Hermione's Adventures

HSKS13 goodies

2011-12-16T09:12:00.001+01:00

I can't believe HSKS13 is already coming to a close! I received my package from my Yule partner, Ivy Green, a little while back, but have only just now gotten to posting pictures of the AMAZING kit she sent!

I was so excited when my doorbell rang and standing there was someone from Deutsche Post with a box for me to sign for!

First thing I saw upon opening the box (It's an entire booklet of info on Germany, two patterns, & a detailed description of everything in the kit!

Preparing to open...

WOW!

A beautiful blue necklace

A lovely KnitPro shawl pin (that matches my needles!)

GORGEOUS blue yarn!

Yummy chocolate treats!

Jelly she made herself!

MORE homemade spread...this one is PUMPKIN!

Beautiful ceramic doe

Harry Potter Opal sock yarn (in the Dumbledore colorway)!

AWE! SOME!

The whole kit in all it's glory!

There were so many things packed into that box, I'm sure she used an Undetectable Extension Charm! There were also some cute ornaments (that are now on my tree), more chocolate, walnuts, cute little wooden hearts, animals & snowflakes, loose leaf tea and what looks to be a small notions container! It is a spectacular kit, and one that is put together so well, I would never have known she was a first time swapper! Thank you, Ivy! I can only hope you like what I'm sending to you a fraction of how much I love what you sent me!

HSKS13!

2011-10-18T08:27:00.002+02:00

It's finally time for a new round of HSKS, and I am so excited! This year I am an exchange student to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and we are hosting the Triwizard Tournament!!! And I've already got my date for the Yule Ball...Ivy Green! A first year! :D I'm so excited!!! I hope that I can make this an enjoyable and memorable experience for her! Already it's time for a new round of WINGO...

WAHOO!!!!

2011-02-14T12:21:00.001+01:00

Okay, so it was a little late in coming (due to the post office losing the package the first time around, and then Muggle matters cropping up like weeds, left and right...and then the post office messing up again!), but I finally got an owl from Siobhan with my HSKS11 goodies!!!!!!!!! It was well worth the wait, in my opinion!!! What was inside you ask? Well, I'll tell you!

First off were these lovely magnets (that I love and are already on my refrigerator!), a set of blue stitch markers from Bumblebirch, and a new hook with a sparkly handle!:

Then there was some lovely Cascade yarn (which I have never owned before!), complete with accessories to make a bag (which she included the pattern for in the cutest folder!):

And inside that folder was also a tutorial for making t-shirts with the freezer paper that she has posted as a tutorial on her blog, and she also sent everything I would need to make some, and there's a shirt each for myself, Mr. Bagnold, and each of the poltergeists!:

Also in the folder were 2 hat patterns and a fingerless glove pattern (all crochet, of course!), but I'm not sure which I want to use this gorgeous, wonderful, amazing...MALABRIGO for!!! That's right! That spectacular blue yarn right there, is MINE! ALL MINE!!! LOL (Also another first in fiber for me, right alongside the Cascade!)

It is an amazing craft-themed kit, Siobhan! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!! I don't think any owl could carry a note with as many thank yous as I want to convey! HOORAY!!!!

Soooooooo tired...

2010-11-18T05:32:00.000+01:00

Icky...it's 5 am...I've been up all night, working like a House Elf...there are people coming today to take our refrigerator, stove, microwave, power transformers and wardrobes! I've been busy all night long, cleaning and moving things about. Actually, I started in the morning...but it's hard to get much done when you've got a poltergeist that won't leave your side. But now I'm finally working on the stove. Last thing. Biggest task. So tired. And they could be here in as soon as 2 and a half hours!!! Ugh...I guess I'd better get back to it...I'll be glad when we're on the road to Germany!!!

Week 9: Pop Quiz

2010-11-08T21:08:00.001+01:00

Let's see if I can do this without any outside assistance and merely rely on the knowledge already in my head to answer these! :D

To which prison was Gellert Grindelwald sent after he was defeated by Dumbledore in 1945? Nuremburg
Who is the first casualty in The Deathly Hallows? Hedwig
What does Draco Malfoy name his son? Scorpius
Before Harry gains control of it, who is the master of the Elder Wand? Draco Malfoy
Severus Snape’s Patronus takes the same form as which other character’s? Lily Potter's
Where do Ron, Hermione and Harry apparate when Death Eaters invade Bill and Fleur’s wedding? Tottenham Court Road
Who does Harry send to search for Mundungus Fletcher and the missing locket? Kreacher
Who destroys Salazar Slytherin’s locket? Ron
What does Hermione use to destroy Helga Hufflepuff’s cup? A Basilisk fang (from the Chamber of Secrets)
Following the death of Lord Voldemort, who is named temporary Minister of Magic? Kingsley Shacklebolt

Now let's see if I got them all right...::rummages in the beaded bag for the appropriate books to cross-reference::

Oops...it's Nurmengard...I was close, and in my defense, I have friends in Germany that keep mentioning Nuremburg! ROFL
Boo...It's Charity Burbage...I always forget that Deathly Hallows begins at the Malfoy Manor...::sigh::

The rest are correct! Woo-hoo! :D

Week 8 activity - Anagrams!

2010-11-01T07:19:00.000+01:00

SPARSE VENUES = Severus Snape
GO UNLOAD LOVE = Luna Lovegood
A MOTH SEDAN = Thomas Dean
FLUSH CIGAR = Argus Filch
SLICK AIRBUS = Siruis Black
DUMB ANALOG = Ludo Bagman
A DRY MOO-CALF = Draco Malfoy
UNSNAP THE SKI = Stan Shunpike
PIT-A-PAT RIVAL = Pavarti Patil
AN OLD JEER = Lee Jordan

Wow! This anagram was more challenging than the other ones. I can make easier sense of randomly jumbled letters than I can deconstructing actual words to make names...LOL But I got done, nonetheless, even with having to take the time to get a kid ready for school and take him to the bus stop. Whew! :)

Muggle Technology

2010-10-28T19:53:00.000+02:00

Eesh. And yet another example of silly Muggle technology giving me issues. Last night I lost my Internet connection and earlier that day (after the world's worst morning) I ran out of minutes on my phone. Mr. Bagnold is working 12-hour shifts, so I don't get to go get minutes on my phone myself and have to wait for him to remember for him to do it on his own. So when my Internet went down (despite all of not only my efforts, but those of Mr. Bagnold!), I felt very isolated and disconnected! I was offline for over 12 hours, but blessedly I did get my connection back. So now I'm blogging before it happens again! (That's what I get for procrastinating, huh?!) It seems to fluctuate with the temperature (which is highly annoying!), and as it gets very cold at night and remains fairly cold or chilly during the day. Blah.

Anyway, because of the lack of vehicular access, the elusive item for Emma's kit sadly remains so. :( We're still waiting on our orders, which is driving me bonkers, and I've been sick lately. (Wow, what a negative post...LOL) I can't wait to be in Germany!!!

C-C-C-C-C-C-COLD!!!!

2010-10-18T17:11:00.000+02:00

Brrrrr! I woke up this morning and had a very hard time making myself get out of bed! When the house you live in doesn't have carpeted floors and the front door doesn't have proper seals on it, it gets quite cold indoors! Even now I'm shivering, though it is not truly that cold. I've just not really been properly warm all day. And on top of that, I think the elder poltergeist brought home some more sicky germs.

I haven't seen an activity posted yet for this week, but seeing as how my week is jam-packed with appointments, I wanted to get my blogging done early on! So much paperwork to get done just to get the one that says "Yes! They are clear to move! Here's the date you are leaving!" Ugh. And they had better be snappy about getting us that single paper after our appointments are done, or else it could mean the poltergeists and I are not only left behind by Mr. Bagnold while he reports for duty at our new base, but also that the three of us would have to go all the way back to the U.S. until it has been pushed through, just to turn around and head back to Germany! Ick! I truly hope it doesn't come to that.

I've been plugging away on Emma's kit, and am very pleased with the progress I've made, for the most part. There was one thing I made that the younger poltergeist got a hold of and broke, and once I re-made it, Mr. Bagnold teased me about it not being perfect...which is very not nice, because now I have to make it a third time! There's no way I can send something second-rate! Item number 2 I've been working on has been a little tricky, color-wise, but I think I've nearly got it now. And the "elusive ____________" still remains so at this point. I'm hoping to find what I need some time this week when we're out and about tending appointments...we will see!!!

Trying again!

2010-10-11T10:23:00.000+02:00

Let's see if I can't stay ahead on this blogging thing! (Well, for now...obviously it'll get a bit more difficult once the move is in full swing...) We're still waiting to hear on when we're supposed to leave Italy, so I actually possibly could make it to the UK for the premiere of Deathly Hallows! (This move has really crummy timing...it disrupts the elder poltergeist's school year, it's debatable if I'll get to see Deathly Hallows in a timely manner, I'll most likely miss the postponed craft fair, I am missing a base theater musical production of "Fiddler on the Roof" in which I know 2 of the cast members...) At any rate, today is an American holiday (thank you, Christopher Columbus, for discovering America!), so while the poltergeist doesn't have school and Mr. Bagnold doesn't have work, the entire Italian economy is open to my continued hunt of the things that will help me get over this bit of Emma's kit that's got me stumped! :D I know exactly where to go looking, too...I just hope they're open! (I'm not sure why they wouldn't be, but I've never really gotten a firm grasp on when and why Italian shops close...) I guess I'd better get to it before they shut down for lunch and riposo!

Another week over...

2010-10-09T22:44:00.000+02:00

I cannot believe how this past week has just flown by!!! (Hmm, maybe it's because I spent so much time sleeping...lol) I was so good last week about blogging, and this week, I'm back to the last minute (almost)! Definitely no time for the homework this week (which actually pains me to skip)...things have been busy with the older one going to school. I'm not fond of how it breaks up my day to have to drop him off and pick him up at the bus stop. (And yes, I do have to...if I'm not there, they won't let him off the bus, and if I leave him to get on by himself in the morning, I could get in serious trouble with MoM officials...one of the things about living in your non-native country...) I can be in the middle of knitting or beading or cleaning, and the second that my alarm goes off, I have to drop it all to go wait for him at the bus stop. I'm definitely looking forward to next year, though, when I won't feel guilty for laying down after seeing them off in the morning. I feel horrible for laying down when my younger one is so wide awake, but can barely even function.

Tonight Mr. Bagnold is off gallivanting with a friend (well, okay, not really gallivanting...they're playing the Muggle video game Borderlands...and have been at it all day...he likely won't be home until tomorrow!), which is fine with me, but it makes me really miss having Poppy and Meladia so nearby! I keep telling myself "Soon.....soon.....soon...." and we'll only be a couple hours away from Poppy, but we still don't have that blasted paper that tells us exactly when "soon" is...it's a bit maddening, really...okay, now I'm off to post on the family blog about Emma's kit!

More Beads

2010-09-30T19:19:00.000+02:00

Woo-hoo! I finished all the earrings for the bridal party! (And then found out that one of them doesn't have pierced ears...ROFL) I also went on to make the bride's necklace, and bracelets that match for the bride and the entire bridal party! :D (What can I say? I get carried away....)

Beads, beads, beads, beads, beads...I'm not sure what it is about it, but I've been more excited about beading than yarn crafts! Craziness!!! Anyway, I must scurry off to work on Emma's kit some more!

Word Association Game!

2010-09-28T20:47:00.000+02:00

Pumpkin PIE!!!!!!!!! (Mmmmmmmmmmmmm............)
Owl treats
Leaf Ericson (I know, I know....not the same spelling...LOL)
Weasley twins
Quaffle waffle
Hallow cheeks
Mad Eye
Dragon eggs
Crystal ...actually, the first thing that came to mind with this was "The Dark Crystal"...LOL
Trees Elves
Hermione Bagnold
Hogwarts Hogwarts, Hoggy, Warty Hogwarts....
Burrow den
Dobby murdered house elf :(
Horcrux ring
Ministry of Magic
Magic powers
Sirius Black
Apple juice
Juice orange
Candle scented
Ghost spooooooky (You have to make that ghostly "oooOOOOooo" in your head when you read that...LOL)
Snake sneaky
Wand expelliarmus!
Invisibility cloak
Tent backyard camping
Spell....ing Bee
Umbridge Um from Umbridge (Alice in Wonderland reference...lol)
Dursely "You great prune!"
Prophet newspaper

Jump Start!

2010-09-27T20:40:00.000+02:00

Whew! I don't want to leave this week's blogging until the last minute, like I have been prone to do lately, and watching our schedules fill up as fast as they have...it's better to do this now while I have a spare moment!!!

Emma's kit is coming along beautifully, and thanks to some inter-family brainstorming (Thanks, Perenelle!!!), I think my kit will meet the well-rounded expectations I had from the start! Now if only I could find the time to do it all....LOL

My bestest-best friend in the whole wide world is getting married!!!!!!!!!! ::SQUEEEEEEEEEEE:: She got engaged about a week ago, and since then, my brain has been swimming with wedding thoughts. I reallyreallyreally wish I was closer to her, geographically, so that I could truly perform my Maid (Matron?) of Honor duties! Instead, I'm watching from afar (very far!), and coordinating and gifting what I can through the Muggle Internet. It has come in quite handy! I did tell her she had to have something handmade from me for her big day, and that she could choose what it is (she's not really a shawl person, lol, though I may end up making her one of Emma's designs; To Have and To Hold). She decided she wanted me to make her some earrings and maybe a matching necklace. And here's what I came up with for her earrings! (This picture was deliberately taken with direct afternoon/evening sunlight, to show that the darker beads are not black, as they can appear, but rather red...):

I haven't started on the necklace yet, as I need to go get more beads, but I have started matching (though simpler) earrings for the bridesmaids! (Hence why I ran out of beads...LOL)

I've got 1 and a half pairs of those done, and once I get what I need (hopefully tomorrow!), I'll be able to finish the other 1 and a half bridesmaids earrings and my earrings (which will pretty much be the same as the other bridesmaid's, but with an extra strand of the smaller beads on each earring, just to make it a teensy bit different). Once those are done (and I'm absolutely out of rubber backs for hook earrings! YIKES!), I'll be able to move on to her necklace. I'm also thinking of simple pendants for the bridesmaids and maybe bracelets, too...if the craft store has enough of what I need! LOL Here's to hoping! Now I need to go work on some of my household spells, as they seem to be sticking less and less often (I must need more practice!), now that the poltergeists are in bed!

What a Week!

2010-09-25T16:41:00.000+02:00

Wow! I don't think I can even put in the thought and effort into the blogging prompt this week. It seems that this "bad week bug" has been hitting all of the families this swap! As for me, the poltergeists have been up to their usual antics, regardless of the fact that I now only have one during the day time! Mr. Bagnold was rear-ended last night on his drive home. (Just another reason to not rely on Muggle technology...) The other night I had absolutely no access to the Muggle Internet for hours (which caused a little panic on my end!), and we've been passing the cold around our house. :( I'm finally feeling better, as it seems the younger poltergeist is. The older poltergeist still has a bit of a cough, and Mr. Bagnold appears to be just now coming down with the symptoms.

In order to protect the Ministry, we have to keep up appearances of following all these Muggle laws and regulations, so the other day, I got to go to the Muggle dentist for a teeth cleaning and a consultation on another matter. Everything is starting up to prepare to move to Germany! I'm very excited to be going, but I am really not a fan of the paperwork and everything that leads up to the actual move. LOL I'm going to have to put an undetectable expanding charm on my yarn tote so that I can keep enough crafty stuff on hand to keep me occupied while we're living in the temporary lodging on base, through our drive up to our new station, and until we have all our things shipped to us!

I've been very busy with working on Emma Wigworthy's kit, too! The creative juices took a little bit of time to get going, but now that they are starting, I'm getting some more substantial ideas. :) In fact, I should go over to the family blog and share over there....

First assignment of the term!!!

2010-09-15T08:40:00.002+02:00

Someone with the same craft as you. Siobhan Mooney (RavID: CelticMommy) crochets :D
Someone who was born in the same month as you.Winifred Hornswaggle (RavID: angel101580) is also an October baby
Someone from a different country.Saraid Swiftrunner (RavID: Swiftrunner) is Canadian :)
A new HSKS Family member.Caradoc Brocklehurst (RavID: Cayden) is a 1st year (Welcome to HSKS, Caradoc!!!)
Someone who has been in 3 or more HSKS swaps. Emma Wigworthy (RavID: AnnKingstone...used to be spinningmaid...) has been around HSKS longer than I have (and I've participated in 6 rounds prior to this one)!
Someone who has a bigger stash than you! it would appear that Fleur Sweeting (RavID: misslucy) has the largest stash in the swap!
Someone who both knits and crochets. a certain Miss Clara Clovenhoof (RavID: ajkane) does both
Someone who has the same favorite color as you.Perenelle Tejedora (RavID: sylvo) shares the favorite color of blue with me! :D
Someone who has the same favorite season/holiday as you.Cassandra Grubbly-Plank (RavID: kristo) and I both love Christmas time! :D
Someone who has the same favorite fiber as you. Acromantula (RavID: daisymum) is a fellow alpaca lover :D :D :D

Maybe I'm just weird, but I love these beginning-of-the-term questionnaires and information tidbits! (Maybe because it helps in stalking?...Or maybe just because I'm just that nosy and social!) Anyway, here are my answers to these questions, so that others can "use" me. ;D

I knit, crochet, play with beads, cross-stitch...pretty much any crafty thing I can get my hands on!
My birthday is October 17th!
I am American, so don't let my posts about living in Italy (and soon, Germany!) fool you! ;)
Nope, I'm not new!
This is the 7th HSKS for me! I love it here!!!
I have a whole 75 yarns listed in my stash on Ravelry
I've been crocheting for roughly 14 years and knitting for about 2 and a half
BLUUUUUUUUUUUE!!!!!! I love blue!!!! (though those purples and greens aren't bad, either...) ;)
My favorite holiday season is CHRISTMAS! I love everything about it! (Well, everything POSITIVE about it, anyhow...LOL)
My favorite fiber of all time has got to be alpaca. I lurve alpaca and alpaca blends...like right now, I'm playing with some Knit Pick's Andean Silk...YUM!!!!!!!! I also am really a fan of 100% cottons. :)

Getting Ready...

2010-09-07T21:09:00.000+02:00

It's almost time for another round of HSKS!!! HOORAY!!! I'm so excited! The portkey appeared today, and I'm all signed up and ready to go! It looks like we've got some old faces back that we've not seen around for a while (studying abroad, maybe?) as well as some fun new people! :D Sadly, though, we won't be returning to Hogwarts. I do miss Ravenclaw Tower! But it's okay, because being a part of a family and doing some Horcrux hunting sounds like fun, too! :D

The older poltergeist started school today, and we're preparing for the Ministry of Magic to transfer Mr. Bagnold to Germany, so not only will I be Horcrux hunting, but we'll be magically moving the Bagnold Manor, as well! So much going on! Here's to another successful round of Potter swapping! :D ::raises butterbeer::

Wai--WHAT?!

2010-08-15T13:52:00.000+02:00

How have I completely missed blogging for two weeks this go around?!?!?!?! How is that even possible?! I'm Miss Overachiever! Miss Get-It-Done-On-Time! Blargh! I have no idea where last week went...I remember that Mr. Bagnold started back to his office job at the Ministry this past week, after his 6+ month work out in the desert...and I recall doing school shopping for the older poltergeist online because what I needed wasn't all available at the base here...and then...BOOM! It's Sunday, and I've missed blogging! Insanity! But at least I have finished Lizzie's kit. (And that's not gone out on time, either! Getting used to not relying on magical ways of traveling in conjunction with only having one Muggle car is really a change...) It will be sent off with Persephone on Monday. I can't wait for her to get it! :D (Whew! At least I managed to get a few lines in for the last week of summer camp...)

Ack!

2010-08-01T10:55:00.000+02:00

I can't believe I forgot to blog this past week!...Well, okay, maybe I can...Tuesday I ran off for a couple of hours to myself, Wednesday, I took the older poltergeist out for some one-on-one time, Thursday was the younger poltergeists' turn, Friday was a family day where all four of us went and spent the day out together, and yesterday I took both poltergeists out so that Mr. Bagnold could get some quiet time to himself. (I ended up out with both poltergeists for close to 8 hours! LOL) So between that and busily working away at Lizzie's kit, I suppose it shouldn't be any surprise that this past week got away from me. As a matter of fact, I went by the craft store yesterday to check and see if they had the wire I needed (I want to try knitting and crocheting with wire for jewelry!), they told me they were closed. I knew they were supposed to be closed on the 31st, but had completely not realized that the last day of July was yesterday! (Happy August, everyone!) Ahh, things are really picking up speed here...I'd better be prepared after I leave camp for the whirlwind of events that are on the horizon...::wanders off making mental checklists::

WINGO!

2010-07-20T21:10:00.001+02:00

Unfortunately, I don't think I have the time to participate in WINGO this year. I have too much going on and too little time! I will, however, list the things I qualify for the other people using my name to cover. :)

N1 - I have been on quite a few trains, since I'm living in Europe for the time being! I've taken a train to the following places: Venice, Florence, Siena, and Haworth! (And I forsee quite a few more train rides in my future!)

G1 - I reeeeeeeeeeeally love Knit Picks and Cascade. I don't think I can pick between the two!

O1 - If you use the term "speak" loosely enough, I can piece together some French from the 2 and a half years I took in school...but I'm far from fluent!

G2 - I have one brother (older) and 2 sisters (both younger) :)

O2 - My queue is monstrous....are you ready for this? 621!!!

W3 - My patronus is an otter. :)

I3 - Years ago I used to collect cats...nowadays I still collect Tiggers, though I'm not nearly as passionate about it as I used to be.

G3 - I've been to Edinburgh Castle (in Scotland), Hohensalzburg Castle (in Austria), and Castel Brando (in Italy)

O3 - I make stitch markers, but haven't made any for sale yet...working on that, though!

I4 - I am an American citizen. :)

N4 - I love black licorice, and also really enjoy the black currant licorice treats that Lizzie introduced me to while in Edinburgh!

G4 - The only Quidditch I've played is online ;)

O4 - You better believe I own every Harry Potter DVD!!!

W5 - I've been around this swap since HSKS6 (and don't see myself as ever leaving!)

I5 - I've been camping on multiple day trips while in school; in 6th grade, I went to the Sand Dunes and in 8th grade, I went somewhere (I don't know exactly where) in the Rocky Mountains, both in Colorado. :)

N5 - I have played the flute since 7th grade (though I can count on one hand the number of times I've touched it since I graduated high school, sadly...)

G5 - I'm an October baby :)

O5 - I brought my owl, Persephone, along with me to camp

Hope I was able to help at least a couple of people! :) Now it's back to my preparations for Mr. Bagnold to come home!

Hellooooooooo, Summer Camp!!!

2010-07-12T17:54:00.000+02:00

I am so very, very excited to come back to camp! My only lament is its short 6 weeks duration. LOL I really love this group of people and am so happy to have them in my life. :) This time around I get to spoil Miss Lizzie Wychwood!!!! I have wanted to spoil her (and Emma Wigworthy!) for quite some time now, and I am beyond ecstatic that it's finally happening! :D When I found out who I was sending to, I could hardly sit still for excitement, and had to immediately reach for a pen and paper to jot down the ideas that were spilling out of my brain! I've already made some purchases, and with one simple interaction with her (via electronic owl), I already have the kit in its entirety planned out! Now if only the things I have ordered would get here quickly...

Siobhan's Interrogation ;)

2010-07-11T01:56:00.024+02:00

For the sake and sanity of my summer camp spoiler, Siobhan, I figured I'd go ahead and fill out this little questionnaire she wrote up! :)

Knit or crochet or both? Both! :) I've been crocheting for 14 years and knitting for about 3 years

Brands you would like to try but don't have easy access to: Thankfully, with the Internet, I can get most things, it's just a matter of time and finding a seller that will ship to an APO address...I love Boye hooks (ick on Susan Bates! lol) and my Knit Picks Harmonies...I'd like some hooks that help my speed, though, for dueling purposes ;) and as to yarn, I've heard the tales of both Cascade and Malabrigo, but have yet to try either

Favorite fibers/least favorite fibers I love the Knit Picks combos of 75% Pima Cotton/25% acrylic and 60% Pima Cotton/40% Modal (hmmm, must be the Pima cotton...), but love the warmth of wools (there is one kind of highland wool that I react to, but I can't recall what kind...note that it's only a highland kind, though...not sure what the difference is!) But really, my biggest part of preference is that it be machine washable. As to least favorite fiber, I'd love to not use 100% acrylic ever again (except in the case of kid items)! LOL

Favorite colors/least favorite colors I love blue! Blue, blue, blue, blue! I also like greens and purples. (Makes sense, right? I mean, they do have blue in them!) I used to abhor reds and browns, but I like them pretty well, now. About the only color I dislike is pink. Pink = ew. lol

Yarn weight preferences Most things I make fall into the sport-worsted weight category. Knitting socks is okay, but I'm really not all that into it, lol I prefer to make hats and scarves. :)

Favorite projects LOL It seems I should read ahead...LOL I make hats and scarves the most, I think...a lot of accessory stuff. (Probably in part because they're quick and easy to make, and when I make things simply for the sake of crafting, I know my BFF will take any accessories! LOL)

Favorite gadgets Ummm....like crafting gadgets?...stitchmarkers and row counters. Gadgets in general? My iPod. (I'm pretty much a music fiend.)

Favorite designers I tend to really like both Rheatheylia and Priscilla Hewitt's crochet designs, and I simply adore all of Ann Kingstone's designs, though I'm not sure if I'm quite ambitious enough to try them all! (I'm actually quite backlogged on that goal...)

Salty or Sweet or...? Both, but usually sweet over salty.

Tea or Coffee or...? TEA! Coffee = EW! lol

Allergies animal dander (cats are the worst for me, but I also react to dogs, rabbits, ferrets, horses...pretty much any 4-legged animal with hair! LOL), seasonal stuff, hay, dust, mold, and Dr. Pepper

Other things you like, i.e., buttons, pens, fabric, stitchmarkers, etc. I love pens and journals (I love to write!), but rarely get the chance to use them...I've got more than I can use! I also like bags. Not like purses, but the messenger bag style. Also, stitchmarkers and earrings. :)

Currently Craving beer battered mushrooms from Gunther Toody's...though those wouldn't ship well. LOL My favorite candy is black licorice flavors (Lizzie introduced me to the combination of black licorice and currant! YUM!!!!!!!!), though I do love chocolate candy bars, as well (most especially snickers and butterfinger)

Where you might have wish lists (Loopy Ewe, Amazon, Etsy) My wish lists are linked in my side bar :)

Measurements (feet for socks, wrists, head circumference) Hmmm...I'll have to get back to you on that, once I've found my tape measure...

Whatever else you'd like to share! I spend a lot of time on the computer and on the Internet...that, crafting, reading and music are what I like most, hobby-wise. :) I've got 2 little poltergeists, one that's starting school this fall, and they tend to be...rough...with things. But they already love books, too! :D

Owl alert!

2010-07-07T21:24:00.000+02:00

Oh yay!!!! I had a special delivery owl show up today. I was informed by Siobhan and Wisty that I get to be the camp counselor for the Black Lake Bungalow for summer camp this year! I am so very excited! I already have ideas running around through my mind about how to decorate the cabin (and naturally, we'll need cabin colors and the like...) and kit ideas and trying to schedule in a few visits to Azurina down at the lake! :D This is going to be great fun!!!

Charming Hermione

2010-06-21T21:26:00.000+02:00

Lately, I've been holed up in the manor with the poltergeists. Normally, that sort of thing is dictated by weather or health (we generally stay indoors if it's raining, as there's really no place on base for the boys to play indoors, and if any of the three of us are feeling under the weather, I just don't even try. lol) But today I managed to venture forth and get some things done, one of which included stopping by the owlery...and I'm so glad that I did! I got the handmade portion of my kit! And I love, love, love it!!!!!!!!!!!! It seems as though Rowan tossed in a pair of spectrespecs for me, very appropriate for a character that needed help with the open mind aspect. :) (I can't say I'm not unlike Miss Granger in that aspect...)

How do you think they look on me? :D

And the other part of the handmade item? It's the best thing EVAR!!!! I looooooooooooooooooooove it!!!!! In all the years of getting jewelry, I've never before had a charm bracelet. (And I've been heavily hinting to my husband that I've wanted one for some time...) Rowan is clearly accomplished in Occlumency! I put it on right away and was sad that I couldn't get a decent picture while wearing it, because that meant I had to take it back of. I may not be too adept at Divination, but I don't see myself removing it much, if at all. :)

The charms (from left to right) are: a spider (for Aragog...I don't generally like spiders, but I love htat it's on the bracelet!), a crown (for Ron, as "Weasley is our King"), a cat (for Crookshanks, of course!), an owl (for Hedwig, and by proxy, Harry), an eagle (for Ravenclaw!) and a Pegasus (for Care of Magical Creatures, since a Hippogryph for Buckbeak evaded her searches). I am so in love with this bracelet!!! THANK YOU, Rowan!!!!

YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-15T15:58:00.001+02:00

It's here! It's here! It's here!!!!! I finally made it to the owlery today (which is where Persephone has to fly into and out of, since we're stationed overseas and all), and wouldn't you know it, there was an owl waiting for me!!! (Well, 3, actually...the other two were from my mom and Knit Picks...but only one really matters...) ;)

Rowan, I love my kit!!! And I'm excited that there's more to come! :D

The first thing I saw when I opened this box was this gorgeous Ravenclaw hued tin!

I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, but I have no doubt in my mind that I will find a use for it, and it will be well-loved in whatever capacity it's cast into. :D

Inside the tin were a lot of fun Ravenclaw-y and Hermione-ish things!

There was a pattern that matches the Hermione Hat I made myself for my trip to England last year, complete with pretty grey wool and a pair of needles that I had been coveting the style of way back when I went to Loops in Tulsa with Pren! (How on earth did she know?!)

There are some cute little pins (very Ron/Hermione-centric!):

There were also a couple of cute ceramic owls that will also be serving an as-of-yet undetermined purpose:

There was also a cute little frog (who I think shall be named "Ron"...or maybe "Won-Won"...I'm not sure yet...LOL):

And here's everything all together!!!

Thank you so much, Rowan Dragonsinger! I love it! And I'm excited to see what comes in Part II... :D

Owl Delays

2010-06-14T20:35:00.000+02:00

I had every intention of sending out my package to Siobhan today for S.P.E.W. (and in the process send off a couple of other packages that are needing to go out!), but somehow I never made it out the front door. Today had nothing to do with poltergeist-hidden keys, either. I stayed up late tagging the hats I'm sending to a cancer treatment facility, with fiber content and washing instructions, so I got a late start to the day, and it just went all downhill from there. On top of that, I kept myself plenty busy with other yarn-related activities, not to mention playing with play-doh with the poltergeists. It's definitely been one of the more laid back kind of days. Tomorrow is a new day, though, with nothing gone amiss, and here's to hoping I can get it started off on the right foot and be productive! Goodness knows the state of my house attests that I need to be...

Faulty wand....

2010-06-11T18:24:00.000+02:00

I just can't figure it out....Alohomora has always worked before...and yet, today, after the poltergeists got a hold of my keys, no amount of spell-casting has made any difference! Ack! I'm beginning to think that this is more involved in the Dark Arts than just a couple of poltergeists, because Accio isn't working, either...Things have been stressful around the Bagnold manor as of late, anyhow. Mr Bagnold will be returning "soon." (For those of you not adept in Ancient Runes, "soon" translates into too soon to do anything majorly productive like lose a desired amount of weight or re-organize the house, but too far away to do me any use of comfort today...)

This term is nearly over, which always bums me out. I love seeing everyone's kits and hearing their brags, but it means we'll soon all be boarding the Hogwarts Express and leaving these hallowed halls once more. On the plus side, I've already been contacted by the Camp Director over at HSKS Summer Camp to be heavily involved in camp activities! I am quite excited about the prospect of going back to the summer camp and seeing Azurina, the hippocampus friend I made last summer. :) Life is constantly and simultaneously filled with ups and downs, it seems.

You know, I think I may have a little bit of good old Felix Felicis stashed away somewhere...maybe if I drink a drop or two, I may find those dratted keys...::wanders off in search of her potions::

So....tired....

2010-06-04T17:42:00.002+02:00

Oh my. You would think that after having been a responsible student for all of my public schooling career, that I would have continued that habit...but nooooooooooooo. Soon after graduating high school, I became a procrastinator. It never fails! Even with Clara's kit I was so super excited, and had so many ideas, and got started on them so early on, I feared I would need to restrain myself to not try to send before the early send dates! I should have known better...I had everything but one final part finished weeks before the early send period. So why didn't I continue on with that last thing? Because doing so would have meant I had to clean my house (or at least part of it!) to do so....and housework...well, let's just say that I don't usually share the enthusiasm of those poor, enslaved House Elves that think they actually enjoy housework! But I slowly got what I needed to done...and I intended to finish that last bit on Wednesday night, giving me Thursday and Friday to wrap it all up and ship it out. I had to wait until the poltergeists were in bed to begin, and once I went to start....I realized I didn't have everything I needed!!! So it was delayed until the next night, after I could get my hands on the things I needed. (Thankfully, they were available!) So last night, it began...and went on, and on, and on......and on, and on, and on, and on....

By the time I finally finished the last bit of said unnamed item (which is, I think, the coolset part of Clara's kit!!!), and wrapped it all up and labeled it all and packed up the box and filled out the customs form and addressed everything.....IT WAS NINE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about an all-nighter!!!!!!!!! Thankfully, I was able to lay down and rest for a few hours, anyway. It was enough for me to be able to drive on, and that was what mattered. ;) So I made it to the owlery, in fears that with my luck, it would be closed for some random, silly reason I hadn't known about. But thankfully, it was open! So Persephone (who only just recently returned from delivering prizes to some of the House of Ravenclaw!) was able to get everything settled for customs and be on her way!

So I made the early send date after all, even if only barely! Hmmm, maybe I didn't procrastinate quite as badly as I had feared....at least that wasn't scraping by to make the final send date!!!!

Clara, I hope you enjoy your kit as much as I enjoyed making it for you!

Arithmancy

2010-05-28T16:41:00.001+02:00

Wowzer! Second time this term I'm pushing it...and a week with assigned homework, even! What is this world coming to?! LOL When I first pulled up the homework, I instantly realized how long it had been since I'd done any sudoku...I was a bit rusty! But I think I got it all correct...It's a little difficult to focus on it when the poltergiests are demanding my attention. But I'd better hurry up and post this! I need to go pront off more tags for my S.P.E.W. items while my laptop is actually fired up!

Code Word: Dobby

Code Word: Harry Potter

Code Word: Hog's Head

Busy-ness!!!

2010-05-20T13:42:00.000+02:00

Wow, things have been picking up here at the Bagnold household! Planning a couple more trips before Mr. Bagnold returns, and I still have an entire house that is ridiculously in need of some magic clean-up! It's too bad we don't have any House Elves. (I know, I know, how dare I say that, right? Well, I promise I would be working right alongside them! LOL I just need some help doing a lot of de-cluttering and deep cleaning!) But since the term ends before his homecoming, I should have plenty of time to get it all done (I hope!). As it's actually not raining today here in Italy (for the present 10 seconds, anyhow), I'm about to take the poltergeists out and about for a bit. So here is my Ravenclaw homework:

PART 1

Find one person for each of these questions. No repeats!

Who is new to HSKS this Term? Genevra Dreamy

Who has played Quidditch for their House this Term? Celestina Pettigrew

Who is working on the same project (WIP) as you? Fleur Sweeting (Ahhhh, that Percy shawl....)

Who has more items in their Queue than you? Actually...nobody does! I have the largest queue this term! LOL But Megaera Black is closest to me, with her 400+ queue (I have over 600!)

Who has donated to SPEW this Term? Clara Clovenhoof

Who has participated in Dueling Club this Term? Ambyr Phoenixfyre

Who lives within 100 miles of you? Meladia Starseeker

Who is from a different country than you? Lizzie Wychwood

PART 2

Comment on at least one blog from each of the other houses. List their names here and something you learned about them from their blog post.

Hufflepuff, Selena Starfire: I learned that her wingspan falls between that of an owl and a goose!

Gryffindor, Madam Ferula McGonagall: She has been insanely busy between finishing up the school year (she's a teacher), preparing for her brother's wedding, and being a mom-to-be!!! (And she has a living and breathing Dark Arts detector!)

Slytherin, Quietus Snape: Wow! Quietus went up to Washington D.C. to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert, and made a weekend of it! (I love TSO, and have seen them perform 3 times, myself!!!)

Close Shave!

2010-05-15T22:14:00.000+02:00

Whew! I think this is the closest I've been to the blogging deadline so far this term! Wowzer! I've been super busy with the poltergeists (who have been acting up from being cooped up in the house the past couple of weeks), and trying to deal with Mr. Bagnold taking over a higher position where he is deployed (so I rarely hear from him) and friends moving away right and left. But at least I've been able to keep crafting! Unfortunately, I lost the final round of the crochet duel to Rowan Dragonsinger, but ended up with a beautiful preemie blanket to donate.

I've also gotten around to finishing a set of 100% organic cotton washcloths for a friend that is expecting in November. (I am so excited about that!!!) I'm really loving all the new cotton colors Knit Picks has come out with!

And lastly, I'd noticed that Siobahn came up with a new baby/preemie hat pattern! I love trying out her new patterns! (As the copious amounts of Rib-Wrapped hats I've made can attest to...LOL) This one is called "Love in 15," and it's definitely unlike any other baby hats if made in the technique used. :) I think they turned out pretty decently... ;)

Now I'm off to work some more on my HoH and Quidditch ref duties (before I forget)!

Potions

2010-05-06T19:51:00.001+02:00

Part 1:

Orginality Marker:

Go around your house, outdoors, for a hike, or wherever and take pictures of 5 different plants, herbs, or flowers that might be used in potions.

Shamrocks: Shamrocks are an integral part of potions that are used for dispossession and can be used in the very tricky, little known potion which prevents one from being put under the Imperius curse (but it only works if you take it at the exact moment you're being taken control of); shamrocks are also a close brother to the four-leaf clover, which is one of the most important ingredients of Felix Felicis.

Lovestone: More commonly known as "ivy," is a part of the love potion Amortentia. It must be dried and sliced into stips before putting into the cauldron.

Moss: This ingredient is used in medicinal potions commonly found in wizarding medical facilities, such as Madam Pmfrey's burn-healing paste.

Allium Schoenoprasum: When the tubular leaves of this plant are cut up, they can be added to potions used in Hogwarts greenhouses in keeping away pests, both magical and non-magical alike.

Parsley: Parsley is a critical ingredient in Fred and George Weasley's bruise-healing paste.

Part 2:

Answer the following potions questions:

1. Sneezewort, scurvy grass, and lovage are used to make what?

B: Confusing Draught

2. Porcupine quills are to be added when to a Boil Cure Potion?

D: After it is removed from the fire

3. What potion, if brewed correctly, should change color numerous times throughout brewing including deep purple, lilac, and finishing clear?

A: The Draught of Living Death

4. This ingredient in the Draught of Peace, would likely bring you permanent peace since it is poisonous, what is it?

D: Hellebore

5. Chopped daisy roots, skinned shrivel-fig, sliced caterpillar, one rat spleen, dash of leech juice are all ingredients to what?

C: Shrinking Solution

Part 3:

Take a picture of and list the ingredients and/or instructions to make one of your favorite potions that you have created.

Pictured above: cooking oil, water, cake mix, eggs, frosting; the cake mix came with it's own potions recipe on the back and I simply followed that to make....

Cupcakes!!! They were in lieu of a birthday cake this year for the poltergeist that just turned 5. :)

Firenze (Part 2)

2010-04-29T11:33:00.001+02:00

Whew! I just finished posting about my Tuscan get-away on Facebook, so I figured it was high time to finish sharing my pictures here...so that I can move on to blogging about Verona!!!

After the Duomo, we went to lunch and then a gelaterie close to the Duomo before splitting off into our own directions. I set off in search of Santa Croce, and found this piazza on the way:

Piazza della Signoria:

It was a very beautiful area, and had I known there was an amazing museum right there, I'd have likely lost time in there! There were even amazing works of art out in the open piazza; scupltures and a fountain (but as they contain nakkidittity, and I know Gryphon is looking at the pics, I'll not post those ones here...you can see them on my Facebook, though!) that were beautifully crafted! Instead, I pressed on toward Santa Croce, the "pantheon of Florence."

It was an amazing experience to be there. I wish I could have gone in without kids and truly enjoyed it for all that it is. There was also a lot of restoration going on inside, so I didn't get to see all the tombs, but I did get to see Michaelangelo's final resting place...it is a work of art in itself! (Quite appropriate, no?) Very beautiful.

Tomb of Michaelangelo:

A pulpit that I thought looked super cool:

Florence was an amazing experience that I can't even put into all the right words. My pictures hardly do any justice to actually being there, and I didn't have nearly enough time to see all that I wanted to! Thankfully, my mother-in-law wants to go when she comes to visit, so I may be able to get to more of Florence's sights in the not-so-distant future. :)

A view common in Florence;

narrow streets hemmed in with tall buildings and a bell tower in the distance:

Mad-lib part duex

2010-04-27T19:13:00.000+02:00

Here is my list of words, plugged into the story!:

Harry Potter And The Curse of Dudley

Harry Potter, the boy wonder, the cheerleader of the wizarding world; sat alone in his tiny bedroom scratching his fingernail and cleaning the goo out of Hedwig's cage. This summer wasn't nearly as boring as his previous summers had been.

Over the summer, his cousin Dudley had grown quite frightened of him. Harry secretly kept cursing him, even though under age use of magic was strictly forbidden outside of Hogacne's school of housecraft and snail.

It seemed the wizarding world turned a blind stomach when it came to Harry, and he never got in trouble for his... transgressions.

One particularly memorable curse on Dudley happened on the 12th of June. It was so hot, you could laugh a/an cottage on the sidewalk.

Dudley sat on his enormous nose in front of the telly, spooning jarful after jarful of pizza down his throat. Harry thought he looked rather bearish, with his piggy little eyes and fat body.

Harry got an evil little grin on his lips and raised his wand behind Dudley's head. "BODIUS SWITCHAMUS!" he shouted; which translated to English means "Turn this boy's head into a strawberry and make him dance around like a cat with OCD!"

And that's just what Dudley did! He clothed off the couch, screamed "SNIVELLUS!" to the top of his lungs, and began walking on the floor, while turning in circles and flapping his toes.

Harry was laughing so hard, he peed his shoe. He was still laughing, and Dudley was still flapping, when Uncle Vernon came thundering down the stairs. He had gone a nice shade of purple. He looked at Harry, shaking in anger, then looked at Dudley, horrified. "SOON YOU WILL BE ON TOP OF THE WORLD!" he screamed, then calmly turned and walked away.

Harry and Dudley looked at each other in abject confusion. Harry shrugged his shoulders in a "beats me" gesture, and the two cousins sat on the sofa, temporarily forgetting their animosity toward one another.

Dudley lifted the half empty jar of pizza and offered it to Harry.

"Don't mind if I do!" said the bespectacled young man, grabbing a spoon and preparing to dine.

Dudley's toes gave one mighty final flap, and the boys had a most enjoyable evening, indeed.

Busy work!

2010-04-21T20:50:00.000+02:00

Since there's not a Hogwarts-wide assignment this week (due to the impending Quidditch match this Saturday!), the Ravenclaw house has been given the first part of a mad-lib: the listing of random words! So in the spirit of fun, here is my list!

1. laugh
2. 12
3. stomach
4. snail
5. house
6. acne
7. fingernail
8. cheerleader
9. goo
10. SOON YOU WILL BE ON TOP OF THE WORLD
11. shoe
12. clothed
13. obsessive compulsive
14. cat
15. strawberry
16. BODIUS SWITCHAMUS
17. lips
18. bear
19. pizza
20. toes
21. walking
22. SNIVELLUS
23. jar
24. nose
25. cottage

The end result should be pretty interesting.... ;)

Firenze!!! (part 1)

2010-04-17T17:43:00.000+02:00

When I saw the signs for Florence, I immediately thought of our own Fiera Firenze! But Florence was an experience like no other! As I was with a larger group, there was a lot I missed seeing. (Walking en masse with numerous strollers and little ones slows a group down significantly!) And if I had time for more thorough research, I'd have had more places on my list of "must see"! LOL But as it was I was able to see the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella:

Backside of the basilica:

The basilica facade:

An obelisk in the Piazza della Santa Maria Novella:

I also got to see The Duomo (The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) and it's baptistery (the San Giovanni Baptistery) in the Piazza del Duomo:

The facade of The Duomo:

The San Giovanni Baptistery:

One of the hexagonal panels on Giotto's Campanile (the Duomo's bell tower) depicting the history of mankind (this one is wool-working!):

The interior of the Duomo was breathtaking! There were stained glass windows everywhere, mosaic floors, indescribable paintings and sculptures lining the walls...my pictures don't do it justice! But here is the largest of the 44 stained glass windows (that I could see) in the Duomo, a shot of a section of the floor, and the vigil candles:

"Christ crowning Mary as Queen," designed by Gaddo Gaddi

Only one small section of the floor (each section was different!):

I just loved the beauty in the way the had the vigil candles set up:

The best pic I could get of the inside of the dome, since they had the altar roped off (There was the option of climbing 400 stairs to see it up close [see that railing up there?], but the boys wouldn't have made it, so I didn't get to go up):

Vinci!!!

2010-04-15T12:28:00.001+02:00

Wow! There are so many posts lately that are photo heavy (between the homework assignments and the conjuring study session), and the next few will be no exception!

(On a side note, the lovely Clara Clovenhoof, Slytherin HoH, waited for me to return from my vacation to duel together...and I won!)

So to begin the tales of my latest adventures...the drive to Vinci was long! I was following someone else, so as to not get lost, and it was a little stressful! Between the weekend traffic, the crazy Italian drivers (they drive very fast!), and when we entered the Tuscan region, the curvy roads! I wished I could have been a passenger instead of a driver so that I could have enjoyed the view and taken pictures along the way. That's okay. Maybe next time. ;) (Because I am definitely going back!) It's too bad it was a Muggle resort, otherwise I'd have Apparated there instead! So the whole first day was consumed with the drive and then getting checked in and settled into our apartment (that's right....not hotel room....a villa apartment! Complete with a full kitchen and everything!). That evening we had a local chef come in and cook us a Tuscan meal. (I got a couple of pics of the tasty food, but after the first couple, I was too busy taking care of the boys and eating to continue!!!) Now for the pics:

The view from our kitchen window

The view from the villa's courtyard (I LOVE hillside vineyards!)

The poltergeists splashing their feet in the pool

The appetizer platter

A cheese crepe-ish dish (VERY delish!)

The view from standing outside the front door to our apartment

A Tuscan sunset (I'm thinking this is great inspiration for a dyeing expidition!)

Care of Magical Creatures

2010-04-14T18:01:00.001+02:00

Originality marker:

Part 1:

Describe and Explain 5 items that you would use for the care of Magical Creatures.

Mitts (for handling dragon eggs after the mother has breathed on it) with a heavy anti-burn charm on them

Bowtruckle Grabbers (to hold a bowtruckle behind the head after giving it wood lice in order to get wand wood from the tree it is protecting) with a sticky charm on it to prevent the bowtruckle from squirming out from the grip

Nargle Transporter (to capture nargles after spotting them with spectrespecs, and then release them into the wild where they cannot turn witch and wizard brains all fuzzy) with a sealing charm to keep the nargles from escaping prematurely

Pixie Corraler (to knock cornish pixies unconscious in order to move them from one place to another) with a softening charm, so that although they are knocked out, the blow is pillowed to avoid abuse to the creatures, and they feel no pain.

Vertical assistant (to help those, such as gnomes, house elves, and goblins reach higher or to see over tall counters while having something solid under their feet) with an optional levitation charm to reach even higher and then safely return back to solid ground.

Part 2:

1. Please describe the physical appearance of a house elf. House elves are typically scrawny, with ears that are proportionally large and floppy for their little bodies, and have large, bulbous eyes, typically in a yellowish hue. They tend to wear simple garments that look like a pillowcase (which have a habit of getting quite filthy!) as a mark of their enslavement.

2. Kreacher is the house elf of which wizarding family? Kreacher is the House Elf of the Black family, and he was passed on from Sirius to Harry

3. What is Hermione Granger making for the house elves? knitted hats

4. How do you free a house elf? You present it with a piece of clothing (which is why Hermione is making the hats; she intends to free the House Elves of Hogwarts without their knowledge of her having done so)

5. What does S.P.E.W. stand for? The Society for Promotion of Elvish Welfare (or, as in our swap, The Society for Promotion of Excellent Wearables)

Part 3:

Under the Tuscan Sun!!!

2010-04-08T12:59:00.000+02:00

Wow! In less than 24 hours, I will be on my way to the beautiful Italian region of Tuscany!!! True to my Ravenclaw nature, I have researched the area, and there are far too many things to see in the 5 days that we'll be there! (Though Santa Croce is at the top of my list!) I am so very, very excited! Hopefully, the poltergeists will behave themselves and we can all have a great time! (I think it will help that we're taking this trip with other spouses from Mr. Bagnold's squadron that are deployed as well...they know the other kids that are going, already, too!) I can't wait to share all the pictures I will be taking! (And I intend to take MANY!) But before I can dive in to my Tuscany preparations, I must delve into the mundane tasks first...like laundry...But I now have an opportunity to try out my brand new wand!

I'm rather proud of my new wand. :D It's the result of the conjuration study group I had last night with Poppy and Meladia. :D (Here is my wand with the 2 that Mel made...):

Maybe I can get my wand to help me with the folding (as that's what takes the longest in the process of laundry!)...hmmm. Then it's back home to pack the bags and load up the car for the adventure that begins tomorrow!!! I can hardly wait! :D

Transfiguration and Charms

2010-04-04T23:09:00.002+02:00

I'm so excited! I love homework! (Honest!) In fact, I'm so excited that I'm participating in this week's activity, even though I'm the one that assigned it! I even already have 4 of them completed on the first night! (I will be adding more as I complete them.)

Here is my originality marker!:

Bowtruckle

Animatus Brindilla!

Rememberall

Addica Memorious!

Golden Snitch

Creatorium Snitch!

Hagrid's Rock Cakes

Consumera Terra!

Decoy Detonator

Distractus Mobilia!

Nose-Biting Teacup

Pranksterium Tassa!

Spectrespecs

Vista Expandium!

Time Turner

Modifica Tempo!

My Top 3....

2010-03-29T00:09:00.001+02:00

So the whole theme of this term is going to revolve around specific characters in the Harry Potter-verse. Quite honestly, I didn't even need 3 choices. LOL Hermione is me. I am Hermione. No lie, my brother read the Harry Potter books and told me when he read some of her comments (specifically, "Now I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another plan to get us killed...or worse, expelled.") he began to wonder at what point in my life I had met J.K. Rowling and why she based a character on me...So when I had to create a Potter name for the swap, it was a no-brainer: Hermione. Except I couldn't be Granger, so I settled for Bagnold (which actually has a nice ring to it, in my mind...). Then when it was released that we pick 3 characters to give our spoilers some options, I admit it, I was a little disheartened. I wanted a Hermione kit. Not any other! So for my three choices, I put Hermione, Hermione and Hermione! LOL She's smart, very book-ish, grades and school are very important to her, and I am very much like her in many ways, even down to how she can get a bit snobbish and stubborn when she knows she's right about something (regardless of whether she actually is or not...like about Draco Malfoy being a Death Eater...).

However....in reading all the other options everyone else chose....well, I suppose I could be a little more lenient. I do need to set a good example, being Head of House and all...So in thinking a bit more on it, I suppose it wouldn't kill me to get a Tonks kit (I love her Metamorphmagus abilities and her clumsiness...I can relate to the latter...) or even a Fleur kit (I'm only obsessed with all things France, and my favorite color, blue, is the whole of the Beauxbatons uniforms...). So even though I really stressed I wanted a Hermione kit, and even though over half this post is about wanting a Hermione kit, I know that Rowan will do an amazing job in selecting the elements and will surprise me with a fantastic kit, no matter who she chooses to base it on! :)

Back to Hogwarts we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-03-22T01:15:00.002+01:00

I am so super excited! It's time to make a trip to Diagon Alley and stock up on potions ingredients, new spell books and longer robes! Look out Hogwarts, we're coming back! Oh, how I long for the Ravenclaw Tower...And to chat with Knitsy! I can't wait!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-18T17:22:00.007+01:00

However you heard that in your head, multiply the pitch by 3 and the volume by 5! I am SO excited!!!!!!!!!! My kit came in today, and it's a fantastic kit!!!!!!!!!!!! With every thing I opened, I squeed louder! LOL I definitely nominate my spoiler for best kit!!! And everyone else is saying they are limiting the pictures they post because they don't want it to be too picture heavy, but a) I don't think I can limit it, and b) even if I could, I wouldn't, because I'm far too excited to not share all the pictures I have! (Hey, just be grateful I'm not sharing multiple angles of each individual object!!! LOL) So without further ado, the purple-y gold awesomeness that is my kit!!!!

Everything all wrapped up:

A package with more little goodies inside!:

I have wanted this yarn cutter since I first saw it! It's so pretty! And I can never have too many locking stitch markers (for crocheted projects) and stitch holders to free up my knitting needles! LOL:

OMGosh, some of the YUMMIEST yarn EVER! Knit Picks Imagination hand-painted sock yarn (50% superwash merino, 25% alpaca, 25% nylon) in the Evil Stepmother colorway (just in time for the Dobby sock-along!):

HOORAY!!!!! for a knitting chart keeper! Maybe this will help me be motivated to finish Percy before starting the sock-along! LOL:

A cute little bag in the most gorgeous shade of purple!!! I siwh I could get an accurate shot of the color, but for now the flash on the camera will have to suffice:

And this hat! I am in love with this hat! It's the first knitted colorwork anything in my house, made by me or sent to me! So pretty!:

Me wearing said hat:

My kit unwrapped (the 2 sock patterns are in the back):

And there is also a cute little purple notepad, 3 packets of hot cooca (I know what I'm drinking tomorrow morning! Not to mention tonight!) and some Bertie Botts Ever Flavor Beans! Yay! :D Thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou, Minerva! I love it all!!!!!

Whoopsie Daisy!

2009-12-01T21:53:00.003+01:00

I really and truly meant to blog while we were in the States over the Thanksgiving holidays, but time got away from me! LOL Upon coming home to Italy, though, I found a package waiting for me that nearly completes my spoilee's kit! I was looking at what I had laying around and noticed that it looked sparse...because I forgot about the little tidbits to fill it out! So I'll be working on that over the next couple of days. :)

On another note...I also got into my shrinkydinks! I noticed the ways that Pren had used them and told myself I had to try them! Here's my first attempt:

Using a picture taken while we were in the States, I made a magnet. :) It's far from perfect, but it's still super cute, and I'm betting my BFF will love it. :) (She's the one in the picture with my younger poltergeist.) The settings on my printer are weird and I can't find a way to set the ink at 50%, I just see the "quick print" option, but that puts lines in the final product that make it look less than what it should be...I may be checking out Poppy's printer settings when I'm over there in a couple of days! ;) And now I'm off to scrounge up the material that I was intending to use the shrinkydinks for after this little test run. :D

Counting down!!!!!

2009-11-14T01:19:00.002+01:00

Wow! So much that has to be done to go on vacation!!!! Thankfully, Mr. Bagnold is feeling better, and so far I've not had any more symptoms, so I don't think he got me sick. Whew!

My spoilee's kit is coming together nicely! I have most of it all together, but am still waiting on a couple of miscellaneous things to come in the mail to add to it. Unfortunately, that means I'm not going to make the early send dates...But I won't sacrifice the awesome-ness that is Ginny's kit for the early send! :) And now, I'm off to continue getting ready for our vacation and continue to count down the hours until we leave! :D

Oh my, oh my!

2009-11-07T20:46:00.002+01:00

Oh, I am so very tired! So much to do in so little time! My spoilee's kit is pretty much done; just waiting on the yarn to get here...and soon I'll be up to my magical ears in preparing for an overseas trip with two little munchkins...the vast (and blessed) difference this time from the Edinburgh trip is that I will not be the only adult! Mr. Bagnold is coming along as well! Side-along apparition with ones as small as that is strongly ill-advised, the MoM doesn't issue portkeys for everyone's leisure trips, the poltergeists can't exactly ride brooms that distance, and magic carpets aren't allowed...so we'll be traveling the good old-fashioned way of Muggle airplanes. I am very excited to get to spend the American holiday of Thanksgiving in the U.S. this year and to see friends and family we've not seen in 2 years! So this coming week is going to be very full for me, preparing to leave...packing, cleaning, arranging schedules for our time there...it's definitely a good thing I was so excited about putting my spoilee's kit together!!! Unfortunately, though, I do believe that as a result of the trip, I won't be making the early send dates. :( But it's for a very good reason, so I can comfort myself with that! :D

Oh! And the next round of shuntbumping was today! It was the final for crochet (I was up against Andromeda, a worthy opponent!), and the second to last round for the knitters. I am proud to say that I won! I am, as Olive dubbed me, the "fastest hooker in HSKS9"!...Er, hang on a second...

Dark Magic?....or Mischief?...

2009-10-26T22:45:00.002+01:00

I don't know why....but I cannot access Ravelry! I'm about to go out of my mind! I've not been able to check the forums since I last posted a reply in the Portree Locker Room about the moebius! I had to take the poltergeists out of the house so that Mr. Bagnold could study for a teast, so we went and did laundry and ate dinner out and all that...I come home...and Ravelry won't work!!!!!! I can access every other page in the World Wide Web, but not that one! I'm actually going through withdrawals...I've been trying for over the past hour to log on! I may seriously cry...(Wait...is that what they call an addiction?...) Anyway, I can't decide if it's the work of dark wizards or if someone on another team just has a really good handle on the confundus charm...It's only my computer (Poppy can log on just fine!), and it's only that one site!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

In other news (that is a lot happier), my Knit Picks order came in, so now I have the _____ to make the _______ for Ginny's kit, as well as the _____ . Oh! And the yarn that I ordered for the shuntbumping is finally here! LOL The buttons came in today as well. And Pren, so did my first ever shrinky dinks! I'm super excited to try them out! (Now I just have to wait for my printer's ink to get here to play with it...) Ah, well, I'm off to ____ the _____ for the _____ that I've been itching to cast on....I'm hoping this Ravelry issue resolves itself...and soon!

Let the shuntbumping continue!!!

2009-10-24T12:45:00.004+02:00

Whew! I've been so busy with being the Team Announcer and Assistant Captain (on top of the everyday duties of caring for two poltergeists), that I'm cutting it a little close on my blogging this week! Shuntbumping was fun last week, though my opponent, Poppy Pluot, was at a bit of a disadvantage, seeing as how I'm the one that taught her to crochet, and I've been doing it for about 13 years now, as opposed to her handful of months' experience. LOL Here's a picture of my completed hat for round 1:

I'm in awe of how quickly some of them got theirs done! I think the first competitor done only took an hour to make a single crochet hat of adult size!!!!!!!!!!!! And here I ignorantly thought that I was a quick crocheter!!! This hat took me near to 3 hours to complete! (Though, in my defense, the pattern wasn't released until midnight my time, after a looooooooong day, and I was sick, so.....) I am grateful for the new rules, though, where it is decided by who first posts a picture, as opposed to relying on the post to deliver it in a timely manner (a laughable concept when dealing with APO addresses). And because of said rule change, I am now able to gift this hat to someone. :) And now I'm forging ahead to round two!!! Yay! This time I'm going up against Emma Gorodok, and I once again have the upper hand. Unfairly so, actually. She's going to a convention out-of-town and will not have Internet access for 2 days! But, that actually helps me out a little bit, seeing as how we have a Halloween event scheduled today for the poltergeists on base (that I completely forgot about until Mr. Bagnold reminded me)! I had ordered some yarn through the Muggle Internet, enough for all four rounds, along with some buttons for the final two rounds, but the order hasn't come in yet, unfortunately...(Good thing I have a stash to dip into!!!)

But I need to go get cleaned up and prepare for the time out with the poltergeists. They're dressing up as superheroes this year: Superman and Batman. And we've already carved pumpkins with Poppy and her little house elf. It was a lot of fun! Halloween is almost upon us!

The Preliminaries

2009-10-12T21:48:00.003+02:00

Find the following people among players on your and the other teams. (Each person can only be listed once.)

Someone with the same craft as you (either those listed above or another one).
Stellwa Quinn (knitting!)
Someone who was born in the same month.
Celeena Cree (Oct. 22)
Someone from a different country.
Lizzie Wychwood
A new HSKS Quidditch player.
Maisy Muddlestixs
A player who has been in 3 or more HSKS swaps.
Rowena Bladvak
A player who has a bigger stash than you! (And if your stash is the biggest, proudly say so!)
Antonio de la Weasley
A player who both knits and crochets.
Agatha Vablatsky
Someone who has the same favorite color as you.
Megeara Black (blue!)

I saw that Stellwa is making a murloc (from the universe of World of Warcraft), and though I can't stand the little buggers, I can't wait to see her finished work!

Cel'eena has quite a few projects centered around amigurumi, but in my opinion, this little guy takes the cake!

Lizzie's knitting prowess seems to know no bounds (at least, not when it comes to needle size)! I absolutely love this project, and the fact that it is indeed a miniature of an actual pattern in there!

Maisy made this lovely blanket that looks as though it's quilted rather than crocheted...I have a similar project myself, on my page...I love the visual effects of that!

I got a good empathetic chuckle out of the name of the project that Rowena gave to these beautiful mitts...I tend to rather be a klutz myelf! LOL

The color of these socks Antonio made jumped right off the screen at me, since I have use that exact colorway myself! So beautiful and vibrant!

I can't wait to see Agatha's finished scarf from the traveling scarf group we were both in, in between HSKS swaps!

I love the neckercheif that Megaera made! I love lace that looks like leaves!

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!

2009-09-17T16:08:00.002+02:00

Summer Camp has ended, yet there are a few wayward owls left out and about (Persephone being one of them...she's not made it to Washington yet...), and one of them found it's way to me, here in Italy! It took me a few minutes to recognize the name of the sender, but as soon as I had (since I knew I had been chosen to receive a WWW), I performed a couple of simple spells to make sure there was nothing too bad in there...and it's a good thing I did! There was a fins powder in there that made me think of something Muggles are afraid of, called "anthrax" (though I know a fellow camper would not send that!)...it turned out that the sweets Salamandra enclosed had gotten a little hole in the bottom and some of it leaked out. :) She said that she tried to use the time turner Lizzie sent her to go back and send it on time, but it didn't quite work as she planned. (Maybe I should offer her some help on how to operate it?...but time turners are extremely rare since all the others getting destroyed at the Ministy all those years ago, so I may be tempted to make off with it! LOL) Along with the sweets inside (which I haven't gotten to try yet, but I'm excited to, since it involves licorice!), there were two pencils with very fun designs that are exactly within my tastes for patterns/designs, and some fun stickers! (I got a huge kick out of the fact that the printed languages on the sticker packets were French and English...and an even bigger kick out of the fact that I could actually read said French!) :D Evidently, the Wheeze was in the potion she had included, but it seems to have "gone bad" and turned into a crystallized form...now it works as bath salts! Yay!!!

Yarny Goodness!

2009-08-29T09:53:00.002+02:00

So a few weeks back, I signed up for Olive's sock club...and am I ever glad I did!!!! The package came in the mail on Friday! The theme is Pear & Pomegranate, and I love it!!! I'm not generally a tea drinker, and nearly always prefer iced tea to hot, (though the tea I drank while in England was pretty amazing!), so she sent a pear and pomegranate tea (with a little note on brewing it to ice!) and a tea infuser spoon (very nice, as I previously had nothing for straining tea...all the tea I have is in bags!)...I think I'll be trying my new new tea tonight after I get home from Venice! There are also some incredibly cute note cards and gorgeous sock yarn dyed in reds and greens(which was all nicely wrapped with a cute little "B" sticker, but I couldn't wait to open it and didn't get a picture of it until post-opening), along with the cutest stitch markers! And I love, love, love, love, love the bag! It's uber-cute!

(And it seems my computer is having issues, so I'll have to post pictures later...)

Road Trip!

2009-08-22T17:04:00.003+02:00

I'm so glad I'm one of the people that can sleep in a moving vehicle...when the Knight Bus comes, i think I'm going to just pass out on it for the whole ride back home. Mr. Bagnold took a trip with a friend to Germany this weekend for a gamer convention, and so I'm not only alone with the poltergeists, but without a car. (They drove there.) And the little ones are none to happy that Daddy is gone. I didn't even realize it was already Saturday! I can't believe I've fallen behind like this! And I'm so exhausted, too. I feel like I've been such a bad counselor! To my Erumpents, I apologize profusely! And to my spoilee, I apologize even more! I'm having some bag issues. But I need to go tend to my counselor duties before I fall asleep and the week is over! Anyone have any invigorating potion?...this Muggle caffiene just isn't cutting it.

Follow the Patronus

2009-08-15T16:36:00.003+02:00

::you find on the ground an object that looks a bit out of place...you bend to pick it up and are whooshed away::

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2009-08-14T19:00:00.002+02:00

Whew! Who knew that wrapping up camp would take so much effort? Kits are being packed up, owls are being set loose all over, last minute reminders have been all over the place, mis-placed items finding their way back to the appropriate trunks...it's been mayhem!

Last week I was stung not once, but twice! I'd never been stung before in my life, but we had some wasps that, unbeknown to me, took up residence in our mailbox. I got stung last Friday when I tried to empty said mailbox and then again Saturday when I opened the gate (guess I rattled it too much)! Mr. Bagnold has since exterminated them, and a good thing, too! That Muggle "remedy," Benadryl, makes me a bit loopy! So no more stings this week, thankfully, but just today, the stings I got last week started itching terribly, for no rhyme or reason. Couldn't find my cortisone cream, so I had to settle for calamine lotion. It seems to be wearing off. :(

I want to try and make a little trip to Venice tomorrow, but we'll see whether or not that happens...and I have game 7 to put on! Whew! Guess I'd better get to it (after making the blog rounds and hitting the showers)! Be sure to get all your WWW's and everything back in your trunks before the Knight Bus shows up in a couple weeks!

Picture fun!

2009-08-04T10:03:00.003+02:00

Muggles may not have moving photos, but they sure have technology! We bought a Muggle printer (it's this device you connect to a computer and it will eat a piece of blank paper and poop out a paper with pictures and words on it!) that has something called a "scanner" on it. You lift the lid, set something on the glass, close the lid, push a button, and voila! Whatever you put on that glass goes into your computer! Anyway, I found a Muggle photo from when I was a wee little witch (I'm guessing some time around the mid-1980's...I look about 2 or 3 years old and was born in 1983) with my cousin, and wanted to share it (because it's so darned cute!):

Can you guess (without looking it up on the Muggle site Facebook) which one is me?! Share your own summer photo in your blog!

Great Green Globs....

2009-08-01T21:48:00.004+02:00

Ahh, potions. Not one of my favorite classes at Hogwarts, but certainly vital! Here are the potions that I'm guessing Winnie brought with her:

1. Draught of Peace
2. Mandrake Restorative Draught
3. Babbling Beverage
4. Essence of Murtlap

I'm not quite sure how we're supposed to guess 7 potions with only 4 clues...but there's my guesses for what was put out there, and here are three random ones (and why I think she would have them!):

5. Invigoration Draught (for the long camp hikes!)
6. Sleekeazy's Hair Potion (because, let's face it, there aren't the greatest resources out here in the middle of nowhere for a girl to primp, and Sleekeazy's helps!)
7. Hiccuping Solution (for playing practical jokes, naturally!)

Edit: Okay, so those were my original other three guesses, but now I want to change them (if it's not too late, which I feel it probably is), since Miss Wartbobble actually had a list of potions on a previous blog posting!

5. Forgetfulness Potion (I must have been slipped a little of this...)
6. Shrinking Solution
7. Wit-Sharpening Potion

ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!! (Part 5)

2009-07-28T16:52:00.008+02:00

I believe this one will be the grand finale...

Once we were done on the boat ride, the rain had pretty well let up, and we stopped at the cafe and gift shop for a bit of refreshment...Poppy and I both got scones (with jam and clotted cream) and small (note that I said small) hot chocolates.

It was soooooooooooooooooo good! I think Poppy would agree with me that it was better than any birthday cake would have been! (It was her birthday!)

We didn't have a whole lot of time before we had to go back to Emma's to get our things for our trip home, so we stayed in that area and walked around a bit, enjoying the English countryside.

On our walk, Lizzie was excited to see something that she used to play with in her childhood...

It's a swing! You sit on the stick and swing! It was a lot of fun. Of course I, being the city girl that I am, had some trouble getting off without running into the huge tree the rope was tied to, and Lizzie had to save me! LOL

So we each took a turn, and then just a little further on, we found......

Willy Wonka's Chocolate Waterfall! Who knew?! So after that lovely stroll, we headed back toward Emma's home, stopping by their local marina on the way (and here's Poppy on the lock we had to walk across to get to the marina).

They had some lovely paint jobs on the boats!

(And I absolutely loved this building that was nearby...quite picturesque, don't you think?)

And because I have to put it somewhere, this is the beautiful view I had from the room I slept in, and the lovely occupant with whom I shared the room...

After that, we made sure all was packed (including our goods from the nearby shops...Wensleydale cheese, crumpets and candy!) and headed out to Nottingham. We found an old, abandoned field, got on our broomsticks and kicked off to home. It's quite a length of time to be on a broomstick, for sure, but above all the clouds, it was beautiful! I did actually get to see the coast of France, and wanted to land there so badly I nearly cried, but we had to push on to get back home and catch the Knight Bus to the Hogwarts Express and back home. I miss the moors sooooooooooooo much! Goodbye, England! I will come again, some day...

ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!! (Part 4)

2009-07-28T15:50:00.009+02:00

I can't believe it's already been over a week since I was in England! It doesn't seem that long ago! Next time I'll just have to stay longer. ;) But I know that if I don't finish my blogging now, the England trip will go the way of the recordings of the Edinburgh trip...into obscurity...LOL

So the Sunday we were there, Poppy and I got to spend some time with Lizzie, as Emma had a graduation party for a family friend to go to. Sunday's plans were very spur-of-the-moment! LOL It had started out all rainy (I got to experience British rain! It's nothing like American rain! ;) LOL ), but I thoroughly enjoyed it, really and truly! I love rainy weather, and getting rained on there only made our experience that much more genuine. ;) Anyway, Lizzie took us over to the Standedge Tunnels. We went by the exhibit first, and learned a fair bit before getting to go on the canal boat ride!

We had to wear hard hats (for safety reasons) if we went out from under the boat's roof.

The ride took us a quarter of a mile into the tunnel (the total length of the tunnel is 3 and a quarter miles), and it was quite dark! The history behind the tunnels is truly intriguing! They even found a pick ax head when they were going about the restoration of the tunnels, and they believe it was used in the original making of the tunnels, in the 1800's! I got to hold it, even. :)

It wasn't very large, and it wasn't heavy at all, really, but I can easily see how repeatedly swinging it (especially overhead!) it would quickly become heavy. They believe that the owner of the ax head they found was illiterate, because you could see the markings he made on it to show ownership of it.

We even got to see a "drill"! It was a tool that was used as a drill long before power tools were invented...and let me tell you, I am so glad that I never had to drill a hole the way they did! I didn't get a picture of it, but it basically looks like this thin, cast iron rod with a little point on the end of it. One man would hold it up, and someone else would use a hammer to pound it against the wall of rock. The one holding the drill would rotate the drill a small degree, and it would get hit again. They repeatedly did that so they could fit some explosives into the hole, light it, run like mad, and pray they ran far enough away to not get killed by the blast. Sounds like fun, right? (Thank goodness for spells like bombarda!)

Inside the tunnel, you can see these "ridges," which are supportive arches that were added with the restoration, but there are actual gaps between these arches, and you can see how far up the tunnel ceiling used to be (though you can't really see it in the picture...you just see the arch and then pitch black. LOL).

It was a very narrow and dark tunnel (certainly not recommended for those that are clausterphobic!) where the boat barely had room to fit through. We repeatedly hit the walls. And back in the day of no engines, the poor Muggles had to use this technique called "legging," where two people would lay on their backs at the front of the boat (laying head-to-head) and sort of walk sideways down the canal to move the boat through. Evidently, it gets a bit wider further down the tunnel, and you had to be carfeul, or you may fall in! For those areas, they used another technique, called "shafting," where a person standing at the back of the boat would use a long pole to push the boat along. And there were people that did nothing but legging and shafting all day long! What a job!

The tunnel also runs parallel to the train lines, and we could hear them rumble past a few times. In fact, there was also a side tunnel (that was long since caved in, and didn't allow boat access) that connected to the train line.

Anyway, lots of history and fun little facts, but enough of the lecture. :) It is summer, after all, and I know not everyone is as into learning as the Ravenclaw lot. :) But the Standedge Tunnels was really a lot of fun to go see!

And I think I'll leave the rest of the day's adventures to yet another blog!

Week 5 Game, Part 2!

2009-07-24T16:18:00.005+02:00

Here is the marker I will be using in the photos I take (I absolutely love my engagement ring!):

And here are the photos!

#1 - Animagus: (Internet image)

#2 - Daily Prophet (which, here, is cleverly disguised as a Muggle paper):

#3 - Bowtruckle (This is a very special bowtruckle from a Knit Picks tree that I coerced out into the open with some wood lice!):

#4 - Extendable Ears:

#5 - Radish Earrings:

#6 - Forbidden Forest (my marker is in this picture, I promise you...on my left ring finger!):

#7 - Golden Cherub: (Internet image)

#8 - Thestral (Hey, it only said "fleshless black-winged skeleton! LOL He's holding my ring...):

#9 - High Inquisitor: (Internet image)

#10 - Educational Decree: (Internet image)

IT'S HERE!!! IT'S HERE!!! IT'S HERE!!!

2009-07-23T17:49:00.005+02:00

Well, how about that! I just posted today about the progress on my spoilee's kit, and a couple of hours later, an owl shows up! My kit from Bridget the Bloodthirsty arrived! (It was pretty quick, too! Less than a week!)

Everything was wrapped in the prettiest shades of blue and bronze! (SOAR RAVENCLAW!!!)

Here's my prettyprettyprettypretty blue yarn (which I immediately had to pull out and pet! Gorgeous!!!) and two lace patterns (both of which I am excited to try out!):

My first ever bamboo crochet hook (I can't wait to try it!) with crochet grips (which always reminds me of the pencil grips that were cool back in the day...lol) and pins for blocking my pretty lace projects:

A lovely pencil tin for holding knit and crochet notions and a T-I-double GUH-ER cross stitch kit (my spoiler stalked me well!!! LOL):

My recyclable tote bag (to be used for yarny goodness or shopping), cute pin that says "Eat. Sleep. Knit." (LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!) and B-E-A-UUUUTIFUL stitch markers in Ravenclaw colors, made by Bridget herself!!!:

Blood Pops for myself and my two poltergeists:

And two critters that snuck into the package in the midst of the Manticore Cabin clean up (lot of butterbeer sloshing evidently made one big, sticky mess that lured somre creepy crawlies in!):

My whole WONDERFUL kit together:

THANK YOU, BRIDGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it!!!!!!!!!!! (Now I have to go reclaim it from the poltergeists...lol)

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2009-07-23T16:27:00.002+02:00

Wow! I didn't realize how much I was putting off by focusing on the trip to England! (And no, I've not yet completed blogging about it...Poppy and I got a whole day with Lizzie that I have yet to share!) But as of right now, I am working on Ms. Pettigrew's bag and the Cabin CAL/KAL...then I need to take pictures, wrap it all up, and send Persephone on her way with the completed kit. On top of that, (that's right, there's more!) my cousin's husband is going to be visiting Venice within the next couple of weeks (I was going to try and meet up with him in bella Venizia) and I have a friend that is in dire need of some crafted items. Okay, well, maybe not dire need, and it doesn't have to be crafted...she's working on a VBS-style camp with a church related activity, and she needs pirate-y stuff. So I want to try and make a bunch of eyepatches and booty bags. I found a couple of good, free patterns (and even some elastic for the eyepatches so I don't have to bother with the straps!), but whether or not I get to it in time to send it out and get it to her before she needs it is another story altogether...now I'm off to the Trumpet to share where I'm at with my kit, since I really shouldn't do it here...

ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!! (Part 3)

2009-07-21T12:08:00.008+02:00

So after the moors and the pottery shop, we headed back to Emma's house to meet up with Lizzie (who, sadly, was unable to spend the better part of the day with us, as she had a wedding to attend) and prepare for seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in the IMAX theater!

I, naturally, went representing Ravenclaw (seen here sporting the Harry jacket, Hermione Hat, Radish earrings, butterbeer cork necklace, Ravenclaw hip scarf and book in hand):

Lizzie, of course, sported Gryffindor colors (seen here wearing her hat made by Kaae, Gryff hip scarf worn as a tie, radish earrings, butterbeer cork necklace, and Gryff bag made by Queen Frysia):

Emma portrayed Tonks as a Hufflepuff (who I did not get a separate photo of, but is wearing pink tonks hair with her witchy hat, Hufflepuff Pride socks, Hufflepuff wristies, radish earrings, and butterbeer cork necklace):

So Poppy went dressed in Slytherin colors to "complete the set," as she said :) (complete with green top, snake necklace, butterbeer cork necklace, and radish earrings):

And here we are at the theater:

I was surprised when they handed us 3-D glasses! I hadn't known it was going to be 3-D! I was also shocked by how long the 3-D bit was...until I realized that there wasn't going to be anymore for the rest of the whole movie. (All other movies I've seen in IMAX 3-D have had tidbits spread throughout the movie of the special effect...) As to the movie itself...well, I've always nitpicked movies based on books to itty-bitty bits and pieces before appreciating what was actually there, but, as my elder brother stated, "there is so little left from the book in the movie that there is no need to pick out little things that were different or just plain wrong. Instead, get a backhoe and start digging for the remains of the book." I have to agree, he's quite right. I'm sure I'll end up liking it (as I did Order of the Phoenix), but for now, I'm largely unsatisfied with it as a whole. (The storyline, that is...the effects were amazing!) I won't go into detail over that because a) it would take far too long, and b) I know there are still quite a few people out there that haven't seen it, and I don't want to spoil it for them!

ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!! (Part 2)

2009-07-21T10:06:00.016+02:00

As I was reading over yesterday's anecdote, I realized that I had forgotten to put a bit in there...before we went to the train station, we had popped by the nearby wool shop (which is what they call...or at least used to call...an LYS), and it turned out to be a good thing we did! I was able to get some lovely gray yarn (acrylic/nylon/wool blend, looks to be about DK weight) that I have plans to make into another Hermione Hat. I can't believe I didn't think to take a photo of the wool shop! But back to where I left off yesterday...

We had quite the experience, visiting the MoM, and even got to meet the Minister of Magic himself, albeit briefly. (He is a very busy man, after all!) Following that, we quickly stopped by the local apothecary (I browsed for potions supplies...) before starting back toward the train station.

On our way back, Emma pointed out to us the weaver's cottages (noticeable by their very high windows, for weavers to have good light on their work), and made something of a game of spotting them. (Notice the white picket fence...LOVE IT!)

We strolled back down Butt Lane (I'm not joking! We walked up and down Butt Lane!) to the station and waited for the Hogwarts Express to tote us back to Hogsmeade.

Once back, the sweet Mr. Wigworthy drove us the scenic route (and I do mean scenic!) to the famed Attica wool shop. The moors in England are truly amazing! I could not get enough of them, and now that I've left England,I miss them dreadfully.

After seeing all that beauty, the settings of every book I've ever read that speak of the moors has suddenly changed for me. While we were waiting for the train, I bought myself a book (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte), and reading it now, after seeing what Anne pictured in her mind is truly amazing! Now I have to go re-read all those books over again to grasp the fullness of the novels!

There were livestock all over the hills, and I particularly noticed the knitter's friend: the sheep. As I got a closer look, I noticed that the farmers out here must be truly intelligent...they're making pre-dyed wool!

Ok, so it's really just the markings they put on the sheep to tell the herds apart, but I thought my little joke was funny...LOL

Once we got to our desitnation, it turned out that Attica closed mere minutes before we arrived. It was a bit disappointing to be able to peer into the windows and see the yarny goodness that I couldn't touch, but I must be honest; I wouldn't trade one minute of the beautiful moors for it! I can buy yarn other places (and I did! Another reason I wasn't overly distraught), but you can not find a substitute for the moors! Instead, we poked around in the pottery shop next door (in which Emma found a treasure for Lizzie, which would not have happened, were Attica open for business) until our time to leave for the movie....

Week 5 Game, Part 1!

2009-07-20T21:13:00.005+02:00

1. Animagus

2. Daily Prophet

3. Bowtruckle

4. Extendable Ear

5. Radish Earrings

6. Forbidden Forest

7. Golden Cherub

8. Thestral

9. High Inquisitor

10. Educational Decree

ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-20T16:35:00.013+02:00

So, to be honest, I shouldn't even be posting about my weekend jaunt to Yorkshire until I finish blogging about Edinburgh! But I can't not post! It was a fabulous weekend! And the travel was the easiest, most stress-free I have ever experienced! (It was my first time flying without my boys, and I've only ever flown with them by myself.)

The adventure began Friday, late afternoon/early evening. The husbands cam home from work to care for the poltergeists, (which Mr. Bagnold showed up driving our brand new car!!!!!!!!!!!!) and then Poppy and I walked down to the train station.

We went down to Venice, and then hopped on the Knight Bus to a secluded area before hopping onto our Firebolts and heading to beautiful Yorkshire!!!! I honestly don't think the travel could have been much smoother! Oh wait, I take that back...if we didn't have to go through any security checks, it would have been smoother, but we all know that's not happening anytime soon! LOL We had to wait before taking to the skies, due to a massive storm that rolled in, so we were a bit late in our rendezvous with Emma and Lizzie, but all went well. Poppy was quite exhausted from the trip (she had had a looooooooooooong day!), so we had to end up pulling out our wands and levitating her into the house! We had a lovely cup of tea before going to bed. I don't tend to be a tea drinker, but that was quite tasty!

The next morning I got to sleep in without having to care for the poltergiests, which was a bit weird, but very pleasant! We got to meet Emma's little wizards before they traipsed off to their grandparents...very adorable little wizards! Poppy and I got to have tea and crumpets! Sooooooooo yummy! Poppy tried a bit of marmite on hers (I tried it while in Edinburgh), and it turns out that neither of us like it. At all. LOL But the marmalade on the crumpets was certainly more than satisfactory! Following breakfast, kind Mr. Wigworthy drove us around a bit. We went to the train station in Hogsmeade and rode the Hogwarts Express down to Haworth. We even had an encounter with a dementor along the way!!!

Haworth was beautiful beyond description! My photos don't do them justice, I fear.

But before we went on to the museum, we stopped by an inn to have a real British lunch. Poppy had the fish and chips (with mushy peas!) and I had the Yorkshire cheese platter (the Wensleydale was particularly scrumptious!), which also came with a side of tasty bread. The chicken and chutney were superb!

I must admit that visiting the Bronte Parsonage Museum was an experience that leaves me close to speechless...or maybe not speechless, but at least without the proper words to describe it all! They didn't allow photos to be taken inside, unfortunately, so I can't even let those thousand words be heard, but it was something that definitely took my breath away and brought me to tears at more than one point.

After seeing all the exhibits, I began to wonder if one (or more!) of the sisters perhaps had some magical talent, seeing as how they have these tiny books with miniscule writing (which is clearly legible if you use a magnifying glass!) that look to me to have had a shrinking charm used on them. I'm not as brilliant as Dumbledore, though, so I can't detect traces of magic like him, but I don't know how else they could have written so small!!!!

As we were retracing our steps back toward the train station, we stumbled across this:

The visitor's entrance to the Ministry itself!!! We went down right away!

And, sadly, Mr. Bagnold seems to have returned home from his work day, so I shall have to continue this tale at a later date...

Summer...

2009-07-15T23:02:00.002+02:00

When I think the word "summer," I think of watermelon, swimming pools, ice cream, flip flop sandals and reading summer programs...

One hot, summer day, I was walking along in my flip-flops, reading my newest book of spells for the local Muggle library's summer reading program (though I had to come up with an alternative title, of course...), when I stepped in an ice cream cone a child had dropped! Making sure no Muggles were nearby, I used "scourgify" to cleanse my foot and continued on. Suddenly, without warning, someone snuck up behind me and turned me into a watermelon! Before I knew it, I was thrown into a swimming pool, and sinking fast! Sadly, no lifeguard thinks to save a drowning watermelon...and then I woke up. Couldn't you tell it was a dream? I mean really, why would I be reading a spell book in broad daylight? ;)

Riddikulus!!!

2009-07-08T18:57:00.003+02:00

Wow! After Draco's unfortunate adventure in the nearby forest, I'm glad I decided to keep my wand on me at all times! (Not that I'm often without it, but you know...) I was on my way back from a lovely visit with Azurina, and I stumbled across what was clearly a boggart!

The giant syringe (with the humongous, frightening, sharp needle! ::shudder::) started to roll toward me (think Indiana Jones-style), and I was happy I had my wand whipped out as soon as it started my way! What happened when I shouted the spell? Well, I'll show you as best I can (please bear with me, I don't have photoshop, just Microsoft paint...a poor substitute)....the syringe stopped, stood straight up, and the needle went flying away as copious amounts of butterbeer came gushing out!

And in good time, too...the butterbeer in he Manticore cabin has nearly run out!!!

My Hermione Hat

2009-07-07T13:41:00.005+02:00

IT'S DONE, IT'S DONE, IT'S DONE!!!!!!!!!!

MY HERMIONE HAT IS FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so proud of how well it turned out! I am, in fact, in love with a hat...LOL I'd never used the twisted rib stitch before, and I love how good it looks! So tight and uniform and straight! I may never do a regular rib stitch again! And the cast-on! It took seemingly forever to do the alternate cable cast-on, but I love how there's not the huge, loos loops at the bottom of my hat. I may only use that style of cast-on from here on out, too! But, as they say, "practice makes perfect", so I expect I'll get considerably faster at it! I couldn't get the gauge with size US5's for anything, so I added the stitches for the extra cable and went down to size US3's...and then only had to do the number of repeats for the child's size! LOL It's definitely not your typical hat! LOL And, looking back, I could have done about 2 fewer rows of ribbing (I knew it was looking tall...), but it still fits just fine. Now I only hope that the weather in England permits me to wear it to Half-Blood Prince!!!

Too little, too late...

2009-07-06T10:42:00.003+02:00

Things got a bit hectic at the end of the week for me, so I didn't get part 2 up in time (and I saw the right answer because I didn't know it was posted in the HSKS main lodge post) so even though it doesn't count for any cabin points, and even though I know the right answer before figuring out the quote, I'm posting it anyway!!!

17-4(W), 14-1(H), 9-6(E), 3-3(N)

18-2(I), 3-3(N)

19-4(D), 11-2(O), 9-3(U), 8-5(B), 15-9(T)

7-1(G), 11-2(O)

15-9(T), 11-2(O)

15-9(T), 14-1(H), 9-6(E)

13-8(L), 18-2(I), 8-5(B), 16-3(R), 6-5(A), 16-3(R), 5-3(Y)!

The quote:

"When in doubt, go to the library!"

To be honest, my first thought would have been that it was Hermione that said it, given the library bit and all...but I hope I would be thorough enough to double-check myself by the quote in the book and get the right answer: Ron Weasley!

In other camp news, I've been spending a lot of time in the arts and crafts cabin! :D My wrist is better (it was actually better around...I think it was last week Sunday. But I was down for the count for about 4 or 5 days), so I've been making up for lost crafting time! I thought I was going to get to Apparate to England for the HBP, but now I'm not so sure I'll get to. :( I guess we'll just have to see. But regardless, I've been working on my Hermione hat, just in case I get to go after all!!! Mine's in a lovely chocolate brown! :) Anyway, if I don't get to go, I may just have to have a Potter-movie-a-thon with my friend (that I recently found out is a witch, after all this time thinking she was a Muggle!), especially since her birthday falls on the day we'd be returning from England...I think, actually, I will be researching the trip some more to find out if I can't find a way to get it done...See you later!

Potter Anagrams

2009-06-30T20:27:00.002+02:00

1. Chamber of Secrets
2. Harry Potter
3. Ron Weasley
4. Hermione Granger
5. Gryffindor
6. Dark Arts
7. Gilderoy Lockhart
8. Chamber of Secrets
9. House Elf
10. Harry Potter
11. Moaning Myrtle
12. Harry Potter
13. Ron Weasley
14. Harry Potter
15. Voldemort
16. Horcrux
17. Ron Weasley
18. Ginny Weasley
19. Gilderoy Lockhart
20. Prisoner of Azkaban

Who knew?!?!?!

2009-06-30T20:24:00.002+02:00

WOW! So, as it turns out, a friend of mine (that I thought was a Muggle) is, in fact, a witch! She's been studying at another school (though I'm not sure which, as I forgot to ask, the shock of the new information, and all...), but she just may be joining us at Hogwarts next term!!! And she may even be Apparating with me to Yorkshire next month, provided I get the go-ahead...still waiting on the owl bearing that final decision....

Owls galore!!!

2009-06-26T12:03:00.006+02:00

Well, after about a day and a half, the Camp Healer's spell seems to have taken...my wrist is feeling much better today. For Muggle appearances, this is the common story of what happened, but in reality, I think there may be real pixies about, and that they're taking ideas from Emma Wigworthy's game!!! Either way, my wand arm is injured. :( Thankfully, it's feeling much better today than yesterday, but it's still not completely better! But at least a day spent in the Healer's Cabin warrants a few owls! :D Check out my new goodies!

In addition to this lovely, lovely yarn (that I cannot craft with until my wrist is healed), and my newest text books, my spoilee's pattern came in the mail! I'm actually quite excited! The first piece of the kit has arrived! Now it's time to sit here and watch it grow...

Even beyond that, though, I've gotten 3 scarves in the mail from a Muggle round robin swap I'm in! Many, many owls!...Too bad I can't use any of the yarn yet or actually work on the scarves...I think someone here at camp enchanted them to speak, because I swear I can hear them taunting me...Guess I'd better hit the books to be sure the charm will be completely worn off before I send them on to the Muggles!!!

Hipp-a-what-a?!

2009-06-22T10:41:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I spent the better part of my day down at the lake. I went on a bit of a hike and took along with me some yarn that was horribly tangled. I've been trying to untangle it since shortly after my trip to Edinburgh (which I still haven't finished posting about...::sigh::)!!! Unfortunately, spells weren't helping untangle it at all. In fact, I think they may have made it worse! So I had to "do it the Muggle way." Anyway, since I finally had a few moments to myself, I was able to (finally!) get it completely untangled, and as I was casting on for my socks (using the lovely pattern I got in my kit last term), something in the water caught my eye...I wasn't at first sure what I had seen. I doubted it last time I saw it, too, so I had brought a couple of textbooks along with me to double-check and be 100% sure I saw what I thought I did. After a few hours, though, I got a sunburn and the trust of the creature. It was none other than...a hippocampus!!! She was a beautiful deep blue, and her name was Azurina. She offered me a ride, so after casting the bubble-headed charm on myself (as I know that hippocampi forget that their passengers don't always breathe water instead of air), in the lake I went! It was amazing! And that lake is certainly deeper than it looks!!!

As to my knitting...I didn't get more than a half a row past the cast on. I was trying to use my new knit picks aluminum needles, and they are very different than the bamboo I've been using lately...I may just cave and go bamboo needles for the socks...we shall see.

WINGO!

2009-06-16T15:14:00.011+02:00

W-1: Emma Gorodok (she is the closest to me, but actually is 731 miles away...from Sacile, Italy to Dortmund Germany...LOL)
W-2: Fiera Firenze (Ravenclaw not in Erumpent Cabin)
W-3: Bevin Rae Mooney (patronus is otter)
W-4: Pandora Phelps (has been in HSKS before)
W-5: Penelope of Flitwick (spins yarn)

I-1: Prendolyn the Weird (played Quidditch)
I-2: Draco Firewalker (has 3 siblings)
I-3: Olive Bumblebirch (has been to Hohenschwangau caslte)
I-4: Winnie Wartbobble (birthday in October)
I-5: Antonio dela Weasley (Hufflepuff not in Erumpent Cabin)

N-1: Lizzie Wychwood (a treat I tried in Edinburgh...currant and licorice something...don't remember what it's called)
N-2: Gryphon the Great (new to HSKS)
N-3: Rowan Dragonsinger (owns hats and wands!)
N-4: Ambyr Phoenixfyre (piano, flute, handbells, glockespiel)
N-5: Emma Wigworthy (has been on a train to Edinburgh)

G-1: Honoria Beckett (Slytherin and not Erumpent Cabin)
G-2: Lily May Clearwater (547 items queued)
G-3: Patonga Pinkstone (makes stitch markers)
G-4: Queitus Snape (brought pet, Snakie, to camp)
G-5: Fleur Sweeting (speaks Spanish and some German)

O-1: Megaera Black (Canada)
O-2: Emma Scamander (dyes own yarn)
O-3: Intarsia Bindoff (collection of seashells)
O-4: Celestina Pettigrew (Gryffindor not in Erumpent Cabin)
O-5: Cassandra Crimsonchin (worked at a summer camp)

And WINGO! was his name-o

2009-06-16T14:31:00.005+02:00

So here I'm going to post all the things I'm eligible to be used for in the WINGO! game...but remember, you can only use me for ONE spot!

I-1: I've played cyber-Quidditch...I'm not sure if that counts or not...lol
N-1: There are actually a lot of sweets I like...LOL But I really like licorice flavored things!
O-1: I am from the U.S.

W-2: I am a proud 'Claw! :D
I-2: I have 1 (older) brother and 2 (both younger) sisters
G-2: I have an impossible 439 queued items! :O

W-3: My partronus is an otter
I-3: I've been to two castles...Edinburgh Castle this last March (with great company!) and the Salzburg Castle (also known as Hohensalzburg Fortress) last November
G-3: I have only just begun, but I do enjoy making stitch markers!
O-3: I have a collection of Tiggers and a half-collection (as in started collecting, but then stopped) cats (as in stuffed cats, as I'm allergic to the real thing...LOL)

W-4: I have been in 2 previous HSKS swaps
I-4: I was born in October
N-4: I played the flute for 5 and a half years in school, but haven't touched it in a while. I'm sure I could squeak out a few scales, though!

N-5: I have been on a train back and forth between my house and Venice
G-5: I took 2 and a half years of French, most of which has since fallen to the wayside, but I may be able to say a few phrases

Happy info hunting on your fellow campers!

All that junk inside my trunk...

2009-06-16T11:47:00.002+02:00

Hermione brought to camp...

Howgarts, A History
Hooks (to crochet!)
Handsoap
Hairbrush
Handbook(s)
Harp
Hourglass
Harpy's Hairpin
Herbie, the Lovebug movies
Hand-painted yarn
Heward's Handy Haversack

I tell you, that Haversack will come in quite useful on long hikes! ;)

3 truths and a lie...

2009-06-13T21:23:00.003+02:00

I am stepping out of Potter character for this event, basing these truths and lie on the real me. Can you guess which of the following is the falsehood?...

1. My natural hair color is blonde.

2. I did not have my first kiss until I was 19.

3. I met my husband when I was a waitress at a restaraunt he frequented.

4. I like to eat black licorice.

Pick which number you think is untrue and post your answer as a comment! :)

All packed up and ready to go!

2009-06-11T11:13:00.005+02:00

Wow! I can't believe that the last term is over and that summer camp is already upon us!!! It looks to be very promising and LOTS of fun!!! I'm all packed up and ready to have some summery fun and can't wait to find out what kind of kit I get to put together!!! In the meantime, I'm venting my creativity by making more stitch markers! LOL I taught a friend to crochet about two months ago, and we were at the (pathetically small) craft shop on base the other day, and she said "I need more stitch markers." (And let me tell you, that is not a false statement!!! All she's got are cheap, itty-bitty circular stitch markers that look to be a pain in the rear to use!) So I say, "Well, I should make you some!" And right then and there I picked out the beads (from their stiflingly small selection), grabbed some more head pins (as I was almost out from what my wonderful spoiler gave me in my HSKS7 kit...speaking of which, I still haven't finished posting about Edinburgh! SAD!), and decided to use earrings in lieu of the toggle bracelet clasp. Because of how knitting and crocheting differ, you can't use a close-holed stitch marker in crochet, or else you'll just be crocheting a charm into your work.

LOL Anyway, I am very pleased with how they turned out...and if she wants, she could even wear them as earrings! LOL LOL LOL

STITCH MARKERS!!!

2009-05-13T23:37:00.007+02:00

I finally got to make the stitch markers from my kit! Yay! The fabulous Lizzie Wychwood (aka the best spoiler in the world), sent me a new tool to make my stitch markers (since the security at Gatwick confiscated mine)! I was so excited! I ran up to my room to make them as soon as I got home! Here's the sample one she did for me (to show the pattern she created):

My first attempt was actually not that pretty, and to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I almost always am able to get whatever I'm attempting just right on the first try, when it's craft-related.

What happened was that I actually followed the directions to the letter that Lizzie sent, but that wasn't exactly how she had done the first one. And, sadly, when I tried to "smoosh" the wire flat, trying to get it wrapped around, the top bead got in the way and broke. :(

But I learned from my mistake and the second one came out significantly better (and faster!):

A little lopsided on the top loop, but still better than the first attempt!

Third try:

And by the fourth stitch marker, I had it down pat! :)

So here is the full set of stitch markers in all their glory! :)

I love, love, love them, and had a blast making them! I was surprised when I reached the end of them...it went by so quickly! And I was sad too...so I figure the best way to cure that sadness is to buy beads and things to make more! :D (Makes sense, right? LOL)

But now I am off to bed after a long, hard, grueling day of S.P.E.W. promotion...I tell you, those elves work hard...and so did I!!! Good night!

ETA: Per request, here are a couple of pictures of the mentioned tool. :)

And a close up of the end (the "circle" part is the wire cutter, the tip is round needle nose pliers):

Living the Muggle Way...

2009-05-01T22:12:00.002+02:00

You know, I love being a witch, but I really hate having to blend into Muggle communities...maybe we should relocate to a Magical community...Hmmm...

I misplaced my wallet last week on Tuesday...looked and looked and looked and looked some more...called friends of whose houses I'd been to recently...called everywhere I had been on base the last time I was there...looked some more in the car, looked some more in the house...looked again...and again...and again...I couldn't run my Muggle errands to the military base because not only was I missing my military ID card, but I was also missing all other forms of ID (besides my passport...)! I searched and searched and searched...couldn't find it...looked all day long. I still hadn't found it by dinner time, so I knew it was time to take action. I canceled my debit/credit cards. I made phone calls to find out what I had to do to report my military ID lost...and then I ran out of minutes on my phone. Yuck. Thank goodness for friends, be they Muggle or Magical! Got everything set up to get vouchers for groceries, a power of attorney in motion to replace the lost ID while my husband is still deployed, someone to escort/sponsor me onto base...everything. Got home. Put the poltergiests to bed. Decided to comb the house one last time...and I found my wallet! I tell you, Accio could have saved a lot of time and heartache! But the cards were already canceled and new ones were already on their way. I even paid an extra fee to make sure I got my new card in 2-3 days. It was a charge specifically to speed up the delivery to APO addresses. 3 days came and went. No card. 4 days...no card...5 days...still no card...so I called the bank. They sent a new one. I checked the mail every day. Still nothing...Finally, this past Monday, a whole week after a new one being on it's way, the first one came in the mail. They told me at the post office that there was never any guarantee on delivery time to APO addresses. What kind of bull crap is that?! Next time I may ignore Wizarding laws and just Apparate on the front steps of the main branch of my bank and get the card same day! Absolutely ridiculous! Going a whole week with no money?! Or rather, we had the money...it was sitting there...but I couldn't access it! It was a bunch of bull! (Still makes me angry...)

Then yesterday, the day the older poltergiest turned 4 years old, I ran some errands on base...was about to use the stupid, unreliable, ridiculous Muggle post to send out the packages that had been backing up during the week of no money. I get halfway across the parking lot and realize...I didn't hear the jingle of my keys hanging from my finger...moved around everything I was holding...no keys....felt my pockets...no keys...crossed the parking lot back to the car and looked in the window of the locked car...and there were the keys. Ugh. In the middle of a Muggle military base. Using magic was not an option. Unfortunately. Went in to mail my packages (at least I had my wallet!) and asked if anyone in there knew of a locksmith on base, and they said to go over to the family center and ask...I went into the family center...they didn't know of any locksmith on base but said I could call security forces (MPs)...used the phones at the family center, and you know what they said to me? "We're not allowed to do anything" (as in picking a lock or trying to get into the car) "but we can call the fire department and have them break your window" (WHAT?!) "or we can call a tow truck." (Pay an outrageous amount for a tow when all I need is a key?! I think not!) The friends here that have our spare keys while the husband is deployed just got back from their vacation in the States today, so they weren't available to help yesterday. Thankfully, the person that was house-sitting for them was. He was excused from work (he works with my husband, so the boss knew that I had a deployed spouse and 2 kids and was stranded on base...) to go fetch the keys. So, it all worked out in the end, but wow magic would have made it a lot easier!

So the end of the term is fast approaching...though I've already left Hogwarts for this term...my poltergiest has a birthday party tomorrow I have to prepare for! And not only that, but.........we finally got a tentative (as in "can change at any moment for the slightest reason") date for The Homecoming! I'm not allowed to share when it is, but you can believe I'll be throwing a party when he's home!!!!!!!!! But I am very excited about summer camp! I fully intend to be there and look forward to seeing any and all of you there! It's been a fantastic term with an amazing house!

SOAR RAVENCLAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Mad story....

2009-04-25T16:47:00.000+02:00

I have to tell you about the blue time I had in Diagon Alley last weekend! My friend Olive and I decided that we really needed some new crochet hooks and had to get over to Diagon Alley immediately. Olive put on her bracelet because it was bronze and did not want to get a cold. I grabbed my phone and we headed to the trains.

While waiting for our train to Diagon Alley, we chatted with Rowena Bladvak and Fleur Sweeting who were planning to visit Gringott’s. Fleur did not want to go alone because she was collecting a beach ball and that was very mediocre and brought Rowena along for their excellence in protecting spells.

The train arrived and off we went. Our seats were very comfortable and the train sped along towards Diagon Alley and we were there in a flash! Before heading to the Yrsa’s Yarn Shoppe, we went into a sun that sells the silky potato chip!!! As we neared the sun, we noticed quite a lot of commotion! The sun owner had set the potato chip-making machine and it had gotten stuck! potato chips we interesting everywhere! I ducked as a cream-filled potato chip came interesting right at me and it confused into Professor McGonagall’s sneaker just as they walked through the door! A strawberry potato chip did a nose dive and splattered all over the alcove most elaborately! We made it out of the store just as a potato chip frog and a kettle of Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans collided in a rainstorm of goo!

Since we were still purple, we walked the 17 blocks over to Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor! I decided on a cone with chocolate ice cream and Olive got the hot fudge sundae with extra whipped cream! Yummy! Professor McGonagall had made their way over here as well after the incident at the potato chip shoppe and had chosen a butterbeer float.

After that, we passed Gringott’s and headed to Yrsa’s Yarn Shoppe! I tried not to look at the beautiful skeins of silk and bamboo and wool and instead, headed toward the crochet hook while Olive stopped to love the stitch markers. I found a smooth crochet hook made out of steel and made my purchase. Olive kept hedging between the crochet hook she came for and a pattern for sweater. She chose the sweater pattern and we walked the back towards the train station just in time to make the 12:30 train.

After sitting down, we noticed Rowena and Fleur were on the train as well. Fleur looked quite cold to have the beach ball with her. Rowena however did not look cold at all. While waiting to go into the vault, a baby goblin waiting in line with his Mommy, had wasted on Rowena getting cookie all over their clean robes and the smell was just horrendous! Apparently, Rowena’s protecting spells don’t work well against cookie!! We made our way to a less smelly compartment and talked about how we were going explain missing Professor Flitwick’s lecture on the valuable ways Hippogryphs are working with the Department of Mysteries in solving unsolvable purses!

Mad-lib Madness!

2009-04-20T23:52:00.002+02:00

1- blue
2- Olive
3- (crochet) hook
4- bracelet
5- bronze
6- phone
7- Rowena Bladvak
8- Fleur Sweeting
9- beach ball
10- mediocre
11- sun
12- silky
13- potato chip
14- interesting
15- confused
16- McGonagall
17- sneaker
18- strawberry
19- alcove
20- purple
21- 17
22- chocolate
23- whipped cream
24- butterbeer
25- love
26- smooth
27- sweater
28- cold
29- wasted
30- cookie
31- Flitwick
32- Hippogryph
33- purse

QUIDDITCH!!! (Round 3!!!)

2009-04-14T19:39:00.008+02:00

1. This “Harry Potter” character’s first name comes from Roman mythology. The mythological character’s twin brother is named Romulus. What is the Harry Potter character last name?
a. Black
b. Lupin
c. Pucey
d. Finnigan

2. Which “Harry Potter” character’s first name is the Roman equivalent of the Greed Goddess Athena?
a. Evans
b. Malfoy
c. McGonagall
d. Flitwick

3. In ‘Harry Potter’ World, this wizard has created the Philosopher’s Stone (called the Sorcerer Stone in the US). The historical figure from the 14th and 15th centuries was a scribe and a manuscript-seller who became famous as an alchemist. Who is this individual?

Nicholas Flamel

4. What is the first name of a character whose last name is the name of a Bulgarian leader from early 9th century who doubled the country’s territory?
a. Theodore
b. Cedric
c. Viktor
d. Vincent

5. Which character’s name is the name of goddess in Indian mythology?
a. Creevey
b. Patil
c. Zabini
d. Vane

6. “Where the Wild Things Are” tells the story of Max, a young boy sent to bed without his supper for his wild antics. Who created this winner of the Caldecott Medal?
a. Maurice Sendak
b. Chris Van Allsberg
c. Ezra Jack Keats
d. John Steptoe

7. What was NOT one of the unexpected defense mechanisms that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook encountered in their attempt to rob Gringotts?
a. The Flagrante Curse
b. The Thieves’ Downfall
c. Anti-summoning Enchantments
d. The Geminio Curse

8. What was Snape aiming at when he cut off George’s ear?
a. Another Death Eater’s back
b. George’s wand hand
c. Another Death Eater’s wand hand
d. George’s face

9. How much older than James was Lily? (Referring to Harry’s parents, not children).
a. James was older
b. 6 months
c. 1 month
d. 2 months

10. Food is one of the five exceptions to what magical law?
a. Grimp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration
b. Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration
c. Gamp’s Law of Fundamental Transfiguration
d. Grimp’s Law of Fundamental Transfiguration

Picture Hunt

George

McGonagall

Patil

Where the Wild Things Are

'Claw Quiz!

2009-04-09T12:43:00.003+02:00

1- Who wrote the obituary of Dumbledore in The Daily Prophet? Elphias Doge
2- What is a Squib? The reverse of a Muggle-born; a person born into a wizarding family that cannot do any magic
3- Who stole the locket Horcrux from the Black House? Mundungus Fletcher
4- What are the Albus Dumbledores' siblings names? Ariana and Aberforth
5- Where did Hermione leave the money for the eggs and bread that they stole from the lonely farm? Under the chicken coup
6- What is the quote Lily and James Potter have on their tombstone? "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."
7- Why did Gilbert Grindewald leave wizarding school? He was expelled for experimenting with dark magic
8- Where does Xeno Lovegood first say that Luna is when Ron, Hermione and Harry visit? Down at the stream fishing for Freshwater Plimpies
9- What wood is the wand from The Deathly Hallows supposed to be made out of? An elder tree on the banks of a river
10- How did Harry, Hermione and Ron escape the vaults of Gringotts? On the back of a partially blind dragon
11- What is the name of the all-female Quidditch team that Ginny has a poster of in her room? the Holyhead Harpies
12- Describe what the Undetectable Extension Charm is. A charm to greatly increase the capacity of a container without changing the outward appearance (i.e. the Ford Anglia in Chamber of Secrets, the tent in Goblet of Fire, Hermione's bag in Deathly Hallows)

EARTHQUAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!

2009-04-06T18:44:00.002+02:00

So evidently there was an earthquake in Italy early this morning...and I slept right through it! LOL Actually, it happened in the city of L'Aquila, which is somewhat near Rome...and Rome is, I believe, about 6 hours away from us. I hear that the tremors were felt as far away as Trieste (which is significantly closer than Rome!), but being as it was at about 3:30 a.m., and that said tremors were evidently not that strong, the boys and I slept straight through all of it. We have no post-quake clean up or anything. In fact, the only reason I knew it happened was because my mom called me this morning (at about 5 hours after the fact) to see if we were okay. Otherwise, I'd have been oblivious all day! We spent the day on base; I was doing laundry and the boys were playing with a friend at the playground. So all is well here! Thank you for the concerns! :)

::Gasp::

2009-04-02T23:24:00.004+02:00

Oh my goodness! I can't believe it! The last picture I posted of Lizzie's full kit to me was, in fact, incomplete! I totally spaced the book that was in there, as well!

That book had been sitting in my amazon wishlist for some time! I can't believe I left it out! Tomorrow, after my camera's battery has been recharged, I'll have to take a "full kit" picture again...

EDIT: Forgot to plug in the battery to charge it, am super exhausted today, and, in short, do not have the extra picture I promised. lol Dunno if I'll get it up tomorrow, either...taking the poltergeists to a birthday party...

My Nomination for Best Kit!!!

2009-03-31T10:30:00.008+02:00

Can I just say "WOW"?! Last term, I saw Eugene's kit from Lizzie Wychwood, and instantly wanted to be spoiled by her...Lucky me, I got that wish granted this term! And again, I say: "WOW"!!!! The thought and care she puts into the package just blows me away! I'm sure I didn't show all the enthusiasm I really felt, given that I opened it all after the fiasco that was my flight in from Venice, but I assure, you Lizzie, it completely made my day and all the hassle of flying with my boys completely worth it!!! My nomination for best kit absolutely goes to my fantastic spoiler!

The Bag (Brea Bag), which I have had queued on Rav since nearly the time I became a member...

The beautiful bronze-y inside!:

Sock pattern, bag pattern, and stitch marker instructions:

Sock yarn (HBP Harry colorway), YUMMY yarn for the bag, and leftovers from the Brea Bag so I can make a matching wallet (which wasn't really part of the kit, but it goes with it...lol):

The HBP Harry colorway:

The gorgeous yarn for the bag:

The bag pattern, yarn, and bluetiful (hahaha) material for lining:

Yummy Muggle Sweets!:

The most gorgeous sock blockers EVER!!!!! (And my very first sock blockers):

Close-up of the eagle painted on the sock blockers:

Knit Picks size 2.5 mm dpns, knitting gauge (also my first!), and needle point protectors (again, a first!):

Mini-sock keychain that matches my Brea Bag:

Stitch marker instructions and supplies (which I am very excited about because I've wanted to learn how to make stitch markers for a while now!), and though it's not pictured (security in Gatwick wouldn't let me board the plane with it) there was also a 3-in-1 tool for making stitchmarkers:

Close-up of what my first self-made stitch markers will be made of:

The whole kit!!!:

So many "firsts" that have filled out knitting tools that I didn't before have...so much blue, which is the bestest color ever, and a bag that I fell in love with on sight! And to top it all off, I got it when I was the most stressed and frustrated, and I couldn't think of a better pick-me-up! Like I said: "WOW"!!!!! Thank you so very much, Lizzie!!! I love every part of it!!!

Magical Mystery Tour

2009-03-30T20:14:00.016+02:00

Day 2! I was a bit surprised that I was as awake as I was the next morning, and I was surprised that I wasn't already sore from the walking! I don't get out much, here at home, and am very out of shape. I figured the previous day's events and the walking around (to dinner and back and so on) would have made me super sore. But there must have been something in the air there, because I felt great and had gotten the best night's sleep in a loooooooooooooooong time!

Everyone had discussed at dinner the previous night what to fill Saturday with, but I was pretty out of it and by that time was only catching about 1/2 of what had been going on! LOL So you might say that the day that lay before me was a Mystery...we started off by meeting outside Starbucks and were going to walk everywhere. Can I just say that I absolutely LOVE Edinburgh?! I feel in love with that city just on the walk to Starbucks! Everything we were going to go see was close together and so beautiful! I have a love for European architecture. It's just so beautiful and breathtaking to me. And to have history, on top of that, that is older than America...it puts me in awe!

So after a bit of morning chatter and finally figuring out the order of our itinerary, we were off! Now, I figured that kilts were more of an "olden day" iconic thing for the Scots. Not so! There were far more out being worn than I expected! On our way down the Royal Mile, we came across a very talented young man!

Here he is getting all set up....

And I know I took video of him performing, I just can't find it! Grrr...I'll have to look later, I suppose...Anyway, after seeing a bagpipe performance, we continued on our way. But before we got to our destination, we came across another gem...Here are the 3 E's (Emma, Emma and Elladora) standing beneath a significant sign:

Close-up of said sign:

After that picture stop, we were finally there! Where we we going, you ask?...

They supposedly had an exhibit set up for seeing the entire process, from sheep to tartan, but none of us could figure how they came up with that claim...lol However, here is one of the ginormous machines they had on display. It was really amazing to look at it and see how it all worked. (Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture that got the whole thing in it...)

They even had tartan on part of their floor! I just thought that was the coolest thing ever... (Side note: I've always been a fan of the whole plaid thing...a taste I clearly share with Professor McGonagall!)

After the "museum" of tartan, we continued on to our next destination...HOGWARTS!!! Now of course, to all the Muggles around (and as I used a Muggle camera and didn't have the potion to develop it in), this is what it looked like:

They think it's a significant part of Muggle historical happenings, largely revolving around Muggle wars and such, but we witches and wizards know that there is much, much more to it than that. ;) One of the first things I noticed upon coming to the gate:

Do you see it....? Here, how about a hint:

The crest of Godric, himself! And I took many, many, many pictures, so I'm just going to put them in here with captions instead of continuing a narration at this point:

The portcullis:

A Dog Cemetary (sweet in a morbid sort of way, lol):

Emma Wigworthy and her family crest:

Emma leading us down to the Slytherin Common Room:

Down in the dorms of the Snake Pit:

Ravenclaw Tower:

The Great Hall!!!:

The closest I could find to the Ravenclaw Crest (I was a bit disappointed):

And now this post is soooooooooooo picture-heavy, I think Day 2 is going to have to have a part 2!

A Hard Day's Night...

2009-03-27T11:31:00.014+01:00

So many of you have been saying that I was "oh, so brave" to fly from Italy to Edinburgh on my own with my 3-year-old and my 2-year-old...the truth is...it wasn't bravery. It was severe insanity with a touch of suicidal tendencies! (Or, at the very least, just being extremely selfish. Which I paid dearly for.) After coming home, all I really have to say is this: Never. Ever. Ever. Again. Never will I again fly with two little ones by myself! Especially with them both going through the phases they are right now. Temper tantrums (screaming, crying, yelling...), roughhousing (pushing, tackling, and wrestling, which turns into hitting, kicking, and knocking over), and exercising their opinions and own desires apart from my own...it was foolish of me to do it. But I was bound and determined to not miss out on the get-together for the swap! But, as I said, I paid dearly for my selfishness...

The Hard Day began at 3am. I stayed awake all night long so that I didn't oversleep and miss the flight. I had to wake the boys up, get them out to the car, and get on the road toward the airport. (We had a friend that took us there.) Got there in plenty of time, got boarded (fairly) easily, I was super excited, albeit very tired, and was ready to go to Edinburgh!...but the plane wasn't. There were technical difficulties that kept us grounded for 2 hours. Two hours!!! Thankfully, I got to doze for a bit. Aidyn had also fallen back to sleep, but Calen was awake. As I was taking the carseats, though, and he was strapped in, I wasn't too concerned with staying awake. (Aidyn's carseat was too wide to fit in the airplane seat, which I hadn't counted on, because I know it fit just fine in the plane on the trip to move to Italy...) Finally, after they fixed the engine trouble, we were off. Got to Gatwick in London.

Arrivederci, Italia!

On the flight, they passed out what they call "landing cards" to those that are not UK citizens. Basically, you have to give them your passport ID number, the name and address of where you'll be staying in the UK, and the length of time for your visit. In all the papers I had printed out and made a point to have on me, the hotel reservation was not one of them. Go figure. So when we got to London and had to go through immigration, I wasn't allowed through. I evidently went in the wrong line (hauling the 2 carryon cases with the carseats laying down, one on each case, that kept slipping every time I turned...so I got shunted to the side to the right line, me apologizing to everyone I was cutting in the right line, yelling at two delinquent children that were tired and insisted on throwing tantrums and so on. I get over to the guy, lay down the cards and passports, and he gives me this look. Almost like a "are you stupid?" look. Before I even had a chance to open my mouth! And he pushed the cards back at me (again, before I had a chance to speak) and said, "these have to be completely filled out." I told him that I didn't have the address, and you know what he said back (before I could ask if he could help me at all)? "Then get it. And move to the side so I can help the people who do have their cards filled out." Okay, now, I get that there are other people waiting, but good grief! That guy was beyond rude! He didn't call anyone else over to give me a hand with said cases and screaming children or even any hint of how to find the address or anything! So I haul everything over to the side, catch the attention of someone patrolling the "gate" at the immigration control, and they said there were phones behind me, I could go use one of them. That person at least gave me a pitying look, even if they didn't try to help me move that direction or anything...

So I get over to the pay phone, and I turn on my cell. I got texts in Italian telling me I'd have extra fees for using my phone in the UK. Yeah, okay, I didn't care about the fees at that moment. Right then, all I wanted was to call Lizzie Wychwood or Lily May Clearwater to see if they could look it up for me. My phone wouldn't work. At all. Great. (Turns out, when you have a prepaid phone, you evidently have to inform the phone carrier ahead of time...) So I was going to use the pay phone (that blessedly accepted euro, as I hadn't changed money yet) and call them...but I couldn't find the number in my phone that I know I programmed in the night before!!! Ok, so I would call one of my friends back in Italy and have them look it up for me. The phone wouldn't recognize Italian numbers!!! So my flight from Venice was already 2 hours behind schedule, I was supposed to meet a taxi to take me to my connection at Heathrow, I had two screaming kids and insanely rude people at immigration control, in a foreign country where I couldn't get a hold of anyone I knew. I was already on the verge of losing it, and the trip had only just begun!!!

I got the attention of one of the guys nearby, and he pointed me to the British Airways (who I was flying with) desk on this side of immigration. I go over there, clearly stressed and hassled, and I tell you, those people are magic. LOL One of them must have been a witch who calmed me with a charm from a wand under the desk...Anyway, they shuffled me around to switch my flight to Edinburgh to one going out of Gatwick so that I didn't have to stress about my Heathrow connection. Unfortunately, that put me at getting into Edinburgh at 2pm instead of noon, and the first meet up was supposed to be at the Elephant House at 2pm, but at that point, that was a minor detail I could overlook, just so long as we weren't stuck in London! They point me the direction of security, I haul my cookies (and the cookies of my kicking and screaming children) over to get our boarding passes checked...and someone from immigration comes over and says "they sent you the wrong way, you have to go through immigration." ARGH! I still didn't have the address! Nor could I remember the name of the hotel! Once again, the British Airways people worked their magic, though. I gave them what I remembered of the hotel name, and they looked it up for me and filled out that stupid blank line on each of the cards. Finally. I got through immigration. Went to go through security, and they tell me "you can't take the seats on the plane. Those have to be checked." I deliberately didn't pack any check-sized bags to avoid dealing with any of that! But whatever. Drag everything back to the nearest British Airways desk. (Not the same one as on the other side of immigration, lol)Once again, they were super helpful. They basically took the seats away from me and checked them for me. lol That was a nice break!

Then ahead of me lay the actual flight to Edinburgh! We had some time to kill, and I was told I could go up to the lounge and let the boys play in the British Airways lounge play area. Sweet! A break for me! I get aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way over to the lounge and up the elevator to the right level, and the people at the desk ask to see our boarding passes. Evidently, you have to have a certain class of ticket to use their lounge. Lame. To the nth degree. Haul the boys (who were not happy with me, since I had asked them if they wanted to go play, and they were looking for the playground...) and the bags back down to the other level and just went to our gate to wait. That was when I was finally able to fire up my laptop and leave a couple messages on the Rav forums. My boys, by that point, were getting a bit out of control, turning quickly into those kids you always see that run around screaming like banshees and wonder if their parents have any control over them. And the answer to that was pretty much "no." I didn't care by then, though. If someone wanted to complain, let them. Then I could vent my frustration on an airport employee and say "if you want them to behave like humans, get me into that lounge's play area!" I was almost disappointed nobody did complain, actually. I wanted to yell at somebody! LOL And actually, the only rude people I met at all on the trip were the immigration people on the way in (and the security at Gatwick on the way out, but that's for a later post)...everyone else was nice and understanding and helpful. Got on the plane. The boys were still tired and then complaining about being hungry and just wanted to go home. They actually got mad at me when I told them home was far, far away...

Finally. We got to Edinburgh. But nobody was there to meet me. I looked at the clock. 2:30. They were all at the Elephant House already. By that point, if it weren't for the little ears with me (and the little mouths attached that repeat all they hear), I'd have let out a nice, long stream of curses...still couldn't remember my hotel. (The BA people picked a hotel and wrote down the address. I don't even know if that was the right one.) My laptop battery was so low, my computer wouldn't turn on. My cell phone still wouldn't work. There were computers usable there, but you had to pay to use them, and I couldn't find the supposed slot for the coin. (I actually found it later, on the return trip!) But there was limited access for free, and I was able to track down a phone number for what I though was the hotel. Got a hold of their main office, and they checked...and I was right! That was who my reservation was through! Ok, so then just to find my way there with nobody I knew nearby and no knowledge of the city...the answer? A taxi. LOL Got to the hotel. Checked in. They told me all the general check in info, but I hardly heard any of it. I was at my wit's end by that point. Got the boys upstairs, went into our room. They immediately occupied themselves with jumping on the beds. I locked the door (so they couldn't get out of the room and run away), dropped everything, and shut myself in the bathroom. I had no phone numbers, no way to use the Internet, no way to contact anyone from the swap, and was with two unruly children in a hotel room of a strange and new city. I seriously sat down and started to cry. I heard a phone ring, but I thought it was in the next room. From the sounds, I could tell the boys had stopped jumping, so I dried my tears, took a deep breath, and went to see what they were getting into. Aidyn dropped the phone back onto the receiver like it was a hot coal! LOL Thankfully, it rang again, and turned out to be the wonderful Miss Lizzie! Evidently, she had been chatting with Aidyn. LOL So the whole crew (Lizzie, Emma W., Emma G., Elladora and her friend Vicki, and Lily May) came over to the hotel to hang out in the hotel lobby to relax for a bit. Oh, I so needed those friendly faces!

Emma G. and Lily May

Lizzie, Emma W. and Elladora

Lily May started off with a gift for my boys (toy dinosaurs!) which they (and I!) were both grateful for! And I got some gifties! My kit was amazing!!! (I'll be posting pics of my actual kit in a different post...this is the anecdote of my travels!) We went out to dinner at a restraunt called "The Filling Station," which was awesome! There was so much there that reminded me of the U.S. (it's awesome living in Europe, but sometimes you just miss your own country, you know?)...the "oldies" that were playing, the paraphenelia on the walls (Ford, baby!), the non-Italian taste of the food...it was awesome! After that, the boys and I went back to the hotel and all three of us were alseep at 7:30pm...

So in short, I had a looooooooooooooooong, hard day, but that night was the beginning of a wonderful stay in a beautiful city! The next day's events to come in a following blog...

Yay for Randomness!!!

2009-03-26T17:55:00.002+01:00

I received a lovely RAOK today from Miss Fleur Sweeting! I recently made a trip to Edinburgh, which the travels to and from there were extremely stressful, but the time there was phenomenal, and this morning we got out for a playdate, so nothing particularly rotten has been going on to where it was the perfectly timed pick-me-up, but it sure was some beautiful icing on the yummy cake of life I've been having lately! :D

Those chocolates look sooooooooooooooooooooooooo good! I've been drooling over them since lunchtime (which was when I had popped by the post office), but been a good mommy and not spoiled a meal...or would it make me a selfish mommy for not opening it so I wouldn't have to share with the poltergiests? LOL Either way, I'll be enjoying them tonight! Along with relaxing with the cucumber eye patches! Those look fun! :) And the yarn!!! (It's Saphira 100% superwash merino...not sure of a colorway name, but I luuuuuuuurve it! Such pretty blues and greens!!!) ::gasp:: to the millionth power!!! WOW!!!! It's gorgeous!!! Thank you, Fleur!!!!

Day by day...

2009-03-25T14:42:00.003+01:00

So far too much happened on the comings and goings and during our stay to cram it all into one post, so I'm going to do a seperate post for every exciting day! :D (Not too mention, the poltergeists won't let me sit down long enough to write it all in one post...they're having a time of adjusting to being back home evidently...driving me nuts!)

So tired...

2009-03-22T23:52:00.004+01:00

So I just organized a lot of pictures. Over 500 of them, actually. (And no, they're not all from the trip...I had about 200 on my camera that I forgot to clear off before we came...) And now I'm absolutely exhausted. My poltergiests are sleeping soundly (which means I've been working in the dark for the past nearly 2 hours) and my eyes are tired from looking at the monitor...soooo...I'm sorry, but I won't be posting massive amounts of pictures tonight. I need to get some rest to keep up with them at the zoo and train station tomorrow! (And if I can squeeze it in, Greyfriar's Bobby...we were over at the Elephant House the other day, but forgot to swing by, and I know if I don't see it while I'm here, I'll regret it!) However, I will give you all a little taste/teaser. ;)

A very talented young man playing the bagpipes:

The beautiful Edinburgh Castle!:

Descending into the Snake Pit!:

The lovely yarn shop!:

The infamous location where Jo penned the first of her brilliant works!!!:

The lot of us out to dinner:

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-22T19:55:00.002+01:00

I'm sorry I've been so quiet! I spent most of last week getting ready for our trip to Edinburgh, and then once here, I had issuses with getting my computer online and such. We leave tomorrow evening, after our trip to the zoo and the train station, but hopefully that gives me ample time to blog tonight! I have been taking many, many, many pictures and having a blast! I'm the last of the group to leave out. Everyone else departed earlier today (or in Emma G's case, preparing to leave very soon!), so it's just myself and my little poltergiests tonight and tomorrow. :) But I promise I'll get pictures and such up as soon as I possibly can!!!

Next Round of Quidditch!!!

2009-03-15T13:52:00.003+01:00

1. On which day did the Order of the Phoenix come to get Harry?

a. Tuesday
b. Sunday
c. Saturday
d. The day of his 17th birthday

2. During all this chaos with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, people still had lives to live and Ron's oldest brother, Bill decided to marry Fleur Delacour. Who were the uninvited guests at Bill and Fleur's wedding?

a. Voldemort
b. Death Eaters
c. Scrimgeour
d. Grindewald

3. Voldemort had seven Horcruxes hidden in different places. Six of them were hidden at the Gaunt shack, Hogwarts, a cave, inside Harry, inside his snake, Nagini and Tom Riddles Diary. Did Voldemort hide the last Horcrux inside the Malfoy's vault at Gringotts?

a. Yes
b. No (it was in the Lestrange's vault)

4. Why did the Dumbledore's move to Godric's Hollow?

a. The reason is unknown
b. They were tired of their old home.
c. The father went to Azkaban
d. It was a better place for their children to grow up

5. Harry and Hermione read a part of "Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore," written by Rita Skeeter. Then they met Dumbledore's brother Abeforth and he told them the same story, just with a few details changed. Which of the following did Aberforth and Rita Skeeter agree on about Dumbdore's past?

a. Why the Dumbledore family moved to Godric's Hollow
b. That Dumbledore was friends with Grindelwald for a while.
c. Why nobody outside the family noticed Ariana much.
d. The reason for Dumbledore's father's imprisonment in Azkaban.

6. When Harry and Hermione visit Godric's Hollow, they visit the graveyard to see Harry's parent's graves. Harry walks by a tombstone that we later learn belong to tone of "The Three Brothers." The brother buried there once owned what?

a. The ressrection stone
b. The cloak
c. The wand
d. The sword

7. The Trio finds out that Luna had been kidnapped by the Death Eaters , and that they won't give her back until they got Harry Potter. Why did they kidnap Luna?

a. Her father sided with Harry and Dumbledore
b. They though he would come to her rescue
c. She was a muggleborn
d. Her father failed as a Death Eater

8. After Voldemort killed Snape, he left the room and Harry came out from under the cloak. Snape gave Harry some of his memories all the way from when he was a child to just months before. Harry dived into the Pensieve and which of the following did he not see?

a. Dumbldore telling Snape that at some point Snape had to kill him.
b. Snape telling Lily she was a witch
c. Snape and Lily having fun in a potions class
d. Snape talking to Dumbledore on a hilltop

9. On the search of the Lost Diadem, Harry finally gets to talk to the Gray Lady. Who was the Gray Lady when she was alive?

a. She didn't remember because she had been dead for so long.
b. Rowena Ravenclaw.
c. Helena Ravenclaw.
d. A girl who was put in ravenclaw 800 years previously

10. Which of these is not one of Harry or Ron's children?

a. Rose
b. Hugo
c. James
d. Victoria

Picture Scavenger Hunt

These pictures must either be posted to your blog or linked to from your blog.

Lily

Ron

Snape

Luna

Godric's Hollow

All around Hogwarts...

2009-03-10T16:19:00.005+01:00

I loved this week's assignment! :) I bumped into Knitsy a couple of times, while she was clearly gathering some news for our gossip column, but have been finding treasures all over other blogs...I think I've even come across one that I may not have seen before! I have no idea how it fell through the cracks, though...odd...I'm usually so thorough...

Anyway, I want to start off with my Gryffindor report...may I just say that Miss Pandora Phelps ROCKS?! I love all of her creations! She's recently made a Niffler and a cauldron bag and is now working on a horse that may become a pegasus...I just love looking at what she comes up with! It's so awesome!

Over in Hufflepuff, poor Chrysta the Cursed seems to be having dental issues...I have some of my own and have been suffering from toothaches quite a bit myself lately, so I can empathize! I hope you feel better soon, Chrysta!

And I never thought I'd say this, but I'm a wee bit jealous of a Slytherin! Rowena Weasley has posted pictures from her Hawaii vacation, and they are simply breathtaking! I guess I'll just have to make myself content with going somewhere in Europe and taking pictures. ;) Heeheehee!

I have been getting quite the workout as of late, running up and down to the owlery multiple times a day! My BFF over at Beauxbatons and I are communicating more than usual...but I can't say why!

Owl Attack!

2009-03-04T02:42:00.005+01:00

Something happened yesterday that reminded me of when I lost my duel last term to Elladora. I was bombarded by owls and almost had an anxiety attack at the memory trigger! First I got a lovely package from Minerva Wood! She had made me the lovliest pair of socks a while back, and I wore them so much I wore holes in them! I was sooooooo upset! Well, she made me a new pair! :D They're asolutely gorgeous!

Thank you so much, Minerva! I love them!!!

The next package was a book I'd ordered, that I'd forgotten I'd ordered, but have been wanting to read for quite some time now. So when I opened it, I got a huge smile on my face and quite a bit excited that I have some new reading material! :)

And I got a new pattern book, too, in a third package! :D My mother-in-law had asked me if I could make my nieces sock monkeys. I looked and looked and looked all over, but couldn't find a free pattern I liked, so I caved and bought one. :)

I'm really looking forward to buying the yarn I need and making them once the term is over! :)

The fourth package I got was from my mom, and it was actually full of goodies for my Christmas deocration stash and some yummy candy canes. :) (I hadn't gotten to eat any for Christmas because my older poltergiest got into them and ate them all.) And now it's time for me to go to bed so I can work on ymy homework and spoilee's package tomorrow!

New Homework! :)

2009-03-02T16:08:00.004+01:00

Hey, 'Claws! There's a new assignment up on the Nest! :) Time to break out the quills and parchment, and stir up that imagination! Have fun with it!!!