El Pan Nuestro de Cada Dia

Escritores Católicos o Católicos que Escriben

2012-02-11T18:13:00.000-06:00

En los círculos católicos en que me desenvuelvo, Tolkien es famoso.También lo es Chesterton, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, Michael O'brien y otros que no me vienen a la mente. Un día se me ocurrió buscar si había algún escritor, vivo o muerto, que escribiera en español y que se pudiera comparar con estos famosos escritores ya citados.
Buscando en el internet, me crucé con estos nombres:

Juan Manuel de Prada
Jesus Sanchez Adalid
Pablo D'Ors

Pero más interesante aún me encontré con este post De Etiqueta . En el post, pero sobre todo en la vivaz discusión en los comentarios comentan en la necesidad de la etiqueta escritor católico. Hay quienes opinan que una etiqueta es innecesaria y hasta indeseable. Pero la idea que me dio que pensar es que los grandes escritores Católicos (vamos a dejar la etiqueta intacta por el momento) han surgido en países o culturas donde el Catolicismo es minoria, donde la lucha por mantener la fe, por ir contra corriente ha sido una lucha ardua. Inglaterra, por ejemplo. En España, donde todos son católicos ( o eran porque hay quien dice que España no es ya católica), la etiqueta no tiene sentido. Entonces alguien dijo que hay que hacer una distinción entre un católico que escribe y un escritor católico.

Claro que la(s) pregunta(s) de rigor es, ¿qué define a un escritor católico? ¿son sus temas? ¿su cosmovisión? ¿el hecho de que sus personajes recen el rosario? ¿la forma de ver la vida? ¿la forma de ver el arte?

Y aún una pregunta más seria, si el mundo en que vivimos hoy en día no es católico, ni siquiera cristiano, ¿veremos un resurgimiento de autores católicos? ¿tendrán aquellos autores modernos que la posean el coraje de llevar su fe a corazón abierto?

Leyendo en Español: La Colmena por Camilo José Cela

2012-02-02T20:46:00.000-06:00

Quisiera yo saber escribir! Leer, se. Escribir se me hace más díficil. Cuando busco describir lo que leo, a veces me hacen falta las palabras. Este año quiero aprender a escribir más y a leer más y mejor. Siempre he sido ávida lectora pero, ahora siento que quiero que lo que leo, cuente. No quiero leer por leer sino para aprender.
Es por eso que he decidido que este año voy a leer más en español. Claro que esta meta tiene mucho que ver con cierta compra que hice en octubre. Cada octubre una de las universidades locales tiene un venta de libros usados. Un verdadero paraíso para el lector. Paraíso? tentación es más preciso. Bueno, el caso es que en la mesa dedicada a lenguas extranjeras, en vez de los consabidos libros de texto, oh dicha!, había cerca de dos docenas de clásicos de la literatura española. Mi corazón se sentía un poco desbocado. ¿Qué podía yo hacer? ¿pasar la oportunidad? ¿dejar que esos libros terminen en una caja de reciclaje? NO! Así que en ese día de octubre (o era septiembre?), llegué a casa como la orgullosa poseedora de casi dos docenas de libros.
Pero como la emoción de la adquisición pasa rápido, no fue hasta hace una semana que decidí que este año, mis lecturas van a alternar entre lecturas en inglés y lecturas en español. Con eso en mente, comencé a leer mi primera selección: La Colmena, escrita por Camilo José Cela.
No se bien que me hizo escogerlo como mi primera selección de este mi año de español. Quizás fue que mi apellido de soltera es el primer nombre del autor; o quizás porque era el único libro que me sonaba de los que adquirí. Fuera cual fuera el motivo, La Colmena fue mi elección.
Cuando comencé a leer no estaba segura que me iba a gustar. La Colmena es un libro diferente. Mi primera impresión fue que, en vez de leer una novela, estaba viendo una película o documental, donde el director había decidido mover la cámara de manera rápida y sucesiva por una calle llena de gente. No hay tiempo para detenerse en ninguna de las personas que pasan por la calle, sino que sólo tenemos una sucesión de impresiones, observaciones. La novela no tiene trama o personaje principal. No tiene climax o descenlace. Sólo la sensación de que seguimos a un observador que se mueve rápidamente por una ciudad llena de gente, recogiendo impresiones o quizas tomando una muestra. Y la muestra es desesperanzadora. La gente parece desilusionada, triste. No hay dinero pero si hambre. No hay alegría sino tristeza, desesperación.
A pesar de lo dismal de la novela, no puede uno sino darse cuenta que está escrita de manera magistral. La Colmena tiene lugar durante el trascurso de tres días. Tres días en la vida de Madrid. Esta novela está llena de personajes (cerca de 300 leí por ahí). Los personajes, al principio, parecen desconectados pero, poco a poco, nos damos cuenta que hay diferente relaciones entre ellos. Me llenó de admiración como Cela pudo mantener, no, hilar, estas complejas relaciones de una manera estelar.
El año es 1942. Inmediatamente después de la guerra civil española y en medio de la segunda guerra mundial. Definitivamente un tiempo en la historia donde la alegría no abunda. Los personajes se mueven a traves de las horas de una manera triste, lenta, a veces como cerrados a la emoción.
Gracias a Dios la novela termina con un rayo de esperanza:

"La mañana, esa mañana eternamente repetida, juega un poco, sin embargo, a cambiar la faz de la ciudad..."

Estoy segura que hay más profundidad en esta novela. De hecho, me fascinaría tenerla como selección para un club de lecturar. Definitivamente habría mucho que discutir. Mientras tanto como no soy crítica literaria, después de acabar la lectura me lancé al internet a buscar una buena guia de estudio o una buena crítica. Esto es lo que encontré:

Camilo José Cela biografía

Una buena guía de estudio

Una buena reseña en Goodreads

Algo más científico

Lessons for the New Year or What St. Paul is Teaching Me

2012-01-14T08:48:00.002-06:00

It seems that naturally, this time of the year, my gaze turns inwards as I reflect over the last year and make plans for the next. The problem with me is that my gaze falls first on the things I didn't do:

the resolutions I didn't keep (I was going to be organized!)
the exercise plan(s) that were abandoned (The 30 days shred that never got to 30 days)
the health habits that never lasted more than a few weeks (kefir, chia seeds anyone?)
the books that weren't read ( I was going to read more Spanish this year, right?)
the relationships that weren't built (where are those dates with M?)
the intellectual goals that weren't achieved (Oh Chesterton! this year we will meet!)
the housekeeping plans that were simply forgotten (Motivated Moms? Flylady?)

Reading St Paul's letter to the Philippians the other night, it occurred to me that I am seeing it all wrong. St Paul tells the Philippians that even death is gain to him because it will be the ultimate way of being close to Jesus (paraphrasing here, in case you were wondering how come you don't recognize St. Paul's words). Death as a gain! I am so not there! But, if you can turn around death, the ultimate fear, around and see it as gain, then maybe everything depends on perspective.

Christians definitely look at the world differently.

The thing is that even goals not achieved, and resolutions not kept can be good things, if a lesson was learned, if I use it as a stepping stone. Furthermore, it is not the goals that are important or the resolutions,

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ...that you stand firm in one spirit,with one mind striving side by side for the Faith of the Gospel, and not be frightened in anything by your opponents... for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but suffer for his sake. (Phil. 1:27-28a, 29)

I don't like to suffer, I don't like when life is hard. I consider a good year the one with more occasions for joy than for sorrow. But, is it always true? I tend to want to run from painful situations, to avoid pain at all costs, to fast-forward through difficult moments to get to the good ones. Again, it is a matter of perspective. Isn't the life of a Christian to live in Christ, as Christ? Isn't it true that the moments when I am closer to God are the difficult ones, the ones that hurt, the ones where every fiber of my being wants to scream: STOP, let me off!? Isn't in those difficult moments I run to the One that can help? I don't know if I can say that, whatever happens to me that can be labeled as suffering, is for the sake of Christ but, if I can see the hard moments as a stepping stone to something better, as tool for growth, then I have a powerful weapon against my greatest enemy: fear!

Fear can't have a hold of me if I stand firm on the believe that all situations: good or bad, sad or joyful, can lead me closer to God and the life he intends for me.

St. Paul also makes another point-maybe more relevant to new year's beginnings:

"I press on... forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead"

As I read this, I thought of St. Paul's life. He had persecuted Christians. Who knows what harm he caused them! He could've lived his life with a paralyzing grief, full of remorse and regrets; but, he trusted in the redemption he had received, the forgiveness that was his, and pressed on, his eyes fixed on the goal and not on the mistakes. Another lesson from St. Paul: dwelling on what we didn't accomplish or what we didn't do or in what we did wrong is not good. Of course, we take stock. How can we press on if we don't look at where we are coming from? But there are different ways of looking back: I can look back just as an exercise to help me figure out where am I going or, I can look back and dwell on the negative. The latter is worthless!

St.Paul continues,

"I press on toward the goal... let those of us who are mature be thus minded, and if anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true what we have attained." (Phil 3)

It is, then, a sign of maturity to let go of regrets, remorse, errors. And hold on to what we have attained. Again, a matter of perspective: in looking back, focus on what have been gained. There is always something we have attained, even if only experience.

And then St. Paul offers a perspective that I want to embrace for this coming year:

"Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about that"

This year I want to look at life this way, focusing on what is honorable, lovely, just, true. Not in a pollyanish way but, in a conscious way: choosing to see the lovely not the ugly, the true not the lie, the excellent not the mediocre, and especially that which deserves praise rather than what deserves criticism.

As if this wasn't enough, this reading of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, gave me another guideline for this year: to learn to be content.

"I have learned, in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me."

In summary, St. Paul is teaching me to:

focus on the manner I live my life
be not afraid!
look at the past just as a guideline, not dwelling on what I haven't accomplish
press on, strain forward
think of what is good, honorable...
praise don't criticize
learn to be content

St Paul, pray for me!

Advent: Radically Reorienting Life. A beginning.

2011-12-04T14:55:00.001-06:00

The priest started with a definition of conversion: A radical reorientation of our whole life... I didn't hear anything else for a while. Those words: radical reorientation of our whole life, made their imprint in my brain and send the wheels turning. Maybe that is what I need: a radical change, a turn around.
The image came to my mind, slowly taking form: there I was at what seem the end of a road, a wrong road. What person that realizes she is walking along the wrong road doesn't turn around and start anew? Who would continue down the road that she knows is not getting her where she wants to go? Only an idiot!

The priest's voice crept into my thoughts again. He was talking about the reading from Isaiah:

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.

Prepare the way of the lord, make the road wider, smooth the rough spots, remove the the obstacles. Advent calls us to repentance, to change, to being again. The calendar year is drawing to a close but, the Church year has already begun. It starts with Advent's call to conversion, to radically reorient our lives. The Church in her wisdom knows that after the weeks of Ordinary Time we are ready for some change. The spiritual inroads of Lent and Easter have grown stale. Our old demons are back and our soul feels fatigued and disillusioned. We are struggling again. But the Church reminds us, reminds me:

Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD...

I need a change. I want a change. And this is a good time to start. For me, this message of change and conversion issued during Advent, is often lost in the fray of Christmas shopping. I don't hear the voice of John the Baptist inviting me to repent. I don't hear the invitation to conversion. All I hear is the voices in my brain reminding me that the house needs to be decorated, that the cookies need to be baked and the presents bought. A thousand and one voices, getting louder and louder, and crowding out the voice I need to be hearing.

I am glad for the time of quiet at mass when the words of the priest worked themselves through the funk, and made me hear and think. It is time for me to clean house, to de-clutter my brain, to focus on what is important. It seems that Advent should be the time of new resolutions.

It seems that I am setting myself up for failure. How can I de-clutter my brain at a time like this. Haven't you heard that there is a Christmas show to put on? Radical reorientation... Radical means from the root. And anything with the word radical in it can't be easy.

No matter. Just in case, I'll start small.

Today, on this Second Sunday in Advent, and because it is never too late, I want to make a new resolution: for the next couple of weeks, it doesn't matter how busy my schedule, how long my to do list, I am going to carve out a pocket of time to be with the Lord. The renewal of relationships begins with time spent together in conversation.

One of my favorite prayers from the Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours is this portion of the Canticle of Zechariah taken from the Gospel of Luke:

“In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace"

This Christmas I want to experience the dawn from on high. And I don't want to miss it because my eyes are looking somewhere else.

Llámenme Ignorante

2011-09-04T22:15:00.001-05:00

Llámenme ignorante, pero yo pensaba que los taínos estaban extintos. Nunca se me había ocurrido pensar en el hecho de que están vivos en muchas de nuestras tradiciones (al menos en el campo) y sobre todo en nuestra lengua.
OK, yo sé que hay ciertas palabras taínas que sobreviven en nuestra lengua y que usamos con frequencia: Quisqueya, hamaca, barbacoa, etc. Sé también que el casabe es de origen taíno pero leyendo este artículo, escrito por el Doctor Pedro J. Ferbel he aprendido de la sobrevivencia de la cultura taína.
Claro que, como bien dice el artículo, aún cuando hay una al parecer indiscutible influencia taína en la vida dominicana; el dominicano no se identifica con el taíno. Y como va a hacerlo si siempre se nos ha dicho que los taínos están extintos.
Sería interesante hacer un estudio, o leerlo se ya alguien lo ha hecho, de la identidad del dominicano. Yes que a mi me parece que el dominicano tiene un problema de identidad. Lo cual no me sorprende porque con la sopa biológica que somos cómo saber quién somos.

Habit #2: Maintain Key Friendships-from The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers by Dr. Meg Meeker.

2011-08-22T06:19:00.006-05:00

Happy mothers know their value and happy mothers maintain key friendships. They know that loneliness is an enemy to be fought. They know they need other women and they don't apologize for it.

At a certain level we all know that friendships are important but, as Dr. Meeker says,

"The truth is, when something needs to be cut out in the crunch of daily demands, friends are the first to go. Sometimes friendship seems expendable, unnecessary. "

Some of us might think that our needs are being met by our family and husbands,

"this is extremely important, but they don't fully satisfy our relational needs because the others in the relationship are too dissimilar from us. Husbands can't be everything to us and certainly children can't be."

I am sure my dh is grateful that I have a group of women I meet regularly with! It is not that I keep him out of parts of my life. Far from it. It is that there are things proper to being a woman that he can't relate to. And I shouldn't expect him to. It goes without saying that my relationship to him is primary but he is not expected to be my all in all. I think he is relieved.

Loneliness can be a great enemy. It is in loneliness that our problems magnify: our thoughts get darker,our sorrows get deeper, our sadness consumes us, our joys go unshared and unseen. Loneliness is crushing. It is in loneliness when we start asking, "What is wrong with me?"

" A mother who feels lonely believes on some level that she is unlikable, even unlovable."

Dr Meek reminds us that "friends are a necessity, not a luxury." I truly believe this. We are not meant to be alone. I am not meant to be alone. I read once in book about social development for children that kids don't need tons of friends. Just one friend can carry a child through the developmental years. Just one friend can make a difference between a normal childhood and miserable one. I think the same is true of us.

*For more discussion on The Ten Habits of Happy Mothers see Elizabeth Foss' blog . She is the one that got me interested in reading the book and she is doing a great job at discussing it every Thursday.*

It WAS Hard to see her go

2011-08-13T08:54:00.005-05:00

I thought it wouldn't be hard this time. I did it last May. I did it all. All of it, the crying, the sadness, the emptiness. The things left behind spoke of her absence. Loud. It was hard then but,I knew she will be back at the end of July. Now I don't know when the house will be filled with her joy, her presence.

It was hard to see her go.

It doesn't matter how much I tell myself:

-you will text (btw, I retract everything I said about texting)

-you will Skype (oh the blessedness of technology!)

-she will visit for holidays (would her work schedule permit her?)

-all mothers go through this (well, I am not all mothers)

-your mother went through that (yeah, but I was 25, not 18)

-it is the American way (well, I am not American)

It doesn't matter, it was still hard to see her go.

Part of me felt as it was not going to happen. When she got back, she fell right into our routine. She filled her space and our lives like always. It felt as if she had not gone at all. Maybe I dreamt it? My whole Dominican self hoped, maybe it is a dream.

But it wasn't a dream... This morning it was time to go. My whole Dominican self cried (inside) not yet! it is too soon! she is too young! this is not supposed to happen until you get married! But it did. This morning. In her new car.

With her dad.

It doesn't matter how much I tell myself

- she is with people we love and trust.

- she is doing what she feels/discerned the Lord is calling her too.

Both these things are a great comfort but, it was still hard to see her go.

All our parenting career points to this moment. This is what we have prepared her for. Her quiver is full, or is it? We did our part, or did we? Nagging thoughts fill my mind: did we prepare her well?

Here again is a lesson in trust.Trust that we did our best, that we did it adequately, that we taught her the skills to supply what we did not teach; and most of all, that the Lord will supply what we might have lacked.

It was hard to see her go but, she was ready. She has been a caterpillar for a while and now she is ready to be a butterfly: beautiful, graceful, and free. She takes with her part of us, part of me.

Now, I look at my two boys left at home and I hug them a little tighter, look into their eyes a little more frequently, pay attention a little closer, savor the moments more earnestly. Some time, sooner that my mother's heart is ready for, it would be time to see them go. And it will be hard.

Any Homeschooling books lying around?

2011-08-08T14:27:00.004-05:00

Need to make room for more books?

Have some homeschooling books you can't sell?

Like to read but don't want to spend a lot of money buying books?

Consider swapping your books at Paperback Swap!

I had a bunch of books that I had try to sell on some homeschooling loops or boards with no luck. I decided, instead of donated them to a bazaar or Goodwill, to swap theml. At least I get some other books out of the deal! Today I mailed 20 books. Most of them were homeschooling book but there were some fiction books too. I get one credit for every book mailed. I can then use those credits to request other books.

If you decide to do this here is a tip:

Don't do like a I did a post too many at a time! I have spent the whole morning wrapping books to mail.

Acting as if I love God

2011-08-04T09:45:00.002-05:00

In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis says, " Do not waste time bothering wether you 'love' your neighbor, act as if you do." As soon as I read this line it reminded me of my relationship with God.

Do I love God? Does He love me? those questions have come to me time and time again. To reason God's love for me is not difficult. I can see it in creation. I can see it in the sacrifice of his Son. I can see it in the many details that form my daily life. But, do I love him? Do I return his love? I think my problem is, as Lewis puts it, I "cannot find such a feeling" in myself. I do not have strong feelings of love of God.

C.S Lewis says the answer is to "act as if you did." And I think,without thinking about it, that is what I have done. My choices, my preferences and priorities speak of love. It is not that I have always made perfect choices, or that my priorities are always in order, or that I always prefer that which is good. No, far from it. But, I try. And that counts. And God knows that I try. And that counts too.

Today, C.S Lewis reminds me that,

Christian love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.' He will give us feeling of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right.But the great thing to remember is that, though my feelings come and go, His love for us does not.

St John Vianney, whose feast day we celebrate today, has a good advice, " your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God."

I intend to follow it.

The Ten Habits of Happy Mothers-Habit #1 Understand your Value as a Mother

2011-07-30T07:20:00.004-05:00

I have heard that society doesn't value mothers.

I have heard that women don't value motherhood.

I have heard that people look down on stay at home moms.

Yet, I don't know where the accusers are. All my mothering life has been surrounded by women who either stayed at home, longed to stay home, or who had stayed home. Maybe I have lived under a rock. I don't know.

All I can say is that my battles have all been fought with myself and within myself. It is not other people who have laid obstacles in my path. It is I, who has had trouble with being just a mom. Just a mom wasn't part of my experience growing up. My mother is an excellent mother and she always had a career. Always busy, she owned her own pharmacy and taught Chemistry at the university.

I don't remember feeling neglected.

I don't remember feeling she was absent.

I don't remember seeing her torn between two worlds.

I don't remember angst on her part.

I think I knew she was a mother with a career.

And I knew that we came first.

What is different for me? For one thing, she wasn't expected to do it all. She didn't do it all. She had maids to do the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the gardening, and, the minding of children. When she was home, she was home. She managed to be present even when she was absent. She was always reachable. She was always mom.

I have never talked to her about this. I don't know why she worked. I know that making ends meet in the Dominican Republic is difficult with only one salary. But it never occurred to me to ask her if she worked because she needed it, because it fulfilled her, because it was what was expected of her. I don't even now if she posed those questions to herself. I don't even know if she valued herself as a mother. I don't know if it is a question that she would've asked. Someday soon I am going to ask her.

It never crossed my mind that I will stay at home. Enter the United States and the daycare world and, I had to ask myself some hard questions, the main of which was, Did I want my children to be raised by others? The answer was NO. I wasn't pressured into this decision. It was made in freedom. My husband, who wanted me to stay home- I know- would have accepted my decision, had I wanted to work. So, I can't say that my doubts have come from a forced decision.

And yet, there have been doubts. Nobody has looked scornfully at me and, asked "Don't you know that these days women do not stay home?" "Have you heard? we are in the 21st century." It is I who have asked those questions. It is I, who have wondered, "Would I make it in the real world?" "Do I have anything to offer?" "Am I good at anything?". It is I, who have watched successful women and wondered, "what does it feel like to be be good at something and know it, and know that the world knows that I am good?"

In her book 10 Habits of Happy Mothers, Dr Meg Meeker reminds me of my value as a mother.

"If we could wrap our mind around our true value as a woman and a mother, our life will never be the same."

Our value doesn't come measured in salaries or talents or gifts. Our value comes from something simpler: we are needed and loved. We can do for our children what nobody can. I can love, nurture, comfort, feed, guide, train, my children like nobody can. I matter to them. I matter because I am me, their mother. There is a unique bond between us just by the simple fact that I am their mother. All I do extra, builds and strengthen that bond. I don't have to woo my children to love me. I don't have to perform to earn their love.

It is so simple and I make it so complicated.

I don't struggle with my decision anymore. I don't question it. I wouldn't have it any other way. I still wonder, though, if I have anything to offer to the world at large. Is there a place for me beyond the boundaries of my family? Is there something I can contribute? Dr Meeker reminds me that,

"In addition to fulfilling our purpose as good moms, we were born to do more, in time"

What I have to regain is not my self. I think that throughout my career as a mother I have kept a healthy sense of self. I don't feel guilty having a life separate from my kids. Never have. What I have to regain is my trust in the Lord. Trust that, in time, I will discover what lies ahead. I will discover what He wants me to do next. Trust that life is not over at 50. Trust and put to the wondering to rest. Concentrate in living my life now.

I think it is about attitude. Dr Meeker says, "love the life you are supposed to be living and you happen on fulfilling the deep meaning of your life. It works. The energy comes, you get bolder, and you live less fearfully."

The deep meaning of my life is not a hidden treasure in the future, it is the here and now.

Summer Reading Notes

2011-07-11T23:02:00.003-05:00

What I have been reading of late:

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh: Laugh aloud funny satire of British society of the 1920s. I had only read Brideshead Revisited by Waugh. A very different book. I was glad to be introduced to this side of Waugh. It made me want to read more by him.
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark : I think I saw this book mentioned on Melissa Wiley's blog . Muriel Spark was a convert to Catholicism. I had seen her pop up several times in other blogs about Catholic writers. I wanted to read something by her. After finishing Memento Mori, I realized I had read another book by her,The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which I didn't like at all. Mercifully, I didn't remember, because maybe it would've kept me from reading MM. In one of those serendipitous reading acts, MM was a great follow up to Vile Bodies. Both were British, both were satirical, both were funny, both had a depth behind the comical.
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis: I have to confess I am not a big fan of Lewis. I know that is probably heretical to most but, it is the truth. Thankfully, Mere Christianity is different. I have been meeting weekly with some ladies to discuss this book. There is so much to talk about! I am not finished with this yet and I wish I had started blogging about it. It would make it stick better.
Crooked Adam by D.E. Stevenson: Satisfying, is the word for this read. A good old fashioned spy story, Crooked Adam (if I remember correctly) was published during WWII. It is fast paced and keeps your interested. A great summer reading! (Recommended by A Library is a Hospital for the Mind ).
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: I listened to this from Librivox. Books on this site are read by volunteers, not professionals, so the quality of the reader varies. That was certainly true of the reader of MP, some where very good and some, not so much. But, hey! it is free. I am not complaining. I enjoyed MP immensely. It was a great companion while cooking, cleaning or folding clothes. (note: the 1999 is awful. Nothing like the book!)
Before Pentecost, I picked up John Paul II encyclical on the Holy Spirit (Dominum et Vivificantem). It is a challenging reading but so worthwhile. I am three quarters into it and planning on re-reading so I can write about. It would be a great way of digesting the information.
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy: Violent, violent! It was like watching a Clint Eastwood movie. The first 100 pages I wasn't sure I was going to finish it but, it kept me going. This is one of those books that you need to have somebody to talk about it with. So, I gave it to M. to read.
Simply from Scratch by Alicia Bessette: Just OK. Nothing great. It is her first novel and somehow it felt too formulaic, to cliché, kind of like a chick flick between too covers.It wasn't bad but it is forgettable.
Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard (with the kids): we are not completely finished with this one. Good story and it has created some rabbit trails. It had us searching all over the net about Charlemagne and his family. It also led us into a search for information on the Saxons and this, in turn, took us to the Vikings.
Yesterday, I began Vanishing Act by Jodi Picault. Not much to report on this one yet. But it promises to be intense as any other Jodi Picault book I have read before.
After Mansfield Park, I decided to give the Itunes U a try. I have been listening to some lectures on European Civilization from the 17oos to 1945. It is an interesting course. The lecturer, John Merriman, manages to pull some interesting lectures, even though he has this annoying stammering habit, and he curses and, he has a somewhat dislike of the Catholic Church. Even with all those strikes against him, I am still enjoying the class.

Emilia Pardo Bazan

2011-01-01T15:53:00.004-06:00

De vez en cuando pasa que el autor de una obra me fascina casi tanto como su obra. Este es el caso con Emilia Pardo Bazan la autora de Los Pazos de Ulloa. Indagando un poco acerca de ella me encuentro con una señora interesante. Una mujer con inteligencia y agallas,una mujer que supo superar las limitaciones impuestas a su sexo. Siempre he admirado a los autodidactas. Quizas es el "homeschooler" en mi pero, me gusta conocer la vida de aquellos que han tomado su educación en sus propias manos, aquellos que de manera metódica se lanzan a explorar los diversos campos del saber. La Condesa Pardo Bazan tenia una amplia gama de intereses. Todo le llamaba la atención: la ciencia, la politica, la filosofía, e incluso la cocina.

Buscando en el internet encontré varias cosas interesantes:

-En la Biblioteca Visual Cervantes encontré un documental acerca de su vida.

Luego de ver el documental se me ocurrió pensar ¿qué fue de los hijos de la condesa? Encontré este articulo que detalla el patrimonio de Emilia Pardo Bazan .Claro el artículo no responde mi verdadera pregunta ¿fue ella una buena madre? ¿prestó atención a sus hijos?

Aqui dejo un artículo que enfoca su feminismo.

Y aquí hay una biografía en Google Books,La Luz en la Batalla por Eva Acosta

Los Pazos de Ulloa por Emilia Pardo Bazán

2011-01-01T13:43:00.002-06:00

Impresiones

Los Pazos de Ulloa se trata de un sacerdote joven, acabado de salir del seminario, que ha sido asignado como capellán a los Pazos de Ulloa. Una casa noble que ha visto mejores años, donde la decadencia se nota por todas partes: en la casa, en la capilla y sobre todo en la gente. La gente embrutecida, empobrecida, sin religión aún cuando la religión los rodea. Julian, el capellán, se enfrenta con una serie de personajes que se enfrentan en una lucha entre el bien y el mal, la santidad y el pecado; y donde muchas veces es dificil saber quien ha ganado.

Esta novela española del Siglo XIX me recuerda, en cierto modo, a novelas como Cumbres Borrascosas o Rebeca: Novelas donde hay una presencia maligna que prevalece durante toda la novela. Esta presencia lleva la novela. Te mantiene en vilo, esperando el suceso que parece va a suceder a cada vuelta de página. Hay una continua sensación de tragedia inminente. Senti que la novela me envolvía a pesar de las a veces tediosas descripciones llenas de palabras a mi parecer rebuscadas. Leia y leia con esa sensacieon de que algo trágico iba a pasar. Pero, al volver la última página, me quedé con la sensación de no conocer los personajes. El único personajes que llegas a conocer es Julián y a veces la verdad que quería retocerle el pescuezo. El no es mi idea del sacerdote -demasiado rezo y no suficiente pantalones. No que rezar es malo-claro que no- pero mi mentalidad del Siglo XXI se rebela a la devoción casi ciega de este sacerdote. Y lo que es más, al final te preguntas, ¿de qué sirvió tanto rezo? ¿querâ decir la autora que rezar no sirve de nada?

El libro me dejo con muchas preguntas: ¿Qué nos quiere decir Pardo Bazán? ¿Cuål es su visión de la naturaleza humana? ¿de la iglesia? ¿del sacerdote? Me perece que algo de lo que dice es una denuncia de la vida sin educación, del daño y el embrutecimiento que produce. Para mi este es uno de esos libros que implora tener alguien con quien comentarlos.

A Conversation

2010-08-26T16:52:00.003-05:00

Nico: Mom, if I could become a very rich man, would you let me?

Me: It depends...

Nico: on what?

Me: Do you know what Jesus said about rich people? Do you know what the eye of a needle is?

Nico: Where you put the thread.

Me: You see how small it is, right? Well, Jesus said it will be easier for a camel to go through it than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Do you know why?

Nico: Because rich people are greedy. But I will use the money to give my kids everything they want.Would you let me?

Me: Do you think you should give your kids everything they want?

Nico: Well, if it is food, I only will give them if it is good for them. Would you let me, if I give them toys? toys are good for you. Would you let me?

School and Life Planning part 3: Food

2010-08-13T08:53:00.002-05:00

There is a Chinese restaurant here in town with a great long menu. If you look closely, the menu consists of beef with broccoli, chicken with broccoli, shrimp with broccoli, pork with broccoli,etc. The dishes are few but the variations are many. I decided to use a similar principle to plan my menus for this upcoming year. I needed something simpler than what I had. This is what I came up with: a general category for each day and variations within the category:

Lunch Rotation

Pasta
Mac and cheese (homemade)
Pasta with a red sauce

Sandwiches
Grilled cheese (various types with different breads/cheeses)
Tuna/salmon
Chicken spread
Grilled Chicken
Ham and cheese
Turkey and cheese
Quesadillas with various fillings (leftover beef, pork or chicken)

Soup
Hamburger soup
Tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches
Tomato soup with tortellini/raviolis and mixed vegetables
Rachel Ray soup (from Cooking Rocks!)
Rainbow Soup

Baked potatoes with fixings (some kind of meat, or bacon, cheese,etc)

Leftovers either as is or morphed into something else

Each lunch will have fresh fruits and vegetables with it.

Dinner Rotation

Ground Beef
Picadillo with brown rice
Tacos (plain tacos or taco salad or taco pie or taco over potatoes)
Tater tots casserole

Slow Cooker Meals (all these are from Allrecipes.com)
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken BBQ (
Easy Slow Cooker French Dip
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Awesome Slow Cooker Roast
*some side dishes that will go with these: cole slaw, sweet potatoes, baked fries, baked beans, different vegetables, chips-in a pinch-,egg noodles etc)

Pasta
Fabulous Fettuccine
Spaghetti Carbonara
Ravioli with tomato-cream sauce
Pasta with pesto
Tortellini
Pastina Chicken casserole

Stir Fry
Chicken, beef or pork cooked with fresh vegetables and served over rice or noodles (varying the sauce according to Allrecipes,com article)

Homemade Pizza

Saturdays and Sundays will be for grilling in large quantities that can be used during the week or freeze. Also for trying new recipes.

School and Life Planning Part 2: Prayer Time and Morning Reading

2010-08-09T12:13:00.003-05:00

"Con Dios me acuesto, con Dios me levanto" (with God I go to bed, with God I get up) says a prayer I learned as a little child. I want this to be true, not only in my life, but in the life of my children.
A couple of years ago I learned that I needed to make true the scripture "seek ye first the kingdom of heaven..." in our school lives. For many years prayer was the first thing that got sacked when our lives got hectic. Not anymore. Two years ago I made a commitment to our morning prayer time. It is part of who we are and part of what we do. And our routine needed to reflect this truth. This year we continue with this commitment.
There is a slight difference this year: our prayer time is going to be after breakfast and not before. I am trying to improve the quality of our prayer time by having the kids be more alert. There is something to be said for prayer being the first thing we do so before we make the switch, I am going to be talk to the kids about the Daily Rhythm of Prayer. I want them to be in the habit of turning their thoughts to God as soon as their eyes open. Most mornings before getting out of bed, I do a morning offering. I want to teach my children to do the same. Even something short like "Today, I will serve you, Lord" or "Jesus,I love you, I prefer you and I choose you" or something similar.
For our time together we will do the Angelus and/or the Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. Then we will spend some time reading. We will work down this list:

Left to Tell
Percy Wynn or Making Boy of Him by Fr. Francis Finn
St. Francis and St Claire (Vision book)
Letters to a Young Catholic
Five Loaves and Two Fish by Fr. Francis Xavier Nguyen
Yes or No? by Peter Kreeft
St Anthony (vision book)
Citadel of God (de Wohl)

Planning our spiritual reading is always a challenge because I have such a range of ages. My solution is to alternate younger and older reading.

That part we have well established. This is the new part: to introduce a noon Angelus and a family prayer at night time. Last year I failed miserably at my attempt to incorporate more prayer into our life. It is important enough to try again this year. (I wish we had bells to call us to prayer each day!)There is one difference this year, we have a family adoration hour. If all else fails, at least we have a date with the Lord every week.

To get ready: prepare a basket with coloring books, pencils and quiet toys for N.

School and Life Planning: Part 1

2010-08-09T08:44:00.004-05:00

In past years I have used the Simply Charlotte Mason school planning ebook to help me plan for school. Since doing Classical Conversations, I don't have to plan all school subject but only a few. The biggest challenge then, is not the school planning itself but, the integration between life and school: what takes place when, who is responsible and how it gets accomplished. Having a scattered mind, I decided to force myself into order. I sat down with a big legal size notepad and set to write EVERYTHING that needs to be done on a regular school day. I divided the page in columns: time, activity, what I need to do the activity and what I need to prepare and what I need to buy. Armed with this page, I was ready to go.
The first activity is, of course, waking up. Waking up is always a chore around here and it can set all of us on a road to a bad day. The typical day finds me going around to all the bedrooms to wake kids up. More than once. Way more than once, getting louder with each subsequent visit. This year I am trying something new: alarm clocks. I'm going to get an alarm clock to each child and have them be responsible for waking up. It is going to take some time and some patience but I think it can work. The tricky part is going to be to make sure they turn their alarm clock on the night before (hopefully this won't be another too difficult battle).
While the kids are waking up (hopefully), I'll be in the kitchen making breakfast. Another change from last year. Traditionally, we have had prayer time immediately upon getting up: the kids drag themselves out of bed and unto their respective favorite places on the living room furniture and then prayer time begins. Usually after the first prayers and, by the time we get to our spiritual reading, they are mostly awake and... hungry. Then it starts the "are we almost done" and the "I am hungry" and "what is for breakfast". So, we are trying something new: to reverse the order. Breakfast will be ready to go upon their waking up. We will eat breakfast, do chores and then have prayer time and spiritual reading.

So alarm clocks go on my to buy list.

The second activity on my list is breakfast. What do I do to plan breakfast? a breakfast rotation that is healthy and easy but filling enough. Here is what I have come up with:

Mondays: Oatmeal (steel cut oats prepared on the crockpot)-this is going to take some adjustment since the kids (and I) don't really like oatmeal. It is good for you, easy and cheap-hopefully we will develop a taste for it.
Tuesdays: Eggs, bacon and toast (eggs are so versatile and so is bread :-) )
Wednesdays; Muffins and smoothies
Thursdays: Eggs,turkey patties(homemade) and toast
Friday: pancakes or waffles

I will also make sure we have granola on hand as well as some freezer items like breakfast cookies, bran muffins, oat muffins, breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos.

My next step regarding breakfast is collecting all my breakfast recipes and putting them all together in my kitchen binder together with grab and go grocery lists.

El Juego del Angel

2010-06-13T17:13:00.003-05:00

El Juego del Angel es un libro escrito por Carlos Ruiz Zafón, el mismo autor que nos trajo La Sombra del Viento. Yo compré el libro porque, francamente, la selección de libros en español de Barnes and Noble no es de lo mejor y yo quería comprar un libro para mi madre que esta de visita. Entre todas las ofertas de libros esotéricos y libros de un autor al que no conozco, Paulo Cohelo, pero quien parece ser muy popular con quienquiera que sea que ordena los libros para B&N, el único libro que reconocí y que sabía que mami no había leído era El Juego del Angel. Claro que tenía que leer el libro antes de que ella se lo llevara consigo a Santo Domingo.

¿Cuál es mi impresión del libro? Bueno, eso depende. Si lo que busco es un libro que me ayude a pasar el tiempo, que me entretenga, que me haga querer leer más para saber qué pasa al final, entonces este libro llena ese cometido. Si lo que estoy buscando es un libro bien escrito, con prosa fina, con descripciones lindas, con trama complicada, este cometido también lo llena. Entoces, ¿por qué no sueno muy entusiástica? ¿por qué no estoy cantando las alabanzas de este libro si está bien escrito y es entretenido? Porque es un libro producto de nuestra época y de lo parece ser que vende: la moralidad ambigüa,los temas sobrenaturales, la visión pesimista, las tramas inconclusas-¿dejando el paso abierto para una secuela?-, el autor que no se compromete, los personajes que no tienen ideas claras,etc.

David, un escritor novato que se dedica a escribir novelitas baratas bajo un pseudónimo, recibe una propuesta misteriosa y tentadora de un editor tan misterioso como su propuesta: escribir un libro que creara una nueva religión. Un libro como ningún otro, que "prendiera el mundo en llama". David, halagado y falto de dinero, decide aceptar-aún a pesar de su consciencia que parece decirle que no.

Al principio el libro me cautivó. La primera parte del libro la vi como prometedora. ¡Habia tantas promesas de grandes temas! Estaba el tema de la fe, de la lucha entre bien y mal, del héroe que ve sus malos pasos y decide cambiar de vida... Pero todo queda en nada. David, que pudo ser un gran heroe, se convierte en un personaje que da lástima, sin despertar compasión. Y un libro, de un escritor talentoso, se quedó siendo siendo un libro mediocre y menos que satisfactorio.

¿ Lo recomiendo? pues, si buscas diversión, léelo pero, no digas que no te advertí :-)

Some Books to Keep in Mind

2009-08-02T18:27:00.003-05:00

I am going to link to this post so I can remember to check out these books.

Every Day I Learn Something New

2009-08-02T17:49:00.004-05:00

I just learned today that those little blurbs you find on the back of book jackets are done by professional reviewers. Poor innocent me! I didn't even know that there was such a thing as a professional book reviewer. I often wondered how the publishers knew what people where going to think about the book before it was published. I did figure out that some people have to get some sort of advanced copy of a book. But frankly I didn't give much thought about how this work. Now I know that people actually get paid to read books. I wish somebody would have told me that when I was trying to decide what to do with my life. Maybe I would've been a Professional Book Reviewer instead of a Psychologist.

How did I find this out? Because I have read some posts about it. Mostly because now that there people blogging about books all over the place, some reviewers think that they are not qualified to talk about books (kind of the same thing we hear about homeschooling-how dare we teach our children without an Education degree?). But there is also the bloggers that are being approached by publishers and authors; and, there are those that are being paid but don't say it up front, and those that think they should not be paid, and blah, blah, blah. Why do things have to be so complicated?

In other news about books, I liked this post about reading levels. (HT to Melissa Wiley). I enjoy reading children's books. In fact when I want to know something about a topic, quite frequently by first stop is the Picture Book Section. I have tried to instilled a love of books to my children. Any good book deserves our enjoyment independently of how it is cataloged at the library. count. Sometimes though, I have to admit that when I see A pick up Baby Blues or Calvin and Hobbes for the hundredth time, or when I see G, at 16, enjoying The Rangers Apprentice series rather that The Scarlet Letter, I am visiting by those feeling of "shouldn't they be reading something more challenging?" This post by Jen Robinson reminds me that good literature transcends the boundaries of age or reading levels. The fact that you pick up A Bargain for Frances or Little Critter, Air Mail to the Moon, Peanuts, We Are Going on a Bear Hunt, Blueberries for Sal doesn't mean that you can't read something "more challenging". It means that you have good taste. Never mind your age.

Summer Thoughts

2009-05-21T18:21:00.002-05:00

Thoughts of summer fill my head. I have been working on planning our trip to Santo Domingo. It took for ever! Buying a plane ticket is such a hassle. What happened to the days when you could go to a travel agency and feel that you got a good deal? Now there is all the websites to check, all the "deals" to compare; and in the end I always feel cheated. Anyhow, I got that done.

Now is time to prepare for the trip. I need to make sure the kids have the proper clothes and shoes. I need to make sure we take things to entertain them. Visiting family is not like a non-stop vacation. There is a lot of down time, time spent soaking up family and basking in the feeling of, once more, belonging somewhere. For the kids,of course, is a different experience. If I don't want them to "soak up" TV instead of family, I need to have some activities planned. These are tricky since I need to take things that don't take too much room in a suitcase and that are interesting enough to keep their attention for a certain amount of time. I have not even started on planning these.

Between the end of the school year and the trip to Santo Domingo, there is a gap of time. I want to be prepare with activities and ideas so that the kids don't default to TV, Wii and computer games. This is year we have the complication of the addition. Our backyard is going to be swamped with workers and equipment. That makes it off limit for the kids. We won't have the yard to set up the pool. This means more creativity is needed to keep the kids occupied.

I am therefore busy creating reading lists,compiling a list of topics for science, history, geography,literature so that I can rotate the books in our book baskets. I also want to make a list of movies to watch as well as a list of art projects and games.

As my ideas develop and find resource,I am planning to post them here so I can have easy access to them. This afternoon I spent some time thinking and researching. I came up with these ideas:

String Art Project

Minimath Projects This site sells some kits for some fun puzzles as well as string art.

I also found this blog post 25 summer ideas I need to peruse it and pull a list of things that are suitable to our family.

More activities here Some of these sound like they would be fun.

Housework-the Search Continues

2009-05-11T21:29:00.004-05:00

It seems that I am on a permanent search for a system, THE SYSTEM, that will make housework easier to manage. There is always a book or a blog post or forum post that makes sense. "Maybe I'll try this"- I think. And I do.

The thing with housework is... It is always there! It is this ever-present entity, always looming, always lurking. If you ignore it, it doesn't go away. If you tackle it, it comes back again, to stare at you in the face. There is no other choice but to stare back at it and hope that this time you will claim victory.

Thank God I am a person of hope. Because hope is what I need. Lots of it!

Hope that I find a system.
Hope that I will be consistent applying the system.
Hope that abuela's (my mother) organization gene, that seems to have skipped a generation, will show up in my kids.
Hope that someday, somebody, might invent a self cleaning house.
Hope that someday, somebody, will come up with disposable (biodegradable of course) clothes.
Hope that lint will evaporate, and dust will vanish and that stuff will magically find-on their own- their proper place, toilets will be self sanitized and tubs will be anti mold and soap scum repellent.

In the meantime I am left with the truth: housework needs to be done. In my constant search I came across this (HT to Elizabeth who got it from here who got it from Jennifer ) So for now, I am going to read this list and see if I can apply it to our household. Maybe, just maybe, this list will help me to get the essentials done.

Learning about Real Foods

2009-04-28T15:12:00.003-05:00

Since I have been hanging around here I keep hearing about eating healthy,eating local and eating organic. Before, I had this idea that only people that were out to "save the Earth" or people that were paranoid about disease worried about pesticides, chemicals and whether their food was organic or not. I don't know if it is who I am hanging around with; or the fact that I am getting old, and mortality seems a closer fact, but all those conversations have piqued my curiosity.

I started by reading The Omnivore's Dilemma I haven't really finished it yet. What I have read though, have been eye opening. I learned all about corn and how it has turned into the big commodity it is today. I also learned about cows and how they have been transformed into grain eating animals instead of keeping to God's original design for them.

The Second book I am reading is Real Food . I have found this book interesting. I can't say that I don't gloss over some of the details but overall it has made for a riveting reading.

I feel a little overwhelmed by the possibility of changing the way we eat, not because I am attached to it, but because it requires thinking and planning. It becomes one more thing I need to do. But how can I not? The information I have gathered just makes sense. It makes sense that once we have tinkered with the natural processes, things are bound to go down hill. Not that I am against industrialization. (God knows I am thankful to be alive in the 21st century. And, as idyllic as a farm sounds, I couldn't live in one. Dealing with animals and the hard work of a farm are not my things! ) It makes sense that chemicals and pesticides not made for human consumption, would cause harm. It makes sense that when we alter genetics and force animals to deny their nature, it is only logical that some ill consequences will follow. It stands to reason, I think, that if cancer and other diseases are more prevalent nowadays we need to look for causes in what we eat and their source.

All this information begs for action. Where to begin? Budget is a consideration. It is difficult to make myself spend, for example, almost $6.00 in a gallon of milk when the regular milk only costs $3.47. Availability is another consideration. Here where I live, local farms are not common; Farmer's Market is only available for a couple of months in the summer. It makes eating locally and seasonally, difficult. It leaves us with the small overpriced organic departments of the local groceries and the small (and somewhat weird) health food stores.

Small changes seem to work best for me. Baby steps,as the Flylady would say. A good place to start seems to be making a conscious effort to eat more vegetables and fruit. It is not that I have discovered this for the first time. This is something I have been hearing all my life. I am just lazy. Vegetables have to be washed, cut,dressed and I have to deal with picky kids who won't eat them. Nina Planck has this advice:

If you can't find or afford ecological produce, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables anyway. You may be sure that most studies showing the benefits of diets rich in fruits and vegetables were done on industrial produce. It is sensible to wash industrial produce, but peeling is a tough call. Most of the pesticide are found in, or just under, the peel. So are the vitamins and antioxidants. I simply don't know which is the lesser evil.

She also has some suggestions to increase the intake of fruits and vegetables:
-have them on hand
-have a salad every meal
-be aware that some vegetables are more nutritious when cooked (broccoli,cabbage, spinach). Others, like carrots, liberate more of the nutrients when they are peeled, juiced or shredded.
-dress them up nicely
-eat salad first
-sometimes eat salad as a main course
-put some vegetables and fruit out when the kids are hungry, even if is right before dinner
-eat local food, it will increase the variety
-mix different vegetables for a variety of textures and tastes

Action? The first action I am taking is printing this to take with me to the store. It is a list of the fruits and vegetables with highest pesticide content and the ones of the least amount. Secondly, I am going to try to wash and cut vegetables as soon as I get home so they will be ready to eat. Thirdly, I am going to make an effort to have more salads. Fourth, I am going to come up with more creative way of preparing the vegetables we do eat. And lastly (and more difficult), I am going to try expand our repertoire, in a search for some my kids will eat.

We will see how it goes.

The Spear by Louis de Wohl

2009-04-21T23:30:00.003-05:00

Today we finally finished The Spear. This book was our Lenten reading but it is a long book, 400 pages long. It is the story of Cassiua Longinus a Roman soldier whose father is betrayed and cheated out of his family fortune. Cassius sets to avenge his father's misfortune and ends up first a slave and then a soldier in Judea. In Judea he comes on contact not only with the puzzling Jews but with the even more puzzling followers of Rabbi Yeshua.

The books is masterfully done. De Wohl pulls together Scripture and his own imagination, and the result is a believable and well told story. The descriptions were in tad too long for the kids. It was a little anti-climatic to read the scene of the crucifixion on Easter Monday but, it was compensated by the reading today of the events following Pentecost. It was a great story and it really enhanced our Lent by fleshing out the events leading to the death of Our Lord.

The Power of the Resurrection

2009-04-17T08:15:00.003-05:00

In Easter, with Jesus' resurrection "a new way of living has opened up, a way of living focused in Jesus and the power of his resurrection" (WAU, p.22).

What does this mean? How is our life this week any different than life last week? After all the resurrection, the actual event, happened many, many years ago. How does it affect my life today?

Jesus is the same "yesterday, today and forever". What He did all those years ago, He can do today. In a supernatural but real way, the power of the resurrection is the same today as back then.

What did the resurrection accomplish? Simply put, it changed lives. It transformed the apostles. It made it possible for them to understand, to see and to comprehend the truths of Jesus' teachings.

It is true that the most dramatic changes happened after Pentecost. The time between the resurrection and Pentecost was a slow unfolding of the life that begun when Jesus left the tomb. That Easter time seemed to have gradually affirmed, in the mind of the apostles, the reality of what they had witnessed. I picture them, growing more assured with each apparition of Jesus. Each encounter deposited more confidence in their souls and made them thirst for more. The resurrection began it all.

It was the resurrection, that ultimate miracle, what made believing easier. If God could raise Jesus from the clutches of death, what couldn't He do? With the resurrection everything becomes possible. The resurrection creates an expectant faith.

An expectant faith is fertile ground for receiving the Holy Spirit. Faith that awaits opens itself. Like thirsty ground waiting for water, a soul who expects will receive the Holy Spirit and produce abundant fruit.

The Church, full of wisdom, uses the liturgical year to help us re-live these truths. During Lent our family focused on certain readings. We read the story of the woman at the well. Jesus was for her the Living Water. We read about the man born blind. Jesus was light for him. We read about Lazarus. Jesus was life for him. We meditated on these stories. Jesus is for every person what that person needs.

Now is Easter. Easter comes during spring time, when nature all around us is freeing itself form the grasp of winter. New life is everywhere. It is time for us to have new life too. It is time to make those truths we read about during Lent, be our truth. It is time to let Jesus, who is Living Water, Light and Life, be our Living Water, our Light and our Life. It is time to make the power of the resurrection OURS.

Nature Study: We did it!

2009-04-16T16:58:00.004-05:00

N. and I went for a nature walk today. Honestly speaking, I wasn't planning on it but, I have made the ~~mistake~~ comment to N. yesterday. Sure enough, today he reminded me. I didn't have an excuse. So armed with binoculars, magnifying glass, baggies, and a camera, we went for a walk around the block. We took samples of leaves, put them in baggies and brought them home to identify. It was a fun experience. N. was all into it. It kind of make me feel a tad guilty that I haven't taken him on more outings.

To identify the leaves we used this Virginia website as well as some field guides we have at home. We learned ( and I really mean we, not a figure of speech) about the parts of leaves, and what to look at when trying to identify them.

We also did some leaf rubbings. Even A. got involved. It was fun experimenting with different leaves and colors, different coloring media (pastel, crayons and coloring pencils) and different patterns.

King Tut

2009-04-15T17:11:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, we went to Dallas to see King Tut. Actually King Tut wasn't there but tons of artifacts found inside his tomb were.

I think there is a little bit of false advertisement going on. They use King Tut's gold mask for the publicity but the gold mask is not there and, of course neither is the mummy. I am glad a friend warned me ahead of time. I think we would've been disappointed.

I found this article that explains a little bit more about the mummy, King Tut's Mummy. This article tells a little more detail about how the mummy was moved into the glass case that house it today and why it was moved there.

I was really impressed by the beauty of the jewels, furniture and amulets we saw yesterday. They are exquisite! I was amazed at the level of craftsmanship and beauty they could attain with the primitive means at their disposal. I was also struck anew with how much time and money was spent in thinking and preparing for the afterlife. If we invested as much time thinking about heaven, we would really be holy!

Nature Study

2009-04-15T16:44:00.003-05:00

I am a nature student wannabe. I drool over sites like this. For years, since G. was little, I have read Charlotte Mason books, and Charlotte Mason inspired moms that seem to have the perfect homeschool. They take the kids outside backpacks in tow, ready for a nature walk. Nature walk, just the name excites me. Doesn't it sound dreamy? It evokes times outside, under the trees, with picnic lunches and sketchbooks. Then I wake up and I remember that 1) I don't like bugs, 2) I am scared of running into wild animals, 3) I don't know how to sketch.

Once more is Spring. Spring seems to beckon me outside. Really? well, not really. It is the same thing again. I want to, really want to go outside but, there are so many things to do inside- books to read, blogs to check and did I mention school, cooking, cleaning?

I am determined this year. I think. I am going to go outside. I am going to take the kids, at least N. for a walk in the neighborhood. We are going to do something simple: collect leaves, identify them and tally the trees in our neighborhood (more like our block). Maybe do some drawing. No, wait, don't get ahead of yourself. Try the most simple thing and see how it goes.

I found this book at our library. I think I am going to follow it and see how it goes. But because I am how I am I couldn't resist doing some poking around on the internet and found these helpful-tuck away somewhere in the back of your mind-blog them so you can remember- links:

http://www.squidoo.com/cmnaturestudy

http://mrshappyhousewife.com/homeschooling/science/nature-study-thirty-six-weeks.html

Tomorrow I'll go. I think.

He Is Risen!!

2009-04-12T19:11:00.004-05:00

He is risen INDEED!
(Just a note: I did not misspell alleluia. It is written in Spanish)

Just Finished: The Fisherman's Testament by César Vidal

2009-04-12T17:49:00.004-05:00

In the Fisherman's Testament, César Vidal takes us to the final days of St. Peter's life. Nero, curious about the Christians, wants to judge Peter himself. The book is told through the eyes of a Roman official, Marcus Junius Vitalis, who has been called by Nero to assist him in the proceedings.The book is an account of the trial in which Peter, interrogated by Nero and Vitalis, recounts his life with Jesus as well as the Master's teachings.

I really, really wanted to like this book but I didn't. I was expecting a book along the lines of Louis De Wohl's masterpieces. I was expecting a book that recreated Peter's trial in a more credible way. I was expecting one of those books that take you to the scene in such a way that you think you were there. This book was really a retelling of the Gospel of Mark with a thin plot thrown in for good measure. The book has some happy moments but overall it felt contrived and boring.

Heard during the Easter Triduum (my version)

2009-04-11T23:19:00.003-05:00

Holy Thursday:

There was a man who really wanted to serve God. God told him to find three medium size rocks, put them in a wheelbarrow and take them to the top of the hill. The young man's heart rejoiced at the task. Finally he had been asked to do something for God.As he began his ascend to the top of the hill, people kept on asking him to carry some rocks for them. Soon the wheelbarrow was stock full of rocks. At first the young man was delighted to serve others but as the burden grew and the hill became steeper, his attitude changed. He found himself grumbling. Instead of joy, in his heart he found resentment. He brought his complains to God. He heard the Lord saying: "I only asked you to bring three medium size stones, where did you get all these other stuff?"

Jesus asks us to serve. As we strive to follow his command, we do well to keep our focus on who He has asked us to serve and how he has asked us to do it.

Easter Vigil:

At different times, our lives seem to unravel in front of our very eyes. Wounds, betrayals, sufferings conspire to throw us in the depth of despair. Darkness threatens to envelop us. In situations like this we remember that Christ is our light and the first step is to trust him in the darkness much like the man who finds himself in a dark tunnel. Terrified, he remembers to pray: "Lord send me a light so that I can see my way". The Lord, moved by his plight answers: " I don't have a light to give you but, I AM your light. Take my hand and I will lead you out". His first step out of the tunnel was to trust.

Just Finished: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

2009-03-27T18:47:00.003-05:00

I am just a simple reader. I don't have the beautiful words to describe a book, and I don't seem to be a sophisticated reader. I can't analyze the prose, compare it to any other American author, delve into the language like so many of the reviews I read at Goodreads. When I read, I either like the book or I don't. And every now and then there are books which I can't sort out in my neat piles of liking or disliking. This is one of these.

There is much to dislike about the book, I think. For starters, it is a bleak topic: the survival of a few in an post-apocalyptic world. The dialogue is scarce, simple and repetitive, almost mundane. Except that sometimes in those mundane words there are pearls hidden. The story is vague. We never now what really happened, how they survived, where are they headed to,what are their plans. Heck! We don't ever know even their names!The main characters are simply referred throughout the story as the man and they boy. It drove me crazy at times! I wanted details. I wanted to know. I wanted to get more glimpses at their pre-disaster lives. Who were they before? How come the man knew so much about survival? And there were other questions in my mind: How long have they lived like this? How old was the boy?

I have the hunch that the vagueness was on purpose. I think the author was tapping into some kind of universality. Fears are universal. Relationships are universal.Death is present to us all, disasters can happen and how we react and what kind of person will they make us, is a question that we all could face. In the book the survivors were of two kinds, the "good guys" or the "bad guys". The man and the boy belonged to the "good guys". I think the boy is a prototype of all that is innocent and good, the goodness that we struggle to hold on to when corruption is all around us. He has the black and white way of children, in whose views the world is easily classified and things fall into neat categories. You are either good or bad, coward or brave. He was my favorite character in the book. I picture him like my son N. He had that same ability to think and question, to take things in and when you least expect it, come out with some profound observation. The boy, in my view, kept the man being a man of integrity and honesty. He kept him from sinking into that sub-human state that so many of the survivors have fallen into.

I was touched by their relationship. The man loved his son. The son loved his father. Why was the boy good? I think he was father because the father managed to do, in more than bleak circumstances, what fathers do:direct, guide and instill morals in his son. He managed to nurture in the boy that goodness that comes from the imprint of the Creator.

This book is about love, the love between father and son. It is also a book about hope in the midst of despair; goodness in the midst of evil; courage in the midst of constant fear. It is the triumph of the human spirit in the midst of death.

Just Finished: Horses of Heaven by Gillian Bradshaw

2009-03-19T15:59:00.003-05:00

I love to discovered new authors! Gillian Bradshaw is a writer of historical fiction and as the search on Google yielded, she has also written some children books and some science fiction and fantasy. Horses of Heaven takes place in the region between the Middle East and India: The kingdoms of Saka and Bactria. Apparently these kingdoms are real. I have to say that I have never heard of them. The time of the story is after Alexander the Great but before the rise of Rome as a world power.It is the story of the Bactrian king's sister who has been given in marriage as a way to seal an alliance between two neighboring kingdoms that are facing a common enemy. She is a Buddhist who has trained herself in the ways of duty and detachment. Her training doesn't serve her well when she is faced with the repulsion she feels towards her husband. She is determined to do her duty but the more she tries, the more her efforts make the king mad because he demands, and wants to obtain, something she can't give: love. She, who thought love to be impossible finds herself falling in love with the king's son, Izaz. He, who also loves her, is determined not to betray his father. Events get in the way and they are finally thrown together.

The book is interesting and the story is well told. At first I had trouble getting into the book, the descriptions were detailed and, as much as I like historical fiction, I don't like detailed descriptions of things that I find difficult to picture in my mind. Once the story picked up it was hard to stop reading. That said, there were some things I did not like about the book. First, I did not like the mix between historical fiction and fantasy. Personally I think the book would have been better without that horse (or god)that kept appearing. It seemed as an added element-like the author didn't know how to solve the problems and needed some "supernatural" intervention. Also, the story was told as an account written by one of the queen's attendants.But the story goes into great details, like the persons thoughts and inner feelings and emotions, that another person can't possible know. That really bothered me. It took credibility away. I kept asking "how would you know that?". In sum, I liked the book well enough, enough to search for other books by the same author but, it is definitely not one of my favorites.

Clearing Spaces Mission # 3

2009-03-10T16:51:00.003-05:00

The temperatures have been warming up here. This forced me to tackle the boys' dressers. Poor A! Nothing from last summer fits him now. We cleared his drawers, packed up the clothes that could be of use for N. in the future and then sat down at the computer to order him some clothes. It is a lot easier than taking him out shopping. I had to do the same thing for N. except that for him we go shopping in our attic. Unfortunately this time the attic shop proved not too adequate since there was hardly any clothing that will fit him. As a bonus, I got to do the same thing for my clothes. I switched the winter clothes for the summer ones and try to purge some in the process. (Note to self: I need to remember to take pictures again- a blog without pictures is kind of boring)

Just finished reading:

2009-03-10T16:21:00.004-05:00

Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett: Enjoyable little book. While taking her dogs for a walk the Queen of England stumbles upon the Bookmobile. After all the racket her dogs caused she felt compelled to check out a book. Poor Queen! She didn't know what ride she was about to begin. One thing leads to another and the Queen learns to enjoy reading more and more. Totally fictional but really enjoyable. I appreciated following the development of the Queen as a reader. First the light, indiscriminate reading; then learning to be more careful, reading more serious authors and starting the dialogue with the authors. I love the passage when she realizes that for all her pomp and position, she has no voice and she decides to do something about it.

Hershey Herself by Cecilia Galante: This is one is a young adult fiction title. Hershey is a twelve or thirteen years old girl living with her mom, baby sister and her mom's abusive boyfriend. She has taken upon herself the responsibilities of the well being of her family. She seems to know better than her mom what is good for their family.

With the help of her friend Phoebe, Hershey devices a plan to drive Slade, the cruel boyfriend, crazy hoping that the mother will have the sense to leave him. This plan proofs more disastrous that she ever imagined. They left but instead of a rosy life without Slade, they end up living in a battered women's shelter. There unexpected things happen and Hershey discovers a gift that will get her a chance to do something to repair the damage and alleviate her guilt.
I can't say I liked the book. Maybe I should say that I liked it but didn't love it. The writing was OK. The characters were likable if not always believable. I liked Hershey. She has a problem. She lives in a crappy family. She has a crappy life. She stuffs herself with junk food. She is bullied by Andrea. But she has been loved. Her mother loves her and people in the shelter like her. She is honest, frank and stronger that people might think. She has a rich interior life. She has courage. All in all it was an entertaining reading but not my favorite.

From My File Cabinet

2009-03-04T21:55:00.003-06:00

I found some jewels in my drawers. Here is one:

"Motherhood is unique as a spiritual discipline because its practice requires neither ascetic withdrawal nor contemplative silence nor the acquisition of esoteric knowledge. You cannot mother from afar, only from the very center of daily life. It is the little choices that I make everyday as I practice my mothering - to be harsh or kind, giving or withholding, critical or affirming- which shape me and define me more clearly than any degree program or professional affiliation."
Cornelia Odom (CCL newsletter, 1993)

Clearing Spaces Mission #2 ( a little late)

2009-03-04T17:53:00.003-06:00

The second mission has been accomplished! The file cabinet drawers have been de-cluttered, the two that belong to me that is. I don't dare de-clutter M's. I don't think he will appreciate my throwing out any of his precious papers.

It took me two days, mostly because there was a lot of articles that I wanted to thin out. Actually, it was like taking a walk through the things that have interested or preoccupied me in the last 10 years or so.:

There were the articles on motherhood. The ones that I read to convince myself that I was doing the right thing staying at home. The ones that I could throw away. They have accomplish their purpose. I no longer feel ambivalent about my vocation. I no longer need to convince myself of the worth of what I am doing.
There were articles from when I was trying to get a degree on Pastoral Ministry from a too-liberal-for-me program. Those I threw out without thinking much about it, maybe just a slight surprise at why I have ditched them earlier.
There were copies of homilies I had requested from a former pastor because at the time they touched me, taught me or meant something to me. They also have fulfilled their purpose because as I read through some of them, I couldn't figure out what was it that they meant to me.
There were the myriad of homeschooling articles that I don't longer need because I am set in how I home school and don't need more articles about methods or techniques.
And then there was all the articles that have been made obsolete by Google. I don't need to keep hard copies when on the Internet they are just a click away.

Of course, there were also those that I couldn't part with. There are Fr. Alonso's lectures. There were those articles on faith issues that I want to someday share with my children. There are those old photocopied things from when I was a psychologist. Things that, maybe, one day I'll re-read to rekindle the love for my profession (just maybe). There are a small number of People of Praise articles that chronicle some aspect of our community's history. And there are the numerous reading list that I have managed to collect, that are probably on the obsolete category, but since I love lists, I couldn't throw them away.

This mission had an unexpected benefit: a walk into my past and an opportunity for some "philosophizing" (which I like ) :-)

Done!!

2009-02-26T14:51:00.002-06:00

Mission number one: accomplished. The magazine baskets are clear. I tossed almost all the past magazines and only kept the ones for this year, some of which I have not read yet.

In Two Days

2009-02-26T14:38:00.005-06:00

We went from this

to this:

Clearing Spaces: Mission 1

2009-02-23T22:34:00.002-06:00

I did the first Monday Mission but, it is going to take more than 30 minutes to finish my first spot: the magazines. I have accumulated a couple of years worth of magazines and I can't bear to just throw them away without looking at the recipes and clipping the ones I want to try. You have to look at the stack of pages I ripped off! I got a lot done but I think this is going to be an ongoing project for this week. I am sure I can finish,if not tomorrow the next day. I just have to remember not to do this mission just before supper. It was torture to look at Every Day with RR and Southern Living with an empty stomach!

Clearing Spaces

2009-02-23T09:58:00.004-06:00

Sarah over at Plainsong is hosting Clearing Spaces 2009 I am going to join in because there are some spots in our house I would like to declutter:

~~1-Magazine baskets~~
~~2-File cabinet~~
3-Homeschooling shelf (N)
~~4-Boy's dressers~~
5-Boy's closet
6-School supplies shelf and cabinet
7-Recipe files

I will probably have to make it a Tuesday Mission though because we are usually out on Mondays.

Lenten Plans

2009-02-22T15:14:00.003-06:00

I have been working on our plans for Lent. As with Christmas, I want this season to be prayer filled but simple. I want to be realistic in what we can accomplish and not get over ambitious. I don't want to fill my eyes with what others,more organized and more crafty that I, are doing but find a source of inspiration and adapt it to our needs. I don't want to reinvent the wheel year after year so I made sure I looked in our shelves and in the faith binder I have been trying to keep up-to-date.

After some at-home and internet searching this is what I have come up with:

From Charlotte I got the idea of tracking our journey to the cross Inspired by Inos Biffi's book The Liturgical Year we are going to focus on an encounter with Jesus each week. Inos Biffi says:

"The path that takes us to Easter is marked by encounters with Jesus."

We are going to take a break from the conversion stories we have been reading. Instead we will focus on one of these encounters by reading and discussing the appropriate Gospel passage

-Week 1: Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman (Jesus as living water)
-Week 2: Jesus' encounter with the man born blind (Jesus as light who illumines the crevices of our hearts and brings our sins and vices to light)
-Week 3: Jesus encounter with Lazarus (Jesus as new life-reconcilation)
-Week 4: Jesus encounter with Peter, who try to discourage him from the path that was set for him (Jesus recommits himself to his mission so we must recommit ourselves to be his disciples)

I will try to depict these in our Lenten journey poster. I will also mark the weekend as oasis in the dessert. Those days were we will take a respite from the Lenten sacrifices

For prayer time, we will use the Divine Mercy Chaplet (also a Charlotte idea) every day except on Fridays when we will do the Stations of the Cross using this book

On Thursdays we will begin to use the subscription to Magnifikids that N. received for Christmas. This promises to be a great resource to prepare for Sunday mass.

There are still some loose ends especially when it comes to the penance and abstinence part. I also need a focus scripture for the fifth week of Lent. I'll give this some more thought and post later.

Picture Book

2009-02-18T09:31:00.004-06:00

There is no more simple, uncomplicated pleasure in my life right now than reading picture books. It is simple, just go to the library, pick up a stack, come home, grab a child, sit on the couch with a mug to tea and dive in. Some picture books are fun but forgettable, others are not easily forgotten. They touch you deeply. With their text and illustrations, picture books can state truth, take you on a journey, teach you about far away times or make you laugh. They are also a quick way to mend a little one that is out of sorts.

Yesterday was one of those such days when my little one just seem to be amiss. Nothing settled well with him. He was just dragging. School work was not even in his horizon. I suggested to fix a cup of tea and seat down and just read. It was wonderful! We discovered a new author: Allen Say. My favorite was Grandfather's Journey It made me cry. I could so much identify with the Grandfather. I too know what is like to miss the land you were born in just to go back and find out that you don't quite fit there anymore. Then you come back to the land you now call home and face the reality that you will probably never be a perfect fit. And you reconcile yourself with the idea of permanently living straddle between two worlds.

Other Allen Say picture books we have enjoyed:

Kamishibai Man
Tree of Cranes
Tea with Milk
The Bicycle Man

Classical Conversations

2009-02-09T17:52:00.003-06:00

Every now and then I get asked about Classical Conversations. I am trying to put my thoughts together so I can just direct people here.

We are on our second year with this program and it has been a good experience. I have always felt an attraction to classical education. I have seen the good results that a good Classical school produces. I have met countless articulate, thoughtful, smart kids that have come out from Trinity Schools. As good as Trinity is, it is not a possibility for us- geographically speaking. So through our 10 years of homeschooling I have dabbled in classical education on and off. I have read about it but never felt I could implement it at home successfully. I could somewhat handle the Latin (knowing Spanish helps), I could study the Logic,and I could even handle the memorization proper to the Grammatical stage, if I could only be consistent about it. But the discussions, the learning community, the Socratic discussions, that I couldn't provide at home. Classical Conversations have enabled us to give classical education a more consistent, serious try. So far it seems to be working.

Classical Conversations consists of two main programs: Foundations and Challenge. Foundations is subdivided in Foundations and Essentials of the English Language. Foundations is for students roughly 5 to 12 and Challenge includes what in traditional school would be Junior High and High School. Presently, I have two children enrolled in the Foundations program and one in the Challenge program. Leigh Bortins, the creator of the program encourages parents to think beyond the traditional view of grades. The important thing is that the student is prepared to handle the work, brain development and maturity wise.

One big question that we had to answer for ourselves before we decided to give this program a try, was the faith issue. As Catholics, we are always cautious about using non-Catholic curricula. I was concerned about the world view that was going to be presented or the use of material that could have any anti-Catholic bias. So far we haven't had many problems. The main issue has been the Veritas Press Timeline cards. A few of the cards have very blatantly anti Catholic remarks as well as incorrect information. The good news is that the only thing is required for the kids to do is memorize the name of the timeline cards. So we don't even bother in reading the back of the cards (of course I wish they didn't use that resource since the cards ARE spreading falsehood). The other resource we had an issue with was a book used in Challenge II art history seminar ( How Then Should We Live by Francis Schaeffer) but the tutor handle the issue very graciously making sure she pointed out the possible points of disagreement. This brings me to the next point: the group.

I think the CC experience have two essential components that can make or break the experience: the tutor and the group. We have been blessed with a great group of women both the ones that tutor and the moms who participate. This has been an added bonus I wasn't looking for. I wanted and needed a good social environment for my high schooler but I never thought of the support I would get. It has really been a good surprise.

The other big question we have to answer was the money issue. Is it worth the money? We are spending a lot more money that we have ever spent in homeschooling before.For us it has been worth it. When we started CC last year my daughter was beginning High School. She wanted to go to school, we weren't thrilled with the idea. We didn't want to send her to a public school and the local Catholic school was a big expense we weren't sure we wanted to make. CC allowed us to homeschool high school and provide the social contact my daughter wanted, at a fraction of the cost! So for us the money has been well spent. In all honesty, I am not sure I would've looked at the Foundation and Essentials programs if I didn't have the pressing high school issue. Now I am glad I did.

Another question I get asked is what else do I do with my kids, do I supplement? Last year I had to get used to the idea of having this program. I had to transition from wanting to do whatever I was doing before and adding CC to the mix. It was too much! This year I have taken a different approach. This year I have let CC be my guide... for real. I have taken the multum non multa approach of sorts. I have concentrated in the basics and have concentrated in doing those well. The basics for us are: CC memory work, reading, writing and math for my youngest; CC memory work, Essentials work and math for my 11 year old and religion for both. We add a history program because I like history but we take it slowly mainly reading living books.The same goes for science. For my oldest, the only thing we have added is Religious Education and we are working very slowly through an Ancient History Book.

So my advice to parents considering CC is this: read at least the basics regarding the Classical Method of education.These are some starting points: Memoria Press and Dorothy Sayers' essay The Lost Tool of Learning Then commit yourself to this method and do yourself a favor, don't try to do two programs at the same time. CC is not a co-op we tag along to every thing else you are already doing. You are paying for this service, make it work for you and don't try to re-invent the wheel.

Our Advent Mantel

2008-12-03T21:12:00.002-06:00

Cool Creation

2008-12-03T21:09:00.002-06:00

Alex's new Kapla Blocks creation... with youtube as a source of inspiration.

Could it Be?!

2008-09-25T19:50:00.002-05:00

Could it be? Could it be? that we have finally found a good rhythm to our school day. Could it be? that the adjustment period has finished? Could it be that we are going to settle into a comfortable routine? Do I dare hope? Do I dare believe it? I am not sure, but we have had a good week; and without further analyzing, I am going to settle and enjoy it. Next week will let me now if this was just a fluke. In the mean time I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Almost Jealous

2008-09-05T22:23:00.003-05:00

Last night we ate dinner around the computer listening to Sarah Palin's acceptance speech. We missed it the night before. It was an odd sight. We crowded around our Imac eating black bean quesadillas and listening to her. I have never payed much attention to politics. Heck!I can't even vote.But there is something in her that kept our attention. Even the kids sat there listening. I don't know what caught their attention. It could've been that she is a woman. It could've been that she is pretty. Maybe it was how natural and unaffected her delivery was. Maybe all of these but I think what really made them pay attention, I suspect, is their father's enthusiastic response.

Never,never ever, have I seen Mark being so excited about a politician. He is completely taken by her. I won't attempt here to go into why he likes her but let me say something, by the end of the speech, I was almost jealous!

I Was all Ready

2008-09-02T16:48:00.003-05:00

I really was. Mostly. I was all set and ready to go with our school year. We had our firs day of Classical Conversations. We had one normal day of school after that and then Gustav started to loom in the horizon. I was asked to head the "Evacuee Relocation Committee" for our community and all normality went away. Time was spent with phone calls and emails. Then there was the Labor Day picnic and welcoming the family that was going to be with us. When things like this happen school takes a backseat. Thank the Lord nothing major happened and next week our lives should be back to normal. Then I will know if all the planning paid off and the rhythm of our school days will resume.

Cross-posted from Día a Día

Building Bridges of Love

2008-08-12T08:40:00.006-05:00

I love that phrase. I actually read it in Spanish: Puentes de Amor.I love the imagery it evokes of connections, communication, friendship, company, togetherness.
Usually bridges are built to make access easier. They connect places that would otherwise be incommunicated, inaccesible, unapproachable. They overcome obstacles (rivers, lakes,etc). Bridges have to be strong, solid, well built.And they can be frightening: once you start on it, you can't go back.There is no other way but forward.The majority of us though, are not afraid because we trust that the bridges have been well built.

We are called to build strong, solid Bridges of Love with one another. We are called to approach the unapproachable, connect with the inaccessible, repair the broken, and give maintenance to those relationships we have already established.
Building Bridges of Love, is about taking risks. It is about forgetting ourselves and thinking of others. It is about "loving your neighbor as yourself" and "dying to self". It is a call to love radically and totally with no turning back.
How do we build bridges? The author the article I was reading in La Palabra Entre Nosotros reminds us that prayer is an indispensable building material. After all, he says, God is the architect and engineer of our lives.
It is impossible not to feel connected to those with whom we pray. When we pray together we share an awareness of God's presence ("where two or more...")and we realize, in a tangible way, that we are children of the same Father. It is also impossible to stay uninvolved in the lives of those for whom we pray. When we pray for others we share their hopes, fears, wishes,needs and their joy when their prayers are answered. Prayer unites us.Prayer build Bridges.
There are many other ways I can think of building those bridges:

-Make time for those we love: This is basic maintenance.If we want to stay connected we need to find the time to be with our spouse, children and friends.
-Give them our undivided attention.
-Establishing eye contact.
-Offering a smile.
-Anticipate needs.
-Little acts of love and service.
-Visits
-Hugs

All of these sound so simple.And they are. It is a matter of cultivating a deliberate attitude.This purposeful living and reaching out will be an antidote to the isolation and loneliness that we see all around us.After all that is what bridges are for.

What God is Telling me Today on the Feast of St. Thomas

2008-07-03T08:06:00.004-05:00

He is addressing me directly: "Do not be unbelieving any more but believe."

It is a direct command to stop a behavior (unbelieving) and do something different (believe). Several days ago I was telling the Lord that I don't have what it takes to live the radical life he has called me to. "Look at my life Lord," I said, "I am overwhelmed. I feel paralyzed by what I have to do and can't do. I am plagued by doubts and indecisions. I can't even make my mind about how I want to educate my children! and you are asking me to live a radical live, a live of dedication and single mindedness? I am wishy-washy. I can't commit with all my heart to the work you have asked me to do. I am always questioning. I am so AFRAID. Yes, with capital letters. I don't even have the mind to know what I am afraid of. I CAN'T!"

But today, as He did with St. Thomas, He looks at me in the eye and tells me: "Do not be unbelieving any more but believe". He tells me to believe that what the did for St. Thomas, He can do for me. St. Thomas was transformed. I can also be transformed. St. Thomas was flooded with the gift of divine faith but, I believe that there was a moment, when he looked at Jesus' face, that he had to make a decision to accept the gift or not. In a split second, he had to make the decision to believe. And it is this decision Jesus is asking me to make today. He is asking me to stop the struggle and surrunder.

And he tells me more. In today's reading He is trying to build my confidence "You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone." And He tells me even more:" Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord, and you too , in him, are being built into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

St. Thomas, pray for me!

Just Nico and I

2008-06-25T20:40:00.002-05:00

I have an only child this week. My oldest two are at camp. It is just Nico and I most of the day. Mark comes in at night and relieves me from my duties as playmate, entertainment director, activities coordinator, question answerer, conversation partner, reader, cook, snack provider and sole companion.

Actually, it has been a perfect week in many ways. In the mornings Nico has been going to Vacation Bible School in our parish. This has given me an uninterrupted couple of hours to dedicate to a marathon planning session for next year (material for another post).

Normally, when I am in one of those planning session, it is difficult for me to tear myself off what I am doing and pay attention to my surroundings. My mind seems to be on another galaxy where catalogs, websites, books, calendars are the inhabitants.

Knowing myself and my tendencies, I promised myself that I wasn't going to let the opportunity to spend some precious time with Nicolas go by. I don't know if I feel guilty because I don't have as much time to spend with him one on one as I had with the other two. Or maybe as the years pass me by, I realized that the moments spent with our children are just to precious to waste. Or maybe the irony of working hard in planning school for those children that I so love while at the same time yelling at them for needing my attention didn't escape me this time. Or maybe Nicolas is just lucky that his mom is a little wiser this time around.

I have been presently surprised. I have really enjoyed my little guy. I have enjoyed getting into his world. I have loved to share his passions. He is passionately, totally, madly, absolutely in love with baseball. You can see it in his eyes. I spent a good hour on the computer looking for baseball books on our library's website. His face was a poem when next day we went to pick up our stack. We spent a good hour and a half reading baseball books. It was great. After each story I felt my love for baseball, that was dormant, re-awaken. As we read about rules, about kids who love the game, about great ball players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, the struggles of Jackie Robinson, the courage of Pee Wee Russ, I felt my love for the game soar. There is nothing like rediscovering something afresh through the eyes of a child.

I have loved Nico's company, his incessant conversation, his thoughtful questions, the songs constantly on his lips. The week is not over and we have already gone to the movies, eaten ice cream, tried to weave, made peach preserves,eaten the warm preserves with crackers, listened to music, read some picture books (different from the baseball ones), gone dancing. We have some more plans: some crafts, blueberry picking, a barbecue... The best part, though, are the kisses and hugs with which I have been rewarded this week.

Encouragement: Dealing with Problems God's Way

2008-06-11T08:52:00.003-05:00

There are some problems in life that just don't go away. You have tried different approaches.You have tried ignoring the problem. You have tried facing them head on. But nothing seems to work. Then, there are personal and spiritual goals that, no matter how hard you try, they never seem to be any closer. If you let your mind go out of control, you start to think that these problems are unsurmountable. You feel trapped, betrayed, even angry. Anger lead the way to hopelessness and an incredible amount of sadness. You are sad for the opportunities you have lost, for the efforts you haven't made, for the efforts that weren't enough, for the things you didn't try long enough, for your shortcomings, for your faults, your selfishness, and the least could go on and on. You can almost physically feel the battle going on for your soul. You grab for any sense of hope and then you happen to read something that lifts you up.

You find yourself picking up a book you started months ago-one of those never finished attempts- Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow. She was talking to wives about becoming more like the woman in Proverbs 31. She talked about two approaches to self improvement: the I-Do-All-Myself approach and the I-Let-God-Do-Everything approach. Neither of these approaches will help us to succeed. The approach that will work, she said, is for God to put in his 100% (which of course He always does) and for us to put in our 100%. It is kind of an equation: 100%+100%= Personal and Spiritual growth.

It occurs to you that this is the way of dealing with problems. It reminds you of that saying from a saint "Pray as if everything depends on God, act as if everything depends on you". Then doubts come: "How do I know that God would do his part, his 100%?" Because", you answered yourself, "who He is. Because He is faithful and trustworthy (which means he is worthy of MY trust, right). Because there is no falsehood in Him. Because He does what He said He was going to do. Because He delivers. Because His Word is true. Because He does what He promised He was going to do."

And what is that?
He promised to make you a new creation.
He promised that He shall not fail or desert you (Heb 13:5)
He promised that "God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turn everything for their good". (Rom 8:28)

And because He encourages us:

"... let us exult, too, in our hardships, understanding that hardship develops perseverance, and perseverance develops character, something that gives us hope, and a hope which will not let us down, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us". (Rom. 5"3-5)

So when you fail in love, you can love with the love of God. What a great hope that is!

And because he invites you to unload your burdens:

"Bow down, then before the power of God now, so that He may raise you up in due time, unload all your burdens unto him, since he is concerned about you (He Cares!)

And because he warns:

"keep sober and alert, because your enemy the devil is on the prowl, like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand up to him, strong in faith..."

And more than anything because many years ago you made the decision to not only believe in him but to believe HIM.

When you face love so strong, so faithful, so whole, so healing, you can't but respond with all you've got. You make a decision right now, right here to renew your hope, renew your trust and renew your obedience, knowing that this journey to holiness is a lifelong journey. And you know without a shadow of a doubt that this is not going to be the last time you will be in need of encouragement. How blessed you are that you know where to get the encouragement you need!

What Do You Do With A Clear Dinning Room Table?

2008-05-16T22:26:00.003-05:00

Well, lay on it of course! (or is it lie on it?-I guess my English grammar still needs brushing up-)

Eventful Week

2008-05-16T21:43:00.002-05:00

This has been one of those weeks. It started with a bang. Monday was a day lived at a high speed with activities since 7:30 until about 9:00. That is not counting the it was Mark's birthday. Poor thing he didn't even get a cake this year. His made-from-scratch-with-his-mom-special recipe German Chocolate Cake would have to wait until next year.

Then ... came the flood. Really there was a flood in our town. All of the sudden Tuesday night the gates of heaven opened and water just poured down, 6 to 8 inches in two hours, lots of high winds, cars stranded, cars flooded, people stuck. Thank the Lord we were all nearby. Our house didn't flood, just some minor leaks in a window and three inches of water in the garage. BUT our phone line hasn't worked since then. AND getting a real person to talk to in the phone company is as difficult as finding some dry land under our house. And, since this is isn't enough, our cellphones have been acting out, making it difficult to communicate with the phone company. The stupid thing just keep dropping calls. It has been extremely frustrating.

Then last night another big bang, literally : the garbage disposal made a huge noise and it just quit. Just like that. Now cleaning dishes is just so much fun! Since this is still not enough, get this, my car was in the shop for two days and I just found out that our tub is not draining well.

So I think I am just going to find a good book, climb into be and maybe, just maybe, when I poke out my head again, all would be magically fixed.

Simple Woman Daybook

2008-05-13T14:24:00.005-05:00

Outside My Window~ the sun is peaking through the clouds trying to come out.

I am thinking~ about different ways of knowing. How do I know God? How does He know me?

I am thankful~ that yesterday busy day went without a glitch.

From the Kitchen~ peanut butter banana cupcakes came out of the oven this morning in an effort to feed the kids a good breakfast before heading out for standardized testing.

I am creating ~a blog that will help me express all the thoughts buzzing around in my head.

I going to~sit down and read aloud to my kids and reconnect after a busy morning.

I am wearing ~ a green top from Dress Barn and khaki pants.

I am reading ~Hold On to your Kids (the name of the author escapes me- great book though)

I am hoping~ that the addition to our house would materialize this time.

I am hearing~ HGTV in the background.

Around the House~ some things brought from Sam's need to be put away, several hot-spots need to be cleared.

One of my favorite things is the smell of bread baking in the oven.

A few plans for the rest of the week~return to our school routine after testing, go on a field trip to a dairy farm, concentrate in getting the house back in order after a busy week.

More entries at Simple Woman

Unusual Mother's Day

2008-05-12T15:27:00.004-05:00

How can you tell your boys (from the biggest to the littlest) that they can't go to see the annual Air Show? It doesn't matter if it is mother's day, the Air Show only comes once a year and the Blue Angels only come every other year. What is a mother to do? Thank the Lord that she has a daughter that does not like Air Shows, and quickly start planning a mother-daughter day. Being the good mother I am, I took my daughter to Blockbusters and rented some movies.

It made for an unusual but fun Mother's Day. We all went to Mass in the morning (this gives you the measure of the interest on the air show: we went to the 8:00 mass with no problems). After a good pancake breakfast the boys headed to the show. Gabi and I settled to our first movie, Meet the Parents (Note to self: remember that what is funny when your kids are not around might not be as funny when they are with you). When we got hungry we went to the drive through of a local Greek restaurant, brought the food home and enjoyed our second movie, Step Up.

Step Up is Gabi's favorite movie. I was glad she suggested this movie. The movie is fun to watch. There are some parts I would've liked to discuss with her but, not wanting to turn this fun day into a "teachable moment", I let it pass. Maybe some other day I would talk to her about it.

After a break to make some blueberry pie and start some rice for supper, we watched Dan in Real Life. I had watched that in the theater and really liked it. This time around, and maybe because I was with my child, I was more critical about it. I still enjoyed it. It was a fun movie.

When the boys came we had our Mother's Day dinner, which also doubles as Mark's birthday dinner. His birthday is today and this is going to be such a hectic week that I decided to just cook a nice dinner and just celebrate. Who cares if I had to prepare dinner on Mother's Day? what is important is that we had lots to celebrate and that, after a fun day for all, we gathered around the table to do it together.

This is a picture of Alex's creation, a beautiful centerpiece for our table.

Having Some Fun

2008-05-09T15:49:00.003-05:00

What Have We Been Up To?

2008-05-07T06:23:00.002-05:00

Lately we have been so busy. It seems that we are constantly on the go. Lots of things to interrupt that Unschooling Experiment. I have been distracted with a zillion things: garage sale, physical therapy for my neck, runs to and from ballet and choir, planning a vacation, upcoming testing, upcoming field trip... I don't remember ever having such a busy month of May.

It is difficult to continue school in the midst of such much distraction. I wish I could stop school now and just enjoy the nice weather, go outside, go on nature walks, learn to draw, do art, and then school more formally later in the summer, when it is miserably hot outside. I had a friend who did that. But I know my kids won't go for that. They would like to be out and done in the summer like all their friends. It is difficult to swim against the current!

Of course, you would say, isn't that what the unschooling experiment was all about? less formality, more delight directed learning? Well, I have discovered that

my kids are not self motivated. If I directed to something new then they can take off with it.
that to homeschool this way the mother has to be really present and in tune with her kids.
this mother, with half her brain in other stuff, doesn't do a good job at motivating her kids.
going into "unschooling" half way doesn't really work. You either do it or don't. Having to do certain things (like non-negotiables like math and religion) ruins the atmosphere.
I have to be the one making the big changes. I have to be involved. I either get involved with what they want to do or get them involved in what I want to do. I have opted, in most instances, for the second option. No fair. I need to be willing to play what Nicolas wants to play, listen to what Alex wants to say,etc.
with me, it is an issue of control. It is difficult to let go and let them be in charge.
it is also an issue of trust. I don't trust that they can self regulate. I don't trust that they would choose good things to spend the time with. I fear that they are going to choose the easiest thing to do: watch tv and play on the computer, talk to friends, chat...
it is funny how you enter into something for your kids and you end up learning a lot about yourself.

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that we are not having fun. Nicolas and I have sat every day for about an hour and just read. I haven't done that for a while. We are reading about plants, bees, butterflies. We are reading fiction and non fiction. Then we are going outside and doing some plant related "stuff". We have planted, weeded, watered, looked at seeds, drawn seeds... I have a mind of making use of some free lapbooks I have found here and here. Nicolas likes to work with his hands.

Other things we are doing:

Reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Reading Amy Welborn's Prove It! Church.
Studying decimals.
Reading Introduction to Scripture the Scott Hahn textbook.
We just picked up again Story of the World vol. 4. We read yesterday about South Africa and Apartheid.
Alex is reading The Breadwinner a book that takes place in Afghanistan. ( I just discovered this have a sequel)
Gabi is reading Murder in the Orient Express.
I am reading Hold On to your Kids, subtitled Why Parents Need to Matter more than Peers.
Alex and Nicolas have spent some time playing together.
Alex is fascinated with the Toreador Song from Carmen.
Nicolas just thinks about baseball.
Gabi is trying to plan how she would remodel our bathroom (it needs it badly- believe me!)
Alex and Nicolas have watched some segments on plants from the LPB Cyberchannel.
Alex is drawing downtown Meratain, a city he has created in his imagination.
Gabi is busy preparing for her dance recital.
Alex is practicing his violin and his choir concert.

I guess learning is happening more than I realized.

Ligers, Tigons and Leopons

2008-04-30T10:18:00.002-05:00

Liger Mane
Originally uploaded by Batian_Lion

Did you know that in captivity lions and tigers can breed? I sure didn't. Here is a Liger: a cross between a male lion and tigress. Cool!

Can you tell we have been reading about Wild Cats?

Coming to Terms

2008-04-30T09:37:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we gave away our baby things. The whole bit: crib, bassinet, swing, car seat, stroller, comforter, etc. We gave away the things but not the memories.

That is what I remind myself. I was surprised that it was hard to give the things away. After leaving my country and leaving things behind, I have never been attached to things. But parting with these baby articles was harder than I thought.

I don't think is the things. It is coming to terms with where we are in life. We are not the young ones, starting out our families. We are not the ones expecting joyfully and anxiously for the arrival of that little baby. No. We are the ones that been there and done that. We are the ones looking back and remembering. We are the ones in the middle of this journey we call life, trying hard to raised those kids we joyfully and anxiously expected. We are the ones in the trenches.

It is coming to terms with our kids growing up and we growing older. They are not the babies they once were and we are not the young couple we once were. It is like being in the middle of a trip and looking back to where you came from. But it is also looking ahead and seeing the part that you haven't yet trudged. It is trying hard not to be afraid at what is still ahead of us. It is holding tight to the promises of Jesus that he will always be with those who love them. It is coming to terms with what we haven't accomplished and being thankful for what we have achieved. It is, I tell myself, not about regrets. It is about embracing what there is to come. Joyfully, confidently, unafraid, expectantly waiting for the marvels God is going to do with what we have offered him: our lives and the lives of our children.

"Unschooling Experiment" - Day 1

2008-04-28T12:12:00.004-05:00

After Gabi left for her last Classical Conversations session of the year, the ones left at home embarked in our "unschooling experiment". If I want to be honest with myself, this is not true unschooling. It is MY version. The only version I can feel comfortable at the moment.
Alex did his alloted section of math. In the meantime I read to Nicolas. He picked several books from a stack of library books. We didn't get to read them all. We read:

The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer
Henry Builds a Cabin by D. B. Johnson

Alex joined us after he finished and we started reading about Wild Cats. This trail was inspired by a friend of Nicolas who came to play yesterday. She wanted to play "Wild Cats".
Seizing the opportunity ( you know how homeschool moms are always looking for teachable moments :-) )I went to the library and came with a stack of Wild Cats books. So far we have read two:

Really Big Cats by Allan Fowler
Scary Creatures: Big Cats by Penny Clarke and Terry Riley

After reading we moved to the computer and found this The kids had a good time watching the clips. My tenderhearted son was mad at a lion for killings some cubs. "Lions are mean," he said. We talked about the violence of the animal world, the survival of the strongest and how animals can't help themselves. They can't reflect on their behavior.

After lunch we went to the nursery to buy some plants. The seasons offer such and opportunity for learning. We are going to be talking about all things botany in the next few days. When we got back home we (all mostly I) planted.

Some got planted.
Some are still waiting...

Hard at Work

2008-04-21T13:59:00.001-05:00

Adding Some Color

2008-04-18T20:58:00.001-05:00

Unschooling Experiment

2008-04-18T15:07:00.003-05:00

Every single time I read a post on unschooling my heart ticks faster. I so want to try this. I so want to see my kids own their own learning life. I want them to follow their passions and discover new ones. I want them to learn how to think for themselves. I want them to think out of the box.

The thing is that I don't think I can do it. I don't know how to go about it. We are at a perfect place to try an experiment. We just finished our first year with Classical Conversations
It has been a great year. Now we have about a month before the "official" school year is over. We got a lot done this year. Now I feel I could try my hand at something more relaxed. I would like to pursue some art, some gardening, some nature walks. Or I could try letting my kids, especially A., to be the one leading the way. Honestly, I don't know how to do that. I don't fill comfortable just letting him be. I think that for us "flexibility within structure" would work better. Tons of ideas flow through my mind:

I could re-implement some of Bravewriter ideas. We used to do teatime and read poetry and freewrites. The kids loved them.
I could do make sure we read poetry every day. One poem a day. I have several Spring poetry books on hold at the library. I could combine those with the teatime.
I could do some art. I have discovered some interesting blogs on art lately here and here. They both look interesting, and they seem to have lots of resources for me to explore. I am creating a list of projects for the summer.
I could try our hands at some architecture, one of A.' passions. They have some cool links to explore.
I could do more science. We discovered this videos from Youtube. We can explore these more and see where it would take us.
I could let him work on a project from the Dangerous Book for Boys.

I guess I can present this list to A. and let him choose. I could also take him to the library and let the pick some books. The thing that makes me hesitate is this: I want to have something to show for our efforts. I would like to have a lapbook or a narration or something that would say loud and clear:"You have accomplished something!"

This brings me to a complete new thought: Why do I feel as if I have to have something to show or as if the accomplishment has to be measurable? Whose accomplishment should it be mine or my children's? Do I need to prove myself to someone? Why I feel so scared to try this?

Trying this Again

2008-04-15T16:11:00.002-05:00

This is my second attempt at blogging. I have been thinking about pros and cons:

Pros:

It would give me a place to organize my thoughts.
My in-laws would love to have a place to follow the kids and our family .
It would serve as a record of our learning.
It would give me some practice in writing.
It would give Mark a chance to peek in on our days. If I can write what I think, it would give him a chance to read what I am thinking. We don't always have time to talk and hash out my thoughts on the kids education and day to day endeavors

Cons:

It can take time.
It can feed my tendency to accumulate information without really putting it into practice.
It makes me feel vulnerable to actually share what I am doing and thinking (not that very many people would read it but the possibility is there)

Let's see how it goes this time!

Learning Seems to Far Away

2007-08-29T22:25:00.000-05:00

I guess there is a season for everything. Learning, the kind that adults do, the kind that directs your days, involves your thoughts, delight your senses, guides your passions. That kind of learning seems so far away. Now life is full of driving, scheduling, meeting, talking. Not a moment to think. Not a moment to reflect. Not a moment to let the experiences of everyday sink in and be turned into some kind of learning...

A Life In Two Phases

2007-02-20T21:40:00.000-06:00

I just finished reading Tennyson: an Illustrated Life. As I finished the book the fact that stayed with me is how neatly his life can be divided in two phases hinged on the year 1850. That year his life changed dramatically: he published his poem In Memoriam which had been written as a response to the death of his close friend Arthur Hallam; he was named Poet Laureate and most importantly, he got married. The author of the book (the name escapes me now) talks about how Emily, his bride, had brought stability to his life. This second phase of his life was not plagued by insecurities, fears, anxieties, hypochondria, depression. This year seem that have put a lot of these to rest and he went on to live a long productive life.
It made me think of the role of a wife in the life of her husband. I would like to know more about their relationship. How did she manage to help him? Was her influence really important or would success and age have accomplished the same results? What kind of woman was Emily Tennyson?

Ordinary

2007-02-08T16:45:00.000-06:00

I was thinking yesterday about my ordinary life. My so common life, my anonymous life. I am destined to be ordinary, common. Nothing rises me up above it. I am an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. Nothing distinguishes me from the person next door.There are millions of people like me, not known, going about their business.

What does ordinary means? The dictionary defines it like this:

Commonly encountered; usual.
Occurring with regularity or periodically, normal.
Average in rank or merit; of not exceptional degree or quality, commonplace.

I don't have a problem with normal, periodical, regular, usual. It is the third definition I fear.I don't want to be average or of not exceptional quality. I want to be the best I can be. I want to strive for excellence. I want to be known. I want to be good at something. I want to find my niche in life. I want to make a difference. I want to expand my territory, enlarge my tent.
How can I do that in the mist of the "ordinary" of my life? I think of the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year. It is the longest time of the year. We can't feast year round. We need time to recollect, to meditate, to incubate, to ferment, to be. But the Ordinary Time is not dull or boring. It seems to affirm what was learned and lived during the special seasons.
How do I reconcile the life I live, which is the life that I believe I am called to live at this time, with the desires of my heart? Is this restlessness God given or is it something to calm down at all costs, something to ignore,repress, hope it would go away?
Is ordinary something to rebel against or is it something to embrace?

Lord Alfred Tennyson

2007-02-06T12:02:00.000-06:00

Not being an American or a Native English speaker there are many famous literary figures that I, either not know or only know superficially. One of them is Lord Alfred Tennyson.
My 13 yo daughter was reading some of his poems as part of the Ambleside Online poetry study. She had a strong reaction to the poems. She didn't like them. She complained that they didn't rhyme. I suspect she didn't understand them and couldn't relate to them. His poems seem to evoke strong feelings and I think those feelings are foreign to her.
I decided to take on the study she had started. My reaction was different. I liked the poems I read. But I need some context to place the poems in. So I have started a Tennyson study for myself.
Here are some websites with biographical information here and here. Our library has a book by Harold Bloom on Tennyson which I just requested. Hopefully I can write some of what I learn.

A Planning Routine

2007-01-31T15:13:00.000-06:00

I loved Dawn's posts on planning . It makes so much sense to have a routine. This week I have been able to consolidate the bulk of my dc's outside activities into two days, Tuesday and Thursday. That frees Wednesday for planning purposes. I'll try this and see how it works.
This is what I am thinking about next week:

History:

~~Read chapter on Mexican Independence from Story of the World Vol3.~~
~~Read chapter on Miguel Hidalgo from Fifteen Famous Latin Americans.~~

Geography

~~Review countries and capitals of South America.~~

English

~~Continue online spelling course~~
~~Continue Bravewriter course~~
~~Copywork~~

~~Continue polishing his piece on Bolivar.~~
~~Do some grammar exercises from the KISS Printable workbook~~

Spanish

continue her current work on So You Really Want to Learn Spanish

~~Play Combinaciones~~
~~Review vocabulary from the previous units before he goes on to the next.~~

Math

~~G: continue her current work on Teaching Texbooks~~
~~A: read chapter from How Math Works about presenting data.~~

Latin

~~G: continue Henle I through Memoria Press.~~
A: I am not sure what to do with A. at this point. He doesn't seem to be grasping the concepts from Latina Christiana. I don't know if I should continue, try something else or simply abandon Latin until he is older. Maybe I should just do some Latin and Greek roots and play Rummy Roots with him. Or maybe look into some other program for him. I am not sure at this point.

Science

~~G: continue her regular course work~~
A:

~~read books on longitude as part of the Journey North Mystery Class.~~
~~continue his book on Thomas A. Edison.~~

Reading

~~continues her reading of Treasure Island~~
~~continues her reading of A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court~~

~~continues The Seventeenth Swap~~
~~continues Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince~~

~~continue study of Vermeer - I need to find out more about picture study~~

Music

~~continue study of Elgar~~

January 29 to February 2nd

2007-01-29T16:03:00.000-06:00

This week we will:

Finish reading about Simon Bolivar. The kids took notes while I read. Alex would use his notes for copywork, he will polish his grammar and spelling.
Fill out and color a map of South America.
Play some online games to review the countries and capitals of South America http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geospy http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/South_America_Geography.htm

Look through some books about the different South American countries.
Read about Jose de San Martin. The kids will take notes as I read.
Continue our study of Vermeer-We will look at this tutorial for the picture Woman Holding a balance. http://www.nga.gov/feature/vermeer/
We have several prints of Vermeer. We would look at them and try to identify common elements. We will also pick one of the paintings and narrate it.
Continue our study of Edward Elgar (see sidebar for links)
Do the work require for the Journey North Mystery Class http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/mclass/About.html
Continue our reading of the retelling of Comedy of Errors.

Today

2007-01-26T21:40:00.000-06:00

This is what we did today:

Clean house: a good habit we have been able to establish in our house this school year has been our Home Blessing Hour - a la Flylady.
Watch the second part of the Jacqueline du Pre dvd (Jacqueline du Pre: a Portrait)
Watch Great Artists vol.5- we watched the section on Vermeer.
Read Johannes Vermeer by Mike Venezia.
Went to Co-op.

All in all it was a good day.

Clarifying My Ideas

2007-01-26T21:30:00.000-06:00

I have been struggling with what I want this blog to be. I seem to function better when I consolidate. I am thinking that this blog would be a place where I think, where I record, where I discuss, where I list. El Pan Nuestro de Cada dia refers to my daily sustenance, the Lord, but it also refers to the ideas I feed on. In a given day tons of thoughts cross my mind. Some are important some are not. Some deserve to have follow up, some don't. Some have to do with our homeschool, some are related to my own education. But regardless of importance, I think ideas and thoughts deserve attention. And that is what I want to use this blog for : to pay attention to my thoughts and to learn how to share them.
I am also using this blog to enter the 21st century. It is my learning tool, my way to keep in touch with modern times and my way to learn about them.

Today

2007-01-25T19:41:00.000-06:00

Got up on time
Prayed Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. I am trying to make it a habit: morning an night prayers.
During Breakfast: Finish the chapter on The Baptism of Clovis from Ten Dates Every Catholic Should Know.
Block 1: G. and A. work independently. In the meantime I do reading with N. and try to get some chores done. At this time I try to get a head start on lunch and dinner as well as put a load of laundry in the washer.
Block 2: Read the chapter on Simón Bolívar from Fifteen Famous Latin Americans. Made the kids right down one sentence after each paragraph.
Noon: stop for lunch (scramble eggs, homemade bread, carrots and fruit)
Took G. to the Ballet Studio for the class for preschoolers she helps to teach. While we waited I read a chapter from Children's Homer.
After we got home I read a couple of chapters of our read-aloud, The Long Winter.

Week of Jan 22nd to Jan 27th

2007-01-24T20:49:00.000-06:00

This is what we have planned for this week:

Religion:

Christian Studies lesson 7 (Monday and Tuesday)
Catholic History chapter 3 (Wednesday and Thursday)

History:

Finish book about Toussaint L'Overture.
Do notebook page and place in the book of centuries
Transition to South America and Bolivar
Read Story of the World chapter 34 and do map work

(note to self-look for some books about South America, look for some online activities to learn countries and capitals, search for Geography Songs tape to use next week)

Art

Introduce Vermeer
Show first print Woman Holding a Balance
Go through internet tutorial of this painting
If it arrives to the library watch tape on Vermeer

Music

Finish watching Jacqueline du Pre's tape
Find a biography of Edward Elgar and make a notebook page
Listen to Elgar's music purchased on I tunes

Teatime

Begin reading Comedy of Errors

Our daily Bread

2007-01-24T18:13:00.000-06:00

That is the title of this new blog. It is only a way of organizing my thoughts about school and keep a diary of what we actually do. I have the bad habit of planning school on loose bits of paper. The result I can never find the papers when I need them. I am hoping that this blog would help me consolidate my planning.