It Was Hard To Move On - #Harry Potter

After spending seven whole months reading Harry Potter almost every night, DD found it hard to leave Harry, Hermione, Ron and the crew behind. She once even suggested that we start again from the beginning. I told her that I read it to her the first time, next time she's on her own.

I know she'll read it all again herself when her reading skills improve and I'm happy that she will. Talking to a friend who is also reading the series to her son, we both said that we read the books so fast the first time round - through one weekend and through the nights because we couldn't put them down - that we missed or forgot much of the detail. This time round I found depths and subtle (and not so subtle) allusions that I'd not thought about the first time.

Meanwhile I was trying to get DD to agree to starting a new book. All she wanted to talk about was how we don't know who Luna married and do I think it's Neville or Dean? What she doesn't know is that I'm going to buy Pottermore and The Cursed Child (when it comes out as a novel rather than a play script). - UPDATE: I've read the reviews of The Cursed Child and I'm not going to bother.

I offered many options but over a week passed with no story. I was sad. I have so many of my old favourites waiting for me to read to her. Books I saved 40 or more years ago to one day read to my hypothetical daughter. Others I lost but have bought replacements over the years because I love them like childhood friends.

Look at the photo - how many do you recognise? There are others of course, which I fully intend to get. The Children of Green Knowe, When Marnie was There, Carrie's War, Marianne Dreams, to name but a few.

Eventually DD agreed to let me try reading Heidi to her. After a long trek up the mountain from Mayenfeld to the Alp Uncle's cabin via Dorfli and Peter's house, DD said, "I bet they like each other." She's astute. As I read the second chapter she squirmed around in bed exclaiming, "I love hearing this story. She's so cute. Aaaah he loves her!"

I think we've found another winner and we have moved on.

NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BINCH! - R2BC

Here are my reasons 2B cheerful this week. For more R2BC pop over to Becky's at Lakes Single Mum.

Mint grown from a cutting, on my balcony. About 4 cups of tea's worth I reckon

1
We finished Harry Potter. All seven books in seven months.

At the final fight Bellatrix almost kills Ginny Weasley. Her mother, consumed with maternal fury, jumps up shouting - and I read out loud to DD - NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU! (I missed out the last word).
DD: You Binch.
I looked at her.
DD: I saw it on a You Tube clip. She shouts, "NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BINCH!" Mummy, what's a binch?

We finished Harry Potter and I, at least, went out laughing.

2
We have house guests for the night. DD and I babysat for a friend's 6yo and then she came home to sleep over too, rather than wake her son to take him home in the middle of the night. I feel like a student again with a flatmate. No entertaining involved. We're each doing our own thing together separately, iykwim.

3
My sister and b-i-l are here to visit my nephew who is studying in Jerusalem this year. We will be hooking up with them at some time over the weekend - to be finalized.

4
There are 13 weeks of school straight, from after the Hanukkah holiday until the Passover holiday, with only two days off in between. That is correct - no half term. We've done 5 of them so only 8 weeks to go.

5
Its February! This is the beginning of the end of the winter. It's still cold but March is definitely spring-ish so only one more month tops of this uncomfortable chill. I can't complain as it's been a very mild winter so far.

Happy February!

We're Going Into Battle - R2BC

We're ready, we're stoked, we're dueling to kill. It's going to be bloody and people are going to die. It's been brewing for a long time. Some say for as long as 30 years, some say 17, and some say it all started seven years before. For us it's been a thing since last July. Relentless, every day, through exhaustion and all other personal highs and lows. We never lost faith, we never gave up, we never stopped believing. And now we have reached the final showdown.

I've been reading Harry Potter to DD every night in bed for seven months. I've read almost seven books out loud at the average rate of 10-15 pages a night. I admit that some nights we read far too much and far too late because we simply had to know what happened next.

We are at the final 130 pages and about to enter the Battle of Hogwarts.

Last night was exhilarating. We were both heady with anticipation as the climax drew near. Without giving too much away in case there is one person in the world who's not read it yet, DD was throwing herself about in excitement as more and more supporters unexpectedly showed up to join the good fight. Old friends from way back stepping up to the plate. The sort of friends we all hope we have in the sort of  the community we all want to belong to.

At times it was frustrating. Like when we just wanted to start getting organized, evacuate the little ones, protect the castle, formulate a plan. Volde.... He Who Must Not Be Named was on his way and would be at the castle gate any minute. With no time to spare Snape suddenly appeared and had to be dealt with, which took almost 2 pages! Ughhhh!

Professor McGonagall, however, was on top form. No one has quite the same dry wit as Minerva McGonagall. I read her in my best Jean Brodie accent (as she was in fact Miss Brodie in a previous incarnation). "We will delay him by protecting the castle [with protection charms]."
Harry: "Is that possible?"
McGonagall: "We teachers are quite good at magic."

DD and I have an added interest in whether Luna (our favourite) is going to marry Dean Thomas or Neville Longbottom (our other favourite). We love it that the former glumf and the flake are now committed, brave and strong leaders.

We rolled around laughing at the thought of Aberforth's face when hundreds of children appear in his living room and have to be disapperated home, each with a qualified, license-holding witch or wizard of course as they are all under age. It's going to be bedlam. We'll probably miss all that fun but I'm sure we'll hear about it afterwards.

And finally as things started to get moving and shaking, with the enemy at the gate, with the level of suspense and excitement at its highest in all the seven months of home-Jackanory...... the chapter ended.

I'm surprised either of us managed to fall asleep after that. But luckily we did as we need all the energy we can muster. Tonight we go into battle.


Pop over to Mummy from the Heart for other Reasons 2B Cheerful.