yeah… it was big.  At least 2 inches.  After he/she was crushed with the bottom of my flip flop at high speeds, I then wiped down the doorframe and the doorjamb with a Pledge wipe.  I read somewhere that spiders have tastebuds on their legs/feet and they don’t like the taste of Pledge.  And doggoneit!  It works!  No spiders have tried to cross the Pledge threshold.  I’ll be wiping down all the windows this weekend.  That’ll learn ‘em!

I also got a cool package in the mail!  My Harry Potter Summer Camp package came!  It had to come all the way from Italy!

There’s a few things missing from the photo – mainly a few more packs of Smarties… they barely made it past the first 5 minutes of me finding them.  And 2 catnip mice for the kids.  As soon as I put the box down on the floor Kink started sniffing around the box until she found them.  There’s also two patterns that were with my kit – the Leaf Lace Socks by the ever popular Evelyn Clark and the Stackable Cats by MochiMochiLand!

And I’ve been slowly but surely working on Interlaken.  I’m about a 1/3 of the way done with it. Here it is, on it’s side.

My hope is to have it done by Christmas/New Years.  I may have to have another project going on along with this one.  Interlaken is a relatively easy pattern.  The only challenging thing is the color changes and the constant turning of the work.    I’ll see if there’s something that I can pick up and leave be for a bit without wondering where I am in the pattern.

And then I started to pull everything out of the box

She must have put an undetectable extension charm on that box because it just seemed like I kept pulling more and more things out of there!  Once I got everything out, I started upwrapping!

You had me at the coffee…. I love it all!  Thank you so much!  The sock yarn came at just the right time.  My friend’s mom is going to teach me to knit socks 2 at a time!  And of course, before I could open the coffee or bust open the candy, it needed to pass thru security.

Don’t let Jimbo fool you.  He’s had several correspondence course in package security.  He’s a true professional.  Thanks again Arriana!  I love it all!

1- Who wrote the obituary of Dumbledore in The Daily Prophet? Elphias Doge
2- What is a Squib? witch/wizard born person has no magical skills for themselves.
3- Who stole the locket Horcrux from the Black House? Mundungus Fletcher
4- What are the Albus Dumbledores’ siblings names? Aberforth and Ariana
5- Where did Hermione leave the money for the eggs and bread that they stole from the lonely farm? - under the chicken coup
6- What is the quote Lily and James Potter have on their tombstone? The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death
7- Why did Gilbert Grindewald leave wizarding school? he was expelled for experimenting with black magic
8- Where does Xeno Lovegood first say that Luna is when Ron, Hermione and Harry visit? at the river looking for plimpies
9- What wood is the wand from The Deathly Hallows supposed to be made out of? elderwood – from a tree near where the brothers died.
10- How did Harry, Hermione and Ron escape the vaults of Gringotts? the same way they did in Oceans 12… I kid… I’m a kidder, they made their way out on the back of a dragon
11- What is the name of the all-female Quidditch team that Ginny has a poster of in her room? Hollyhead Harpies
12- Describe what the Undetectable Extension Charm is. Say you have a soup can.  This charm makes is so that the soup can has endless space in it.
OK now that my homework is done… albeit late, let’s move on to Mad Men. I’ve hear so much so much about this show, that I got online and went to the Seattle Library page and put a hold on the dvds.  You can imagine that the wait for the dvds was a couple of months.  But it was worth the wait.  The cast is amazing, the writing is phenomenal and the sets and the costumes are incredible.  The show reminds me a little of the Sopranos because all the characters are flawed, in some way or another.  And the lead character, Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm) is not always likeable but you are still rooting for him.  Not to mention, he’s one good looking guy.  He’s got that Paul Newman/Gregory Peck/Rock Hudson look about him.   And he was great in his guest starring role on 30 Rock.

John Slattery (seen in this photo with Christina Hendricks, who’ll talk about in a second), who plays Roger Sterling, used to be on a show called Homefront back in ’91 that I loved.  There’s something about him that makes him so well suited for period shows.  He has such a great 40s/50s look about him.  He did show up on Sex in the City where he played a politician who has a strange fetish.  But let’s get back to Mad Men.  The one gal who plays Joan (Christina Hendricks) is awesome.  I don’t know if I love her character or the fact that she’s built like most women with curves.  And her character doesn’t hide them. She uses them.  Not something I’m terribly comfortable with, but then again, I don’t have those kinds of curves.

So now I’m waiting for season 2 to come out on dvd.  I believe it’s sometime in June or July.

As for the knitting that went on this weekend.  Well, here’s what I did.  I had to frog a fair amount because I just wasn’t paying attention to my knitting.  I was paying too much attention to Mad Men.

I’m hoping to get the lace part on the bottom (the peplum) done today or tomorrow and then it’s on to the sleeves and the button bands.

And can I just say this, thank god the first family finally got a dog.  Now we can get back to fixing the economy.  Actually they just showed the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.  I have to say, there’s something somewhat comforting to see the President do some of the same things my dad did for me – reading books and acting them out from time to time, playing games.  Not to mention that you can see how much love there is in that family.  Kinda reminds me of my family.  ‘Cept my dad wasn’t a basketball fan.

PS – way to go Al Franken!

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 ressurection 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 talk 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 - I wish… that’s my Harry Potter name!

Pictures!

Lily
Ron
Snape
Luna
Godric’s Hollow

As for the progress of my Aunt’s scarf, well, here it is:

And here’s a close up of the lace:

I’ve used one full skein of Rowan RYC Cashsoft 4ply which is about 200 yards and I got about 22 inches so far.  I’m hoping, now that I’ve got the pattern down and I can get into a bit of a rythmn with it, I’ll have it done by the end of the month, at the latest.

Sure, easy for you to say.  Here’s what I’m realizing about this recent homework assignment -  I will never be a code breaker in Dumbledore’s Army.

Here’s what I think it says -

Snape running wildly; smacked right into  the arms of Delores Umbridge; who had been lying in wait for him.  And before Snape knew it, Delores had swept him, literlaly off his feet and planted one heck of a kiss on him.

Apparently some of my other classmates got this as the answer -

Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.

I was way off.

As for the sign of the times, today I went to my favorite grocery type store – the Grocery Outlet (or as my good friend Darren calls it, the Gross Out).  The Grocery Outlet is basically the Ross/Marshalls/TJ Maxx/Tuesday Morning/Home Goods of grocery products.  For example, I can get a 4 pack of Kombucha Wonder Drink for $3.  I can barely get one Kombucha drink for that price.  I noticed today, when I pulled into the parking lot, which is usually about a quarter full, was now almost completely full!  The place was packed because everyone is doing their best to save as much as they can of their paycheck.  I also noticed, on the drive home, there were 3 houses on the lake that were up for sale. This is unheard of as any property that sits on Lake Washington is a hot commodity.  But with the taxes for such property being around $20,000 (and I wish I were kidding on that) it seems like people are ready to give up that luxury.

Here’s what the homework is:

For this week’s homework, Gryffindor students are required to post about the historical significance of a place they have visited in Hogsmeade over the course of the weekend. Top marks will be awarded for expanding upon the core facts by explaining how they are relevant to the modern wizarding world.

Since I was hanging out with Madam Pomfrey the weekend of the Hogsmeade trip, I’m having to write all this by spending way too much time inside the library and not outside practicing quidditch, but I digress…

Before I talk about my historical place, I first must talk about the famous Boris The Belligerent.  Boris was the first wizard stand up comic.  Now I know what you’re thinking.  So what – he was a comic.  He wasn’t just any comic, he was the comic who continued to make sure laugh during the oh so dark days when you know who was coming into power.  While this might not be important to most, it’s incredibly important to me and those who knew that he who must not be named would eventually be overthrown.  Some might even say, it was the beginning of the order of the Phoenix.

When Boris started performing, comedy and fun in general was not frowned upon or even squashed.  Slowly, any sort of free speech was forbidden.  But Boris would have none of it.  While he knew that if he stood up for his rights and the right to speech, he would have been tortured and killed.  So in the late 60s/ early 70s, he bought the Hog’s Head Inn and started putting on secret comedy shows.  Sure, this may sound like a “who care’s” or “what does this have to do with anything” fact.  But it was because Boris was able to hold these shows without getting caught that made some of the audience members (Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James and Lily Potter and the Longbottoms) think that they might be able to hold secret meetings as well. And so it is because of this, that I hope to someday own and restore the Hog’s Head Inn into it’s former splendor.

As for the knitting, We’ll I’ve got about a 1/3 of one sleeve done on my February Lady Sweater.  I’m hoping to finish one sleeve today.  But we’ll see.  I’ve got to clean up the house and start packing.  My landlords are selling our house in May, so I thought now would be a good time to start weeding out some of the stuff that I don’t need or didn’t know I even still had!

I’ll try and get some photos of the sweater progress once the workmen have left.  Oh yeah, the landlords are doing some upgrades to the house.  Currently they’ve turned the water off to fix my upstairs neighbor’s kitchen. They said that they’d have the water on in about 45 minutes.  That was over an hour and a half ago.  I haven’t had anything to eat or drink because I would hate to have to knock on the neighbor’s door and ask to use the bathroom.

1. What momentous event was the reason that the members of the Order of the Phoenix felt it necessary to move Harry out of the Dursley’s house?
a. The start of the new school year
b. The Dursleys kicking him out
c. Voldemort’s escape from Azkaban
d. Harry’s upcoming birthday

2. Who revealed the actual date of Harry’s transfer to Voldemort, despite the misinformation the Order had been spreading around that the move would occur on the eve of his actual birthday?
a. Mundungus
b. Snape
c. Yaxley
d. Shacklebolt

3. With the use of Polyjuice Potion (and to confuse any possible attack by Death Eaters), six member of the Order were disguised as Harry and escorted out of Privet Drive, along with the real Harry. Which member of the order did not survive that night?
a. Mad-Eye Moody
b. Nymp0hadora Tonks
c. Hagrid
d. George Weasley

4. Who informed Harry, Ron and Hermione of the bequests left to them in Dumbledore’s will?
a. Kingley Shaclebolt
b. Minerva McGonalgall
c. Arthur Weasley
d. Rufus Scimgeour

5. During the wedding celebration for Bill and Fleur, Kingley Shacklebolt sent a Patronus to tell the guests that the Ministry had fallen, Scrimgeour (the Minister) was dead and the wedding celebration was about to be attacked by Death Eaters. What form did the Patronus take?
a. A lynx
b. An otter
c. A doe
d. A stag

6. Escaping from the wedding to London, our three friends found themselves confronted by a pair of Death Eaters, disguised as workmen. This close brush impressed on them the need to find someplace to hide. Where did they decide to go?
a. The Leaky Cauldron
b. Sirius Black’s house
c. The Dursley’s house
d. Ron’s Auntie Muriel’s house

7. Kreacher’s animosity towards Harry, Ron and especially Hermione (a Mudblood) was well documented in book five, “The Order of the Phoenix.” His initial interaction with them showed that his attitude had not changed. How did they win him over?
a. By giving him clothes and his freedom
b. They didn’t win him over!
c. By giving him something to eat
d. By giving him Regulus Black’s old locket

8. Who did they eventually find was in possession of the locket/Horcrux?
a. Severus Snape
b. Lucius Malfoy
c. Lord Voldemort
d. Dolores Umbridge

9. What did Harry find embedded in the door of Umbrdige’s office?
a. Moody’s magical eye
b. Nymphadora’s purple hair
c. Hedwig’s head
d. George Weasley’s ear

10. After retrieving the Horcrux, they tried to return to their safe place but they were pursued (actually Yaxley tagged along when they disapparated). This meant that the Death Eaters knew their hiding place and they had to go somewhere else. Where did Hermione take them?
a. To Godric’s Hollow
b. To the Forbidden Forest
c. Back to the Burrow
d. To the site of the Quidditch World Cup

Choice 1 – the dark wooden button:

Choice 2 – the flower etched shell button:

Choice 3 – the burgundy plastic button:

Choice 4 – the white wood button:

So those are the choices. Vote below and when I finish the sweater I’ll let you all know what button won!
[polldaddy poll=1336789]

And now for the HSKS7 homework!

1. What are your three most favorite colors? I think I’m in my green phase.  Olive green, moss green, blue green, greenish blue, you get the idea.  Top three are probably a nice heather brown (nothing too dark – something neutral), a nice green color (nothng too bright… No Rainbow Bright action for me), and a nice blue color.  A color that makes you just sigh like you just walked into a spa.  Ok, so I just named the colors we used to call “spa like” colors when I was doing web design.
2. What are you three least favorite colors?  Anything bright.  If there’s a wattage chart on the label for the color, I want none of it.  And as far as I’m concerned Orange is color that should only be seen on pumpkins and road worker vests.
3. Your favorite candy is _________________.  anything chocolate… anything with chocolate and peanut butter, anything with chocolate and caramel.  Any chocolate that is missing raisins.  Raisins creep me out.  They shouldn’t be sneaking into my foods.
4. Who is your favorite Weasley?  Ron… no wait Fred, or is it George.  Ok, I’m changing my answer back to Ron.  Ron… final answer.
5. Do you knit, crochet, or both?  I can crochet, but it’s not pretty.  I guess that’s why I stick to knitting.
6. What type of kit did you ask for? I think I asked for a sock kit but I’d also take a bag kit.  I won’t be picky… it’s a present via mail that doesn’t include a bill to me.  I’ll love it, whatever kit that comes to me.
7. Acrylic— (a) has its uses, (b) should all be burned, (c) best yarn to work with? (choose an answer) A – has it’s uses.  I’m now using it knit up patterns that I want to do, but am not sure if I’ll like the way it looks on me.  If I like it in acrylic, then I’m sure I’ll love it in the super expensive yarn.  Actually my favorite sweater (that i knit for myself was made with Simply Soft Tweed – it’s the cabaret raglan sweater).
8. Who is the Gryffindor Head Girl ?  I’d like to say it’s me, but it’s the lovely, talented, gifted, and giving Millicent Brocklehurst.  I hear she’s also quite a looker.
9. Name four “extras” you would love to receive in your kit – 1 – a row counter (the red clicky kind), the knitter’s almanac, I would love, love, love these (my grandma got some for me and I left them on the plane and I never got to replace them) and a lint shaver (the battery operated kind) or perhap the knit klips because I hate seaming and hopefully these will help me from seaming crazy.
10. What are your three most favorite scents? coffee, vanilla and lavendar
11. Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks? both!
12. Which Gryffindor and Slytherin students are sisters in real life? Is this a trick question?  Come on…. this can’t happen.
13. Do you really need more stitch markers?  yes, but none of those dangly ones. I can’t seem to keep from knitting those into whatever I’m doing.
14. DPNs, circular, or straight? circulars and straights
15. Favorite yarn? Dream yarn? the kind of yarn that knits itself into beautiful garments.  Malabrigo worsted and anything rowan.  I’m sure there’s more but I’m forgetting them at the moment.
16. Favorite HP Movie? All of them.  Don’t make me pick. please… please don’t make me pick one.
17. Favorite HP character?  I’m torn between Ron, Hermione and Professor Snape (Alan Rickman… that voice… Col. Brandon… yummmy!)
18. What is your favorite pattern? I love my cabaret raglan sweater (I just hate all the seaming), there’s a ton in my favorites that I haven’t tried yet that may end up being my favorite.