Seven Quick Takes, Quick-for-me Edition

1. Today James and I had a date, our first one in over a month. We went to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1". I highly recommend it. I think it stayed very true to the books and ended at just the right point in the narrative. We contemplated going to see it in IMAX, but decided to save our money and see this installment at the regular theatre. However, we plan on seeing "Part 2" at the IMAX theatre, because it will be in 3D.

2. After the movie we had "lunner" at Olive Garden. The movie ended around 3:30 and we really hadn't had lunch (unless you count the ridiculously expensive popcorn), so we dubbed our meal "lunner". After that we made a quick trip to Home Depot to look at knobs for the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen and bathrooms. We found one that both of us like, so James may be going back later this week to buy them.

3. I think that the check I wrote to the baby-sitter may have been almost as much as what our tickets, snack, and meal cost. Baby-sitters are expensive! We love ours (she's 16, lives on the next corner, she's very responsible and resourceful, and our kids love her) and we pay her the going rate, but she makes almost half my hourly rate. Isn't there something WRONG with that?

4. Incidentally, we've only recently had to start paying a baby-sitter. My mom used to always baby-sit Susanna when we needed a date night/afternoon/overnight. It's not like it was every week; more like once a month at best. However, since the Unwelcome Visitor (breast cancer and the four surgeries and chemo that have followed) arrived, Mom hasn't been as available as she used to be (which is OK, because the surgeries and now chemo treatments are hopefully ensuring that she will be able to watch her grandchildren grow up. It's a trade off, and I'll take it.) She still helps out; she watched them overnight for us when we went to a wedding in Richmond last month, transported Susanna from preschool to daycare for me two weeks ago, and took Greg for me one night so that I could get a few nights' sleep. We just realized that we couldn't keep riding the "grandma gravy train" forever.

5. Remember my how part of my "grand plan" for saving money on clothes was to sell Susanna's outgrown clothes via consignment? That may not be as easy as I thought. On Tuesday, I (along with my two sidekicks) took a box of mint-condition clothes to a local consignment shop that pays cash for secondhand kids' stuff. The lady looked through it...and bought a pair of shoes and a sweater. I chose store credit, so I now have...$2.40 in store credit. She handed back the rest of the box, which included a girls 2T winter coat (I would think that would be a hot item, but I guess not). I have a few other places I can try, and several more boxes of clothes, but I may be looking at either Craigslist or simply donating them.

6. James and I are planning on going "Sunday School class hunting" tomorrow. We haven't been part of a small group/Sunday school class in years. When we were in Lexington, we had a wonderful small group. I still miss them, four years later. When we moved to Danville, the church I was serving really only had one adult Sunday school class, and James didn't like the style (it was more lecture than anything else) and I liked using the time for last-minute sermon and worship prep. When we moved here, we didn't really try to find a class at the first church we attended (none of the Sunday School descriptions sounded interesting to us, and my schedule made weeknight evenings difficult). We've been at our current church for almost a year, but haven't made much of an effort in that area. Sad, I know, especially for a clergy person! So, we're going to begin making it a priority, for our relationship with each other, with God, and so our children can go to Sunday school.

7. I'm on-call tonight, and hoping to actually get a page (or two). I had a "Pager Palooza" weekend over Halloween (meaning I had four on-calls and one full-day shift in four days) and made loads of money, but I've had four on-call nights since then, and my pager has been silent for all of them. I take calls from home (so it's not like I'm away from home) and do get a pittance ($1.50/hr) just for carrying the pager, so it's not like I'm spending nights elsewhere and having nothing to show for it. However, my next paycheck is going to be on the light side. Thank God that I'm not the primary breadwinner!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon.com back in February, and was told it would arrive on Saturday by UPS. When I did this for Half-Blood Prince, it arrived either the evening before release or early that morning. This time, I spent my morning running to the door whenever the dogs barked, hoping to see a brown delivery truck. I told James that if the book hadn't arrived by 1pm, I was heading to Wal-Mart to buy a copy. Yes, I'm impatient. Of course, it did allow me time to get some work done on my sermon and other church-related stuff.

At 12:50 p.m., the mail arrived. Guess what was in the mail? Yup, Harry Potter #7. Apparently Amazon decided to have a bunch of books arrive via the Postal Service. Anyway, I ripped the box out of James' hands, grabbed the book, and headed to the nursery (and the ultra-comfy glider) for some heavy reading. Five hours later (without even so much as a bathroom break), I finished the book, Yes, I read almost 800 pages in that time period. After all, it is a children's book. :) I'll go back and re-read it to get a deeper understanding, but this time I really just wanted to capture the plot and, of course, find out what happens at the end.

Here's my brief summary/impression: J.K. Rowling is freaking brilliant. God has given this woman an incredible mind and writing gift. She keeps the reader guessing at every moment, and has sudden plot twists that you'd never expect. The way she ends the series is, in my opinion, perfect. Yes, lots (and lots...and lots) of characters die. There is great sadness throughout, and I will admit that I found myself in tears several times. HOWEVER, the book (and thus the series) ends on a positive and hope-filled note, ties up many loose areas in the plot, yet still leaves the reader desiring more. That's pure genius, I think; having a very clear final ending, yet with just enough information withheld that the reader is left with a small amount of speculation.


Here are just a few impressions/questions from my reading (SPOILER ALERT!)


Scroll down to read:

1. I liked the parting from the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon clearly wasn't going to miss Harry, but Dudley seems to be turning into a decent human being.
2. I cried when Dobby died. And then I cried more when Harry buried him without magic.
3. I found the last fifty pages or so of the book to be mesmerizing and really good sermon material. Snape winds up being a "good guy" after all, willing to do anything for the love of Lily Evans Potter. His actions play a huge role in Harry's defeat of Voldemort. Harry's willingness to die for the greater good, and subsequent "resurrection" have very strong links to Christian theology. Harry's willingness to lay aside potential immortality (through the three Hallows) shows an incredible character, quite the opposite of Voldemort.
4. Oh, Fred. Poor Fred...I had a feeling one of the twins would die, but it hurt when it happened.
5. I wish there would have been a little bit more to the epilogue...what vocations do the trio wind up choosing? Is Harry an Auror, which was his fondest ambition? What happens to George? Who becomes the new headmaster of Hogwarts? The natural choice would be McGonagall, but it doesn't say anything about that.
6. GO NEVILLE! I was so psyched to see him become the powerful wizard he was meant to be, to save the day by killing Nagini, and to become a Howarts professor. Cool.