House Quiz
1. What potion has the strange side effects of excessive singing and nose-tweaking? (Elixir to Induce) Euphoria
2. What ingredient can be used to counteract the effect of the above side effects? Peppermint
3. How much can you get for Acromantula venom? 100 galleons a pint
4. What is the most powerful love potion in the world? Amortentia
5. What antidote does Harry use to help Ron when he is poisoned by Madam Rosmerta's finest mead? A bezoar
6. How does Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' Owl Order Service get their potions past the security at Hogwarts to their customers? disguises them as perfumes and the like
7. What did Draco Malfoy make in Potions class when Professor Slughorn assigned them to make something amusing? Hiccuping Solution
8. What spells will not work in an area affected by Instant Darkness Powder? no light spells (such as Lumos and Incendio)
9. What are the ingredients for the Draught of Living Death? Wormwood, asphodel, velarian roots and a sopopherous bean
10. How much will unicorn tail hair fetch? 10 galleons a hair
Extra Credit
Answering the following questions are extra credit and will earn you an additional ticket in the drawing for the prize.
11. Do you prefer to knit or crochet? crochet, though knitting is quickly pulling even on preference!
12. What is your favorite weight yarn to knit/crochet with? worsted
13. What fiber contents do you most like to knit/crochet with? What fiber contents do you dislike knitting/crocheting with? I've not tried enough to really know, though I am getting tired of 100% acrylic...
14. How many complete pair of socks have you knit/crochet? 1 knit and 1 crochet
15. What is your favorite item to knit/crochet? Crochet: blankets Knit: dishcloths
16. What is your favorite treat? skittles or Reece's
17. Do you drink coffee, tea, or both? neither, but if I HAD to pick, (iced) tea
18. Do you have an online wish list? If so, where? yes, on amazon.com (you can find the list here)
19. How many Ravelry groups are you in? 19
20. Is there any special item you have been really wanting, but can't find in your local area? Hahahaha, a GOOD, LARGE craft store that is open late enough for me to get to shop!!!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Duel Club worries and woes...
::sigh:: I needed this weekend. I've had a pretty busy week! My duel hat went off to Elladora of Hufflepuff after a minor snag with the owl post. It went out on Tuesday, but I have yet to hear whether or not she's received it. The cause for the worry is that she sent hers to me on Thursday or Friday, and it's already all the way to New York!!! Ahhhhh!!! I reeeeeeeeeeally hope I win the duel! I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be upset to lose. I finished the hat in 2 hours and would have had it in the mail right after I was done, had it not been a Sunday night. I would have had it going out first thing Monday morning, had it been in my power. But no. If I do lose, though, I will be a good sport about it and laugh good-naturedly at my obituary and wish Elladora luck in the continuation of the duels. At least to the public eye. My roomies may have to comfort me in the privacy of our dorm, though, with butterbeer and chocolate frogs.
In the other aspects of my Hogwarts life, though, things are going well. I love all my classes and am throwing myself into my studies. I even read a Muggle-penned book called Twilight in order to add a Muggle perspective to my DADA essay on vampires. It was certainly an interesting read. A good book, overall, but I'm not yet entirely convinced that it lives up to all the hype in the Muggle world. Maybe I just have to read the other books in the series to get it.
Arriana has already gotten into trouble with Professor Snape. Rowena and I tried to help her out when she was targeted in class, but she refused our help and had to spiral into trouble on her own...Personally, I think Professor Snape is intimidated by her potions brilliance and doesn't want to lose his school renown of potions master. So what if she didn't have her full set of scales! If she'd have just taken the ones we tried to slip her under the table, she'd have been fine...But she wouldn't do it. Honest girl, I tell ya'. But aside from those slight moments of forgetfulness when it comes to supplies she needs to have on hand, she's a brilliant mind at potions! I think he should cut her some slack, but, like I said, I think she scares him.
I'm not sure whether or not Rowena or Arriana have had any problems with this, but I've got all kinds of bites all over my feet and ankles! I suspect that someone set some doxies or something loose in our room. I think it might be Elanor, in Slytherin...she asked where her cheerleading uniform was for the Quidditch match that took place earlier today and I asked her if that was what was tied to the topmost branch of the Whomping Willow. I think she mistook that for meaning I put it there (which I most certainly did not!) Maybe I can find Knitsy and see if she can help me get rid of the annoying things....
Speaking of Quidditch, the first match was today. We were brainstorming like mad in the Ravenclaw Common Room, and doing quite well. Unfortunately, Enid Black found it mere moments before we did. :( (See, Elanor? You didn't even need your uniform! Your team won anyway!) I felt somewhat like a dunce, though, trying to figure out the clues. I couldn't seem to focus and would never have come to the same conclusions that my house-mates did! Of course, it didn't help that about halfway through the match, a certain poltergeist dumped milk all over the table that had my homework on it. I was momentarily distracted by that incident.
But I think that I'm going to try and put all of this from my mind for now. All of my homework for the weekend is completed, and I'd like to finish some more hats for my personal branch of S.P.E.W. before working on the ones to send off to the "real" S.P.E.W. A relaxing weekend of hooking and needling does sound nice, doesn't it? Oh yeah, after taking care of the doxies...where on earth is that house elf?...
In the other aspects of my Hogwarts life, though, things are going well. I love all my classes and am throwing myself into my studies. I even read a Muggle-penned book called Twilight in order to add a Muggle perspective to my DADA essay on vampires. It was certainly an interesting read. A good book, overall, but I'm not yet entirely convinced that it lives up to all the hype in the Muggle world. Maybe I just have to read the other books in the series to get it.
Arriana has already gotten into trouble with Professor Snape. Rowena and I tried to help her out when she was targeted in class, but she refused our help and had to spiral into trouble on her own...Personally, I think Professor Snape is intimidated by her potions brilliance and doesn't want to lose his school renown of potions master. So what if she didn't have her full set of scales! If she'd have just taken the ones we tried to slip her under the table, she'd have been fine...But she wouldn't do it. Honest girl, I tell ya'. But aside from those slight moments of forgetfulness when it comes to supplies she needs to have on hand, she's a brilliant mind at potions! I think he should cut her some slack, but, like I said, I think she scares him.
I'm not sure whether or not Rowena or Arriana have had any problems with this, but I've got all kinds of bites all over my feet and ankles! I suspect that someone set some doxies or something loose in our room. I think it might be Elanor, in Slytherin...she asked where her cheerleading uniform was for the Quidditch match that took place earlier today and I asked her if that was what was tied to the topmost branch of the Whomping Willow. I think she mistook that for meaning I put it there (which I most certainly did not!) Maybe I can find Knitsy and see if she can help me get rid of the annoying things....
Speaking of Quidditch, the first match was today. We were brainstorming like mad in the Ravenclaw Common Room, and doing quite well. Unfortunately, Enid Black found it mere moments before we did. :( (See, Elanor? You didn't even need your uniform! Your team won anyway!) I felt somewhat like a dunce, though, trying to figure out the clues. I couldn't seem to focus and would never have come to the same conclusions that my house-mates did! Of course, it didn't help that about halfway through the match, a certain poltergeist dumped milk all over the table that had my homework on it. I was momentarily distracted by that incident.
But I think that I'm going to try and put all of this from my mind for now. All of my homework for the weekend is completed, and I'd like to finish some more hats for my personal branch of S.P.E.W. before working on the ones to send off to the "real" S.P.E.W. A relaxing weekend of hooking and needling does sound nice, doesn't it? Oh yeah, after taking care of the doxies...where on earth is that house elf?...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Furthering S.P.E.W....
Since that first night, I've not seen Haxal. I may have frightened her off with my, er, tenacity. In her place we seem to have gotten a permanent house elf resident! I haven't introduced myself to Knitsy yet, but I hear she's very helpful. Maybe I can get her to give me the inside scoop I need for the enslavement on the side of the captive...hmmm...
I'm not sure where to go looking for her, since the common room is completely empty, and it looks as though she's already done her work here. Maybe I should go wander the halls a bit and see what I come upon, be it Knitsy or some other house elf, to help out...
I'm not sure where to go looking for her, since the common room is completely empty, and it looks as though she's already done her work here. Maybe I should go wander the halls a bit and see what I come upon, be it Knitsy or some other house elf, to help out...
Quidditch Round One
1. At the beginning of the book, Cornelius Fudge is talking to the Muggle Prime Minister. Which member of the Order of the Phoenix has recently been found dead?
a. Hestia Jones
b. Elphais Doge
c. Emmeline Vance
d. Dedalus Diggle
2. What animal does Bellatrix Lestrange kill when she and her sister, Narcissa, are going to see Professor Snape?
a. Owl
b. Fox
c. Rabbit
d. Cat
3. What time does Professor Dumbledore collect Harry from Privet Drive?
a. Midnight
b. 11 p.m.
c. Noon
d. 11 a.m.
4. What did Professor Slughorn transform into when he was trying to hide from Harry and Professor Dumbledore?
a. An armchair
b. A bed
c. A table
d. A wardrobe
5. What grade did Harry get for Herbology?
a. E – Exceeds Expectation
b. P – Poor
c. O – Outstanding
d. A – Acceptable
6. Herbert Chorley, the Prime Minister’s Junior Minster, has been entertaining the public by impersonating which animal?
a. A hen
b. A duck
c. A lion
d. A squirrel
7. What is Professor Sprout’s first name?
a. Pimmy
b. Pomony
c. Pommy
d. Pomona
8. What is Dumbledore’s idea of ‘a few words’?
a. nitwit, odder, blubber rand tweak
b. nitwit, odder, bubblegum and tweak
c. nitwit, oddment, bubblegum and tweak
d. nitwit, oddment, blubber and tweak
9. Who is Marcus Belby’s famous uncle?
a. Bertie
b. Damocles
c. Tiberius
d. Savage
10. What is Snape’s mother’s name?
a. Helana Prince
b. Eileen Prince
c. Lily Prince
d. Elizabeth Prince
Narcissa Malfoy:
Severus Snape:
Pomona Sprout:
Albus Dumbledore:
a. Hestia Jones
b. Elphais Doge
c. Emmeline Vance
d. Dedalus Diggle
2. What animal does Bellatrix Lestrange kill when she and her sister, Narcissa, are going to see Professor Snape?
a. Owl
b. Fox
c. Rabbit
d. Cat
3. What time does Professor Dumbledore collect Harry from Privet Drive?
a. Midnight
b. 11 p.m.
c. Noon
d. 11 a.m.
4. What did Professor Slughorn transform into when he was trying to hide from Harry and Professor Dumbledore?
a. An armchair
b. A bed
c. A table
d. A wardrobe
5. What grade did Harry get for Herbology?
a. E – Exceeds Expectation
b. P – Poor
c. O – Outstanding
d. A – Acceptable
6. Herbert Chorley, the Prime Minister’s Junior Minster, has been entertaining the public by impersonating which animal?
a. A hen
b. A duck
c. A lion
d. A squirrel
7. What is Professor Sprout’s first name?
a. Pimmy
b. Pomony
c. Pommy
d. Pomona
8. What is Dumbledore’s idea of ‘a few words’?
a. nitwit, odder, blubber rand tweak
b. nitwit, odder, bubblegum and tweak
c. nitwit, oddment, bubblegum and tweak
d. nitwit, oddment, blubber and tweak
9. Who is Marcus Belby’s famous uncle?
a. Bertie
b. Damocles
c. Tiberius
d. Savage
10. What is Snape’s mother’s name?
a. Helana Prince
b. Eileen Prince
c. Lily Prince
d. Elizabeth Prince
Narcissa Malfoy:
Severus Snape:
Bellatrix Lestrange:
Pomona Sprout:
Albus Dumbledore:
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A couple of quizzes for fun...
| What Patronus Charm would you create? |
  Sea Otter You would create an Otter Patronus just like Hermione. Your personality must be intelligent, determined, thoughtful, and graceful. |
| How do you compare? Take this test! Tests from Testriffic |
| How Randomly Cute Is Your Personality? |
  Odd Cute Your just a bit odd, but its still cute. I would totally give you a hug.. but I don't trust strangers. |
| How do you compare? Take this test! Tests from Testriffic |
| are you obsessed with harry potter? |
  obsessed you my friend are super obsessed w/ harry potter. if you wanted to you probably write out the books word for word without looking. |
| How do you compare? Take this test! Tests from Testriffic |
| What Harry Potter school do you go to?? |
  Beauxbatons You are a snobby Beauxbaton.You live in France.No one actually knows where your school is located,but they do know that you are a very talented witches and wizards and will succeed in whatever you do. |
| How do you compare? Take this test! Tests from Testriffic |
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
S.P.E.W.
Yay for hats!!! My hat for the duel was quite a hit! :) I really enjoyed making it, too, so when Ophelia Crookshanks of Slytherin said she thought it'd look good in pink (incidentally her favorite color and my least favorite color, yet the color of yarn that seems to rule my stash...), I took up the mandate at once! :) That one got done just as fast as the green one for Elladora (who is actually in Hufflepuff, not Slytherin...she just likes greens...) and turned out looking great too, despite my dislike for the color.
Then the discussion of the hat bracket came up in the dueling club. A few of the crocheters were surprised to discover that the last round in the bracket is knit, even though I know that our coordinator specified that on more than one occasion. But their concern reminded me that I'm still pretty new to knitting. I've only just finished my first knit hat. So I've come to the decision that after I finish the hat for the present duel, I'm also going to do the knit one for the practice. Just in case I make it to the last bracket. I'd rather be prepared for it and not make it than to make it and then be in trouble with my less-than-stellar knitting abilities! I've decided that I'm going to send the hats to my own small part of S.P.E.W. October is breast cancer awareness month, so I think that all the excess hats I make I'm going to find people that have lost their hair due to chemotherapy to send them to. The first hat has cables, and that's something I've never tried before. I was a little nervous at first, but I watched a tutorial on knittinghelp.com, and WOW! I laughed at my apprehension. It's so easy. It's definitely slow going, due to both my lack of knitting experience and my two little resident poltergeists that aren't content unless they're causing trouble...but if I make it to the knitting of hats in the duels, I may have a fighting chance...so long as the poltergeists aren't anywhere around...lol
And on a happier note, I'm am very pleased to say that my owl stepped up to the plate and took off with his package for Miss Elladora...here's hoping my hat gets there before hers gets to me!!! ::crosses fingers::
Then the discussion of the hat bracket came up in the dueling club. A few of the crocheters were surprised to discover that the last round in the bracket is knit, even though I know that our coordinator specified that on more than one occasion. But their concern reminded me that I'm still pretty new to knitting. I've only just finished my first knit hat. So I've come to the decision that after I finish the hat for the present duel, I'm also going to do the knit one for the practice. Just in case I make it to the last bracket. I'd rather be prepared for it and not make it than to make it and then be in trouble with my less-than-stellar knitting abilities! I've decided that I'm going to send the hats to my own small part of S.P.E.W. October is breast cancer awareness month, so I think that all the excess hats I make I'm going to find people that have lost their hair due to chemotherapy to send them to. The first hat has cables, and that's something I've never tried before. I was a little nervous at first, but I watched a tutorial on knittinghelp.com, and WOW! I laughed at my apprehension. It's so easy. It's definitely slow going, due to both my lack of knitting experience and my two little resident poltergeists that aren't content unless they're causing trouble...but if I make it to the knitting of hats in the duels, I may have a fighting chance...so long as the poltergeists aren't anywhere around...lol
And on a happier note, I'm am very pleased to say that my owl stepped up to the plate and took off with his package for Miss Elladora...here's hoping my hat gets there before hers gets to me!!! ::crosses fingers::
Monday, September 22, 2008
Picture Day!
What a weekend at Hogwarts! Unfortunately, I overslept this morning due to overexerting myself with lessons and checking in on Professor Whitmarsh. ::sigh:: Er, I mean, uh, he's okay now. When Wisteria came hobbling into the common room the other day with a broken foot, all of us Ravenclaws were concerned and dropped what we were doing to help her out. It wasn't until I was helping her to Madame Pomfrey for something to ease the pain that Emma Wigworthy inquired as to how active she was getting with our newest addition to the staff that I even thought to check in on him. He seemed a bit fazed and a little incoherent, but better after he took a short nap. I asked him what happened and...well...I just can't repeat it. It wouldn't be right. (Have I mentioned at all that I embarrass and blush very easily?) So unless you're satisfied with knowing that a form of ::ahem:: acrobatics, non-verbal spells and wands were used, you'd better either ask Miss Wisteria or the prof yourself!!! ::blushing at the remembrance of the information divulged::
What with the excitement of the weekend and the first duel, I missed this year's picture taking! So I'm going to hand over a picture from about a year or two ago...I hope it'll suffice!
In other (much more depressing) news...the first duel in the dueling club was yesterday. That's not the depressing part. I was teamed up with a very capable first year from Hufflepuff (also, not the depressing part) and got the hat done in 2 hours! (Nope, still not it.) I set it up to go out with the owl post as soon as it was available, since all the owls were currently out, and when I woke up (here it comes) my package was still where I left it sitting!!! I'd left it somewhere it was bound to be seen, and I can't figure out why it didn't go out! It stinks for me, because all the owls are presently sleeping, and I have no way to get up the owlery anyway today. Too busy with classes and schoolwork and S.P.E.W.! I hope I don't die as a result of a particular owl's incompetence!!! But here's what it looks like:
Elladora saw it and loves it! :) Yay! But now that I have a couple of minutes (unfortunately not enough time to run to the owlery and make it to my next class on time), I'm going to sit here and mope about the possibility of dying in my duel!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sock it to me...Again!
Wow! I'm so proud of me! I've finished my first pair of socks!
I really and truly was intending to go to sleep at a decent time last night...but I ended up going to the party in the Great Hall and stayed later than I should have and chatted it up with Arriana about the benefits of joining the duel club and then I was waiting to see if Rowena was going to need someone to chat with in the wee hours of the morning...but then, we all know those are just excuses. The real problem came about when I started in the toe. Once I did that, it was doomed for me to stay up until 2 am finishing the socks...I wanted to make sure I ended on a row that I could remember the number of stitches I needed to make before the decrease, and then, I was so close, why not just finish it? But I'd miscounted, and then I was so close I may as well finish...and so it went all night. Good thing Rowena didn't need to chat! It was all I could do to keep going to finish the socks without talking to someone! I probably would've gotten done sooner if not for my chatting in the Great Hall and having a butterbeer constantly in my hand...
I originally picked out that yarn for a pair of socks for myself, but only bought one small skein from that dye lot, so I ended up making them for my resident poltergeist...I swear he's Peeves incarnate! In fact, I have the photos of his handiwork (in my craft room, no less!) to prove it...I just have to find them...I bet he got a hold of them...I wonder where they went...Hmmm...
Wow! Look at the time! I have to go! It's time for my S.P.E.W. awareness contributions! I get to help clean some of the kitchens (though that took the headmistress stepping in to convince the elves to let me pitch in!), one of the lesser used dorms, and, lastly, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom! I'm armed with muggle cleaning supplies and ready to go!
I really and truly was intending to go to sleep at a decent time last night...but I ended up going to the party in the Great Hall and stayed later than I should have and chatted it up with Arriana about the benefits of joining the duel club and then I was waiting to see if Rowena was going to need someone to chat with in the wee hours of the morning...but then, we all know those are just excuses. The real problem came about when I started in the toe. Once I did that, it was doomed for me to stay up until 2 am finishing the socks...I wanted to make sure I ended on a row that I could remember the number of stitches I needed to make before the decrease, and then, I was so close, why not just finish it? But I'd miscounted, and then I was so close I may as well finish...and so it went all night. Good thing Rowena didn't need to chat! It was all I could do to keep going to finish the socks without talking to someone! I probably would've gotten done sooner if not for my chatting in the Great Hall and having a butterbeer constantly in my hand...
I originally picked out that yarn for a pair of socks for myself, but only bought one small skein from that dye lot, so I ended up making them for my resident poltergeist...I swear he's Peeves incarnate! In fact, I have the photos of his handiwork (in my craft room, no less!) to prove it...I just have to find them...I bet he got a hold of them...I wonder where they went...Hmmm...
Wow! Look at the time! I have to go! It's time for my S.P.E.W. awareness contributions! I get to help clean some of the kitchens (though that took the headmistress stepping in to convince the elves to let me pitch in!), one of the lesser used dorms, and, lastly, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom! I'm armed with muggle cleaning supplies and ready to go!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sock it to me...
Wow! I can't believe it! I'm over halfway done with my first pair of socks! I finished the first one yesterday between Transfiguration and Herbology (as Tranfiguration homework!), and I doubt there are many people in the world that got as excited as I did to be halfway done with something! LOL I'd completed my first-ever sock, but was only halfway done with the pair. Once that realization set in, though, I quickly whipped the needles back out to finish it! I bet I'll be doubly excited once I'm done with the second one! I'm actually quite proud of how the first one turned out...
It's a little bit big on him, but I'm okay with that, surprisingly...Probably due to the fact that I now have an excuse to make a second pair (that's shorter in the foot) and because he will grow into them and they'll fit him in time. :) His poor other foot, though! It looks so sad to not have a sock on it!
I started the second sock last night after lessons and before I started my Ancient Runes homework, which is a shocker in and of itself, though it does show how much I want to get these done! At first, I made myself scoot off to bed after I was 4 (of the 20) rows into the heel, but I took my knitting with me to have nearby, and it turned out to be a good thing! Poor Rowena is a fitful sleeper, so when she woke up and needed company with a conscious person, I was able to whip out the rest of the heel before we both hit the hay! :) Now that I'm up for the day and have some time before Potions, I think I'm going to keep at it...
It's a little bit big on him, but I'm okay with that, surprisingly...Probably due to the fact that I now have an excuse to make a second pair (that's shorter in the foot) and because he will grow into them and they'll fit him in time. :) His poor other foot, though! It looks so sad to not have a sock on it!
I started the second sock last night after lessons and before I started my Ancient Runes homework, which is a shocker in and of itself, though it does show how much I want to get these done! At first, I made myself scoot off to bed after I was 4 (of the 20) rows into the heel, but I took my knitting with me to have nearby, and it turned out to be a good thing! Poor Rowena is a fitful sleeper, so when she woke up and needed company with a conscious person, I was able to whip out the rest of the heel before we both hit the hay! :) Now that I'm up for the day and have some time before Potions, I think I'm going to keep at it...
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Getting to know Hermione Bagnold...
Potter Name: Hermione Bagnold
Rav ID: smileynetta
I am allergic to: oh boy.......smoke, animal dander (most especially cats), dust, mold, mildew, pollen, 100% wool (I seem to be okay w/wool blends, though), and Dr. Pepper!
Pets that I have: 2-year-old and 3-year-old boys....lol (Hey, they could qualify as pets! LOL)
My favorite yarn: Honestly, I have delved very little into the different yarns, so I have yet to find a favorite. But I would love to try something new apart from Red Heart!
If you are a Ravenclaw, do you prefer the film colors or the book colors? Originally, I was all for the movie colors, but have since embraced my inner-Ravenclaw and actually like the book colors, so long as a good bronze can be found and is paired with a navy blue...
My favorite flavor: it tends to change, but right now either pumpkin or orange
My favorite holiday (Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas): Christmas
I would like to receive a (Sock kit, scarf kit or yarn dyeing kit): sock or scarf, please! :)
List your favorite brand of needles or hooks, including size and length: Once again, I've experimented little in this area and would be thrilled to try something new...I recently bought a set of bamboo circs and would love to try more bamboo...
Is there a brand that you are dying to try?: Hahaha, I'm ahead of the game here! Check my last answer...
I've participated in HSKS (How many times have you participated in HSKS swaps?): This is my first time! :)
Do you have a birthday during this swap? If so which day?: Incidentally, I do. October 17th. :)
Rav ID: smileynetta
I am allergic to: oh boy.......smoke, animal dander (most especially cats), dust, mold, mildew, pollen, 100% wool (I seem to be okay w/wool blends, though), and Dr. Pepper!
Pets that I have: 2-year-old and 3-year-old boys....lol (Hey, they could qualify as pets! LOL)
My favorite yarn: Honestly, I have delved very little into the different yarns, so I have yet to find a favorite. But I would love to try something new apart from Red Heart!
If you are a Ravenclaw, do you prefer the film colors or the book colors? Originally, I was all for the movie colors, but have since embraced my inner-Ravenclaw and actually like the book colors, so long as a good bronze can be found and is paired with a navy blue...
My favorite flavor: it tends to change, but right now either pumpkin or orange
My favorite holiday (Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas): Christmas
I would like to receive a (Sock kit, scarf kit or yarn dyeing kit): sock or scarf, please! :)
List your favorite brand of needles or hooks, including size and length: Once again, I've experimented little in this area and would be thrilled to try something new...I recently bought a set of bamboo circs and would love to try more bamboo...
Is there a brand that you are dying to try?: Hahaha, I'm ahead of the game here! Check my last answer...
I've participated in HSKS (How many times have you participated in HSKS swaps?): This is my first time! :)
Do you have a birthday during this swap? If so which day?: Incidentally, I do. October 17th. :)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
House elves and owl deliveries
The term has just started, but I was still already up all night with my nose in a book...I've heard that Potions can be a killer subject. But there I was, falling asleep on my book, when I saw what turned out to be our very own house elf! At first I was indignant that we had our own elf, but Haxal seemed quite content to be so subservient. I guess being one in a long line of house elves would brainwash anyone. Not to mention that she's been at it a few years. Maybe I could get an inside view of the house elves' oppression to make for a stronger argument for S.P.E.W. Hmmm...we'll have to see.
In other news, I was nearly overwhelmed by owls today! I feel like I've been spoiled already! I was bombarded with not one, not even two, but THREE packages! :D Granted, two of them are because of things (mainly yarn) that I ordered online, but I still love it when they come in! The third package was my prize for completing the most projects in the Ravelympics in Team Hogwarts. :)
In other news, I was nearly overwhelmed by owls today! I feel like I've been spoiled already! I was bombarded with not one, not even two, but THREE packages! :D Granted, two of them are because of things (mainly yarn) that I ordered online, but I still love it when they come in! The third package was my prize for completing the most projects in the Ravelympics in Team Hogwarts. :)
They're my first *ever* stitch markers! I *love* them! :D Nearly all of my muggle friends think I'm off my rocker for getting so excited over this stuff...LOL THANK YOU for my package! :D
Now I think that since the homework assigned from my first day is done, I'll set about learning how to enchant some needles so I can make so hats for S.P.E.W.! :)
Friday, September 12, 2008
My Potter Husband
Your result for The Harry Potter Husband Test...
Mrs. Bill Weasley
Your perfect HP man is Bill Weasley.
You like guys who are cool. And not cool in that fake, dicky way, but actually cool. He's so cool that they couldn't find any actor to adequately portray him, so they decided to just leave him out of the movies rather than risk not doing justice to his coolness. He's like the Chuck Norris of Harry Potter: plain freaking awesome. When Voldemort says "You-Know-Who", he's talking about Bill Weasley.
(Fanarty by The Starhorse http://the-starhorse.deviantart.com/ Used with permission.)
Monday, September 8, 2008
Embracing my inner-Ravenclaw
My first exposure to the world of Harry Potter was my brother telling me how scary it was to read a book (which in itself was shocking) where he could have sworn I was one of the main characters...Being raised in a home where so many things were taboo, it was no surprise that I had the idea of Harry Potter being evil contstantly thrown in my face. At that age, I ignorantly chose to accept everything I was told as fact and to not think for myself. I would see people tote the books through the halls of my school and I would secretly have "pity" on them (which, in other words means, look down on them while denying I was looking down on them) for being "led astray" into an "evil world of magic." I even made a speech in my speech class about the evils of Harry Potter, and as you can imagine, there was some hot debate: the class and the teacher against myself and one other student (that saw things the same way I did). It was...interesting, to say the least.
Slowly, I became more and more desensitized to the colorful books I saw students carrying to class along with their actual schoolbooks. I stopped averting my eyes or changing the channel when previews for the newest Harry Potter movie came on. My then sister-in-law joined the ranks of HP fan-dom. Two of my best friends were near to obsessed with it and wouldn't stop talking about Oliver Wood and how hot they thought that actor was. One day, when I was over at one of those friend's house, she even convinced me to watch the 60-second portion of the movie where Oliver explains Quidditch to young, first-year Harry so that I could see how cute this guy was (which I honestly didn't see, but that was normal...if they thought a guy was I hot, I didn't, and vice versa. However, if we did agree a guy was hot, he was off-the-charts hot!) and swoon over his accent (which I didn't). Over the course of the next year, I would slowly notice Harry Potter being everywhere as evil and just accept it as a fact. Then, in the summer of '03, the summer after my first year of college and living with the best friend that got me to watch Oliver, I took the first step in the direction of HP immersion. I couldn't find a job (it was a college town that was short on those, especially during the summer) and one day took advantage of the fact that one of my roommates owned the first two movies. When I was home by myself (and couldn't be caught reneging on all my preaching), I sat down and watched the movies. I couldn't see what was so "evil" about it, unless you count Voldemort. And he's bad guy, so duh, he's supposed to be evil!
As a result of not being able to find a job, I had to move back into my parents' house, back in the city I grew up in, to work my behind off and pay off the debt I had accrued in the one short semester I was away from home. (The first semester I lived at home and went to a local college, for those of you that are wondering...) During that time, I expressed my interest to my then SIL (sis-in-law) in reading the first two books. I'm one of those people that can't watch a movie without reading the book it was based on. Getting the books to me was kind of tricky, since my parents were still on the "evil" kick, but she managed it, and I hid them in my room and devoured them in the late hours of the night, much like Harry doing his wizard homework at the Dursleys. I finished the first two books in two sittings. One book per sitting. And yes, I was exhausted the next day at work, but I think it was worth it. :) My SIL was shocked at how fast I burned through them and got me the next books as soon as she could (though it wasn't fast enough for my taste!). I could easily see how my brother thought I was Hermione, and I totally agreed. I basically took her as my alter-ego with the first time I watched the first movie. Luckily, when I started reading the books, I ended the 4th one right around the time the 5th one was being released, so I only had to wait painstakingly for the release of the final two books. And as I was on my own by that time, I didn't have to sneak the books around. :)
Because of taking Hermione on as my alter-ego, I think that I just accepted the fact that I would have been in Gryffindor. In fact, every time I took an online sorting quiz, I'd say 8 of 10 times I was put into Gryfifndor, and the other 2 into Ravenclaw. That clinched it for me. The thing is, though, I think most of those quizzes are too easy to predict what the answers chosen will give you the end result to. That, and the fact that I have changed over the past few years (getting married, becoming a mom twice, being away from husband for a year and then reunited and moving to a foreign country will do that to a person...), has led me to understand that it's not a bad thing that I'm not a Gryffindor. I think that the house of scarlet and gold is so favored just because that's the house the main character of the books are in. That doesn't mean everyone would/should be in it. My best friend definitely would be. But me, I'm a Ravenclaw. Even though Hermione is my Hogwarts twin, I would have been sorted into Ravenclaw, no doubt. And oddly enough, for the longest time I was dead set on the movie colors for Ravenclaw, but since having since accepted that for HSKS6, I really am in the right house, the bronze really does look just as beautiful to me with the blue as the grey does.
I think my journey in going from outright disdain of the Harry Potter world to reveling in it through learning to think for myself and make my own decisions was actually very much like the journey Hermione took through the series. She, too, also started out very "by the rules" and against stepping a toe out of line, as was dictated by others. She gradually comes to terms with the fact that those in authority are not always right and to think for herself. Granted, hers was on a much grander scale, as much more was at stake...people's lives, stopping the return of Voldemort, and so on, but there's still so many things I have in common with her. There are times when I think that my brother was right in that the character was created for me...
Slowly, I became more and more desensitized to the colorful books I saw students carrying to class along with their actual schoolbooks. I stopped averting my eyes or changing the channel when previews for the newest Harry Potter movie came on. My then sister-in-law joined the ranks of HP fan-dom. Two of my best friends were near to obsessed with it and wouldn't stop talking about Oliver Wood and how hot they thought that actor was. One day, when I was over at one of those friend's house, she even convinced me to watch the 60-second portion of the movie where Oliver explains Quidditch to young, first-year Harry so that I could see how cute this guy was (which I honestly didn't see, but that was normal...if they thought a guy was I hot, I didn't, and vice versa. However, if we did agree a guy was hot, he was off-the-charts hot!) and swoon over his accent (which I didn't). Over the course of the next year, I would slowly notice Harry Potter being everywhere as evil and just accept it as a fact. Then, in the summer of '03, the summer after my first year of college and living with the best friend that got me to watch Oliver, I took the first step in the direction of HP immersion. I couldn't find a job (it was a college town that was short on those, especially during the summer) and one day took advantage of the fact that one of my roommates owned the first two movies. When I was home by myself (and couldn't be caught reneging on all my preaching), I sat down and watched the movies. I couldn't see what was so "evil" about it, unless you count Voldemort. And he's bad guy, so duh, he's supposed to be evil!
As a result of not being able to find a job, I had to move back into my parents' house, back in the city I grew up in, to work my behind off and pay off the debt I had accrued in the one short semester I was away from home. (The first semester I lived at home and went to a local college, for those of you that are wondering...) During that time, I expressed my interest to my then SIL (sis-in-law) in reading the first two books. I'm one of those people that can't watch a movie without reading the book it was based on. Getting the books to me was kind of tricky, since my parents were still on the "evil" kick, but she managed it, and I hid them in my room and devoured them in the late hours of the night, much like Harry doing his wizard homework at the Dursleys. I finished the first two books in two sittings. One book per sitting. And yes, I was exhausted the next day at work, but I think it was worth it. :) My SIL was shocked at how fast I burned through them and got me the next books as soon as she could (though it wasn't fast enough for my taste!). I could easily see how my brother thought I was Hermione, and I totally agreed. I basically took her as my alter-ego with the first time I watched the first movie. Luckily, when I started reading the books, I ended the 4th one right around the time the 5th one was being released, so I only had to wait painstakingly for the release of the final two books. And as I was on my own by that time, I didn't have to sneak the books around. :)
Because of taking Hermione on as my alter-ego, I think that I just accepted the fact that I would have been in Gryffindor. In fact, every time I took an online sorting quiz, I'd say 8 of 10 times I was put into Gryfifndor, and the other 2 into Ravenclaw. That clinched it for me. The thing is, though, I think most of those quizzes are too easy to predict what the answers chosen will give you the end result to. That, and the fact that I have changed over the past few years (getting married, becoming a mom twice, being away from husband for a year and then reunited and moving to a foreign country will do that to a person...), has led me to understand that it's not a bad thing that I'm not a Gryffindor. I think that the house of scarlet and gold is so favored just because that's the house the main character of the books are in. That doesn't mean everyone would/should be in it. My best friend definitely would be. But me, I'm a Ravenclaw. Even though Hermione is my Hogwarts twin, I would have been sorted into Ravenclaw, no doubt. And oddly enough, for the longest time I was dead set on the movie colors for Ravenclaw, but since having since accepted that for HSKS6, I really am in the right house, the bronze really does look just as beautiful to me with the blue as the grey does.
I think my journey in going from outright disdain of the Harry Potter world to reveling in it through learning to think for myself and make my own decisions was actually very much like the journey Hermione took through the series. She, too, also started out very "by the rules" and against stepping a toe out of line, as was dictated by others. She gradually comes to terms with the fact that those in authority are not always right and to think for herself. Granted, hers was on a much grander scale, as much more was at stake...people's lives, stopping the return of Voldemort, and so on, but there's still so many things I have in common with her. There are times when I think that my brother was right in that the character was created for me...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Happy end to a happy week...
I got the best deliveries by owl these past few days...I got my packages of yarn, I got my package of circ bamboo needles, sign ups for HSKS6 opened up this morning at 7am my time, and my day's not even over yet when I get the news I got sorted into Ravenclaw!!! Woo-hoo!!! *happy, happy* *dance, dance* I should really come up with a Ravenclaw dance....there's the Slytherin Slither, the Huffle Shuffle....the Ravenclaw Rake? Hmm...this will take some consideration....
Thursday, September 4, 2008
HSKS6!!!
It's almost time for the sock kit swap!!!!! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! Unfortunately, being over here in Italy, I have to be up and online at 7 am on Saturday to really try and get into Ravenclaw. I'm really hoping for that...keeping my fingers and toes crossed and everything. :)
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