My Bit of Earth

Quick Quotes Quill Friday: Classic Hermione, Part 3

"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?"

--Hermione Granger, Goblet of Fire

Just when you stop looking for it . . .

. . . something nice pops up.  Just yesterday, I was lamenting my poor lost tulips, and today there they were.

(And another thing I discovered today--this is not a carrot seedling.  It's a weed; a fact that became very apparent when the real carrots decided to make their much more feathery appearance this evening.)

The Cover!

The big news today?  The Deathly Hallows covers are out!  And I love, love, LOVE them.  (Click on the pictures if you want to make them bigger--and you know you do!)

First, and I think my favorite, is the American cover:

Initial thoughts?

• It's sunset--goes well with it being the end of the series.
• There are curtains on the edges, which are also present on the U.S. cover of Sorcerer's Stone (but not on any of the books since then--I checked).  A very nice opening and closing of the "play".
• The coliseum-like-thing in the background.  Lest you've forgotten, from HBP:  "It was, [Harry] thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death, and walking into the arena with your head held high."
• The shadowy figures in the background.  Are they Death Eaters?  Members of the OOP?  Perhaps a mix of both, all set to watch the final showdown?
• What's with the broken wood?
• This really is a change from the monotone OOP and HBP covers.  It reminds me much more of the covers from the first few books.

Next, the UK version:

• The stag and the snake on the inside flaps are fairly obvious (I think?). 
• The glowing castle (presumably Hogwarts) on the back is a little more ominous--dark clouds and thorny branches aren't good.  But I wonder if the full moon is a Lupin reference?
• On the front, it looks like the trio is being sucked into some kind of portal.
• Notice Ron and Hermione are wearing brightly covered (and slightly archaic looking) robes, but Harry's wearing black.  Could this be a signal that Harry will die?
• Ron is holding a sword--perhaps Gryffindor's?
• Harry and Hermione both have puncture-ish looking wounds on their arms--perhaps from a snake?
• The symbol on the spine is (as with everything right now) pretty much anyone's guess.  I tried to do some research, but all I could find are some not particularly helpful mathematical symbols.

And finally, the UK adult cover:

• The markings on the locket are inconsistent with "Slytherin's mark" as shown in the COS movie, however . . .
• I'm so having Sweet Husband (jeweler) make me a mock up of the locket to wear to the book release!

And last, but not least, the relevant bits of text.  From the flap of the UK edition:

"Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task:  that of locating and destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes.  Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows.  But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given.  He must leave the warmth, safety, and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him...

"In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited.  The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again."

And from the back cover:

"Harry is waiting in Privet Drive.  The order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing--if they can.  But what will Harry do then?  How can he fulfill the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him with?"

*Sigh*

Most days I don't really believe this, but today is one of the days I do:  Sometimes the anticipation is absolutely wonderful!  And the guessing!

My take on the text?  I think the book will start out at Privet Drive, with some slightly tension building, but not too bad scare as the OOP gets Harry away.  Then to the Burrow, possibly for the wedding.  Then off on the Horcrux hunt--but maybe not to Hogwarts--although I do think Hogwarts will be involved in this book, if only for the fact that it's pictured on the UK cover.  I'm betting the final battle will take place there . . . maybe?

Can't wait for the next teaser!

MBE Readers Name the Vegetable Plot

For the Wednesday poll this week, I asked you all to give me suggestions for a name for the vegetable plot in the Community Garden.  I think Fergus' Mom (Fergus being Moe's soul-brother in terms of mischief and charm) hit on a winner.  Henceforth, the vegetable plot will be known as "The Burrow" (the Burrow being the Weasley's house in the Harry Potter books).  To quote J.K. Rowling:

"It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic (which, Harry reminded himself, it probably was).  Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof.  A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, THE BURROW.  Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron.  Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.

"'It's not much,' said Ron.

"'It's wonderful,' said Harry happily . . . ."

I'm Normal, It's My (Fill In the Blank) That's Screwed Up--Hooray!

You know how sometimes certain things just don't go right, and you assume it's something you've done wrong, and then you find out it's just something that everyone has problems with, and then you get that contented/relieved little feeling in your chest?  (What, you mean everyone doesn't go through that?)  Well, it happened to me twice today--twice.

First, I was reading local gardening columnist Gwyn Mellinger's weekly column.  This week, in her discussion about garden planning, she says:

"Some gardeners who are pressed for space try to reuse the areas of the garden where early crops grow by replanting late-season crops there. The term for this is succession planting. For the average home gardener in Kansas, the concept is difficult to implement because of the length of our growing season.

"Because we generally don’t plant our early-season greens and cole crops until March and we plant our hot-weather crops in April and May, we don’t have adequate time to plant twice in the same spot. Seeds and transplants have difficulty getting started in the summer heat, so the first practical opportunity to replant is in fall. In this part of the country, fall gardening is complicated by the arrival of frost in October.

"Most home gardeners who use succession planting as a space-management strategy are located in more temperate climates with much longer growing seasons. If we could plant our greens and cole crops in early February, this would be worth trying. As a practical matter in Kansas vegetable gardens, every crop needs its own space."

OK, I know this may not seem big to most of you, but many, many, many gardening books say that secession planting is the way to go when you're limited on space.  I've been trying to make it work for two years now, and have always thought myself a bit of a failure when X vegetable didn't mature fast enough to pull it out and put something else in.  Come to find out, it's not me, it's my climate--hooray!

Wednesday Poll: Name My Garden

As all of you regular readers are aware, I recently acquired a new little "Bit of Earth" in the Eastside Community Garden.  It seems kind of dumpy to refer to it as "the Plot" all summer.  I think it needs a real name, but I can't seem to think of anything that sounds fitting. 

So, for this week's poll I'm taking suggestions.  I'm thinking something short, something witty, something with some sort of literary reference (e.g. "My Bit of Earth)--but more than all of that, I'm looking for something that fits a little hodge-podge, hippy, maybe-a-little-shabby-to-outsiders-but-beautiful-to-me vegetable garden.  Any ideas?

Future Crooked Carrot?

Everyone--well, everyone except our local gardening columnist Gwyn Mellinger--has told me that carrots can be persnickety to grow.  You have to dig the soil extra deep and then sift it (says Sweet Husband who apparently learned this from his Grandfather--a Master Gardener who knew his stuff).  Then you have to pray that the seeds stay put, and a crust doesn't form on top of the soil, and the bunnies don't eat the seedlings, and even if you do all of that you still might end up with (gasp!) crooked carrots!  Doesn't that seem like a lot that could go wrong?

And, to make matters worse, in my hurry to just get the seeds in the ground, I violated many of the above rules.  (Don't tell anyone, but I only dug down about six inches . . . and I didn't sift . . . .)  However, despite my shortcomings, I was relieved to see I have some carrots growing.

Will they be crooked?  Only time will tell.  But on the bright side, I bet we could use them for some interesting food sculpture, er, stuff . . . .

Chicken Fever

I was at the local farm implement store this weekend looking for trellis material for the community garden plot, when I noticed they had little chickens and ducks for sale. 

I must have sat and watched them for 20 minutes.  One of the store employees finally came over and asked it I wanted to hold one; I sadly said no, patted the offered duckling on the head, and resumed my trellis hunt.

But, of course, seeing the little ones reminded me of my little imaginary flock and my little imaginary cute chicken coop.  Although it may subside at times, my chicken fever is just biding it's time; so, to tide myself over for now, I'm going to start a list of links to fun chicken websites as I find them.  You can check it out at the (way) lower right.  Cluck-cluck.

(Golden Campine chick photo courtesy of Valerie Ackley and www.feathersite.com.)

Little Lettuces

River Doggin'

We took the pups for to the river this afternoon for their first swim of the year.  I was a little nervous given that the first time we went swimming last year I ended up in the river--very muddy, very wet, very cold.  Thankfully, today was much less exciting.

Moe (aka "He-Who-Must-Chase-Tennis-Balls") enjoyed splashing in the water, but didn't want to put his nose under to retrieve his ball. 

Porter did a bit of dainty wading, but mostly just looked at Moe like he was a little nuts.

And we all made it back to the car about two seconds before it started pouring!

More pictures here and here.

Community Garden Workday

The first community garden workday was this morning.  There was much digging and discussing.  I helped dig up the community strawberry patch and herb garden, and then retired to my own little plot. 

After doing some digging of my own, I covered up the areas that aren't going to be planted for a few more weeks (or for as long as I can stand to hold off).  As I was working, I noticed I've got a few little onion sets starting to peek up, and some teeny-tiny salad greens and radishes. 

Unfortunately, it looks like the bunnies got to my cabbage plants; they're still there, but they were pretty stripped down.  They may have been just trying to be nice, but the other gardeners opined that the cabbages weren't beyond recovery, so maybe they'll grow back.  Or maybe I'll have to make them some little cages to keep them safe.  Or maybe I'll take Moe up to the garden and let him catch some bunnies (not really, just kidding).

And as for the little flying terrier statute in the picture?  Well, I found him at the nursery the other day, and decided that every garden needs a little deity.  Now he just needs a name . . . .

Dear Jayhawks

If it's not too much trouble, could you please try and win by a few more points today against UCLA than you did against Southern Illinois?  I know--a win is a win is a win--but if you could just make it a bit less stressful that would be great.  Thanks!!!

The Trio Unbroken

Yeah!  Yeah!  Yeah!

Here's a bit of good news--the trio (Daniel, Rupert, and Emma) will remain intact for the remaining two movies!

The First Day of Spring (Observed)

Although the first day of Spring was Wednesday, I took today off of work--so we'll pretend it was today.  I played in the garden, mulched, planted some Snapdragons ("Solstice Yellow"), and generally had a good day playing hookie.  Much better than working!

Quick Quotes Quill Friday: Classic Hermione, Part 2

"Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"

--Hermione Granger, Goblet of Fire

Almost 50

I cataloged all of our books this weekend.  It seems I have 47 Harry Potter books.

368

That's how many books Sweet Husband and I currently own.  Over this past week I have been slowly, but surely cataloging them on a new website a friend told me about called Library Thing.  Despite the mind-numbing data entry part, actually pulling all of our books out and looking at them was nice.  There were a few old friends I had forgotten about that it was good to see again.

And just because I know someone will ask, I have 47 Harry Potter books, 19 of which are different versions of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".  (C'mon, that's not that many!)

See Harry, as well as the other 321 books, here or by using the link to "My Library" at left.

Spring Green Pasta

Toss together . . . .

• --a cooked bag of frozen tortellini
• --a few chopped handfuls of whatever green leafy stuff you have on hand (arugula, spinach or similar)
• --chopped green onions
• --chopped green olives (the olive counter kind, not the ones in a jar)
• --a few mushed cloves of roasted garlic
• --some yummy shreded cheese

. . . and you've got Spring Green Pasta that really is green and really is good.

Wednesday Poll: The Last Supper

Over my lunch break today, I ventured out into the rain to see an exhibit called "The Last Supper: Final meal Requests of U.S. Death Row Inmates”.  Julie Green, the artist, began the project in 1999 after being disturbed that the last meal requests of death row inmates were published in the newspaper.  According to what appears to be her website, to date 234 plates are complete, and every death penalty state is included.  Her site also says:

"Because of the content, The Last Supper is challenging to produce and may be challenging to view.  While painting, I think about the death penalty, the victims, the heinous crimes committed, the individuals executed, the large number of minorities on death row, and the margin for error in judicial process.  I think about food, choice, and whether inmates are able to eat the food they order.  Specific food requests, often regional specialties, sometimes tell where the individual lived and may provide clues on the one’s race and economic level.  Inmates in some states are limited to food available in the prison kitchen.  There is a great deal of red meat but few lobsters, and no sushi or Godiva chocolates."

I absolutely love the concept of this exhibit.  Whatever your opinion is about the death penalty, I think we do ourselves a disservice by de-humanizing criminals in general and death row inmates in particular.  It's easy to say that X-convict did such and such and is therefore a monster and not fit to live; it's much harder, but much more honest, to realize that he or she is a person--a person who has done horrible things, no doubt--but a person all the same.  And I think it's easier for the rest of us to identify with someone who likes Coke or (as on one of the plates I saw today) pickles.

As much as I liked the idea however, I didn't care for the way it was carried out.  The monochromatic paint (Sweet Husband said it's called "China Paint") made it difficult to make out exactly what some of the requested food was, and the whole thing had a kind of junior-high art student feel to it.  I did like the way the plates were displayed though--as I stepped back to look at them all as a whole it really struck me that each one represented a person.

Regular readers will by now be thinking, "OK, OK, art-shmart--is there a Wednesday poll question coming soon?"  Ah, but there is--have you guessed it already?  For this week's poll:

If you knew you were going to die at midnight tonight, what would your "last supper" be?

Comment and discuss.

A Much Needed Nudge

As you may have heard, there is a pretty scary pet food recall in progress.  Dogs and cats who have eaten the effected foods are dying of renal failure, and what's more, it looks like the food producer, Menu Foods, knew that there were potential problems with the food up to 3 months ago.  (See this string of posts on The Pet Connection for sources and more details.)

There have been recalls before, but this one has bothered me much more than most.  Although we feed our pups dry food (the recall only effects wet food), our dogs have eaten at least two of the brands on the recall list in this past year.  I now feel like I have been living under a false sense of security.  I thought that buying premium dog food would help insulate me from things like this, but apparently I thought wrong.

Which is why I've finally decided that we're going to take the plunge into home-cooked dog food.