing with the local fishermen, who also are involved with smuggling. This is during the Napoleonic Wars and the black market for French goods is very lucrative.  Julian gets himself into a pickle where the townsfolk think he has committed a murder and the French smugglers think he knows too much, so they (the smugglers) hustle him off to a French prison. He languishes there until an offer is made that the prisoners can join Napoleon's army in the invasion of Russia.  Julian doesn't want to fight the British, but he figures fighting Russia is okay and maybe he'll have a chance to escape and find out if he has been cleared of the murder accusation.

Meanwhile his brother Frank has gotten Julian's named cleared.  He decides he'll go into the army.  A friend of their father's helps him.  This friend advises Frank to study Russian, which Frank does very intensely for a year; by that time the friend (General somebody or other) is stationed in Russia and Frank goes as his aide-de-camp.   Mostly we focus on Julian as he suffers the horrors of war on the Russian front.  In the middle of the book there is a very long portion that simply talks about all the military movements and battles and such.  That part was really dry to me, but I bet boys lapped it up!  Finally we get back to the narrative which takes an interesting turn, and of course leads to the two brothers uniting in Russia after several years apart.

All throughout, even though Julian and Frank are confronted with problems, they are always high minded and try to do the best they can in whatever they do.  So the story has a very didactic feel to it.

I am glad I read this book.  I feel accomplished now that I've finally read a G. A. Henty book all the way through!

For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

White Enchiladas - my version

I think I saw the original of this recipe at Eat at Home.  But I don't actually remember exactly.  Anyway, I changed it up a bit and served it to my crew.  It was a hit!  So I am saving this recipe.

You need:

For the filling:
2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken (I poached a couple of chicken breasts in broth in the microwave)
1 cup of grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 an onion chopped pretty finely
10 whole wheat tortillas (I got Trader Joe's.  The original recipe just said flour tortillas but I am trying to avoid refined flour).

Mix the chicken, cheese and onion together in a bowl.  Then fill and roll the ten tortillas putting the seam side down so they stay rolled, and place immediately into a casserole dish.

Note:  I did not have a big enough casserole that was actually clean at the time of making this, so I used a roasting pan that fit everything perfectly.  However, a lot of the tortillas stuck to the bottom of the pan, so I advise oiling the pan a bit before placing the tortillas in.

For the White Sauce:
3 tbsp of butter
3 tbsp of flour (in spite of my avoiding refined flour I find to make a good roux white flour really works.  I used King Arthur's unbleached)
1 cup chicken broth (I didn't have homemade so I used TJ's Free Range/Organic)
1 cup of Greek plain yogurt (the original recipe called for sour cream which would be fine but I didn't have any - but I always have yogurt on hand because it is more versatile)
Trader Joe's Salsa Verde* - the original recipe called for chopped green chiles.

Melt the butter and then using a wooden spoon stir in the flour until it is fully incorporated.  I think I had a low to medium flame going while I stirred.  Then slowly incorporate the chicken broth.  Next add in the cup of greek yogurt and stir until blended.  Then I put in about 7 oz out of a 12 oz jar of Salsa Verde and stirred that in as well.  Ta da!  Sauce is done.

Pour the sauce over the tortillas.  Put in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.  But a few minutes before it is done, sprinkle some more cheese over the top.  The original recipe said more Jack cheese but I wanted some color so I grated and sprinkled a generous amount of cheddar on top.

It look beautiful, was a little hard to serve because of the sticking problem, but was pronounced delicious by one and all!  It is a keeper!

* I think the Trader Joe's Salsa Verde is the best thing in the world!  Try it on scrambled eggs.  So delicious!  And it only has these ingredients:  fresh tomatillos, fresh green chiles, water, onions, fresh jalapeños, salt, spices.

Movie Review: Green Dolphin Street

The other day Green Dolphin Street was on Turner Classics Movies.  We recorded and watched it one evening when we had time.  I had read the book several years ago and while I found the foundational plot twist just a teeny-weeny bit beyond believability, I loved everything else about it.  Well, except for the typos.  Apparently the book had been out of print, so some little old British ladies with really bad eyesight and/or editing skills, put out a new edition.  They did it out of love for Goudge, but it was so replete with typos, I think I threw the book across the room at several points.   But that is really beside the point!  The writing itself is Elizabeth Goudge at the height of her craft.  And another thing that was really interesting about the book was all the New Zealand history in it.  I had no knowledge of New Zealand at all before reading Green Dolphin Street.

Anyway, they made a movie about the book back in 1947, starring Lana Turner as Marianne and Donna Reed as Marguerite and some guy I'd never heard of as William.  I was all set for the movie adaptation to be really bad, like Pride and Prejudice in the 1940 movie or Heidi with Shirley Temple.  Hollywood could really turn out some turkeys based on beloved books.  But!  This movie was really excellent.  It really stuck with the plot and the acting was superb.  Lana Turner played the role of Marianne just right; she was at times insufferable but also sympathetic.  And the final moments of the film are truly moving.   They really did a top-notch job of it!

I am going to add this movie to my favorites list!

Here's a clip I found on youtube.

Easter Resolutions

Happy Easter!

We went to the Easter Vigil last night.  The crowd was actually smaller than in past years.   That was a little bit sad, but the whole liturgy, the music, the readings, the baptisms, everything was so glorious!  It thrilled my heart and made me fall in love with my sweet, beautiful Jesus all over again.

In the spirit of renewal . . . .

I've decided since I can never keep focused on resolutions to change for the better, I'll just find any occasion throughout the year to reinvent myself!  So. . . Easter resolutions!

1.  I gave up sugar/refined carbs for Lent.  It was hard!  I think I am still going to limit myself a lot but not try to go to quite the extreme that Lent was about.  Maybe I'll try one refined carb a day (like toast or crackers) and one sweet a week (not counting things like honey in tea or on oatmeal - I'll give honey a pass).

2.  I need to rev up my home cooking style.  Lent has been a drag cooking-wise.  I can't wait until my CSA starts up, I think in May?  Anyway, I am promising myself to really focus on good cooking, planning ahead and making it fun!

3. It looks like we'll be doing math through the summer and also I'm going to be tutoring Becky in Latin.  Being the weirdo that I am, I am looking forward to that!  So my resolution is to stick to learning these two subjects this summer.  I have also started to study Algebra.  My brain is so rusty!  But I will not give up, even if my 13 year old is helping me.  In fact, because of that I will not give up.  It is great for her learning and her confidence!

4.  I've been doing Leslie Sansone's walking program when the weather isn't good and I've been taking walks on the new walking paths they've put in in the most-pretentious-housing-development-in-the-world behind our house.  The walking paths are a nice thing though!  I can really take a walk now.  So I am going to keep up walking, especially now that spring is here.  I've also started to say a rosary when I walk.  I used to do this a lot when I walked but lost the habit a few years.  It is never too late to start again!

5.  Lent was also a time of being really sloppy about housework and decluttering even then I made several half-hearted attempts, but now I feel more energetic so I need to get back on the track about that.

I think 5 resolutions are enough, don't you?  So I'll stop there.  Happy Easter!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!