Dante Alighieri, how you vex me

I feel stupid.  So, so stupid. 

I'm know I read The Divine Comedy in college.  I think I read it... I'm sure it was assigned at any point, and I passed the class it was assigned in.  So imagine my vexation when I downloaded a copy of Inferno and felt like I was reading a completely foreign language.  It was then that I realized that I was indeed reading a foreign language as I had downloaded a copy in Italian.  This realization only made me feel marginally better, after I downloaded a new copy translated by the much esteemed Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  He wrote in English, correct?  I recall him as being a much-loved poet in my childhood, reading whatever poems deemed worth of "The Treasury of the Familiar."  I'm sure he wrote in English, I'm not exactly sure I speak and write in English though.  I think my brain has been damaged by so many readings of The Disney Princess Collection's "My Perfect Wedding". 

Alas, my kind Longfellow, who was so gracious as to translate Inferno from the original to English has lost me.  I am determined to not be thwarted by my lack of comprehensive ability.  I decide then to download the audio book and see if I can make sense out of it if someone reads it to me--not that I'm a terribly adept auditory learner, but I am determined to understand.  I started the recording, listen to the first 3 cantos and wake up when my husband kisses me goodnight.  Sigh.

I briefly consider trying to find a copy of Inferno that is translated into modern English, but this feels too much like defeat.  Did I mention I am determined to read this?  I am.  While my determination is strong, I can't help but be filled with regrets.  Regrets of letting myself lose my interests long enough that I can no longer just pick up and understand.  Its a lot like the piano that has come into my life recently.  The amount of practicing just to play something vaguely pleasant has taken me by surprise.  Can you practice comprehension like you can  music?  Do I have to start at Ode to Joy before I descend into the Inferno?

We'll see.  I'll let you know when I finish my first volume of the Divine Comedy.

Weird stuff my kids have said and done today.

On discussing where her ancestors hail from, I mentioned that her grandma's family came from Denmark as recently as the early 1900's.  This means Grandma is a Viking.

"Why doesn't more music have bagpipes?  All music would be better with bagpipes."

All coats of arms should have a flower, or a unicorn.

The Boy claims that fruit makes him mean, so he can't eat it.

"Mom, why do you keep playing that song over and over again?"
"Because I'm practicing."
"Shouldn't you get better when you practice?"

What we are reading

I'm not reading Pride and Prejudice to the children, in case you were wondering.  I am reading it for myself.  Did I tell you this wonderful discovery I've made which makes me wish I had all this technology available to me when the girls were little?  I can download classics for free on my iPhone to the iBooks application.  Plus, I can download classic audio readings to the audiobooks application.  So, when I have a chance to snatch a few minutes to myself to read I do, but in those events where I don't have time to snatch a few minutes to read because my hands are full or too busy, I can listen to the book.  Or if I'm simply too lazy at the end of the day to force my eyes to read and my brain to process, I can lay in my bed, and listen.  Ahh...bliss!  Where was this when I had babies with reflux who needed to be held in the middle of the night?

After some consideration we started The Magician's Nephew instead of the more popular The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  I thought about this, but when faced with the decision, I started "Nephew" because I hope to read all of the books in order to the kids at a reasonably brisk pace.  If I had to choose only one, with the hopes that the kids would pick up the series themselves at a later time (which I considered), I would have picked The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  So far we are all enjoying it.  And I guess the benefit of 2 girls losing their electronics privileges is that they can now spend their evening tv time listening to me read. 

The Strawberry Girl is a lovely book that we are almost done with.  I haven't told Becks that there is a sequel as she often becomes quiet heartbroken when we finish a book.  You should have witnessed the distress at the end of The Boxcar Children (which we later found out there are bunches and bunches of those).  Of course the high joy of finding out there is nearly a whole shelf of BC at the library was completely adorable. 

And the Night Sky... Its our Science text.  Written before the reclassification of Pluto, we'll learn the 9 planets and then throw a quick asterix in the mix.  Otherwise a great book that makes our Science lessons something to look forward to.

So that in a nutshell is what we are reading. 

Three things and I can't count

First,  I love xkcd.  It make me laugh or at least titter nervously.  Sometimes, it makes me think, or further research an idea.  So I was directed to Wikipedia's List of Common Misconceptions today which I wasted plenty of time, post haste, in reading.  Some information I righteously felt smug about not disseminating and some things, I felt my embarrassment grow for passing the misconception to my children.  Which brings me to the idea that, oh my gosh, I'm my kids' only teacher--if I get one thing wrong will they grow up and understand that it was a minor mistake and that I got a lot of things, right?  I really had very little respect for my 4th grade teacher who apparently went to Idiots University (I learned as a 4th grader not to dis the terminally ill even if everything they teach you is completely false, it doesn't matter if they are wrong, and its easily disproven, they have [whisper]cancer[/whisper] therefore you must believe every single word).

Third (second was the bit about me destroying my kids faith in what I teach them), I'm tired of the cold.  No one said the three things had to be related.

Beyond third, well, crud, I can't remember what my other comment on my life was.  My gosh, I'm boring.