Of course, you may be asking what business someone with chronic headaches has taking a tap class! I'm not sure. I talked to the teacher the first day so that she doesn't worry if I miss classes. This is the only serious commitment in my schedule - I have a back-up plan for everything else for headache days. But, my doctor has been really encouraging me to get regular exercise. Most of the time, I go on the treadmill. Since we got rid of cable, though, the treadmill is not as much fun. So, even if I miss an occasional class or don't practice every single day, I still get the benefit of regular exercise. Of course, right now I'm also dealing with shingles. Yesterday, Mr. Math Teacher and I walked the 1/2 mile to the library and we had to stop for a break about a block before we got there. Today the pain hasn't been as bad, so maybe it's going to ease up soon.
Knitting update:
Here are the socks that I recently finished. Aren't they fun? I made them out of left-over yarn from a sweater project. I am probably going to wear them as slippers around the house. I am currently working on a pair of socks for a woman who I met on a homeschooling forum. Other than that, I have a few projects, but I can't mention them because the potential recipients are readers of my blog - now I've got you guessing, huh!!
Book reviews:
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. This book was written before (and takes place before) The Da Vinci Code. This is another real nail-biter. The whole book takes course in the place of about 24 hours. The setting is Vatican City. The plot centers around a secret anti-Catholic group called the Illuminati. Again, there are codes, symbols, and lots of Medieval/Renaissance art and history references. There's also plenty of intrigue. I found myself having trouble putting the book down; I wanted to know what happened next. Dan Brown's apparent anti-Catholic bias comes out again in this book. The climax of the book is essentially a revelation of serious hypocrisy in one of the characters (read the book to find out which one!). So, I recommend it if you can read past Dan Brown's view of the Catholic Church. Remember, the book is fiction; Dan Brown is not God!
My reading has been rather curtailed lately because of the start of doing schoolwork with the kids. I have found myself at the computer for hours setting up the year's schedule. I hope that the schedule is pretty much in the computer so that I can spend my free time reading and scrapbooking. But, because of my homeschool planning, I have two other books to review:
The Cambridge Music Guide This book is used as a textbook in some university Music Appreciation classes. I'm using it as a "spine" for music history. We are studying world history over the next two years, and I'm trying to add art and music history, not only to learn the history but also to learn how art and music affect history and vice versa. The first part of the book is about music notation and instrumentation. The second part is music history starting with Medieval times. I don't really like that they don't address Ancient Music at all, but it's already a pretty hefty book and the information available about Ancient Music is limited. So, I'm using internet sources for the time being. I will probably assign some of the first part of the book, particularly parts about instruments, during the time before we get to Medieval history. This book is written at an adult level, but I think that Ga'Hoole Girl will do just fine with it as long as I don't expect her to read too much at a time. I will also need to pre-read to verify that the assigned passages are appropriate. Overall, I think it will be an excellent resource.
The Usborne Internet-Linked Introduction to Art This is the book that I'm using as the art history "spine" for Ga'Hoole Girl. It starts with an introduction to art then moves on to art history. There isn't a huge amount of information about art history, per se, in the book, but it provides an internet site with lots of pertinent links. So far, Ga'Hoole Girl has done just a few pages in the book, but seems to like it. The reading level is geared for about middle school. So far, this also seems to be a good resource.
Movie Reviews:
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Believe it or not, I had never seen this movie. Part of the reason that I watched it was just for cultural literacy! I enjoyed it, although not as much as some others. Audrey Hepburn is, of course, amazing. The plot was quite interesting and full of surprises. The acting was very good. The movie is unrated, so I let the kids watch part of it with me until there were just too many s*xual innuendos. I recommend it for adults.
The Mirror Has Two Faces - This movie stars Barbra Streisand and Jeff Bridges as university professors who marry, but not for love. Of course, things get complicated when love does show up - but I won't tell you when or where! This movie was very good: the acting was top-notch, the plot was interesting, the characters were (for the most part) well-developed. There is some s*xuality in the movie, but it's not excessive. Overall, I highly recommend this movie for adults.
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