Thank You J.K. Rowling!!

I feel so very lucky to have been alive during the Harry Potter phenomenon. I also feel blessed to have had a son who was the perfect age when the first books came out.

In 1999 I was a single mother of a 10 year old son. I do not remember where or when I first started hearing about the Harry Potter books .... but the 3rd book, The Prisoner of Azkaban was coming out with much ado in the media and I had not yet read the first two books! According to Amazon.com I ordered all three books at the same time in October of 1999.

I was hooked with the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I devoured the first three books .... and talked my 10 year old son into reading The Sorcerer's Stone after me. He was not much into reading at the time. But what do you know?? The Sorcerer's Stone sucked him in, too! And if I have nothing else to thank J.K. Rowling for, which I do, I am immensely thankful to her for writing the first book which pulled my child into the wonderful world of reading!

At family gatherings for Christmas 1999 we found out that my nieces and nephews were also reading the Harry Potter books .... as well as their parents!! That encouraged my son, Robbie, to keep reading the next two books ... The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban. I remember being amazed at these 10 year old children who were eagerly devouring a 435 page book .... and then talking to each other about them! And the adults were all talking about these books, too! And the adults were talking to the kids and the kids were talking to the adults and everyone was talking about Harry Potter. And everybody was eagerly awaiting the next novel.

Also in late 1999 I met the man who would later become my husband. He was a reader, too, and he was also reading the Harry Potter books. A 45 year old man reading Harry Potter! In fact, it was his sister-in-law who finally told me how to pronounce Hermione's name correctly!! She and her husband and son were all reading them, too. It seemed everyone was reading Harry Potter and I found that to be amazing.

In July 2000 Harry Potter 4 ... The Goblet of Fire came out and I made the mistake of only buying ONE copy!! OH MY!! I immediately had to go out and buy another copy so that Robbie and I could both read the book at the same time! Thank goodness it was summer so that it didn't get in the way of schoolwork! His nor mine nor my students'!! This book was 734 pages long and kids everywhere were racing through it! Robbie kept wanting to talk about it as we were reading it ... I was always chapters behind him and this frustrated him to no end! But we would discuss the parts I had covered already, and he never failed to notice things I hadn't noticed, and offered me insights I hadn't thought about. My 11 year old and I were reading the same book and talking about it! Enjoying it!!

By the time Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out, in July of 2003, Tom and I had been married for two years and I was wise enough to order 3 copies from Amazon.com .... which were delivered to our door on the day it came out.

The first and second Harry Potter movies had already been in theaters and they had put a face and a vision to all that was Harry Potter. None of the movies were as good as the books .... but they were still amazing creations. The actors and actresses were PERFECTLY casted. The movies were a visual treat!

The Order of the Phoenix was 870 pages long and was the darkest and my least favorite of the Harry Potter novels. Yet .... because we were reading it in July of 2003, the orange kitten we took in at that time is now our cat named Weasley .... after Ron .... and the other carrot-headed Weasleys. We call him Weasel for short ... and it fits him. This time it was Tom and Robbie and I all reading the book at the same time ... all checking with each other to see what chapter who was on ... and discussing the parts we all had read. None of us liked the 5th book much. It was well written and well done ..... and necessary to the story overall ... but none of us liked seeing evil move in and take over the way it did in Book 5.

Robbie was 13 in July of 2003 ... and the Harry Potter books were not coming out fast enough for him. He asked us for books to read. He wondered if we knew of other books, similar to Harry Potter, which we thought he might enjoy. Enter The Narnia Series of books by C.S. Lewis. Enter Philip Pullman and the Dark Materials Trilogy. Enter the books Eragon and Eldest by Christopher Paolini. Enter Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. Enter Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series ....

I have a son who loves to read! And so many young people his age have found reading ... and the main person we have to thank for all this is J. K. Rowling. It also doesn't hurt that I love to read and that our home is full of bookshelves which are full of all kinds of books. Tom and I both always have a book near our side. But J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter got Robbie into reading at a much younger age and he has never been afraid to pick up a 1,000 page book.

Robbie has also learned how much better a book is compared to the movie based on the book. We all love the Harry Potter movies .... but none have been better than their book. Speaking of which .... I am also glad to have been living during the time of the fantastic filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The books were still better .... but what an amazing cinematic achievement the movies were! So here's an aside "Thank You" to Peter Jackson for bringing those wonderful books to life on the big screen in such a fantastic way!

Book 6 ... Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out in July 2005. Here is an added thanks to J.K. Rowling and her publishers for making sure the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th books all came out in July!! How else could everyone get them read so quickly? It was perfect for students and teachers with summers off! I can't imagine having to teach a classroom full of teenagers the day after a Harry Potter book was released! We would have had to throw away our lesson plans and just let everybody read! A good thing for an English class ... but I teach Math!

Anyway ... once again, I ordered 3 copies of Book 6 from Amazon ... and once again, they were on our doorstep the day of the release. Once again we all read the books at the same time and discussed the parts we all had read. I liked book 6 much better than book 5 ... but I did not want Dumbledore to be dead. And I had so hoped that Snape was actually a good guy. Book 6 left us with lots of clues and questions. It was a perfect set-up for the 7th and final book. Now all we had to do was re-read the first 6 books and WAIT.

July 2007 finally rolled around and it was to be a Harry Potter Bonanza Month!! First came the movie .... Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The cast from the 1st movie was still intact (except for Dumbledore) and Harry and Ron and Hermione, along with all the other teenage actors, were all aging with their characters. Who would have thought that Ron would be taller than Harry?

Anyway ... Tom and Robbie and I went to see The Order of the Phoenix at the Studio Movie Grill in Lewsiville. Numerous families were in attendance with us. I particularly noticed a young boy, probably age 10 or 11, sitting with his father a few seats down from us. As the previews were playing there was one particular preview which caught my attention and as I was watching it, I wondered what book it was based on and how I could have missed reading such a wonderful book. I asked Robbie if he recognized the preview as being from a book? The preview made the movie look like it was going to be wonderful (although I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the movie) and I kept thinking how I needed to get ahold of the book before that movie came out. At the end of that preview, and before the next one started, I heard the young boy near us say to his father, "I want the book!"

"I want the book!" Words which came out of the mouth of a 10 or 11 year old boy while sitting in a movie theater. The very same words that Tom and Robbie and I all happened to be thinking, too! Not "I want to see that movie!" but "I want the book!" I have been searching the web for links to movie previews to try to find what movie it was previewing and to see if I could find the book ... but it looks like I may have to go see The Order of the Phoenix again, just to find out what that preview was! (If anybody reading this blog knows what it was, please let me know!)

Side note: I think it might have been "The Spiderwick Chronicles"?

Anyway ... The Order of the Phoenix was very well done. Keep in mind, this was my least favorite book, so I was a little bit worried about the movie. Evil Umbridge was well casted and played. She did not look like a toad, as she was described in the book, but it made her evil seem even worse because it was coming from this pleasant looking woman. ((Hmmmm .... reminds me of some ex-friends of mine.))

Finally on Saturday July 21, 2007, the 7th and final Harry Potter book arrived on our doorstep .... once again in triplicate. Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows swept the world. Robbie, now 17, was the first to dig in. Tom and I soon followed and the silence in our home was amazing. We were each in our own little Harry Potter inspired world, and quite happy to be there! We did have the British Open on the TV on Sunday and the commentators mentioned more than once the number of people they saw in the crowds who were actually reading the Harry Potter book in between the action on the course! And in our home there were actually a couple of evenings when the television set didn't even come on! That is unheard of around here (sadly).

SPOILER ALERT .... don't read if you don't want to know what happens in the last pages of the last book.

I think each of us who read the last book slowed down as we neared the end. As various beloved characters died, a sadness began to set in. Then it became clear that Harry himself was going to die in this last book. But yet, his death seemed right. The only way to stop the spread of evil was for Harry to willingly go to his death. In fact, it seemed a decidedly Christian sacrifice that Harry was being asked to make, a sacrifice he was willing to offer. A sacrifice I was going to have trouble reading ... but which I totally understood. And Harry did die. Harry was killed by Voldemort. Harry also lived again and in the end, good conquered all. But not without loss of friends and family. The book ends with a last chapter set 19 years later, when Harry is 36. He is married. He has children. Same for Ron and Hermione. Hogwarts still exists, and their children attend.

SPOILER OVER ....

Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for creating Harry Potter and all that he has become. Thank you for writing books which children of all ages could enjoy. Thank you for writing books which adults can discuss over a beer and children can discuss on the playground and families can discuss over dinner. And thank you for enriching my son's life from age 10 to 17 ... he grew up while Harry grew up. You have many wonderful lessons entwined throughout your books which I hope Robbie has picked up on .... many I KNOW he has picked up on.

I could go on and on ... I already have ... but one more time ... THANK YOU, J.K. ROWLING!

Rearranging and De-Cluttering ....

I have spent the last 3 days working on my tutoring area!! Moving bookcases .... sorting books .... putting things into storage containers .... everything is still a pretty big mess .... but I have finally got the bookcases and shelves where I want them, I think ... and I am now trying to decide what to keep ... what to store ... and what to give away!!

I just listed over 70 books on PaperBackSwap .... go there and check out my bookcase!! You can get these books from me FREE ... but you have to list some of yours to give away before you can get mine free ... kind of a cool site! I am Cincin21 on there ... in case you are interested. If you join, be sure to add me as a friend, too.

I have spent my days working on the rooms and my evenings reading Harry Potter!! Almost done!! Which is kinda sad ....

I have 8 hours of tutoring TOMORROW!! Eight hours in one day in the SUMMER!! Am I crazy?? It seems so!! Sheesh ... Plus ... getting lots of contacts from people interested in Homeschool tutoring this coming Fall. I've had 4 contacts in the last 2 days .... all good things!! So that is going well ... I just need to get my tutoring table cleaned off by 11:00 tomorrow morning!!

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More Later .....

Happy Everything!!

This is my friend Sueann .... and this pic just makes me smile!! So I thought I would share ....

A Gentle Reprimand From "Above" ...

My Dear Children (and believe me that's all of you):

I consider myself a pretty patient being, I mean, look at the Grand Canyon. It took millions of years to get it right. And about evolution? Boy, nothing is slower than designing that whole Darwinian thing to take place, cell by cell, and gene by gene. I've been patient through your fashions, civilizations, wars and schemes, and the countless ways you take Me for granted until you get yourselves into big trouble again and again. I want to let you know some of the things that are starting to tick me off.

First of all, your religious rivalries are driving Me up a wall. Enough already! Let's get one thing straight. These are YOUR religions, not Mine. I'm the whole enchilada; I'm beyond them all. Every one of your religions claims there is only one of Me (which by the way, is absolutely true). But in the very next breath, each religion claims it's My favorite one. And each claims its Holy Book was written personally by Me, and that all the other Holy Books are man-made.

Oh, Me. How do I even begin to put a stop to such complicated nonsense?

Okay, listen up now. I'm your Father AND Mother, and I DON'T play favorites among MY children. Also, I hate to break it to you, but I don't write. My longhand is awful, and I've always been more of a "doer" anyway. So ALL of your books, including those Holy Book's, were written by men and women. They were inspired, remarkable people, but they also made mistakes here and there. I made sure of that, so you would never trust a written word more than your own living heart.

You see, one human being to me -- even a bum on the street -- is worth more than all the Holy Books in the world. That's just the kind of being I am.

My Spirit is not a historical thing. It's alive right here, right now, as fresh as your next breath. Holy books and religious rites are sacred and powerful, but not more so than the least of you. They were only meant to steer you in the right direction, not to keep you arguing with each other, and certainly not to keep you from trusting your own personal connection with Me.

Which brings Me to My next point about your nonsense. You act like I need you and your religions to stick up for Me and/or "win souls" for My sake. Please, don't do Me any favors. I can stand quite well on my own, thank you. I don't need you to defend Me, and I don't need constant credit, I just want you to be good to each other.

And another thing: I don't get all worked up over money or politics, so stop dragging My name into your dramas. For example, I swear to Me that I never threatened Oral Roberts. I never rode in any of Rajneesh's Rolls Royce's. I never told Pat Robertson to run for President, and I've never EVER had a conversation with Jimmy Bakker, Jerry Falwell, or Jimmy Swaggart! Of course, come Judgment Day, I certainly intend to...!!

The thing is, I want you to stop thinking of religion as some sort of loyalty pledge to Me. The true purpose of your religions is so you can become more aware of ME, not the other way around. Believe Me, I know you already. I know what's in each of your hearts, and I love you with no strings attached.

Lighten up and enjoy Me. That's what religion is best for you.

What you seem to forget is how mysterious I am. You look at the petty differences in your Scriptures and say, "Well, if THIS is the truth, then THAT can't be!" But instead of trying to figure out my Paradoxes and Unfathomable Nature -- which by the way, you NEVER will -- why not open your hearts to the simple common threads in all religions? You know what I am talking about: Love and respect everyone. Be kind, even when life is scary or confusing, take courage and be good of cheer, for I am always with you. Learn how to be quiet, so you can hear my small still voice (I don't like to shout). Leave the world a better place by living your life with dignity and gracefulness, for you are My Own Child.

Hold back Nothing from life, for the parts of you that can die surely will, and the parts that can't won't.

So don't worry, be happy!! (I stole that last line from Bobby McFerrin, but who do you think gave it to him in the first place?)

Simple stuff. Why do you keep making it so complicated? It's like you're always looking for an excuse to be upset. And I'm very tired of being your main excuse. Do you think I care whether you call Me Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, Wakantonka, Brahma, Father, Mother or even the Void of Nirvana? Do you think I care which of My special children you feel closest to - Jesus, Mary, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, or any of the others? You can call Me and My Special Ones any name you choose, if only you would go about My business of loving one another as I love you.

How can you keep neglecting something so simple?I'm not telling you to abandon your religions. Enjoy your religions, honor them, learn from them, just as you should enjoy, honor, and learn from your parents. But do you walk around telling everyone that your parents are better than theirs? Your religion, like your parents, may always have the most special place in your heart, I don't mind that at all. And I don't want you to combine all the Great Traditions in One Big Mess. Each religion is unique for a reason. Each has a unique style so that people can find the best path for themselves.

But My Special Children -- the ones that your religions revolve around -- all live in the same place (My heart) and they get along perfectly, I assure you.

The clergy must stop creating a myth of sibling rivalry where there is none. My blessed children of Earth, the world has grown too small for your pervasive religious bigotry's and confusion. The whole planet is connected by air travel, satellite dishes, telephones, fax machines, rock concerts, diseases, and mutual needs and concerns. Get with the program! If you really want to help then commit yourselves to figuring out how to feed your hungry, clothe your naked, protect your abused, and shelter your poor.

And just as importantly, make your own everyday life a shining example of kindness and good humor. I've given you all the resources you need, if only you abandon your fear of each other and begin living, loving, and laughing together.

Finally, My Children everywhere, when you think of the life of Jesus and the fearlessness with which He chose to live and die ... As I love Him, so do I love each one of you ....I'm not really ticked off, I just wanted to grab your attention because I hate to see you suffer. But I gave you free will. I just want you to be happy.

Always.Trust in Me Your One and Only,

God

Cincin's Philosophies ....

Life is Short .... Be Happy

Eat what you like, in moderation .... Drink what you like, in moderation ... the nice thing about the US is that there always seems to be more of what we like available ....

Love Yourself exactly as you are RIGHT NOW .... wrinkles, bulges, aches and all ....

Think of the people you enjoy being with ... are they perfect? What do you love about them? Do you have some of these same traits?

Practice Gratitude ...

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the Universe - no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should ....

Take naps!!

Sit and read .... read things you enjoy ....

More Cowbell!!!

Who is John Galt?

Hang around people who make you laugh ...

Yet Another Fine Day ....

Saturdays are also very good!! We all slept in ... including the dog!! She is a very well-behaved young lady since going to the Animal Magic lady for Doggie Camp!!

Tom and I got up at 8:30 and fixed some coffee and headed for the Farmer's Market in Old Town Lewisville. We wanted some yummy tomatoes .... home-grown and flavorful! There were only a couple of people selling fruits and veggies .... but what beautiful fruits and veggies!!! YUMMY! And there was a stand selling coffee and sweet breads Three Sisters Bread Company ... so next time we will just head there and get a cuppa from them instead of taking the time to make our own!! And of course we had to buy some Cinnamon Crumble Bread .... which was heavenly!

While in Old Town we also decided to visit the Old Town Meat Market on Mill Street. I had heard about it for years and years, but never been in there. Well ... it was a bit like stepping back into my childhood in Creston, IL .... Headon's Fine Meats ... where they did all the butchering and sausage making and everyone was happy and friendly ....

We bought spiral steaks to grill on Sunday evening ... and various sausages ... and some specialty spices. It was very nice talking with the folks behind the counter ... all were happy and helpful ... and it really was like a step back into my past ....

Back home we got Robbie up and headed out to the Studio Movie Grill in Lewisville to see the latest Harry Potter movie and have lunch. This is a great place to see a movie!! You can get sodas as well as beers or wines or mixed drinks ... they have a full bar!! And their food menu is actually very good!! I had the BBQ Chicken Wrap with Sweet Potato Fries ... and it was YUMMY!! And we got to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix while we ate and drank!! What a deal!! The movie itself was very good .... I read the book years ago and it was my least favorite of the Harry Potter books (it really really irritates me when idiots somehow get control) .... it still irritated me in the movie, but Umbridge was very well played ...((she'd make an excellent Troll)).

We left the theater at around 2:30 ... and it was still only 81 degrees outside ... with the sun shining bright! It is July 14th in North Texas and only in the 80's?? Amazing!!! What a wonderful summer we are having!!

For dinner we had BLT's made with the home-grown tomatoes ... so good!! Oh .... and Robbie finally got a job ... working for the new Jimmy John's sandwhich shop on 3040 in Lewisville. We are hoping he will still have the job when they find out he is 17. Who knew 17 year olds would have a tough time finding work? Anyway ... we think he has a job!

Life is wonderful!!

Near Perfect Day ....

Yesterday was a near perfect day!! I just have to share with whoever reads this ...

It was Friday .... which is already one of my fave days no matter what. Tom turned off the alarm when he got up and let me sleep .... I normally get up around 6:30am .... so sleeping until 8:00 was nice.

Caroline showed up to clean our house at 10:00am. I am very glad she is back working again. I told her I was going to go get my nails done in order to get out of her way and she told me about a new nail place near me called "Hawaiian Nail Bar" where they treat you like a Queen and serve you free drinks! Okay ... it was 10:00am ... but it was Friday ... so I thought I would give it a try!

The Hawaiian Nail Bar was decorated like a beachside tiki hut and it smelled wonderful!! I smelled peppermint and pina colada as I walked through the door. The pedicure chairs were REALLY comfortable with some really good massage functions and the footbath was filled with slices of grapefruit and some sort of salts and felt wonderful. There was a menu of foot and hand treatments to choose from like: Peppermint Day Dream Pedi, Anti-Stress Foot Treatment, Rose Petal Pedi, Hawaiian Lime Pie Pedi, Green Tea Therapy Pedi, Fresh Cucumber Pedi, Chocolate Mint Pedi .... etc!!

I chose the Peppermint one .... I wish I had a camera with me to take a picture of the tray he brought ((and he had already brought me a glass of red wine .... they didn't have champagne)). The tray was filled with all kinds of pretty blues in the forms of saltscrubs and creams. I took a pic with my phone ... but not sure how to get it from my phone to here ...

I had a book with me ... "The Sunday Philosophy Club" by Alexander McCall Smith ... so I settled into reading while the young man went to work on my feet and calves .... The whole experience with salt-scrubs and leg-masques wrapped with warm towels ... and 15 minutes of reflexology massage (which could have been done with a firmer hand, in my opinion) ... along with all the toenail treatments .... ending with polish .... the whole experience was wonderful. The salon smelled wonderful and the wine was a fun extra touch .... not necessary, but made the whole experience just a little bit more "decadent".

I also got a manicure ... I am trying to grow out my nails after over 12 years of acrylic nails .... and my real nails are in horrible condition. The manicure experience was also wonderful ... but there were too many layers of polish applied and even though I waited 15 minutes for it to dry ... I ruined the polish by answering my phone, which was in my purse, even before I had left the parking lot. Sigh ... Next time ... just a couple of layers of polish!

I got home at 1:10 .... and accused Caroline of being a horrible influence on me!! LOL ... here I had been reading a book ... sipping wine .... getting leg and foot and arm and hand massages ... while she was cleaning my house .... She just laughed at me!! What a great young lady!!

So ... my house was clean ... I was happy and relaxed ... and at 1:30 friends were coming over for my weekly Friday Afternoon by the Pool gathering. Actually, only one friend showed up ... but it was only in the 80's outside ... and cloudy! We still floated in the pool and talked .... the water was actually warmer than the day!! VERY UNUSUAL for July 13th in Texas!!

THEN it was time to go to BJ's!! Robb and Di and Pami and Chris met us there and a good time was had by all!! "We need more Cowbell" was the theme of the evening. Pami and Chris came back to our house afterwards and we sat out on the deck and drank coffee and chatted. ((The OFF Lanterns were lit, thank goodness, because mosquitoes have been the biggest downside of all the rain and cool weather)). Lexi performed all of her good-dog tricks. The cats love Pami. Chris and Pami are really enjoyable people. They own a Curves in a nice part of Ft. Worth and we talked a lot about how to promote their business better. A nice evening was had by all!

All in all .... it was a wonderful day!!

Just wanted to share ....

Cancun Photos ....

Robbie and I went parasailing so he and I don't have pics of that (we got dunked in the water) ... but Steve and Ellen have pics .... I'm waiting for those!!

Poor Tom was the main man behind the camera so there aren't any pics of him!!

Happy 4th of July!!

House July 2007

We have been getting a lot of rain here in North Texas .... here are some pics of how our house looked when we bought it 6 years ago ... and how it looked in March (3 months ago) and how it looks today .... We are a bit water-logged in the backyard especially ....

Happy 4th of July!!

Mexico Trip ....

We had a great time in Mexico .... Steve and Ellen are a great couple to travel with .... and Robbie and Patrick were good together, too.

The Moon Palace was HUGE ... 2100 rooms .... two main lobbies. Our room was very nice ... beautiful marble flooring and marble tabletops .... flat screen HDTV ... Huge Shower ... Huge Jaccuzi tub ....

Our room was also a pretty good hike from the Pools and the Lobby and Restaurants .... I got a lot of walking in. Luckily the resort had golf cart type carts which constantly roamed around offering rides to the lobby!!

We ate a lot .... we drank a lot .... we sunned a lot. We talked and laughed and read a lot!

It was very relaxing and nice.

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Our next trip is going to be on a Sailing Ship .... a Tall-Ship .... let me know if you want on-board!

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Sheesh .... 6 hours of tutoring first day back. TAKS retest on Wednesday July 11th ....