Spent the Morning at St. Mungo's

Well, I spent the morning at St. Mungo's with my fifth-year. I got absolutely no knitting done, but at least he did admit to me that the yarn I bought to make socks for him with did not please him one bit. Better now than after I spend hours on the socks!!!

This potions professor - still a bit of a mystery to me, actually. I am not that entranced with light-haired men. Then again, I maybe be being so hare-brained myself as to be mixing them up and be talking about the wrong person!

The feast was marvelous tonight! I don't usually go down to the Great Hall because the House Elves will bring the food up so families can eat together for the few of us who are adult students with families, but since it was the feast, down we went. The baby ran under every single house table, and I was utterly mortified. There were people at the Gryffindor table muttering about two students named Fred and George who used to go here, and chuckling, while my older son wanted, probably, to disappear. He was very good, though. Accio'd his baby brother and brought him back to us, and then used a temporary sticking charm to keep him on the bench where he belonged. He promised he'd teach me that one when no one is looking.

It has been slightly embarrassing that he could do all this magic and I could not, up till now - it is one of the reasons we finally came. My husband does not love his commute by international portkey, but one look at what would have been his department here was enough. My son could never teach me because of the ban on using magic out of school when you aren't 17 yet. He whispered to me as he went his way, however, that he would come by on Sunday and help me out.

Anyway, there is this Black Bean Pumpkin soup...

Got my pals, and Slytherins, take note!

I got my pals. I am being spoiled by Cassandra Puddlemere, a former Gryffindor (or maybe just one on hiatus - she's in Slytherin this time around) who apparantly really knows how to spoil one. I am spoiling a Hufflepuff, Clidonia Acromantula. She's a second year also, which means she really knows what's going on - I had better get everything right!

Now the Slytherins should take note because I am designing a sock called "The Sevenfold Severusbane Sock" It is "Bane" more in the sense of things being the bane of one's existence, rather than being like wolf'sbane, except that Nagini is going to be an option. I'm going to need a test knitter sometime soon, if anyone is interested.

Actually, since most of the Banes of Snape's existence were Gryffindors, it should also work well in Red and Gold, for any Gryffs who think it sounds interesting.

Potions has yet to go down the tubes for me (Speaking of Hogwart's most famous Potions Master)but that may only be because I haven't had to actually brew anything yet. I am sending for some Mise en place dishes, however. I need all the help I can get.

I didn't kill anything in Herbology, though. That's something...

Got my pals, and Slytherins, take note!

I'm not sure I like this...

What Harry Potter Wand Are You? Your Result: 12.5" Yew, Dragon Heartstring   Your wand is longer than average, with a flexible and long-lasting wood. Dragon Heartstring is a common Ollivander core. Your wand is ideal for jinxes and hexes.
11.5" Yew, Unicorn Hair
11" Mahogany, Unicorn Hair
9" Willow, Phoenix Feather
10.5" Ash, Phoenix Feather
14" Holly, Veela Hair
11" Ash, Hippogriff Talon
8.5" Mahogany, Dragon Heartstring
What Harry Potter Wand Are You? See All Our Quizzes

Hexes and jinxes? Well, if that's true - and it doesn't seem to be Mister Olivander who wrote the quiz - if that's true, maybe it will help me out. I suspect I am not the hexy jinxy type, so at least one of the two of us will have an aptitude that way. Something to even things out a bit.

I have my class schedule and it is enough to make my hair stand on end. I'm not eleven. I do know a few things about myself. I stunk at Muggle Chemistry, I'm not much of a cook - and I have to make potions? Really? What are they thinking?!? I come by my inablities totally honestly. My mother's college chem class nearly poisoned themselves by not using the hood. She got in trouble for bleeding on the floor when she used one of the tools improperly - and that was plain, old, relatively inert Muggle stuff. Can you imagine what I, who only got through HS chem by cleaning up after the two kids in my lab group who could actually do the work, did it, am going to do in a potions classroom? I've been asking around and apparantly one of the ways you can go wrong is by melting your cauldron. I've already sent an owl to Diagon Alley to see if I can get some sort of quantity discount on them.

Then there's Transfiguration. I have serious scruples about Transfiguration. When you change an inanimate object to a living thing, are you actually making it live? And if you turn a turtle into a soup bowl, are you killing it? The whole thing makes me very uncomfortable. I can just see the discussion with the Professor, too. They never really want to hear things like this, not even in office hours. Still, I had better go address the issue before I am standing there, asked to turn a porcupine into a shoe brush and surprise her by refusing, and then insult her by explaining that I think her entire subject is unethical...

On the other hand, they could have given me Ancient Runes. I already read a little Founder's Era English. I already know Muggle Runes - more than one kind. I'd fit right in to Ancient Runes. But I did not complain. The Transfigurations thing is bad enough.

One thing I am not worried about is that DADA teacher. First, he looks young enough to be my kid, so no real thrill there. Then, well, after you've taught the muddled Muggle Students I had for 20 years...piece of cake.

I am very very happy with my quills. And my parchment! *dies and goes to neorxnewanga* Everything an old Muggle Medieval Studies Major could ask...

Oh, I hope the other students like me!

Hurray!!!!

I remember seeing the HSKS the first time, about a year ago, and I had just signed up for the Hogwarts sock swap. That was my first sock and I guess I thought two was too many? I am now an experienced swapper, and a Gryffindor again!!!!

So, for the next few months this blog will be written by a witch named Belladonna Boomslang, a first year adult student at Hogwarts. Sorted into Gryffindor, I am looking forward to all the events that surround a Hogwarts first year - shopping in Diagon Alley for my wand, riding on the Hogwarts express (I think I am bringing a very fancy basket lunch - not quite as pretentious as Slughorn's, but something besides candy, and enough to share with whomever is in the railway carriage with me. My son told me years ago that if you bring food, people will like you, and I see no reason to argue with that logic.) and being taken across the lake in a little boat by Hagrid. My DH better watch it, because that horrible LIE that Mad-Eye died when he fell off his broom is just that, and who knows, I might get to meet him. (Belladonna <3's Mad-Eye like craaaaazy. Of course, so does his wife. You didn't know he was married? It was in the Quibbler...)

Of course the Gryffinitter herself may guest blog from time to time, but mostly it will be me, BB, adult witch from a family of lost witches and wizards, recently re-discovered...

We all have days like this...

This morning I had a 50 foot tree from the front of the house cut down. It needed it. It has been losing branches for 7 years, and not only was it shaggy looking, we were starting to worry about it deciding to come down of it's own accord - probably on someone else's car, or house, or self, even. The men were done by 8:45. I am blaming it on this.

Anyway, after the men, and a number of people who just had to either call or show up at the door, or call back, or forget to call back, and cleaning the couch from the creative efforts of the two year old who has started making a habit of this, I decided to call Patternworks and ask about a sock yarn I've been eying in their catalog. It is the Kertzer On Your Toes, color 3812.

It is in the same box with color 3817 ,which is shown knitted up into a pair of socks, and very clearly the socks have strong stirpes of Hot Pink about 3 inches wide, with stripes of multicolor in between. I was discussing this with customer service, and went on to explain that This was not my favorite look, although I do like the color pink, and anyway, if they are too bright,

"All you have to do is pull your pants down."

I probably should have included the word "cuffs."


We had a good laugh, though. You'd hope that would distract from your socks, wouldn't you?

See, knitting CAN cure anything. Even a crazy day...

Cast your bread upon the waters...

As the woman who wrote the I Hate to Cook Book pointed out, sometimes when you cast your bread upon the waters, it comes back nicely buttered.

I got my bread back toasted, buttered, and with a dollop of something delicious on top from my Hogwarts Sock Swap Two Partner, Daisy Hippogryff.


Look at this wonderful package! All it had to include was the following:

Socks in my house colors
A sock pattern
An HP bookmark (Which you can see better in the next foto)
Yarn for a pair of socks

Hmmm...yep, I think that was all, but look what she picked out for me!



First, there is a pile of edible goodness - Petite Ecolier Cookies, which are even more delicious than any I have had here, Cocoa sent to me by Remus Lupin, an Easter Egg that Dobby made me, and a box of lavender candies that are just - OOOH! I can clearly see I am going to have to start ordering them for myself - I have been very carefully eating them one at a time, as a special treat.




The major part of the gift, what she really concentrated on, was the yarn, and I think she totally outdid herself. Observe:

Two Skeins of Elann's Sock-it-to-Me sock yarn in Gryffindor burgundy.

Two skeins of Bergere de France Lima in machine washable wool and alpaca - I had never even heard of such a thing! - in a terrific green to make my son a pair of socks. I have no idea how she knew, but it is almost exactly the color of his eyes.

The leftover yarn from my socks, for repair, and

Effiloche, which is sea wool dyed locally in brazil wood. This is also machine washable, and a perfect color for me. I was stunned, actually. I kept holding it as if it were very fragile, almost afraid it would disappear from my hands.

The other items in the box were all also very special, and some of them were specifically sent to me by members of the Hogwarts staff and extended family. I think you can see in the photo:

A scarf woven by Hermione hanging up over the back of the box.

A bottle of honeysuckle scented bath and shower gel brewed for me by Madame Pomfrey

Minerva McGonagall came up with the lovely little notebook - there was a whole story about it in the letter which came with the package.

The little yellow rat you can just see on the top of the skein of Gryffindor yarn is the bookmark - Petter Pettigrew, hiding out as Scabbers.

There is a lapel pin of Hedwig, and a black and red pendant which relates to my pal's screen name.

The black circle you can see is actually the round top of a little skein holder I can put sock yarn in to keep it neat in my project bags.

The bracelet is a row counter bracelet, which she made for me herself! I have only been wanting one of these since the first time I saw something like it in a catalog...

There are three Cd's - a movie she thought I would like, and two sock patterns because she liked them both and could not decide between them!

And dear, busy, Molly Weasley out did herself! That is the bit you can see of a felted oven mitt she made me, there in a corner. (I had a whole picture of it, but Blogger was very mingy about how many pictures it would let me post... : - ( )

But you have been waiting to see the socks, haven't you? I have to warn you they are a tiny bit dusty, from being put on my feet the minute I got them and not taken off for quite some time... Here is one on my right foot...



And here is a photo that shows how much attention to detail Daisy put into them. The little hole that almost ALWAYS shows up at the side of the gusset? GONE!



You may have noticed that this was a bit more lavish than the average sock swap package. Daisy and I got to know each other very well. I think the swap mom paired us very carefully, possibly partly because we had each designed our own sock pattern for the first round. You can see her pattern here, along with the pattern for the socks she made me - Daisy is a very generous knitter who offers her patterns free on her website, and they are all worth knitting. Right beneath the pattern for my socks is the pattern for a baby bunting, and below that, her showcase of what I sent her.

We actually opened our boxes at the same time, while hanging out together on Yahoo messenger. It just took me a while to get this post together... (Very red face here...)

We took our time with this, by mutual consent. The packages were due at the end of October, but we did not mail till March, for various reasons. We corresponded throughout the whole time, however, and got to know each other fairly well. At this point she is a friend, not just a swap partner who did a great job, and we continue to correspond. So, not my bread came back not just buttered, but toasted, buttered, and layered with little delicious bits. Occassionally, things do turn out much better than one could ever have expected.