Buca di Beppo
Well, the youngest son's 21st birthday celebration has come and gone. Why did I ever think we were done homeschooling? How many times over the years have I said that learning just happens, despite society's arbitrary timetables? Apparently, I have to keep teaching myself this same lesson. Maybe I'll write it 100 times on my grocery list or something.
This time the main gist of our learning was about wine. Specifically, the red ones Matt, birthday-boy, wanted to try. First, it was a glass of Chianti (and every time I see that word now, I always think of Hannibal Lector mispronouncing it in Silence of the Lambs), since we were at an Italian restaurant, and Chianti is, mom decided, the traditional Italian wine to have with dinner. At least, I think it is. Anyway, birthday boy took a sip, made a face, looked at me and said, "Is this how it's supposed to taste?" So I, being the [cough] expert, having been raised above a bar, followed by a liquor store, took a sip. Ugh. It was heavy, mouth-puckeringly dry, and somewhat rancid. If that's even a term one can use when describing wine that's been sitting around too long.
The waiter was very nice, tho. He said "no problem, ma'am; perhaps it has gone over - that happens sometimes" (which actually didn't do much to boost my confidence about what we'd just ingested) and brought us our (well, my) next choice: Pinot Noir. This was a shade better, but still too heavy and not fruity enough. Then the waiter suggested Merlot. That was very nice of him I thought, but Ewwwwww. I'll certainly never do that again. Merlot's right up there with Cabernet Sauvigon, which I discovered many years ago to be more of an endurance test than a drink. I kept wishing for a Rosé or even a wine cooler. Alas, no such thing on the menu. O well. We tried. We gave up on the wine tasting and went back to plain old ice water. From the looks on their faces I don't think either son will be eager to try red wine again anytime soon.
And do you know what they're charging for a glass -- not a bottle, not a carafe, mind you -- just a glass of wine these days? $7.95 - $10.95! Boy, I'm certainly glad my oldest son Adam was helping me pay for this dinner. Sheesh.
Speaking of the restaurant, it is a funny name isn't it? Buca di Beppo, literally translated, means "Joe's Basement." It's one of those fairly new, yuppie, supposedly family-style joints, which I tend to avoid with all my being. A yuppie I am not. But, "Joe's Basement" made me feel like well, hey, maybe this one won't be so bad. Hmph. I should've stuck with my first impression.
It started out well. The background music was a combination of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin tunes (if you're smiling about that, try renting Return to Me from Netflix, you'll love the soundtrack), along with some Mario Lanza opera-type wailing I could just as well live without. Just as we were looking over the menus, Donna Prima Donna by Dion started to play (click on Song of the Day in the sidebar to listen to it). That really made me smile. Oldies always put me in a good mood. Why don't they have fun, danceable music like that anymore?
I don't know for sure . . . but I have my theories. Anywho, this is why I hang out at:
iTunes
They even have an "iTunes U" now. It's learning by music. Hmm. Did they snitch the idea from me, do you think?
Napster
You can listen to a song 3 times before you buy it. I like that, because there's usually many, many versions.
Love Potion #9 - The Clovers
One of my oldies you can listen to.
Elinore - The Turtles
(or "Eleanor" - I've seen it both ways) Another of my oldies on this blog.
The Last Time I Felt Like This - Johnny Mathis
The most beautiful voice on the planet. Next to Patsy's, that is.
Sneaking in a Pop Mini-Quiz here. Do you ever listen to these songs when you come to visit? Or is it just me? (Yes, you probably think I'm digressing here. I'm not. Repeat after me: Life is learning, learning is life. Life is . . .
Now, for being a 'family-style' restaurant, there certainly weren't any families in attendance. The food ended up being so-so, and one or two of the entrees we tried actually were big enough to maybe feed a young family of 4. But, the prices! Holy cow. What average family could afford this? We were looking at a bill of over $100 for three people! The service, on the other hand, was fabulous.
But, what really decided me were the decorations. Those walls were busy. Pictures and sketches and sculptures and colorful doo-dads everywhere. Sophia Loren, Joe DiMaggio, Gina Lollabrigida, scantily-clad women in provocative poses, unidentifiable buildings (maybe these were in Rome? Sicily?) .... everything you could imagine and then some. I don't think there was one inch of empty wall or counter space in the entire place. In the middle of eating, I spied a photograph in the sea of busyness tucked up in the corner, just behind my oldest son's head. I kept looking at it, thinking, is that what I think it is? Nah, it can't be. Finally, I got up and walked over to view a close-up. Yup, I was right. It was a photo of two dogs fornicating.
I know my kids are grown adults, and I'm not that much of a prude, but what is such a picture doing in a family restaurant? In any case, I certainly don't want to look at something like that while I'm eating. I wanted to complain, but my sons were protesting, oh mom, don't start a fuss. So, I didn't. But it still bugs me. Has anyone else run across places that aren't really what they advertise?
The songs on this site are copyrighted by their respective artists and are placed here for education and evaluation purposes only. No profits are made on this site from their use. If you like what you hear, purchase the song from iTunes
or buy the entire CD at SecondSpin.com
and keep great music alive!
Science and Math and Giggles, O My
ClickSchoolingI heard
Get one, fun, educational website recommendation a day! Monday-Math. Tuesday-Science. Wednesday-Language Arts. Thursday-History & Social Studies. Friday Virtual Field Trips. Weekends are for Electives-Art, Music, Foreign Languages. A Yahoo list sponsored by Homefires (a real homeschooler) and moderated to maintain integrity.
Desert Island Homeschooling
The situation is: "Your family is stranded on a desert isle, with no internet, no TV, no libraries, and zero access to the type of community resources you usually enjoy. You're going to be there long enough that you will want to have a box of STUFF to keep the kids occupied. And because you expect to go home one day, you want the STUFF to relate to the wider world, not just your immediate situation. What would you take?" Homeschool mom Kathy Ceceri is attempting to write a book and looking for our thoughts and ideas. Share yours with her (and all the listees) on Home Education Magazine's Writers' list. You can view Kathy's entire book outline on the Files page of Emergency Homeschooling.
Homeschool Comics -
Schools Are for Fish
A new one is posted every Monday. This isn't
'curriculum', you say? Sure it is. Just like
everything in life. Think 'social satire'. Think
'sociology', 'understated', 'wry', 'misconceptions'
and 'succinct'. And now you have a whole weeks'
vocabulary list to boot.
I don't know about you, but it's time for a music
and drink break. I'm dying of thirst.
Cindy's Song of the Day
This is learning, too. I taught my boys LOTS of
stuff this way. For instance: Can you name one of these duet singers just by
listening? Wasn't there some sort of scandal about him? (And why would
his revelation matter, anyway?) What are the
lyrics saying? Isn't the composer famous? What other
songs has he done that you know? What movie is this song from?
Wasn't it based on a hit play? Which came first,
the book or the play? Should we
read one and then rent the movie to see how
they differ? Why did they change things or leave
them out, do you think?
It's fun! Try it!
Love Potion
#9 - The
Clovers
One site says it's The Clovers. A few others say
the band is the New Seekers. I don't know which
one is right.
Elinore - The Turtles
Or "Eleanor", if you prefer. I've seen it both
ways. Do your kids know any other songs by The
Turtles? I'll bet they do. From commercials.
:rolling my eyes:
Napster
Listen to a song 3 times before you buy. Purdy
cool.
The Homeschool Mom's Math Page
From games to worksheets, for your littlest one, to
your senior in high school. This is one totally
amazing math page. Kudos to Mary Ann and all her
hard work!
I Hate
Mathematics!
Yikes, me too. After many textbook tries. this
ended up being the main math book we used from
grade school right up to college. Filled with fun
facts, laugh-inducing games and silly activities to
teach math without giving mom a headache.
Steve Spangler Science
Experiments
A cool hands-on library of Steve's most requested
science experiments, recipes and projects from his
weekly television appearances and live
presentations throughout the country. Lots of nifty
science goodies and gadgets to order, too.
The Way Back Machine
Do you remember something on the 'net that doesn't
exist anymore? Life Magazine? Old Compuserve files?
Sites dedicated to the Baby Jessica tragedy? The
original (and ghastly) RMEC website? If it was was
once in cyberspace, but has since gone the way of
glam-rock and computers the size of your living
room, it's on Way Back. If you're not sure how to
teach history, this is a really cool way to ease
into it. Even just browsing around brings up some
amazing things you never knew!
Kidlet Warning: This site is not rated G.
West River Academy - the Unschooler's
Best Friend!
School the way you want! Choose the curriculum that
suits you! (Or, choose none at all.) Hassle-free
support, low tuition, fully accredited K-12 with
High School Diploma Program. Operated since 1993 by
Peggy Webb, a 20-year veteran homeschooling mom.
Call her at (949) 492-5240.
The songs on this site are copyrighted by their respective artists and are placed here for education and evaluation purposes only. No profits are made on this site from their use. If you like what you hear, purchase the song from iTunes or buy the entire CD and keep great music alive!
Milestones
Seems this is not a widely known fact, but summers in Colorado are hot. And I do mean hot. Yesterday it was 98 degrees, today it peaked at 99, and tomorrow doesn't look much better. I've been spending my time, alternately melting and sweating like some overexerted, red-faced little farm animal (very unlovely). And then today was also the day to take my youngest son out shopping. It wasn't a matter of choice, actually. He and I work such opposite hours, a day off together is as rare as hen's teeth. (Gee, and I sound like my grandmother.) Now, I did try not to torture the boy with too much of my music on the car radio. Really. I only tuned in for one song. Well okay, two.
Love Potion #9 - The Clovers
One of the songs on the radio.
Elinore - The Turtles
(or "Eleanor" - I've seen it both ways) [from Hum a Few Bars, 6/28]
Napster
Listen to a song 3 times before you buy. Purdy cool.
Sonny, in turn, tried not to turn my brain to mush either. He likes Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilara, new age stuff, like Enya and Enigma, but mostly techo-dance-sounding-tunes that are so generic I can never remember the name of any of them. Two of my songs, followed by two of his .... well, we love each other, but that was enough of the radio for one trip.
Now, if you know me, you know how much I like to shop. That is to say, not at all. Not unless I have to. Not unless the cupboards are bare, my jeans have disintegrated in the wash and my tennies will no longer hold together, even with string. (People tell me I'm a weird female. I guess so.) But today's excursions were unusually fun, even with the heat, because they were part of two celebrations. The first being that after 2 years in college, taking a scattershot of classes from theater arts to remedial math, followed by another 2 years of hiatus from the halls of higher learning to work and decide what he wanted to do, my youngest son has finally decided to re-enroll in college this fall.
YAY!! :picture mom dancing around the room, grinning like a fool:
The second celebration is sweet/bittersweet, and a little amazing. We were shopping because his birthday is in a couple of weeks. He'll be turning 21 this year. Twenty one. My baby. A legal adult. It wasn't so much an O.M.G. moment as it was mom-nostalgic. I was driving along, listening to him chatter on about friends and work and buying books for college, and half my mind went its own way and called up a vivid picture of a little boy with straight, silky, dark hair, a bright yellow jacket, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sneakers on feet almost too big for his body, a tiny smile finally breaking thru the cloud of tears in his beautiful brown eyes. His still-pudgy hand was encased in mine and we were walking away from the school building, away from everything he and I had known as 'education'. He didn't utter a word, but he didn't have to. Those eyes said it all. Thank you, mom. I don't want to be called 'slow' anymore. I don't want to go to the doctor and be diagnosed with ADD. I'm not a troublemaker. I'm just bored and I don't learn this way. I want to go home with you and my big brother, where it's safe to be me.
It was April of 1993, a chilly and overcast and blustery month that year, and he was 6 years old. We were leaving public school to start homeschooling. His brother walked up and took my other hand. All three of us were happy. I was also feeling a few thousand other things. Fury at the school. Excitement at the upcoming adventure. Sheer terror about my non-expertise. What if I messed them up forever?
As I glanced over at my now six-foot-three giant of a teddy bear, I remembered that this was the child that refused to read until age 10. The one who detested any and all textbooks, worksheets and tests. He taught me that learning math from Legos and baking cookies was entirely possible, that invented spelling until age 14 meant nothing more than a creative mind was on the job. I got 2 frown lines and at least 4 grey hairs along the way, but eventually he taught me to stop worrying so much. Right then, as my mind was wandering thru the past, he was trying to teach me about ancient religious beliefs in Mesopotamia. Which, as you probably already know mom, is now split up into Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey? Of course, son, we all know that. (yeah, right) I shook my head and winked at him, and he grinned back knowingly. This is the same child who entered college for the first time age age 16 to be an actor, and is going back at 21 to get his A.A. and then a Ph.D in Theology. With a minor in Mathematics. He likes making up his own Calculus problems now, just for fun. What an eclectic resume that boy's going to have.
Er, that man, I mean.
We pull up to a stoplight and he asks me if I'd like to have a glass of red wine with him on his birthday. He's never tried it before, but he knows I grew up around such stuff, and he needs help picking out a kind to try. I look over at him and smile. A little bit of that bright yellow jacket still hovers in the background of his shirt, like a superimposed layer of etched memory. His feet are bigger than ever now, a size 13 E. I reach over and his big, bear paw of a hand swallows mine. It's hard to speak with all those memories floating thru the air, so I just smile some more and nod.
Red wine it is, son. And here's to you.
The songs on this site are copyrighted by their respective artists and are placed here for education and evaluation purposes only. No profits are made on this site from their use. If you like what you hear, purchase the song from iTunes or buy the entire CD and keep great music alive!
Hum A Few Bars
Click here to listen to Cindy's song of the day whilst you read. (opens in a new window)
There i something I've always wanted to do on a website, and that's to create a place that would remind you of my home, had you been over for a visit. I mean, isn't that what I'm doing anyway? Inviting you into my world? Yeppers, I sure think so. So, if you were here, this is what you'd find. Nothing fancy (or matching, at this point), just a down-home, simple place. Full of warm colors, good smells of candles, cooking and (right now) orange juice, and me sharing my two favorite things in the world with you. I have no idea if this will work, but hey, I had no idea how to do a statewide homeschool conference, either. It came off beautifully, tho. And that's life for ya. Or more apropos, that's unschooling.
My first favorite thing: Writing. I started writing at the age of 0, I think. According to my grandmother, I popped out of the womb, already in love with words I couldn't even read or write yet. As a baby, whenever I'd start fussing, Gram would read to me or tell me stories of her childhood, and as soon as she'd start talking, I'd grow quiet and calm. When my pudgy little hands finally figured out how to grasp a crayon, I advanced to scribbling on anything and everything handy; napkins, scratch paper, placemats, the sidewalk, the insides of books. I drew picture after picture of princesses with pointy cone hats and veils, extremely big teeth (I liked toothy smiles, apparently, but never got the hang of drawing them) and for some reason, my gals were almost always walking up or down stairs. I scribbled long pages of text, telling the story of what each of my princesses were doing, but don't ask me what I wrote. Maybe a hypnotist could go that far back in my little girl's mind, but I sure can't. By my teenage years, I was into composing lovesick / angst-ridden poetry and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night short stories. I had one published once, but it's not competition Stephen King would ever have to worry about or anything. Adulthood was filled with children, working and homeschooling, and writing about homeschooling. (if you're really interested in what I've done previously, see About Me in the sidebar)
My second favorite love has always been music. From toddlerhood on, music, both current songs and what they now call "oldies", enthralled me. Elvis would come on the radio, for instance, and I'd stop pulling myself up on the furniture, my eyes wide, and listen (He still has that affect on me sometimes. Except, I know how to walk now). Music became even more a core of my life because my parents bought a beer bar/restaurant combo in Wisconsin when I was 4. I grew up there, in an apartment above it, til the age of 14. My job, besides waitressing in Gram's restaurant, was to take care of the 45 rpm records that came off our jukebox. I think I was about 6 or 7 when I started doing this. The reason my mom picked me (over my 2 older sisters) for the job is because 1) I was forever bugging customers for a dime for the juke, 2) I knew what song was going to play "as soon as the needle hit the record", and 3) they could never find me to do my waitressing. I was either singing and dancing by the jukebox, or holed up in the apartment upstairs, glued to the hi-fi (that's a stereo to you youngins) or my AM radio, listening to a warbly, static-filled WLS out of Chicago.
When I was 15 and had moved to Colorado, I got this hankering to be a radio d.j. My mom suggested that I find out what the job was really like before diving in. Good idea, mom. (It wasn't the first time she suggested an unschooling route for learning something, but I'll bet she'd be surprised to know that how she taught us kids to learn had a name.) So, I spent my entire 15th summer calling up the d.j.'s on my favorite radio stations and talking to them in between songs. It was fun, interesting and ultimately disheartening to find that the d.j.'s don't determine most of what they play. 90% of it is pre-chosen by the programming manager. PMs, according to the disc jockeys, attended meetings, wrote reports and calculated what amount of radio play each song would get, to appeal to the right audience and generate good revenue. Ugh. I neither wanted to wade thru statistics all day or play someone else's list of songs, pretending that I liked them all. I wanted freedom, maybe even my own radio station. Like the rockin' one Stephen King eventually started.
Perhaps I'll get rich enough one day to have such a thing. I'll invite you over. In the meantime, this is all we have. Welcome to Cindy's Place.
The songs on this site are copyrighted by their respective artists and are placed here for education and evaluation purposes only. No profits are made on this site from their use. If you like what you hear, purchase the song from iTunes or buy the entire CD and keep great music alive!