Mischief Managed

Not one to get carried away in Harry Potter mania, I nevertheless have read each HP book and watched most if not all of the movies. The movies are hit and miss, in my opinion. Their need to truncate and ellipse certain material in the books is, of course, obvious and required, and it is a skill and an art to do it in a way that leaves those of us who have read the books still satisfied.

The books have been less than stellar. Although the stories have improved since the first book, the writing has mostly been at the same level, although progressively geared towards an older audience. I don't mind if the book is written for a 10-year old audience, it can still be written well. And they have not been written well. Engaging? Yes. Good stories? Absolutely. Well written? Not on your life.

Until this last book. It makes you wonder what changed between the 6th book and the 7th book. Perhaps the editor? Vocabulary training? Perhaps Joanna read a series of really wonderful books right before sitting down to the Deathly Hallows? Regardless, the combination of the great story in addition to quite good writing led me to really enjoy this latest book, more so than any of the others.

I'm positively drooling to get my copy back and re-read it. But I shudder to think how the movie will butcher a wonderful ending.

Not a waste of time

Things I can't do when I'm reading a book:

• Shower
• Wash dishes
• Sand the bathroom ceiling
• Snowboard
• Solve quadratic equations
• Mop the floor
• Water ski
• Work
• Worry about money
• Drive (mostly)
• Run
• Waste time
• Sleep
  

What I can do while I'm reading a book:

• Appreciate a sunset
• Sunbathe
• Solve global crises
• Comfort the dog in his old age
• Eat
• Brush my teeth
• Do laundry
• Become inspired
• Learn
• Laugh
• Love

Unforeseen repercussions

A few weeks ago, L and I took a shovel to the weedy excuse of a front garden. Half way through the job, the shovel shaft broke in two. I reminded him, forcefully, that's what you get when you buy a $10 shovel.

Anyhow, he's since been preoccupied with getting the rest of the shaft out from where it was attached to the shovel head, something that has proven to be deceptively tricky.

In the meantime, the dandelion weeds, taking advantage of the sun and rain this spring, have grown to enormous proportions. I was shocked one day to see that they completely occluded one of the lower level windows. When I took a good look (yes, I had been ignoring them with supreme dedication, patiently waiting for the shovel repairs), I saw that the ten or so plants were now, unbelievably, taller than all but an NBA player, one of those hulks you can't believe can run down the court. These plants are HUGE.

It was a few days later that I surprised one of the wild bunnies that roamed the area. He stopped and looked at me, frozen between jumping one way and jumping the other. He had this smug expression on his face though, no doubt because he had stuffed his face with dandelion leaves.

We've been single-handedly keeping the local bunnies in fine dining.

A lil' conversation

L: I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow in the middle of the day. I'll take part of the afternoon off work.

Me: Are you keeping track of your hours anywhere?

L: Yes.

Me: Anywhere other than in your head?

L: Oh. No.