My Kit Is Here!

My kit from Dagmara Grindewald arrived today. Her owl was tired, but after a couple treats he perked up, and is ready for the return flight home. :)Here's an overview:My first Yarn Harlot book! I adore her blog, and she frequently has me laughing out loud. I'm so thrilled to finally own one of her books. I fear this is a slippery slope, and I will soon be huddled in a bookstore babbling incessantly. This happens all too often. ;)

Charmed Knits. Yes, I know. I may be the only knitter/HP fan on the planet who didn't already own this book, but there you have it. Now I do!

A journal! A BIG journal! Look, Lucy! A Journal! (I love journals. Adore them to a point which may be unhealthy. I love to write, and hope to someday be published, so journals are very dear to me.)

Pretty blue yarn:Look how pretty she is! Double pointed needles, size two. Thank you! :)See this little pouch? It has flair (I *heart* flair.) The flair says "I solemnly swear I am up to no good!", which (ask anyone) is generally the case with me.This was inside the flair. It smells as nice as it looks. And, it hasn't caused a migraine! Bonus!

Okay. This. This, I am in awe of. First of all, when I opened the box and saw so many books, the bibliophile in me nearly fainted. This, however, takes the cake. It's a Wandmaker's Guidebook. I wonder if this is how Ollivander learned? At the end, I get my very own wand to make! How cool is THAT? A few photos...

Overall, an exceptional kit. Thank you so very much, Dagmara! You're such a sweetheart, and the things you picked for me were perfect! :)

New Rav Group

I started a new Rav group. It's called "Scarf Travels". You can find it in the recently started groups, or by searching for "Scarf Travels". It's a classic travelling scarf group, where you start the scarf with five inches, then send it on to the next person in the group, who knits the next five, and sends it along, etc. :) It's already getting quite a bit of interest, I can't wait to see it take off!

Quidditch, Round 2

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

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 Broother'. The brother buried there once owned what?

a. The resurection 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 takl 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

Yay

Scheduling is going quite well. Yesterday was an unpleasant day, because when I opened the girls' closet to get their underpants and socks, there was an avalanche. Those of you who know me, know that I can NOT stand messes of any sort. So, I spent three hours culling the mess in the closet. Donating, Tossing, and then Organizing what was left. Which wasn't much. When I get angry, I toss a LOT. But now? Now there won't be an avalanche when I try to get out socks and underpants!

Anyway...Other than that the week has gone pretty well.

Wish Us Luck!

This is day 1 of our new, stricter schedule. EVERYTHING is written down and accounted for, down to toothbrushing. I'm really hoping that this helps us have less meltdowns (both Maddy AND me). So far? Well, it's 10 a.m. and nobody has thrown a fit yet. This is unusual. LOL I'm liking it. I hope it continues like this!

Oh, our neighbor is opening a produce stand down the street selling fresh produce at about half the price of the grocer's produce section. He's opening on Friday or Monday. I can't wait to go over there and see what he has. It's great timing as I've also decided to stop being lazy with my cooking. No more boxes! No more cans! FRESH pasta sauce! REAL potatoes! (Can you see me shaking my fist at the sky?) I'm thrilled about it. Jake and the girls? Not so much... They like their preservatives. Oh well. They're going to learn to like fresh!

Regional Yarn Swap.

Here's an overview:

Included was a lovely note; a postcard of Madison, WI; a doll made for Laura; Spiderman gloves for Maddy; pink handspun (that is oh so yummy); green yarn from a local spinner/dyer to make Cookie's Stricken socks (also included); natural worsted weight and kool-aids so the girls can dye the yarn!; a project bag from her LYS with a pocket on the outside (not sure what it's intended for, but it's destined to hold the water bottle that goes everywhere with me!); local cheese (yummo); a spool from her DD to mine; and a stitch marker (you may be able to see it dangling from the green yarn, in front of the natural?) that is gorgeous, and was made by someone at her LYS!

Close up on the yarns and the stitch marker. And on Stricken! :)

The girls' gifts... A little washed out, but a photo nonetheless!
The girls saying "Thank you!" for their wonderful gifts. They absolutely love when they're included in one of mommy's packages. It makes them feel so special!

All in all, a WONDERFUL experience! Thank you SO much "LearningLace"!

'Claw Homework

~Gryffindor~
My spoiler, Dagmara, has just completed the prettiest pair of Fawkes socks I think I've ever seen. Well done!

~Hufflepuff~
Mantacora Chrimson has a knit meter on her blog! It counts how many meters of yarn she's transformed into other things since the first of the year. VERY neat!

~Slytherin~
Lily of Flitwick got herself a GORGEOUS new black Bella bag when she went to Stitches, and I am officially jealous of her/it. :)

Look what I made!

If I make it again, I'll probably make it wider and longer... It's a big "snug". On

another note, my grandmother asked me today if I got hair extensions. I said "No, you clearly just haven't seen me with my hair down in a while." You moms will understand... It's usually in a ponytail so that it's out of the way. I decided to be pretty today though. :) Then she asked if I dyed it today. No again. I just put effort into it today, LOL. The more that I look at this photo, the more I decide that the baggy nature of the shirt makes me look "fluffier" than I am in reality.

Happy Days Are Here Again...

Ahh, a return to relative normalcy! How nice it feels. I'd almost forgotten what it was like! My day alone helped, as did a couple of well placed phone calls and emails from Lucy (I swear, no one on Earth can make me laugh until I can't breathe like you can!). I've finished the vest I was working on, which I am SO proud of, because it's the first "large" thing I've made with any sort of shape. :) My parents are moving out of state in the next couple of weeks (6-8 hours away- depending on what part of the state they move to, to Pennsylvania), so I need to set up a new blog with our day to day happenings, funny things the girls have said, daily photos of random things, etc. because my mother will lose her mind if she doesn't remain a large part of the girls' lives. Also, she actually told me that I needed to move to PA with them. Um, no. LOL

Things making me laugh today? Lucy and pink eye (yes, still.), Laura getting her hair cut (Don't cut my eyebrows!!!), Maddy's Violet Beauregard face, and Jake trying to pronouce Grand Marnier (He said "grand mariner". I realize that this isn't nearly as funny in print as it was actually hearing it. But it cracked me up. "Grand Mariner? What is that?" I then pronounced it correctly and said "It's liquor." LOL)

Update:

For those concerned (you know who you are, and I love you for it!), Jake took a vacation day today, and I'll be locking myself in the bedroom for 24 straight hours to reset myself. All should be right again tomorrow. I love you for caring!