A Grown-Up Getaway

For the very first time in 12 long years Mom #2 and I went on a grown-up getaway with no kids, no grand kids, and no pets!  At first we hardly knew what to do with ourselves, but we recovered from that fairly quickly.  

First we found a very grown-up room in a historical and beautiful hotel.

 Then we thought we'd have some fun visiting some touristy attractions.

 We enjoyed lots of different sights that may have been fun for children . . .

 . . . But without the endless trips to the potty. . .

 . . . Without a pocket full of tissues to wipe runny noses. . .   

 . . .Without the too-cool-for-school eye rolls. . . 

  . . . And without leashes, kibble, doggy-doo bags, or travel kennels.

I'll never forget the complete conversations Mom #2 and I were able to have without interruption.  

 We also had several delicious meals in nice restaurants with real tablecloths, finely dressed waiters, and cloth napkins. 

When it was time for bed, I only had to bathe myself.  

And when we tucked each other in . . . . 

 . . . We only had to kiss each other.

We had an incredible time!  

I hope we don't wait 12 more years before we have another grown-up getaway. 

Have you done anything for yourself or your relationship lately? 

Until next time . . .

 

Mothers and Daughters at the Opera

Last night was the opening night of this season's Educational Opera Program.  They performed Pagliacci.  

I had never seen it performed live before, only on PBS.  It had to be the shortest opera I've ever attended.  We were home before 10 o'clock!

As an olive branch of good will, I invited my Mom to come with us, as she has never been.  I didn't think she had any interest in it, but a few weeks ago she began hinting around for an invitation, so what's a daughter to do.  She really seemed to enjoy herself,  even though she had LOTS of questions.  I'm glad we were able to spend a little quality time together without too much pressure of stimulating conversation.  I'm not much for small talk  these days and things have been a tiny bit tense between us since she moved so close to me.  Actually, I've been a bit tense, but I don't think she has noticed.  It is kind of unnerving to have your Mother about to pop up at your house at any given time of day or night.  Since I don't have a day job, she thinks I'm available to do things with her all day every day.  That's actually not true at all, my family keeps me on my toes quite consistently. Anyway, I'm working on boundaries.  Let me just say, it's a work in progress.  

She was already hinting around at an invitation for the next performance when I dropped her off at home last night, LOL.  That lady really is something else.  But she's my Mother, and I love her.  What else can you do.

Speaking of the performance, everything was spectacular.  Poor Canio, the Pagliacci, a jilted, suspicious, homicidal clown is really something to behold on stage.  Although his killing scene wasn't nearly as terrifying as Lucia's from Lucia di Lammermoor, I still had to give him a lot of credit.  He was a beautiful tenor.

There was a strange moment at the end where after the curtain call and all of the ovations, the three main characters . . . including ones who had just died . . . got up and sang a few bonus songs at the end.  I don't know if this has a formal name in the opera world or not, as I've never witnessed anything like it.  It was so nice to go drive home humming the bonus score.

I've never really understood why some people have a fear of clowns, but after last night, I think I'm going to keep my distance from them.  Also, I have truly witnessed the literal interpretation of "Tears of a Clown." 

So now I know what music I'll be playing around the house all weekend. 


What wonderful weekend plans do you have?
 

Until next time . . .

 

You Slay Me, Lucia

Last night Baby Boy and I went to see Lucia di Lammermoor.  OOOhhhhhhhhh Mmmmmyyyyyyy Gooddddnnneeessssss it was sooooooo good.  If you have read here for any length of time, you will know that I am a true blue lover of all the arts, but opera is my absolute favorite and a personal passion.  

The first act started out kind of slowly and I could actually see Baby Boy wilting in his seat beside me.  He got up and took a brisk walk in the crisp night air during the first intermission and came back somewhat refreshed.  Fortunately, the action really picked up in Act II and I was no longer in jeopardy of losing him.  We were both thoroughly engrossed by Act III. 

In Act III there was a scene where Lucia comes on stage in a blood soaked wedding dress after killing her moments-ago-married husband, hallucinates, and then commits suicide (it's a tragedy). The soprano who played Lucia had a voice so pure and clear and sweet, it just about brought tears to my eyes.  You could actually see her losing her grip on reality and going insane right before your eyes on stage.  She then proceeded to die the most beautiful, disturbing, and agonizingly slow death ever to be performed.  She actually sang blood curdling screams in time with the score.  She was simply marvelous!  Baby Boy and I enthusiastically participated in her standing ovation.

Last night was amazing and just happens to be in extremely stark contrast to what I'm doing today - - taking my Mom to have her colonoscopy.  *SIGH*  Such is the life of the first born child.   

Oh, well.  At least I'll have something lovely to hum to myself in the waiting room.  If I get too bored, I now know how to convincingly go crazy for an audience. ;-) You never know when that skill will come in handy.

Have a FAN-TAB-U-LOUS weekend!
 

Until next time . . .

When the Going Gets Tough . . . The Tough Get The Heck Out of Dodge! :)

Pardon our absence last week.

Both Baby Boy and I were feeling too stressed to post.  In fact, Mom #2 felt so bad for both of us that we resorted to an old Homeschooling trick . . . we set off for an impromptu vacation right in the middle of the semester. Road Trip!!!

Mom #2 dusted off the old Rand McNally and we started driving north until we ended up in the deserted hills of New Mexico.  We'd never been there before so we spent a lot of time enjoying nature walks with Baby Doggy trying to catch all the road runners and jack rabbits.   We also enjoyed looking at the beautiful night sky full of stars that are usually washed out by the light pollution in larger cities.  Wow!  We didn't know what we'd been missing.  

We did enjoy some touristy things as well, like the Carlsbad Caverns.   It was pretty amazing seeing a whole entire world 800 feet below the surface we look at every day.  We spent an entire day meandering up and down the caverns and really enjoying the cool 56 degree weather since the sun was scorching hot on the outside, LOL. 

Baby Boy thought he was King of the World.

Never to be outdone, I had to be Queen.

Mom #2 was content to keep her feet firmly on the ground. 

A nice stranger tried to take our photo in the caverns, but it was a little dark.  

The photo doesn't do it justice, but it was so incredible. 

Of course, when we got home there were mountains of laundry to do, a backlog of homework to clear out, and more junk mail to shred then ever before . . . but we did it all . . . with a song in our hearts.  The spur-of-the-moment-family-breakout made it all worth it.  We had a great time.

Now we're relaxed, refreshed, and ready to tackle the second half of the semester!

What do you do to de-stress?

Until next time . . .

¡Vuelo!

Baby Boy and I went to see the opera Flight! last night. 

It is a modern era opera (oxymoron?) and an even rarer phenomenon, an English language opera.  Which leads me to question why I titled this post in Spanish.  Well, I'm trying to really speak Spanish all day every day, so when I sat down at the computer, that was actually the first word that came to my mind - I'm getting there!

Anyway, the show was racy, raunchy, and riotous.  Baby Boy and I laughed so hard we almost cried at some scenes and blushed so hard we almost burst into flames at others.  If this show is coming to a performing arts center near you, leave the littles at home. Consider this your one and only warning.

Baby Boy and I chatted and giggled all the way home and then I went to bed humming the tunes of the countertenor (Simply amazing!) and chuckling to myself. 

I am so thrilled to have a son who understands and loves me enough to indulge my passion for the arts.  He's the best escort a girl could ever want. 


Have a FANTASTIC WEEKEND!

Until next time . . .

Italian, Anyone?

It's that time again, Boys and Girls . . . let's go to the opera!

First up in 2011 is L'italiana in Algeri, a true classic by Gioachino Antonio Rossini. 

Baby Boy and I are so excited!  Well, actually, I'm so excited, Baby Boy understands that culture and the arts are some of the sparkliest tools in a well-rounded young man's toolbox.  He likes it too, maybe not as much as I do, but I'm still trying to develop it.  

Besides an evening out with my favorite young man is something I've been looking forward to for weeks! 

Plus, he's such a fabulous escort.


Until next time . . .

*SIGH* Just Like Old Times

In my never-ending quest to find a way to pass Biology (Oh, that class!), my lab group and I went on an extra credit field trip to a local zoo, wildlife preserve, and animal sanctuary.  We spent the day classifying animals.  Baby Boy came along as my official tutor and tour guide.

We had so much fun! 

I mean, it was so reminiscent of our homeschool field trips!  I think Baby Boy and I may have irritated my lab group because we had so much fun together and almost forgot that we were supposed to be there in an academic capacity.  A lot of them are very young and I don't think they're used to young adults and their parents getting along so well.  Actually, for the first time in almost a year, we forgot about classroom  academics and went back to learning as fun and exciting and doesn't need to take place in the confines of four walls.  It was such a liberating day!

I usually hate to see animals in cages of any kind, but this particular zoo is actually made up of retired circus performers, confiscated exotic pets, and abandoned animals, so I know that this is a safe place for these animals to live out their golden years. 

  There were tigers.  They were very big and scary, until they started whining and crying like kitty cats when the zookeeper showed up with a bunch of pumpkins.  Apparently pumpkins are delicious to tigers.  

Baby Boy took this close-up of a lion.  I was too scared to get that close. 

 The tortoises were HUMONGOUS!

Lots of peacocks roamed free.  

 Some parrots even talked to us.  

  Oh, my new love affair is with this potbellied pig!  She wagged her tail at me and even posed like a model for several photos.  I wanted to give her a big kiss and bring her home.

 Look at the little chicken family.  Aren't they cute!

 Llamas!

 The goats are the only animals that they'd let us pet, so we petted them for about an hour, LOL. We LOVE animals. 

I'm not sure if this was a good trip or a bad trip for me.  I've been really going through homeschool withdrawal lately.  I'm seriously missing all the time Baby Boy and I spent learning, living, and growing together.  I do love the young man he's become, but, boy do I feel old and useless most days.  

Actually, now that I think about it, it was a very good trip.  An amazing trip!  I'm trying to focus on cherishing  all the time we have together instead of mourning the time we spend apart.  At least that's what I'm telling myself.  ;-)

Now I'm off to write that report.  Oy!

Until next time . . .

The Opera, The Waiting and Sisterly Love

Baby Boy, my Baby Niece and I went to see Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme last evening. I so totally heart the opera. Baby Boy has come around to being fairly tolerable of the opera and I always include Baby Niece, because she enjoys the arts a lot, like I do.

I have always enjoyed all stage performances: the opera, the ballet, plays, classical concerts . . . etc . . . you name it, but could never really afford it in real life. Luckily because I homeschool and am part of a fantastic homeschool group, we get to go to the final dress rehearsals, usually the night before opening night, for free. It's a great way to expose children, and art-starved adults, to the visual and performing arts.

That's the plus, but there is the minus. Usually the performances are picture perfect, just like opening night, but sometimes they remind you that it's not opening night. It's a dress rehearsal. Last night the conductor had some fine tuning to do with the orchestra, so we had to sit through that process for about 45 minutes between Acts III and IV.

Luckily, we have lots of experience entertaining ourselves in strange and unusual places. We took photos of ourselves with our cell phone cameras.

Look.

It's pretty funny how my sister's child is exactly like me and, let me assure you, my son is exactly like my sister. My sister and I weren't best friends growing up. In fact, we were mortal enemies and fought like cats and dogs over any and everything. This was further exasperated by the fact that we shared a bedroom until I was 15 years old. It was sheer heck! This ambivalence lasted well into my early twenties. Oh, and I know that I'm not easy to love, so I didn't help the situation. At. All.

Of course, the Fates thought it would be a hilarious joke to have me give birth to a little someone who acts, thinks, and talks exactly like my sister. Ha ha! Very funny! In turn, my sister, three years later - exactly how far apart she and I are - gave birth to a little diva who acts, thinks, and behaves exactly like me. It would be funny if it weren't such a pain.

BUT - - this is the kicker. That simple fact is what has brought my sister and I close together. Now she and I are BFFs. It is hard to not like each other when I have to call her and ask her what the heck is wrong with my kid and what was she thinking anyway all those years ago when she did this, that or the other. After I realized how much like her Baby Boy is, and of course my undying love for him, it overflowed into love for my sister as well. It's really great to just call her up and pick her brain when I'm not "getting" what he is all about. She has shown me that different does not mean wrong, stubborn, irreverent or unbalanced. Different just means different.

All together now . . . Different just means different.

Oh, and don't forget. Different is good. ;-)

So this post has morphed from a commentary on the opera to an impromptu assessment of my relationship with my little sister. That's just about right. I think I may be back to my old self after all, LOL.


Have a wonderful weekend, Everyone! I'll try to get an actual homeschool report up next week. There wasn't too much school work on the schedule this week. It's been a week of life lessons, to say the least. ;-)


Until next time . . .

Who Would've Thought . . .

. . . That an opera about the beheading of nuns would be so interesting, entertaining, and even inspiring.

Baby Boy and I starched our best jeans and went to see the Dialogues of the Carmelites.


I will admit that, when pressed, Baby Boy described it as "interesting;" no more, no less. So I won't say it's a show for all, but I really did enjoy it.

It was different from all of the other operas we've seen in that it was done in French, not Italian. Also, the nuns often performed prayers/chants in Latin. LOVED THAT!!! Of course, if you know me at all, you'll know that I love all things operatic. I adore absolutely everything opera, and as long as they continue to offer those educational discount tickets, I'll be front and center at each and every show. You know, until Baby Boy hits 18. (Boo! Hiss!)

Now . . . I just have to get them to organize something like this for the ballet. They only offer educational discount tickets to The Nutcracker, but I want to see them all!

As you know, too much is never enough! ;-) Oh, you just gotta love the arts!


Have a great week!


Until next time . . .

Not Back To School Celebration!

We aren't starting our full-fledged studies until mid September, but every year we join a bunch of other homeschoolers in the area for the annual Not Back To School Celebration. It's been going on as long as we've been homeschooling and I'm sure many years before. On the first day of public school, we all get together and talk and laugh and eat and the children swim and we celebrate our choice to take our children's educations into our own hands and set them free from institutionalized cookie cutter learning!

We had a great time!

First, the whole gang . . .

. . . Now let’s zoom in for what we really came for . . .

. . . An opportunity to show what all that Ultimate Frisbee and Taekwondo does for him.

Until next time . . .