Chat & Greetings 2005

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Catherine - Mar 18, 2005 3:52 pm (#151 of 2981)

HEY!

Loopy better not be skimming MY post. **pouts more**

Hmmph. First he wouldn't share his maple candy, and now skimming. He's got some 'splainin' to do...

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Mar 18, 2005 4:04 pm (#152 of 2981)

Catherine--why do you think he had to edit?

Do you want some maple candy, too?

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Denise P. - Mar 18, 2005 4:13 pm (#153 of 2981)

For those of you who have Cracker Barrel resturants near you, they sell maple candy in the store portion. Mr P. loves maple candy so I know where to get some quickly. I think he actually has a box sitting in the fridge right now.

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 18, 2005 4:20 pm (#154 of 2981)

Elanor, the snow has slowed down a little here, but only temporarily. According to the National Weather Service, we could get as much as two feet of snow (that's not drifts -- that's the real thing) Our front yard looks like it has about 12-18 inches in it now, but I don't know how much of that is from drifting. My son has shoveled 3 times, moving about 10 inches of snow I would guess. The plows have kept up with it pretty well, but now we have an 18-inch-deep pile of packed snow from the plow at the bottom of our driveway. We may get as much as another 10 to 12 inches of snow during the night.

The worst problem all this snow causes for us is getting to our house. We live on a rather steep hill, and our minivan really struggles to get up the hill. Sometimes we end up having to walk.

EDIT: Ponine, I do know about St. Cloud, but not the exchange program. I'm not a native Minnesotan; I was born in New York State.

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pottermom34 - Mar 18, 2005 4:25 pm (#155 of 2981)

I have a Cracker Barrel but don't need it, we have a nature center in the area that makes maple candy, and syrup fresh from the tree. But I'm not sure if it is still the tapping season, or how good of a harvest this year was. They still do it the old fashioned way there. It's rather interesting to see if anyone has a nature center near by to visit, and they tap the trees.

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Catherine - Mar 18, 2005 4:29 pm (#156 of 2981)

Do you want some maple candy, too? --Lupin is Lupin

For those of you who have Cracker Barrel resturants near you, they sell maple candy in the store portion. Mr P. loves maple candy so I know where to get some quickly.—Denise

No thank you, she answered primly. I prefer to be a martyr to punish Loopy, she answered wickedly.

**waves back at Loopy, Kim, and Denise, and, indeed, anyone else whose post Loopy skimmed.

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Mar 18, 2005 4:35 pm (#157 of 2981)

He's done for, now.

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Catherine - Mar 18, 2005 5:02 pm (#158 of 2981)

It's OK.

As a homecoming treat, I bought The Incredibles for the **cough, cough** kids.

So we're watching it tonight, which will hopefully erase all memories of Loopy skimming my post.

I guess I should wave to Marcus, except that he's busy for a bit, as we both love this movie. **knows that Marcus is watching The Incredibles in between projects!**

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mike miller - Mar 18, 2005 5:54 pm (#159 of 2981)

You guys are a real w00t! I can think of no other place where you can find more diverse, informative, educational and witty banter on this planet!

Happy belated birthdays and anniversaries to all I've missed. The dementors have formed a "tag team" to make sure which ever one that is assailing me at the moment is fully rested. Enough rant..

RPS - I hope the snow eases a bit. The one good thing about a late season snow storm is that it usually melts quickly. I'm not sure that applies to those of you who live in the frozen tundra. It's definitely making an attempt at Spring here in Maryland. I can hardly wait for the shad run and a little early season fishing.

I'm hoping to finish the upstairs hallway painting project this weekend, only the molding and trim to go. My parents are coming for a visit at the end of the month and there's a family reunion on 4/2-3. I will be able to see my maternal grandfather, aunt and uncle as well. My immediate family will coming to our house for Sunday dinner. Well it's finally the weekend so I think I'll try to catch up with a few of my favorite threads. Have a great weekend everyone!

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Ponine - Mar 18, 2005 6:14 pm (#160 of 2981)

Round Pink Spider - Send your kids to St Cloud so they can attend Hogwarts!! Or, at least it was for the first two movies... And I want to point out that it is cruel and unusual punishment for you people to bask in American foods and sweets like that, when I am -not only a diet, but CRAVING American food. Steak biscuits at Cracker Barrel, Bread Bowl at Perkins, Ice Cream at Friendly's, Biscuits at Red Lobster...Any sub from Subway... ***salivating*** Alas, earwax, indeed.

EDIT: Oh - Have a great weekend, everyone - and go out to eat, and enjoy it!

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Gina R Snape - Mar 18, 2005 6:57 pm (#161 of 2981)

I went to Red Lobster last weekend! those cheesy biscuits are sooooooo good--a true diet buster. (Sorry Ponine!)

What kind of diet are you following?

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 18, 2005 7:20 pm (#162 of 2981)

Hey everyone! Been super busy lately. Unlike some people, hem-hem, I don't "skim" posts. I just surf them and catch the high points! ;-)

kabloink! ... "as my grandmother's maiden name is Griggs". That's interesting, my husband’s last name is Griggs...

I had tried to send ACCIO SPRING spells to those of you who need it, but I got stuck in the mud! If anyone needs rain, I know where there is more than enough! (Waves at Barbie!) Am off to catch up on a few threads and off to bed. Got a horse show tomorrow and dumb me stuck my foot in my mouth and have 2 horses to show as well as mine. It's going to be a LONG day! Have a great day everyone!

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Ponine - Mar 18, 2005 7:37 pm (#163 of 2981)

AAH!! Gina... You are killing me!! I can practically smell them... It is not any specific diet, but I suppose merely VERY sensible, very - standardized, in my book... I am not very good at eating at the same times every day, and often I only end up eating twice a day. Now I am trying to eat four times a day, and drink wayyy more water than I am used to. As I am refusing to give up on my diet coke addiction, it gets to be a whole lot of fluids these days... ***dreaming of cheese biscuits....*** Edit: Twinklingblueeyes - Horses!! I love horses! Western? English? Jump?

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Chemyst - Mar 18, 2005 7:42 pm (#164 of 2981)

TBE, Eewww! I just discovered the dangers of skimming posts!   "Stuck in the mud," "stuck my foot in my mouth" and thoughts of horses walking through the stuff they walk through just got melded into one rather disgusting mental image.

Change of subject here & on to a more pleasant image. Spring is making her appearance in these parts. The Bradford pear trees are looking like giant lacy Easter eggs.

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Denise P. - Mar 18, 2005 7:46 pm (#165 of 2981)

We have a Bradford Pear in the front yard, it is thinking about starting to bloom. The branches have all kinds of little buds on them but nothing out yet. I think one warm day is all it will take to have it bloom.

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Catherine - Mar 18, 2005 8:17 pm (#166 of 2981)

Tomorrow should be a pleasant Easter-y spring day.

We have very gracious older neighbors with a backyard that is a Camellia maze of red and pink. Every year they organize an Easter egg hunt for their grandchildren, and very graciously extend engraved (WOW!) invitations to all children in our neighborhood and beyond. Tomorrow we can expect bunnies, baby chicks, goats and pony rides.

I suddenly remembered that we had accepted this invitation, so I must find the Easter baskets in the storage area, and remind the kids that it is not good manners to tackle other children in pursuit of eggs.

**waves to Loopy again**

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 18, 2005 8:28 pm (#167 of 2981)

TBE, Eewww! I just discovered the dangers of skimming posts! Stuck in the mud," "stuck my foot in my mouth" and thoughts of horses walking through the stuff they walk through just got melded into one rather disgusting mental image."

Welcome to my world! LOL!

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Ydnam96 - Mar 18, 2005 8:39 pm (#168 of 2981)

My internet has been down for almost two days. I've gotten so behind in posts that I had to push the "recent" button. I hope you all had a good st. patty's day. Mine was pretty uneventful.

It's raining again in LA. It may never stop. Makes my mood pretty gray as well. Plus, I just got done watching Return of the King. So needless to say I'm sitting here crying like a baby. (I just moved out to LA about 7 months ago and my job keeps me pretty busy, so I don't really have any friends outside of work cause I just don't have time to meet anyone, so my Friday evenings are pretty much me and my kitty and my couch...) I'm not complaining. It's just rainy and gray sometimes.

Maybe I should put in a happier movie? I'll go catch up on the threads.

Happy weekend everyone. Mandy

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 18, 2005 8:50 pm (#169 of 2981)

*sniffle* Green grass and flowers.... *sniffle*

As of 4:00 this afternoon, we were up to 15" officially. It slowed down for a while, but now at 9PM it's snowing heavily again. Our car got stuck on the way up the hill, and we ended up having to walk.

I will try to take consolation in the thought that it will melt quickly...(but I hope it doesn't flood the basement. )

Ponine, maybe you don't want to visit us after all; you definitely don't want to see what my daughter and I eat when we go out "Pottering"...

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kabloink! - Mar 18, 2005 10:41 pm (#170 of 2981)

Well, I'll be gone for awhile. My grandfather passed away unexpectedly this afternoon. As a matter of fact, it was the husband of the grandmother whose maiden name I mentioned earlier. I am with my parents this afternoon, and we will all be going to Long Island for the funeral next week. Now i just want to shoot myself for missing so much class earlier in the semester. Death in the family or not, I can't afford to miss too much more class. Take care anyone.

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Madam Pince - Mar 18, 2005 11:24 pm (#171 of 2981)

Condolences on your loss, kabloink. We will be thinking of you.

Salt: a World History Doesn't that sound like something Hermione would pick up for a bit of light reading?

Speaking of things that you wonder how someone first thought of them...I've often felt that the first person to ever eat an oyster was either incredibly brave, or incredibly hungry. Now, really, does a fresh oyster look like something that one could / would actually EAT????

Gina, I ate at Red Lobster last weekend too! ****mmmmm...cheese biscuits...**** They are heavenly! Horribly bad for you, of course, but heavenly!

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Amilia Smith - Mar 19, 2005 12:04 am (#172 of 2981)

Chemyst: That photo was absolutely gorgeous! What a beautiful place to live.

Kabloink!: You have my sympathies on the loss of your grandfather. It being unexpected makes it harder. You haven't had time to get used to the idea.

I have been frantically applying to grad schools for the past few weeks. Yes, I know I should have done this months ago, but somehow I work better with a deadline staring me in the face (save a spot for me at Procrastinators Anonymous). As a result, I have not had time to post much, but I have still been sneaking in to lurk, and thoroughly enjoying this thread.

Mills.

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 19, 2005 12:08 am (#173 of 2981)

kabloink! I am sorry for your loss and I can understand what an uproar it can cause.

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Delightful Task! - Mar 19, 2005 2:16 am (#174 of 2981)

Well! It's impossible to work, take care of the kids, live, and read all your posts every day!! Anyway, it's always good on a fine Saturday morning to read about you all, discover the weather all around the world, learn about the fantastic stuff you can eat everywhere and have a look at those wonderful pear trees... Actually, perhaps our world is as magic as Harry's... Only you cannot apparate in the States and eat maple candy whenever you'd like to! hum... the feelings in my heart when I think about that gives me the impression there's a dementor just waiting behind me!... Well, expecto patronum! Spring is here, the weather is wonderful, the tiny pear tree on the balcony is just waiting for a little more warmth to blossom...

Kabloink, I'm sorry for you loss, and I understand what you feel. I lost my grandfather a few years ago, it was in spring too and the weather was wonderful... But I was taking that competitive examination to become a teacher, and I couldn't possibly not sit it because it would have meant working one more year like a dog without even being sure of the result... In such moments, I suppose you have to think things over and do what you feel you will not regret afterwards... We'll be thinking of you!

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septentrion - Mar 19, 2005 2:30 am (#175 of 2981)

Condolences for your loss, Kabloink ! I second Delightful task : just do what you feel right to do. Besides, I'm sure you'll think of your grandfather. Mine died some years ago, and I still cry when I think of him.

It's pretty unbelievable but I've done more than one hour of housework in a row this morning. Wonder if I'm not ready for St Mungo.

I guess trees won't be late to blossom, it'll be a nice view.

Great week-end everyone !

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Delightful Task! - Mar 19, 2005 2:44 am (#176 of 2981)

Septentrion, I can't believe you've done so much already!!! Aren't Saturday mornings the moment when you can keep your pyjamas on until half past ten, at least?!! You know what makes me sick? I'm so much like Hermione I wouldn't be able to have a house Elf help me! When I was in South Africa, We could have hired a maid, and many people told us it "helped Black people" there... But I just couldn't! And I promise you I hate housework! I don't care about machines helping me, but people... I don't know. I suppose my mother managed so I should be able to do it too! Now, If I had a wand... Hmmm that would be great!!!

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septentrion - Mar 19, 2005 2:59 am (#177 of 2981)

well, I just couldn't sleep and I can't stay in bed for a long time once I'm awake and the day is risen. My husband did sleep until 10 am but now he is to help me I like things to be done on Saturday so that I have nothing to do on Sunday.

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Delightful Task! - Mar 19, 2005 3:58 am (#178 of 2981)

I wish I were like you! I like things to be done, but how come they need me "to be done"?!! I was very lucky though, my husband decided yesterday it would be nice if he did the housework while I was working (I came back at 8 pm!), so the house was spick-and-span this morning... But since HE is working this morning, I had better make sure everything is as tidy as he left it when he comes back this afternoon!!

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mike miller - Mar 19, 2005 5:13 am (#179 of 2981)

Kabloink - My deepest sympathies to you and your family. It is always hard to deal with the loss a loved one. Hold tight to your memories and know that the pains and trials of this life can no longer test your grandfather. You are in our hearts and prayers.

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librarian314 - Mar 19, 2005 7:07 am (#180 of 2981)

Kabloink - I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your grandfather. Mine died 25 years ago and I still miss him, especially at this time of year, as he was an avid gardener. To remember him I plant some veggies and imagine he's here helping me. (I used to garden with him as a child.)

In just a few minutes, I get to go upstairs and bake the snitches for tomorrow's party. My daughter wanted golden snitch cupcakes for the kids' party. Her family birthday party cake is Ravenclaw's device supported by werewolves....My work here is done >-} I've created another Potterphile, bwahaha!!!

Y'all take care!

* *michelle the librarian**

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Dumbledore - Mar 19, 2005 8:32 am (#181 of 2981)

Kabloink - I, too, send my deepest condolences on the loss of your grandfather. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

RPS - nice to have another native New Yorker on the thread! Which part are you from?

LOL Delightful Task, it is 10:30 and I am still in my pajamas reading the posts from you guys! It's hard to keep from laughing out loud.

Yesterday was the day of my math competition, and I did not do as well as I would have liked to, or expected. I guess you can't win at everything (sigh). Have a nice weekend!!

-Lauren

P.S. My family, having no Irish heritage in the least, had corn beef on St. Patty's Day! :-D (and I think I found my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow too ;-)

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Chemyst - Mar 19, 2005 8:52 am (#182 of 2981)

Kabloink, you have my sympathies. Delightful Task gave some excellent advice: as you walk through the choices of this coming week, make the ones that leave you with no regrets.

michelle the librarian, if you ever want to come join my family, you're certainly welcome. Between your birthday cakes and your medieval costumes, I'm sure we could find a spot where your talents would be appreciated

Mills, in the interest of full disclosure, that wasn't a photo of where I live, although it is fairly representative of a couple places within 10 miles of my house. But that specific photo was just one I found on the 'Net for people who did not know what a Bradford pear tree looks like.

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boop  - Mar 19, 2005 8:57 am (#183 of 2981)

Kablonik, so sorry for the loss of your grandfather. Please take comfort in knowing we are thinking of you and your family.

Delightful Task, I have a wand, and have not been able to get it to work. So I have to do my house work myself. As for staying in pajamas until at least 10am, how does the whole day sound. That is what I did last Saturday. I didn't have to leave the house so why get dressed.

Today is my grandson Dustin's first birthday. I find it hard to believe it has been a year already. I will have to update my picture. Then you can see how big they have grown.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Hugs Always

boop

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Dumbledore - Mar 19, 2005 8:59 am (#184 of 2981)

Ohh that's a marvelous occasion, Boop! Happy birthday to your grandson! Is he your first?

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boop  - Mar 19, 2005 9:05 am (#185 of 2981)

Dumbledore, nope the other two in my picture are also my grandchildren. Taysha is on the left and Dustin in the middle and Alyssa on the right. The ages are 6,1 and 4. I will have a new grandchild sometime at the end of this month, or April. The new baby is supposed to be a girl. I probably will not have anymore. grandchildren so Dustin will my only boy. I will post when the new little arrives.

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Gina R Snape - Mar 19, 2005 9:37 am (#186 of 2981)

Oh, kabloink, my condolences. (((HUGS)))

For those who are lamenting their indulgence in the Red Lobster cheddar biscuits...I can tell you just how much to lament. Each biscuit is 140 calories, 8g fat (3g saturated), 15g carbohydrates and 3g protein.

One is probably ok. But how hard is it to have just ONE?!?!

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 19, 2005 9:40 am (#187 of 2981)

My condolences, Kabloink.

Dumbledore, I was born and grew up in Rochester, NY, a couple of miles from Lake Ontario.

Our storm total ended up being 20". Only Winona had more (at 22"). The roads are already getting better, but they're still very rough.

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Catherine - Mar 19, 2005 12:16 pm (#188 of 2981)

Condolences, Kabloink. I'm sorry for your loss.

We've had a wonderful time at the Easter Egg hunt. The sun peeked out and we had nice weather for the duration, and as soon as the party ended, the clouds came back. Go figure, but how lucky for us.

I updated my Forum profile to change the pictures, as I took some cute ones at the party today. I included a picture of Hayley (my five year old) feeding a donkey, who happened to be wearing an Easter bonnet. I thought this was interesting enough to post for your amusement. My dogs Daisy and Phoebe have a new photo now; they are shown staring at some Harry Potter legos.

The petting zoo and pony rides were a big hit; they even had a llama, ducks, bunnies, chickens, and baby goats. I never could get a good picture of the kids with the goats, otherwise I would have posted that in my profile in honor of Aberforth.

Have a great Saturday. I'm sure Mr. Catherine and I will be watching basketball all weekend.

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 19, 2005 6:10 pm (#189 of 2981)

Your daughters are absolutely beautiful, Catherine! What sweet pictures!

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Julia. - Mar 19, 2005 6:18 pm (#190 of 2981)

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather. Anything I can do let me know. In the mean time, have a butterbeer and lots of hugs *huggy huggy huggy*

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 19, 2005 7:42 pm (#191 of 2981)

WOOT! Am home from horse show. Whew! My horse's first. Entered two classes and brought home a first and a fifth place ribbon! I'm a happy camper! Also took two horses I have in training for other people and entered them in two classes. Got a fourth place and 2 fifth places so was a great day all around. Was first show for those two too! The weather was beautiful for a change and everyone had fun. I hope all in my forum family had as good a day as I did!

Pam

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pottermom34 - Mar 19, 2005 9:04 pm (#192 of 2981)

Condolences to Kabloink

Congrats on your ribbons, to Twinking Blue Eyes!

Catherine, glad you had decent weather for your Easter Egg Hunt, wish me luck for mine this coming Saturday.
My church is having one and I get to be the bunny. I need lots of good weather charms as we still have snow on the ground and they're predicting colder than average al week. It was supposed to be in the 40's today but it snowed all day and and was only in the 20's. I even got sent home early from work because no one wants to go to the zoo when it's cold out. Can't imagine why. Going to the circus tomorrow that should be fun. Since Saturday is almost over, Everyone have a good Sunday.

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Marie E. - Mar 19, 2005 9:59 pm (#193 of 2981)

I'm so sorry, Kabloink.

I think the giant squid has been out of ND too long. When we were kids the summers were in the 80's with little humidity. Now when we go home in July it's 95 degrees and yucky blucky humidity. And, yes, "yucky blucky" is an official weather term. So why don't I go home in the winter? Um, because of the "gasoline-freezing" temperatures. My parents will just have to learn to come to me! Just kidding.

My oldest, Shayla, has been making some very astute observations about the HP books and movies lately. First there was the one about Mad Eye Moody using his magical eye to detect the Dark Mark tattoos on the Death Eaters' arms. Today we were watching CoS and she asked why Moaning Myrtle is able to make the water splash if she's a ghost. I told a whole forum of grownups is trying to figure out that same question.

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The giant squid - Mar 20, 2005 12:03 am (#194 of 2981)

My deepest sympathies, kabloink. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Ponine takes a moment to ponder what a squid can possible know about the Great Plains...

Well, this particular squid spent his formative years in Minot, North Dakota--the biggest Small Town in ND. As Marie said just above, when I lived there we were still in the middle of "the drought" so it never seemed that muggy. Especially in hindsight, as after ND I moved to south Georgia--when you've lived 50 miles from the Atlantic coast, the only thing that'd seem muggier would be if you were sitting in the ocean itself! (Or south Florida...but that's pretty much the same thing.)

My oldest, Shayla, has been making some very astute observations about the HP books and movies lately--Marie E.

You see what happens when you put her on meds to help her pay attention to things...?

--Mike

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Elanor - Mar 20, 2005 12:30 am (#195 of 2981)

The Giant Squid: "Well, this particular squid spent his formative years in Minot, North Dakota". LOL Mike! Do you know what "minot" means in French slang? It means "kid", appropriate, isn't it?

I wonder if there were some flour-mills in that area when that town was founded because "minotier" means "miller" and "minoterie" "flour-mill" in French too. Sorry, I couldn't resist, I just love words! Each one has its own history, travels and then changes, lives in a word, fascinating.

kabloink, I am so sorry for your grand-father.

Congratulations TBE!

This Sunday is going to be sunny and warm: we have the first barbecue planned for lunch today, it should be nice. Forecast says rain is coming, so we'd better enjoy spring while it's here! Have a great Sunday!

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septentrion - Mar 20, 2005 3:00 am (#196 of 2981)

Hello !

Catherine, your daughter is very nice.

Congrats TBE !

I wish I could have some BBQ as well but living in an apartment, I'd better forget about it. But everything's not lost : a friend gave us some good-looking couscous. I can't wait til lunch !

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Essidji - Mar 20, 2005 3:16 am (#197 of 2981)

have a nice sunday everyone!

Elanor, let's shake hands : we too have planned a BBQ for lunch today. And we had our first picnic of the year yesterday.

It's incredible, especially when you think that last week we were skiing with the school in La Bresse, about 80 km from here in the mountains of the Vosges, there is an impressive layer of snow up there.

From that week I brought back a good deal of pictures, wonderful memories of happy moments with the children, and... a dislocated elbow! Didn't I tell you that I am a poor skier? Now I just have to stand my arm in plaster for three weeks. Well, anyway, better me than a child. It would have been much more annoying to bring back an injured child to his parents.

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Pinky - Mar 20, 2005 4:17 am (#198 of 2981)

We had our first picnic yesterday also, to celebrate the last day of winter. We sat and looked at a beautiful stretch of water with rapids and a little waterfall. The bench was clear, but we had to tramp through a little snow to get to it.

Essidji, sorry to hear about your elbow. I've never tried skiing... not too sure I ever will.

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septentrion - Mar 20, 2005 4:28 am (#199 of 2981)

That's why we didn't hear of you lately Essidji ! At last, your elbow doesn't prevent you from writing here I hope it's not too painful.

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Delightful Task! - Mar 20, 2005 6:07 am (#200 of 2981)

Hmmm, WE had a BBQ, although we live in a flat! But Mr Delightful Task wouldn't live in an apartment without a balcony, and that's the moment of the year when I know he was right! That's a lot of fun to eat your BBQ with the kids laughing and talking loud and all the neighbours watching! (I'm sure they were jealous! But we dare and they don't!) Well Essidji, in a way you are lucky: a friend of mine broke her wrist here in Paris because of the snow ... At least you were having fun when it happened! Well, anyway I hope it's not too serious and you'll recover easily!

Have a great Sunday everyone!

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 20, 2005 6:30 am (#201 of 2981)

Kim, my condolences.

boop, congratulations on your grandson's birthday. It seems like yesterday you were writing about his impending birth and your picture of your grand children were just two little girls. How our family grows!

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 20, 2005 7:14 am (#202 of 2981)

So we're watching it tonight, which will hopefully erase all memories of Loopy skimming my post.—Catherine

These are scurrilous accusations! I am shocked and chagrinned! Of course, I don't skim your posts Catherine. Say, I have an idea that might help you forget this nasty rumor. Why don't you post some new pictures of your lovely daughters doing something Eastery? Or a new picture of the puppies? Or both? I'd like to see that. Just stick 'em in your profile and let the Forum know when you've done that. Alternatively, why don't you run out and buy The Incredibles ? It's out on DVD now.

On a more serious note, best wishes to Kabloink.

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Madam Pince - Mar 20, 2005 7:58 am (#203 of 2981)

We had lovely weather outside yesterday, for a change. Today is back to yucky dreary. It was nice for yesterday, however, because it was Baby Pince's third birthday and we were able to cook the hamburgers and hotdogs outside on the grill. We had a little Thomas the Tank Engine party for him -- Thomas cake, little paper engineers' caps, etc. It was very nice. He has been feeling a little "under the weather" but managed very well with a bit of Motrin in him. He seems better this morning. Must've been all that blue cake icing....

He didn't receive any gifts that had to do with Harry Potter, but when we were reading one of the books he got, he pointed out one of the illustrations showing a boy wearing glasses, and he said "Look, it's Harry!" I was so proud. Then he continued by showing me "Hermione" and "Ron" -- Ron was the red-haired one.

TBE, congratulations on your horse show ribbons! Sounds like you did very well! Catherine, what a great picture of Hayley! And Septentrion, congrats on the housekeeping efforts! I tend to let things slide a little until some "visitor emergency" galvanizes me into action. So yesterday morning before the party I was a veritable whirlwind of energy, scooping up all the stuff from various places in the public areas of my house and dumping it all into the guest bedroom. Now the main house looks great. I will think about the guest bedroom.....tomorrow. (said Scarlett)

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Catherine - Mar 20, 2005 8:10 am (#204 of 2981)

Now the main house looks great. I will think about the guest bedroom.....tomorrow. (said Scarlett) --Madame Pince

Erm...I have been known to employ my guest bedroom as a repository for unfolded clothing, extra papers, etc. Isn't that what the room is for? Happy Birthday Baby Pince!

These are scurrilous accusations! I am shocked and chagrined--Loopy Lupin

Oh, dear. Loopy is in a state, all right. Tell you what, I think I'm off to buy The Incredibles, update my profile, stuff like that. How's that sound? **Waves to "Sunday Loopy Lupin**

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Dumbledore - Mar 20, 2005 8:11 am (#205 of 2981)

It's an absolutely spectacular day on Long Island for the first day of spring. It definitely has that spring feeling in the air - the birds chirping, the crisp weather. That's why spring and fall are my favorite seasons. They sort of have that magical feeling to them.

Madam Pince - I'm glad Baby Pince had a nice birthday. A three-year-old who likes Harry Potter. You must be doing something right! ;-D

Congrats on the horse show TBE. I absolutely love horses. They are so much fun to be around. I haven't ridden since the summer, though.

--LF

P.S. What's happened to Sherbie Lemon??? *hugs to Sherbie wherever she is*

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Gina R Snape - Mar 20, 2005 8:20 am (#206 of 2981)

Dumbledore, you are very lucky. I am a mere few miles away in Manhattan and the weather here is cool and overcast.

It's just as well. I've got a load of reading to do today for school.

Giant Squid, did you move to Georgia so you could be closer to the ocean, for a good swim?

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Julia. - Mar 20, 2005 10:02 am (#207 of 2981)

Good morning everyone. Grrrr, my mommy woke me up. Seems she forgot the first rule of Julia: Never call before noon! :mad:

Spring was sort of here the past few days. It's been quite chilly, but not snowing, and the snow we have has mostly melted. Granted, it's been too cold to do anything outside, but it's been a lovely break from the terrible winter we've been having. Unfortunately it's supposed to rain/snow tomorrow.

TBE, congrats on your horse show ribbons!

Madam P, I'm so glad to hear that Baby P's party went well. What were this friends thinking? No one gave him any HP presents? How silly. Good show on him that he managed to find Harry and Ron.

Catherine, I love your pictured. Haley is beautiful, and I love the dogs!

A pleasant Palm Sunday to everyone who observes.

Ahhh, time for breakfast now. Have a good day everyone.

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Ydnam96 - Mar 20, 2005 10:13 am (#208 of 2981)

Gina, I love your new picture. Faberge looks soo cute.

My condolences to Kabloink.

The sun is actually shining this morning. I haven't ventured out just yet. But I'm afriad that if I try I will scare the sun away. But I am thinking of going down to Barnes and Nobles and getting a copy of the Lost Tales, JRRT. Something has to keep me busy for a while till July.

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Gina R Snape - Mar 20, 2005 11:08 am (#209 of 2981)

Thanks, Ydnam96! Faberge became rather curious over the camera on my mobile phone, started sniffing it. So...I took her picture mid-sniff!

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Catherine - Mar 20, 2005 12:20 pm (#210 of 2981)

That is a cute picture of Faberge, Gina. I was wondering how you got such an extreme close-up!

Well, I see that Connecticut has fallen to N.C. State. Just gotta love the ACC teams...

And back to the NCAA Tournament!

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Dumbledore - Mar 20, 2005 12:26 pm (#211 of 2981)

I love the picture of your cat, Gina. What kind is she?

Catherine, my dad being a native Connecticut boy, made a moan that you could hear around the whole house when Connecticut lost!! I can imagine you are feeling the same way, Julia.

And there you have it for us Forumers...life & Harry Potter, in a nutshell!

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Helen Potterfan - Mar 20, 2005 12:58 pm (#212 of 2981)

Kabloink, I'm so sorry for your loss. I, too, send you hugs and warm wishes.

Twinkling Blue Eyes, congrats on the ribbon!

Catherine, your kids are adorable (all of them !

Julia and Dumbledore, I am sorry for your basketball loss, but like Catherine, I must pull for the ACC teams. Too bad Wake Forest lost, I was hoping for 3 ACC teams in the final 4! My husband is a huge college basketball fan, so it has been nonstop basketball all day for three days at my house. I am also a bb fan, but I've about had enough! I never get any work done in March; it really does make me feel mad! For all of you fans out there, if Duke wins today, Coach K will pass Dean Smith's record for the most wins in the NCAA tournament! GO DUKE!!

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Madam Pince - Mar 20, 2005 1:43 pm (#213 of 2981)

Wake lost???? I haven't been watching this weekend, but I thought Wake had a golden-paved path to the Final Four......

Go Coach K! (I never could stand Dean Smith! Big shock, for a Wahoo, eh?)

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Chemyst - Mar 20, 2005 4:01 pm (#214 of 2981)

Gina, I'm glad your second line of information explained things. For a moment there, I thought Snape had been hitting the polyjuice.

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Catherine - Mar 20, 2005 4:05 pm (#215 of 2981)

For a moment there, I thought Snape had been hitting the polyjuice. –Chemyst

SPEW! I think Snape has been hitting the Polyjuice. He often goes around disguised as Alan Rickman.

March is the cruelest month. I never know who to really root for--my grad school, or Mr. Catherine's? My Dad and brother are die-hard Duke fans; Mr. Catherine is a die-hard Carolina fan.

Ah...choices.

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Gina R Snape - Mar 20, 2005 5:45 pm (#216 of 2981)

Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha. You guys crack me up!!!!!

Fabergé is a domestic shorthair tuxedo cat. In other words...a mutt. However, I have seen sculptures of egyptian siamese cats at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum in London which would make you take a second or third look at Fabergé. She has a very distinctive look like in those sculptures--with a prominant nose, bulbous 'cheeks' at the whiskers and pointy ears. Others have even mentioned this to me. So it's not 'mother's pride' or solely my imagination!

She is also very bright, so I wonder if she's part kneazle. Her mother (Wicca) was even smarter and more expressive than Fab, so she certainly must've been.

Nymphadora, on the other hand...tiny delicate face with a strong dominant personality. But...not so bright as Fabergé (or Wicca was). She demonstrates a little of the clumsiness reminiscent of her namesake too. But she's my baby and I love her still.

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Julia. - Mar 20, 2005 6:46 pm (#217 of 2981)

We still have the women!! GO HUSKIES!!!

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Helen Potterfan - Mar 20, 2005 7:14 pm (#218 of 2981)

Julia, I hope the UConn women make it all the way to the final game, where I hope Duke's women beat them .

Coach K got his victory, so I'm happy.

Catherine, I'd be happy to help you with that choice .

Gina, I'm sure Faberge is a big help in your potion making!

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haymoni - Mar 20, 2005 7:38 pm (#219 of 2981)

Hey all - every year Hubby picks Kentucky to go all the way. He spent a year in Lexington after high school, so he has embraced them as his own. Too bad for him!

I have participated in the March Madness pools for a long time. I actually won $40 last year - I came in 6th. One of my Final 4 teams is already out, but I'm really enjoying the games this year. Nothing is for certain.

Has anyone been watching "The Contender"? That's the boxing "Survivor" show with Stallone & Sugar Ray. I don't know why I am drawn to boxing. Perhaps it is all those Wide World of Sports shows with Howard Cosell that I watched growing up.

It couldn't possibly be the good-looking young men that they've chosen for the show, could it??? Very improper of me, I know!

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The giant squid - Mar 21, 2005 2:18 am (#220 of 2981)

Elanor, I never knew that "minot" meant "kid" in French. You learn something new every day... The town was actually named for the founder, Henry Minot, who may or may not have been of French descent.

Giant Squid, did you move to Georgia so you could be closer to the ocean, for a good swim?—Gina

LOL! Well, Minot is only a couple hours' drive from the geographical center of North America, so I was about as far from ocean as you could get! Sadly, I only made it to the ocean once in the three years I lived in Georgia--and we got hit by a massive rainstorm after only a couple minutes! I think Marie still has the picture of me on the beach with these huge black (not grey, black) clouds rolling in behind me. Very Voldemort-ish.

--Mike

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septentrion - Mar 21, 2005 3:10 am (#221 of 2981)

I've googled Henry Minot but couldn't get far in his ancestry. If he's of French descent, it might have been a long time ago. However I learnt the river in Minot is called Souris, which means "mouse" in French. Maybe there's another meaning to this word ? BTW I once googled my family name and found a canyon and dunes in the USA called exactly like me. Isn't it fun ?

Here are the dunes and here the canyon.

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Ponine - Mar 21, 2005 5:31 am (#222 of 2981)

Hey everyone!

Just hanging about killing time. My puppy is at the vet's right now, I am afraid there is something going on with his hips/legs/lower back, and x-rays, tests and what not are begin taken as we speak... The worst part about having animals is when they get sick...

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Snuffles - Mar 21, 2005 5:38 am (#223 of 2981)

A happy Monday everyone.

Ponine sorry to hear about your puppy, hope everything turns out ok. My dog suffers with arthritis and sleeps on a hot water bottle! She is 14.

Weather finally looks nice today. Weekend was supposed to be good but it was foggy and cold!

Hope everyone at the forum is ok.

Julie

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Catherine - Mar 21, 2005 5:42 am (#224 of 2981)

Good luck with that, Ponine. It's very distressing when a pet has health problems, I know. My older dog, Phoebe, who is going on 12, has a growth near her eye that has grown very rapidly, and the doctor thinks it is melanoma. She's scheduled to get the growth taken off at the end of this month, so we'll know more then. Her other tumors have been benign, so I feel pretty optimistic that this one will turn out that way, too.

I hope the vet can make your puppy feel better.

On a happier news front, looks like "Coach K" got his win yesterday! Most excellent. Mr. Catherine is looking forward to the "Sweet Sixteen" games he will attend in Albequerque, although I don't think that any ACC teams are in that bracket, which is too bad.

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Julie Aronson - Mar 21, 2005 7:06 am (#225 of 2981)

Congrats, good luck, and best wishes to all...Happy spring! Here in Akron we are welcoming the new season with snow flurries. Enough already!

Kabloink!

I am so sorry for your loss. My grandmother died on 9/9/2001. We were already sitting shiva (the Jewish period of mourning for close family immediately following a death) when the 9/11 nightmare hit. In a bout of frustration, I asked one of my aunts (Grandma's sister) to teach me how to knit. For some reason, it gave me a feeling of comfort to create something during a time of loss. Plus, now whenever I knit I can think of my grandmother and my aunt, who has since passed away as well.

To any lawyers out there:

As the start of my law school experience looms large, I would gladly accept any advice you can offer about things I should do to prepare...

Julie

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Gina R Snape - Mar 21, 2005 7:07 am (#226 of 2981)

Oh, Ponine. Good luck with the vet. It is hard when your animals get sick. In her old age, Fabergé has been to the vet several times a year--more in two years than in her entire lifetime. This is expected when pets grow old. But yours is a puppy, so I keep my fingers especially crossed.

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Mar 21, 2005 7:25 am (#227 of 2981)

As the start of my law school experience looms large, I would gladly accept any advice you can offer about things I should do to prepare...---Julie Aronson

Get some sleep.

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Julia. - Mar 21, 2005 8:06 am (#228 of 2981)

Good luck with your puppy Ponine. I hope everything works out.

UUgh, it's snowing again. When will it end?!

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Marè - Mar 21, 2005 8:22 am (#229 of 2981)

Okay, I'm just so very dissapointed, and since you all will probably understand, I'm coming here to rant.

Last week I send in my design for the Accio convention t-shirt contest. I've worked on it for a long time. I think I started a week or so after they announced the contest.

So I heard nothing from accio after sending it in for the entire week. Thats very well possible, but my e-mail has been having troubles, So this Friday I send a pm on the Accio forums to the person in charge of the contests to check if they had received the drawing.

This was the reply:

”Yes. I got it and I personally love it. However, it would cause problems with the WB and we couldn't print it even if it won. So if it wouldn't be too much trouble could you do a few more... less HP imagery. Try to think of the conference as a whole.

I am sorry I have to ask this because your design is great for a t-shirt, but it may make the WB shut us down. Sorry. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks, MG, Art Director for Accio 2005”

*Ranting part starts here*

Let's break this down:

“Yes. I got it”
Well... Thank you for notifying me...  

“However, it would cause problems with the WB and we couldn't print it even if it won.”
So funny, because, really, it has nothing to do with the movies. (It's a picture of the Trio and Neville and Ginny (+ pets) in the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron are summoning a broom and chess pieces and the others are reading (Hermione) and trying to read (Ginny and Neville). It's completely book-based... You know, the books, the ones that were there before the movies jumped in on the hype.
I know they have copyrights and all, but they really have them all? I mean, from this (and several other things) it sounds like they "outrank" Jo and the publishers by now... Big Bullies!

“So if it wouldn't be too much trouble could you do a few more...”
I only worked on this piece for well over a month. But hey, why don't I shake a few more drawings out of my sleeve. (deadline is the end of this month) Pffft, it's magic. Remember this person is the art director, she is a professional (or at least calls herself that). She doesn't know that it takes a little time to make an entire design from scratch?

“Less HP imagery. Try to think of the conference as a whole.”
And this, I think, is the most funny part. I can't make a Harry Potter themed drawing for a Harry Potter convention...????? Fine, wouldn't it have been a GOOD IDEA to put that in the guidelines????

So obviously I'm not going to respond to this message for at least another week, because I don't think I will be able to type up a very nice or mature response right now.
(If any-one has any suggestions, please let me know)

So for now, I have just wasted a whole lot of time on nothing. Not funny.

Add to that my horrible sunburn. Yes sunburn, the first day of summer (somebody skipped spring last saturday) caught me off guard again. Now it's raining, but my face, neck, shoulders and upper chest (?) are bright red, still working like my personal radiator and hurt everytime I put a coat on or move in my sleep.
For all the people with snow: It has it's advantages!

This is just not my week, I guess.

Rant over, somebody else can post some happy thoughts now...

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pottermom34 - Mar 21, 2005 8:56 am (#230 of 2981)

So sorry about your bad luck Marè., Those muggles must've been smoking some bad hobbit leaf. I thought your idea (from what you described above) was pretty good. If you decide to try again I hope you have better luck, too bad you can't somehow submit your idea to JKR for approval to override the WB.

On the lighter side of things, the sun has finally found Michigan, I don't know how long it will last, but I'll take every little bit I can get. It sure made for a more pleasant wait at the bus stop this morning. Hopefully it comes out for my E. egg hunt

I have a question for any veteran moms or grandmas, how do I get my kids to stop drinking so much juice, they refuse to drink water .They will drink milk occasionally but I don't want to give them too much of that either. My 5 yr old yells for me at 4 or 5 in the morning everyday to get her some juice. I tell her no, that she can have water and she cries as loud as possible waking the whole house up. So then I give in so we can all go back to sleep. If anyone has any good ideas short of a tranquilizer I’d appreciate it.

Thanks Michelle

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Pinky - Mar 21, 2005 8:56 am (#231 of 2981)

Oh Mare! *big hug* Can you post a link to your picture? I'd love to see it. You are a very talented and creative artist, and I think Accio should realize that people attending it are probably more interested in Harry Potter, than in Accio itself. "Think of the conference as a whole"? Hmmmm.... It's about Harry Potter, the workshops are about Harry Potter, the fans are there because of Harry Potter.... why don't you draw something about Harry Potter? Grrrrr.........

So sorry to hear about your sunburn too. Do they have Noxzema in your stores? It's actually a skin cleansing cream for your face, but it does wonders on a sunburn. Otherwise, use lots of aloe.

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Denise P. - Mar 21, 2005 9:03 am (#232 of 2981)

Yuke Mare! Sounds like the guidelines were not very clear. Who would have ever thought to NOT use HP images for a shirt designed for a HP convention? I would love to see your design too, more so since I currently wear a shirt with one of your designs.

Aloe is really good for sunburn, as is Noxema.

This week is spring break for my kids and although we have no rain at the moment, we are supposed to be rainy all week long. I had wanted to take them down to the riverside park so they could fly kites (no wires around) but won't be able to if it is raining. They are currently playing basketball in the driveway and drawing all over the concrete with colored chalk, which Mr. P detests.

What is it about men and chalk on the concrete? It washes off easily but he acts like they are using oil based paint that won't come off with anything short of a sandblaster anytime they decorate the driveway.

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pottermom34 - Mar 21, 2005 9:12 am (#233 of 2981)

that sounds very familiar Denise P. My husband gets upset about trivial things too. the better question is what is it about men period?

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Snuffles - Mar 21, 2005 9:14 am (#234 of 2981)

It must be a man thing full stop which ever side of the atlantic they belong! my husband has a thing about my daughter eating in the car, I keep saying it hoovers up but NO! I wouldn't mind but its usually the woman that cleans up after the children anyway!Hmmphh

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 21, 2005 9:49 am (#235 of 2981)

I have a question for any veteran moms or grandmas, how do I get my kids to stop drinking so much juice, they refuse to drink water .They will drink milk occasionally but I don't want to give them too much of that either. My 5 yr old yells for me a 4 or 5 in the morning everyday to get her some juice. I tell her no, that she can have water and she cries as loud as possible waking the whole house up. So then I give in so we can all go back to sleep. If anyone has any good ideas short of a tranquelizer i'd appreciate it. Pottermom34

My suggestion: Pour each child a sipper bottle with a measured amount of juice each morning. You set the amount. Tell them that's all they get for the day. (With little kids, you could divide it into 2 smaller cups, one for morning, one for afternoon.) Then let them decide when they're going to drink it. Don't negotiate with terrorists, and don't let them bully you. You are trying to do what's best for them, so don't give in. Reward (with stickers, a small treat, whatever) those kids who don't moan and complain about wanting more juice.

When you make your child responsible for rationing out his/her own juice, you're teaching the child to be responsible. If your child runs out of juice and complains, simply tell him/her that now they know the next day not to drink it so quickly. And be prepared to go through a really bad time for the first week! You'll get temper tantrums, but if you make a sticker chart and promise, say, a trip to McDonalds if they get 7 or 10 (or whatever) stickers in a row for not complaining, they'll clean up their act pretty quickly.

This technique can be adapted for almost anything for any child over the age of 3, but you must not give in, or your children will know you don't mean it. For ages 3-6, make sure you praise them and hug them whenever they accept your decision without whining. For older ages, praise them and tell them how much you appreciate their good behavior.

If your 5-year-old has learned to scream to get what she wants, I'm afraid the only way to get her to stop is to grit your teeth and let her scream... She'll stop eventually, especially if you praise her when she doesn't scream. Ignore the bad, praise the good, and take lots of aspirin... *wince*

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Catherine - Mar 21, 2005 9:51 am (#236 of 2981)

Oh, Mare, it sounds like the woman who finally wrote you back is a complete....Muggle. She sounds about as aware as Vernon Dursley. I have other descriptions in mind, but the family-friendly nature of our Forum forbids my using them.

However, as this description is book-based, let's just say, ala Ron, I'm picturing a baboon's backside!

***walks off muttering under breath like Kreacher***

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Denise P. - Mar 21, 2005 10:00 am (#237 of 2981)

I agree with RPS. You have to be tough and stick to your guns....er...position.

There is another method of cutting back on juice...water it down. My kids always got 25% juice, 75% water. If your kids are used to 100% juice, cut it with 25% water each week until it is mainly water. This method usually involves less wailing, moaning and tearing hair on the part of all involved. Another method is to stop getting any juice. If it is not in the house, they can't drink it very easily. This way is probably the least popular, cold turkey plan.

My kids don't really care for juice at all. They drink mainly water (and as Kierynn will shriek "Ice Mom! I want ICE!") or Crystal Lite. Occasionally we do Kool-Aide but even then, we probably only put in 1/3 the sugar the packet calls for.

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Elanor - Mar 21, 2005 10:20 am (#238 of 2981)

Marè, I'm so sorry about your drawing, it is so unfair! I really don't understand because it has nothing to do with the movies. It is really great with a lot of tiny details that only HP freaks like us, that is to say most of the people that will take part in Accio, would notice. Grrrrr...

If I were you, I would write them right now, even if you fear you won't be as nice as you should probably be, and ask them what on earth in the drawing is movie related and where, in the guidelines, it is said that you're not allowed to draw HP characters. They have to be consistent: either their rules are more precise, either any drawing that is HP related and follow those rules should have a chance to win.

You could also ask them what part of the drawing could fit with their "rules", maybe you should be able to copy and paste them together so that this part of your beautiful work could have a chance if they don't change their mind. At least, all your work would not be lost like that. ((((((big hug))))))

Actually, I was planning to write them too. It's been a long time since they told us that we should receive details about the presentations (deadline for sending them the paper, what equipment we can use there...) and I'm still waiting. Not that I have not enough to do for now since I have so much fun with the "alchemical re-read" of the books but still, I would appreciate to have a better idea of the deadline.

About the sunburn, you can find some "Parfenac" in any pharmacy, it's really great for that! Actually, I have caught one too yesterday! We made our first barbecue, it was soooo nice! The weather was perfect: sunny, 25°C (77°F), it was like May, not March. After the BBQ, I treated me with a lovely nap in the half shade on a deckchair in my Mom's yard and in no time I felt asleep. But when I woke up, the sun had moved... Fortunately, I had put a hat on but I caught a sunburn behind an ear and neck. It is a light one, nothing really, but at that time, I found it funny because it made me think to Ron when he is angry. Hopeless, I know... Actually, I needed to caught the sun, since the flu I've been white as a sheet!

Unfortunately, the clouds have come back this afternoon so I think we can say good bye to our early May (not summer as in Brittany, summer is - normally- much hot, it is often about 30°C, 86°F then, not a weather to put a Breton -Brittany inhabitant- outside, he would burn... ). It is normal since the week before Easter has very, very often a bad weather, some say it has something to do with the moon.

Have a good Monday everybody! For once, I'm dreading Tuesday more than Monday: Tomorrow I will be at school before 8 a.m., will work till 4.30 p.m. as usual (with a 15 minutes break for lunch) and afterwards I have to meet parents till 6 p.m. and then to go to the school council till 8.30 p.m. (at least)! Not fun...

Edit: sorry for the long post, I didn't realized I had written so much!

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Lina - Mar 21, 2005 10:48 am (#239 of 2981)

Hi!

Jumping in just to say I'm home (came today) and I can obviously sit by the computer.

The results of the analysis done during the operation are negative which means good and much less fear for me. Everything else that is going to be done is going to be just precaution and therefore less difficult. Now I can celebrate Easter in peace with my family.

And fortunately, the new thread has been started, so I will be able to track all the posts in the meantime.

Nice week to everyone!

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Pinky - Mar 21, 2005 10:57 am (#240 of 2981)

Hooray, Lina! I know that has brought all kinds of peace and we are so glad to have you back with no worries.

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Julia. - Mar 21, 2005 10:58 am (#241 of 2981)

W00t! Welcome back Lina!! *hands Lina butterbeer* I'm so glad you're ok and that everything turned out well!

Mare, would you like us to Imperio the people incharge of this? Stupid Muggles. *joins Catherine in muttering under her breath Kreacher style* In the meantime, can you either email me (my address is in my profile) or post the pic you submitted for the contest? Just because the muggles won't let you make one doesn't mean I can't!

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 21, 2005 11:10 am (#242 of 2981)

As the start of my law school experience looms large, I would gladly accept any advice you can offer about things I should do to prepare... --- Julie

Well, insofar as it appears you have gone ahead and applied to law school and been accepted, it is way too late for my best advice which would have been: "Don't!" Otherwise, there's not much you can do to prepare ahead of time. I might buy my books as soon as possible and get a jump on the reading. Once school starts, talk to the 2nd/3rd years about their experiences and review practice exams/old exams if they are available. The sooner you get used to the exam formats, the better.

Otherwise, rent The Paperchase or find Scott Turow's book about the first year of law school (L One or something like that). They are both full of clichés (notwithstanding the fact that Turow's book is supposed to be based on reality), but the clichés are, more or less, true.

All that aside, there's not a lot to be done for the first year law student. The paradox is that you will have to simply go through all that reading during the first year in order to later understand that doing all that reading was entirely unnecessary. You will understand exactly what I mean next year.

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Penny Lane. - Mar 21, 2005 12:10 pm (#243 of 2981)

Julie- my advisor told me to read a book called 'Law School Confidential'. It's written by ..*digs through piles of laundry, papers, textbooks, and about 5 different bookbags*... I don't know I think I left my copy at home.

The book details law school, and exactly what law school it. It also gives advice on what to do pre-law, the summer before law school, etc. My biggest complaint was that it focused mainly on corporate lawyers, which is not something I really want to do. Actually, reading the book and thinking about how sick I am of my undergraduate work, I don't even want to apply after reading that.

What's the Paper Chase about? Is it a book or a DVD?

And in the parenting sector: I never knew juice was bad. I'm going to be such a horrible mother. I know I really shouldn't be in full panic mode on that one, as I am not currently in courtship with anyone, I'm not pregnant, and I don't even really think I could "parent" a fica plant. On the Jucic thing, I thought it was good for people - I pretty much only drink fruit juice, tea, bottled watter, and coffee. Is it the sugar? Or is it the processed juice that isn't really juice?

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 kabloink! - Mar 21, 2005 12:14 pm (#244 of 2981)

Thank you to everyone who sent their condolences. They are much appreciated. I will be out on Long Island myself tomorrow night. I ended up planning on flying over on Tuesday night for the funeral on Wednesday, then driving back with my family on Thursday. They decided that plane tickets for all is only slightly more expensive, and that extra expense is worth it to not be stuck in a small car with my older sister for 12 hours. (We all agree on this, I'm not just picking on her).

Its kinda weird to think about. He was anxious to get off chemo (it was a precaution - the cancer they found was not life-threatening, and they had removed most of it already, and it was his heart that gave out in the end) so that he could take my grandma for another vacation. He had just bought her a bouquet of flowers on Tuesday, and now he's gone. I wasn't very close to him, but I always wanted to make him proud of me, as the second oldest grandchild. Arg, I'm getting sappy and weepy, sorry everyone. I will talk to everyone when I get back from good ol' NY. Thanks again for all your thoughts and good wishes!

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Catherine - Mar 21, 2005 12:27 pm (#245 of 2981)

My 5 yr old yells for me a 4 or 5 in the morning everyday to get her some juice. I tell her no, that she can have water and she cries as loud as possible waking the whole house up. --PotterMom34

Whew! That is unpleasant! I'll chime in with Denise and Round Pink Spider about sticking to your guns word. Their advice sounded really reasonable to me. The only thing I would add is that the juice is not the only problem; waking up at 4/5 a.m. and yelling is disrespectful to everyone in the house. Five years old is plenty old enough to go get oneself a drink of water and refrain from bothering other people. I'd fill up a sports bottle with some icy cold water, put it beside her bed at night, and completely ignore her if she's yelling for a drink.

I think there should be natural consequences imposed if she is throwing a fit about juice at such an early hour, like going to bed extra early at night; after all, she must be terribly tired from getting up so early! I'm also all for imposing a juice rule, explaining the juice rule, and taking away the juice if the rule is broken. Example: You will get juice with breakfast, not before. If you throw a tantrum about the juice, you will get zero juice for the day. But of course, these things only work if you are absolutely consistent with the rule. Let her throw the fit, but ignore her. Don't "feed" the fit with juice, yelling, talking, or pleading. Tell yourself that you DO have the right, and the obligation, to set rules for your house.

**sending Pottermom some earplugs** Good luck to you!

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Dumbledore - Mar 21, 2005 2:13 pm (#246 of 2981)

Ponine, my dog, a wheaton terrier, is 14. He has really bad arthritis in his left hip so whenever he walks he limps. He gets a vitamin called glucosamine chondroitin 3 times a day (it's actually a human vitamin that works the same for dogs by loosening up joints) and he also takes a prescription medicine once a day. It's really sad, because although the medicine helps, it cannot reverse the effects of old age, and it's really sad to see the dog that I grew up with (we are only one year apart) deteriorate so quickly.

Mare, I think you should do the bat-bogey hex on those muggles! And I'm sorry about the sunburn.

Today was pretty good. The weather was overcast, but it was pretty warm so I know spring has arrived. I sort of got into a fight with one of my four best friends, but hopefully it's nothing more than the catty adolescence of teenage girls, and will pass over quickly. Any advice??

Have a great week everybody!

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Detail Seeker - Mar 21, 2005 2:19 pm (#247 of 2981)

Maré, there must be really agressive lawyers about, trying to make money from any incident possible. This winter, I wrote to the publisher, who printed the "Plattdeutsch"-translations of PS and CoS, whether they were considering publishing translations of the other books and when they would do so. The answer was, that for copyright reasons, they could not even answer the question.

so, if curses are to be used, they should be directed to the law departments of WB or Bloomsbury or Scholastic..... I tried a permanent blind spot on anything HP, but I fear I failed utterly.

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The giant squid - Mar 21, 2005 2:24 pm (#248 of 2981)

  if curses are to be used, they should be directed to the law departments of WB or Bloomsbury or Scholastic

Well said. I doubt the folks at Accio came up with the bizarre restrictions, but in this lawsuit-happy society we live in (no offense to the lawyers in residence) some people have to go overboard to cover their butts. Then again, it is possible to be too well-protected...artwork for an HP convention that's "less HP related"??

--Mike

EDIT: Eek! I nearly forgot--welcome back, Lina! I'm glad things worked out for you.

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 21, 2005 2:26 pm (#249 of 2981)

What's the Paper Chase about? Is it a book or a DVD? -- Penny Lane

It is a movie about the first year of law school. Come to think of it, I don't know if it is out on DVD. It's been a video for years though.

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Ponine - Mar 21, 2005 2:31 pm (#250 of 2981)

I am with Catherine on this one, Pottermom - You may not get any sleep for a couple of nights, but in the long run, it will be better for the both of you. Juice, like soda, is awful for your teeth (due to its sugar content as well as the acidity of it, Jules and so she would honestly be better off not drinking it at night/in the morning like that, when the ph value of her mouth is allowed to simmer and eat away at her enamel. I would tell her at some point during the day, when you guys are chatting and in good spirits, so to speak (not when you are both tired and grumpy), and just let her know that you will not get out of bed in the middle of the night to get her juice anymore. If she gets thirsty, she can have a drink of water which will be by her bed. I like Catherine's idea about a spiffy waterbottle, and maybe you can make a point out of prepping it together at night, with an ice cube or three, making it a team effort. Don't give in to her though. You are right, and she is five. She may be loud and persistent, but it will pass.

I am glad to hear your good news, Lina!   And kabloink - I lost both my grandmas this past year, and it has been really tough, but as time passes, I find it easier to be thankful and appreciate that I got to have them in my life, rather than just be devastated that I lost them. I hope that you too will be able to do that.

Oh - And my Mio (who is over one, actually, I just call him my puppy because he is so little and bubbly) is going to be ok!!! Apparently he is born with loose kneecaps in his hindlegs, but he can bounce around as much as he wants to, as it will not get worse, and he is in no pain - yey!! I hope your dog's growth is nothing serious Catherine! And as far as the vet's is concerned, Gina - I mean, this is my first dog, and I am an extremely - eager - dog owner. I think it was quite telling when I stopped by the vet's office with him, and I mentioned how we were there so much. She looked sincerely puzzled, and said that we had not been there for a long time now. I asked her to check her computer, and three weeks had passed.... I never thought I had to go to the vet's THAT much. I keep telling him he is worth his weight in gold at this point.

EDIT: Oh, Marè - I too would love to see your artwork! DO we not have any venue to share pictures of pretty puppies and artwork and such? I am seriously miffed on your behalf, and on Jo's, for stupid WB to take over so completely....

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Catherine - Mar 21, 2005 2:37 pm (#251 of 2981)

Then again, it is possible to be too well-protected...artwork for an HP convention that's "less HP related"?? --Mike TGS

Hem hem...this whole incident reminds me of Umbridge's speech at the start of term feast, and Umbridge's course aims at the first DADA lesson. Mare is like Hermione, raising her hand, and saying, "I don't see anything in your guidelines about actually using HP images and themes."

Grrr. I mean, hey, it's not like people who go to Accio are Harry Potter fans or anything like that.

***still muttering like Kreacher..."baboon's backside"....***

EDIT: Good news, Ponine! Hooray for the pup.

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Dumbledore - Mar 21, 2005 2:42 pm (#252 of 2981)

Yayy for the puppy, Ponine!

And Lina, I forgot to say in my last long-winded post how glad I am that you are OK!!! Mazel tov!!!!! Our thoughts were definitely with you on the forum!

Catherine, a Harry Potter convention having to do with Harry Potter? Quite a preposterous idea! The nerve of Mare, of course!

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Madame Librarian  - Mar 21, 2005 2:48 pm (#253 of 2981)

Lina--terrific news! There's nothing like finding out good news about your health. Hope you heal quickly.

Kabloink, my condolences. It is good that you'll all be together for the funeral, etc. It's a time to reminisce, love each other and re-connect with all family members.

Maré, bummer. Doncha hate it when the "conditions" are explained thoroughly...(ahem) after the fact? Like that was soooo helpful. Grrrrr.

For the present nanosecond, the sun is actually shining here in Chicagoland. The temp, however, is stuck somewhere back in February. Some very hardy daffodils are poking their way out of the ground. Boy, are they gonna be sorry.

RPS--brilliant idea there on the juice! I consider myself a reasonably successful mom--he turns 21 tomorrow...yikes!--but I don't think I'd have come up with that solution in a million years. I do know that whatever system you decide upon, YOU MUST NOT BACK DOWN! Sorry to shout, but I'm convinced that that's the whole trick to discipline that's effective. You can have the most sensible approach, but if your kids sense that you'll back down sometimes, it's worthless. When I started the whole time out system with Jordan (at around 18-24 months, when they understand "no"), the first time I sat him down on the time out sofa, he laughed at me (yeah, stopped his angry little demanding for whatever, and laughed). It took repeating the process about 15 times till he got it. Next occasion, it took around 6 times. After that, I only had to start counting: 1...2...3. I rarely got to 5. Now, Jordan was a sweet kid, really very even-headed, not prone to fits or tantrums (never did have an official lie on the floor and scream scene), so I had it relatively easy. We have a family joke even now that I just start counting when he does something I'm unhappy about. Example: he's got a bit of a lead foot when he drives, and I really don't like bombing around the neighborhood with him in his little beater of a car (an ancient Mercury Tracer that Arthur would love). When he starts going a bit too fast for me, I just start counting. He rolls his eyes ("Aw, Mom."), but he slows down right away. Good kid. My, my 21 years old....

Ciao. Barb

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Chemyst - Mar 21, 2005 2:59 pm (#254 of 2981)

Aww Marè, have a chocolate frog. Yes, the Accio Art Director messed up. It should have been in the guidelines that submissions should avoid using copyrighted imagery. As for the lawyers... I guess I should admire Julie's "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em " approach. But I disagree that you have just wasted a whole lot of time on nothing. I think everyone here wants to ooh and ahh your design, so I hope it gets posted someplace.

Michelle (pottermom), I agree with RPS if it is a screaming/discipline problem. It it is a giving-them-fluids thing, Denise is right about cutting with juices with water. A nutritionist friend told me it is actually healthier that way (evens out the fruit-sugar levels the body has to process). And Catherine & Ponine added so many helpful tips that it's probably better for me to just say ditto than to add another 2¢.

Glad to hear you're OK Lina.

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The giant squid - Mar 21, 2005 3:00 pm (#255 of 2981)

Barb, what you've just describes is the secret to any sort of discipline, and the thing that a lot of parents are lacking: follow through. Don't just count to three, do something. Let the kids know that "or else" is a bad thing.

I see so many teenagers wandering through our theater that clearly have had no lessons in discipline and think they can get away with anything. It makes my hand itch with the desire to spank their parents.

Conversely, this is one reason why I won't have kids--I don't have the patience to do it right. If more prospective parents would be realistic about their ability to actually raise a good kid the whole world would be better off.

...Wow, what an odd rant coming from me. I really need to stop posting in the daytime--the sunlight's doing weird things to my brain.

--Mike

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 Catherine - Mar 21, 2005 4:26 pm (#256 of 2981)

I see so many teenagers wandering through our theater that clearly have had no lessons in discipline and think they can get away with anything. It makes my hand itch with the desire to spank their parents. --Mike TGS

Mike, you should post more during daylight; I know exactly how you feel.

This is one reason that I am an EX high school teacher. Some parents and their teens clearly needed to spend some more quality time with Miss Manners. I remember coming home often my first year teaching in tears that I was not teaching literature, but Manners and Social Skills 101. **waves to Loopy Lupin, who now gets to do the manners thingy for us!** (Examples from teaching: We don't throw pencils at our neighbor when we disagree during discussion. Certain words of the "four letter variety" are not acceptable. Coming to class drunk is against the law, unhealthful, and detrimental to one's grade point average. I'm sure you all get my point...)

That was a good experience, though, because it gave me the confidence and insight to stand my ground and establish respectful boundaries for my children.

The scary thing is that I've already taught high school, so I know where we're going! Eeek! Wands at the ready!

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haymoni - Mar 21, 2005 4:37 pm (#257 of 2981)

You are all much more patient than I would ever be on the juice thing.

My solution: Don't buy any juice.

It is absolutely amazing how great water tastes when there are no other choices.

Being the Slacker Mom that I am, the odds of there actually being juice (and I know we are all talking about 100% fruit juice, not "fruit punch") available in my house every day are slim and none.

Water, however, is always available.

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Amilia Smith - Mar 21, 2005 5:08 pm (#258 of 2981)

That was my Mom's solution too. That and she really talked up water. She always made it clear how much she loved water, and how refreshing it was. She would also use it to comfort me when I was little. "Oh, you fell and hurt your knee? Let's go get a drink of water." As a result I have never had trouble drinking water, unlike many of my friends and coworkers.

Penny, you asked what is so bad about juice. Well, it is better than pop, but you are right, there's alot of sugar. Juice concentrates all the sugar and sweetness of a large amount of fruit into a small amount of liquid. And you don't get the fiber you would have gotten if you just ate the fruit. Then there's the acidity that Ponine mentioned. (Which I hadn't thought of. Thank you.) Long story short: little bit of juice, good; lots of juice, bad.

Welcome back Lina. Good to hear things weren't as serious as you feared.

Mare, I'd like to see your design as well, if you'd like to post it.

Mills.

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 21, 2005 5:49 pm (#259 of 2981)

Madame Librarian, I would love to say that I came up with the rationing and sticker idea all by myself, but I was blessed in my early years of parenting to attend some local parenting classes. Although nothing works for everyone, I got a lot of very sensible advice. One of the nicest things about the classes was that mothers got to talk about their own problems and experiences, and share ideas. When I went back years later with child number 4 (who was born deaf and needed extra socialization), I was amazed at how much of their advice I had already internalized and made my own.

Our deaf child has been a constant challenge for "gentle but effective" discipline. Being hard-of-hearing makes it difficult for her to understand, and not understanding encourages her to be short-tempered. We use every trick in the book to help her to learn how young ladies behave. Our current is a system of "5 Xs" -- if she yells at us, is disrespectful or uncooperative with her homework, she can get an X; 5 Xs and she loses her Friday night "Late Night Movie" in the living room. So we're used to the "sticker system."

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Ydnam96 - Mar 21, 2005 6:46 pm (#260 of 2981)

Mare, I would love to see your art work and Booooooo on Accio to be so silly as to not post guidelines and for not at least acknowledging they had recieved your submission. I will not go in protest (in actuallity I can not go, but now my not going is for a good cause).

The day here is actually quite beautiful. I walked with some friends/coworkers to the gym on campus and worked out for the first time in like a year. oooooooof. Now I'm ready to go to bed.

I'm not a mom, and never plan to be for the same reasons The Giant Squid is, but I fully agree with the whole stick to your stuff. Being consistent is always the best policy, in just about everything in life. I hate hate hate going in public (like toystores, or walmart, or any other place where lots of children are) and watching children pitch fits. I don't blame the child, it's the parent who is not doing their job. I get so frustrated when they go "if you stop crying I'll get you the candy" or whatever I just want to go over and yell at them. Which, is why I think it would be a bad idea for me to be a mom. I have NO patience for stuff like that.

It's spring break here, so all the collge kiddies are gone. It makes my job so much easier when they aren't here! I can actually get stuff done, which gives me more time to spend on the forum. Which makes me smile.

Night all!

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Catherine - Mar 21, 2005 6:57 pm (#261 of 2981)

RPS,

I'm with you. My friends were marveling at Book Club about the show "Super Nanny," and her use of a timer. Old tricks, new show.

We've used the timer for my brilliant-but-stubborn autistic child since she was 20 months old (she's now nine). When someone was telling the "Super Nanny and the Timer" story at book group, my close friends were all smirking at me. When the lady finished her account, they all laughed out loud and said, "Catherine is "one up" on Super Nanny. She's been using the timer for years." Keep in mind that at first, they all thought the "timer" was over the top. Since then, several moms adopted it just because they saw how well it worked with Claire. The timer is a neutral signal, and we treat it as such. Claire actually likes us to set a timer for tasks that she finds unpleasant, or challenging--it makes her feel more in control--she tells herself "I only have to do it for X minutes." (Cleaning, reading homework, studying--the timer is your friend!)

While I am no super-nanny (nor do I play one on TV), structure, stickers (else aforementioned child would still be un-pottie-trained, I am sure), timers, and incentives work very well. My mom still holds her sides laughing over our "Potty-learning" poster and stickers, as the poster was very crudely drawn and, to her Muggle eyes, very funny. (Hmmph. She's no artist, either!)

Which brings me back to Mare--please do post your idea. I'm so envious of those who are artistic--posting your design would be a true feast for the eyes.

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 21, 2005 8:05 pm (#262 of 2981)

Ditto, Mare!

Yup, yup, yup, we use the timer too for Emily, Catherine. (My husband is using one right this minute to force her to memorize her sums, because she keeps adding on her fingers. You should hear her pleading to do it again and again!) Reading is very difficult for her because she didn't start hearing (via her implant) until she was 2. We use the timer to give her 15 minutes of reading per day. To her, it's a "limit" (how soon will I be done); to us it keeps her going longer than she would otherwise. We also use timers to do "hurry-up offense" cleaning, to get as much done as possible quickly. We are most definitely not "Super Nanny" types! The more challenges you face, the more organized you need to be. (You should see me getting 5 kids off to school on 3 different busses every morning! ) The people who scoff at you simply haven't faced the challenges you have.

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haymoni - Mar 21, 2005 8:16 pm (#263 of 2981)

Ydnam96 - I have come to the conclusion that most children pitch fits in public places because they know that their parents won't beat them in public.

As a parent, you can also be accused of abandonment if you turn on your heel and leave the fit-pitching child alone in the aisle.

I have the utmost respect for the parents whose children stand still and keep their hands to themselves and never ask for anything while in the store. I really do. I just wonder what kind of drugs they give their children before they leave the house.

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Ydnam96 - Mar 21, 2005 8:24 pm (#264 of 2981)

Well my mom would tell us no and if we continued to cause a ruckus she took us out of the store. Sometimes she took us to the bathroom and gave us a good spanking. Nowadays you would get arrested for that. But seriously, we deserved it. Heck, one of my friends mom carried a wooden spoon in her purse. I don't think she EVER used it, but her kids never acted up in a store.

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 21, 2005 9:21 pm (#265 of 2981)

Haymoni,

It's not giving them "drugs" that keeps them good, it's knowing what they'll be "drug through" when they get home!

But seriously, Mr. Round Pink and I have no problem picking up a misbehaving child, carrying him/her bodily from a store, and making that one sit in the car. We've done it...

EDIT: By the way, cheering charms would be appreciated for our least little one. He has pneumonia. (What a rotten winter this has been!)

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pottermom34 - Mar 21, 2005 9:25 pm (#266 of 2981)

Thanks for all the great advice and ideas, I really like the sticker thing and my lids love stickers , I have some empty bug juice bottles(mini sport bottles) I'm going to try filling them w/H2O and putting them in the fridge and I'll either just tell them if they are thirsty at nite they have to get their own, OR I'll give them one at bed time and if they can get thru the nite without waking me for more, I'll give them a sticker for the chart (something like that). But if they wake me up they don't get a sticker. I'll let you all know what works. Actually the hard part will be getting my husband to be consistentt, but that's a man thing.
Yeah, the store thing isn't fun either. I start with the toy section so they get it out of their systems. They usually do really good until we get close to check out time. Then they get antsy.
Isn't that something, a parent that is truly disciplining their child with a little spanking gets in big trouble, but the people that are really abusive usually get away with it somehow?

Thanks again everyone Michelle

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 21, 2005 10:55 pm (#267 of 2981)

Ydnam96 - I have come to the conclusion that most children pitch fits in public places because they know that their parents won't beat them in public.

Evil slacker mom that I am, I have learned the secret to public discipline. When public behavior becomes intolorable (after many very warnings) I gently get hold of the offenders hand and take one little finger between my index finger and thumb and apply a gentle pressure until the behavior stops. Sweetly say that when the unacceptable behavior stops the squeezing stops. So far it has worked without the accompanying loud screams.

Pottermom, the demanding of juice is just one of those thing where you have to stick to your gut values. In my house, we have acid water so I let my kids have a bottle of water by the bed so when they wake in the night the can have access to drinkable water whenever they wake. When they want juice and refuse water, I remind them that they will get very thirsty if they don't drink the water.

Once one of mine woke in the wee hours and demanded breakfast. I looked out the window and said “The sun isn’t out, I don't work before the sun comes out". That satisfied her until morning.

I use a star chart for good behavior with my kids. The winner of the star chart for the week gets to choose special quality time with mom or dad or a surprise out of the gift bag. It's very motivating.

Kim, my condolences again. I notice you'll be on Long Island, we are a week off. I'm going to visit my mother-in-law there the following week end.

Line, glad things went well.

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Kip Carter - Mar 22, 2005 12:01 am (#268 of 2981)

Marè When I read your rant concerning the Accio convention t-shirt contest, I immediately contacted Steve Vander Ark who understands what rights Warner Brothers (WB) has in regards to this matter. Penny Linsenmayer who is extremely well qualified to answer questions regarding this issue answered my email.

I will share part of her response with you and our members who showed interest with some excerpts from her email.


  “ ...WB would indeed have a good deal to say about the proposed t-shirt design. It sounds as though Accio's guidelines were not clear, which was a mistake, but the art director's response sounds about right to me. In planning Nimbus - 2003, we ran into a good bit of WB's stipulations, and yes, they do hold sway over a good deal more than just the movies and movie-related infringement.”

She also referred this link to someone else who may post to this thread. I know that is not what you wanted to hear; however WB does have very heavy influence over what a conference can do period.

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 22, 2005 12:46 am (#269 of 2981)

As the start of my law school experience looms large, I would gladly accept any advice you can offer about things I should do to prepare...

Julie, it's just like Occlumency ...just empty your mind and like magic, instant lawyer :-)

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Marè - Mar 22, 2005 1:26 am (#270 of 2981)
Edited Mar 22, 2005 3:49 am

Hi everybody,
Thank you so much for all the kind replies. I'm still not sure what to do, but maybe seeing if I would be allowed to adapt it is an option. I know I won't be able to make a new one (lack of idea of what to make is one problem).
So If I were to adapt it can't post it for you as of yet. (But don't worry, after this whole mess, I will post it somewhere )

Also, the art director herself has entered the contest with some Harry Potter themed pictures... I give up... I don't understand it. copyrights, okay I understand that! Now if some-one would be so kind as to show me what is copyrighted and what is not...

My head spins... (Allthough, that could also be to lack of sleep...)

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 22, 2005 1:34 am (#271 of 2981)

Hmm, I know a potions master that can make a sleeping drought, wanna split one?

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septentrion - Mar 22, 2005 2:15 am (#272 of 2981)

Marè, I'm as confused as you about that copyright thing. There are plenty of artwork on the Lexicon, on the net etc and they don't seem to attract WB's attention. I'd like to see your own artwork, pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaase.

Lina, I'm glad too to see you back with the heart at peace.

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Mar 22, 2005 4:34 am (#273 of 2981)

Lina, I'm very happy to hear of your good news.

kabloink, condolences on the loss of your grandfather.

I came home yesterday with Easter Lily plants. This morning I came down to the kitchen to find it filled with the most gorgeous fragrance. I may have to reconsider giving some of them away as gifts.

Oh, and there were pansies at the greenhouse. Pansies! It's not fair. My backyard still has snow. And I bet the soil in my pots is still frozen.

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Chemyst - Mar 22, 2005 5:42 am (#274 of 2981)

Also, the art director herself has entered the contest with some Harry Potter themed pictures...
How odd. A Slytherin might suspect she was eliminating her competition...

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Catherine - Mar 22, 2005 6:02 am (#275 of 2981)

A Slytherin might suspect she was eliminating her competition..—Chemyst

Forsooth. I think she's onto something....

...and there were pansies at the greenhouse. Pansies! It's not fair. My backyard still has snow. And I bet the soil in my pots is still frozen. --Lupin is Lupin

We always seem to be talking about pansies in the Chat thread when Marcus is busy with his work. Hmmm...wasn't it Chemyst who said recently that Pansy needed to chill? Off to check the threads....

Have a good Tuesday, everyone.

EDIT: Best wishes to the "baby" RPS!

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Julie Aronson - Mar 22, 2005 6:27 am (#276 of 2981)

Well, thanks for the advice...Yes, Loopy, I think it's too late to change my mind now-I've already paid my seat deposit!

RPS, I'll try to send healing thoughts over to your youngest...

Have a great day!

Julie

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 22, 2005 6:43 am (#277 of 2981)

We don't throw pencils at our neighbor when we disagree during discussion. Certain words of the "four letter variety" are not acceptable. Coming to class drunk is against the law, unhealthful, and detrimental to one's grade point average. I'm sure you all get my point...—Catherine

Are you positive you weren't my 12th grade English teacher?

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Catherine - Mar 22, 2005 6:45 am (#278 of 2981)

Are you positive you weren't my 12th grade English teacher? --Loopy Lupin

If I say yes, may I take credit for your lovely manners and tiptop writing skills?

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librarian314 - Mar 22, 2005 7:10 am (#279 of 2981)

Hey all!

I survived the weekend full of birthday parties! They all went well and everyone had a fun time. (To see photos of the cakes and my Mrs. Weasley sweater click here http://photos.yahoo.com/bunwynna and Look at the folder entitled Harry Potter Stuff). My daughter wanted Harry Potter themed parties so the family party had Prisoner of Azkaban themed stuff and the kid party had Quidditch themed stuff. Her favorite present was the stuffed wolf my parents gave her.

Madame Pince - This goes back aways, but thanks! Being amusing is one of the family duties in our house. We even worked making each other laugh into our wedding vows. :-) Darling daughter gets her humour naturally; her dad is a riot! Also, our kids are birthday buddies! Kayla's is Mar. 19th, too! Happy belated b-day to baby Pince!

Chemyst - Thanks! Hope you like the pictures of the cakes. I took up cake decorating when I was 12 and love it. I tend toward whimsy more than beautiful. No Martha Stewart wedding cakes here; Viking Long ships, log cabins, eyeballs, golden snitches, Loch Ness Monsters, and anything else whimsical, I'll give a try.

Disciplining kids in public is hard. You worry that others will think that you are too harsh but, you're doing for your kids own good. With Kayla, her first offensive is regular fussing. Second offense: I talk low with teeth gritted and a firm grip on not so darling daughter's wrist. If she continues, depending on the severity of the action I'll smack her hand (if she touching stuff I've told her not too) or I'll haul her outside (to the ladies' room or someplace not in the middle of stuff) and she gets a couple of swats on the behind. We have even stopped the car and swatted her once when she was about three. She understands what will happen if I say, "Don't make me stop the car!"

Usually she stops with regular fussing, occasionally it'll get as far as the gritted teeth or the hand smacking. Once in a great while she'll get a spanking. (Nowhere near as often as I did as a kid.) But if you're firm with them when they're little and don't give in, they'll get it. Our daughter gets juice or milk at meals and snack. otherwise she get water and gets it herself. (We keep cups in the bathrooms so she can do just that.)

Lina, glad everything has turned out alright.

RPS - hope the spiderling gets better soon!

Y'all take care!

**michelle the librarian**

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septentrion - Mar 22, 2005 7:37 am (#280 of 2981)

Michelle, your photos are not available. It seems you should do something to make your album public.

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librarian314 - Mar 22, 2005 8:06 am (#281 of 2981)

Hey all!

I'm still figuring out the Yahoo Photos thing, sorry. It's public now, so hopefully it'll work. I added a photo of me in London, looking like Prof. Trelawney's younger (and hopefully not as dippy) cousin ;-).

**michelle the librarian** who will one day figure out technology, really ;-)

Edit: Here's the url again: http://photos.yahoo.com/bunwynna (click on the Harry Potter Stuff)

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Julia. - Mar 22, 2005 8:14 am (#282 of 2981)

The pictures worked for me. They're quite lovely Michelle, I loved your cakes, and your little snitches are awesome! Your Molly sweater is beautiful, you're very tallented.

*sigh* Off to do my homework.

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Cornelia - Mar 22, 2005 8:18 am (#283 of 2981)

Hi Michelle! The Weasley sweater is really beautiful! And the cakes look just YUMMY!

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septentrion - Mar 22, 2005 8:31 am (#284 of 2981)

Yeah it works now. Your Molly sweater is nice. I've noticed Kayla's snitch looks like very much a sweet. And your outfits are awesome.

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 22, 2005 8:31 am (#285 of 2981)

If I say yes, may I take credit for your lovely manners and tiptop writing skills?—Catherine

Sure! I owe it all to you; talent had nothing to do with it.

Of course, we are just kidding everyone. Catherine is much too young to have ever taught while I was in highschool during the 80's. Of course, it might have been fun to have a teacher who wore artfully ripped and torn clothes, legwarmers, and stylish headbands. ***goes off humming theme from "Flashdance."***

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Catherine - Mar 22, 2005 8:32 am (#286 of 2981)

I was able to access the able from your initial post, Michelle. Your are a multi-talented wizard, for sure. Thanks for sharing your pics with us.

**eats chocolate to ward off depression caused by my lack of artistic skill** Anyone else needing some chocolate right about now?

EDIT: Loopy-Catherine is much too young to have ever taught while I was in highschool during the 80's. Of course, it might have been fun to have a teacher who wore artfully ripped and torn clothes, legwarmers, and stylish headbands.

Indeed. I was in high school then myself. I never did adopt Flashdance attire, though. I was too preppy.

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Ladybug220 - Mar 22, 2005 8:44 am (#287 of 2981)

I will take some chocolate Catherine! I need it after my time at the DMV.

I just spent 2 hours trying to get my driver's license and I couldn't because the computers for the Social Security Admin are down. All that needs to be done is verification of my SSN and then take the picture! I can't register my car until I have a driver's license in the this state. Oh well, I will try going back this afternoon to see if things have improved - I am not holding my breath.

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Ydnam96 - Mar 22, 2005 9:00 am (#288 of 2981)

The snitch cupcakes were great! Did you crochet that sweater? I am in awe.

Ooooooof I have to get ready for work. Bleh

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librarian314 - Mar 22, 2005 11:03 am (#289 of 2981)

Hey all!

**blushes** Thanks! I'm just lucky enough to have found my artistic outlet early (by about 5 or 6) and had a mom and grandmoms that encouraged and taught me. Do something long enough, and it gets easier (except knitting. Knitting still confuses me. In my entire life I can only remember knitting a handful of items: a pair of socks, a pair of mittens, a doll blanket, and some doll scarves. I doubt I'll ever knit anything bigger than a hat or a pair of socks. To those knitters out there, y'all have more patience and coordination than I.)

The sweater is crocheted, the primary stitch being double crochet (the stitch used in granny squares). Much of the sweater is based on a granny square motif, the clumped stitches, and changes of color.

Y'all take care!

**michelle the librarian**

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Madam Pince - Mar 22, 2005 2:16 pm (#290 of 2981)

Michelle, you can use a drop spindle???!!!! I am completely in awe! I tried one once at a 19th-century farming-skills workshop, and it was ridiculous! It seemed like it would be fun once you get the hang of it (Ha-ha, "hang" of it....get it??? and I wasn't even trying to be punny...) but it was awfully difficult for me, anyway.

Lina, so glad your operation went well and you got a good report! Yay!

Mare, I feel for you in your frustration. You must be so bummed. I hope there is a way to salvage some of your work to be used at Accio.

About the juice discussion, I "second" all the earlier mentioned suggestions. I have been using Denise's suggestion of "cutting" the juice with water from the start. I don't think Baby Pince even knows what regular juice tastes like. He doesn't seem to object. And for the tantrum thing -- I recently had to carry him kicking and screaming out of a restaurant -- under my arm like you'd carry a fencepost or something. I just set my jaw and looked straight ahead and ignored the looks of shock I was getting from the other patrons. Sigh..... It was worse when we got to the car -- he kept arching his back and wouldn't get in his carseat, so I said "Fine, we'll just sit here until you're ready to go," and I shut the door and left him yelling in the car while I stood outside the car door with my back to him. That was fun, let me tell you. And the looks I got from the people just arriving at the restaurant parking lot! I just smiled grimly at them and held my ground. Most days, being a parent is wonderful, but some few days it truly isn't much fun...

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Eponine - Mar 22, 2005 2:17 pm (#291 of 2981)

Michelle, I am highly impressed with your knitting ability. I love the Mrs. Weasley sweater.

I only have two days of teaching left. They keep asking me if I'm going to miss them or if I don't really want to stay after spring break. I'm not quite as strict as my cousin, so I don't think they're ready to have her come back. I'm ready to be finished with this, but I am glad that I took the opportunity because it's made me realize I'm not cut out to be a regular teacher. I could be a tutor or work with smaller groups, but I don't handle large classes well.

Anyway, I hope everyone here is having a great day.

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Ydnam96 - Mar 22, 2005 5:19 pm (#292 of 2981)

So I had a wonderful day at work (I work at a college, I'm live on staff- one of the Resident Directors who are "in charge" of all the kiddies in the dorms) Picture the scene:

It's break, all of the staff of the college comes together every Tuesday morning to eat donuts, have hot chocolate, and take a small break.

At the Rezlife table all the other RDs and my boss are sitting around the table having a random discussion about Spring Breaks and some silly magazine for college students and travel.

As I go to turn the page of said magazine I knock over a LARGE cup of hot chocolate. It spills down my chest, down my legs, and down into my flip flops. I mean, it soaks my khaki pants straight through, and was pooling in the cuffs of my pants. And I end up sitting in a puddle of initially quite hot then quickly cooling and sticky hot chocolate.

I then had to walk back to my apartment looking like I had fallen in a pool of brown sticky mess- in front of all the remaining campus staff and across the campus. Carrying my flip flops because they were soaked.

Yes. Only me.

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Penny Lane. - Mar 22, 2005 5:31 pm (#293 of 2981)

Oh that's horrible! I can only imagine your embarrassment.

For the moms on the forum: Today, my mother Instant Messages's me, and she's chatting, about my summer plans and so on and so forth. I don't have the heart to tell her how I dropped my French class today, thus ensuring that I will never get into any law school, so I instead turn the discussion to her cats, which she is happy to talk about for a good 20 minutes or so. Finally, she says (writes?, types?) "Yesterday was a very special day for me. Do you know what it was?". Now, I'm in my early 20s, and really find it amusing when my mother says stuff, as I don't really recall her ever speaking to me like that. It rather reminds me of the way the mother on 7th Heaven occasionally speaks to Ruthie (in the older episodes). Anyway, it turns out that I completely forgot her birthday. I feel so bad, so... does anyone have any idea what to do? I really am very short on funds, and the only things I can make for her quickly are winter hats. Argh.. To be 6 again, when a simple trace outline of your hand and a scrawled "hapy birtdey mommy" would suffice.

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Chemyst - Mar 22, 2005 5:43 pm (#294 of 2981)

Ydnam96 , well, on the brighter side, at least the students weren't around to see you.

An outfit I designed and my team constructed by hand with bone needles and two-ply thread I spun on a drop spindle. - from Michelle's photos

One word: Wow!   By the way, whose bones did you use? (I should probably take a long break from reading the GF climax if my mind is beginning to work like that)

 –   The snitch cupcakes were delightful; and then a memory from my own childhood came creeping back and I realized how grossed out my mother would have been with feathers in the food. (How bad was it? I could not even have plastic doves on my wedding cake!)

Penny, your mom would probably be happy just spending time with you. (Take her out for ice cream.)

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Catherine - Mar 22, 2005 6:20 pm (#295 of 2981)

I will echo Chemyst's sentiment and say that taking your mom out on an outing, one on one, is very special. Ice cream, a drink, popcorn at the park...your lavished attention will be appreciated. Write her a limerick or verse for her birthday, or treat her to a manicure or pedicure at a salon. Something that you thought of, or arranged, is wonderful.

Speaking of wonderful, my mom is in town, and is spririting us off to Disneyworld first thing in the morning. Suitcases are packed, boarding passes are printed, puppies are in the kennel (OUCH!), and hubby is off to the Sweet Sixteen.

So I will say my goodbyes tonight, and I don't have wireless access in my hotel room, so if I check in at all in the next week, it will be spotty at best. If I don't come back, you are free to imagine that Goofy ate my computer and I am parked in Cinderella's Castle, pretending that I am the princess, except that I am not dainty, blond, or good at cleaning house.

Cheers, everyone. See y'all later. **waves like Cinderella in the parade**

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boop  - Mar 22, 2005 6:20 pm (#296 of 2981)

Lina, Good to hear your hospital stay went well. Welcome Back!!

RPS, Sorry to hear your little one is sick with pneumonia. Here are some get well wishes for your child. (((HUGS)))

Michelle, I love your Weasly sweater. The drawings, cup cakes and your cakes are awesome!!!!

Ydnam96, Glad to hear you didn't get burned.

hugs always

boop

PS Catherine have a great time, you will be missed.

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Ladybug220 - Mar 22, 2005 6:25 pm (#297 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 22, 2005 5:26 pm

Catherine - don't you need a chaperone for the trip? I could meet y'all at the airport in the morning!

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Catherine - Mar 22, 2005 6:38 pm (#298 of 2981)

Ladybug, I'd love to have you join us. Meet us at the Dumbo ride at 5 o'clock!

(This is a family joke, as the Dumbo ride is, in fact, quite dumb, and not worth the 45 minute wait that the kids insist upon) There is a direct flight from RDU to Orlando; we're taking it tomorrow morning. I feel like Bob Barker: C'mon down! This is the sincere wish to be joined!

Hmm.. I just got a gathering idea! I'm sure Warner Brothers would frown on Disney, but after Mare's T-shirt issues, we're open agents, yes?

Just kidding. I'm giddy at the idea of Disney fun paid for by my mom. My girls are literally over the moon about it, and it was super hard to put them to bed tonight, even though we need to be up early and at the airport.

My mom rolled her eyes at me when I said I had to say goodbye to the Forum, but Mr. Catherine is used to it by now, and told her how addicted committed I am.

Good night, Loopy, Good night, Kim, Good night Denise, Good night, Kip, Good night, John Boy....(continues on in this vein until the Forum is accounted for properly).

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Julia. - Mar 22, 2005 6:50 pm (#299 of 2981)

Catherine I'm so jealous!! I've never been to Disney World, and I can't wait to go, when ever that may be. *good night Catherine*

I had fun tonight. I only intended to go to dinner, and somehow a few of my friends and I ended up across campus sitting on the strangely shaped art and giggleing hysterically.

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Mar 22, 2005 6:55 pm (#300 of 2981)

Catherine--you've been taking entirely too much time off from the Forum. I'll expect you to make it up when you come back. Make sure you get some mouse ears for Loopy.

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I Am Used Vlad - Mar 22, 2005 7:09 pm (#301 of 2981)

Have fun at Disney World, Catherine.

I have an interesting story relating to Disney World. My family went there when I was a little kid. Specifically, it was in March of 1979. We got home early in the morning on the 28th. Bear in mind, we lived less than 10 miles from Harrisburg, PA, home of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. I'm one of the few people who can claim to have fled into central Pennsylvania on March 28, 1979.

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Eponine - Mar 22, 2005 7:14 pm (#302 of 2981)

Catherine, I have a student flying to Orlando from RDU tomorrow also. I wonder if you'll be on the same flight. Well, have a good time down there. I hope you all enjoy it.

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Marie E. - Mar 22, 2005 7:44 pm (#303 of 2981)

Gosh, I missed yesterday due to a stomach virus and found 88 messages waiting for me. I would almost rather have a severe sinus infection than to go around all day on the verge of vomiting. My kids were extremely helpful and sweet. Lexie kept drawing me pictures to cheer me up. She did one especially good one of Harry catching the Snitch that I'll have to scan for you all.

Even though it was ages ago, I'd like to chime in a bit on the juice debate. No one warned me about juice when I was a newbie mom so Shayla was getting full strength juice whenever she wanted it. Lucky for Lexie I learned from my mistakes. They still don't get full strength juice. And drinks at night: when Shayla was 17 months old she had a bad ear infection that caused very high fevers. She became dehydrated so we let her take a sippy cup of water to bed with her. Thus began a two year battle to get rid of the nighttime sippy cups. It's hard to stay dry all night when you're drinking water in bed! I gradually reduced the water level each night until she was just sleeping with empty cups. She stubbornly insisted on sleeping with the empty cup until she was almost four, but at least she wasn't wetting the bed.

Spring must be here. They are predicting thunderstorms for tomorrow. Though being Colorado, the thunderstorms will probably be accompanied by snow.

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haymoni - Mar 22, 2005 9:22 pm (#304 of 2981)

Ydnam - don't feel too bad. I fell down my front steps this morning.

Yes - there I was in all my business-suited glory, purse and bag full of junk in hand - I came out of the door, walked across the landing, put one elegant black pump on the first step and WHOOSH!!

I didn't realize the steps had a bit of frost on them and I went sliding down on my bum. I have a lovely bruise on my leg, yet somehow, miracle of miracles, managed not to put a run in my hose.

I'm sure any neighbor who was out walking or looking out the window, ala Petunia, got quite a good laugh at my expense.

So you see, it's not just you!

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Ydnam96 - Mar 22, 2005 10:53 pm (#305 of 2981)

Haymoni, I too have done that! Oh landing on the stairs hurts so much...but the embarassment is worse. I'm glad you weren't hurt. (I tend to be clumsy, I thought I was getting better as I got older, as the incidents are further apart. My mom said she should have named me Grace. I can even fall up the stairs. I have fallen twice in the last month so badly that I have had a permanently bruised set of knees.) Oh well. At least it gives me an opportunity to laugh at myself. And believe me. I did laugh today. It was funny.

It's thunderstorming here in Southern Cali. It's wonderful. I love thunderstorms, I mean as far as rain is going to go you might as well have thunder to make it interesting. Maybe it is this storm which is going to Colorado?

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The giant squid - Mar 22, 2005 11:16 pm (#306 of 2981)

I would almost rather have a severe sinus infection than to go around all day on the verge of vomiting.--Marie E.

Oh, I hate that feeling! You get to the point where you actually want to throw up just to make that queasy feeling go away.

On a lighter note, I've found that the severity of the spill (fall or drink) is directly proportional to both the quality of your clothing and the proximity of bosses, coworkers, etc. If you're in your grubbies & no one's around you can navigate a maze of slippery rocks while carrying an over-full bucket of milk; as soon as you put on better clothes or someone shows up to watch, bam!

Also, Mandy, I have been known to fall up the stairs a few times too, so don't feel too bad.

--Mike

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Elanor - Mar 23, 2005 12:04 am (#307 of 2981)

For me Tuesday has not been that good too, mind you a 13 hours long work day is rarely a good day... After class, I had to meet some parents to sum up the situation of their kids in class and that was both frustrating and exhausting. I was thinking to what you wrote Mike about having kids while talking to some of them. Some are very nice, their kids work, behave themselves and it was a pleasure to talk to them, but some others....

First, you have the "Petunia-like" mother: her kid brings lines to do, something like "I won't thump the other children in the playground" (or "flood the toilets", or "pull out the girls' hair"...) twice a week and all that she says is (imagine Petunia's voice, it fits very well) "I don't understand, little darling has not an ounce of violence in him. Actually, he doesn't understand why you're punishing him for". I told her that the record for only today was: having another fight in the playground, putting a kid in water and mud so that the poor one spent the rest of the day in wet clothes, not to mention botching up his work in class and poor darling doesn't understand why he brought some lines at home... Grrrrrr... Well, now I know what Dudley's teachers must have felt...

You have also the parents who won’t listen at all to what you're saying. I was just telling a Mom that her kid had very bad results, getting "Cs" everywhere (the lowest mark) and she said, "oh, so everything is okay then"... I tried to make her understand that no, it wasn't okay and that her kid needed to work more but she didn't listen. Poor kid!

And I don't mention the mother who had an appointment and didn't come at all. Sorry for the rant, but I hate to lose my time and energy like that! And it is not finished, I will meet the other parents on Saturday morning. Yipeeh...

I send cheering and healing charms to all of you who need some (big hug to baby RPS). I hope your holiday will be great Catherine!

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Essidji - Mar 23, 2005 3:37 am (#308 of 2981)

lol, Elanor! Yes, I know it's not funny at all from your point of view, but it really was to me when I read your description of Petunia.

Marè, how frustrating it must be to get such a response. I would have never guessed the WB could put its nose in this. This is weird.

PS : I join the club of the ones who are willing to see your artwork.

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septentrion - Mar 23, 2005 3:39 am (#309 of 2981)

Elanor, that's not your week. Hopefully you'll relax today. When reading you, I know why I'm not a teacher.

Have a good trip Catherine !

Big hugs to baby RPS too.

Everyone have a good day/night. (BTW we haven't heard of our Aussie fellows for a while. I hope they're doing well)

edit : waves to Essidji. How are you ? Give me news from you !

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haymoni - Mar 23, 2005 5:18 am (#310 of 2981)

Whenever I would trip or fall, my father would yell, "Grace!" and my mother would roll her eyes and say, "Four years of ballet, down the tubes!"

I'm wearing sensible shoes this morning. I should be fine.

Have a great day, all!

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 23, 2005 6:33 am (#311 of 2981)

Good night, Loopy, Good night, Kim, Good night Denise, Good night, Kip, Good night, John Boy....(continues on in this vein until the Forum is accounted for properly).

Awww. I wanna go to Disney World too. ***frowns*** Where's Julia with a butterbeer when you need one?

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librarian314 - Mar 23, 2005 7:04 am (#312 of 2981)

Hey all!

To answer in a true Viking style, I should growl and menacingly say, "The bones of vanquished enemies." :-) If I were a witch, I might say Dolores Umbrage, but, as I am neither, I'll answer honestly and say I have no idea what Miguel, my needler, uses as the bone in his bone needles.

Drop spinning is really fun and relaxing, once you get the hang of it. I tried to learn to drop spin several times. I finally got a spinning wheel and learned to draft (pull the wool apart and let the twist travel into it) on that. After that, drop spinning was easy. Last winter (2004) I spent spinning, whilst my husband read Harry Potter to me. Most of that was the two-ply thread mentioned in the photo.

The feathers didn't bug anyone and I was able to get pre-sanitized feathers. I had originally thought I'd have to pop them in the oven for a bit and wipe them with alcohol but luckily I didn't.

Mare - sorry about the image. Copyright is a tricky business. The big companies want to make sure that only they could make money off what they own. They have the lawyers and the money to be intimidating.

We may well have to resort to what alchemists of old did and speak in code. I think a cute idea would be a garden full of flowers and plants holding wands and books. You could have pansies, petunias, lilies, lupins, black-eyed susans, narcissi, snapdragons, sweet williams, pussy willows, and moon flowers. Good Luck! I hope things work out!

**michelle the librarian**

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 23, 2005 7:19 am (#313 of 2981)

Thank you to all of you who sent get-well wishes to our little one. He had a bad day yesterday -- wouldn't touch any of his favorite foods, nothing but bottles -- but he slept all night without stirring for the first time in about 2 weeks. The antibiotics are obviously working their wonders.

LOL, Librarian314! I like the flowers...

I am the very image of graceless movement (tall and clumsy...). I had the misfortune (on my last day of work as a summer intern at IBM) to take a spill off the front step of the school where I was staying and fell hard onto my hands and knees on gravel. I shredded my knees (I was, of course, dressed up), and had bulky bandages on them for a couple of weeks afterwards. The scars on my knees were visible for 10 years afterwards (part of the reason I prefer my hemlines below the knee).

Julia, your comment about laughing with your friends brings back my own college years. They are some of the most fun years of your life! Although I find raising my beautiful children incredibly fulfilling, I love to look back on those years. Good memories!

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Julia. - Mar 23, 2005 7:58 am (#314 of 2981)

Where's Julia with a butterbeer when you need one? –Loopy
Sorry about that dear! Here's your butterbeer. *passes Loopy butterbeer* Just don't ask me for one tomorrow. I will be fasting, and thus will not be in the mood for handing out food and drink.

RPS, I'm so sorry to hear about baby RPS. I'll send some cheering charms his way. In the meantime, I'm glad my sitting on strangley shaped art and giggleing made you laugh. I live to serve.

*sigh* Long day of classes ahead of me...

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pottermom34 - Mar 23, 2005 8:25 am (#315 of 2981)

I'd like everyone to know I've had 2 nights of uninterrupted sleep. Neither of the kids has woke up asking for juice. And I've discovered Dasani has a new flavored water I got them at the store yesturday 2 for $1.00, the kids seem to like them and they worked good at bed time. So I think I'm going to pick up some more while they are on sale. The funny thing is they'll drink that but not watered down juice or kool-aid go figure. Maybe I'll start w/the flavored water and eventuallt wean them onto plain water, but one thing at a time. Anyway thanks again for all the great ideas.

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pottermom34 - Mar 23, 2005 9:16 am (#316 of 2981)

Sorry to post twice. But my silly 2 yr old just asked me if I'm a muggle. Also I found a cursor at cursormania.com under the nature/weather file in the weather section that I swear is Hermione. I'll try to make a link. (never done this before so bear with me) cursormania. The link somewhat works, but I don't think you can see them with out adding them to your browser, so if you don't want to add anything don't try it.

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 23, 2005 10:17 am (#317 of 2981)

Be careful of flavored water, some of them have sweeteners, either form of some sugar, or artificial sweetener. I find it rather deceptive on some products that say "no sugar added". Usually that means an artificial sweetener has been added.

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Madam Pince - Mar 23, 2005 12:10 pm (#318 of 2981)

Penny Lane, I'll bet you could still, even now, send your Mom a card with a drawing of the outline of your hand and "Happy Birtday, Mommy" on it, and she would be thrilled. Even more so if you should write her a little note telling her what she means to you, or listing all the special little things that she's done for you over the years that you remember and appreciate, or whatever..... Inexpensive, yet priceless!

Just as a sort-of related side note -- for all the spouses on the Forum, if you ever wish to make a big impression on your mother-in-law, be sure to send her flowers on your spouse's birthday, thanking her for all she did X years ago to bring the beautiful woman / handsome man who became your bride / groom into the world.

I should work for Hallmark.....

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librarian314 - Mar 23, 2005 1:35 pm (#319 of 2981)

Hey all!

I just had to share this with y'all...

There is an actual Library of Congress Subject Heading (terms used in card catalogs and local library data bases) for Elvis sightings: Presley, Elvis, 1935-1977--Sightings

The scope note says this is for sightings of the King after his death.

There is one book in the Library of Congress with this heading and 4 others under the heading further subdivided by either fiction or humor.

Go figure!

* *michelle the librarian**

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Dumbledore - Mar 23, 2005 1:40 pm (#320 of 2981)

Today was a good day. It was sort of like a Friday because we have off Thursday, Friday, and Monday of next week, so it's like a mini-vacation. Since Easter and Passover are so far apart this year, we're having two of these extended weekend type vacations about two weeks apart instead of one long vacation. Do any of the other schools have that?

Julia, I didn't know you fasted on Purim. Is that something the Orthodox does to honor Esther's feast before talking to the King?

Pottermom, what I do when I come home from school is have a glass of water with lemon juice in it. Therefore, it is still plain old water, but with pure lemon in it that I squeeze myself so I know there are no artificial sweeteners. I don't like plain water by itself so this encourages me to drink it!!

Have a nice day everybody..

-Lauren

P.S. My nickname around my house is Klutzy because I am so uncoordinated! I once literally fell down and rolled into a street in Washington D.C...

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mike miller - Mar 23, 2005 1:48 pm (#321 of 2981)

I just want to share my experiences from last evening. I went down to Rams Head Live (tavern/restaurant and concert hall) in Baltimore to see one of my favorite performers, Buddy Guy. For those of you who don't recognize the name, he's one of the blues legends that people like Eric Clapton and the Stones listened to when they were kids. He started out as Muddy Water's guitar player back in the late 50's. He was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame this past Sunday.

The venue was great and they have a very diverse list of artists coming in the near future. Anyone who is within easy traveling distance should check out their website for future performances.

Buddy was absolutely on fire! I was standing front and center, less than 10 feet from Buddy. He put on quite a show including leaving the stage while playing and circum-navigating the entire hall including the balconies. I didn't hit the sack until well after midnight so this morning was a little rough, but well worth it. There's absolutely nothing that compares to seeing a favorite performer in an intimate venue, up close and personal!

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Elanor - Mar 23, 2005 2:55 pm (#322 of 2981)

I'm happy you had such a great time Mike! I'm sure that seeing a favourite performer that way is wonderful! I love U2 but never saw them in concert and it's been years that I'm saying to myself "the next time they're in Paris, I go". Well, they will come this year... on the day my brother gets married... **sigh** Next time maybe...

I have a question for the forumers who have seen the Star Wars Episode III trailer. I've seen it for the first time today and something bugs me since then and I would love to know if you heard the same thing than I did. As it is maybe a spoiler, I'd better write it in white: At the end of the trailer, I thought I heard some tiny heartbeats, as if heard thanks to a monitor, could this be the twins' heartbeats? What do you think?

Have a great Wednesday everybody!

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Lina - Mar 23, 2005 5:11 pm (#323 of 2981)

Oh, yes! I MADE IT! I went through all 300- something posts! I just couldn't skip them, they are too interesting and, as Giant squid says too educational to be skipped!

Thank you all for your nice wishes, patronuses, butterbeers and welcomes! It is not about being brave, it is about choosing what is important in the life. And this chat thread is. Of course, everything is easier when perspectives are not bed. It is easier to feel pain or anything else when you know it is not forever.

My sympathies to all that suffered losses in the meantime. Although I agree with someone who said that the funeral is a great opportunity to meet the family members. I met some of my cousins for the first time in my life at my grandfather's funeral. But he died when he was 97 and was sick enough that living more would be just more pain, so the funeral felt more like a family reunion than a sad occasion. It was just a strange feeling to feel close to someone you see for the first time in your life and I liked it.

RPS, I really hope your baby gets well soon and no one of your other children gets sick! Warming charms to you!

...Wow, what an odd rant coming from me. I really need to stop posting in the daytime--the sunlight's doing weird things to my brain. –Mike

Mike and Mandy, i really hope you were not serious when saying that you don't want to have any children! What do you want, all children to be raised by bad manners parents? I hope something happens in your lives to change your point of view. Oh, I do agree that there are some really yacky parents, such as that father of the boy who came from the snow trip with a broken arm, I mentioned hundreds of posts ago if you remember. I think I forgot to mention that he didn't break his arm in the snow accident, but in the fight! I was just too furious that it could happen with the teachers around and that there are parents like this. For that reason I'm not a teacher, but I could never give up on having children. They are such a sunshine of the life, even when they are acting inappropriate.

Michelle, I like your sweater, but the snitches are just perfect! If ever I find some feathers in the store, I'm sure I'm going to copy you! Did you copyright them?

You made my day with the complains about Accio and the T-shirt competition because we tend to think that such things can happen only in Croatia. Now i feel much better

It is really late (I wanted to finish this thread today) so good night, good morning, good day to everybody and see you around!

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 23, 2005 7:42 pm (#324 of 2981)

Mike Miller! I am sooo jealous! And a long way from Baltimore...

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 23, 2005 10:18 pm (#325 of 2981)

It is snow, s-n-o-w-i-n-g again!! We have more than 5" already, it's suppose to snow all night and into morning. Will it never end??

Ohhhh, I did love those snitches, I will use those for my son's next birthday cake.

Hey Catherine, could I go in your luggage to Disney? anywhere sans snow will do actually.

Penny, two really good gifts I made to my mother, one was a photo album of old pictures of my mother and her father and brothers growning up. I also made her a tape of some favorite old songs that she had only on vinyl. This one might be tricky, you don't want to run a foul any copyright infringement rules.

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Julia. - Mar 23, 2005 10:28 pm (#326 of 2981)

I'm with you Mar. I cannot believe it's snowing again, here in Connecitcut. When will this winter be over?!

Mike, I'm so happy for you. There's really nothing like seeing your favorite band live, especially that close. Lucky, lucky you.

I'm eating matzah ball soup at the moment. It's very yummy, although it's a bit close to bedtime for me to be eating.

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septentrion - Mar 24, 2005 3:31 am (#327 of 2981)

Hello everyone !

I'm also glad you had such a wonderful night Mike ! Like Elanor, I'd wish I had tickets for U2, but well, all tickets were sold out in less than 2 hours, so we should have had an unexpected morning off to buy them. I'm not sure my boss would appreciate I told her : "can I have a day off tomorrow to buy tickets ?"

Purim is tomorrow, I expect someone to look like Hermione ! You were right Dumbledore, Purim is comemoration of Esther's act of bravery when she interceded for her people (at least something I know about Judaism).

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 24, 2005 4:06 am (#328 of 2981)

I'm back!!!

My brain is just absolutely stuffed full of stuff I need to know for my job. I have read the old chat thread and marked it as read and skimmed over this one, but it is so late at night for me (10.00pm Thurs) that I'm going to find my bed in about 20 mins.

The plane out of Sydney was late and when we stopped at Narrabri to drop off and pick up passengers, they took all the Moree luggage OFF THE PLANE!!!!! and trucked it to Moree. The plane took 15 mins to fly from Narrabri to Moree and the truck took 45 mins to drive!

Fortunately one of my friends picked me up and we went and did a bit of food shopping as the supermarket is closed for good Friday tomorrow. Then we went back to the airport to pick my bag up.

I spent way to much money on books and shoes and had to send them home seperately. But I had a great time at the course and realised I could do things I never thought I could do well. Only to discover I could do the interviewing well and it felt comfortable to do it.

I'll go now and see you all tomorrow after I pick the doggies up from boarding.

Dizzy Lizzy

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mike miller - Mar 24, 2005 5:40 am (#329 of 2981)

Dizzy - Glad to have you back! Training sesions like yours can be extremely draining; and, until you start on your new job you won't know exactly what "stuff" you'll use the most.

TBE - I know you're a long way from Baltimore, but there seems to be a resurgence of smaller, more intimate venues sprouting up around the country. Keep your eyes and ears open and you might be pleasantly surprised!

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Chemyst - Mar 24, 2005 5:43 am (#330 of 2981)

I also made her a tape of some favorite old songs that she had only on vinyl. This one might be tricky, you don't want to run a foul any copyright infringement rules.   Gosh, yod'd think anything recorded on vinyl would be out of copyright by now!

I'm happy for you Dizzy.

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Pinky - Mar 24, 2005 6:21 am (#331 of 2981)

Very funny, Chemyst! There is also the "Fair Use" policy. If you own something on vinyl, it's ok to put it on tape or CD for your own use. Basically, it should not affect the purchase of that material. If you already own it, you're probably not going to buy it again. So if you have it on vinyl, you can transfer it to some other medium, as long as you're keeping it for yourself and not giving it to anyone else. We have some old records that we borrowed from my parents that we're eventually going to put on CD for them. Then we can give them back the records, along with a CD.

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Dumbledore - Mar 24, 2005 6:57 am (#332 of 2981)

Septenrion, thanks for the information. I'm actuallly Jewish and I know all about what Purim's about. I was supposed to read a portion of the megillah today at the service, but I can't make it. However, being the, er, not so religious Jew that I am, I didn't know that it was customary in honor to fast. Julia said it was something that only the Orthdox do, but it was new information to me nonetheless. By the way, good luck with the fast today, Julia! And yes, I will probably skip a meal in Judaism's honor.

It was really fun talking to a lot of you in the chat last night. We should definitely do that more often!!

Well, now I'm going to enjoy my few days off from school! Have an excellent end of week!

-Lauren

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 24, 2005 7:10 am (#333 of 2981)

Mrs. Sirius, Julia, if you're getting more snow, I feel your pain! Almost a week after our ridiculous snowfall last Friday, the snow is still 4-6" deep in most places. But I think it's supposed to be warmer for us next week... and there are signs of spring, like buds starting to swell a little. Even to Minnesota, spring must come... but I pity you in the East if you're getting snow -- your spring must be farther along.

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Gina R Snape - Mar 24, 2005 7:43 am (#334 of 2981)

Just to throw a monkey wrench into it... my grandfather was not orthodox but he would fast. I always associated it with the fact that he was of a more observant generation, if not necessarily orthodox.

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pottermom34 - Mar 24, 2005 8:59 am (#335 of 2981)

I'm happy to say that here in W. Michigan we have had a some sunshine every day this week (knocks on wood) and I think I heard something about a warm up in the coming week.(crosses fingers) So there is hope for those in the eastern U.S. yet. I just hope the sun stays at least til Saturday. That my E. egg hunt.

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Julia. - Mar 24, 2005 9:14 am (#336 of 2981)

Yes, of course you have to throw a wrench into it Gina. Actually, all Jews are supposed to fast today. In the Purim story Esther and Mordichai had all the Jews fast for three days, thus we fast today. However, this is not one of the more well -known fasts, so it's usually only the Orthodox among us who observe it.

Thanks for the good luck wishes on the fast Lauren! It's about 11:05 and so far so good, although I'm a bit thirsty. Only about 8 hours to go!

Sept, I was Hermione last year! I've actually got something else in the works for this year, but I don't know if it'll work. My dad send me the hat I need, but it's not here. If it's not in the mailroom this afternoon, we implement the back up plan, which is Hermione.

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septentrion - Mar 24, 2005 9:23 am (#337 of 2981)

Julia, my brain is still working ! I remember your avatar last year. Hold on with fasting, it's only a day. Well, I'll try to fast tomorrow for Good Friday, I'll see if my poor will will resist my stomach.

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Gina R Snape - Mar 24, 2005 9:59 am (#338 of 2981)

I cross my fingers in hope that you will get your hat in time, Julia!!!!

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Penny Lane. - Mar 24, 2005 11:33 am (#339 of 2981)

Thanks for all the suggestions you guys. While I like the idea of making my mother a CD, I don't think she'd actually listen to it. She likes music, but my father doesn't. And being across the state from her really puts a damper on taking her out for ice cream/penguin watching at the zoo... Also, I would probably have to ask for money, which is just wrong.

I think I might go with the "make a card" idea. Granted, my art skills are sadly lacking and I have no idea what to say to my mom, ever. She would probably just laugh if it were sappy, or be angry with me if it weren't sappy enough, and I am probably going to hear about how I forgot her birthday on every holiday from now until one of us dies or there is an apcolyspe.

Pottermom: you guys really had sun all week? Here in south-east Michigan we had sun, then a big snow flurry, then rain, then sun, then snow... I'm afraid to look out the window.

I'm happy your trip was fun Lizzy.

I'm so excited! My roommate is going away for the weekend - I might actually get a chance to clean our suite up. I would discribe it to you, but I don't want anyone to get sick on their moniters. Let's just say that Petunia would probably faint.

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Elanor - Mar 24, 2005 2:05 pm (#340 of 2981)

Hi everybody! Lizzy, it's good to see you here again, we missed you!

It was a rainy day, our sunny and warm spring has gone away unfortunately but it is still quite mild, about 15°C (59°F) and the Easter weekend should be more or less sunny, so it should be a nice weather for eggs hunts!

Here, the tradition is that from tonight, Maundy Thursday, till Saturday evening on Easter vigil, the bells of the churches will remain silent. For the kids, they are supposed to go to Rome for 3 days and, on their way back on Saturday night, to drop some chocolate eggs in gardens for them. That's why the chocolate eggs are well hidden and are to be found in unexpected places: how on earth a bell is supposed to know how to aim?

I remember watching the sky very closely when I was a kid, hoping to see them pass, but alas, earwax... The tradition was also to hide real eggs, hard-boiled with onion skins so that they become red.

Have you similar Easter traditions everybody?

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septentrion - Mar 24, 2005 2:12 pm (#341 of 2981)

I don't remember if bells were silent. I can assure you they weren't two hours ago for they called to the mass. But then... I don't remember. I'll be attentive tomorrow. My grand-mother used to hide real eggs too, the same with you Elanor. She also did it with spinach to have green eggs and with chicory to have brown eggs. I have very fond memories of Easter mornings, especially the one when I found my first bicycle. Later, when my younger sister still believed in the bells, a chocolate hen melted under the sun, my sister had chocolate hands when she grabbed it.

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Elanor - Mar 24, 2005 2:21 pm (#342 of 2981)

LOL Sept **waving**! Yes, I remember spinach/ green eggs too! BTW, the bells of your church should be on their way to Rome now: they are supposed to remain silent from the end of Maundy Thursday's mass. What a pity you missed them leaving... I hope you will see them coming back!

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septentrion - Mar 24, 2005 2:27 pm (#343 of 2981)

**waving back** I couldn't possibly have seen them going away as I was in the church while they were supposed to go. They just sneaked out IMHO. I'll wait for them and hope they'll drop some Easter eggs on Jo's website on their way home

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Julia. - Mar 24, 2005 3:05 pm (#344 of 2981)

Hey, did you guys know that Yahoo Messenger has a voice chat feature?! I'm amazed! I just talked to Sinister Kittens and MoaningMyrtle101! *waves* SK has a very cool accent.

Still no word on my hat, but I'll check in about 45 minutes. Only a few more hours to go on this fast...

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Acceber - Mar 24, 2005 3:27 pm (#345 of 2981)

Whew. 174 new posts in six days is a lot, my friends. Not that this week has been any different than others, but I didn't have a quote to start with this week, and I thought I'd change my post a little.

This part's the same: Happy Birthday, my condolences, and LOL to anyone who deserves it.

Juice--the only juices I've ever really liked is orange and mango juice. I'm currently slightly addicted to a mango puree from Trader Joe's, a different kind of grocery store. It's the Odwalla "Mango Tango" if anyone's interested. I've never liked soda or carbonated drinks, which you already know if you listened to me rant in the chat room yesterday. I drink milk with two out of three meals per day and I love iced water.

The weather has been extremely undecided, which is normal for New England. We have gotten so much snow this winter and I can't wait for it to end. Earlier this week, it was around 50 F and I was outside in a long sleeved T-shirt and a fleece. It snowed about 3-5 inches last night, but most of that's gone now and we can see grass again. Currently, the sky is light blue dotted with puffball clouds. I walked home from school (up two hills without eating for a few hours is not fun) and it was around 40 F, which wasn't horrible.

I loved your cake and Snitches Michelle!

I'm half-fasting in observance of the Fast of Esther. I am Jewish, but I didn't know I should be fasting until Julia brought it up in the chat room last night. So I ate a good breakfast (Multi Grain Cheerios with milk and mango pieces with some challah) and I'm skipping lunch and snacks. I have a slight headache, but it's not too long until sundown, when I can make a scrumptious meal and eat.

~*walks away humming and trying to not think about food*

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Lina - Mar 24, 2005 4:29 pm (#346 of 2981)

Well, in my part of the world, it is Easter Bunny that brings the Easter (chocolate) eggs (with the surprize inside). We do color real eggs with onion too, we put some little leafs and a nylon sock to hold them to get a little design.

Elanor, your watching to the sky to see the bells reminds me my first (and only as far as I remember) flight with the plain, when I was 6. I've been told that God and saints live in the sky. So, when the plain came over the clouds I was so excited, expecting to meet them there. But then I noticed new clouds above the plain, so I came to the conclusion that there is another sky and who knows how many other skys above it and who knows in which of them they really live?

Speaking about the plain, it reminds me of Denise's daughter's accident with the plain. I had something similar with the train at the time that I was at the university. Some friends and I had to go home for the holidays. We came to the train and put the luggage inside when I remembered that I left my ticket in the room. So I ran to the room to get the ticket and when I came back to the railway station I was just in time to see the train leaving with my luggage inside. So I had to phone my parents to go and get my luggage and to get me later, coming with some other train.

About fasting and headaches related to it, maybe some tea with a lot of sugar in it would help and still could be considered as fasting?

We can sleep tomorrow - no school, no work, wonderful!

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Ydnam96 - Mar 24, 2005 6:06 pm (#347 of 2981)

Fasting for Purim was something I didn't know about. I did know about Purim itself though. I work at a Christian college. I asked my co-workers if they knew today was Purim and only one out of about 8 knew what I was talking about. I was surprised.

Lina: I am amazed at your ability to write in English, you do quite well (I myself can not speak in anything but English so I admire anyone who can). I wanted to let you know though, that the word "plain" you used above is not the right word. You should use the word "plane" they sound exactly the same, but have different meanings. (Please don't take this as mean or condescending).

Good luck with the fasting all of you who were doing that!

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Marie E. - Mar 24, 2005 8:35 pm (#348 of 2981)

It's snowing here. I don't know why I am surprised about this or even bothering to type it out. It was 50 degrees at 10:30am, the kids were outside without coats, and the sun was shining. By 12:45pm it was snowing. It has been coming down steadily since then and is supposed to continue through the night and into tomorrow. Wouldn't it be awful if we get a a blizzard and I can't go to work tomorrow?

Good luck on the fast Julia, Becca, and everyone else observing Purim. The only fasting I've ever done is my ill-conceived teenage dieting methods. I wasn't very good at it back then.

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Gina R Snape - Mar 24, 2005 8:36 pm (#349 of 2981)

Gee, I nearly forgot. With this time of year must come...the annual praising of the Marshmallow Peep!

I've got a pack of purple bunnies open and going stale on my countertop as I type.

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 24, 2005 8:44 pm (#350 of 2981)

Then type slower and eat faster. . .  . . . .mine are blue and not going stale!

:-)

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Eponine - Mar 24, 2005 8:44 pm (#351 of 2981)

Marshmallow Peeps...**drools a la Homer Simpson**

I love those things, and I think it's wonderful that you can get Peeps for different holidays now. But I have been trying to find the cocoa bat Peeps for the last 3 Halloweens now, and I am beginning to think they're just an urban legend. Well, at least in the South anyway.

Today was my last day teaching. My cousin is going back after Spring Break. I must have mentioned this to the students about 50 times or more, plus saying several times this week that I wouldn't be back after break. Today, I told every class good-bye and there was the inevitable, "What? You're not coming back?" in every class. They really don't listen, do they?

Hope you're all having a great day.

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Denise P. - Mar 24, 2005 8:47 pm (#352 of 2981)

Nothing beats the classic yellow Chick Peep...stale. Do a web search for Peep Research, there is a hilarious page devoted to research on Peeps, I read it every year to see what new research they have.

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Ydnam96 - Mar 24, 2005 9:01 pm (#353 of 2981)

Denise, I was sooo just gonna post a link to that site. It is HILARIOUS. Those grad students have way too much time on their hands.

Here is the link, if it's against the policy to post external links please feel free to edit it out. I can never remember what links are allowed and what aren't. http://www.peepresearch.org/

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Julia. - Mar 24, 2005 9:42 pm (#354 of 2981)

Good evening everyone!!

The fast is over now, Thank G-d. They say fasting is good for the soul, but I just don't like it. We can't eat, and for Jews, fasting also means no drinking. For about 15 hours today not a drop of water or a bite of food entered my body. Needless to say I was very happy to eat the two pieces of rye bread at sundown. Unfortunately, my hat did not arrive in time for the party. I had to implement the back up plan and I went as Hermione. Tomorrow, I will go as the Cat Minus the Hat. I put too much work into it to just not use it.

Epione, mazel tov on having completed your substitute teaching. Your students reaction is typical of every student everywhere. Tell them something and they don't realize it untill it actually happens.

I want you guys to know that when I was at Wal-Mart the other day and saw a gigantic collection of Peeps, I thought of you!

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Gina R Snape - Mar 24, 2005 9:54 pm (#355 of 2981)

TBE, I am letting them sit to go stale on purpose. Stale peeps are better than fresh ones!

Right, Denise?

Gotta love the Peep Research. Heeeeee.

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Madam Pince - Mar 24, 2005 10:10 pm (#356 of 2981)

Elanor, I am so glad to see that our family tradition of coloring Easter Eggs with onion skins is done in other parts of the world, too! So cool! I was beginning to think we were the only ones, because usually people look at me strangely when I mention it.

The eggs come out the most beautiful mahogany brown/red, don't they? We always called those the "Easter Bunny Eggs" -- as in, those were the eggs that were colored by and brought to us by the Easter Bunny. When I was little, Mom did it as sneakily as the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus or whatever. We always colored Easter eggs together as a family project, using the good ol' PAAS Easter Egg Coloring Kit in the bright primary colors, but the "Easter Bunny Eggs" were the special ones. It made sense to my logical little mind -- I mean, after all, how many times do you see the Easter Bunny standing in line at the store buying a PAAS coloring kit? Doesn't it stand to reason he would use things available in nature, such as onion skins? I hadn't heard of the spinach ones, but that's good too!

Mr. Pince is already talking about setting out some Peeps to get good and stale before Easter morning.... I've never been much of a marshmallow fan myself, stale or otherwise, but I know he really adores the stale ones!

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pottermom34 - Mar 24, 2005 10:26 pm (#357 of 2981)

I've never heard of boiling onions with eggs to color them, I'll have to try that sometime. We do the PAAS thing too. When it comes to hiding though we use plastic.

Peeps rule. My daughter calls them peep peeps, don't know why , she's 2. I was watching Unwrapped on Food Network the other day and there was a guy on on there that made pictures and art out of peeps. He even made a Peeps shrine it was neat. It's in a museum somewhere I don't remember where.
Eponine, the cocoa bat peeps really do exist and are quite tastie. Thay are common around Halloween where I live. I'm going to try peeps with smores someday, I bet that would be good and colorful.

Hoppy Easter everyone !!

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 24, 2005 10:27 pm (#358 of 2981)

It's funny the many similarities there are in the religions and the practitioners thereof. Tomorrow is Good Friday, a Catholic holy day. For Dominicans it is one of the holiest. All Holy week Dominicans spend "cleaning", your home, your mind, your heart and cooking. Then on Friday you send the day in contemplation, asking for forgiveness, praying and thinking of ways to be a better person. Then you go to church in the afternoon and come home and break fast. A big wonderful meal followed by the that very special dessert the we look forward to all year (habichuela con dulce).

As not the most observant Catholic, this is a holiday that I still look forward to and vainly try to recreate for my family. To my chagrin, my cleaning expertise is not the best and worst of all, NObody likes my special dessert. You just have had to grown up with it to like it. Since nobody likes it and there is no way to make small portions, I don't usually bother making it.

This year I found one fellow mom who said she'd like to try it so I am going to make. Being a slacker mom, of course it is not coming together quite right. As I prepared to take the kids to Middletown (25 miles from here) to buy the ingredients, I was informed that my son's baseball tryouts were changed and were scheduled in half an hour. So I flew home and get him a snack and his mitt. By the time I made the two trips, it was too late to go to the store, so now on Good Friday the day I am suppose to do nothing but contemplate and pray, I'll have to shop and cook. A non-slacker mom would have had the ingredients at hand.

But back to the comparatives religion, we both fast and it is ultimately a happy holiday. I haven't fasted successfully in years, I may try again tomorrow.

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pottermom34 - Mar 24, 2005 10:51 pm (#359 of 2981)

You've got my curiosity up, what is your special dessert? I'm always open to new ideas. Don't feel bad about nobody liking it, I have a really picky sister. She doesn't like onions, and she will not eat something if it has anything looking like an onion. I finally gave up and cook my way and if she doesn't like it I tell her either pick & flick or don't eat. She usually goes with the don't eat option.

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 24, 2005 10:53 pm (#360 of 2981)

Today has been a really blah (lazy and slow) day for me. I got about half of this chat thread skimmed through and in summary I will steal a line off someone else (I think we've all used it in one variation or another...)

Happy birthday to those who are another year older (including baby Pince). Hope you feel better soon for those who are (or have been) sick (Lina, a child with pneumonia, Marie E) and condolences to those who have suffered a loss (kabloink).

To top off the baggage saga on last nights flight, I suffered travel sickness for the first time in my life. Fortunately I was not sick as such but it was a very close run thing especially between Narrabri and Moree (15 min flight). I reckon it was my body saying "Have you got the message yet??? I'm tired and I want to go home and collapse!"

Well I slept really well last night. And got my doggies back from their holidays at the vets. So now I just need to go slow for a while. My first contracted workload starts on the 11th April, so I have a little time for rest. I pick up some extra workloads whilst at the training which will be good for the finances. I'm actually looking forward to it. This comes as bit of a surprise to me. I can be a little dense sometimes.

I hope everyone enjoys their Easter.

Lizzie

EDIT: I forgot...Daylight Saving finishes for me tomorrow. I will wait until the US and UK start theirs before updating my cheat sheet...I only want to do it once (this is where I need a smiley of me tearing my hair out. Numbers in any form and I just do not get along!).

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 24, 2005 11:02 pm (#361 of 2981)

The dessert is called Habichuela con Dulce, translates to sweetened bean sauce. I looks a bit like a syrup when it is done, after about 3-4 hours, a special potato and sweet dry crackers are added.

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Amilia Smith - Mar 25, 2005 12:27 am (#362 of 2981)

Congrats Pottermom on 2 juice/tantrum free nights. :-)

Good to "see" you again, Lizzy and Lina.

Sounds like a very different desert, Mrs. Sirius. I would be interested in trying it if you would be willing to post a recipe.

Congrats on surviving your fast, Julia, Acceber, and anyone else who was celebrating Purim. Thank you for educating me on this holiday; it is not one that I was very familiar with before. I did know the story of Esther, but the holiday itself was not one I knew much about.

Along similar lines . . . I am Mormon, and we observe a Fast Sunday once a month. You are supposed to skip 2 meals, and as with Julia, this includes both food and drink. Generally speaking, I don't eat after supper on Saturday until Sunday dinner. While it is supposed to be good for the soul, I agree with Julia that it is hard. We are not the nicest people in my house on Fast Sunday, when we all have low blood sugar. We have learned to stay out of each other's way until dinner is actually on the table, and woe to the sibling who invades my kitchen while I am cooking it. :-)

Easter traditions: Nothing as poetic as Elanor's story about the bells going to Rome and bringing back chocolate, unfortunantly. When I was little, we hard-boiled dozens of eggs and spent hours coloring them. Usually we just used PAAS and crayons (white is the best; you can't see the pictures you drew on the egg until you put it in the dye, but then they show up beautifully) but we did use onion skins one year. The Saturday morning before Easter, Mom would go out in the yard and hide all the eggs. There would be easy ones lying out in the open for the littlest kids to find, and ones actually hidden for us older children to find. Then we ate boiled eggs for breakfast every morning for a week after Easter. You know how certain holidays have certain tastes associated with them? Easter has always tasted like boiled eggs to me.

Mills.

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Lina - Mar 25, 2005 1:39 am (#363 of 2981)

Thank you, Mandy. You know, I regularly use the spellchecker, I even have an on-line English-Croatian dictionary that I use all the time (not that I don't have it in a paper form, this is just more practical) and i knew that both words "plane" and "plain" mean something, I was just too convinced that I chose the right word that I didn't bother to check. I think that no person that is brave enough to write on the foreign language would take you comment as mean. On the contrary. I can just not promise to remember which is the right word, I'm just sure that I will check next time when I will be about to use it. But, using the word "condescending", that's another story!

I feel really sorry for all of you still having snow. I would need plenty of chocolate to prevent depression! It is raining here, though, but I have no plans on going anywhere so I don't care.

Eponine, it seems to me that students liked you much more than you liked them unless you just don't want to admit that you liked them...

Lizzy, I'm so glad you're back and have so good experience (except for traveling).

Oh, Mrs. Sirius, I'm so sorry that your family doesn't appreciate your special dessert! I hate it when tradition expires and it is so difficult to keep it if you don't have the backup of your family. Well, when the tradition is some special clothes, it is much easier to keep it then when it is some special food...

I overheard my daughter yesterday explaining to her grandmother how she doesn't like Easter because there is so much food and she doesn't like to eat. We always have boiled ham for the Easter breakfast and lamb for lunch. Most of us enjoy it but it becomes much worse than fast for her, poor thing. Since my husband and I started to live on our own, we started a new tradition: baking ham inside a bread. Well, again, it is great for everyone except for my complicated daughter. She just looks forward for Easter to end.

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septentrion - Mar 25, 2005 2:11 am (#364 of 2981)

Hello everyone !

It's nice to hear from every tradition. I'm like Lina, I like when traditions go on. I'm trying to fast today, like you do in Jewish tradition : no eating and no drinking for a few hours. I brace myself thinking of all the Muslim people I know who fast every year for Ramadan : no eating, drinking, smoking etc from sunrise to sunset for 28 days in a row, far easier in winter than in summer. If millions people can do it, then I can do it for a day, can't I ? Yet I didn't extend fasting until not going on internet. I feel like a slacker Catholic.

Becca, I love mango juice too. I tried it in Egypt first where it's nearly a national drink as well as mint tea, and I love it.

Lizzy, have some good rest after your trip. Last time I travelled by plane, my ears hurt, I thought I was going to be deaf. Plane travel can be painful.

Julia, your Hermione outfit was nice, it's not such a bad thing you had to use it again. Yet you planned to be a cat this year (McGonagall ?). Will you have some photos ? And do you know AIM allows conversations with a microphone too ?

A very Good Friday to all who celebrate !And a good day to everyone else.

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Pinky - Mar 25, 2005 6:06 am (#365 of 2981)

Becca, try the mango lassi at the Indian food stall in Quincy Market. Yummy! I'm quite a fan of mangoes also.

Thanks for the peeps link. We stayed up very late last night cleaning the house for my parents who are coming to visit tonight. They'll be here all weekend. Before we went to bed, I clicked on that link and called my husband over. He almost laughed himself onto the floor. It was a great stress reliever after all that scrubbing. I wish I'd known about this back in my youth when I just ate the peeps because I thought that was all you could do with them. I haven't bought them in years, but perhaps I shall have to pick up a package....

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Round Pink Spider - Mar 25, 2005 6:31 am (#366 of 2981)

Amilia, I chuckled when I read your line about "not being the nicest people" when you fast. Today is a fast day for me also, and after short sleep last night and short food today, my kids had better watch out (*snarl*)!

We always colored Easter eggs in my family, but my husband's family had an additional tradition of doing it on Good Friday, so that's what we do now. This year we are going to try Baby Spider on coloring eggs with help (he's 2), and since each of the kids gets a dozen eggs to color that's 6 dozen eggs... ( fainting at the thought) We always get through eating all those eggs every year, but that's a lot of eggs!

We don't hide eggs, but we do hide Easter baskets. I always get my husband an enormous basket of fruit (he's so good -- no chocolate for him... well, he does usually have some Easter M&Ms, but no Cadbury Eggs or other evil goodies). I still get a basket myself (mostly sugarless chocolates this year ), and my husband always hides it in the most evil spots! It usually takes me 10-20 minutes of searching to find it. Needless to say, we have a good time watching the kids search for theirs!

We also have a special breakfast pastry on Christmas and Easter. My husband's great-grandmother, who was a chef, invented the recipe. They're called "butter rings", and they are fabulous. The recipe makes 5 (big ones, pastries the length of a loaf of bread), and we only ate one at Christmas, so we have FOUR in the freezer. Yum! (The pastry dough can be used to make awesome danishes, too!)

*sigh* Why am I talking about food on a fast day? Well, anticipation will get those of us who are fasting through, right? Julia, your description of the Jewish fast made me wince. No food OR water! Yipes! We are such wimps...for us it's just only one meal (no meat), with two tiny meals if necessary to keep up strength. I know that many years ago the fast used to be much more strict.

Elanor, I loved the story about the bells! How poetic! The Easter bunny is so much more prosaic...

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Eponine - Mar 25, 2005 7:07 am (#367 of 2981)

How do you color eggs with onion skins? Do you put the skins in while you are boiling the eggs? What about spinach? I think I might like to try that with my niece and nephew.

Most of my students liked me, and I liked them as well. I'm only 26, but I could probably pass for a high school student if I wanted to, so I think they thought of me as being much closer to their age than I actually am.

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septentrion - Mar 25, 2005 8:39 am (#368 of 2981)

That's it Eponine : you put some onions or spinach in the water while the eggs are boiling. I don't know if you have chicory, but if so, you can get fake chocolate eggs if you sue chicory instead of spinach or onions.

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Chemyst - Mar 25, 2005 11:06 am (#369 of 2981)

Mmmm... Easter menus

Natural egg dyes I have tried:
cranberry juice - an odd pink
spinach - pale green
orange peels - this was supposed to make yellow but we got a disappointing cream color
red cabbage - a gorgeous blue, but it picked up a mild cabbage flavor
grape juice - a yucky grey, but if you add a bit of oil and dip gently, it will look like a rock.
coffee - brownish

I have not tried beet juice, chili powder, red onion skins or boiled carrot tops. I have read that yellow onions make an "orangier" or rustier color than other onions, but have not tried that either.
I have taken to cheating on the hot cross buns. I just knead raisins and cinnamon into store-bought dough nowadays.

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septentrion - Mar 25, 2005 11:57 am (#370 of 2981)

Who else than a chemyst would have tried all of this ?

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librarian314 - Mar 25, 2005 1:18 pm (#371 of 2981)

Hey all!

At least on white wool, red onion skins give no discernable color differences than yellow onion skins. (I did an experiment about 10 years ago.) I regularly use onion skins to dye wool, as you can get a broad range of colors from softest, palest yellow to deep rust (if cooked in an iron pot for a while). I've also tried the red cabbage and got a disappointing really pale bluish.

If you gently boil the wool in an iron pot, the onion skins will give a darker, more rust colored shade. When cooked in an aluminum pot the yellow is brighter, and when cooked in a cooper pot, you get a greeny-yellow. Perhaps this would work with eggshells.

Other foodstuffs to try dyeing with are berries (blackberries especially) and tumeric. A good book about natural dyeing is Karen Leigh Casselman's Craft of the Dyer, she mentions readily attainable plants and ones that are often considered food stuffs.

Peeps are one of my favorite foods I don't really eat. (I love the concept of peeps and what people do to them but can't eat as many of them as I'd like. I, too, prefer them stale, though not rock hard.)

My favorite peep websites are:

Lord of the Peeps: The story of the Fellowship of the Rings as told in Peep o'vision: http://www.lordofthepeeps.com/

Peep research: A study of Peeps, library usage and the dangers the library poses to our wee marshmallow friends: http://www.millikin.edu/staley/fluff/peep_research.html

To all those who've asked about using my snitch idea, go forth and snitchify! The more snitches, the merrier.

To those who are celebrating, Happy Religious Holiday of your choice.

I accidentally fast all the time. :-} I get so involved in what I'm doing, especially if I'm in the middle of working on a craft project, I just forget to eat. I'll start working and get a headache and realize I've forgotten breakfast and lunch and it's suppertime.

Y'all take care!

**michelle the librarian**

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Denise P. - Mar 25, 2005 1:54 pm (#372 of 2981)

Heh Amilia, there is usually a collective groan heard in the house when the first child realizes it is Fast Sunday. They think it is grossly unfair that the younger ones can eat while they fast (although they can choose to NOT fast if they really want to..choice and accountability). It can get ugly in the van, during sacrament or anytime during Fast Sunday...really quickly. I think it is a universal thing. We will blame the low blood sugar too For years, I was exempt due to being a nursing mom and always felt sneaky going into the bedroom to eat a cracker and then being eyed like I was committing a crime when they realized I had some ritz crackers and some water.

And on the topic of fasting, while we have a specific day each month set aside for fasting, those who are LDS can choose to fast at other times for various reasons. I am not sure if other faiths do this or not.

We do the PAAS eggs here too. We put plastic ones in the yard to hunt for though.

For dying protein fibers, like wool and silk, you can get some really deep, cool colors by dying with kool-aid.

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septentrion - Mar 25, 2005 2:05 pm (#373 of 2981)

I can answer you Denise about the possibility to fast another day than the one committed to fasting in two other faiths. In Islam, when you can't fast during Ramadan, you're supposed to fast other days in the year or to give money to the poor in compensation. In Catholicism, if you can't fast the day you're supposed to, you don't have to fast another day in compensation. Yet you can deprive yourself of something like watching TV, or pray more, or be more attentive to others, or give money for charity, or all in the same time.

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Denise P. - Mar 25, 2005 3:13 pm (#374 of 2981)

I guess I should have said, in addition to Fast Sunday, people can fast on other days as well. While we are not required to fast on Fast Sunday, we are strongly encouraged to do so. As with everything, we can chose to obey or not

Yeah, I knew about Islam since I lived in Saudi Arabia and was there over a few different Ramadan seasons. Boy, talk about a long fast there!!

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Madam Pince - Mar 25, 2005 4:16 pm (#375 of 2981)

Eponine, we always put just the onion skins, not the whole onion, into the water with the eggs when you boil them; just sort of nestle the eggs in amongst the skins. (Sometimes you get interesting patterns if the skins lay "just so" against the eggs.) Then after the water comes to a boil, you take the pan off the heat and just let the eggs sit in the onion-skin water for a long time -- until they get to be the color you want. Some years the colors are prettier than others, and I'm not sure what the defining factor is, since we just use whatever onion skins we have in the bottom of the onion bin. We start saving the skins from probably around Christmas on, and whatever we have is what goes in the pot! I always felt that the red onion skins gave a bit of a darker tint but it may have been my imagination, or as Michelle says, the type of pot used. Good luck!

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Ydnam96 - Mar 25, 2005 6:50 pm (#376 of 2981)

I went hiking today and ran into a Rattlesnake!    Wow. What an exeperience. Freaky and funny all at the same time. Plus I didn't drink enough water and now I have a killer head ache.

As far as fasting. As a protestant we do not have mandatory fasting days. But I know people who will choose to fast for various reasons.

For my job we take all of our resident assistants (the student's who help us keep track of the kiddies in the dorms) on a 10 day backpacking trip in the Yosemite National Forrest area, some in Sierra National Forrest. While on this backpacking trip we have a mandatory two day "solo" where each student is placed by themselves out in the wilderness (the guides can always see them, but they can not always see each other). They are there for two days with their bibles and journal and for those two days and nights they fast. It's part of our training program. We do bring around energy bars and give them to the students if they feel they need one, and jolly ranchers as well. We aren't out to hurt them. Most every RA loves the experience of just being alone in the wilderness I'm not sure they love the fasting part, but they all deal with it.

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Eponine - Mar 25, 2005 7:18 pm (#377 of 2981)

Would anyone like to make their own Peeps? I saw this article today, and I thought you would all enjoy it.

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haymoni - Mar 25, 2005 9:28 pm (#378 of 2981)

I'll be making pizzelles tomorrow.

If you take them off the iron and roll them into a tube, you can use them as cannoli shells, which is my big plan for tomorrow.

I will be making a huge batch of pizzelles. I will fill some of the shells on Saturday to take to my neighbors.

The rest, I'll fill on Sunday to take to my father's. He's having about 25 people over for Easter so it will be quite the crowd.

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Elanor - Mar 25, 2005 11:20 pm (#379 of 2981)

Good night/ morning/ afternoon wherever you are! Here it is 7 a.m. and I'm nearly ready to go to school, yes, on a Saturday, because I have to meet the rest of the parents of my students. I'm sure you can see how happy I am about that from where you are! Fortunately, we have a longer weekend than usual because Easter Monday is a day off here!

Thank you for sharing your Easter traditions! I loved to read them all. It is funny to see that something as the onion skin for dying eggs is used all round the world! I'll think about you all when I'll dye mine. I remember when I was a kid and that we were looking at them boiling and becoming red, it is very funny to watch.

About fast, well, I'm not as good a catholic as I should be, I'm afraid, and I didn't really fast but I gave up chocolate this week, which was hard for me, I hope that counts! But I will go to the Easter vigil tonight with my Mom, I love the texts read on that night, especially when they begin with Genesis, and the benediction of fire and water. It is such an old tradition and I don't know why but I always feel like if it connects us, and our modern and too fast world, to the people of the past. They did that for centuries before us, it will still be done after us, somehow I find that it is a very comforting thought.

Oh, and the bells are coming back tonight! LOL! I'm happy you liked the story! Well, I hope they won't forget me and drop some chocolate for me because I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms! I hope they will think to you all too!

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Madam Pince - Mar 26, 2005 7:30 am (#380 of 2981)

Good morning, all!

* **cough***Carolina refs!***cough**** (winks at ACC fans)

About the basketball tourney: I have a dear friend who went to Wisconsin, so if my only remaining ACC choice is North Carolina, I fear I shall have to say "Go Badgers!" At least Bobby Knight lost. (Ever since his chair-throwing incident, I have had no respect for the man. Yes he can coach, but any adult who is supposed to be mentoring youth and has no more self-control than that.... well....phooey on him. And he's gone downhill since then, too, in my opinion. <-- This is Bobby. Way too much ego and anger for one human being. OK, rant over.) Ahem. But, wow, didn't Michigan State look good! Might have to cheer for them as well -- they really outdid themselves against Duke. Very strong performance.

Discovered a fun thing yesterday -- the "EB" initials on Eggland's Best eggs can also stand for "Easter Bunny," as in "Easter Bunny Eggs." Clever, eh? Always improvising, always improvising.....

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septentrion - Mar 26, 2005 7:36 am (#381 of 2981)

I've always prefered chocolate eggs to real eggs, go figure. So I won't dye any egg but eat the chocolate I bought this morning Easter vigil is one of my favorite celebrations too, I'll attend it. I like when we enter the church with only the light of candles, it makes a mysterious ambiance.

I hope the students' parents didn't give you too hard a time Elanor. At least, I hope you didn't meet another Pet-like parent.

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kabloink! - Mar 26, 2005 8:38 am (#382 of 2981)

GO MSU! Sorry, I just got back to real life yesterday, and was a bit overwhelmed by the posts, I guess I'll just have to hit the magic button. Anyway, I have a nasty cold, and I have to work tonight. Love it! Oh well, I remembered all the college basketball conversation from a bit earlier and had to speak up for my Spartans. Its funny, I go to class and wonder if any of them are in there. I doubt it though. Whenever you look at the programs, it says that most of the athletes are majoring in things like phys. ed. and kinesiology. Or communications or business-never any history majors.

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Gina R Snape - Mar 26, 2005 8:45 am (#383 of 2981)

Denise, your avatar is cracking me up! Heeeeee.

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Denise P. - Mar 26, 2005 8:48 am (#384 of 2981)

Gina, I always giggle when I see it so thought I would put it up for the weekend.

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Ladybug220 - Mar 26, 2005 9:44 am (#385 of 2981)

Denise, I got that card a couple of years ago from a friend. It makes me laugh every time.

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Marie E. - Mar 26, 2005 11:36 am (#386 of 2981)

Proudly upholding my title as Slacker Mom, I have put off buying Lexie's Easter dress until today. I think this is the slackiest I have ever been. I bought Shayla's last weekend and fully intended on getting Lexie's sometime this past week. The trouble is she insists on a purple dress and I'm having trouble finding one that she approves of. I do have Peeps and other goodies, you know, the important stuff.

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Lina - Mar 26, 2005 1:44 pm (#387 of 2981)

Marie E., please, tell me, are you having a white Easter? I'm just wandering...

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Detail Seeker - Mar 26, 2005 2:43 pm (#388 of 2981)

Afterburner for eggs, onions and pots:

Of course, if you boil the onion skin, a few of the ingredients of it will be dissolved in the water and some of these ingredients are able to oxidise the pot material. So, you may find some iron ions in your broth, that colour it nicely brownish - and the egg too. A low chromium content in the pot metal will add a slight green touch. A good rust free steel will not add as much as a normal one So, that´s why the pot material has an influence on the colouring of the eggs.

Have a good holiday, everybody !

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 26, 2005 4:08 pm (#389 of 2981)

Umm may I be really ignorant and ask what are peeps??

They appear to be an edible lolly of sorts, but that is as far as I can get.

There are no Easter traditions I celebrate over here, and that is more by choice. Except for buying some special good quality chocolate. I steer away from the Easter eggs and buy a good quality chocolate that I normally don't buy because of price. And while I am enjoying the chocolate and rationing it out over the weekend, I take the time to think of why we celebrate Easter in the first place and what it means to me.

We (my siblings and I) used to dye eggs when we were little, but the yolks and white were blown out of the egg and used in scrambled eggs before decorating. We had two real decorated eggs each and one chocolate egg each.

Lizzie

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pottermom34 - Mar 26, 2005 4:08 pm (#390 of 2981)

HI all! Just want to let everyone know we had a great Easter egg hunt today, a week ago I was stressing about the weather, but it was perfect. We had 40 - 50 kids and everyone said I was cute in the bunny suit(sorry no pictures). I had one little girl following me around asking me questions and she kept hugging me it was cute.


Yesturday was the first confrontation with my daughter about the drink at bed time. She ended up with water after all her fighting with me and was out within minutes. She has slept through every night this week without waking up for anything to drink.


About the peeps, I went to the Lord of the Peeps web site, I definitley recommend it, it's cute and hilarious. In the comments section, I told them they should do Harry Potter when they finish LOTP. They could call it PeeP Potter, or Harry PeePer. Thanks to the person that suggested it.

Have "Hoppy" Easters everyone

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Gina R Snape - Mar 26, 2005 4:54 pm (#391 of 2981)

dizzy lizzy, Peeps are essentially pure sugar. They are marshmallows covered in granulated sugar. But they are not just that. They are so much more.

I guess you have to sink your teeth into one to fully appreciate the joy that comes from the sugar scraping your tongue and roof of your mouth as the soft insides spring against your teeth and melt in your mouth. Truly the result of a magical potion.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Ok, I'll stop now.

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Mar 26, 2005 5:09 pm (#392 of 2981)

Truly the result of a magical potion.---Gina R Snape

Does Snape hold the copyright?

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Gina R Snape - Mar 26, 2005 5:12 pm (#393 of 2981)

Alas, no.

But I rather suspect that if JKR were made aware of Peeps, she'd quickly invent her own magical version.

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Denise P. - Mar 26, 2005 5:36 pm (#394 of 2981)

You can sword fight with Peeps too. Give each a toothpick, microwave them and watch them fight. Peeps truly defy description. It used to be only at Easter could you find Peeps. Now there are many seasonal Peeps and variety of flavors but the classic Chick Peep is the one that true Peep fans prefer.

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haymoni - Mar 26, 2005 5:52 pm (#395 of 2981)

Marie - I'm not buying Daughter an Easter dress this year. It is just too darn cold here in Ohio. All the Easter dresses that I've seen in the stores must be for children that are traveling to Florida for the holiday. She has a long-sleeved purple dress that she adores and that's what she wants to wear, so I am very happy.

I'll be lucky if I can get Ungrateful Son into a decent pair of khaki pants. I have no idea what I will be wearing - probably whatever is hanging in the closet next! Hubby looks fantanstic no matter what he wears - it's just disgusting!

I have made one batch of pizzelles that I have turned into cannoli shells. I made my filling - I think I added too much Cool Whip - the filling was softer than usual - but you can never have too much Cool Whip, so I think it will be OK. I've sent some over to each of my neighbors - they were very excited. I'd do this more often, but it takes a great deal of time. I have to make another batch sometime tonight or I won't have enough to take to my Dad's tomorrow.

Have a blessed Easter everyone!

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Madame Librarian  - Mar 26, 2005 9:07 pm (#396 of 2981)

I have to chime in on the holiday goodies discussion here having just gorged myself on a Purim (the holiday celebrating the Queen Esther story--see Julia's posts from a few days ago) treat called hamentaschen, pronounced hummin-tashen. The big bad Voldemort equivalent in the story was named Haman (Hey-man) and hamentaschen means Haman's pockets. Now this gets very illogical, so bear with me here. The goodies are fruit-filled cookies shaped like a tricorn hat, so some people think hamentaschen are supposed to represent the style of hat worn by ruling class Persians of the ?th century. But--Haman being the bad guy, some traditions have it that you tell children eating the hamentaschen to imagine they are biting Haman's ear (!) to punish him for being so evil. So you have a cookie named after a guy's pocket that looks like a hat that's also supposed to be his ear. What? Go figure.

Despite the unsettled issue of what exactly they are supposed to represent, the things are delicious. Of course, there are two different schools of thought on how they should be made. One group goes for a yeast dough which ends up tasting like a fruit filled danish pastry. These are usually made into large hamentaschen, probably favoring the hat image, though they are really not as big as a hat. The other school is the non-yeast cookie dough, and are made to be just about the size of a big ear. I come from a non-yeast tradition, and think the yeast version is um, well, just not right.

You roll out the dough, cut 3-in. rounds with a cookie cutter, put a dollop of fruit pie filling (apricot, peach, prune etc.) or poppyseed filling (considered by some the best and most authentic filling), pinch the ends to form a triangle, and bake till golden.

Even though it was a bit late since the holiday was last Thursday, I spent Friday afternoon with my 6-yr. old nephew Ezra baking hamentaschen. We had loads of fun. There was flour everywhere! The cleaning up was a challenge--little bits of dried up dough were sticking to the table, chairs, counter edges and who knows where else. This is one of those treats that you only make around Purim even though they are a basic and simple enough kind of cookie to make whenever, but somehow, they just don't taste right any time else during the year. So, they're special and they're in my kitchen right now, and I can go have one whenever I want till they're gone. Oh, joy!

Ciao. Barb

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 27, 2005 12:45 am (#397 of 2981)

Marie, my fellow slacker mom! I must confess that I have not bought Easter dresses for my girls. My sister bought two really gorgeous silk taffeta dresses and I said "oh, good enough"! One of the three girls doesn't like dresses so I'll just find something for her to wear (bad mommy). My son has a nice pair of navy chinos and a white shirt, good enough.

Amelia Smith-that's really sweet of you to want to try my Habichuela con Dulce, Here is the recipe:

16 oz of dried beans (red, pinto, or kidney beans will do)

1 can evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

juice of 1 grated coconut soaked in 2 cups of water (or 16 oz coconut milk)

3-4 cinnimon sticks

allspice (whole or powdered)

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Batata

Casave

Soak the beans over night in a large skillet in 8 cups of water, (or bring to boil for 3-4 minutes then let it simmer in low heat for 1 hour)

Drain and rinse, put back on medium heat in 8 cups of water and cook until tender (2-3 hours) Mash and strain with sieve or put in food processor Cook beans, coconut milk, on medium heat for 1/2 hour Add condensed milk, evaporated milk, and sugar stir well Add cinnamon sticks, allspice (whole) and salt. Cook 45 minutes Add raisins, batata and casabe Reduce heat, stir often cook 20 minutes. Maybe thickened with 1 tablespoon of floor mixed with water if to thin.

Note: batata is a small, purplish, dry, sweetish, potato. Casabe is a dry tough bread made from yuca roots. Both are found in Caribbean markets although more main stream super markets are carrying them now.

This thick soupy dessert is served cold with casave or Nilla Wafers

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Elanor - Mar 27, 2005 1:16 am (#398 of 2981)

I just pop in to wish you all a very happy Easter! "Joyeuses Pâques", as we say in French.

Good news! The bells have come back and I hope they have dropped chocolate eggs everywhere as usual... The kids will have fun searching though it is a rather rainy day today.

I wish you all a great day and wonderful egg hunts!

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septentrion - Mar 27, 2005 1:53 am (#399 of 2981)

Happy Easter everyone !

There isn't any tradition of Easter dress here. I bet I would have love it when I was a child.

Hammentaschen and Habichuela con Dulce ? They're from different traditions but I feel ready to give them a try as long as I don't cook them myself. (Septentrion sudders at the mere idea of cooking).

Everyone have a good day/night.

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boop  - Mar 27, 2005 7:37 am (#400 of 2981)

Everyone have a wonderful Easter. Enjoy those egg hunts. My mom hides real eggs for the kids to hunt. Everyone is meeting at 2pm my parents. There are 13 grandchildren and 10 adults.

Off to church. Happy Easter Everyone!!!!

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Gina R Snape - Mar 27, 2005 7:57 am (#401 of 2981)

Happy Easter to all who celebrate.

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Dragonesss - Mar 27, 2005 9:12 am (#402 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 27, 2005 8:20 am

Happy Easter everyone!

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Ladybug220 - Mar 27, 2005 9:19 am (#403 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 27, 2005 8:40 am

Dragoness, to get the font color to work you need to take out the *

Your bunny is cute.

Happy Easter to all those that celebrate it. For those that don't, I hope you are having a good Sunday.

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Dragonesss - Mar 27, 2005 9:21 am (#404 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 27, 2005 8:24 am

Thank You, Ladybug! I'm still working on it!I didn't know it's there while I'm editing.

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Dumbledore - Mar 27, 2005 9:22 am (#405 of 2981)

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it!

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Delightful Task! - Mar 27, 2005 11:08 am (#406 of 2981)

Happy Easter everyone! I just scanned all the posts very very quickly, *blushes*, therefore, forgive me if you've already mentioned that! In my family, we dye eggs for Easter, with onion skins, but we make kinds of stencils to decorate them. You have to use old nylon stockings, you put your egg inside, put beautifully shaped leaves (such as parsley or carrot tops for instance) on the egg, then make a knot. Then you boil your eggs in water with your onion skins. The result is really beautiful, you get red eggs with drawings of leaves of a paler shade on them!

Have a great day every one!

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Lina - Mar 27, 2005 11:28 am (#407 of 2981)

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates!

I would like to say happy or joyous Purim to all who celebrated too, I'm just not sure if this would be the right phrase...

Delightful Task!, you described the way we use to dye eggs too, I just didn't know how to put it in English. Thank you!

I wish you all to be happy, no meter what you celebrate or not!

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Delightful Task! - Mar 27, 2005 11:30 am (#408 of 2981)

Lol Lina! I spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how I could explain that!

The eggs on your picture are really splendid! did you decorate them yourself?!!

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haymoni - Mar 27, 2005 11:33 am (#409 of 2981)

What kind of onions do you use?

I've only bought kits in stores - thank you Paas - and one time I used food coloring.

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Julia. - Mar 27, 2005 11:38 am (#410 of 2981)

 Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

I had the best Shabbos this week. We went to my Rabbi's house and had a wonderful time. Friday night I was up until 4:00 in the morning talking about Judiasm with 2 rabbis, and 2 of my friends. The best part though was Saturday night. We went to a Matisyahu concert. Matisyahu is the self proclaimed 'Chassisic Reggae superstar.' He put on a great show. I think it's incredably ironic, and therefore funny, that my first mosh pit was at the Chassidic Reggae concert. Just take a second and picture Chabad Rabbis (black hats, beards and all) crowd surffing.

*sigh* back to the real world and my endless pile of work now.

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Delightful Task! - Mar 27, 2005 11:39 am (#411 of 2981)

I use plain simple "yellow onions" (the ones you find in every good or bad supermarket in France), because, very surprisingly, they give a nicer shade of red than "red onions"!

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Gina R Snape - Mar 27, 2005 11:42 am (#412 of 2981)

Julia, what a thing to envision! I must admit, it brings me both amusement and great joy at the same time. Music truly is a unifying force in the universe.

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Chemyst - Mar 27, 2005 12:20 pm (#413 of 2981)

Chabad Rabbis crowd surfing...
Julia, you add so much to this forum. Thank you.

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Lina - Mar 27, 2005 2:48 pm (#414 of 2981)

Oh no, Delightful Task!, there is no way I could do eggs like these. I did try when I was younger, but I was not really satisfied with the result. And now I just do not have the time for it. Maybe when my girls grow up a little more. As a meter of fact, I searched the Internet a little to find this picture. This is supposed to be a traditional way of dying eggs among Slavic peoples. This is done with the melted wax, sort of batique technique.



Julia, I'm so happy for you!

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 27, 2005 3:49 pm (#415 of 2981)

I had a great Easter Sunday. As mentioned earlier I do little except to buy a piece of chocolate to swoon for. I am so pleased I managed to make it last the whole day instead of gulping it down all at once.

I got some books read (Ian Rankin), some letters done and 3 crocheted squares for my rug. I took a look at my finances and nearly fainted, so I thought I would leave it for a real work day, when I can sit down and make phone calls etc.

Julia; your description certainly raised a chuckle out of me .

For those who have Monday off as a Public Holiday; enjoy the day off.

Lizzie

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Denise P. - Mar 27, 2005 4:08 pm (#416 of 2981)

Remember the Brie cheese talk a few weeks back? I just put a dish of the recipe I posted into the oven and waiting anxiously for it to finish so I can get a big ole helping of it with dinner. Yummm!!

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Madam Pince - Mar 27, 2005 6:22 pm (#417 of 2981)

Kabloink! I hope your Michigan State Spartans go all the way! They certainly deserve it! They've played like champions this weekend, that's for sure!

Wow, it was a good basketball weekend all around -- almost every game went into overtime. Congrats to all the winners and a "just wait 'til next year!" to all those not so fortunate.

Baby Pince got this little toy from his grandpa yesterday when we went over there for Easter dinner and an egg hunt -- it's a plastic egg on a long stick, which when you squeeze this little trigger-thing, it spins around and lights up and the egg opens up sort of like "Close Encounters of a Third Kind" or something, and a little baby chick is at the center of the egg. To top it all off, the accompanying music is "Easter Parade" in this tinny, computer-y sounding music, which I am thoroughly sick of now that it is 8:00pm. It was cute at first..... To think, when I was a kid we thought it was a big deal to put a toothpick in the middle of the little discs you punch out of the PAAS kits and spin them around....

Julia, your rabbis imagery is straight out of a Mel Brooks movie! You crack me up!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

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Madame Librarian  - Mar 27, 2005 6:54 pm (#418 of 2981)

Well, I've started the final countdown to our trip to Italy. We leave on Friday, April 1st (no jokes, please, about traveling on April Fool's Day, I'm a nervous traveler). We are going first to Florence, then Sicily, Cinque Terre, Venice and back to Florence. We'll do some day trips to Lucca, Siena and other nearby places.

We haven't seen Jordan since last August when he left to do his junior year there. As you can imagine I'm soooo anxious to see him (only then will I believe he's truly better from the mono he had 3 weeks ago). He's still got classes now, but will be able to come to Sicily with us over the weekend, and I suspect that most evenings he'll be joining us for dinner. We get to meet his Italian family and I hope we'll be able to take them out one evening. Saturday night we are going to a soccer game, and from what I've heard about Italian soccer games, I feel like we are taking our lives in our hands. I will probably be so jet-lagged, I'll act just as crazy as they do.

I fully intend to stay calm all this week, just getting my packing organized and trying to use up the food in the fridge. Of course, I have work, and will check the Forum as usual. I don't know whether I'll have Internet access while I'm in Italy (I might be able to use Jordan's laptop for a bit), so I'll need a good, solid dose of you guys this week.

Anyway, hope your Easters were lovely if that's what kind of Sunday this was for you. If not, hope your Sunday was lovely. Here in Chicago the sun was out (yay!), the temp crept up to mid-40s, and there's supposed to be a warming trend starting now.

Hey, Julia, last summer I went to a club featuring a very frum (very Orthodox/observant), very wild group that played very edge music. I can't remember what they called themselves. Loud, very loud. They used modern rock and fusion sound just like the Hasids use intense singing and movement--to reach some nth level of spirituality. I don't quite get it, but it was a really wild experience. Sounds like yours was wild, too.

Ciao. Barb

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Amilia Smith - Mar 27, 2005 7:19 pm (#419 of 2981)

Oooooh, Italy! I am very jealous. Someday . . .

Mrs. Sirius: Thank you for posting your recipe. It sounds really good, and fairly healthy, as far as desserts go. I have a couple of questions for you. Is the batata cooked at all before it is added to the other ingredients? Also, if I am not able to find batata or casabe, are there any substitutions? Would a regular orange sweet potato work?

We had a beautiful sunny Easter here in Utah, which was nice as it has been raining/snowing for the last week. None of the snow stuck to the ground, so I really can't complain, but it was nice to see the sun today.

The talk of new Easter dresses brought back memories. When I was little, my mother would make my sisters and I matching Easter dresses every year. Alas, as we have gotten older and busier, that tradition has fallen by the wayside. Baby sister, who is almost 14, really was a baby the last time we got matching dresses. Ah well, once you are a teenager, wearing a dress that matches your baby sister's starts to lose its charm. But now I can look back at the memory and smile.

Mills.

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Ladybug220 - Mar 27, 2005 8:24 pm (#420 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 27, 2005 7:24 pm

Barb(Madame Librarian), check your email as I have finally replied. I hope that some of the info will help even though y'all leave in just a few days. There are some links in there too.

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Pinky - Mar 27, 2005 8:46 pm (#421 of 2981)

Denise, what on earth did you do to poor Kierynn's hair? That looks like a planned bad hair day to me!

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Steve Newton - Mar 27, 2005 8:49 pm (#422 of 2981)

I'm glad that you asked because I was afraid to.

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Denise P. - Mar 27, 2005 9:02 pm (#423 of 2981)

I didn't do that to her hair, her oldest sister did it!! Kristen, who is 23, loves to do wild things with Kaitlyn and Kierynn's hair. She decided that Kierynn needed something done so when she put it up in those ponytails, she used water to spike it up and out. It didn't stay like that but it did long enough for me to get pictures.

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Julia. - Mar 27, 2005 9:12 pm (#424 of 2981)

Italy Barb!?!?!?! I'm so jealous!! Have a wonderful time!

Chabad Rabbis crowd surfing...
Julia, you add so much to this forum. Thank you.—Chemyst

*blushes furiously* Thank you Cheymst! I haven't blushed that much since a friend told me that my writing rivled JKR (he was, of course exagerating). Really, thank you Chemyst.

By the way, I put full details about the weekend on my LiveJournal. You need the entries called 'Awesome times' and 'Resolutions.'

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Dragonesss - Mar 27, 2005 9:25 pm (#425 of 2981)

Well, coloring eggs with onion skins - that brings back some memories! We also use to use spinach for green and bits for red. You can wipe eggs with vegetable oil to make them shiny.

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 27, 2005 10:33 pm (#426 of 2981)

Happy Easter to all.

Amelia That is so brave of you, most people hear "beans" and immediately make a face. The batata is cut into small cubes, so it cooks really quickly in the beans, they are not cook separately first. I have never tried using a regular sweet potato, but I think it would work just fine.

Julia, I saw Matisyahu on the Cason Daly show last week. I had the television on but wasn't watching and then what sounded like reggae. He was very good, I just kept thinking "yup, music is universal". I made a note to ask you if you'd ever heard of him.

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Lina - Mar 28, 2005 3:03 am (#427 of 2981)

Barb, have a really great time in Italy!

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Helen Potterfan - Mar 28, 2005 9:58 am (#428 of 2981)

I've been sick, so I'm adding my Easter traditions late. This Easter wasn't as special because I was too sick to celebrate and because my family couldn't come to visit me. They usually come up and I cook a big meal. When we were children, we used the PAAS and my parents hid them and plastic eggs with prizes (candy, small amounts of money). There was always a "prize egg" which netted the finder a chocolate bunny! My mother had trouble letting go of the egg hunting tradition. Even after I was in high school, she would want us to hunt eggs, and even said she would hide more money to get us to hunt them! I finally had to sit her down and tell her that the egg hunting was over. We always made deviled eggs out of most of the easter eggs.

Since Easter is over, I thought I'd start another topic: April Fool's Day. I know it's not today, but someone could get a wickedly good idea to try out. The best April Fool's trick played on me occurred in a small law office where I worked as an undergrad. A law student who was interning at the firm brought in chocolate frosted brownies that he said his wife made for everyone. Of course, not wanting to be rude, we took one and bit down. They were sponges cut into squares and frosted! The funniest moment was when one of the partners came out and didn't want one, but didn't want to hurt his feelings, so she tried to cut a small piece off of one with a plastic knife! She tried to cut for quite a while before she figured it out!

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Denise P. - Mar 28, 2005 10:08 am (#429 of 2981)

Oh, the best April Fool's Joke we played was while Devin was in the hospital one year. One of his nurses went on a trip to Florida and brought back a bunch of sand and shells for him. One of the oncologists didn't really like the idea of the sand so we poured boiling water over it to clean it really well. She still didn't like it being in the isolation room but left it alone. Devin kept it in a plastic pan used for sponge bathing and we called it Devin's Beach. On April Fool's Day, another nurse and I decided that we would play a joke on the nurse who brought the sand. I took the beach over to the sink and when she walked in, I very loudly talked to Devin about how we were going to have to throw his beach out and he faked crying about it. The nurse immediately asked what the problem was (because she had already gotten grief from one of the oncologists and she hated to see Devin cry) and I told her that when I was rearranging some shells, little black bugs came up out of the sand. I wish I had a camera to show the look of horrified surprise on her face. I started laughing as soon as she took a step towards me and the other nurse, in on the gag, came out of the bathroom laughing. Yo, the nurse we got, came over and beat me on the head with a pillow for giving her a heart attack. We knew she would see the humor in it and it was so fun to be able to get her. Devin loved it and to this day, we still kid her about the bugs in the sand.

Now, normally, bugs in sand is no big deal but when you are in an isolation room with NO immune system, any little infection or cough is a major thing and can become life threatening. Yes, we have a sick sense of humor to do this to the nurse

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Elanor - Mar 28, 2005 12:03 pm (#430 of 2981)

I love April Fool's Day, especially when it is a school day. Here, when someone plays a prank on someone, when he has made someone believing what he said for example, he finally says "poisson d'avril!", "April's fish". We call April Fool's tricks "April's fishes" (BTW, it has become an expression: when you say that something is an April's fish, it means it's a joke). It is a day of jokes of course and there is also a funny tradition that is to hang some fishes made of paper on the back of other people, without them noticing of course. Children have a lot of fun doing it of course!

It is always funny in the playground at school because kids bring some paper fishes they have made at home and try to hang them on the back of their friends, and teachers, who pretend not to notice when some of their students hang some in their back... Well, it depends of the teacher of course. Something tells me DD would love that but I don't think a student would dare to hang a fish on Snape's back...

But we have fun too: I always like to make a joke in class as beginning a lesson about a weird subject, and say something like "Tomorrow we're going to start studying slugs, I want you to open your homework notebooks and write to bring some of them for our next lesson. Now, tell me, what do you know about slugs' social life?". If you say it in a very serious way, it always works... I love to see their faces when I say "April's fish!" after some minutes! It is so good to play a trick on kids sometimes...

Have a great Monday everybody! Barb, I hope you will have a great time in Italy!

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Madam Pince - Mar 28, 2005 12:34 pm (#431 of 2981)

Of course everyone's heard of the old trick with the money attached to clear filiment fishing line, right? You attach the fishing line to a coin, or even a bill, and put it down on the floor. Then you sit or stand nearby and wait for someone to come along and notice the money and try to pick it up. As soon as their hand gets close, you yank your end of the fishing line and pull the money away from them. A little tiny jerk is even better. If it's a little kid, you can sometimes have them chasing the money all over the room before they figure it out. My grandfather used to own a small, country general store, and he and my Dad used to "get" customers with this one all the time -- everyone sort of expected to find a coin or two lying around the floor in one of those kinds of stores, right? My Dad would sit innocently on one of the chairs by the stove and go "fishing" every April Fool's Day....

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Doris Crockford - Mar 28, 2005 12:54 pm (#432 of 2981)

Denise, that trick was cruel. Cruel, but very funny.

I think the best April Fool's trick I've ever been in on is the time a friend of mine put green food colouring in the teacher's water bottle (I brought the food colouring for him). It was great, because he managed to put the colour in her water without her noticing. Heck, even I didn't notice and I was watching him! The only problem is that she took a really long time to notice. I looked at a friend sitting next to me after it was put in, and we both cracked up. She kept trying to figure out what we were laughing about, and even took a drink of her water before she noticed!

A great trick the two classes of the kids in the year above me played was when they switched classes. And since the teachers had both classes, they took attendance (since they have a folder with all their attendance sheets), and one even started teaching before noticing!

All this talk about school reminds me that I have to go back to school tomorrow- and haven't finished my homework yet. Oh, well. There's still time.

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The giant squid - Mar 28, 2005 1:17 pm (#433 of 2981)

Just take a second and picture Chabad Rabbis (black hats, beards and all) crowd surfing.—Julia

Okay, my day is complete now; that's the oddest image I can imagine. I love it! I'm always drawn to things that are a little "out there" and unusual. I call it my overdeveloped sense of the absurd. Marie just calls me weird.

--Mike

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GryffEndora - Mar 28, 2005 2:06 pm (#434 of 2981)

I have a younger cousin who's favorite April Fool's trick is to tape down the handle on the sprayer hose of the kitchen sink. You also have to aim the sprayer so that the first person who turns on the kitchen faucet in the morning gets doused with the sprayer water. I am currently immune to this prank since I have one of those fancy faucet/sprayer combinations.

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StareyedSlytherin - Mar 28, 2005 2:33 pm (#435 of 2981)

Hi everyone, how was your Easter? Oh yeah, that's right... April Fool's Day is coming up soon, isn't it? ^_^

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KWeldon - Mar 28, 2005 2:43 pm (#436 of 2981)

We usually just tell the kids (8 and 6) in the morning something like, "Guess what? School has been called off because it's going to snow!!" Since we live in a climate where this is next to impossible in April, for a split second they are excited until we crash their hopes by saying, "April Fools!" Then they start to make up unbelievable stories that end in "April Fools!", and it just spirals downward from there....

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Julia. - Mar 28, 2005 6:56 pm (#437 of 2981)

Hey Denise, is your avatar what I think it is?!?!?!?!?!

*awaits answer with baited breath*

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Ladybug220 - Mar 28, 2005 7:04 pm (#438 of 2981)

Denise - is that your fanfic?

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Denise P. - Mar 28, 2005 7:16 pm (#439 of 2981)

My avatar is an actual picture taken today of a new arrival expected in August I would say it is nonfiction and I co-authored with Mr. Denise LOL

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Ponine - Mar 28, 2005 7:19 pm (#440 of 2981)

Aaaaaw it is a little mini-Denise Congratulations

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Julia. - Mar 28, 2005 7:20 pm (#441 of 2981)

MAZEL TOV!!!

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boop  - Mar 28, 2005 7:32 pm (#442 of 2981)

Denise, What a cute picture of your new family member. What is your due date? No wonder you can't come to the gathering. CONGRATULATION to you and your husband.

hugs always

Betty

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 28, 2005 7:40 pm (#443 of 2981)

Excellent News Denise

Lizzy

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I Am Used Vlad - Mar 28, 2005 7:50 pm (#444 of 2981)

Just a stay at home mom with almost a baseball team. -Denise's profile

Congratulations for being able to field a complete team soon.

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Ydnam96 - Mar 28, 2005 7:53 pm (#445 of 2981)

Denise! WOW. Congrats. How many children do you have now? You are SUPER MOM. Seriously, you must have a ton to do and still you manage to attend to your duties here. The picture is a very good one by the way.

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Denise P. - Mar 28, 2005 7:57 pm (#446 of 2981)

This completes the baseball team, #9

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Ladybug220 - Mar 28, 2005 8:26 pm (#447 of 2981)

Congrats!! Now I feel stupid but I blame it on my monitor as I can barely see colors and the brightness is well, rather dim.

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KWeldon - Mar 28, 2005 8:41 pm (#448 of 2981)

My, Denise, 9 children! Congratulations to you and your family.

Have you seen the remake of the movie "Cheaper by the Dozen"? One of the funniest lines is when an interviewer asks the mom of a dozen kids if she had all of her children by conventional births. The mom answers: "After the sixth one they just kind of walked out...."

Best wishes!!

KWeldon

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 28, 2005 9:35 pm (#450 of 2981)

I bow down to you Denise, the Goddess mom. Congratz!

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pottermom34 - Mar 28, 2005 10:03 pm (#451 of 2981)

Congratulations Denise!! Are you related to the Weasleys by any chance?

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septentrion - Mar 28, 2005 11:32 pm (#452 of 2981)

Congrats Denise for the future new born ! You've got an amazing family.

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Cornelia - Mar 28, 2005 11:44 pm (#453 of 2981)

Denise, that are really happy news! Congratulations to your family!

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Snuffles - Mar 29, 2005 12:48 am (#454 of 2981)

Congratulations Denise, the goddess of patience! I have 1 daughter and know how demanding she is, If I had 9 I think they would have thrown me into St. Mungo's by now! Good luck for August.

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Lina - Mar 29, 2005 1:05 am (#455 of 2981)

Denise, I suppose this is not the April's fools joke!
Congratulations and good luck!

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The giant squid - Mar 29, 2005 1:19 am (#456 of 2981)

Now y'all know why I'm not having kids--Denise already had my share! Congratulations and condolences, Denise.

KWeldon, I wasn't much of a fan of that remake, but that line did earn a guffaw.

--Mike

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Fawkes Forever - Mar 29, 2005 1:58 am (#457 of 2981)

Hey Guys, I'm still giggling at Julia’s crowd surfing guy & Denise’s sword fighting peeps! I've tried that microwave trick with Marshmallow flumps, I think they're kind of similar.

Awww some nice news for a wet & miserable post bank holiday back to work day

Congrats Denise & Mr Denise *big grins*

I was playing catchup on this thread this morning *mutters Mutley style* (stupid dementors have been keeping me busy) & noticed the avatar change. I got very excited & then zipped through all the posts paying particular attention to yours to see when you announced your news. Big hugs to you and mini Denise/Dennis

Strange thing happened last friday... (well apart from having to work on a public holiday even though our UK office got the day off ), but the Dementors this year again gave us another chocolate easter egg! Hmmm.... Dementors giving out chocolate... should we be suspicious... better keep practicing that Patronus (& yes I did check the Best Before date... guess what July 16th )! So it was a good friday after all! I was trying (& succeeding) to keep the fast day! Just reading about Julia's fast gave me the push... our fast is so so easy in comparison... just one big meal & no meat, but all the water you want!

In my happy mood that evening I bought some nice garden furniture at the local hardware store, as the weather appeared to be taking a good turn (not so today however). All was well until I managed to open up one of the wooden chairs & hit myself in the face with it... how I did it is still a mystery to me... but I spent most of friday night with a cold pack to my cheek! The bruising & swelling has gone down, but I had some explaining to do this morning when I arrived in the office... hmmm only me eh! I think I just have bad luck when it comes to garden furniture / equipment... anyone remember the 'BBQ of death', fiasco for my birthday last year? If not... you don't want to know!

My mum just laughed & said something about being typical.... I'm not that clumsy honest... I mean if it was a contest between myself & Tonks... she'd have the edge (just). I mean.... ok so I seem to have more embarassing accidents than most ... like the day my sandal strap broke & I fell into a group of unsuspecting tourists in the middle of a busy street in Dublin but that was an isolated incident... honest!

Anyways, enough insight into my scarey mind.... Better get back to work... TTFN

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Marè - Mar 29, 2005 2:46 am (#458 of 2981)

Okay, I'm here and I haven't even read one other post (gasp) will do that later.

I'm a bit stressy because I lost two work days after the busses went on strike on thursday and! friday. Grrrr.

Anyway, here is the pictures I wasn't allowed to submit.. https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Mare_HPLexiconforum/HPotter/commonroom72-2.jpg

And this is the version for people who would like to colour it themselves https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Mare_HPLexiconforum/HPotter/kleurplaat.jpg

BTW I got a nicer mail from the art director, she tried to redesign the picture (cut the upper half of) bit still nice that she tried. I did just send in a new picture (has some free time since I couldn't get to work...)

And now I'm off to do usefull stuff.

One week till I have to move back!

Edit: and photobucket once again makes everything smaller, have to find a better alternative for that!

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Snuffles - Mar 29, 2005 2:49 am (#459 of 2981)

Mare, your picture is fantastic, how I envy those with artistic talent!. Im sure if you produced them onto t-shirts people here would definitely wear them!

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Fawkes Forever - Mar 29, 2005 4:21 am (#460 of 2981)

Wow, I'm amazed Steffie. Yet another very talented Forum member! The attention to detail is fantastic... I loved them! I clicked on the zoom button which I got when I opened the black & white picture in internet explorer & it enlarged it quite well. I still don't see how that would have infringed on copyright laws... but oh well! You should be proud of yourself. 200 points to your house

Oh I'm sending a nasty jinx to those that organised the bus strike!

Oh meant to say earlier... I had a dream last night that I got my copy of HBP... dead excited I was. But in my dream I couldn't get peace to read it.... as people kept disturbing me. I remember there was a prologue discussing the characters & I kept trying to read it over & over, but didn't get a chance to. I also flicked through the book & spied a chapter called 'Nymphadora Tonks' .... mad or what! Just made me realise that I can't wait until July! Three & a half months to go! What am I going to do!

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VeronikaG - Mar 29, 2005 4:27 am (#461 of 2981)

Wow! Denise is having kid # 9, and Steffie turns out to be an amazing artist. There are always so many cool surprises in this forum! Congratulations to Denise on the new baby, and a hug to Steffie for having to suffer those stupid laws.

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boop  - Mar 29, 2005 5:04 am (#462 of 2981)

Steffie, your picture is great, its sad they wouldn't use you picture. I think it is there lost for not using that great picture. I am going to print some off for my grandkids to color.

thanks for sharing you drawing with us.

hugs always

boop

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septentrion - Mar 29, 2005 5:47 am (#463 of 2981)

Marè, your pictures were great. A pity you couldn't enter the contest with them.

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Chemyst - Mar 29, 2005 7:08 am (#464 of 2981)

Marè, thanks for posting the terrific pictures. I was able to get the black & white to enlarge too and I don't see anything looking too Warner-Brotherly except -maybe- the flying owl. If I were on the jury, I'd vote in your favor.

Congratulations Denise, **quickly stuffs fingers in her pockets to hide the fact she was counting months since Mr. Denise's return  –only to discover that makes it impossible to finish typing...**   I guess you have found the best excuse ever for saying you need to put your feet up and rest, (and maybe read a little) come the end of July.

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Mar 29, 2005 7:11 am (#465 of 2981)

**quickly stuffs fingers in her pockets to hide the fact she was counting months since Mr. Denise's return –only to discover that makes it impossible to finish typing...**---Chemyst

Points to you Chemyst, for being honest enough to admit it.

Well, Mr. Denise certainly can't complain about his homecoming.

Congratulations Denise. ***makes mental note not to drink the water in Tennessee***

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librarian314 - Mar 29, 2005 7:11 am (#466 of 2981)

Congrats Denise! Hope all goes well for you and the little one.

This summer is really turning out to be the Summer of Love and Babies. My sister in-law and a dear friend are both expecting (the friend's due date is July 16th ;-) ) and another friend is getting married.

Mare, your picture is wonderful. I think that the people at Accio are just daft. Your should make yourself a t-shirt and wear it at the conference. I think that you followed their guidelines, as your artistic style is radically different from Mary Grand Pre's and doesn't really look like any of the actors in the movies. There are also plenty of the kids reading. It's Accio's loss, too bad for them.

Copyright law has fascinated me, especially since I took a legal issues in librarianship class and work for an art organization. It's interesting to see how close to the edge of infringement people can get without going over.

Y'all take care!

# *michelle the librarian**

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Denise P. - Mar 29, 2005 7:16 am (#467 of 2981)

Thanks everyone!

I should be set for reading since HBP comes out in July, Eldest (sequel to Eragon) comes out in August and A Breath of Snow and Ashes (next Outlander book) is due out in September.

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pottermom34 - Mar 29, 2005 8:03 am (#468 of 2981)

Good picture Mare, blast those dementors for not accepting it. Was the person that rejected it named Umbridge? I still say they smoked some bad hobbit leaf. I printed 2 for my kids to color. They'll like it too.

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 29, 2005 8:05 am (#469 of 2981)

Congrats Denise. I'm utterly speechless.

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mike miller - Mar 29, 2005 8:19 am (#470 of 2981)

CONGRATULATIONS DENISE!!! What wonderful news

Steffie - The pictures are fantastic. Perhaps you could exercise your talents in the arena of illustrating/writing childrens books. I understand there's good money to be made in "childrens" books

Fawkes - Chocolate from dementors? I would be highly suspicious. Based on my past 6 months or so, your dementors have relations on this side of the Atlantic.

Have a great day everyone.

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Marè - Mar 29, 2005 8:32 am (#471 of 2981)

Thanks for all the kind words every-one! (You would see me blushing red if you could see me) good to know that some people will be using the picture to color. Now I know I didn't do it all for nothing.

Let's just hope the new design can make it through the guidelines... I just want to enter the contest...

And Denise: WoeeeAAAHH! 9 !? You are a brave woman! (And congrats too, bye the way )

PS Why can't I change my profile anymore? I'm not allowed to put in personal information? Isn't that what the space personal information is for? Hmmmm... Anybody else got this problem?

Edit: Hmmm, illustrating childrens books, should beat making pesky papers and posters...

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Elanor - Mar 29, 2005 8:52 am (#472 of 2981)

Marè, I'm so happy you made a new design for the contest! I'm sure they will love it! But it is really a pity the first one couldn't enter it. **keeping my finger crossed and touching wood -and my head, harder than wood- at the same time**

Congratulations Denise! 9 children!!! Wow! That is what I call courage, and, above all, love. Another HP fan on his way...

It's been a weird day here today. Yesterday was a day off and today was the first school day since we changed to summer time on Saturday night and what happened? The kids were really "out of it" all day long. Half of them were sleeping on their tables and the other half acted like maniacs... **sigh** 2 weeks! 2 weeks and the Easter holidays will start at last! Fortunately, I have your great posts to read for relaxing this evening!

Have a great Tuesday!

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Ydnam96 - Mar 29, 2005 8:59 am (#473 of 2981)

Mare, after looking at that picture I can't believe they said no. I say make your own shirt.

I have the day off today because my sister is in town and we are heading off to Disneyland and then driving down to Temecula to visit a friend and then driving all the way back up (with traffic it can be a three hour drive...that's a LOT of time in the car). It will be a fun but completely exhausting day.

Have a great Tuesday.

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Madame Librarian  - Mar 29, 2005 9:12 am (#474 of 2981)

This is a truly newsy forum! Congrats to Denise on no. 9. (I hope he/she will forgive us for pegging him/her as something so unoriginal as a number, although the no. 9 has really special qualities mathematically, which, unfortunately, I can't explain or even remember--anyone?) I hope your pregnancy is healthy and uneventful, until the very end, that is.

Maré--great drawing! I love that hyper-detailed style. Each time you look you see another clever thing included in the picture.

Thanks, everyone, for the "bon voyage" wishes. We don't leave till Friday, so I'm trying to get a large dose of Forum till then.

OK--regarding April Fool's pranks: The best I ever was involved in was my older sister's brilliant idea. She was 12-ish, I was 7-ish, definitely the junior assistant role for me. What we did was switch the salt with the sugar in the sugar bowl. My dad liked his morning coffee very sweet so you can imagine his surprise when he took that first sip. Talk about a SPEW!! Let's just say that I'm really glad I was merely the junior assistant on that one. My sister got into some big trouble. Apparently my dad did not consider tampering with his morning coffee as a suitable way to observe April Fool's Day. Even my mom got irritated with Deb. Poor mom had to clean up the table, floor and walls of the breakfast nook. Well, actually, she supervised two very sorry children while they cleaned up every last drop. Deb was grounded for a while, I was just frowned at all day. Not fair, I say in retrospect.

Ciao. Barb

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Elanor - Mar 29, 2005 9:19 am (#475 of 2981)

the no. 9 has really special qualities mathematically.

Well, I can't tell you about the mathematically qualities of the no.9 but I can tell you that, in alchemy, 9 means perfection (because it is 3 times 3, the 3 already being a perfect number for alchemists). Appropriate, isn't it?

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Julia. - Mar 29, 2005 9:27 am (#476 of 2981)

Weeee! Mazel tov again Denise and Mr. Denise. (Yeah Chemyst, I was counting too.) I see you're well on your way to catching up to Rabbi Katz and his wife down the street from me. They have almost 2 baseball teams, with 16. I was all excited for you last night, which could account for why I couldn't get to sleep, which could also account for why I overslept an hour and a half this morning.

Mar, your picture is great. Hooie on Photobucket for making it all small. Accio people are idiots for not taking it. I say make your own shirt and wear it there just to spite them.

Fawkes, sorry to hear about your dementors. You and Mike should start a club for people who's dementors are making their lives miserable.

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KWeldon - Mar 29, 2005 11:07 am (#477 of 2981)

Denise,

Where did you hear that about Eldest? The official website says nothing about it.

KWeldon

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Denise P. - Mar 29, 2005 11:13 am (#478 of 2981)

It was on the Amazon, Books A Million and Barnes & Noble, August 23, 2005. ISBN: 037582670X

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KWeldon - Mar 29, 2005 11:31 am (#479 of 2981)

Ah! Beautiful cover. Do you think that is Saphira, only now she is red, or is that another dragon? I can't wait!

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Denise P. - Mar 29, 2005 11:43 am (#480 of 2981)

I think it is another dragon and Eldest refers to that dragon rather than Saphira. I am about to reread Eragon...just to refresh my memory.

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Madame Librarian  - Mar 29, 2005 11:45 am (#481 of 2981)

Gaaaa! Today's "Chicago Tribune" Tempo section has a feature article about the return of the...(drum roll, please)...mullet! The up-dated version is a modified one--"all business in the front and sides, all party in the back"--that some hairstylists claim is actually quite nice (exposing their inner 80s personas). Apparently it's already hit the public (not just the uber-trendy types) in New York.

Alas, earwax, this is not an early April Fool's joke. Sorry.

[Note: I didn't mean to waylay the conversation here, but we had quite a long, and amusing chat about mullets last autumn (?), I think, and I know that our well-informed Forum members like to keep up on these things.]

Ciao. Barb

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KWeldon - Mar 29, 2005 11:58 am (#482 of 2981)

Denise,

I need to re-read Eragon, too. There's so little that I remember after all of this time!

KWeldon

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Lina - Mar 29, 2005 1:30 pm (#483 of 2981)

MARE, I'm so sorry about that copyright stuff, not that I see anything that could be infringing it. I hope "they" explained you what's the problem and you will be able to enter the contest. AND WIN!

Thank you very much for sharing your artwork with us! My children were delighted! And consider illustrating children books!

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Dumbledore - Mar 29, 2005 2:57 pm (#484 of 2981)

Congratulations Denise!! Wow, 9 kids! It's exhausting just thinking about it, but I am EXTREMELY happy for you and Mr. Denise.

Mare, I really enjoyed looking at your artwork. It really is quite excellent, there's nothing like Harry Potter artwork (which, I hear, is now considered contraband at Harry Potter conventions )

Things have been very blah for me lately. Winter just seems to be dragging on too long. I really enjoy snow and the cold, but it gets to be very depressing after awhile. Fortunately, the weather is looking up so maybe things are taking a turn for the better. Things just seem to be so monotonous lately, what with school and homework and lots of extracurriculars. To add to that, my track season's starting tomorrow which automatically is two hours every day after school, and I'm in a piano competition next week. So much to do, so little time. But I guess I really shouldn't be complaining, because I suppose I have it easy compared to most people. I do really want to do well in my piano thing next week though because I get a lot of pleasure out of the instrument, and it matters to me a lot to do well in it because I enjoy it so much. Eek, I just have a case of the late-winter blahs, but I think I need a few cheering charms my way.

Have a great week everybody,

-Lauren

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Detail Seeker - Mar 29, 2005 3:04 pm (#485 of 2981)

I press all my thumbs for you, Denise, and your coming child. May he/she reach day´s light healthy and without problems - the rest you will take care about successfully, I am shure.

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Madam Pince - Mar 29, 2005 4:24 pm (#486 of 2981)

Mare, I love your pictures! But I know you'll forgive me if I say I am more excited by Denise's picture! Congratulations to the whole family, Denise! Woo-hoo!!!! (By the way, how many bedrooms do you have in your house?????? Nine children!!! heavens....)

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Denise P. - Mar 29, 2005 4:48 pm (#487 of 2981)

We have a five bedroom house but our 2 oldest don't live with us, they are 23 and almost 22 and moved away ages ago. Right now we have 11/10 yr old boys in a room, 9/4 yr old boys in a room, 8 yr old girl alone and a spare bedroom. The 2 yr old girl is about to move up into the spare room though.

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 29, 2005 7:06 pm (#488 of 2981)

Well apart from wishing Denise (and her family) the best, Tuesday went by too quick for me.

It looks as though I may now get some extra work, formatting and proofing documents over the Internet as a subcontractor for some Town Planning businesses. At least that will give me some flexibility with my Interviewing job.

Given that I did Town Planning at University and there is a shortage of them in Australia, I may end up being able to get back into that area by sub-contracting myself out for projects. That way it will all fit around my interviewing job which is my main job.

I have also given my details to the local Post Office. I used to work for them before I went to the job with the dementor (Fawkes and Mike: can I join the dementor club too??) and they were pleased to have a roster of available dates and contact numbers.

Now to cross fingers and knock on wood that other work materialises. I may be dirt broke now but I am a lot happier and a lot more hopeful that something will come up.

Mare I reckon your picture is fantastic and although I understand the intent behind the copyright laws, I don't understand (like many of you) how your picture infringes it.

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone.

Lizzie

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Viola Intonada - Mar 29, 2005 7:12 pm (#489 of 2981)

Congrats Denise and Mr. Denise!!!!! I bow to the goddess mom. If I had more than my two children I think I would be featured in a Nanny 911 episode.

Mare, I love your art work. You are very talented.

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Amilia Smith - Mar 29, 2005 7:27 pm (#490 of 2981)

Congratulations, Denise. Sounds like you still get to be exempt from Fast Sunday. :-) And thanks for the heads up on the new Outlander book. New Harry Potter and Jasper Fforde in July, new Outlander in September . . . so much to look forward to.

Mare, I loved your artwork. I work in a grocery store. Would it be OK if we were to use your picture for the kid's club coloring contest in July?

Lizzie, congratulations on finding the free-lance work to help with the bills. May things continue to work in your favor.

We have snow again here. I can't complain as it is not sticking, but I just thought it was kind of funny. We had snow/rain all last week, then it cleared up for Easter Sunday, absolutely beautiful, and now it is snowing again. Go figure . . .

Mills.

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Mrs. Sirius - Mar 29, 2005 10:10 pm (#491 of 2981)

Maré, as we all have known, you are very talented. Love that snap shot of the common room. Truely that conference must be run by the ilk of Umbridge.

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Julia. - Mar 29, 2005 10:43 pm (#492 of 2981)

I am in the best mood ever!! *dances* *jumps up and down* *sings*

Just thought I'd share.

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Ydnam96 - Mar 29, 2005 11:03 pm (#493 of 2981)

I was at Disneyland today. I saw a guy (probably in his young twenties, red hair, quite good looking actually) wearing a Gryffindor jacket.

I SOOOOO wanted to go ask him where he got it. But I didn't want him to think that I was a crazy woman. I should have though...

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Marè - Mar 30, 2005 12:21 am (#494 of 2981)

Mare, I loved your artwork. I work in a grocery store. Would it be OK if we were to use your picture for the kid's club coloring contest in July?

Sure! just make sure you don't tell WB.

Last on the picture front (and now I'm done):
http://www.accio.org.uk/contest-gallery.shtml
WooT, they are up. They are a bit bright and colourfully compared to the rest... But I'm happy enough.

And on the mullet front: NOOOO! and that's all I have to say about that.

I will be going home saturday, so soon allready! I will miss France, allthough it will be nice to be able to speak normally with people in a store and such...
But I will miss my oceanview! I got spoiled during lunch!

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Elanor - Mar 30, 2005 12:41 am (#495 of 2981)

WOW Marè! I love those pictures! 200 points for your house! I've seen that we will be able to vote for the ones we prefer between April 5th and April 12th. Do I really need to say to which drawings my vote will go?

Talking about Accio, have you seen that now we can read most of the papers' abstracts for the conference? Since then, I had not realized how many university teachers will make a presentation there, I'm starting to feel a bit nervous now! I have a lot of fun searching for that paper but I'm starting to feel under pressure right now. Fortunately, I know you guys will be there!

So, Marè, you're leaving us already! I'm happy you enjoyed your stay here, too bad it was during winter, you're leaving when the weather is starting to become pleasant at last (though it is well known that, in Brittany, you can't count on sun for a long time... ). I hope you will come again!

Have a great night/day everybody!

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Lina - Mar 30, 2005 12:54 am (#496 of 2981)

Bravo Mare! Congratulations!

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Delightful Task! - Mar 30, 2005 1:31 am (#497 of 2981)

Congratulations Denise! That's wonderful news! Thank you for sharing that with us! Thanks to Julia too! With you, I feel I'm really "discovering new horizons" (that might be a French expression though!...) And thanks for sharing your good moods too! I feel better already!

A bientôt Marè! I hope you'll come again! And your artwork is really great! (I've printed it for my kids to colour) !

Have a wonderful day everyone! (hmmm, tomorrow I'm 32! So I suppose I'd better make the most of that last day as a "young woman!!!")

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septentrion - Mar 30, 2005 1:32 am (#498 of 2981)

Marè, your new artwork is just astonishing. I like it better than the previous one (just my opinion), even thouhg it was terrific. Glad you enjoyed Brittany.

Elanor, don't worry (see the mail I've sent you). Why wouldn't you produce a better paper as good as the others ?

edit : cross posted with Delightful Task. Waves and Happy birhtday (I know it's only tomorrow but then I'm the first to wish it)

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Marè - Mar 30, 2005 1:54 am (#499 of 2981)

Oh Elanor, don't worry about university teachers. There is a reason why people keep falling asleep during college!

And yes I will come back to France, after at least 15 dolmens I will have to find a menhir some day! And I want to get back to Ouessant, it's an island I visited saturday, and I'm sure it's very pretty... If it isn't too foggy to see a thing.
And I still have to learn how to speak French.

Lots of things still left to do!

I still have to start reading all the abstracts, I think I will do that next week. Are they promising?

*Waves to Septentrion just because and waves happy birthday to Delightful Task.*

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 30, 2005 2:01 am (#500 of 2981)

Mare, forgive my ignorance, but I thought you were French and it is obvious from your posts and your user profile, you are not . Sorry about that.

I also had a look at your submissions for the artwork competition and I think they are pretty wonderful too.

Lizzy

EDIT I: Post number 500 in 15 days!!

EDIT II: This is Sami in my avatar. Sami is a bitzer and is 8 years old (same age as Macca). Sami is the most fearful of the three dogs, probably because Macca gives him an earful every now and then. Sami is unique in my household in that he does not bark during the daytime; he just opens his mouth and lets all these howls, squeals etc come out. At night though, he lets out this fearsome, scary, deep, booming bark!. Wakes me up every time.

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septentrion - Mar 30, 2005 3:03 am (#501 of 2981)

Sami looks like a serious dog (pun extremely intended).

Waves back to Marè ! If you want to see some menhirs, there are a few of them in North France : menhir d'Aubigny-au-Bac for instance. Sorry but that page is in french and the menhir is mostly buried, so only 1,48 m pokes out of earth, but it is a real menhir. About speaking French, I guess you underestimated your abilities. How could you have survived in Brest without speaking French ? People here aren't very keen about foreign languages.
About Accio, some papers are indeed promising. What worries me is I'm sure I won't be able to understand much because of my poor abilities to understand English when spoken.

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The giant squid - Mar 30, 2005 3:18 am (#502 of 2981)

Steffie, I am amazed at your second submission. If that's what you can put together in your "spare time" I feel even more woefully inadequate than usual! Did you specify the different version for the programme cover, or did they do that on their own? I rather like the sillhouette of England in the background of the T-shirt one.

*hugs boop, because I care.*

--Mike

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Julie Aronson - Mar 30, 2005 4:01 am (#503 of 2981)

Well, after reading the posts of the past few days, I realized what a major underachiever I am! Congrats Denise--9 kids, YIKES! Mare, your artwork is all amazing, but I LOVE the phoenix stuff in particular.

Speaking of amazing, I just looked out the window and noticed the intense sunrise we are having in Akron right now. If that is the predictor for the day, I'm glad I got up so early!

On another bright side, after over a year of unemployment, I started a new job on Monday. So far, it seems to be a dementor-free zone! (looks around worriedly)

Have a great day,

Julie

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Marè - Mar 30, 2005 4:54 am (#504 of 2981)

If you want to see some menhirs, there are a few of them in North France ... so only 1,48 m pokes out of earth

There are lots of them in this region, but somehow I seem to miss them all. there is a 9,5 m high one not too far from here, (it is supposed to be a fertility symbol... Denise have you ever been to Brittany?) but it is too far too walk, and the bus doesn't go there.
It's nothing really important, but after seeing dolmen after dolmen, I wanted to see a menhir. :pouts:

How could you have survived in Brest without speaking French ?
Never underestimate the power of a smile! Okay, it didn't work to well when I ended up being stalked by a drunk, toothless man, but in shops it works wonders. And I try to speak French, people appreciate the effort at least. (Or take my little helpfull note and start correcting all the grammar and spelling mistakes)

About Accio, some papers are indeed promising. What worries me is I'm sure I won't be able to understand much because of my poor abilities to understand English when spoken.
I'm sure your english will be fine! And even if it is a bit difficult; there will be lots more english-second-language speakers, so if the English speaking persons talk too fast, we will politely ask them to speak a little slower. It is also in the speakers best interest when his audience can appreciate her/his presentation!

Steffie, I am amazed at your second submission. If that's what you can put together in your "spare time" I feel even more woefully inadequate than usual! Did you specify the different version for the programme cover, or did they do that on their own?
Weee, thanks. I had the idea for the programcover yesterday and sketched it on a bit of paper. I went home, sat behind my computer and started photoshopping. (I'm definitely improving, I can now make my own brushes! points to all the stars... ) So from seven till half past midnight I fiddled with the cover. Leaving me the rest of the night for the things I should have done....
I am now counting down till I can go home and roll in my bed... the wild lifestyle of a Harry Potter Fan is not good for my health!

On another bright side, after over a year of unemployment, I started a new job on Monday. So far, it seems to be a dementor-free zone! (looks around worriedly)
Knock on wood! (No not the quidditch player..)
New job, no dementors, good for you, Julie!

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VeronikaG - Mar 30, 2005 5:47 am (#505 of 2981)

Steffie, your picture is the best. I'd say you have a good chance of winning the contest. Besides, all conference T-shirts always seem to be boring white or black, so maybe the jury will think it could be nice to have a classy dark blue one for once?

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a dolmen and a menhir? It may have been explained, but I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to read all posts.

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Marè - Mar 30, 2005 6:06 am (#506 of 2981)

A menhir is a standing stone:
A dolmen is a very old buriel (sp?) chamber.

And I think the t-shirts are going to be white anyway.. the blue should be printed. But I wish they would choose a cool colour too... and something that isn't the size of an average pyjama....

And now I have to go and get some work done!

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 30, 2005 6:50 am (#507 of 2981)

Right now we have 11/10 yr old boys in a room, 9/4 yr old boys in a room, 8 yr old girl alone and a spare bedroom. The 2 yr old girl is about to move up into the spare room though.

11, 10, 9, and 8. Good grief. It would seem that Denise lost sight of her feet for four straight years from around 93 through 96. Does Mr. Denise know how to give a good pedicure?

Anyway, I had a question for the Brits/Europeans. With the advent of the euro, what happened to all the other denominations of money, such as pounds, marks, etc.? Are they still good or was there a deadline to cash in your cash?

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Elanor - Mar 30, 2005 7:19 am (#508 of 2981)

I can tell you about the franc that is not used anymore in France. If I remember well, we were able to use both moneys for some weeks and then only euros. You had to bring your francs to banks which gave you euros instead, or you could pay with francs but the change you were given then was in euros. Till very recently, you were still able to bring your old francs to the bank but, from the beginning of this year, banks will only accepts old banknotes francs but not coins anymore. Of course, since we can't change them anymore, we keep finding some coins forgotten in pockets or old bags long ago. Typical!

I don't know exactly till when we will be able to swap the old banknotes that but I think we still have a few years. Does it help?

Marè, I love menhirs and dolmens too! My favourite is a megalith that can be found in the town of St Brévin-les-Pins (not far from St Nazaire) and that is called "the Devil's buttocks" (I kid you not!). If you ever saw it, you would think the Devil really has lame ones... That was what we thought when we saw the stone during holidays some years ago. Now, I would only think he should have listened Moody more carefully!

About Accio's presentations, some really promise to be great! I also heard there will be a gnome-tossing competition, it should be really fun. Thanks for your encouragement BTW! I know it is a bit silly but the level of those papers seems to be really high and I started to feel a bit nervous reading them. It is a real challenge for me, the more because it will be in English. I just hope my presentation won't be too boring.

Early happy birthday Delightful task! BTW, I turned 32 last September and I can tell you, it doesn't hurt...

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Marè - Mar 30, 2005 7:42 am (#509 of 2981)

Loopy, the British, always the black sheeps, do not participate with the euro. Makes going to GB a real treat: you converse pounds to euro's and then at some occasions calculate from euro's to whatever coin you were used to...
I don't think we (as in the dutch) can still change our money, maybe banknotes at the occassional bank, but I was pretty sure we were done, and if you still have some: bad luck.
They made it so that you first had a set amount of time to change all your coins, when that time had passed normal people couldn't change their coins for money anymore, but the collected charity organisations could.
They got a lot of money that way.

BTW the french still have euro's and francs on all their bills and acounts. Pretty confusing if you ask me.

And Audrey, don't worry about the presentation, it won't be boring and I'm pretty sure that everybody will just be impressed that you have the guts to go stand there and actually present something. Remember, the room is full of us dweeps who couldn't do that!

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Julia. - Mar 30, 2005 7:49 am (#510 of 2981)

Good morning everyone!!

My good mood from last night seemed to have carried over to this morning. It's absolutly gorgeous out, and I'm listening to Matisyahu, the guy who inspired Chassidic rabbis to crowd surf.

Mare, your new shirt design is really beautiful. You're incredably tallented, and I really do hope you win! The whole conference sounds like a lot of fun. I'm so jealous that some of you are going! Have an awesome time, and bring me back a keychain.

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Catherine - Mar 30, 2005 8:50 am (#511 of 2981)

Good Morning! *:waves**

We got in late yesterday, so I am popping in for a moment before I begin the mountain of mail and laundry that awaits.

Our vacation in Disney World was loads of fun, but exhausting. I now feel like I need a vacation to recover. While the kids and my mom and I enjoyed ourselves tremendously, we have vowed NEVER again to go to Disney during Spring Break. The crowds at the Magic Kingdom defy description, so I won't even try!

All in all, it was wonderful, the kids were on their best behavior most of the time, we did almost everything we set out to do, but there is no place like home.

Oh, and Denise, I'm happy to see your new avatar. Congratulations to the P. family and best wishes for the "arrival" in August.

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 30, 2005 10:17 am (#512 of 2981)

Thanks Mare and Elanor. I was curious about that from something I saw in a movie.

Well, well, well. Hello Ms. Catherine. Glad you had fun. Magic Kingdom is one I've never done. ***Pouts***

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Catherine - Mar 30, 2005 10:34 am (#513 of 2981)

Magic Kingdom is one I've never done. ***Pouts*** --Loopy Lupin

*:waves to Loopy** I saw lots of uncles at the Magic Kingdom with their nieces and nephews. Perhaps you need to plan a trip! But take my advice, and don't go near Spring Break. The times I've been in November, the weather was still pleasant during the day (60s and 70s) and the crowds not as intense.

Actually, Mr. Catherine and I went to WDW when we were first married, before we had children, and had a great time.

So...I finally managed to catch up on the NCAA Basketball news. Carolina in the Final Four--Mr. Catherine is elated; my father is taking Duke's elimination very badly. He's a sad man this week, poor dear.

*:peeks to see if Loopy is upset about Carolina's success*:

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Ladybug220 - Mar 30, 2005 10:38 am (#514 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 30, 2005 9:39 am

Welcome back Catherine! I am glad to hear the you had a good time. Last time I went, I was wearing a huge knee brace (as I had surgery a couple of months before) and it was great because my cousin and I skipped all of the lines. We went on Space Mountain 3 times this way.

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scully jones - Mar 30, 2005 11:07 am (#515 of 2981)

Welcome back, Catherine!

A package I ordered on the 25th is coming soon. I thought (and it seemed implied from the site I ordered it from) it was shipping from California. I figured I'd get it in a day or so after Easter. Looking online at Fedex.com, I found out it was shipping from Shanghai, China. I figured, great now I'll get it in a week. Well I just checked again and it's now in Oakland, Ca. Mayhap I'll actually get it today? I've been waiting for this package for a while. I'm actually quite excited.

(I'll do a little dance and stuff AFTER I get my package)

Toodaloo! Sarah

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Madam Pince - Mar 30, 2005 1:10 pm (#516 of 2981)

****is dying of curiosity as to what put Julia in such a good mood and what is in Sarah's package****

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Detail Seeker - Mar 30, 2005 2:37 pm (#517 of 2981)

Steffie(Maré), you seem to be the only european contestant in this competition. Are there so few addicts in Europe ? The desinterest in "Accio" I experienced on the german HP-Forum prepared me to something, but that even british artists ignore the meeting made me wonder.

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mollis - Mar 30, 2005 2:50 pm (#518 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 30, 2005 1:51 pm

Oh my gosh did I miss alot! But believe me, I read (nearly) word-for-word the ~200 posts that were made in my absence.

First, my heartfelt congratulations to you Denise on #9! I too was so excited when I saw your new avatar way back there that I skipped ahead to find the announcement. Please send me a sample of the water at your house.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to everyone I missed.

A be-lated Happy Easter/other celebrated holiday. I don't know that rabbi's have ever been so funny to me, Julia. I'm very sad to have missed entirely the annual peeps discussion. Those of you who haven't had the privilege to enjoy a peep, my deepest sympathies. Gina, however, described the sensation very well. Almost a bit too well....

Fawkes and Mike Miller - I am right there with you on the dementor front. Although mine haven't stooped to giving out chocolate. Very suspicious. Although, since they gave it out on a fast day... My dementors have shipped me to the field for the week. It was wonderful the first two days, but today is very cold, rainy, and windy (up to 50 mph gusts)- not a good combo. (Oh, mph=miles per hour, 50 mph is 80.47 kilometers per hour, or really fast!) Suffered though it this morning, but now am hiding out inside where its warm and dry. Should be better tomorrow.

Well, I'd best be getting back to work. I've spent over an hour getting caught up. And I know I've missed stuff. Oh well, I did my best. Please forgive me. Oh, welcome back Catherine. Glad to hear the trip went well.

Here's to a drier and warmer spring!!!

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Julia. - Mar 30, 2005 2:51 pm (#519 of 2981)

Yeah, I'm also curious to see what Miss Sarah is expecting in this package. As for my good mood, my professor gave us a week extention on a paper, which is good, because it was supposed to be due tomorrow, and I haven't started it yet.

Welcome back Catherine! I'm glad to hear your trip went well. Never going anywhere on spring break is a lesson we learned pretty early on. *thinks back to Cooperstown during school vacation* *shudders* Hey Loopy! Can I pretend to be your niece and you take me to Disney World? My grandma was going to take me when I was 8, but that never happened. Now I'm aiming to get there before I get married.

The weather today is absolutly beautiful. Perfect baseball weather. I managed to convince my Shakespeare professor that we should have class outside. Except that she said no, because she wanted to show us a really depressing clip from Henry V.

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Ladybug220 - Mar 30, 2005 2:57 pm (#520 of 2981)

Julia - just go to WDW for your honeymoon. Some friends of mine did that and had a blast!

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Loopy Lupin - Mar 30, 2005 3:12 pm (#521 of 2981)

Hey Loopy! Can I pretend to be your niece and you take me to Disney World?—Julia

Sure, but you have to bring the butterbeer.

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Catherine - Mar 30, 2005 3:32 pm (#522 of 2981)

You know, Julia, the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, which is a hotel right on the Disney World Monorail system, has its very own wedding chapel. The bride and groom even get to ride in a replica of Cinderella's horse-drawn coach.

I'll bet Loopy would even dance at your wedding, if you gave him some butterbeer. Or maybe that would take Firewhiskey?

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Julia. - Mar 30, 2005 3:46 pm (#523 of 2981)

Deal Loopy. I have an endless supply of butterbeer, so it's all good!

Catherine, you can all dance at my wedding. I'll make a big party and everyone is invited.

By the way Madam Pince... hahahaha, I know what Sarah's waiting for and you don't hahahahahaha!

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Phoenix song - Mar 30, 2005 5:04 pm (#524 of 2981)

Hello everybody! I've been dreadfully busy lately, and have just been stopping in quickly enough to lurk a bit. I just wanted to give everybody a fond "hello", Happy Birthday to all that I've missed, and Congratulations to Denise. I am, once again, in awe of all that you're able to do. It makes me feel like the poster child for "Slacker Moms" that I complain of being tired with 3 and you're able to do so much with 8 + 1 on the way. My best wishes to you and the family.

I have a query to which I am certain that you can all answer: How can I get a copy of the upcoming New York Times edition that will devote the entire crossword puzzle to Harry Potter? Does anybody have any ideas on how an out-of-state person can receive a single edition of a newspaper?

Thanks for your help!
Barbie

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Ladybug220 - Mar 30, 2005 5:38 pm (#525 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 30, 2005 4:39 pm

Barbie, check Barnes and Noble or any other large bookstore chain. BN, I know carries NYT and other newspapers from the large cities. They are over by the magazine section

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Madam Pince - Mar 30, 2005 6:14 pm (#526 of 2981)

***pbbbbttttttt to Julia....***

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 30, 2005 6:31 pm (#527 of 2981)

In the same vein as Phoenix Song, how does a person from another country get hold of this particular edition. Crossing fingers that it will go on the net and can be printed out.

Lizzie

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haymoni - Mar 30, 2005 6:47 pm (#528 of 2981)

117 posts - I'm exhausted!

Congrats Denise! As soon as I pulled up the thread and saw your avatar I knew what was up! As a true Slacker Mom who only wants 1 child for each hand, I am doing my Wayne's World impression - arms up and down - "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!" Best wishes to you!

Julia - Parents magazine sent me an email that had a link for a Reese's contest that linked to Hershey's website. They have a whole listing of all their candies that are Kosher. Cadbury Carmello Bars!! Mmmmmm!

Some of the best April Fool's jokes seemed to be played by radio personalities. Here in Cleveland, we had Jeff & Flash on WMMS - 100.7 FM - The Buzzard. One year, they told everyone it was going to snow. People all over Cleveland wore their winter coats and it was something like 70 degrees out. Another time, they announced the time as 1 hour ahead, so everyone was rushing around and got to work an hour early. Another year, they traded spots with one of the Spanish-speaking stations. Spanish teachers all over Cleveland celebrated that year!

Have a nice evening all!

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Phoenix song - Mar 30, 2005 8:31 pm (#529 of 2981)

Thanks Ladybug for the tip! (I knew that I'd get some help from one of our delightfully knowledgeable forum members!) We don't have any large bookstore chains locally... (I know, it's insane!) despite our nicely sized population... but I'm willing to drive to the next town to buy one.

Lizzy, I don't know how someone from another country would get a copy, but if you'll e-mail me your physical address I'll be more than happy to buy an extra copy and send it via "snail mail" to you. There might be a copy placed on the internet,but who knows for sure? Regular mail can be slow and irksome, but at least you'd be sure of getting one! I think that the puzzle in question will be printed in the Times on July 10, the week before our much anticipated new release.

Barbie

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Ladybug220 - Mar 30, 2005 8:40 pm (#530 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mar 30, 2005 7:41 pm

I don't normally do crossword puzzles as they make me feel really stupid, but I know that will be one that I have a chance of completing.

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Phoenix song - Mar 30, 2005 8:47 pm (#531 of 2981)

Ladybug, I agree with you about crossword puzzles having the unpleasant side-affect of making me feel stupid. I'm looking forward to this one because I think that this is one that I can finish without "cheating"! I wish that the puzzle would be published sooner than it is, though. Mid-July seems to be so far away! **sigh**

Barbie

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Cornelia - Mar 31, 2005 12:08 am (#532 of 2981)

Happy Birthday to Delightful Task!

Have a BIG cake and nice children and a nice husband and nice presents and a nice big party!

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Lina - Mar 31, 2005 12:51 am (#533 of 2981)

Happy birthday Delightful Task! You will have to wait several years more to stop being young!

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septentrion - Mar 31, 2005 1:34 am (#534 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task !

I'd be also interested in the NYTimes HP crosswords. Would it be too much to ask if anyone coming to Accio could buy some extra copies and bring them in Reading ?

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 31, 2005 1:46 am (#535 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task!

I hope you have a lovely day.

Lizzy

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boop  - Mar 31, 2005 4:46 am (#536 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task!! Have a wonderful day!

Everyone have a great Thursday!!

Gives *Hugs back* to Mike.

hugs always

boop

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Marie E. - Mar 31, 2005 6:37 am (#537 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task! Spoil yourself today!

You know, just a few weeks ago I said to my husband, "Now that Kierynn's two, I bet Denise is ready for another one." And he actually disagreed with me! Silly man. Congratulations, Denise and Mr. Denise!!!!

March is going out like a lion around here. We have 3-5 inches and school closures and delays all over the place. Of course, our district isn't delayed or anything. Grrrrr.

And, to Lina, sorry I wasn't online this week but we didn't have a white Easter though it came real close. It snowed the day before Easter and mostly melted by the next morning.

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Madam Pince - Mar 31, 2005 7:01 am (#538 of 2981)

Happy Birthday, Delightful Task! Have a fun day!

Saying bye-bye to everyone for a couple of days -- I'm going to take my Mom back to her home to stay now that it's spring; she's been visiting with us over the winter.

Have a lovely weekend!

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Madame Librarian  - Mar 31, 2005 9:13 am (#539 of 2981)

Hi, all! My last day to read and post before the BIG TRIP.

Help! When is the HP crossword supposed to run in the NY Times? I will be able to get the issue at the library, even if it is archived already when I return (4/18). I am an avid crossword puzzler and think that whoever thought up this idea should get some sort of Nobel Award or something. Was it Will Shortz? He's so cool--kind of a cult idol to some.

Glad to hear that spring is starting to make quick and elusive appearances for those that have suffered a long and tedious winter. Chicago was in the 70s yesterday, but, alas, today we are getting blown off the sidewalks under grey, high 40s weather. Amazing T-showers yesterday. My husband saw a perfect rainbow yesterday as he drove home from work. The colors were clear and sharp, not the usual watery tones. I hope it's a good omen for nice weather.

Ciao. Barb

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Julia. - Mar 31, 2005 9:46 am (#540 of 2981)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DELIGHTFUL TASK!! Have a butterbeer on me! *hands Delightful Task butterbeer* Hope you have a great day and an amazing year. Also, Happy birthday to Tracie, who hasn't posted in ages.

Have an excellent time on your trip Barb. Bring me back a keychain!

The NY Times is doing an HP cross word?!?! When? Hmm, perhaps just this once I'll be able to rangle it away from my dad...

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Delightful Task! - Mar 31, 2005 9:46 am (#541 of 2981)

Thank you very much everyone! I'm 32!!! I can't believe it!!

Now I'm a grown up, I suppose I should stop reading books for kids...! (Nah!!! I refuse to become serious and dull!!!) Anyway, it seems life has decided to punish me for not wanting to become mature! I have to attend one of those horrible meetings for "co-owners" tonight (I had to look for the word in the dictionary, so forgive me if it's not the right one! In fact, we own a flat in a building with 50 other "owners" and once a year, we have to meet and talk about money and repairs and other very serious things !)

I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun!!!

Have a great evening / day everyone, and if I'm back after midnight, I promise you I'll check if there's an update for April first! THAT would be a great birthday present!

Edit: Julia , we cross posted, Thanks to you too! This forum is incredible!! I don't remember so many people wishing me a happy birthday for a very very long time!! **blushes**! I feel great today!!

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Marè - Mar 31, 2005 10:07 am (#542 of 2981)

Scholastic has sent TLC a press release describing its HBP campaign, set to kick off on April 7, when there are 100 Days Until Harry. The multi-tiered campaign will include a national advertising campaign; a first-time ever Harry Potter crossword puzzle in The New York Times; online activities and downloadables; promotional giveaways; and midnight parties at retail locations across the country.<- from the leaky. So, it might take awhile before the puzzle is in the paper.

And Happy birthday Delightful Task!

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Penny Lane. - Mar 31, 2005 10:09 am (#543 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task!

The weather around here has been so nice. Its finally starting to feel like spring again! Although I really enjoy the coolness of winter (not to mention the fall/winter fashion) I'm excited to see the sun again.

Did anyone else catch the Harry Potter reference on "Lost" last night? Of course you did, it was the best one liner on that show ever. Speaking of "lost", I think last night episode was one of the best I've ever seen. So much symbolism, so many questions. It's almost like reading a book, except without the reading.

Only 25 more days of school. I'm excited to have a break from classes - they give us our spring break so early that everyone tends to burn out about a week or so after break. It's quite sad, really. I will miss all of my friends and having my own room though. *sigh* what can you do?

Hope everyone else is having as super weather as I!!

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John Bumbledore - Mar 31, 2005 10:34 am (#544 of 2981)

Wow I still have over 300 post to, erm, surf (not skim). You may notice my name changed. It was because I was getting myself confused with Dumbledore so "Bumbledore" became "John Bumbledore"

Happy anniversary to the Giant Squids! (and any others with anniversaries I missed). Happy Birthday, Delightful Task (and to anyone with a birthday I missed) See what happens when one goes on vacation with out Internet access? Alas, earwax!

And while we were on vacation, Mrs. Bumbledore and I had an anniversary on March 24, our 15th. We were visiting family back in Pennsylvania at the time, about the only time we had family close at hand to watch our crew of four so we could go out by ourselves. But did we? No. I think we were both too busy catching up with family and friends and the traveling itself to think of getting Grand ma to baby-sit.

Well, I must be off to peruse the prolific posting on this and other threads.

<)B^D= (John) Bumbledore

{still me though I updated my profile "name." Interesting (and nice) that all previous posts of mine are also updated from Bumbledore to "John Bumbledore" similar to avatar changes.}

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Phoenix song - Mar 31, 2005 11:33 am (#545 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task! I hope that you have many more "delightful" ones! Your use of the term "co-owners" was indeed appropriate. I believe that it's usually called "co-ops", short for co-operatives, though. I like your term better, I think that it's less "brisk".

I believe that the date given for the NY Times crossword puzzle is July 10, the week before the release of HBP. **I can't wait!!**

Congratulations, John, to you and Mrs. Bumbledore.

What was in Sarah's package??

Barbie

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Mar 31, 2005 12:27 pm (#546 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task! Have a great trip Barb!

I'm so busy here getting ready for a big horse show Sat. I'm not sure which ends up! Would someone please tell me where I hid the silver polish? I put it in a "safe" place so I could find it. Alas earwax, my safe place is safe from me!

Waves at Barbie! Seems we skipped spring, straight from winter to summer!

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kabloink! - Mar 31, 2005 12:48 pm (#547 of 2981)

COngratulations Denise! THat is soooooooo awesome!

Happy birthday Delightful Task! I'm in between classes right now, but I finally managed to catch up on 100+ posts that I was behind. Just on this thread!! (I don't actually check other threads...really don't have the time.) Again, I must say: Go State! I don't remember who we're playing in the final four, but we're there! I never follow sports-especially not on TV, but I've actually been watching the end of the games lately. I'm impressed with myself.

I have a job interview today, with Walmart Portrait Studios. I got the call at 12 noon, and the interview is at 5pm (EST), and I have class til 4:20! THis means I have to go in my school clothes (slightly too big jeans, a blue polo and plain black pumps that I thankfully have in my car. Otherwise, I'd have to wear flipflops! The lady doing my interview knows that I'm coming straight from class, however, so I hop it will be okay...

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Chemyst - Mar 31, 2005 1:26 pm (#548 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task!

...my safe place is safe from me! – TBE
   Alas! I've been there too often. Today it is my postage stamps that are safe.

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 31, 2005 2:39 pm (#549 of 2981)

Talking of safe places, I've got 4 safe places (all well away from the doggies). These are the only places keys, phones, wallet, bills etc are allowed to reside.

The problem is remembering all four safe places (getting there!) and remembering to search all four when you've think you've lost something.

The weather is getting much more pleasant here now. We are well and truly into Autumn (Fall) for our area. Lows of 10-15 deg. cel. at night with really lovely days topping out at 26-30 deg Cel. So no more air-conditioning and hello to more weeding and gardening and trying to revive a dead front lawn.

Kabloink: good luck with your job interview.

Finding out about the 100 days and 50 days to HP (July 16) truly seems to make it seem HP day is getting close. I have to admit that learning a new job in the meantime will make those days go so much quicker, for which I am thankful.

Have a wonderful day everybody

Lizzie

EDIT: It would be good if I could remember if I'm Lizzy on this forum; Lizzie on the other one... (Does anyone have a memeory enhancing potion??)

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GryffEndora - Mar 31, 2005 3:43 pm (#550 of 2981)

TBE - Would someone please tell me where I hid the silver polish? I put it in a "safe" place so I could find it. Alas earwax, my safe place is safe from me!

# *doing my best Trelawny Impersonation* You will find that which you seek in the last place you think to look ... for once you find it, you will stop looking.

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Dumbledore - Mar 31, 2005 4:49 pm (#551 of 2981)

Happy birthday, Delightful Task!! Trust me, 32 is not old, because if it was, then my mother would be positively ancient!

John Bumbledore, did you mean that you changed your name because you were confusing yourself with me, Dumbledore, or Dumbledore in the books? Because if you changed it because of me, I'm really, really sorry that I caused you to change your name!

Steffie, I really love your shirt design. You're very talented, and make me ashamed of my abonimable art skills.

Well, my days have been much busier lately because I have just started track which is 2 hours every day after school. I'm willing to make the commitment though, because I love the sport and it's good exercise. I'm also going to be in a piano competition next week! Wish me luck, I'm deathly terrified!

-Lauren

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boop  - Mar 31, 2005 4:50 pm (#552 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Tracie, I missed you on my list. Hope you are having a great day.

John where in PA are you visiting may I ask. The reason for asking I live in the middle of Pa, Bellefonte. Just outside of State College, home of Penn State University. Have a great visit.

hugs always

boop

PS Barb have a safe fun trip!!!

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Ponine - Mar 31, 2005 5:25 pm (#553 of 2981)

Happy birthday, Delighted Task! From a recent 30 year old's perspective, I think you are barely out of your teens....

good luck on the job interview, kabloink!

Lizzy and Catherine- how many dogs and what kind(s)do you have?

Barb - Have an awesome trip!!

Oh and TwinklingBlueEyes - what kind of horses are you showing?

Gosh, there is a lot going on in here... And, almost forgot - Yey Gred and Feorge!

-p-

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KWeldon - Mar 31, 2005 8:31 pm (#554 of 2981)

Hello everyone!

This is a long shot, but I was wondering if anyone here has been to Isla Mujeres, Mexico (off the coast of Cancun), for vacation? We are probably going to go in late July/early August, and I'd like to hear from a real person about their experience rather than the millions of websites and travel books that I've consulted.

Thanks!

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Julia. - Mar 31, 2005 9:43 pm (#555 of 2981)

Sorry KWeldon, I can't help you. I've never been to Mexico and don't plan to any time soon.

So I'm thinking that a good April Fools prank to play on my Shakespeare professor would be to move our desks forward, and move her desk and the podium to the back of the room. What do you guys think?

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Chemyst - Mar 31, 2005 10:13 pm (#556 of 2981)

a good April Fools prank [...]would be to move our desks forward, and move her desk and the podium to the back of the room

That might be a bit of overkill. But it also depends upon your professor's teaching style. I know of at least one case where moving the student desks just a few inches forward but leaving the teacher's desk alone worked very well. This particular professor liked to pace back and forth as he lectured, so the front of the room was cramped, but it was so subtle he couldn't figure out why he kept bumping into things when he turned around.

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dizzy lizzy - Mar 31, 2005 11:31 pm (#557 of 2981)

Ponine: I have 3 dogs and no children, so my dogs are my "kids" for the time being. I've listed them in order of them being on my avatar over the past 6 months. One day I'll open up a photobucket type of account and put them up for all to see.

(Lucky) Lucy - Jack Russell/Maltese cross according to the vet. 2 years old. Known for penetrating bark, digging up and eating grubs in lawn and licking profusely when stressed.

Macca - Red cattle dog/Kelpie Cross apparently. 8 years old. Has about a quarter Dingo (wild Aussie dog) in him. Suffers from separation anxiety, terrified of thunderstorms (and I love them - go figure! ) and is the nominal top dog of our little pack and fights me for superiority all the time.

Sami - Currently on my avatar. Bitzer dog, bit of labrador, bit of pointer, bit of bull terrier, bit of everything really. 8 years old (4 months younger than Macca) is a bit of a wuss. Barks properly only at night, during the day, he lets strange squeals etc emit from his throat rather than barks. Most definitely not as dumb as he looks and acts.

All my dogs were rescued as abandoned dogs or surrendered to the pound. They are all neutered and well cared for. I get on my little soapbox over animal care (especially dogs) because in my town we have a huge population of stray dogs and too many people who just open the gate and let their dogs out for a run. Some dogs look as though they haven't eaten properly, full of worms etc. Other dogs roam around looking for fights. Ugggh I'll get off my soapbox, I'm getting all worked up!

Hope everyone has enjoyed their day.

Lizzy

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Fawkes Forever - Apr 1, 2005 4:55 am (#558 of 2981)

Happy Belated Birthday Delighful Task!

'Fraid I've been out sick for a few days... dragged myself back in today 'cus I'd have been put on sick pay for the day, something I can do without at the moment.

Reckon its a case of 'dementoritis' cleverly disguised as a stomach bug!

Anyways... Lizzy, another member for the 'Anti-Dementor League' is always welcome. We meet every wednesday in a phone box outside the leaky cauldron, eat loads of chocolate & practice our patronuses

Talking of the Leaky Cauldron... check out their website today... they've a new member of staff... very enthusiatic fellow!

Happy Birthday Gred & Forge

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The giant squid - Apr 1, 2005 5:47 am (#559 of 2981)

Now that Kierynn's two, I bet Denise is ready for another one. --Marie E.

Well, I don't know if she's ready, but I'm sure she's up to the challenge.

Happy Anniversary back at ya, John Bumbledore. Isn't March a much better month for an anniversary? June's so crowded & cliched.

--Mike

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Catherine - Apr 1, 2005 6:26 am (#560 of 2981)

Lizzy and Catherine- how many dogs and what kind(s)do you have? --Ponine, I have two shih-tzus currently, although I very occasionally foster shih-tzus for our local Humane Society. To see a picture, click on my profile. They are staring at Harry Potter legos.

Lizzy, budge up on that soapbox! I live in a state with either (current numbers for 2004 not totally available yet) the highest, or second highest euthanasia rate of adoptable animals. I'm writing our annual "Spay/Neuter" newsletter right now, so I'm up on the soapbox or on a high horse this time of year.

Warning...Rant: I beg pet owners to spay/neuter their pets. Don't breed your pets. If you choose to buy a purebred animal, be an informed buyer, and know that some sellers are fronts for puppy mills. Don't buy a pet as a "gift;" we see those animals end up in shelters all the time. If you cannot keep a pet, please try rescue groups first, or a no-kill shelter. Realize that animals who are heartworm free and have had their vaccinations have the best chance of being accepted. Rant over. Climbs off soapbox

Happy belated Anniversaries to the Squids and Bumbledores, although some of us did get married in the cliched month of June! And lovely it was, too...

I wish I could think of good practical joke, but I'm not feeling very creative today...

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megfox - Apr 1, 2005 7:03 am (#561 of 2981)

Hey everyone!

I don't have a lot of time to chat today (for obvious reasons), but I did want to let you all know about the "good news"...

Maddy was born on Monday, March 21st at 8:47 pm (after 20 hours in labor at the hospital!). She was 8lbs, 6 oz, and was 21 3/4 inches long. She is amazing, and looks exactly like me when I was a newborn. We are all doing fine, and I hope to be getting back to all of you real soon, but for now, we are resting and getting to know our routine for the next few weeks, before I have to go back to work.

In a few days, I will have an online photo album for her, and it will contain the long awaited wedding pictures (just for you, Mare!), so I will get back to you guys about that when Andy gets it up and running!

PS - Not an April Fool's joke, just took me a while to get my butt to my computer...

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Catherine - Apr 1, 2005 7:14 am (#562 of 2981)

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, MADELINE!

Meg, congratulations to you and Andy. She's beautiful, and finally here! I wish your family all the best in your new adventure.


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Fawkes Forever - Apr 1, 2005 7:16 am (#563 of 2981)

AWWWW Congrats Meg & Mr Meg on the arrival of little Maddy. She's so cute. Big hugs & butterbeers all round (Butterbeers courtesy of Julias stash)

Good to see ya back on the thread... you have been missed!

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Julia. - Apr 1, 2005 7:20 am (#564 of 2981)

MAZEL TOV MEG!!

Oh Meg, she's beautiful! I'm thrilled beyond belief to hear that you're all doing well. And happy birthday Maddy! Butterbeers for everyone!

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Denise P. - Apr 1, 2005 7:24 am (#565 of 2981)

Big congrats Meg and family! Welcome to the world Beautiful Maddy!!

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prof sprout - Apr 1, 2005 8:24 am (#566 of 2981)

Congratulations to Denise and Megfox.

I haven't been on this thread in forever. I can't even remember when the last time was. I have only adopted a couple of threads, since tax season started (I'm a tax person), and trying to finish wedding details. Currently I'm working on the program wording, and getting invitations ready to send out. I haven't checked myself into St. Mungo's yet but this volunteer (alter ego on the FFF St. Mungo's thread) might have to check herself in. I'm trying to finish up all the details of the wedding with a looming April 15th deadline for taxes, and did I mention I'm having ALL of my wisdom teeth pulled April 14th!!!

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Ydnam96 - Apr 1, 2005 8:28 am (#567 of 2981)

Congrats Meg! She is beautful!

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Cornelia - Apr 1, 2005 8:32 am (#568 of 2981)

Congratulations to Megfox and family!! A really beautiful little one! Well done!

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septentrion - Apr 1, 2005 9:48 am (#569 of 2981)

Madeline is just beautiful. Congrats to Mr and Mrs Meg ! I really need that kind of news today to cheer me up. I got up to hear the Pope is dying this morning and I really need to think to something else.

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Loopy Lupin - Apr 1, 2005 10:05 am (#570 of 2981)

Congrats Meg!

Stupid MSN Messenger isn't working for me right now. Phooey. ***Waves to Catherine and Kim****

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Apr 1, 2005 11:24 am (#571 of 2981)

Congratulations Meg. She's quite beautiful. Enjoy her.

I'm straight out today and won't be anywhere near my MSN. *:waves to Loopy and Catherine*:

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GryffEndora - Apr 1, 2005 12:29 pm (#572 of 2981)

Congrats, Megfox!

I just wanted to pass on this tidbit and I didn't know where to post it. Over on the Sugar Quill they are writing a collaborative novel "Harry Potter and the Toenail of Icklibõgg" It is being directed by Joanie Squidward from "near Edinburgh, Scotland" People post what they think should be next and then Joanie puts up the ones she think are best. I must say it's incredibly funny! Wanted to let you know so you could join in the fun!

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Detail Seeker - Apr 1, 2005 12:53 pm (#573 of 2981)

Congratulations, Meg and all the luck needed for Maddy !

Prof. Sprout, , I am trying to transfer some power for your aid to get over this as unharmed as possible.

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Gina R Snape - Apr 1, 2005 1:12 pm (#574 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Delightful Task! And congratulations Denise. (Though, I must admit the idea of 9 children makes me think 'ouch!') Oh, and Meg gets a congratulations too!

Mare, yours is the best entry by far, and I still can't figure out what copyright infringement you committed with the first entry.

So, today at work I brought in a few of Nymphadora's toy mice and stuck them around people's desks. I got quite a few people jumping!

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Julia. - Apr 1, 2005 1:24 pm (#575 of 2981)

Guys, guys, guys!! I just pulled off the best April Fools prank ever!!! I decided that moving all the furniture would be way too much trouble. I also realized that the weather today is absolutely beautiful, and that there was no reason at all to be indoors today. So I got my entire Shakespeare class to go outside and stare into the class room. It was great, there was not a single person inside. So there we all were, sitting outside, enjoying the weather and waiting for our Professor to come in. She walked in and looked very confused and disoriented. Then she saw us all sittting outside. She started laughing quite hysterically and came outside. She said since it was such a beautiful day, we should definitely have class outside. So we walked down to a nice spot in the sun, and learned Henry V. As we were all walking down, she said "This prank has Julia written all over it!!" So we had a very nice class, my good mood from Tuesday has been rejuvinated, and I can now die in peace having pulled off an amazing April Fools prank.

Well, I'm heading home for Shabbos, and then into Brooklyn on Sunday. Have a good weekend everyone!!

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StareyedSlytherin - Apr 1, 2005 2:07 pm (#576 of 2981)

LOL That must have been fun to pull off, Julia!! April Fools is so much fun! I was thinking about doing something myself, but didn't really have it planned out well, so I decided not to. Maybe next year. Although one of my classes did collectively pull a prank on a professor where we just spent several minutes ignoring her. LoL!

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Lina - Apr 1, 2005 2:29 pm (#577 of 2981)

Happy belated Anniversaries to the Squids and Bumbledores! I must say that I prefer April for the Anniversary (as well as prof sprout as it seems ). And prof sprout, I really wish you a great wedding day!

Meg, congratulations on Madeline Guinevere! She is marvelous! (If she were born in Croatia, her logical name would be Vesna - the goddess of spring) I'm so sorry to hear about 20 hours of labor, I haven't had so much with my three daughters together. I wish you she grows up well!

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Acceber - Apr 1, 2005 2:35 pm (#578 of 2981)

The crowds at the Magic Kingdom defy description-Catherine, around 60 posts ago. That's funny, coincidental, ironic, or all three. A line from the play my school just put on (Into the Woods) has the line, "Magic that defies description!" in it .

Congratsulations (not a typo) Denise and Meg!

Happy trip Barb and welcome back Catherine.

Forgive me for being so dreadfully ignorant, or so young, but what exactly is crowd surfing? Is that like in Rat Race when the band members jumped off the stage into the crowd and the crowd members moved them over their own heads?

I am fully enjoying Mother Nature's ideas for what weather to give the city of Boston this week. The temperature outside is a pleasant 50 degrees Fahrenheit and I rolled my sleeves up walking home from school today. The snow in front of our house has almost melted. Spring's here!

Some of my friends and I played the best April Fool's Day prank on another friend, KH (initials for privacy) We realized during Cluster-Based (the middle school version of study hall) that none of us had played a prank on anyone yet. We pretended that she had said something mean to EE earlier that day, that none of us knew what it was, and we wanted her to tell us. The thing was, KH had talked to EE just before our cluster based began, and since KH is slightly forgetful, she wouldn't know what we were talking about. KH fell for it and no one burst out laughing in the middle of the prank. I didn't have any classes with KH after we devised our prank, so I didn't exactly get to participate, but after school we all gathered in the halland laughed until a Spanish teacher made us leave. Sometimes friendship is the most unbreakable and special part of life.

This post has been really happy, but I have a lot of work this weekend because it's the end of term. Which means: English portfolio, Social Studies independent study, and two Science quizzes. I'm going to finish reading the Forum and not worry about my homework until tomorrow afternoon *goes off humming to self*

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Elanor - Apr 1, 2005 2:36 pm (#579 of 2981)

Congratulations Meg! She is beautiful!

Julia, that was a great prank! Here, the kids had a lot of fun at school today too. They had made a lot of fishes, made of coloured paper, that they tried to hang on the backs of their friends, and teachers, during breaks (it becomes tiring after some time, believe me). But we took our revenge later... A colleague had written a LOT of homework to do on her blackboard and made her students believe they had to do it for Monday, etc...

I played a little joke to my students too. A little girl had brought some candies for the class because it was her birthday and I had told them I would give them the candies at the end of the school day. But when the moment to give them arrived, I told them I had very bad news for them and that the school council had decided that, from now on, candies, chewing-gums, chocolate and other birthday cakes were strictly forbidden at school. You should have seen their faces, it was too funny! I let them say "what? why?" indignantly for one minute or two before saying "poisson d'avril!" (April Fools!) and giving them the sweets. They found that very funny!

Have a nice day everybody!

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Eponine - Apr 1, 2005 3:04 pm (#580 of 2981)

Congratulations, Meg! She is beautiful.

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Catherine - Apr 1, 2005 3:30 pm (#581 of 2981)

Well, well, well, the standards around here sure are slipping. Has anyone checked out that new Norbert is HOTTTTTTTT!!!!!! http://wc6.worldcrossing.com/webx?128@702.HcVxaVQ4T3p@.1ddf110f thread? Tsk, Tsk. Where's a Host when you need one?

Hope everyone has enjoyed a good Friday, even if MSN isn't working *:waves to Friday Wayne and to Kim*:

I'm hoping for NO RAIN tomorrow--it's our flagship fundraiser in the Town Commons--the "Canine Crawl" and we "need" to raise $20K to keep our Humane Society budget remotely on track for the year. Yikes! We have generous corporate and individual donors for this event, but so much of the money comes from pledges, T-shirts, and concessions that rain can seriously foul us up. We can't really reschedule, as other huge Cancer fundraisers are for the next two weekends. So send your luck and drought charms to Eastern, NC, if you don't mind, pretty, pretty please.

Today reminded me of the necessity for laughter--thanks, y'all. I needed that. Enjoy your weekend!

EDIT: Oh, for dog lovers on the Forum, I meant to convey this news--Milk Bones dog biscuits is having a contest in which one can get his dog's picture on the box, a year's supply of dog treats, and $250.00 in prize money. All you have to do is submit a cute, photogenic digital picture of your pet (they have a way to mail it via snail mail, but that wasn't recommended). Go to www.milkbone.com if you are interested. I did it today in honor of April Fool's Day, just for fun.

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John Bumbledore - Apr 1, 2005 4:05 pm (#582 of 2981)

Lauren (Dumbledore), no need to feel sorry. It is I who should appologize, since you apparently chose your forum name first. Also, It is my failing memory and eyesite to blame. (and that both you and I were apparently not feeling well around the same time.)

Since many members have confessed to being "over the hill" (40+ like me) I thought this would be best. **Runs, dodging and ducking the dung bombs!**

Betty (Boop), I was near Erie (small town called Albion) and then near Pittsburgh. I have heard of Bellefonte before, but have never been there (that I remember). I have been to State College more than a few times. I have been caving at J-4, a limestone (wet) cave in an abandonded quarry near State College, PA.

Meg (and Andy is it?), congratulations on the arrival of Maddy. She is a beauty. **20 hours and 8lb. 6oz. Sends a whole case of butterbeer (note: Jo has said it is not intoxicating to people, so I guess it would be safe for a new mother) and maybe it will help Maddy sleep!**

Congratulations to Denise and Greg

Catherine, the Norbert is HOTTTTTTTT!!!!!! Thread is Hot topic! But I swear I saw a dozen Mod's post on it already. Can't believe it hasn't been Kipendoed yet!

<)B^D= John Bumbledore

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haymoni - Apr 1, 2005 4:06 pm (#583 of 2981)

Congrats Meg - the baby is beautiful!

I'm sure you are a pro already!

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dizzy lizzy - Apr 1, 2005 4:16 pm (#584 of 2981)

Congratulations Meg on your wonderful news.

Catherine, you are welcome to share my soapbox. It is a little small, so I'll just nail a few more pieces of wood on it so we can both stand on it comfortably. Good luck with your fundraising effort, I'll send a charm to you for good weather.

Lots of smiles and grins to everybody...it is a wonderful day out there...enjoy!

Lizzy

EDIT: For Catherine in next post: Getting pelted with tomatoes is no fun, but Lucy eats them, so after a while, there would be no tomatoes left! How cool is that! We wouldn't even need to clean up after ourselves!!!

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Catherine - Apr 1, 2005 4:24 pm (#585 of 2981)

Catherine, you are welcome to share my soapbox. It is a little small, so I'll just nail a few more pieces of wood on it so we can both stand on it comfortably—Lizzy

Aww . . .   *hands Lizzy some nails and the hammer*  I rather like having a nice big platform to share with like-minded folks. I'll try not to hop up on it too often; getting pelted with rotten tomatoes is no fun!

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Ponine - Apr 1, 2005 5:26 pm (#586 of 2981)

Catherine and Lizzy - I will lovingly BE your soap box - We need loud voices on behalf of those without!

And I am not a baby person per se, and think most of them are funny-looking (I can't help it), but megfox - that is one beautiful baby girl!! Congratulations to all three of you!!

I have to check out the milkbone thing, although my Mio is not always that photogenic... :/

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mike miller - Apr 1, 2005 5:32 pm (#587 of 2981)

Congrats to Meg and Andy! I've checked the regulations and 8lbs. 6oz. and 21 3/4 is definitely a keeper! She's beautiful.

Julia - Well done on the April Fool's prank. Sounds like your prof. has you pegged.

Catherine - Glad to have you back. You seem to be doing quite a bit of travelling of late; West coast and Florida. About time you get back to the animal biz! Only joking, Disney is a wonderful place.

Sarah - Come on, what's in the package? Been shopping on eBay? There are some very special memorabelia items available if you "know where to go".

Happy belated birthday to Delightful Task and anniversary to John and Mrs. Bumbledore.

I've escaped from the dementors for a few days of vacation. My parents arrived from Seattle early Wednesday morning for a 12 day visit. Their flight was delayed in Denver for first mechanical and then human health emergency, so they did not make it out to our house until 4am. They've gone ahead to a family reunion in Sharpsburg, MD near the Antietam National Battlefield. We will join them tomorrow for the day; and, then on Sunday my parents, aunt and uncle and grandfather will come to our house for the afternoon. My grandfather is only 92, but I like see him whenever possible.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Marie E. - Apr 1, 2005 6:02 pm (#588 of 2981)

Congratulations to Meg and Andy and welcome to sweet little Maddy!! I was just thinking that my youngest was only 5 lbs 10oz and 18 inches when we brought her home. I think she hit 8 lbs at 2 months old. Heehee. Maddy is just beautiful, Meg.

Well, in contrast to our near blizzard yesterday it was sunny and 60 today. I really hate spring here. I always end up sick from all the temperature fluctuations. At least it's going to be warm all weekend.

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prof sprout - Apr 1, 2005 6:03 pm (#589 of 2981)

Thanks guys for the congratulations. But I think there might be some confusion, I'm not getting married until June 11th. I was really worried about the release date of HBP. I didn't want it to mess up the honeymoon. Well, mess up my future husbands honeymoon. ) The April date is the last day to file your US Federal taxes (if you owe money) I just can't believe how the time is flying.

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Amilia Smith - Apr 1, 2005 6:24 pm (#590 of 2981)

“Oh, they say when you marry in June,
You're a bride, All you're life.

And the bridegroom who marries in June,
Gets a sweetheart for a wife.”

(Thank you for indulging in this “Golden Age of Movie Musicals” moment with me.)

Congratulations, Meg. You have brought something beautiful into the world.

The only fun thing that happened for April Fools in my life (not counting Norbert and Peeves, which were great) was the bakery in my grocery store made Halloween donuts.

Mills.

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I Am Used Vlad - Apr 1, 2005 6:30 pm (#591 of 2981)

Congrats to Megfox and hubby.

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Denise P. - Apr 1, 2005 6:49 pm (#592 of 2981)

Ohh...Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! I always felt for poor Dorcas, what a name to be saddled with!

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pottermom34 - Apr 1, 2005 9:08 pm (#593 of 2981)

Congratulations Meg, Maddy is a cutie!

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The giant squid - Apr 2, 2005 1:31 am (#594 of 2981)

Congrats, Meg & Maddie.

Forgive me for being so dreadfully ignorant, or so young, but what exactly is crowd surfing? Is that like in Rat Race when the band members jumped off the stage into the crowd and the crowd members moved them over their own heads?—Acceber

That's exactly it. See, you're not as out of it as you thought.

--Mike

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Lina - Apr 2, 2005 1:43 am (#595 of 2981)

prof sprout: Thanks guys for the congratulations. But I think there might be some confusion, I'm not getting married until June 11th.

I feel so stupid now

But I still think that April is the best wedding month. Everything is so green and fresh and flowering! I decided to get married in April even before I met my hubbie.

Last week we had spring holidays and I decided to get my children to the dentist. The youngest (who is almost 6) was about two when she was there last time and she came out quite exited. I have a new threat now: If you don't behave well, I won't take you to the dentist again!

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Essidji - Apr 2, 2005 1:44 am (#596 of 2981)

Hey all! I just wanted to say that I had my best April 1st day : they took off my plaster. This is great!... Though a bit painful sometimes, I need physio...

Congratulations to Meg and welcome to the world, Maddie!

Edit : waves to Lina

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Pinky - Apr 2, 2005 5:48 am (#597 of 2981)

Lina, I was married in April, too, so I think that is the best wedding month as well!

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Delightful Task! - Apr 2, 2005 6:59 am (#598 of 2981)

Congratulations Meg!!! Enjoy these wonderful moments with your newborn! Spring is here! Have a great day everyone!!!

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boop  - Apr 2, 2005 9:08 am (#599 of 2981)

Congratulations to Meg and Andy with the birth of your beautiful new daughter Maddy.

We are getting heavy rain all weekend and sometimes it could mix with snow. I want spring and sunshine.

John thank you for letting me know what part of PA you were in. If you ever coming into town again let me know. It would be nice to meet you in person.

hugs Always

boop

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Dumbledore - Apr 2, 2005 2:36 pm (#600 of 2981)

Mazel tov Meg on the birth of your gorgeous daughter!

Today was a bit of a bizarre day for me. I went to this study group thing with about eight of my friends at the library to study for the Earth science regents we are taking in June. This was the first of a little weekly study group we are having. It is a nice thing, although the actual study time and play time more or less balance out in a group of 13 year old girls.

I then went to an eye appointment to get contacts (finally) which was uneventful, but after that my mother and I walked into a pizza place next door. The news was on, and only about a minute after my mom asked one of the employees about the Pope's health, did they announce that the Pope had died. I am Jewish, but I always respected and admired this Pope for the work he did in acknowledging a lot of other religions and beliefs, and for all around being a wonderful man and Holy Father to a billion Catholics, and I cried. It's just so terrible lately, what with Terri Schiavo, this with the Pope, and the looming idea that my dog may be put to sleep...

so what else to do on one of these "weird" rainy Saturday afternoons? I curled up with the book I'm reading, Fahrenheit 951. It's really excellent, and I love all the different symbolism and political aspects to it.

Sorry about the rant on my day. Things have just been a bit crazy in my life, lately. Have a great weekend everybody!

-Lauren

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Chemyst - Apr 2, 2005 4:51 pm (#601 of 2981)

Congratulations Megfox on your little vixen. (that is not an insult, it just means a girl fox)

I empathize with your "what else to do on one of these "weird" rainy Saturday afternoons?" Lauren. We've had all four seasons bluster through today. Key word: bluster.   Grey skies to snow pellets to rain to bright sunshine in less than 15 minutes! It really wasn't safe or comfortable being outdoors. Must be early spring!

By the way, I've never had any problem keeping the Dumbledore/Bumbledore posts straight. (Incidentally, neither does my spell-check. Dumbledore offers me the choice of "fumbled" while Bumbledore offers me the option of "bumblebee.")  But the two styles are very different and <)B^D='s is pretty distinctive on his own. I can't think of any place on the forum where it would be appropriate or possible to have a "Can you guess the author of this post?" contest, but it could be fun.

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TwinklingBlueEyes - Apr 2, 2005 7:35 pm (#602 of 2981)

WOOT! Am home from the horse show... whew!

LotzaRustySpotz Halter Geldings - First Place  
Championship Halter (Studs, Geldings, Mares) - Reserve Grand Champion      
Walk- Trot - Third


Shay (Arab-Paint Mare) - Halter Mares - Third

Jill (Quarterhorse Mare) - Halter Mares - Fifth
Horsemanship - Second


Not a bad day!

As soon as my feet will touch the floor maybe I can read posts! (Am walking on air!) My boy taking Reserve Grand Champ made my year, at least till July 16th!

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Julia. - Apr 2, 2005 7:39 pm (#603 of 2981)

Good evening to you all.

Wow, it's really raining outside right now. It's windy as well. I'll tell you, walking 20 minutes each way to synagogue without an umbrella this morning was not fun. I'm going into Brooklyn with a friend tomorrow, so I'm really hoping this clears up.

Laurnen, I too have experienced many "Weird" Saturday afternoons. If the weather is nice, I'll take a walk. If not, my friends and I will hang around at Hillel and play pool. Ususally though, I take a nap. Saturday afternoon is the only time of the week when I don't have to do work, so I ususally catch up on sleep. Shabbos is a day of rest, right?

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Catherine - Apr 2, 2005 7:56 pm (#604 of 2981)

I'll chime in on the weird weather day. It poured rain and was violently windy most of the day, so no Canine Crawl.

Not that I could have gone; I awoke at 4 a.m. with a 102 degree fever and a cough. Looks like the virus the kids caught this week after coming back from Disney World has been shared with good old Mum. Blech. Mr. Catherine is avoiding me like I have dragon pox or spattergroit.

Congrats to TBE and your excellent animals.

Chemyst, thanks for the reminder about Daylight Savings. I went and already reset our bedroom clock, and Mr. Catherine came in and started laughing at me. I accidentally set the clock back an hour instead of ahead one hour. He blamed it on the virus, thank goodness, instead of me being "stoopid."

The suggestion about "guess who wrote this post" was very amusing. So many of our members have such distinct styles that it would be hard to fool people.

Maybe I'll stay up to watch the rest of the Carolina/Michigan State game.   *waves to Loopy and Madame Pince, who loathe Carolina!*

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Apr 2, 2005 8:01 pm (#605 of 2981)

How about waving to Mr. Lupin is Lupin, who hates basketball.

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Catherine - Apr 2, 2005 8:04 pm (#606 of 2981)

How about waving to Mr. Lupin is Lupin, who hates basketball.--Lupin is Lupin

*waves to basketball haters all over the world, but most especially to Mr. Lupin is Lupin*

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Puck - Apr 2, 2005 8:28 pm (#607 of 2981)

Wow! I found the chat thread! Hello to all. This is Puck, aka Kathy.

Conrats on those with new babes and great show animals! Lina, I'll be thinking of you June 11, as I am a bridesmaid for a friend that day. (I should look lovely at 6 months pregnant).

Okay, I must admit I was shocked to discover that the wise statements I have been enjoying from Dumbledore actually come from a 13 year old girl. Quite wise for your age Lauren, and very articulate.

Feel better Catherine. It's so hard to be sick Mom, since you don't get to be sick. People still keep expecting you to do stuff. I remember having the flu and my hubby coming home wondering why the toddler still had pajamas on! I thought it was great he had been fed and was in a clean diaper.

Enjoy the rain everyone. (If you have warm sunshine where you are, don't tell us, we don't want to know! =)

oops! just realized it's Sprout who is to be married, Lina just quoted her.

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Julia. - Apr 2, 2005 8:37 pm (#608 of 2981)

Congrats on your success at the horse show TBE! *hands TBE butterbeer*

I'm sorry you'r sick Catherine, I hope you feel better soon!

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Ydnam96 - Apr 2, 2005 8:51 pm (#609 of 2981)

Today I hiked a mountain...I improved my time from last week by 15 mins. But I still feel like I'm gonna throw up and die when I reach the top. It's a steep hike, a thousand foot rise in one mile. And talk about wierd weather. I think it was in the high 80s by 9am this morning. I put on two layers of sunscreen, but I think I sweated it off or ended up wiping it off my face. Now my face is looking like a tomato, puffy and all (never fear I have aloe and after sun stuff). My feet hurt too. BUT it was amazing to get to the top. I'm a guide so I need to start getting better at it.

My deepest condolences who all who have lost today.

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septentrion - Apr 3, 2005 1:27 am (#610 of 2981)

Lauren, I was very moved by your post. As a Catholic, I'm really mourning today, although I'm glad the Pope's sufferings are over. But life goes on and this also should not be forgotten. To those who have a great day (or feet hovering over earth after a good horses show), enjoy it, and for the others, try to make it a great day.

Marè, I supposed you're back home. Big waves to you.

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Lina - Apr 3, 2005 1:44 am (#611 of 2981)

Waving back to Essidji!

Lauren, I think this is the gentle way for you to learn to accept losses. Since there is nothing we can really do about them, we just have to learn to accept them. And keep growing up.

I send sunny charms to all of you with the rain. I'm not going to tell you that I could send you half of our sun and there would still be left enough.

Welcome to this thread Puck, aka Kathy! I'm glad you found it. I was bridesmaid on two weddings (but none of them in June) when I was pregnant with my first girl. And yes, I looked good, huge, but happy.

Edit: Yes, I agree with everybody saying that Pope was a great man. He was. Watching the history of his pontificate, I become aware of the number of changes in the world that we have witnessed (well in Croatia maybe a little more then in some other places). I just feel a part of the history.

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mike miller - Apr 3, 2005 6:48 am (#612 of 2981)

TBE - Congrats on the outstanding performance of your horses!

Welcome Puck - Glad to have you aboard.

Catherine - I hope you're feeling better, have a piping hot bowl of chicken soup.

I'll second the weird weather. According to the weatherman this morning, we set a record for rain fall in a 24 hour period of about 2". Not sure if it's for that day or any day, either way it's a lot of rain. They have nearly all of the flood gates open at the nearby Conawingo dam across the Susquahana river, which means problems for down-stream towns like Port Deposit and Havre de Grace.

We had a nice time at the family reunion yesterday. My grandfather gave a short family history and his remembrances of his father, the link that everyone in attendance shares. This afternoon my parents, aunt and uncle and grandfather will all be by for dinner. So, I'm off for a little last minute cleaning and a trip to the store to pick up a few "fresh" items for later.

Everyone have a great day!

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boop  - Apr 3, 2005 8:12 am (#613 of 2981)

Catherine, sorry to hear you’re sick again. Sending wellness charms your way. Hope you recover soon.

TBE- Wow great to hear the horses did so well. I am sure you are very proud of the horses.

Puck, Welcome to this chat thread.

We had heavy rain yesterday, today we are dealing with drizzle, sleet and snow flurries. Where is the Sunshine at? I want warm weather.

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Gina R Snape - Apr 3, 2005 10:09 am (#614 of 2981)

Puck, welcome to the chat thread and to the board! I've seen you on the Snape thread but I can never tell how new people are when sometimes just don't cross each other simply by not posting to the same threads.

Yes, we have a wide range of people here in age, background, profession, etc. We have some 12 - 14 year olds whose posts are so insightful and well expressed that you have to remind yourself everyone else here isn't at least 18, or 25, or 35...

Today I must once again buckle down to work. I managed to get up to 9 pages done yesterday on my research paper. But it's meant to be 18 and after that one I've got another paper to write for another class! Ooooooooh, how I am feeling less like Hermione and more like Ron every day.

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Puck - Apr 3, 2005 11:05 am (#615 of 2981)

I've been posting for just a couple of weeks. I wasn't feeling well early on with this babe, and just needed to lay down alot. I grabbed the laptop one day, and found the Harry Potter websites. I read for a week or so after finding the forum, but then just had to sign up so I could play too! Now, I feel better, but find I still keep picking up the computer to see what's new on the forum. It's so much more fun than washing dishes!

Good luck with those papers, Gina. Boy, weird, but I actually miss those days.

Actually, have any parents out there read Harry Potter to young children? I have been reading Ronald Dahl to my son (almost 5). He has been asking for Harry Potter. Once you get to book 3 I think it gets too dark, but what about the first two? He hasn't had any nightmares about witches, giant insects, or Oompa Loompas. I think reading chapter books early on is important to establish a love of reading, plus the idea of not getting the whole story at once, and visualizing in your head.

Kathy

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Denise P. - Apr 3, 2005 11:10 am (#616 of 2981)

Puck, you are expecting? Did I zone and miss that? Congratulations!

For those chocolate lovers, M&M has come out with some dark chocolate M&M's to tie in with the new Star Wars movie. Yum, I have some too!

It is a windy, cold day here in TN. Did everyone remember to set their clocks back?

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Ydnam96 - Apr 3, 2005 11:28 am (#617 of 2981)

I had a HP dream last night. I dreamed that when I came to the forum and the JKR site thread said there were new easter eggs on the site. I was so exicited. I was sad when I got here this morning that there was none

Oh well...

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Gina R Snape - Apr 3, 2005 12:53 pm (#618 of 2981)

Hey, Denise. Dark chocolate M&Ms? YUM!

I didn't set my clock back, btw. I set it ahead.

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Catherine - Apr 3, 2005 1:03 pm (#619 of 2981)

Did everyone remember to set their clocks back? –Denise

Thank goodness, I wasn't the only one to do that!

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Penny Lane. - Apr 3, 2005 2:27 pm (#620 of 2981)

MMM Dark Chocolate M&M's. I'm excited. I hope they keep them around, and not take them off the markets when the movie promotions are over.

I woke up around 3 this morning with a fever and found that my minor sinus headache from earlier this week had blossmed into a full blown cold. I hope I get better without having to go to the doctor, I really don't have time for that hassle. Nor can I actually afford it. Anyway, I woke up at 3, accoring to my bedroom clock and decided to check and see if any new spoilers or speculation for "Lost" had been posted. In the process of reading that I noticed that my computer clock read 5:11. I was so confused, and immedialty went back to bed, where the clock read 4:20. It wasn't until a few hours later when I realized that I was not crazy.

I really hope they don't pre-empt the good Sunday night programing for stupid sports. I'm in a position where I can actually just lay around and watch TV, without the feelings of guilt, and i want to watch good shows, like "The Simpsons" and "Arrested Development" and "Desperate Housewives" and "Boston legal". I know.. I sound like a tv junkie, but don't always get to watch stuff, and I'm looking forward to it.

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Denise P. - Apr 3, 2005 3:17 pm (#621 of 2981)

Okay, you bunch of wise acres....I meant set the clock FORWARD! LOL I actually did move them up an hour, not backwards.

Gina, yep, DARK M&Ms. I accidently grabbed a bag of the peanut ones but Mr. Denise was nice enough to go grab a bag of the plain ones for me. They have cute little M&M's dressed up in Star Wars gear. I love the one that says "Aren't you a little round for a Storm Trooper?"

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Lina - Apr 3, 2005 3:45 pm (#622 of 2981)

Puck, there have already been a discussion about introducing little children to HP on the old thread. It was not so long ago, so I would just feel boring to repeat what I or others think about that. Just click on the link and look some following posts to see the opinion of some members.

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Chemyst - Apr 3, 2005 3:51 pm (#623 of 2981)

Dark M&Ms Mmm... Thanks for the heads up, ...or down, ...or in the bag, whatever!

Welcome Puck/Kathy! May I suggest adding a bit to your profile? (by clicking on "Change password or preferences") Gina was kind enough to suggest that to me when I began posting and it really helps with the family atmosphere we value here.
As to your question about reading HP to children, you can check out the Recommended Reading thread, but ultimately, you know your child better than anyone else and you'll know best when he is ready.

Penny, you're in luck with your first three shows, I think. (TV guide is not showing any preemptions.) But instead of Boston Legal they are debuting Grey's Anatomy. I, however, if I'm watching TV at all, will opt for Crossing Jordan in that time slot.

Get well soon, Catherine.

PS edit- Lina found a good children's reading link too, and hers answers your question more closely.   **waves to Lina**

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Dumbledore - Apr 3, 2005 4:11 pm (#624 of 2981)

Puck, I'd like to thank you about what you said about my posts being insightful and articulate. I really appreciate that. By the way, welcome to the chat thread!

Get well soon, Catherine and Penny Lane! I'm sending cheering charms your way.

Today was another fairly boring day for me. I did a little bit of homework, did a few errands with my family, nothing major. However, I did watch a special on sweets on Food Network which got me snacking perhaps a little too much (can you say sour Skittles and a croissant!?)

Whereas yesterday's rain was the kind of weird rain that you like to look at longingly from a window on a Saturday afternoon, today's sky was just a pure dark gray, with only a few breaks of drizzle. It's kind of depressing, really.

TBE - I forgot to mention congrats on the horse show!! That's absolutely excellent!!

-Lauren

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Gina R Snape - Apr 3, 2005 4:55 pm (#625 of 2981)

Oh, Denise, that is cute! I will have to look out for them.

Dumbledore, please tell me you didn't have a sour skittles croissant-wich!

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Dumbledore - Apr 3, 2005 4:57 pm (#626 of 2981)

Haha, no Gina, I didn't. I first ate the croissant, THEN moved on to the sour skittles when I realized my daily sugar fix hadn't been met (probably due to the fact that croissants don't have sugar).

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haymoni - Apr 3, 2005 5:28 pm (#627 of 2981)

I've been watching CNN's coverage on the death of John Paul II. You are all witness to my confessions at being a Slacker Mom and I'm pretty sure that I am a Slacker Catholic as well. I don't follow all the rules and I think there should be women priests and sometimes St. Mattress of the Springs is where I spend my Sunday mornings. But even though John Paul didn't make the changes that I wanted to see, it was sort of comforting that there was someone out there willing to stick to their guns.

When I was a Junior in high school, our Latin class went to Italy for about 2 weeks. It was Spring of 1982 and during the Faukland (???) Island crisis, which was kind of scary because we really couldn't find out what was going on in the world.

Anyway, St. Peter's was packed for Easter Sunday - I remember the throngs of people and, being only 5 feet tall, I couldn't see much of anything. One of guys on the trip lifted me up and put me on his shoulders so I could snap a few pictures. Suddenly, hundreds of cameras were being thrust at me. Apparently, there were lots of short people there that day.

I remember people going crazy when the Pope made his appearance on the balcony and while I could only pick out a few words here and there in his Italian, I could tell he wasn't too pleased with what was going on. After he spoke, he gave out his traditional Easter blessings - first in Italian, then in Polish - they were long and he said them in several other languages before people started getting restless.

Around us, you could hear people starting to shout "English! English!" (Oh, we Ugly Americans!) He was trying to stick to his script and the order of things, but he finally gave up and shouted out, "You want English?? Happy Easter!!!!"

That was all we "English" got, but again the whole square went crazy. It was kind of strange - like being at a rock concert or something.

The Leaky Cauldron had a quote about what JPII said regarding Harry Potter and I'm glad to see that he seemed to understand.

Anyway, for a lot of people out there, he is the only Pope they've ever known, so it will be very interesting to see what the next few weeks will bring.

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Gina R Snape - Apr 3, 2005 6:03 pm (#628 of 2981)

Ok, I am not a Catholic and will not express my views on the Pope lest I incite a kippendo. But that quote 'You want English? Happy Easter' was really really funny and definitely made me glad to hear he had a sense of humour. Almost Snape-like humour, even.

St. Mattress of the Springs. Bwa ha ha ha ha.

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Denise P. - Apr 3, 2005 6:24 pm (#629 of 2981)

Not Catholic here either but I am in awe of the fact that he spoke *8* languages fluently.

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Catherine - Apr 3, 2005 6:25 pm (#630 of 2981)

I was very interested to read what TLC wrote about the Pope and what he has said about the HP books.

Here's a partial quote:

“I don't see any, any problems in the Harry Potter series...I don't think there's anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic and angels in their imaginary world...They aren't bad. They aren't serving as a banner for an anti-Christian ideology...If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter's author, they help children to see the difference between good and evil.”

Yes, exactly.

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Steve Newton - Apr 3, 2005 6:29 pm (#631 of 2981)

Hey, baseball season has started! Life begins anew!

Dark M&Ms? Does this mean dark chocolate? My wife is a M&M collector and she has never heard of them. What's the word?

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Gina R Snape - Apr 3, 2005 6:31 pm (#632 of 2981)

Actually, Steve, I believe they are M&Ms which assist you to practise dark magic.

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Denise P. - Apr 3, 2005 6:37 pm (#633 of 2981)

Now Gina, you are only supposed to reveal that AFTER the sekret handshake!

Yes, they are dark chocolate M&M's, a Star Wars promotional thing.  ”Come to the Dark side” is the slogan. I found them last night in Wal-Mart.

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Steve Newton - Apr 3, 2005 6:55 pm (#634 of 2981)

Thanks Denise. Very funny Gina. At least I hope that Denise has it right.

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Puck - Apr 3, 2005 7:39 pm (#635 of 2981)

Thanks for the link Lina! I will try to check it out, but my connection is real slow tonight. I personally think he is ready, but am interest in what some of you "experts" think.

I personally got up at 7:30, realized it was really 8:30, and rushed to get ready to run to church in time to set up for my Sunday school class. I got there and went to the basement to find myself standing in a puddle. The basement, including my classroom, was flooded. So much rain and melting snow! On the up side, there is only a small amount of snow left in my yard. The quicker we get to spring the quicker we get to July!

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Julia. - Apr 3, 2005 7:49 pm (#636 of 2981)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

For those who did not get that, today is opening day of the Major League baseball season. At the moment it's the bottom of the fifth inning and my YANKEES are up 4-1 over the Sox. I love opening day. There's something quite special about the first baseball game of the year. Just kind of makes the winter blues go away.

Welcome to the chat thread Puck/Kathy!

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The giant squid - Apr 4, 2005 12:53 am (#637 of 2981)

Wow, Opening Day...must go and watch Major League now.

For the record, I always watch Independance Day and Groundhog Day on their respective holidays too.

Welcome to the fold, Puck! You'e come to the right place if you want to learn everything there is to know about French weather, raising nine children, Shih-Tsus, Yankees vs. Sox...oh, yeah, and Harry Potter.

--Mike

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Marè - Apr 4, 2005 4:28 am (#638 of 2981)

Hello! I moved. Well... I partially moved, I had so much stuff I left two boxes behind (good reason to go back!)
I'll have to pick them up in the summer, I think.
I had a good trip though, on the way here, doing the Paris underground with my suitcases was difficult... this time it was impossible. My supervisor tried to lift my bag and actually topped over... so I had to take a taxi. Next time if I'm going somewhere... I'll force myself to take only one backpack, this dragging of stuff is seriously not fun.
Other than that and the fact that I accidentally send my parents to the Brussel train station two hours too early (oops!) everything went fine!

I already miss Brittany though...

Ok, I am not a Catholic and will not express my views on the Pope lest I incite a kippendo.
I am a Catholic but I'll join you in the "Ssshhht" department.

(choose one or multiple of the following:)
Okay belated happy birthdays, happy coming wedding days, happy births of adorable little girls (Maddy is cute Meg!), and happy belated to the chat thread days!
I'll go catch up to threads and get used to my qwerty keyboard again...

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kabloink! - Apr 4, 2005 4:53 am (#639 of 2981)
Edited Apr 4, 2005 5:58 am

Congrats Meg! She is adorable!

Some days, I do have to admit I'm jealous. Timing is important with having kids, but I'm at that age where all of my friends (online and otherwise) are having them, and awwwwww I want one! Soon, hopefuly soon-as long as all goes well with this semester, I graduate from MSU at 4pm on May 6th (and even if all doesn't go well, I still get to go to commencement, as I won't know for sure until the following week)!

Speaking of graduating, I must comment on the horrid performance of my team...*ducks head in shame*...darn lead pipes.

As for the pope...I agree with Mare. I went to a Catholic school when I was little, but thanks to my parents' devoutness to St Mattress of the Springs (I LOVE it! I will use it from here on out if you don't mind!), I rarely went to church on any sunday but Palm and Easter. I think we all figured that every Tuesday and Friday before school was quite adequate. Anyway, I guess I'll just say I didn't agree with his more recent reforms, but I wish him peace, wherever he may be now.

Okay, off to stop procrastinating. has anyone claimed the slacker student title? I claim it if no one else has!

Oh, and on the baseball movie front, my favorites are: Bull Durham, For the Love of the Game, Field of Dreams (what can I say? Costner does good baseball movies), and I love all of the Major League movies! I have to ask, though-why is baseball (or any sport for that matter) always more interesting to watch in a movie than in real life? Is it because it moves faster without commercial breaks and time outs?

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Steve Newton - Apr 4, 2005 5:51 am (#640 of 2981)

We also have holiday movie traditions. Groundhog Day on, um, Groundhog Day, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles for Thanksgiving. No opening day movie yet. I would consider A League of Their Own, Angels In the Outfield (the 1950s one), and It Happens Every Spring.

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Julia. - Apr 4, 2005 7:15 am (#641 of 2981)

With you on the Costner baseball movies. I usually read Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella on Opening Day, but alas, I didn't have time this year. For the record, baseball is always more fun to watch in real life. You never know how it's going to turn out, and you have to think to watch it.

Welcome home Mare, glad you got back safely. Wow, your poor supervisor. He actually fell over?!

*agrees with what everyone else said about the Pope* Not my religious leader, but a wonderful man who the world will miss.

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Elanor - Apr 4, 2005 9:46 am (#642 of 2981)

I'm happy you got back safely too, Marè! I see you have found the perfect excuse for coming back in Brittany in Summer, I'm sure you will appreciate it even more then. The weather is rarely hot there, even in August, but it is perfect for visiting.

Mike:  For the record, I always watch Independance Day and Groundhog Day on their respective holidays too!  Welcome to the fold, Puck! You've come to the right place if you want to learn everything there is to know about French weather..  

I watched Groundhog Day on the right day too this year, thanks to the discussion that took place on the JKR thread at that time! I love that movie. As for the French weather, it was a perfect spring day here today: sunny, mild (about 20°C, 68°F), though the nights are still rather cold. The grass is bright green again, daffodils and tulips rae in bloom everywhere and fruit trees are starting to blossom. Welcome Puck! **casting Spring Charms everywhere they are needed**

Tomorrow should be fine too but unfortunately I won't be able to really enjoy it because I have to have a new test done ("scintigraphy" in English?) for my bad ankle at the hospital. I think (hope) it is not painful but they told me it will be very long (4 hours!). So, it should not be a fun day and I'm a bit nervous. Wish me luck!

Have a great day everybody!

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septentrion - Apr 4, 2005 9:52 am (#643 of 2981)

Hi all !

French weather isn't so sunny everywhere. Clouds have shown themselves today and even sent us a bit of rain.

I need to learn more about Groundhog Day. Should do a google research one of these days.

Be brave Audrey. It's only 4 hours. Not that I'd like to be at your place tomorrow but I can't think of anything else to say to cheer you up. maybe the doctor will be a fine young man ?

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KWeldon - Apr 4, 2005 10:16 am (#644 of 2981)

On the subject of baseball movies, we recently rented Mr. 3000 and enjoyed it. A nice depiction about whether the game is about teams or individuals.

We quote Major League all of the time around the house.

And, for baseball movies we must pay homage to The Bad News Bears!

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librarian314 - Apr 4, 2005 10:43 am (#645 of 2981)

Hey all!

It was a busy weekend around here. A dentist appointment, Coronation, and getting ready to run kids' activities at an SCA event this upcoming weekend, as well as a fritzy Internet connection, kept me away.

Yay Meg on the new baby! Hope y'all are doing well!

Yay TBE on your most excellent horses

Hope all those with germs get better quickly!

KWeldon - my husband and I went to Cancun about 8 years ago. Isla Mujeres is a lovely little island, accessible by ferry from the north end of Cancun. When we go back, we will stay on Isla Mujeres as it is surprising less touristy than Cancun proper. The beach right where the ferry docks in Isla Mujeres is filled with the local fishing fleet and the whole island has a much more Mexican feel, than Cancun, which is filled with all the restaurants you can find at home and some really rude American tourists. Take the time to go see the Ruinas Del Rey, which are some Mayan ruins right on Cancun.

As a note of caution - even though it is now technically spring, everyone take care and keep warm when gardening and stuff. I just missed getting frostbite/hypothermia on Sat., out in the cold wet weather. I wasn't terribly worried as it was Apr. and not too cold but when combined with the wet, it was cold enough. I warmed up fine (there was an EMT (emergency medical technician) on site that helped, thank goodness!) but felt really daft. I'm really fairly good at avoiding things like; it was just the wrong confluence of weather.

Y'all take care!

**michelle the librarian**

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Lina - Apr 4, 2005 11:39 am (#646 of 2981)

Welcome to the fold, Puck! You'e come to the right place if you want to learn everything there is to know about French weather, raising nine children, Shih-Tsus, Yankees vs. Sox...oh, yeah, and Harry Potter. –Mike
That was really cute

Elanor, I've been told that "scintigraphy" is not painful at all, except for the little injection at the beginning and huge boredom. I'm afraid they wouldn't let you turn pages on your GoF or OotP, but maybe an audio version? And I hope it will help you to feel better!

You reminded me that I've got my tests today, from the second operation I've had. They are all NEGATIVE! I'm going to see the onkologist the day after tomorrow to see what is next.

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The giant squid - Apr 4, 2005 1:07 pm (#647 of 2981)

kabloink, I don't think we have any "official" Slacker Students yet, so you're the first. Of course, I'm sure there are plenty around here that'll join up. As for me, consider me Slacker Student Emeritus--I haven't been in school for a decade & a half, but I definitely did my share of slacking. The official term was "not working up to his potential".

I have to admit, I can't watch Field of Dreams or Bull Durham...Costner annoys me for some reason. If you're into him, though, he's in a new flick called The Upside of Anger palying...that's right...a retired baseball player. I'd say he's typecast but he does it to himself. KWeldon, keep an eye out this summer--there's a new Bad News Bears coming out, with Billy Bob Thornton in Walter Matthau's old role. It's being done by the same guys that did Bad Santa so expect it to be rude, crude and socially unacceptable. You know, just like the first one. I'm rather annoyed by the huge number of remakes and TV show adaptations lately, but this one I want to see.

--Mike

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Madam Pince - Apr 4, 2005 2:48 pm (#648 of 2981)

Well, back from my weekend at Mom's house. We had a very nice uneventful trip, with the exception of the weather. Rainy Friday; typically "spring-like" chilly on Saturday which I spent pruning the raspberry bushes; then SNOW on Saturday night/Sunday morning! We got about 1 1/2 inches, which melted away completely by noon, and was replaced by winds which apparently gusted up to 50mph! It blew a tree over in Mom's driveway, which delayed my departure a little because I had to wait for the nice neighbor to cut it away with his handy-dandy chainsaw. Good trip home, then at 5:00am this morning Baby Pince crawls into bed with us whimpering with a raging fever. Sigh.... He seems better today but I kept him home from school because of the fever. He has a bit of a cough which is very infrequent but which sounds absolutely terrible, like a bark, when he does cough. Any ideas, Forum Moms? I considered croup, but I don't really think so. His pediatician can't see him until Wednesday. Wah....we want our extra hour of sleep back!

Megfox, congratulations to you and Andy on the arrival of little Maddy! She is absolutely gorgeous! I'm so glad everything went well for you, and hope that you all settle into your new schedules smoothly!

TBE, congrats on your good showings with your horses! Yay!

Professor Sprout, since you are a tax professional, I think you should think of a better way to reward yourself for reaching April 14th than by getting your wisdom teeth pulled! However, it will be an excellent excuse for ice cream and mind-altering chemicals, both of which you might need by then anyway!

*****waves back at Catherine, and Loopy-who-also-loathes-Carolina!******

Edit: cross-posted with Barbie, and am rolling laughing at "Darth Tater!" Too cute!

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Phoenix song - Apr 4, 2005 2:51 pm (#649 of 2981)

kabloink, I don't think we have any official" Slacker Students yet, so you're the first. Of course, I'm sure there are plenty around here that'll join up."

Mike, I'm sure that there would be plenty that would join the Slacker Student group, but I think that everybody is still too busy trying to get up the impetus to join the "Procrastinators Anonymous" group that we've been talking about starting.

Speaking of adorable Star Wars merchandise, I saw a Mr. Potato Head that was outfitted with Darth Vader's mask, cape, shoes, gloves, light saber, etc. It was so adorable! I wanted it so much, and tried to convince the littlest ones that they wanted it for their special treat...alas, they disagreed. I should have bought it anyway, just for me! (In fact, I think that I will and threaten anyone who dares to scoff!) This was the most endearing part, though... They called him: "Darth Tater"

Congratulations to Meg and Andy. Your new baby is beautiful, and I hope that she brings you much happiness and joy. How wonderful to have a new Potter fan in the fold!

Twinkling Blue Eyes, CONGRATULATIONS on the horses. I know that you are absolutely thrilled! How are you liking this summer weather that we're having? I'm utilizing it by doing some projects to the house and yard before it truly becomes summer, (at which time we'll need to practically hibernate until winter.) **For those that don't know, we both live in Louisiana, where it can become brutally, brutally hot and humid!** It's nearly perfect weather presently, though. My yard is close to drying up for the first time since last fall, I believe. We've had quite a rainy and muddy winter.

Lina, I'm so pleased that you've sailed through your tests. It's wonderful to find such amazing results, isn't it?

Have a good day everybody!
Barbie

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Amilia Smith - Apr 4, 2005 3:28 pm (#650 of 2981)

Wah....we want our extra hour of sleep back!

Same here. I HATE daylight savings time. Hate it with a passion. (Imagine, people having passionate feelings about clocks.*) I finally start to be able to drive to work in the light, actually let the sun get up before me, when bam! the clocks jump forward an hour. And we're back to going to bed by day and going to work by night. Why? Because the stupid government thought it would be funny to have a jet-lagged work force. Grrrrr grumble grumble grrrrrr . . .

If I were to get enough people to sign a petition, do you think we could get "them" to repeal daylight savings? Or would I have better luck simply moving to someplace sensible like Arizona, where they are intelligent enough not to bother with the whole daylight savings thing?

Sorry for the rant. I have just been swimming through the haze all day, and looking forward to another week or so of tired haze to get through.

Mills.

(*Refers to a line in Sondheim's "Assassins," the soundtrack of which plays in my head on days like today.)

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Marie E. - Apr 4, 2005 4:30 pm (#651 of 2981)

A girl who is in my daughter's class at school and her Brownie troop went with her family to a St. Baldrick's event to watch her dad shave his head and ended up shaving hers too! St. Baldrick's is a charity event benefitting children with cancer. You get your head shaved, they post your picture on the website, and people make donations in your honor. If anyone is interested in seeing the pictures and/or donating, email me privately and I'll send you the link. This little girl is eight years old and in the second grade. I tried convincing Shayla to do it, but I don't think it will happen.

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haymoni - Apr 4, 2005 4:56 pm (#652 of 2981)

Wow - sorry, I'm all for Locks of Love but I don't think I could bear to shave my daughter's head.

Mike - when you watch "Major League" is Randy Quaid in it or is he cut from the DVDs like he is when they show the movie on TV? What was his problem?

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prof sprout - Apr 4, 2005 6:14 pm (#653 of 2981)

Madam Pince- You made me laugh. I almost scheduled my wisdom teeth to be removed 2 days before my first Bridal Shower, but at the last minute while she was getting all my information, I realized it. Last thing I want at my shower is everyone thinking my fiancé beats me. (Because I may be black and blue from the removing of the wisdom teeth) So I chose the 14th.

Darth Tater very cute. I might have to get that for my fiancé. He's a huge Star Wars fan.

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Puck - Apr 4, 2005 6:43 pm (#654 of 2981)

My girl had croupe about a month back. If your babe is older than 5 or so, I doubt it, more likely a bronchial thing thing. Still, the treatments might work, as you wait to see the doctor. (Two days! Yuck! I just call and say "105 degree fever, I'm coming in!") Anyway, steam up a bathroom from the shower and sit in there for 10 minutes or so. If it's still cold, you can go out in the night air. And warm liquids.

Lina, glad for your test results! How wonderful! And cheers to those brave enough to shave their heads! And thanks for the link. Funny, because all that took place as I was starting to read here, but I never had looked on this thread until this weekend. Very helpful. I think I will try reading and see how he does!

Oh, and GO RED SOCKS!

kathy

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Gina R Snape - Apr 4, 2005 7:15 pm (#655 of 2981)

Ok, I had to come and share my tale. Remember how early in the year someone suggested I tell the students in my class that if a mobile phone went off I reserved the right to answer the phone? To use my best Snape impression? Well, today it happened!!!!

The student nervously handed over her phone and I answered it. Now mind you, these are all Masters level students and the people in my class became as quiet as a church mouse as I took the phone, they were so very keen to see what I would do.

I informed the caller who I was and asked who they were and informed them that they'd interrupted my class inadvertently and as a result embarrassed the person who they were phoning in front of the whole class. Everyone including the caller and the students burst out in laughter. I then went on to say I felt assured the student (the caller was her husband, actually) would inform him of her schedule so such a gaffe wouldn't happen again. The student was beet red and laughing so hard she almost fell out of her chair.

So thank you to the person who made that suggestion! It totally made my day.

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Ydnam96 - Apr 4, 2005 7:21 pm (#656 of 2981)

Gina, you are my hero! That's amazing.

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KWeldon - Apr 4, 2005 7:41 pm (#657 of 2981)

Michelle, thanks for the two cents about Isla Mujeres. We selected that place for the exact reasons that you mention, and I can't wait. Cancun just seems too "American-ized" for us, and we really wanted a laid back place just to hang out on a beautiful beach with the kids. I've just got to figure out how to handle explain the topless women on the beach to the kids, as I understand there are no rules about that outside our borders!

Mike, I had heard that about The Bad News Bears remake, and I'm looking forward to it also. We actually rented the original for the kids recently and watched it as a family. Big mistake! We kept having to say, "Okay, we don't say that, right?" Or, "we don't smoke and drive a motorcycle without a helmet, right?" I'm not a prude, but it's one thing to see an adult curse on the movie screen, but a whole different thing to see a kid curse in the movies (to an adult!).

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Gina R Snape - Apr 4, 2005 7:42 pm (#658 of 2981)

Thanks, Ydnam96.

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Julia. - Apr 4, 2005 7:46 pm (#659 of 2981)

Gina, w00t! That's awesome!! Good on you for actually doing it.

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Marie E. - Apr 4, 2005 7:52 pm (#660 of 2981)

Gina, did you feel Snapeish as you did it?

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Gina R Snape - Apr 4, 2005 7:54 pm (#661 of 2981)

LOL, I did a little. I mean, even though everyone was laughing there was a distinct pleasure in knowing the student was a bit embarrassed.

BTW, I should mention! One of my students was commenting on one of the readings and started to say something. She stopped herself and said "Oh, I don't want to get too Hermione-ish." Of course, my response was that Hermione-ish was good! And then I went on to remind everyone that HbP was due out July 16th and those who did not know who Hermione was were very unfortunate indeed.

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Madam Pince - Apr 4, 2005 8:33 pm (#662 of 2981)

Oh, bother, bother, bother! ****commiserates with Loopy-who-also-loathes-Carolina*****

Gina, good story! I'll bet that felt great!

Puck, thanks for the advice! I like the idea about calling in to the Doctor with a "mis-read" thermometer....I may give that a try. He is three. He had been feeling better this afternoon, but after his nap, he was all feverish again. Sigh....and I'm due to go out of town for my once-yearly "girls' weekend" with my dear buddies on Thursday..... it won't be fun if I'm worried about my little one. I have the steam vaporizer going now, so maybe it'll help a bit.

Bother, bother, bother again! I loathe the color baby-blue!

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Eponine - Apr 4, 2005 9:40 pm (#663 of 2981)

Gina, way to go. I doubt you'll have any trouble with that again.

Well, Mr. Eponine and the Eponine-in-laws are celebrating tonight. (Eponine is celebrating as well, just not as much as they are) It was quite an experience being a fairly indifferent person in a room full of UNC fans. My cousin, my uncle, my aunt, my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my husband all screaming at the TV whenever something didn't go their way. And me, cheering for them, but being highly amused at everything.

One of our cousins was there in St. Louis right on the floor, but we couldn't see him on the TV. A good friend of the family is one of the managers for the UNC ball team, so he is getting a championship ring, and we saw him up on stage with the team when they were getting their trophy.

Anyway, it's late, my condolences to those who are for ABC, and my congratulations to those who pull for UNC.

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Madam Pince - Apr 4, 2005 10:25 pm (#664 of 2981)

Oh, man! I was a manager for UVA when we went to the Final Four in 1984, and they never gave the managers anything back then! Of course, we didn't win, either, but still.... I don't think the managers were included. I always wondered what they would've done if we had won and if the managers had been included, because two out of the three of our managers were females, and I just bet the awards committee for a men's tournament hadn't planned on ordering any ladies' rings!

Well, your friend has had the experience of a lifetime -- I can say to this day that being affiliated with a Final Four team is one of my most cherished memories. He will never forget it, I'm sure. Congratulations to all the Eponines! You are a gracious winner. I hope none of the celebrations end up catching any of your cars on fire.

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The giant squid - Apr 4, 2005 11:43 pm (#665 of 2981)

They called him: "Darth Tater"--Phoenix Song

Barbie, where did you find him?!? I first heard about this a few weeks ago (it was mentioned in TV Guide) and have been looking all over for it. Someone told me it went on sale on Apr. 2 but none of the toy stores around us had it. This is absolutely a must-have for my collection.

Gina, I'm so proud of you, especially if you managed to get through the whole call without cracking up. With everyone else laughing around me I would have at least been chuckling by the time I reminded him of her schedule.

haymoni--as far as I know, Randy Quaid was never in Major League. He was in Major League II, but not the first one. And for the record, I have ML on VHS, not DVD. If there aren't many extras on the DVD I don't bother replacing my videos. My "home theater system" is so pathetic you really can't tell much difference anyway.

--Mike

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Lina - Apr 5, 2005 12:54 am (#666 of 2981)

Gina, the point is that I imagine you something like a female Snape version: long black hair and especially long black robes wavering around you while you grab the phone. ROFL

Amilia Smith: I HATE daylight saving time. Hate it with a passion. (Imagine, people having passionate feelings about clocks.*) I finally start to be able to drive to work in the light, actually let the sun get up before me, when the clocks jump forward an hour. And we're back to going to bed by day and going to work by night. Why? Because the stupid government thought it would be funny to have a jet-lagged work force. Grrrrr grumble grumble grrrrrr . . .
I feel the same way. I'm not sure if it is true, but I've been told that Hitler invented the daylight saving time.

Yes, Barbie, it feels good indeed to get such wonderful results. Not that I would like it differently, but I'm afraid now that I will have to go back to work earlier then I wished. Not that I don't like my work, I do, but I really like being at home and not feeling to bad.

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Essidji - Apr 5, 2005 1:41 am (#667 of 2981)
Edited Apr 5, 2005 2:55 am

Lina, I was intrigued by your sentence about Hitler having invented summer time. This is not completely true, actually. Here is a (very short) summary of my research :

Daylight saving time was firstly applied during world war 1 in Britain and Ireland. In France it was also instituted in 1916, but disappeared after the second world war, in order to stop with “Berlin’s time” that was imposed during the German occupation. (I supposed this is where the confusion comes from : maybe in Croatia you first heard about daylight saving time at the moment the third Reich extended to your borders).

It was re-established in France in 1975, and since 1998, the dates of time changing is harmonized throughout the UE (last Sunday of march for summer time and last Sunday of October for winter time, which is not the same as in the US).

As the reality of energy savings of time changing is a very much debated question, several countries such as China, Morocco, Iceland, and Queensland in Australia have abandoned the system after having used it for several years.

I personally enjoy summer time, but I agree it is difficult getting used to it. It is true you actually feel jet-lagged. I wish we could keep that time all year long.

EDIT : Hey, Lina, did you notice your post weirdly bears the #666, as you wrote something about Hitler? Wow, another "magic" thing on this forum!

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Thora - Apr 5, 2005 6:18 am (#668 of 2981)

I just had to pop in and say I love the new pic Julia, what talented friends you have.

Gina great story!

Oh and there is one good thing to say about daylight savings time, two of my kids are still in bed and I can check the Lexicon first thing! Hurray!

Thora

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Mrs. Sirius - Apr 5, 2005 6:43 am (#669 of 2981)

The story of daylight saving is a little more involved. It was first conceived of my Benjamin Franklin while in Europe at about 1784. Then a British businessman William Willet, proposed it to Parliament in 1905. It did not pass but lay around for about 9 years. With the start of WWI the Kaiser set it in place. Two weeks later, the British Parliament passed it into law. Soon thereafter, it was passed in the USA and a other countries. There was no consistency of when daylight saving started or ended. Currently, in US there are city, counties, and states that do not participate.

When the war ended many countries stopped their participation until the next world war. When it was widlely used again because of it's benefits on energy use. In the modern days businesses have been big proponent for daylight saving time and it was because of business that in 1986 it was moved to it current start, the first Sunday in April.

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Gina R Snape - Apr 5, 2005 6:47 am (#670 of 2981)

Oh, I *really* hate daylight savings. I wear an insulin pump and it is scheduled to deliver a certain amount of insulin at certain times of day; and every time the clocks switch I have to manually reset my insulin dosage commands. Add to that, my body does not always make the switch along with the clock. So in addition to feeling 'jetlagged' my blood sugars get out of wack for a few days--sometimes up to a week--before things settle down. You really don't know how time affects you until you have a documented proof of how your hormones fluctuate at certain times of the day! This is something I never would have known or thought about if I'd never gotten my insulin pump.

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Catherine - Apr 5, 2005 7:04 am (#671 of 2981)

Count me in as a "Daylight Savings Hater" too. Looks like I've joined a lot of clubs since joining the Forum: Procrastinators Anonymous, Slacker Moms, and now the "Anti-Time-Turner League." Oh, and Dark Chocolate Lovers, can't forget that one.

I can't really gloat about Carolina's win last night, as I didn't even watch the game. My medicine made me really sleepy, so I missed out. Mr. Catherine was very excited, though. He wore his Carolina blue shirt yesterday. *:waves to Madame Pince, who loathes Carolina blue!**

RANT WARNING: Yesterday was an official BAD DAY, made worse by the time-turning, I'm sure. I had been sick all weekend, and woke up yesterday morning no better, with a higher fever. But, before I could go to the doctor, I had to delivery poor Phoebe (the elderly Shih-tzu) to the Vet so that a growth could be taken off her eye. We won't have the results from the lab for a bit, but the Vet is sure it is melanoma, which is hard to understand, since the pup spends most of her time snoozing inside, not suntanning. They also extracted three teeth during her dental, and the poor thing has to wear a cone for three days. She looks so sickly and humilated wearing her cone.

While I am at the doctor, and Mr. Catherine is teaching a class, I get a phone call that oldest daughter (Claire) threw up at school, and can I please come get her right away???

Then my doctor admonishes me for driving while sick, and manages to prescribe two medicines that took me four different pharmacies to fill, while I have a moaning, nauseous child in the back seat.RANT COMPLETE

Thanks for the get-well wishes over the past few days. I really appreciate it! I hope today is better.

Have a good Tuesday, everyone.

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Eponine - Apr 5, 2005 7:10 am (#672 of 2981)

Mike, my husband (a Star Wars addict) brought home a Darth Tater the other day, and he's just so cute. He got it at a K-Bee Toy store in a mall, but their website doesn't have it listed as a product. I looked on the Toys R Us website, and they're sold out. E Bay has some 'buy it now' for $14.99. He's really quite loveable even if he is an 'evil potato'.

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Lina - Apr 5, 2005 7:17 am (#673 of 2981)

Thank you very much, Essidji and Mrs. Sirius for your explaining about the daylight saving time. It is true that it came to my country with the German occupation and went away with it too and that must be the reason that the person who told me about it believed it was Hitler invention. I was suspicious about it but I didn't feel like more researching. It is a really great thing about this forum. If there is something you don't know, you will always find somebody here who knows. I love this forum!

It was established again, I think before the 1990. but it lasted until the last weekend of September and that I could bear with. But the October with the daylight saving time is just unbearable to me. Yack. When I was little, my parents worked from 7 a. m. to 3 p. m. during winter and from 6 a. m. to 2 p. m. during summer while the school started at 8 am all the time. I wouldn't mind to work from 7 a. m.

(I agree, Essidji, that the number of my previous post is really significant.)

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septentrion - Apr 5, 2005 7:32 am (#674 of 2981)

Catherine, you really have had a bad day. One sometimes think you'd better stay in bed some days.

Gina, I love your story ! So Snape-ish.

I hate the time-turner thing too. I still haven't recovered yet from the last change of time...

Elanor, I suppose you're over with your medical exam as I saw you write in another thread. I hope everything went well.

Time to go back home ! yeepee !

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Julia. - Apr 5, 2005 8:04 am (#675 of 2981)

Oh, Catherine. I'm so sorry you had a crappy day. I hope that you, Claire, and Phoebe are all feeling better soon.

Wow, seems I'm in the minority here. I love day light savings. I like when it gets dark late. Makes it feel very springish.

Thanks Thora!! I like the new pic too. It was done by an artist named Marta, who's work can be found here.

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Phoenix song - Apr 5, 2005 8:05 am (#676 of 2981)

Barbie, where did you find him?!? I first heard about this a few weeks ago (it was mentioned in TV Guide) and have been looking all over for it. Someone told me it went on sale on Apr. 2 but none of the toy stores around us had it. This is absolutely a must-have for my collection.

Mike, I happened to see it at Wal-Mart, and I wish that I had bought it then. (I should have just listened to my inner child at the time.) When I went there, on April 2nd incidentally, they had a huge tent outside filled with Star Wars merchandise. Being the tired mom that I am, though, I decided to take the kids to see the inside display of Star Wars items, and where there would be A/C and less temptation to the kiddies! Hope that you're able to get your hands on one!

Catherine, I am so sorry about your rough day! I hope that you all get to feeling better soon. I hate when the Dr. prescribes something so obscure that you have to travel all over to get the meds filled. Feel free to growl, grumble and complain to him the next time that you see him.

Gina, I didn't know that you have to wear an insulin pump. I hadn't considered the difficulties in taking insulin when the time changes. It must really mess you up. I have to join you all in saying that I hate that the time changes twice a year, and I don't see any reason for continuing the madness that it puts us through. Why can't somebody do something about this? I believe that I heard that Arizona doesn't follow the time change rules. Does anybody know how they managed that?

Have a good day everybody!
Barb

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kabloink! - Apr 5, 2005 8:07 am (#677 of 2981)

My only real complaint about daylight savings time is losing the hour of sleep, and thus I love it when we 'fall back' in October. Aside from that, I do enjoy having sunlight until 8pm instead of barely 7pm.

Congrats to all Carolina fans.....grrrr....I guess if we had to lose in the final four, we mi ght as well lose to the champion, right? What's this about setting cars on fire, anyway! THere were no fires this year, though East Lansing police did feel the need to tear gas non-rioting basketball fans last Saturday night. I love college.

Ok, off to homework. One month left, one month left, one month left...

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Penny Lane. - Apr 5, 2005 8:34 am (#678 of 2981)

Thanks to everyone for the cheering charms, I feel quite a bit better today, actually. I can't say I look exactly super great, what with the inevitable dry skin under one's nose that comes from excessive tissue use, but at least I have energy (somewhat) and feel motivated to go to class (well, more than yesterday).

When I was younger, and took classes/worked a job that required me to be awake before 8 a.m., I hated Daylight Savings Time. It's REALLY difficult for me to wake up in the dark, I don't know why. So, for that week or so before DST, I would be up and energetic and ready to go. Then they would put the clocks back and I'd be back to my normal cranky self. That being said, now that I'm older and have the ablitity to start my day at... oh 11ish (MWF) or 2ish (TTH) , I greatly enjoy the daylight lasting later. I realy hated when it was pitch black at 4 pm in December. It makes it easy to be depressed.

Also, vampires can be out longer

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Sirius Lee - Apr 5, 2005 8:36 am (#679 of 2981)

I must agree with Julia in loving daylight savings. My office runs on a 10am-7pm schedule, so my co-workers and I were adoring coming out of the office into the sunshine yesterday! Granted the actual Sunday after we lose the hour is horrible, but I'll take one day of sleepiness for months of after-work light! Actually this Sunday was especially bad as it was the morning after my best friend’s wedding. An open bar, a hotel with an early check-out AND daylight savings resulted in two dozen very, very grumpy people in the hotel lobby trying to stay awake long enough to sign a credit card slip!

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Gina R Snape - Apr 5, 2005 8:47 am (#680 of 2981)

Well I know they don't do daylight savings in parts of the country, but I forget where. Indiana, I believe is one place.

I never knew why we had daylight savings. But now I wonder why we still do it. What possible advantage can the businesses have in switching things? In places where I've worked where there were shift workers, inevitably someone would always forget and come in an hour late/early. Or try to use daylight savings an excuse to be late (those were the ones not clever enough to figure out it only works once a year And I derived great Snape-ish pleasure out of pointing out how I knew they were lying).

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librarian314 - Apr 5, 2005 8:57 am (#681 of 2981)

Hey all!

Count me in as one of those that are less than thrilled with Daylight Savings Time. It's nice to know I'm not the only one it leaves feeling jet-laggy.

I also think it's vaguely ridiculous that winter time is called Eastern Standard Time, when we are actually in Daylight Savings time for two months longer.

Personally, I'd rather have more light in the evening during winter, than in the summer. Oh, well!

Y'all take care!

**michelle the librarian**

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Chemyst - Apr 5, 2005 11:30 am (#682 of 2981)

Oh poor Catherine! That was no rant; that was a perfectly justifiable blowing-off-of steam. I hope it helped. Please accept my empathy charm.

I'm surprised at all the loathing of Daylight Savings Time. The only time it ever bothered me was - before many of you were born - one winter back in the mid-70's we were on DST in January, and being in school then, we'd be watching the sunrise after our first period break. Now THAT was ridiculous, and I don't think it saved even an erg of energy. (If Loopy is reading this, that alliteration was for you.)
One thing we do since we've had a dog though, is to feed her an hour later in the summer. So for her it's as if she is still eating on standard time. My question is, why can't insulin/medicines be dispensed on the same sort of schedule?

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Gina R Snape - Apr 5, 2005 11:51 am (#683 of 2981)

Chemyst, the problem with the time change for me is that I have to reset the clock on my pump. When I do that, I have to manually reset all my basal rates as well to match my body. Otherwise it continues to, say, give me .3u at 11pm only now it's really 10pm, or, midnight. My body doesn't know the time changed. It wants the .3u an hour when it needs it, and doesn't care that the clock now says the time is different. It has its rhythms. You see what I mean?

To give you an idea (and feel free to scroll the 99.9% of you who aren't interested... My basal insulin rates are:

12midnight .5u/hr
3am .9u/hr
3pm .4u/hr
7:30pm 1.9u/hr
8:30pm .5u/hr
11:30pm .3u/hr

I arrived at this from a lot of fiddling around and blood sugar monitoring. So when the clock changes, I have to essentially re-fiddle to match my body, not the clock. Add to that, my body's rhythm may change at certain times of the month, or adjusts to the time change because of my waking and sleeping patterns, etc. Then I have to re-fiddle again.

I love my insulin pump, and much prefer it to several shots a day. And I'd be happy to talk privately with anyone here who wants to hear more about them. But anyway, this time change thing is an unavoidable situation. It's even more complicated when I travel to a different time zone! Oye!!!

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Madam Pince - Apr 5, 2005 12:19 pm (#684 of 2981)

Catherine, what a yucky day you had! There's not much worse than having a nauseous child in the car -- unless you're also feeling badly yourself at the same time, which exponentially increases the... oh you know what I mean. Bleah! You have my sympathies.

Kabloink, I don't know if anybody really burned any cars or not last night in Carolina. I was just being a bit facetious. I did see some bonfires or something burning on the evening news, and they were saying the UNC students had flooded out onto the streets to celebrate and had closed down several streets basically. I have never understood why college students have recently taken to burning things down and labelling it a celebration. The colleges around here do it quite a lot. Seems a bit like floating Muggles up in the air after the Quidditch World Cup, if you ask me.

Well, I discovered that Baby Pince has strep throat. I called the doctor and they were able to fit me in this morning. The nurse almost missed it and was diagnosing an upper respiratory infection that we'd just have to suffer through, but fortunately the Dr. caught the telltale signs in his throat and after we did a throat culture (and what a lot of fun THAT was!) they said it was strep. I knew it was more than just a basic cold -- remember how we were discussing earlier how Moms always know? I just felt so sorry for him -- he was being such a trooper and so cooperative with the Dr., and you could tell he felt terrible. But the antibiotics apparently work almost immediate miracles -- he's actually looking noticeably better already. So now the only thing left to hope for is that Mr. Pince nor I caught it. I'm leaving Thursday for a weekend in Chicago with my friends, so if I get sick while there, I will be really bummed out. I'm in the process of trying to get a "just-in-case" antibiotic prescription for myself so that I won't have to see a Dr. anyway, if it should crop up.

What a lovely spring day today! Hope everyone is having a great day!

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Elanor - Apr 5, 2005 12:38 pm (#685 of 2981)

Wow Gina! It has to be difficult to manage! To come to Accio will certainly mean a LOT of adjustments. I hope it won't be too hard for you. BTW, I loved the way you answered that phone, that was brilliant!

Talking about Accio, I've just seen on their forum that it is now possible to vote for the T-Shirt and cover contest! The vote takes place on their forum only and till April 12th. Each drawing as a letter code and you just have to write them in a post (Marè's T-shirt is letter C and her cover is letter N). Go Marè!

The day was not that easy too here with that test that had to be done. It really lasted 4 hours and was both stressful and tiring. Thanks for the encouragements everybody BTW! Lina, thank you for telling me what was going to happen. The injection was not painful at all. Well, the nurse was a guy, a young and really cute guy, I'm sure it helped... Afterwards, I had to wait for 2 hours in a small waiting-room with a lot of other people, two of them arguing most of the time. Then, I had to keep still under a kind of scanner for 20 minutes. I don't know why, but as soon as someone asks me absolutely not to move, I have pins and needles in my legs or my nose itches, don't you? And then I had to wait again for a looong time before the doc talked to me. I need to see my usual doc soon for discussing the results.

Lina, I am so happy about your tests!

I send healing charms to everyone who doesn't feel well!

Have a great day everybody!

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septentrion - Apr 5, 2005 12:50 pm (#686 of 2981)

Great you're over with it Elanor ! Thanks for the hint about the vote for Accio.

After Gina's explanations about her insulin pump, I just thought the same than you Elanor : it'll be but a short adjustment for Accio. Gina, you really have to be brave.

Lina, I'm glad too you had just good results for your exams.

edit : Gina, I think you're brave because you deal bravely with it.

After my voting on the Accio thread, Marè was first. Everyone who can please help and vote for Marè design !

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Gina R Snape - Apr 5, 2005 12:56 pm (#687 of 2981)

Aawww, thanks guys. Actually, I'll be in Scotland from 23 - 28 July so all my jetlag and insulin adjusting will happen then. I don't think of myself as brave in the slightest. I think of the diabetes as a pain in the backside which I must account for when travelling.

EDIT: Thanks for letting me know the votes are up! I'll head over to the Accio board now!!!

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Lina - Apr 5, 2005 1:54 pm (#688 of 2981) Reply
Edited by Mare Apr 5, 2005 2:31 pm

Gina and Catherine, you posted while I was posting and I didn't even see your posts! Talk about slacker Forum members!

Catherine, it seems to me that you need a good Patronus there. How about a nice huge Shih-tzu? Take some (dark) chocolate while waiting for him to come to you! I really wish that you and all of your family get better soon!

librarian314: Personally, I'd rather have more light in the evening during winter, than in the summer. Oh, well!
This reminds me of a joke: One person asks another: "which is more useful: the sun or the moon?" "The moon, of course, what is the use of the light during the day?"

It would have been easier for me to go and vote for Mare if someone had put the link. So, for those who are alike me, then go to the forum and register if you haven't already.

Lina, I took out your link, because I'm sure people not attending, aren't supposed to vote...

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Denise P. - Apr 5, 2005 2:05 pm (#689 of 2981)

Where do we go to vote? Am I just not seeing it?

Edit: Never mind, I found it, registered and voted.

I think the Accio folks should post a link on the page where the entries are.

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Detail Seeker - Apr 5, 2005 2:08 pm (#690 of 2981)

Denise, if you are on the Forum there, it is the first thread under "General Discussion". There just is a forumer invasion there.

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Catherine - Apr 5, 2005 2:18 pm (#691 of 2981)

Done. I voted. Mare, your designs are wonderful.

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone. I don't mean to whine.

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Elanor - Apr 5, 2005 2:20 pm (#692 of 2981)

Detail Seeker "There just is a forumer invasion there" LOL! Indeed!

Lina, please forgive me about the missing link. My mistake! As Accio is a lot on my mind those days (they asked for short "biographies" to be put with the abstracts and things like that) I didn't think that it was not the same for you all and that you needed the link.

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Lina - Apr 5, 2005 2:27 pm (#693 of 2981)

Elanor, if I seemed to be complaining, please forgive me! I just thought that some votes could be lost, so I decided to put the link myself. As I see, there are many members there that joined long ago, I have put it just for people like me (if there are any )

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Marè - Apr 5, 2005 2:30 pm (#694 of 2981)

*stress moment, same post as on the Accio thread*

Oh wait help! I love for everybody to vote, but I'm pretty sure that only people attending Accio are allowed to vote:
they will be posted in a Gallery and then voted upon by members of the conference.
(From the accio site...)

So please if you attend go and vote... but the rest I think is better not... What if they disqualify me? (allthough I'm sure everybody will be attending the conference spiritualy )

They don't have a way to check... But still if the entire forum marches over there... it is kind of suspicious.
And it's not really entirely fair...

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dizzy lizzy - Apr 5, 2005 3:18 pm (#695 of 2981)

Mare:

Perhaps its worth getting someone to check it out for you. I am quite sure that those who do have their designs in the competition, have their own fan base (supporters) as well and they will vote as well. Good luck , I really liked your pictures although your first picture was the best.

Well it has been a really rotten week for me and my brain is only just starting to settle down.

My mother came to visit last weekend and it bought up a lot of issues as to why my sister and I aren't talking to each other. I suppose I had to look at it all and deal with it, but the timing was unfortunate.

I have gone to both my banks and the home loan bank wouldn't reduce my repayment amount, but the credit union reduced my car loan repayments by AUS$20 per week. I have been into centrelink (our name for Social Security) and applied for the unemployment benefit to cover the weeks I am not working and even then I will not receive the full rate. This took two visits and one telephone interview. The hoops I have to jump through!!!

Then I did my finances and thank to the generosity of the Credit Union, I will make it. It will be very tight and take away's are off the menu. But given the fact I have put on weight over the past 12 months, now I have the opportunity to lose it. I also cook more in winter as the food I cook in winter are soups and casseroles and are easily frozen. In a one person household I eat better in winter than summer!

Hope you start to feel better soon Catherine and Baby Pince. Gina, you surprised me with the info you are a diabetic and I was very interested in your little table. I'm not to fussed about daylight saving, it takes three days for my body to settle down and then my brain "forgets" what it was like 'last week' and so I go blissfully on my way.

Sorry about the long post, it is like a fog has been lifted from my brain and I can string words together at last!!

Lizzy

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Denise P. - Apr 5, 2005 3:28 pm (#696 of 2981)

I looked before I voted, there was no stipulation that said you had to be planning to attend Accio to vote. I am hoping after the event, there will be shirts available to those who were not able to attend. I am a shirt junkie

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Marè - Apr 5, 2005 3:53 pm (#697 of 2981)

I'm sure we can arrange something for you and the Accio t-shirts Denise.

I just PM-ed the art director. I know there is no sign saying only attendees can vote, but I'm pretty sure it is what they think/want/mean to happen.

If not.. there will be no problem.. if it is, they will probably change it later.

I'm very happy that so many people here would go and sign up to vote for me (thanks guys!) but I'm afraid I don't have enough Slytherin in me to let it stand and send the hordes over... (gnagnagna)

now we'll see what happens...

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Gina R Snape - Apr 5, 2005 4:15 pm (#698 of 2981)

Mare, if I may be so slytherin... Some people intending to go have not yet purchased their memberships. So I'm not sure how they can limit the vote to attendees only.

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boop  - Apr 5, 2005 4:26 pm (#699 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Rebecca, hope you are having a wonderful day!!!!!

Get well wishes for those who need it.

Spring was here today. We had lots of sunshine today.

hugs always

boop

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Ponine - Apr 5, 2005 5:54 pm (#700 of 2981)

Oh, you guys! It sounds like there is so much going on these days - with baby's strep throat, insuline adjustment, fevers, vomit, scanning, unemployment and sick puppies. I just want to say that even though I don't know (m)any of you that well, and you all seem to go way back, nonetheless, this has become not only an outlet where I can freely dig into Potterverse without meeting eyes that are either glazed before I can finish a sentence, or filled with a mix of overbearing and boredom. (And after re-reading this sentence, I suppose I understand why... Alas, earwax.) My point being that this has also become some sort of a haven or refuge in a rather - interesting - time in my life, and that is all thanks to you and your amazing minds. And hearts.

*Lights the fire place, pulls up all the good squishy chairs, brings out a case of butterbeers and pumpkinjuice, fetches chocolate, frogs, big bag of assorted beans and sends everyone who needs it an invitation and a cheering/wellness charm*

Oh - In midwinter, the sun goes up about nine am and back down at about three, so when spring finally comes along with some extra sun, it is much needed and appreciated here...

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Amilia Smith - Apr 5, 2005 6:49 pm (#701 of 2981)

Thanks all for commiserating with me on the evils of Daylight Savings Time. It helps to know that my coworkers and I are not the only ones who hate it. Plus, the Anti-Time-Turner League is such a cool name (thanks Catherine:-)). And a special thanks to Essidji as well for offering a ray of hope: several countries such as China, Morocco, Iceland, and Queensland in Australia have abandoned the system after having used it for several years.

Speaking of "clubs" here, I have a story for Procrastinators Anonymous/Slacker Students. I finished the last of my course work for my bachelor's degree last August. However, I will not actually graduate until the end of this month as I kept putting off doing the paperwork until the deadline had passed. So I am not getting my diploma until two whole semesters after I was entitled to receive it. :-)

Hello, my name is Amilia, and I am a Procrastinator.

Mills.

PS. Mare, let us know what you find out about non-attendees voting. I will respect your wishes and not vote unless you find it is open to all.

PPS. Ponine, where is "here"? Everybody else probably already knows, but I don't remember. Sheesh . . . only six hours of sunlight. You definently deserve spring. :-)

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Catherine - Apr 5, 2005 7:04 pm (#702 of 2981)

Mare, I appreciate your Hufflepuff sense of fair play, but Sheesh!

It seems to me that if the rules said that non-attendees could submit a design, then non-attendees should be able to cast a vote.

But maybe I'm treating the rules more like guidelines.

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Penny Lane. - Apr 5, 2005 7:36 pm (#703 of 2981)

Um, pardon my ignorance/slackerism/behingonharrynewsism, but what is this "Accio" that everyone keeps mentioning?

Gina, I'm amazed. I can barely remember to eat everyday, much less be on a schedule that tells me ... things.

Ponine: save me a purple squishy chair and some dark chocolate. But may I request that we un-light the fire? It was really hot today, and I'm all sweaty and not in a fireplace mood.

I have to register for next fall, and I just don't want to. I'm so incredibly sick of school, and I don't want to take gen-eds with freshmen that I didn't take when i was a freshman, and actually, I just don't think I want to take anything, except maybe a class in obsessing over random fandoms.

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Puck - Apr 5, 2005 7:39 pm (#704 of 2981)

Boy, it has been busy today! I, too, enjoy the extra hour of sunshine, though it is hard to convince the kids to start getting ready for bed before dark!

Good luck with the vote. I'm off to sleep soon, though I should do some more sewing. Making a quilt for my friend’s bridal shower on May 1st. My first trimester I felt awful and didn't get much work done, so now I'm way behind.

I hope everyone feels good tomorrow. The lovely weather is helping here. Plus, I get to go out to dinner with Grown-ups tomorrow night. Ahhh, only cutting my own food! Plus, I have a major craving for chocolate cake. Can't stop think about it.

Cheers, Kathy

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Gina R Snape - Apr 5, 2005 7:46 pm (#705 of 2981)

Cassie, the URL is http://www.accio.org.uk and it is a Harry Potter conference convening in Reading, UK this July 29 - 31.

And, as for remembering things...it's amazing what one can do when it's your life that depends upon it.

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Mrs. Sirius - Apr 5, 2005 10:04 pm (#706 of 2981)

Ohh Catherine, such a seriously bad day! You have now served all sick time for the year.

Gina loved the cell phone story but you really made me feel ashamed of my impatience with my mother in dealing with her insulin. She took insulin shots. Dealing with the pump I knew was easier but it still sounds so detailed, I would've had a hard time dealing with either.

Although I am a bad Catholic, the outpouring of affection for John Paul II is really heartening. It seems to me that the 20th century is now closed and the 21 century is making it's start. I feel hopeful and see this as an opportunity to highlight another humanitarian and communicator.

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pottermom34 - Apr 5, 2005 10:18 pm (#707 of 2981)

boy this is a hard thread to keep up with sometimes, subjects change faster than the pages of of our books. Thanks for the link Gina, even though I didn't ask I wondered what it was too.

We had the busiest day at the zoo today. You'd have thought it was a free day but it wasn't. It was 75 degrees and I think everyone in the city was there. The admission booth was lined up all day. I was so pooped by the end of the day. We only had 3 gift shop people working. I was the only one at my gift stand and I alone did over $1800. in sales everyone ran out of pennies,so we had to round the change. People are so obnoxious when there are crowds. But after all that my till was only off .58 cents so I think I did good.

Got some sad zoo news today though. Our only Lion died a week ago. We had two but last year had to euthanize the male because he had cancer, he was 14 yrs. old so he wouldn't have recovered. The one that died last week was about the same age. She has been on observation, probably died of age and loneliness. We are on a waiting list for more but it could take up to 2 years. So that made for a sad day.

On a happier note, my daughter's birthday is coming up and believe it or not (I say that cause she's 2 going on 3) she wants a Harry Potter party. I didn't coax her into it either. I found decorations and table ware on sale real cheap now I just have to make invites. I'm looking foreward to it. My other daughter wants a HP party too but thats not til Sept.
Have any of the Star Wars fans tried the Star Wars cereal yet? I wonder when we'll have a HP cereal.
Well, it's late off to hit the hay. Charms and cheers and well wishes for all!

michelle

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The giant squid - Apr 5, 2005 11:59 pm (#708 of 2981)

I never knew why we had daylight savings. But now I wonder why we still do it.

I was under the impression that it was an agricultural thing, allowing the farmers more daylight for planting, etc. I could, of course, be totally wrong, but at least it sounds feasible.

Eponine & Phoenix Song: Thanks for helping me track down the Tater. I guess it just hasn't made its way to my little desert town yet... I'll just have to haunt the local toy stores and annoy the clerks until I get one!

If not.. there will be no problem.. if it is, they will probably change it later.--Mare

Considering how they dealt with the art submissions, I'm leaning toward "Only Accio attendees are allowed to vote, we just didn't have it posted that way."

Catherine, I really hope you're feeling better soon. You definitely had a day from Heck*!

Mills, your Procrastinators Anonymous pamphlet will be arriving shortly...just as soon as we get it printed. And written. And organized.

--Mike

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Penny Lane. - Apr 6, 2005 12:00 am (#709 of 2981)

Thank you for the link Gina: I wish I had known about it sooner -- Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Pottermom: That’s really sad about the lion. I remember being at the zoo two years ago in the winter (I'm cheap like that) and he was in the feeding room saw me and my friend and thought we looked rather like a nice dinner. It was one of the most frightening things ever, to be face to face with a lion that clearly wants to eat you. He was banging away on the flexiglass and we were slowly backing away while visions of "When Animals Attack" ravaged through my head. I hope we don't get a new lion though, I always thought those pens were too small for the animals. Man, now I want to go home and go to the zoo.

Ooh, it's Wednesday. Only 15 more hours until the new "Lost".

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septentrion - Apr 6, 2005 1:11 am (#710 of 2981)

Happy birthday Rebecca !

Marè, I tend to a slytherin attitude when it comes to support you in the contest. Go Marè !

I was under the impression that it was an agricultural thing, allowing the farmers more daylight for planting, etc. I could, of course, be totally wrong, but at least it sounds feasible

Well, the farmers will never be bound by the official hour but by the sun. If the official hour means the sun sets at 11 pm and if they have work to be done, they work until it's dark, and sometimes even when it's dark. At least, that's what they do here especially in July and August when it's time for harvest.

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dizzy lizzy - Apr 6, 2005 2:15 am (#711 of 2981)

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

I am constantly amazed by the variety of topics we talk about on this thread and how quick we go through them. It is the first thread that gets read when I log on and the last before I log off.

I am sure if someone tried to create an index of topics discussed on this thread, they would end up with grey hair very quick or be encouraged to reside at St Mungo's for the stressed catalouger.

We got a blast of the Summer that was supposed to leave us behind this week. It was not what I wanted as I had accepted that daylight saving is over and was looking forward to some cooler weather.

Lizzy

EDIT: Penny: 'Lost' comes back to our screens tomorrow night after a Three week break. And the TV station is advertising them as new episodes and we haven't even finished the first season yet!!! If my memory serves me correct it is the one with Sawyer and the athsma medication or the one after that. I haven't been to the website to check the episode order yet.

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Cornelia - Apr 6, 2005 3:14 am (#712 of 2981)

For a change some Estonian weather: 5°C, cloudy, windy, if the sun is shining (IF) 10°C. Today I discovered the first snowdrops in our garden. I hope that means spring is coming here finally, too. Lizzy I would be happy to take some of your summer weather!

About that Daylight Saving Thing: In Estonia they do it, too but I (personally) think it´s totally pointless. In summer the sun rises at 04:03 and sunset is at 22:43, in winter the times are 09:19 and 15:24 around solstice. In summer we have more than enough light without manipulating our clocks and in winter we all sit in front of our Daylight-Lamps and dream of the summer...

Ponine, I would like to ask too, where are you from? And have you decided if you´ll make it to Accio?

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Ponine - Apr 6, 2005 3:56 am (#713 of 2981)

Hi! I am sorry for being so vauge - here being Norway - Our sunlight is somewhat unevenly distributed, too, as the sun is only up for about six hours in the winter, but only down for about three or four in the summer... Can't wait for summer.... However, I must point out, that last saturday, we had 24 degrees celcius in the sun (roughly 70-72F, perhaps?)!!! (I did not feel them, I was wearing my sweater and a jacket and thought the wind was harsh, but irrelevant, I guess.)

Cornelia - I have not... I have applied for graduate school in the States, and if I get accepted, I can't spend money on Accio. If I don't, however... I mean - a girl's gotta do something fun...

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Chemyst - Apr 6, 2005 5:09 am (#714 of 2981)

I was under the impression that it was an agricultural thing, allowing the farmers more daylight for planting, etc.

As feasible as that sounds, it is usually promoted as an economic thing. In Ben Franklin's era, it was to save oil in oil lamps. More recently, it has been promoted as saving electricity and reducing traffic accidents, although the statistics show only about a 1% benefit to both. Farmers, especially dairy farmers who must schedule milking times and poultry producers who use natural lighting, are some of the greatest opponents– so while it may help in crop agriculture, is doesn't with livestock.  'Call it a draw?

And Gina, thanks for the explanation. I've since googled around to learn a bit more about insulin pumps and wow - there is so much to consider & balance! ...diet, exercise, absorption rates, metabolic response...   I'm gaining a new appreciation for how interconnected the body is.

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Cornelia - Apr 6, 2005 5:47 am (#715 of 2981)

Ponine- I don´t know why, but somehow I had already the feeling that you are from Norway. One of my sons kindergarden-friends is from Norway,too...

I wish you good luck with your school plans!

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Eponine - Apr 6, 2005 6:08 am (#716 of 2981)

Ponine, my best friend lives in Anchorage, Alaska and has to deal with the weird sunlight as well. I went to visit her this summer, and the all day sunshine really threw me off. When PoA came out, we went to the midnight showing - when we went in, the sun was just starting to set, and when we came out, it was coming up. Quite strange to me.

I'm also addicted to Lost. I didn't start watching it until a couple of months ago, but now I'm hooked.

Well, I'm off to catch up on the threads. Have a happy Wednesday!

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Dumbledore - Apr 6, 2005 6:21 am (#717 of 2981)

Well right now I am actually being a bit of a slacker student (by the way, can I join the club too!), considering of course that I'm writing this in school! I'm technically supposed to be working on a health project about a disease (mine being breast cancer, as I know many people who have been affected by this horrible illness.) I really work much better at home than in school, which is why I'm typing this instead of my project. I am, however, quite clever at making the illusion of working...

Don't worry though! I'm actually probably one of the top 3 students in my grade...I promise I'm really not that bad!!

Daylight savings time is nice in the sense that it gets dark much letter, but losing an hour of sleep took a little time to adjust to. So overall, no major gripes.

My piano competition is today!! I'm doing Chopin's Valse in C# Minor. I'm very nervous, but not nearly a bad as I was last year, which is an improvement. It's at 7:45 at night though, so I have plenty of time to psych myself out!!

Have a great day, everybody.

-Lauren

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kabloink! - Apr 6, 2005 6:39 am (#718 of 2981)

Goodluck Dumbledore! Psyching your sself out a bit is okay-just don't overdo it! When I was in high school, ,I danced, and I found that I always did better when I was slightly nervous. I always messed up th edances that I was totaly calm about, because I wasn't trying as had to do well! K, I'm late or school-talk to y'all later!

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Julia. - Apr 6, 2005 6:49 am (#719 of 2981)

Good luck on your competition Lauren!!

Yeah, the one thing I don't like about daylight savings time is losing the hour of sleep in the spring. I had to wake up early on Sunday morning. I went to sleep thinking it was 2:00, when in reality it was 3:00, so the few hours of sleep I got were actually cut short.

YIKES! I woke up this morning and realized that I forgot to do my statistics homework last night!! Perhaps I should consider joining the slacker students...

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pottermom34 - Apr 6, 2005 7:26 am (#720 of 2981)

Penny, the lions will be missed, but now we can put both tigers out. We weren't able to put them both together because they didn't get along. The female knocked the male's tooth out. Showed him who's boss.


I kind of like daylight savings I don't like to drive in the dark especially when it's at 4:00 p.m. I live in the country, and you never know what kind of animal is going to jump in front of your car in the dark. So it's nice to have the extra daylight.


Hey, I'm making my daughters B-day invites and I have the picture I want but can't think of a good saying anyone have any ideas what a Hogwarts b-day invite might say? I 'd like to try to keep it short. For the picture I have in each corner a house shields and in the center of the top a little picture of Harry, now I'm stuck.


Thanks for ideas. I like everyone's ideas. The juice ideas are all working. We've had 2-3 weeks of no drinks in bed, and when they are thirsty in bed they have accepted the H2O and my daughter discovered she likes tomato juice which if bought with low sodium is better than fruit juice sugar wise.

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Ydnam96 - Apr 6, 2005 7:41 am (#721 of 2981)

Pottermom, how about "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry coordially invites you to celebrate in the birthday of...."

Just a thought.



In the summer I like that the sun is out for a little longer, or at least I have in the past. Right now it feels strange to me that the sun isn't setting till around 8ish. A few weeks ago it was setting around 5. But I guess it's no big deal. I have friends in Indiana who live in an area that doesn't change time and it's so confusing to me. They are two hours behind sometimes and three hours behind another part of the year (behind California time that is).

I spent a summer in Ljngskile Sweden, it's near Goteborg. It was so wierd to me that the sun set between 11pm and 12am and then came back up somewhere between 3am and 4am. We had to have blackout shades in the rooms where we slept so we could sleep. Very strange, kinda cool. But the trade off in winter...I'm not sure it would be worth it.

Bleh almost time for work. It's one of those days I just want to stay wrapped up in my blanket and stay home.

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Penny Lane. - Apr 6, 2005 7:56 am (#722 of 2981)

dizzy lizzy: If you are indeed seeing the one where Sawyer has Shannon's inhaler for the first time, you guys are on episode #8, which seems good to me, as I haven't seen it yet. In the US, we will be seeing episode #20 tonight, and it's about Jack and I really really really hope that Boone doesn't die. Oh, and I found ot that "Lost" will have 24 or 25 first season episodes, until the industry standard 22.

Pottermom: Good luck with the party

OOH!! JKR Updated her Site!!

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boop  - Apr 6, 2005 8:19 am (#723 of 2981)

Everyone have a nice day!!

I left work, because my daughter went into labor and is in the hospital. I will have a new granddaughter sometime today. I can't wait to see what she looks like. This was a rough pregnancy, so I am hoping it will be a short labor.

hugs always

boop

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Ponine - Apr 6, 2005 8:21 am (#724 of 2981)

OH WOW!!! Congratulations and good luck - I hope the labor is swift and easy on both mother and daughter! Enjoy

*covering ears while others are discussing Lost - we are still on season one here, too, but the asthma inhalator was an episode or three ago.*

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Penny Lane. - Apr 6, 2005 8:44 am (#725 of 2981)

Ponine: Everyone is on season one. In fact, ABC just picked it up for a second season this week. (ignore me while i jump up and down and cheer)

Oh congrats Betty!

I'm procrastinating going to class. I'm SO sick of school and classes and I just want to lie on the beach with a nice book. Actually, being on a deserted island sounds kinda fun right, I would welcome the change from routine, though not the lack of sanitary facilities or washing machines. or shelter. How on earth is Sawyer reading all those books that "washed up on shore"? Shouldn't they be ruined?

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pottermom34 - Apr 6, 2005 9:01 am (#726 of 2981)

I came up with a cute saying. I couldn't make a link but here's what I wrote : The four houses of Hogwarts have come together for a party celebrating the birthday of Sarah on (the date), (time) We will be celebrating in the great hall of (place) with a great feast. then at the end i wrote since you probably do not have an owl to respond, by owl post, we urge you to call (number). I did all the fonts in Harry P font and they were in the house colors except yellow because it is hard to see. Used purple instead of yellow.
I found a HP candy making kit too, so I can now make my own chocolate frogs, owls, Norbert and Fluffys.

Congrats Boop!

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Julia. - Apr 6, 2005 9:22 am (#727 of 2981)

Mazel tov Betty! Hope all goes well, and I want pictures!!

Beautiful day today. Too bad I have to spend it writing a paper.

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septentrion - Apr 6, 2005 11:32 am (#728 of 2981)

Betty, I hope for your daughter to have a beautiful girl very soon.

about Lost : it hasn't aired in France yet although it was announced for this year. I'm still waiting for it.

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Loopy Lupin - Apr 6, 2005 1:02 pm (#729 of 2981)

Good Luck to your daughter Betty!

I know this was a whopping 58 posts ago, but sympathy to Catherine. I hate being sick and to have a little sickie at the same time has to be annoying. It seems to me that now would be the time for Mr. Catherine to step up to the plate and be indispensable.

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Madam Pince - Apr 6, 2005 1:03 pm (#730 of 2981)

Early congratulations, Betty! Hope all goes well and you're soon cuddling your new little granddaughter!

I just got a haircut -- I asked her for something a bit more "spring-like" and she cut most of it off. Ack! This is the shortest my hair has been in a long time. It looks cute, I guess, but it will take some getting used to. Can't wait for Mr. Pince to see it.........he likes longer hair.

Fine -- JKR goes and updates her site just as I have to go to packing for my trip. Grrrrrr.... Well, at least I'll have a lot of posts to look forward to when I come back!

See you Sunday sometime, maybe! ***waves bye-bye****

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Elanor - Apr 6, 2005 1:14 pm (#731 of 2981)

Betty, I hope everything will go well too!

I've done something funny today and I have to tell you about! The curator of the hospital museum here had asked me some times ago for transcribing some potions recipes from the 17th and 18th centuries. In May, there will be a "night of the museums" in France. The admission will be free on that evening and there will be special events in a lot of museums. The hospital museum here, which is in the old general hospital (buildings from the 17th to the 19th century), will show a reconstruction of the hospital centuries ago, with people wearing costumes... The curator would want to serve the visitors then with some herbal tea which recipe would come from the archives of the hospital (and sell some herbal tea bags too...).

After some delay, I was finally able to do that research this afternoon. I had worked a lot on this potions books when I was a student, well before I read HP. I always loved that but I have to say that working on them now was a real pleasure! These books are hand-written, leather-bound. I took a picture of one of them for it to become my new avatar, but I had to reduce it a lot unfortunately. Some of those potions are sometimes disgusting (there is the woodlouse syrup recipe, some involving toads being cooked alive or viper's powder for example...) but some of them still make sense nowadays, anyway, they are always fascinating because there is also always written what the potion was good for.

I couldn't help but think of our dear potions master while transcribing some of them and to think of all the forum Snape-fans (Gina, you would love them!). It was very funny. Well, I finally managed to find a nice and (I hope) harmless one, they're going to test it! I'll give you the recipe if it is good!

Sorry for talking so much about that! I wish you a great day/night wherever you are and I send better weather charms to everyone who needs them.

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The giant squid - Apr 6, 2005 1:46 pm (#732 of 2981)

I was under the impression that it was an agricultural thing, allowing the farmers more daylight for planting, etc.--Me

As feasible as that sounds, it is usually promoted as an economic thing.—Chemyst

Well, I said I was probably wrong. Thanks for straightening me out--it's bad enough spouting useless knowledge all the time, but it's worse if it's incorrect useless knowledge!

Ponine/Dizzy Lizzy: Penny Lane is right, we're all watching season 1. Those of us in the US have just seen more episodes than you guys. Don't worry, though, we're just as Lost as you are.

Congrats on the impending grandbaby, Betty!

--Mike

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Gina R Snape - Apr 6, 2005 2:01 pm (#733 of 2981)

Well, if it's any consolation Mike I thought it was an agricultural thing too.

Penny, you are welcome for the link. Sorry you can't attend. Not to fear, though. I think I am right in saying the Lex will get a full report from all of us who attend!

Happy Birthday Rebecca! And Congratulations-to-be Boop!

Chemyst, I've been diabetic since 1979 and even I did not realise quite how interconnected different mechanisms in the body could be until I started on my pump. But I guess with precision comes new levels of awareness. It truly is a subtle science and exact art.

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Catherine - Apr 6, 2005 2:02 pm (#734 of 2981)

It seems to me that now would be the time for Mr. Catherine to step up to the plate and be indispensable. --Loopy Lupin

Thanks, Loopy. I will be SURE to let him know! If he can't pull off "indispensable," perhaps his Carolina blue shirt will suffer an untimely accident or disposal.

BTW, welcome back. It seems an age since you posted. A real dry spell, but maybe it just feels that way because I was gone for a while.

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Denise P. - Apr 6, 2005 2:04 pm (#735 of 2981)

I knew Ben Franklin was a firm believer in DST. Here is a breif history of it in the US DST The main site that is on has more than you would ever want to know about Daylight Savings Time.

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Loopy Lupin - Apr 6, 2005 2:18 pm (#736 of 2981)

If he can't pull off "indispensable," perhaps his Carolina blue shirt will suffer an untimely accident or disposal. – Catherine

I can't say I would be opposed to such a fate for that shirt irrespective of whether or not Mr. Catherine proves to be expendable.

Yes, I haven't been posting much lately. I truly have run out of things to say about Harry, save for the various responses I feel compelled to provide on certain threads from time to time. I don't remember my first post date, but I've been on here for about a year and some change. I cannot stand it any more and I cannot wait until July. I am seriously considering gathering a group together to storm a publishing house or two and demand galleys, proofs, drafts, or whatever is on hand. Now, who's with me?!!!!

EDIT-- Denise, is that another one of your children with a hair-do courtesy of an older sibling? If so, I must say I like said sibling's work more on this one.

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Denise P. - Apr 6, 2005 2:23 pm (#737 of 2981)

Yes Loopy, the unfortunate victim of that attempt was Iain. The older children have the sense to run far and fast when they see the eldest daughter walk into a room with a spray bottle of water, a brush and rubber bands. Now, having said that, I have pictures through the years of each and everyone of them sporting some bizzare hair style. We have a picture of Ryan with approximately 20 small pig tails in his hair, all with a brightly colored rubberband. And before anyone asks, yes. Before the current batch of under 12s were around, I was often the guinea pig but since I am the picture taker also, no evidence remains. My almost 22 year old son once attempted to do hair, when he got a round brush caught in my curly hair, I banned him from handling brushes on anyone but himself.

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Catherine - Apr 6, 2005 2:34 pm (#738 of 2981)

Now, who's with me?!!!! –Loopy

Oy!   *raises hand*   I'm with you!

I know how you feel. I think tomorrow (the 7th) marks the 100 day countdown until HBP. So short a time, and yet so far away.
*sighs*

If I worked at the bookstore before the release, I am sure I would be fired for prising open a box and peeking at the HBP books within. Just one teensy little peek couldn't hurt anyone, right???

Other news from the seriously obsessed front: I read that people are already lined up to watch the new Star Wars movie, even though it doesn't come out for weeks. What's more, they are rumored to be lining up in front of the wrong theater.

So, what supplies do we need if we're storming the publishing houses?

EDIT: Denise, the image of you with a brush trapped in your hair is too funny!

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Lina - Apr 6, 2005 2:38 pm (#739 of 2981)

Hello to everyone!

Lauren, I hope your piano competition was successful!

Boop, congratulations! Hope everything goes well!

I went to the capital today to see my onkologyst. It seems I won't have to take any therapy! This sounds great. I still have to run some more tests, of course, ("scintigraphy" among them - waves to Elanor) and if they come out as well as the last two, no therapy for me!

There is a mountain area between my town and the capital, so it was interesting to travel, having around 20°C in my town and in the capital, and going through the mountains with 2°C and remains of snow.

Mare, I tried to delete my post after your alert, but it was too late. It is the truth that it says that the attendants are supposed to choose the winner, but on the thread start it is written quite different. And they even planned to make the vote pool! I don't believe that they are going to check on who voted, just that everybody votes only once.

Have a good day, everybody!

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Lupin is Lupin. Natch. - Apr 6, 2005 3:36 pm (#740 of 2981)

Other news from the seriously obsessed front: I read that people are already lined up to watch the new Star Wars movie, even though it doesn't come out for weeks. What's more, they are rumored to be lining up in front of the wrong theater.---Catherine

Will you give Mr. Catherine a heads' up or will you let him stand in the wrong line in vain?

**waves to Loopy**:

My son made his First Communion this weekend and the priest told a funny joke, which might only be appreciated by the wayward Catholics in the crowd:

The pastor of a church was complaining that there were birds in his church which he couldn't seem to get rid of. A fellow priest suggested he shoot them down. But the pastor said, "No, I might shatter the stained glass." A third priest said, "Why don't you do what I did?" "What was that?" replied the pastor. The priest answered, "I baptized them, then confirmed them and then I never saw them again."

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Eponine - Apr 6, 2005 4:15 pm (#741 of 2981)

For all you Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fans out there, I have just discovered that the new movie does not have Golden Geese to rid the world of Veracu Salt, but the nut-cracking squirrels from the book. I am quite thrilled by this, and even more thrilled to find out that these particular squirrels have been trained to crack the nuts, sort them, and load them onto a conveyer belt. This has always been one of my favorite books, and I'm looking forward to seeing a new book adaptation, and not just a remake of the movie.

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Catherine - Apr 6, 2005 4:24 pm (#742 of 2981)

Will you give Mr. Catherine a heads' up or will you let him stand in the wrong line in vain? Lupin is Lupin

*sound of crickets chirping*   Does that answer the question?

Congratulations on your son's confirmation, and I like the joke. I think it applies to..erm...lapsed Protestants as well!

At least Harry Potter fans don't start queueing up until midnight . Sheesh.

Have a good night, everyone.

EDIT: Ooh, Eponine, I always loved Roald Dahl's books. Your info about the movie sounds promising! Of course, already thought that once I realized that Johnny Depp was playing Willy Wonka. *admits to girlie moment over Johnny Depp*

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Ydnam96 - Apr 6, 2005 6:38 pm (#743 of 2981)

I have had a round brush caught in my hair. It was not funny.

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kabloink! - Apr 6, 2005 6:47 pm (#744 of 2981)

DItto on the round brush front-only I guess I am lucky, as my hair is only wavy. It is however, very fine and there is a LOT of it. I am very excited about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, perhaps I will actually get to read it before the movie comes out (I haven't yet, but after May, unlimited reading fun time!). I'll have to add that to my list of things to do after graduation. Anywho, I just saw Finding Neverland, andam now more positive than ever that there is no one in Hollywood today who could be a better Willy Wonka. Charlie Bucket on the other hand...He played Peter in FInding Neveland and was really quite annoying. Oh well, you can't win them all, I suppose.

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Julie Aronson - Apr 6, 2005 8:07 pm (#745 of 2981)

Mandy,

You gave me my first SPEW moment of the day! (note the late hour) I have really thick, long, curly hair and have had combs, brushes, and various decorative ponytail holders caught in it, and I totally agree about the lack of humor.

I'm also excited about the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Johnny Depp can do no wrong in MY book...he's Wonka-licious!

Julie

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Pinky - Apr 6, 2005 8:33 pm (#746 of 2981)

Dumbledore, how did the piano competition go? I've been to a few of those myself (in my younger days). I must say that I much prefer the key of Db over C#. Actually, Db is my favorite keys to play in. Apparently I like playing on the black keys!

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Ydnam96 - Apr 6, 2005 11:04 pm (#747 of 2981)

OH Man!! Lost and Alias tonight. WOW. I know some of you don't get the episodes at the same time as us in the US. So I won't say anything except. WOW. I'm so confused.

It's a bummer both shows are on so late at night I get all excited and then I have to try and go to sleep. It doesn't work so well.

For all of you who got to enjoy the shows tonight, I hope you understood more than I did

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Essidji - Apr 7, 2005 2:03 am (#748 of 2981)

Elanor, what a good time you must have spent. Please, post the recipe when you translate it, it sounds so fun!

Lina, good luck with the tests, I hope they will confirm you don't need any therapy.

Marè, too bad we can't vote if we don't attend Accio. But this is not really clear to me. I also deducted it was possible to vote if you don't attend, as you don't need to attend to enter the contest. These rules seem rather tortuous, don't they?

I'm about to choose between two job opportunities, both very interesting but also very different from each other. Now I must beg my Lucky Star to give me a sign to help me to choose. It's really hard.

Edit : Reading my post, I realize it sounds like I'm complaining. Sorry, I am not. I know it's difficult to find a job nowadays. But I just wanted to explain how confusing it is when you get several opportunities at the same time.

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septentrion - Apr 7, 2005 2:34 am (#749 of 2981)

how confusing it is when you get several opportunities at the same time.

It's always like that when you look for a job : nothing for monthes,and then everything in the same time.

Elanor, could you send me the recipe en French, I think I could understand the old French. I don't know if I'll try the recipe though, I may be a Neville when it comes to potion making but it should be fun to read it.

About the vote, it isn't clear that people who don't attend Accio can't vote for you subscribe to the forum rather anonymously, so how can they know you're attending or not ?

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Loopy Lupin - Apr 7, 2005 5:42 am (#750 of 2981)

At least Harry Potter fans don't start queueing up until midnight . Sheesh.—Catherine

No, we just plot to take publishing houses hostage, fantasize about getting fired from bookstores for peeking early, and incorporate Britishisms, such as "queueing up," into our every day vocabulary.

I, for one, must say that I cannot be more happy that the new Star Wars is coming soon because it means that that whole fiasco will be over before long.