Obsessions - Updated

Harry Potter

Where do I even start on this subject?

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

The book was wonderful. Very satisfying. I’ve heard some people say they don’t like the epilogue but I do, even if it is all a little too pretty and convenient. The whole Harry as Horcrux/prophesy/Voldemort’s spell rebounding on himself thing felt a little contrived to me, as explained in this article on Slate (although I’m not nearly as bothered by it as the article’s writer). What I did enjoy was all of the back story and connections. I also appreciate that with the epilogue and the killing off of so many characters(17 by my count, both good and evil), Rowling makes very sure that no one can try to pick up where she left off unless it's about the next generation. Snape is one of my favorite characters and while I was sad to actually read it, I knew that he had to die. Still, I'm glad that he remained complicated right to the end. And yeah for Neville the hero! Two things it would have been nice to know more about: the fate of the Dursleys and the arch that killed Sirius.

*** END OF SPOILER ALERT ***

Check out my flickr pictures from Friday's Harry Potter party:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9347435@N06/sets/72157601011915427/

And also go to this link for videos of NBC's exclusive and information interview with J.K. Rowling.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/18783376/

Books

Megan, you asked for recommendations of things to read now that HP is over. Well, you can always wait for the HP encyclopedia that JK Rowling is now promising. As far as other childrens’ books that have great characters and smart plotlines, I’d recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart – there are rumblings that it may turn into a series. And Jon would recommend the A Song Of Fire And Ice series by George R. R. Martin. That’s probably my next big book project after I finish reading Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, by Julie Powell.

Shoes

I stumbled on a great new website for shoes last night. Endless.com. Even if you aren’t in the market for anything new you should take a few minutes to play around – it’s fun and addicting. And if you have an Amazon account, you can log in with it to create a wishlist. Currently on my list: BC Babycakes in pink. Oh yeah, and did I mention they have free overnight shipping and great prices? And for those of you interested in size 11s, they have 1795 options.


New Town

I’ve already told you how strange my new community is. Here are some other things I've discovered. I already knew that we have beautiful skies here in St. Louis but we have a wonderful view of them here. Why? Because we live in the flood plain of the Missouri River so there is nothing obstructing our view. Being in the flood plain also means that if there is ever another major flood like the one in '93, we're in trouble. Actually, that's not true, we are better off than most people in New Town - since our apartment is on the 2nd and 3rd floors we could just put a raft outside our living room window to escape, yet our things would hopefully stay dry above the water line. Another discovery - we basically live in the boonies, sticks, country. You'll see what I mean if you come for the luau. We are on the very northern edge of civilization. But that means we are only 10 minutes away from Illinois by ferry. Is that good or bad? You decide.

Blogs

I’d like to welcome my good friend Danielle to the wide world of blogging. She’ll be updating The Scott Spot with pictures of her precious children. Check it out when you get a moment – there’s a permanent link in the right hand column.

Apartment Living

Overall, I love the ease of living in an apartment. Something breaks - I call my landlord. No lawns to mow, no repairs to make. But there are definite disadvantages. Like getting our new couch home only to discover that it doesn't fit through the front door. So discouraging. That's all I can say about it right now - the feelings are too raw. Thanks to Jon, Jeff, and Carlos for all the work they did to try to get it in, though.

Still, there are good things about our little community. A professional fireworks display on the 4th of July is one of them. We set up our chairs right outside our front door and enjoyed a show that could rival the local city displays.

Funny little story about the chairs. The morning of the 4th, my dad and I were working on cleaning things out of my grandparents' condo to move to our apartment. I noticed a pair of camp chairs in the back of my mom's van - really cute ones with a Hawaiian print. I didn't think anything of them. I thought they were hers and that she was just keeping them in the van for convenience. That night when she showed up for the fireworks, I met her at her van to remind her to pull her chairs out so she would have a place to sit as we were short one chair. She said, "What chairs?," and acted like she didn't know what I was talking about. So I said, "You know, the orange Hawaiian-print camp chairs in the back of your van." She got this funny look on her face and then proceeded to tell me how she had gotten those for me and Jon and I wasn't supposed to see them yet because she was going to give them to me at my shower. Whoops!!! She went ahead and gave them to us that night and they were very comfortable. Thanks, Mom!

A Picture Timeline And A New Place

So many things to catch up, so little time. Where do I start? Here's a quick timeline of the last few weeks.

June 7-13 - Hawaii. We got married.

June 17 - Father's Day. My sister-in-law's father died.

June 18 - Dinner with Matt & Vicki. A night in the emergency room. And these two events are actually totally unrelated to each other.

June 21-23 - In Chicago for Chrissy's wedding. Driving through the night is not fun.

June 29 - Jon got bit by a brown recluse spider. Another couple of hours at urgent care. We found the culprit dead in our bed. The circle on Jon's leg indicates how big the bite was when he first noticed it, probably a couple of hours after being bitten. This picture was taken Friday night. The bite continued to get bigger through the first part of the week until it covered most of the inside of Jon's thigh and knee.

June 30 - The Big Move. The pictures below are, sadly, before and after shots of the same room.

July 2 - We bought furniture. This means that in a few days we will have somewhere to sit other than our bed or the floor.
A New Town

Jon and I moved into our first apartment on Saturday. We're living in a very strange place, a kind of city within a city. It's a planned community based on the concept of Seaside, FL, which you'll recognize as the filming location for the movie The Truman Show. I feel like I live on a college campus. I'm sitting outside the supermarket picking up on the wi-fi signal from the cafe across the street and a group of people just rode by on Segways. (By the way, the market closes at 8. As my preferred time to grocery shop is after 10 p.m., I expect to have an empty refrigerator from now on.) Everyone says hi and waves. You have to walk to a post office (much like CPO) to get your mail. I think the intent was to encourage residents to walk there but almost everyone stops by in their cars on their way to or from somewhere else. It's a neat little area even if it is a bit Stepfordish, and to someone accustomed to urban living, I appreciate being able to walk down the street to get a sandwich or a cup of coffee or to wander through a neighborhood festival. I just have to remember to do it before 8.

By the way, we've decided on a place for the luau. It will be right here in New Town, just a block from our apartment and across the street from where we had our first date just 50 short weeks ago.