As I mentioned before, I love watching my TV shows. I currently keep up with 19 different shows. The common reaction the this statement is “How do you possibly have time for all those?” Another common reaction is “Get a life.” I actually have lots of free time even after watching my shows. That’s because I’m lucky enough to never have any homework and unlucky enough to not have better things to do.

Many of you may have already have heard of Hulu.com. Hulu is a wonderful and legal site that has all my shows online. It has hundreds of episodes, clips and movies. Hulu is also the reason I can keep up with so many shows; I can watch them whenever I have time instead of sitting in front of a TV at a specific time.

Here’s a list of my shows incase you’re interested in finding new shows to watch or interested in comparing tastes.

Drama:
Desperate Housewives (Airs Sunday, Online Next Day)
Glee (Airs Wednesday, Online Next Day)
FlashFoward (Airs Thursday, Online Next Day)
Dollhouse (Airs Friday, Online Next Day)

Crime Drama:
Castle (Airs Monday, Online Next Day)
Lie To Me (Airs Monday, Online Next Day)
The Forgotten (Airs Tuesday, No Longer Online)
Bones (Airs Thursday, Online Next Day)
White Collar (Airs Friday, Online Next Day)

Medical Drama:
House (Airs Monday, Online 8 Days After)
Trauma (Airs Monday, Online Next Day)
Grey’s Anatomy (Airs Thursday, Online Next Day)
Private Practice (Airs Thursday, Online Next Day)

Comedy:
Cougar Town (Airs Wednesday, Online Next Day)
Modern Family (Airs Wednesday, Online Next Day)
30 Rock (Airs Thursday, Online Next Day)
Community (Airs Thursday, Online Next Day)
Psych (Airs Friday, Online Next Day)

Reality:
Supernanny (Airs Friday, Online Next Day)

Some of these could fit into more than one category (Bones, for example, could be both crime and medical).

Have fun watching!
Love, Ginny

Recently my pastor, Dr. Richard Hunter, posted a piece on feeling inadequate.

I wanted to add something to this.  Richard, if we were adequate, we would have no need of God.

Lord, I need thee EVERY HOUR.  Not just when I acknowledge my overwhelmed-ness, but every hour.  Not just when I feel like I can’t do this on my own, but every single moment.  There is a blessed security in completely surrendering to the fact that God is in charge.  Much like when my beautiful baby girl relaxes into my arms.

Ginny can’t spend all her time in my arms.  She has to learn to do things on her own.  She will eventually grow into a competent adult.  But even a competent adult is not enough to stand up against the horrors of this world.  Somehow, I need to teach her (and myself) to continually surrender to God. Let Him be in charge.  Let Him lift us over the things we know we can’t get over AND over the rough places that we think we could handle on our own.

There is a sweetness in surrender, a peace, an uplifting joy that comes from really knowing that God is in charge. Not in a dictatorial sense, but in a protective, sheltering, loving sense.  I don’t see His arms around me as shackles that are keeping me from running free. Instead I see those loving arms like the strong arms of a mommy (or daddy) holding me close because He loves me and enjoys my very presence.

The same way that I can’t get enough of hugging Ginny….God feels even more about me….and you.  Don’t believe me?  Think I’m off my rocker?  Okay.  He SAYS so.  God’s own words:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name: you are Mine.
Isaiah 43:1b

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1a

the LORD delights in those who fear*  him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Psalm 147:11
(*to me this use of the word “fear” translates as respect)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
I John 3: 16

How much would I do for someone who loves me this much?  Anything LORD.  Anything.  No more holding back.  I surrender. All.

Here are photos from the pumpkin patch, Halloween and just hanging around the house.

this shows teh outfit a little better. She was a dragon..no wings 'cause she is just out of the egg.....

These are some long over due photos from Martin’s niece Whitney’s wedding to a wonderful guy named Nate.  I was a bad mommy and didn’t get any pictures while we were there.  I owe a debt of gratitude to Marcia for capturing these moments and sending them to me.

The venue is out at the family ranch in Texas.  Enjoy

Just to set the stage – here are the bride and groom getting married in the exact same spot that Whitney’s parents got married in some 20+ years before.

Whitney & Nate

Ginny and Martin by the fence.

Where are the cows daddy?  I know I heard cows…..

she really liked the fence....

Ben & Graham

And her cousins.  She likes the cousins.

back to the fence

I’m telling you , she really liked the fence.

Traditional Enchanted Tarot Deck

Position 1: YOU (In your current situation)

• The Hierophant

You need to act sure, serene and merciful as you learn and teach techniques and traditions. The repression of your right to think freely may result in conformity.

Position 2: WHAT COVERS YOU (What surrounds your current situation)

• Ace of Hearts

This marks the fertile beginning of the flow of love into your life because you are accepting and receiving on a new level. Joy, health and happiness are being offered to you now. These are feelings that money cannot buy and time cannot take away from you.

You are surrounded by love. The possibility to discover a new love affair is real. Open your heart to it. You can feel the most positive emotions. Loving ways will magnatise love to you. A lover may help or need help.

Position 3: WHAT CROSSES YOU (Present conditions in your situation)

• Nine of Wands

You must gather and maintain great strength in reserve. Prepare to defend your position, even if it is unpopular with those you respect. You may have to bide your time but you must stay faithful to your purpose. Apply techniques of strict military-like discipline to the development of your strength of will, character and body because the time of challenge approaches. Lack of discipline blocks progress. Don’t be overly self-indulgent. Stay faithful to your cause.

Position 4: YOUR FOUNDATION (The basis of your current situation)

• Two of Swords

Be on guard to prevent time spent in contemplation after a period of stalemate or procrastination. It is time to Consider view points of others. You don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle, for the time being, let things stand as they are. Diplomacy and compromise can help achieve balance and harmony.

Position 5: WHAT IS BEHIND YOU (The past. What brought you to where you are now)

• Nine of Swords

In darkness, personal demons seem larger then ever. The monsters must be met, identified and fought, in order to free yourself. Past fears, obsessions and compulsions are effecting the present situation. If they were confronted and understood, they will now manifest as bad memories, anxiety and nightmares. If not, take action today to do so.

Position 6: WHAT CROWNS YOU (How you’d like to see the situation progress)

• Six of Swords

A change of direction will give you a new perspective. a new vista may open up, bringing new, liberating solutions to old problems. A difficult cycle is now ending and the passage will be smooth after a few waves of transition. Visualise the challenges in your life as doors which you can open to reveal rich rewards.

Position 7: WHAT IS BEFORE YOU (The short term outcome)

• Two of Hearts

The focus of Two of Hearts is on relationships, mutual affinity and union. This card represents all that is clear and true, supportive and comforting in romantic, familial and business partnerships, as well as the union of the sexes. You will get the rare chance to know the clear, nurturing, supportive and heartfelt emotional exchange that is the mark of a good romantic relationship. Few things are more valuable.

Position 8: YOUR PERSONALITY (How you should conduct yourself)

• Prince of Wands

Present yourself as an ambitious person who desires to move to the best place possible. Show you are acting boldly to be first in your field and you are willing to take calculated risks. Do not be afraid to be passionate.

Position 9: HOW OTHERS SEE YOU (How you are perceived by others)

• The Magician

Others appreciate your energy, intelligence, skill and ability to produce results, as if by magic. Those who want things to stay as they are and maintain exclusive cotrol may resist your efforts to do things your way.

Position 10: YOUR HOPES AND FEARS

• The Emperor

You hope to be a respected authority figure, but fear to take charge and accept the responsibilities that come with the job. Problems with your father may be the reason. You may fear, or fear for, an authority figure.

Position 11: THE OUTCOME

• Five of Swords

If a problem presents itself in such a way that victory cannot be won or that the cost is too high, the fight must be surrendered. Accept this. You may encounter defeat, either in your own situation or that of another. Or, you may get what you want but find that it doesn’t satisfy you. The time of defeat is the best time to sow the seeds of future successes. Avoid blame and revenge.

The original plan for Halloween this year was for us to go up to Knoxville for an award that was being given to a friend.  We wanted to be there to congratulate her and a lot of our friends up there haven’t seen Ginny ever and we’ve been wanting to catchup with folks.

That plan got derailed by the various successive illnesses in our collective household.  First my mom got sick, then Martin, then me, then my dad.  Energy levels are shot and we finally had to cancel our trip in the face of utter exhaustion.

Enter plan B.

Dress Ginny up, dress ourselves up, go energetically trick-or-treating round the neighborhood.

That got derailed by the weather.  Nasty ucky rainy weather.

Enter plan C.

Stay home.  Set the yard up to encourage trick-or-treaters to come to US. Stay home.  Dress up ourselves and the baby, greet loads of people energetically and with enthusiasm.

That got derailed by the aforementioned exhaustion factor.  And the rain kept all but two small groups of brave trick-or-treaters from our door.  Add to that – Ginny started running a fever on Friday night (just 99.2) so we didn’t bother to make her get dressed up.

We stayed home all weekend.  I didn’t leave the house from Friday night till Monday morning.  Our family came over and watched Corpse Bride.

So, you ask, was it a bad weekend?

no.

decidedly no.

It didn’t go according to plan, but it was a great weekend.

Why?

well let’s see.

• Martin got a job this week and he started work on Saturday and Sunday.
• Ginny’s fever was just enough to make her very very cuddly all weekend, so I spent almost the whole weekend with a sweet baby girl in my arms who just wanted to be loved on.  That was a huge treat.
• It turns out that I DID lose five pounds last week.  Just from being sick.  I’m still mostly just eating crackers and water.  so maybe that will continue…..
• Yes, okay, Georgia lost their football game, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
• Texas moved up in the polls.  Which, while unfair to Alabama (how can you drop in the polls when you didn’t even play?) is still good for one of my favorite teams.  Actually I like all three of the top three right now, so it is hard to have a bad football weekend.
• The Saints won’t beat my Falcons up til tonight, so that doesn’t count as part of the weekend.
• Ginny is only drinking from a cup now.  We went cold turkey off her bottle and she adjusted beautifully.  She is a little short on fluids at the moment, but she is catching up nicely.
• (selfish pleasure alert) I had the best costume at work on Friday. Not according to some contest, but my admittedly subjective opinion.
• I just got to register for an event in Houston January 2010 that I’ve been looking forward to since January 2009.

I’ve got some really cute photos of Ginny in our church pumpkin patch from last week that I need to post.

Basically it was a good weekend spent a home in the comfort of family and simple treasures.  What were your blessings this weekend?

Hey, Readers!

My name is Ginny. I am the oldest of four kids; I have one sister and two brothers. I met Dawn and Elle in kindergarten, C.C. in 5^th grade and Cecily and Georgie in 7^th grade. I became friends with Elle in 4^th grade and everyone else in 7^th grade, when I had a different lunch period than all my other friends. Then I went to a different high school where I made other amazing friends, convinced myself my new amazing friends didn’t like me, lost my new amazing friends and kind of got them back (long story).

In high school I was the person who never turned in homework so I graduated with a 2.2 but managed to be accepted into two colleges, University of Montana and Rocky Mountain College. I never visited either college and don’t have a reason for choosing UM over Rocky Mountain.

Now I’m a freshman at the University of Montana. I don’t have a major yet which is very stressful when choosing classes. I’m thinking of majoring in social work but I’m always open to suggestions!

I have crazy amounts of free time here. To keep from dying of boredom, I keep up with 17 different TV shows, play the Sims, read, and solve logic puzzles. My favorite shows are Castle, Bones and Law and Order: SVU. I have way too many favorite books to list (but I can say I am a huge Harry Potter fan!). I used to be in band and choir but I didn’t join here at UM.

I am extremely lazy, I procrastinate way too much (hence the 2.2 in high school), I’m kind of shy and I need my alone time. On the plus side, I get major warm fuzzies when I help people, I like to think the best of people and I avoid conflict. Well, avoiding conflict might actually be a negative but I needed another positive.

I think that’s everything you should know about me!

Thanks for reading, Ginny

…As if you needed to know more!

I saw this little questionnaire on Amanda’s blog today and thought it would be fun to do. I kinda have blog block.  There are a number of devotional posts simmering in the back of my head right now, and Halloween photos are not ready to happen yet, so I’ve sort of been in a holding pattern….

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while your blogging?
mozzerella & dried cherries.

2. What is one thing you wouldn’t want to live without?
toothbrush.  I can not STAND fuzzy teeth.
3. Beach, Mountains, or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?
A mountain retreat with a farm element  to it would be nice.

4. What’s your least favorite chore/household duty?
sink drains. yuck.

5. Who do people say you remind them of?
I don’t know.  It doesn’t come up much.  I look kinda like my mom and my grandmother….

6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying home with the fam?
I love to plan a party, but once it gets going, I fade to the background.  I greatly prefer a quiet evening at home with my family and maybe one other couple just playing games or watching football.  With our shoes off.  I hate wearing shoes at home.  It just doesn’t seem right.
7. What’s your all time favorite movie?
The Sound of Music.  Hands down.  Though I must admit that in the last year Mama Mia has made a serious bid for front runner status. I’ll always come back to the Sound of Music though.
8. Do you sleep in your make-up or remove it like a good little girl every night?
Mostly I take it off every night.

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you’ve never had a chance to learn? What is it?

I wish I could ride.  I get sad when people talk about being able to feel their horse’s mouth through the reins, cause I’ve never felt that and have no idea how to feel it.  I think you have to have been around horses a long time to get that.
10. What’s one strange thing you’re really good at?
organizing schedules?  though that isn’t weird.  I enjoy reading Chemical & Engineering News and Science magazine even though I was a history major.  I don’t understand all of it, but I like it because I can have intelligent, relevant conversations with folks in my office (I work in a chemistry department)

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?
His walk.  He walked across that field like he was twenty feet tall.  Not arrogant, but completely confident.  I’ll never forget it.

12. What is something you love to smell?

fresh baked, homemade bread…usually with butter dripping down it.

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.
I don’t ever get around to doing thank you notes.  I  know, I know.  Revoke my southern woman hood card.  It is a grievous sin.  but most people feel that my cooking makes up for it.

14. When you have extra money, what’s the first thing you think to do with it?
buy more books.

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?
somewhere in between.  My hubby on the other hand laughs loud and proud.

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?
Barnes & Noble.  Its a sickness.

17. What’s one thing you’d do more often if you had more time?
paint the mural I wanted to paint in Ginny’s bedroom and do more canning.  Also go back to school.  I’d love to study Greek.

18. Are you a big spender or frugal?
impulse spender.  I am a total sucker for…Oh we DO need that!  really.

19. Who is your favorite character of all time?
Maria from the Sound of Music.  or maybe Elizabeth from Pride & Prejudice.  It’s a draw between the two I think.

20. Would you want to be famous?
not really.  Valued by the people who know me? yes.  more famous than I am? nope.

What are some or all of your answers?

I saw the first signs of imaginative play in Ginny last night.

It wasn’t much, but it was definitely there.

She took a wooden block.  Clearly not a food item, or in any way resembling a food item, picked it up, examined it with all seriousness, then putting it up to her mouth, took a pretend bite, pretended to chew, pretended to swallow and then smiled at me.

I know having tea parties with her stuffed animals is still way off into the future, but it was so sweet to get to watch that moment.

Ginny at 13 months is….

delightful.

She giggles, she pretends to read (and turns pages really well), she loves to romp and wrestle and dance and clap.  Her new favorite food is cheese toast.  oh wow does this girl like cheese toast.  I think she would live on it if we would let her.

Words so far are Mama, Papa, Eyes, Nose, Puppy, Kitty, Iss?  (we think it means “what is it?” as she ususally uses that word when pointing at something new.  And seems happy when we tell her what it is “that is a couch”

She still finds European soccer to be soothing (crowd noise is a continuous drone) and American football to be interesting. though she doesn’t have favorite teams yet.

Here are some recent photos

ginny and MAK

For some reason Ginny is not as interested in her bear these days.  She has taken a sudden liking to Martin’s ancient Paddington Bear, but MAK is not really her “best friend” right now.  I’m waiting for the day when she picks him up and walks around with him.

playing in the leaves with daddy

Daisy, Martin & Ginny

This is our neighbor’s dog.  She is very sweet and Ginny likes to visit her.

And NO.  No matter what it looks like, Ginny is not picking her nose in this shot.  She is sucking her finger.

Ginny & Martin

I loved this shot.  From an artsy kinda of perspective.

Ginny & Mommy

This is probably a horrible thing to say, but I love how this shot makes me look a little bit thinner than I have been looking recently.

okay, and Ginny was giggling like a maniac.

making faces at Daddy

I probably shouldn’t have taught her that.  But it was just too much fun.  I love how she is trying to stick her little tongue out.  And is it just too ironic that the best photo of my face in months I happen to have my tongue stuck out at my hubby?  weird.

Can you tell we enjoy our baby girl just a little bit?

God knows what he is doing.  I have a good story from this weekend in my head, and until it gets committed to paper (or pixels) it will continue to percolate at the front of my mind.  God knows this about me and He knows that I needed to keep those highlights from the weekend active in my mind for at least another day.

He knew that I would need the encouragement those memories bring. Monday was a rough day.  The diagnosis of h1N1 for Martin was a shock and then his best job prospect fell through. But the weekend held a bright shining memory that helps a great deal.

What is that memory?

Was it the friend who got up about 5 hours before his normal time to drive me to my work on a Friday so that Martin and Ginny could pack the car and come get me on their way to the airport.  Nope.  Though that was very kind and it was a huge help logistically.

Was it the gorgeous wedding we attended with family? Nope.

Was it the cow moooooooo-ing at just the right time to crack up the tearful bride and groom? Nope.

Was it the nice ticket counter lady who told me I had to get rid of 7 pounds of stuff out of my luggage and then changed her mind and made it only two pounds?  Nope.  Though that was very nice of her.  She must have seen the desperation in my eyes.  Both our suitcase and carry-on were stuffed full on the way out to Dallas, and when family added some books for Ginny to take home and our tax attorney added Martin’s tax packet….well it put us over the mark.  I (quite calmly I might add) asked how much the overage charge would be and then I staggered a bit when she said “$90”  I seriously considered at that point which clothing items just weren’t going to make it home.  But she helped us re-arrange some stuff and let us get away with a little bit of overage when she saw how stuffed even our carry-on and diaper bag were.  By the way, as much as we love gifts from family, please just mail them to us.

But even that nice act by the ticket counter lady was not the one that made my weekend.

First of all, understand that even when “dolled-up” I feel like a cow surrounded by fleet footed deer when I am in Dallas.  I am overweight, yes.  But I’m not grossly overweight and I am working on it.  But the women who live in down town Dallas are almost ethereal.  Elven. Tall. Elegant.  Around them, I feel dumpy and frumpy.  Even when I dress up.

On Sunday, I wasn’t dressed up.  I had on a t-shirt, jeans, boots and no make-up.  We were having to skip church because Martin wasn’t feeling well, and we had a ripped suitcase to replace.

Our luggage preference is cheap.  It is going to get roughed up and we don’t want to cry too much when it happens, so we tend to go cheap and easily replaceable.  Imagine our delight a few years ago when we found a cheap luggage set in Texas Burnt Orange !  Not only is it a great team color, but it stands out at baggage claim.  We have never had to hunt for our bags.  We can see them from across a room.  Yup, that’s us.  The only time we had trouble was once when we were flying right around Rose Bowl weekend a few years back.  That day we had one or two other Burnt Orange sets to contend with.

Anyway….

We now have a ripped piece of luggage that we have to replace in order to get back to Atlanta.  We want it to be burnt orange.  And we are on the ground in Texas!  Cool, this should be easy……right?

Um……no.

Macy’s…….they look at us funny.  “you want what color?”

Dillard’s……..um nope.  Perhaps you should check the specialty stores.  The expensive ones, across the street.  Or maybe Neiman Marcus on the other side of the mall.

You are kidding right?  We got the original set at the Macy’s in Atlanta, GEORGIA for crying in a bucket.  Home of the Jackets and the Bulldogs.  This is Texas, home of Texas Tech, Aggies and Longhorns!  How can it be impossible to find Burnt Orange luggage?  It doesn’t even need to have the longhorns logo on it, just be burnt orange.

I should mention at this point that when we pulled up to the mall Ginny was asleep.  Her naps had been getting interrupted all weekend, so Martin decided that he was not going to wake her up if he didn’t have to.  We figured we were just going into Macy’s, get the bag and come out.  So he heroically sacrificed his back to lift Ginny IN HER CAR SEAT/CARRIER.  Yes it has a handle.  And yes you CAN carry a snoozing infant in it.  But once your child reaches the 20 pound toddler stage this act of love can be torture to the adult doing the carrying.  But he did it.  All through Macys, Dillards, down the length of the mall twice.  I tried to help.  We carried it together for a bit.  But mall pedestrians don’t seem to want to make room for two people with a child carried between them.  We were too wide a load for the walking paths.  So Martin did most of the heavy lifting.

After we gave up on the mall and were heading out, Ginny woke up, so one trip through the mall got to be with Ginny in Martin’s arms.  But for the better part of an hour, he carried her.  Safe, and soundly sleeping while mommy and daddy shopped for the elusive wild Texas  Orange bag.

At this point we just gave up, looked at each other and said, fine. We’ll go to Target and get a cheap bag and be done with this mess.  We no longer cared what color it was, just so long as it was cheap.  And big enough to handle all our stuff.

Piece of advice here – in Dallas, when driving along a highway looking for a sign for oh say, a Target for instance, you will see the signs.  But you will be unable to get there.  You will have to travel  three miles past the sign, get off on an exit, turn around, ride the access road…..and see a Wal-mart. Hey, let’s just go there.

We park. We enter the Wal-Mart.  Martin is holding the baby who has just awakened from a nap,  and I notice she is covered in banana from her breakfast.  We are both flushed, disheveled and not dressed well to begin with.  We really didn’t look reputable.  But we found a big black bag.  Cheap.  Yay.

Grab the bag, walk to the front checkout area.  Stand in line behind a tiny, well dressed, thin, coifed, bejeweled, Dallas Lady (don’t ask me what she was doing in Wal-Mart on a Sunday morning – I have no idea).  The manicure was perfect, the make-up was perfect.

Her groceries were numerous.  They filled the conveyor belt.

She looks at us.  White trash-appearing couple holding a banana covered toddler and a large black suitcase.

She looked at us……and Smiled.

Then she quietly said to the cashier “please let them go in front of me, they won’t take long”

She hadn’t even given us the opportunity to politely refuse her kindness.

I nearly cried.

I hadn’t been resenting her being in front of me.  I was too tired to even care.

Or so I thought.  She smiled at us.

And I asked “are you sure?”

She nodded.

“oh God bless you sweet lady, thank you”

We checked out.  We smiled at her, Ginny waved bye bye. And I called out “thank you again!” as we left the store.

Smiling from ear to ear.

Opening the mail may be a dangerous activity as my birthday gets closer. Today I got a small envelope from “Ageless Beauty and Skin Clinic.” I wondered who they were, and how they could have gotten my name, so I opened it instead of just tossing it in the recycling like I do with most of my mail. It turns out that my former neurologist has decided that he can make a better living doing Botox treatments, and since I’d had one (at huge expense) a few years ago because they help some people with their migraines, I guess he thought I might be in the market for some wrinkle treatments at the advanced age of almost 52. Enclosed was a discount card for $50 off any skin care treatment. I don’t feel like I’ve had my wrinkles long enough to enjoy them. Now if someone wanted to send me $50 off a massage, we could talk…

Then there is a survey from my medical insurance company about how I would rate the foot specialist I saw last year when I needed surgery. I liked the doctor a lot, and said so, but I want to know why the insurance company never sends out surveys asking how they are doing. I had to jump through hoops with them to get the right kind of boot to wear after the surgery, and they turned down the doctor’s request for orthotics. They did send me a newsletter with reasons to meditate and ways to find serenity. I’ve tried meditation, and I always fall asleep. I guess it does help to relax me. Bliss and serenity, however, are just not my style. Anyone who knows me will tell you this. This is not to say that I’m not good at spending quiet time, or time alone, because I’m good at both, and usually find it relaxing. And when I’m happy, it’s a more joyful happiness than bliss.

Then there are the letters to my ex who hasn’t lived here in more than two years, and to her parents, who haven’t lived here for even longer. And all the good causes who want money that I don’t have right now; more credit card applications, like I need to go farther into debt than I already am; my alumni association—also wanting money; my bank offering me $100 to open a checking account with them, which I already have. Do you think I could get them to give me the money anyway? I didn’t get $100 when I originally opened the account. Three (thank you, only three bills), one of which I’m pretty sure I already paid. A clothing catalog that I can’t afford to buy anything out of, if any of the stuff even comes in my size; and handfuls of junk that just goes directly into recycling.

The one good thing: a mailer from the hardware store with all kinds of stuff I absolutely needed on sale. So I am back to rewiring lamps instead of cleaning, and somehow I seem to have a few extra washers left over. The lamp I’m working on now is something that someone must have handmade from a pretty tin, and I’m realizing how easy it is to make lamps. But now I’ve managed to misplace my pocket knife with screwdriver head in the last five minutes, and can’t find the new screwdriver with multiple tips that I bought a couple of weeks ago, so I can’t finish what I was doing. Back to cleaning.

Actually I’ve been making lots of progress in the cleaning department as I move from the bedroom into the living room. The living room looks temporarily worse in places, but it’s really much better, with two big piles of stuff gone, and lots of dog hair and dust bunnies vacuumed up. Vacuuming seems completely useless since the dog immediately covers everything with hair again as soon as it’s clean. At least I can enjoy how it looks for two or three minutes. I used to have a dog that would let me vacuum her, but not Ginny. She’s scared of the vacuum cleaner, but also shows some slight temptation to chase it. Pip hates both the vacuum cleaner and, for some reason, brooms, and yells at the top of his lungs when he sees either one.

After writing all my checks last night, I decided I needed to mail some of them today, Sunday. This involves driving to the Post Office at the Airport. I have been there several times in the past and I double checked the map on Google. After numerous other errands all on the way to the Post Office, I got down there, and couldn’t find it! One of the aspects of my memory loss is not remembering how to get places I’ve been many times before. I thought I’d gotten over it, but I guess my map memory doesn’t come back until I’ve driven the route several more times, and this must be the first time I’ve been back to the Airport Post Office in eight years.

Another faulty map memory today was trying to find a store in the Mission that I’ve driven by several times that sells mopeds. I looked this up on Google Maps too, and still couldn’t find it. I spend a while driving around and around where it’s supposed to be…. I guess these kinds of experiences are why I might want Internet access on my phone, but I’m not going to bite.

So two errands bit the dust today, and took up a lot of time. The one errand I accomplished very successfully was going to Amoeba Records. This is always a hit or miss effort since it’s located on Haight Street where parking is always a nightmare. I decided I would drive by, and if I didn’t find a parking place within three blocks I was just going to skip it. I turned the corner onto Haight Street, and there was a parking place right in front of the store. They even had the one CD I was going there for! Of course I had to buy three others, but they were all really cheap used ones.

Then off to buy replacement brush heads for my electric toothbrush. They were $31.99 for three of them. Yikes! While there I decided to look for a bigger comforter for my bed. Bedding is a scam. It was almost impossible to find comforters that weren’t part of $300 sets, but after scouring the shelves I found something I could live with for not too much money.

After that, a quick stop in to Trader Joe’s which was in the same little shopping center. Had to have chocolate! And then I bought two plants for the garden, a columbine, and something that I don’t know the name of. A stop at Community Thrift to get rid of a couple of bags of stuff I don’t need, and then on to what turned out to be the longest errand, and the site of my momentary insanity: Rocketdog Rescue was having a yard sale, and I had a few things to donate for the sale, including a dog door. First of all, I couldn’t get anyone to focus long enough to take the stuff or tell me where to put it, which led to my downfall: I fell in love with two little black dogs that reminded me of my little Corey. In a fit of little black dog lust I agreed to foster the two of them. I figured that fostering them was a way to find out how they would fit in here with Pip and Ginny. They were a mother and daughter about six and seven years old, and supposedly housebroken and trained. I filled out all the paperwork, and arranged to have the current foster family drop them off at my house tonight. They have had them for five years, and just decided to move into an apartment where they couldn’t have them. Don’t even get me started on that. Since everything was very hectic, it took over an hour to make all these plans and get everything approved of. I finally made it out of there, without even buying anything, which was amazing since I’m a sucker for yard sales.

After finishing up my errands, I realized I had just made a completely insane decision to take these two dogs. I got home and had to make a few guilty phone calls to back out and apologize profusely. I know there will be other cute little dogs in my future, it’s just that these two were so charming.

Sigh of relief, and out into the back yard to figure out where to plant my two new plants. This involved some major weeding, and trying to figure out what was what between some flowers and weeds. After years of not getting grass to grow back there, it’s now 15″ tall, and spreading everywhere, into the flagstones, mixed with some flowers, and essentially just making a nuisance of itself. I weeded for a while and almost have a spot for the columbine, next to another columbine that I planted last year. While I was weeding, I kept feeling something cold and wet on my leg. The grass wasn’t wet, so I finally pulled up my pants leg to discover a little slug climbing on me!

When I went in to wash up after weeding, Pip came into the bathroom to have a little bath in the sink. I always put him on the floor when he’s done so he can shake off some of the water there instead of on me. Well, Ginny came in and thought this was quite entertaining and kept following him around trying to lick the water off him. I think the two of them keep me entertained enough. I should just donate some money to Rocketdog, and enjoy my little family.

Location:

Portage Place Shopping Mall
393 Portage Avenue

The Store Itself

Compared to many other stores located in this mall, the one thing that sticks out to me first is: the horrible mannequins displayed in both front windows.  I must say that they do nothing for the apparel.  One side is regular size (or “ginny” size as they informed me), and the other is the plus size.  Other than being completely out of proportion, the “ginny” size mannequins have more going for them than the plus size ones.  Who designed those?  It looks like, instead of hard abs, they have hard flabs.  Or should I say one big tire that goes around the middle.  Seeing these lifeless ladies droop there in clothes that appeared not to fit them right, this window display, as a selling piece, would normally not drag me in.

Upon walking in, you are greeted by not only the usual repeated music coming from the speakers above you, but a general bland “meh”.  I understand that Cotton Ginny is not a mainstream, fashion-mag type of clothing store, and that they promote an organic lifestyle, but could they make it appear at least a tiny bit more eye catching.  Well, they did have red SALE signs posted pretty much in ever open spot/shelf available.  Desperate?  I read the first sign thanks!

The store itself is well organized.  T-shirt tables near the front, mark downs at the back, and color-coded apparel in each section/rack.  It all looks good – from a distance.  When you get close, you can see the tops and bottoms barely hanging on to their hangers, some already made the plunge to the dirty floor.  How do I know it’s dirty?  Other than what looks like coffee stains, there are rolling balls of lint catching at the bottom of pants.  I guess that’s the new organic take of fur fashion?

The Staff

As always, a sales associate pounces on me.  Oh how I loathe that!  I really do feel like I’m being pounced on, not welcomed.  May I shop in peace please?  No?  Okay…

She greeted me (how nice) and explained the sale to me, in which I thanked her and indicated that I had noticed the signage.  She left me alone and walked back over to the other associate who was playing with her cellphone behind the counter, very classy indeed.  I didn’t really have anything in mind of what I wanted to buy, I was hoping something would pop out at me.  As I was still on my search, I could hear the two associates chatting (loudly) about what I would dub as inappropriate at work.  I will not go into detail, but sexual references were made.  Did they not care whether their customers heard them? Clearly no.

I had the same woman come up to me again asking if there was something in particular I was looking for. I gave the general answer “No, I’m just looking.”, hoping she would leave me alone, but alas, I apparently opened the selling door for her. She then went about the store grabbing clothes that I would never wear (including her lack of judgment on size). I don’t know how many times I told her “That really isn’t my style.” I could tell she was getting frustrated with me. One reason I assumed was all the items she was showing me, she was wearing herself. I shuddered deep inside. For someone who works in a fashion oriented store, she did not showcase that. I’m just going to assume that she doesn’t own a mirror. Yes, that explains it.

She was not making this experience enjoyable. I was about ready to tell her that I was just going to look around at other stores, when another woman came out from the back. As soon as she saw me, she lit up and boomed a loud welcome and repeated the sale to me. She went on to showing me around, pointing out “Oh this is new” and “Isn’t this cute?”. I admit, she had the mindset of a fashion sales associate, but she seemed like a hard-seller. Pushy to the end. Pretty much telling me I had to buy it, quoting me prices, “How could I go wrong?” speech.

After all their pushing, I bought a grand total of: nothing. Desperate does not lead to sales ladies.

The Product

Cotton Ginny is by no means my favorite store to shop, but it is a good stop for super casual clothes.  I have made purchases at other stores in the past.  For quality wise, it really is hit or miss.  I haven’t had big issues with anything, but I have witnessed ladies coming in returning clothes where the seams have split.  Apparently this is most common with their pants.

As for fit, again, it is hit or miss.  If you are an XL across the board, sometimes you may have to go down to a Medium or up to a Plus Medium.  There is no sizing consistency.  Something I’ve also realized is most clothing is tailored to one specific body type.  Not only myself, but hearing other ladies in the change rooms, if it fits around the bust it doesn’t fit around the stomach and vise versa.

Now, because I am someone who refuses to shell out a ton of money for only a couple items, I do have an issue with some of their prices.  An example would be that one time I saw a turquoise cardigan top that really didn’t have much to it, going for $40.  How about their basic t-shirts.  They usually have a deal where for plus size t-shirts are $20 but if you get two or more, $2 will be taken off each shirt.  It’s shocking alone to pay $20 for a single basic t-shirt that you’re more likely to just lounge around in because they aren’t dressy enough to add to many outfits.  Again, this just may be me, but I’m a bargain shopper, and I know Winnipeg is full of them, so these prices just don’t work well for me.

One thing Cotton Ginny really has going for them is their “Save $2 if you don’t take a bag” promotion.  That’s great!  Instead of charging for a bag like other stores do, they reward you.  Here can be a problem.  If you have a bag with you, then you’re okay.  But what if you have a small purse and your items won’t fit, they tell you that you have the option of walking out of the store carrying them with the bill in hand.  That may work at other stores, but downtown Winnipeg?!  Uh, no!  That is just not safe, no matter how many security guards there are chatting with the ladies at Second Cup (oops, did I say that?)  What they need to offer, like many stores are doing now, are reusable bags.  I myself carry one around with me just incase, but many women do not.  So if it was an unplanned purchase (something caught your eye), you’re kind of stuck with a decision.  Personally, I would scrap the $2 and take a bag, because if I’m walking home, I not only want my clothes to come home with me, but I want to make it home safe myself.

Final Comments

B.A.D. – Boring And Dull. That’s what it is. Pushy, fashionably challenged sales ladies. Now I can’t speak for any other Cotton Ginny store, as each store is different, but this one I wouldn’t recommend. Unfortunately, it is one of the few stores that offer plus size clothing downtown, so it’s pretty much a “Suck it up”, and hope that you go on a day that you don’t get the women I did.

As many of my readers know, I am periodically plagued by the skittering of mice across the wooden floors, or on the kitchen counters, and even a couple of times in my bed, to my complete horror. Almost all of my efforts to catch them, first humanely, and then desperately, failed, except for the one time I caught one with a glue trap. Of course it was still alive, and very cute, and the whole thing was traumatic for me as well as the mouse. That put an end to last year’s mouse hunting.

I have one kitchen cupboard with no doors on it (don’t ask me why the contractors left it off, and don’t ask me why I haven’t dealt with putting it on), and a plumbing pipe runs through the bottom back of it. I have stuffed the hole with steel wool, apparently to no avail, because last night Ginny was glued to the cupboard doorway, whimpering and wagging her tail. I finally took Brownie over, thinking I could put her in the cupboard to catch the mouse since she is so small, but as I turned the lazy-Susan, the mouse panicked, and fled the wrong way, right into Ginny’s mouth. I didn’t realize it until I stood up and saw drops of blood on the floor.

Then I had to convince Ginny to hand over the mouse! I told her that she was a good and brave hunter, but this was of little interest to her. Finally she agreed to drop the mouse and let me take it away. I didn’t indulge in thinking that it was cute, but rather focused on the success of the hunt, and the possibility that Ginny will catch more mice, since I don’t want to add a cat to the household.

In the photo above, she is mole-hunting at Golden Gate Park.

My ‘build a game in three minutes’ session at this year’s excellent Flash on the Beach somehow morphed into building three games in three minutes.

My initial thinking was to code on the fly and put together something simple – I wanted physics and the ability to render a 3D version. It only took a couple of experiments to realise that trying to write AND compile in a strict 3 minutes would be near impossible. I needed some assets and wanted to produce these in the allotted time too.

While cogitating the pitch, I had a lot of game commissions and ideas come through my desk. I clicked that a Game Scratchpad would be a really handy app. Something that I could sketch out a game with – to demonstrate an idea during a brainstorm – at the speed of thought.

More on the Game Sketchpad in Part#2. See the last two minutes of the pitch here (not sure what happened to the first minute):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLiKTdB89AA

In the meantime, I got asked by quite a few about the transition effect I used on my slides. To save time I did all of my presentation from within a swf. I wanted a fun quirky transition. The Genie (Ginny) effect is newish – I’d spotted it on wonderfl.net by Clockmaker (inspired by Fladdict). So I grabbed the method and adapted it to allow me to fire it off from a given point – connecting relevant sprites (humorous and tasteless in good measure).

I have packaged the Genie effect here as a Class, with example implementation.

Swingpant's AS3 Genie Effect implementation

In part#2 I will explain how the Game Sketchpad works, the component parts, the swf and some source code.

Genie Effect (zip): source
Presentation (Youtube): video

Because of the recent header change, a few people decided to make their own one. I’m not gonna be changing Bago, (yeah that’s the octopus’ name, don’t like it?) but because they put in the effort of making them, I’m gonna out them on a post. And this thing you’re reading is that post.

Click to see the header:

Jamie
Woof
Ginny

If you want to make your own header, know that this isn’t a competition. The only reward you’ll get is the fuzzy feeling inside when your masterpiece gets posted up there. You can make as many headers as you want.

This has been another strange post brought to you by: Mr Red Dust

-legoless

Also don’t forget to read my 6th Spore Post and my Poptropica post!

Enjoy this slide show.  I had fun putting it together.  This year has been an amazing journey.

Adoption match, meeting and loving Ginny’s birth parents, birth by C-section, trip home from Kansas, overwhelming baby shower from our church, constant care from friends and family, the month of RSV treatments, first tooth, first solid foods, first words, trips to Texas, Colorado and Mississippi, first time in a pool, first wedding, first birthday cake and many many more things I can’t even think of right now.

thank you Lord for your guidance and care. and Thank you Mel & Steve for trusting us with this precious gift.

enjoy!

Less than a month ago I posted about Ginny taking a few unsupported steps.  Now?

she is walking all over the place.

Until I got this priviledge of watching a person learn to walk I never really appreciated how complex it is.

It’s not just about walking in straight lines.  You have to manage all the minute balance adjustments that go with stopping, changing direction, turning, reaching, bending down.  It has really been wonderfully fun to participate in this process with Ginny.

The video below is just a small sampling of what we do in the evenings now: we play on the floor with Ginny.  Helping her enjoy the process of walking and continue to be challenged by it while keeping it fun.  So for all our friends who wonder why we have dropped off the face of the earth….well this is it.  We are in love with Ginny.  For us, there is no event, no movie, no party or project on earth  that compares to this simple joy.

Thank you Lord (and Mel & Stevie) for our beautiful baby girl.

Contact:

www.ginnygaura.com

yoohoogoo@yahoo.com

Artist Statement:

Ginny Gaura is a lifelong resident of the Chicago area. After successful careers as a graphic designer and photographer, she returned to her major in graduate school, painting. Also an accomplished writer, she is a published poet and the author of an upcoming book on spiritual guidance entitled “Look Within”.  She is one of the Gallery 44 artists whose art studios are located on the second floor of 50 E Galena Blvd in downtown Aurora.

Education:

BFA, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL

Major: Illustration with Graphic Design and Photography

Graduate Work, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL

Major: Painting

Associations:

Member of the Chicago Artists Coalition

Current Exhibition:

Water Street Gallery

160 W Wilson

Batavia, Illinois

Previous Art Exhibitions

November 22, 2008, Gallery 44

Fall Open House of Studio Artists

Aurora, Illinois

September 26 – 28, 2008, Chicago Arts District

38th Annual Pilsen East Artists’ Open House

Chicago, Illinois

August 7 – September 7, 2008, Fusion Gallery

Small Works Show

Collingswood, New Jersey

April 24 – 28, 2008, Merchandise Mart

The Artist Project

Part of Artropolis, in conjuntion with Art Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

November 2007, Gallery 44

Fall Open House of Studio Artists

Aurora, Illinois

August 25 – September 2007, Art House

A Million Little Pictures Show – Volume II

Decatur, Georgia

July 21 – August 29, 2007, Norris Gallery

Gallery 44 Artists Show

St Charles, Illinois

April 13 – July 2007, River Breeze Gallery

Peace Show

Aurora, Illinois

May 25 – June 2007, Art House

A Million Little Pictures Show – Volume I

Decatur, Georgia

April – May 2007, High Risk Gallery

All Good Things Show

Chicago, Illinois

January 2007, Morpho Gallery

Emerging Artists Show

Chicago, Illinois

November 2006, Gallery 44

Fall Open House of Studio Artists

Aurora, Illinois

April 2005, Art Around the Fox

Annual Artists’ Open Studio Event of Fox Valley

Aurora, Illinois

November 2004, Gallery 44

Fall Open House of Studio Artists

Aurora, Illinois

April 2004, Art Around the Fox

Annual Artists’ Open Studio Event of Fox Valley

Aurora, Illinois

November 2003, Olcott Gallery

Solo Show

Theosophical Society of America

Wheaton, Illinois

April 2003, Art Around the Fox

Annual Artists’ Open Studio Event of Fox Valley

Aurora, Illinois

November 2002, Gallery 44

Fall Open House of Studio Artists

Aurora, Illinois

April 2002, Art Around the Fox

Annual Artists’ Open Studio Event of Fox Valley

Aurora, Illinois
Medium: Painting: Oils, acrylics, and watercolors (I am submitting my newest works with this application)

Description: For me, the process of painting is a journey. It is traversed with prior knowledge, experimentation and discovery. There are times when everything comes together in a piece and it is a success, but there are also times when nothing is working and the painting must be put aside and sometimes finished months or years later, looking nothing at all like the original. That is the glory of life, the unexpected serendipitous event, the mistake that helps us grow, the moment where a decision must be met. This is life with all its mystery and through it I approach my art.

My innate curiosity leads me to experiment with new techniques and media. Constantly challenging myself to create new ideas, I’m always pushing my art to the next level. Never content with creating conventional artwork, I seek out new ideas, allowing me to grow and discover. If used as such, art can be a process of self-discovery and trans-formation.

When beginning a piece, I usually have no preconceived notions of the finished work. There might be a idea of general form or colors I choose to use but is the process that fascinates me, the ever-changing creation which grows as I paint. In my Dreamscape Series, which is composed of mostly oil paintings and some acrylics, I experiment with color, mixing paint directly upon the canvas rather than the traditional palette. I am not always satisfied with the result, so sometimes I paint over them, producing new works which many times incorporate the written word.

I often take photographs of surface images like brick walls and cracked pavement and experiment with surface forms through mixed media pieces. Due to circumstances, I have begun painting small watercolors because of their size and portability. In them I draw on top of the paintings with ink to create pieces that resemble stain glass works.

I feel compelled to work in the realm of abstraction and non-representation. A regular meditation practitioner, I am inspired by shifting consciousness which gives rise to patterns, shapes and ideas, forever changing into something different. I aspire to make the unseen seen, to make aware in the viewer that which is often overlooked.

okay.  Thursday should have been titled “School orientation” not first day of school.

I discovered the difference today.

Thursday I got to go in with Ginny and play on the floor.

Thursday was only for an hour and I got to stay with Ginny.

Thursday we got to follow her around her classroom with a camera like paparazzi (or completely crazed first-time-parents)

Today?

Today we had to walk her to her door and barely got a chance to snap three quick photos before she was off to play….

Today she didn’t look back.

Today I had to walk away and not check back in on her.  There is no one-way viewing window here like there is in her nursery.  I had to go four hours without knowing if my Ginny was having a good day, or was having a meltdown or something in between.

Today Martin had to practically wrestle me to the car to get me to leave her.  I hadn’t thought it would be so hard to do.  I knew I was coming back very shortly.  I knew she was in good hands.  I’ve left her with my mom for 8 or more hours at a time, why was this so difficult?

then it hit me – I can’t call.  I can’t check.  I can’t call the director of the school and have her go poke her head into Ginny’s classroom whenever I feel like I need an update.

I guess I have to grow up now.  ick.

Anyway, here are photos from Ginny’s first actual day at the Early Learning Program

bye mommy......I'm going THIS way

sweet baby girl....can't I have one more hug?

learning to share

We got a great report when we came back to get Ginny.  She didn’t have any conflict issues, or separation issues.  She ate her snack and her lunch.  She was happy to see us.  There is at least one other adopted child in her class, which is very good news.  And…the teachers said that Ginny spent a fair amount of time trying to comfort the other kids who were upset.  She patted them on their backs and made cheerful sounding chatter at them.

Isn’t that sweet?

and best of all – Ginny was super tired and CUDDLY for the rest of the day.  So I got lots of huggses and ticklins in to make up for being deprived all morning.

Just a few short pics of Ginny on her first day at the ELP (Early Learning Program) at our church.

This is a two day-a-week, just 4 hours a day program that will allow Ginny to interact with other kids more, and get to play with toys that we don’t have around the house.  She will also get to hear Bible stories in a group environment and get to play on playground equipment that we don’t have at home.

key things about her first day:

• She seemed to enjoy the toys and she is very good at sharing voluntarily. Not so good if the other kid just comes up and grabs.
• Ginny has no idea what to do with crayons, glue sticks or little bits of colored tissue paper.
• She is the youngest in the classroom, but she doesn’t seem too far behind and in some ways is more advanced than the other kids.
• We enjoyed meeting some other parents and kids.
• and the biggest advance for the day?  Ginny left her bow alone and kept it on for a WHOLE HOUR !!!!!

Enjoy:

oh we learned our lesson finally.  We don’t put her shoes or her bow on till after we arrive at our destination.    The shoes go on while she is still strapped in to her car seat and the bow goes on right as she is being lifted out of the car seat and is thus distracted.  This strategy seems to be working.

Hace poco, gracias a una amiga, tuve la oportunidad de leer la saga completa de Harry Potter, justo después de ver la sexta pelicula, y como era de esperarse, una vez que anuncié que había terminado comenzarón a lloverme preguntas sobre cómo eran, si la historia variaba mucho a las peliculas, si valía la pena leerlos, qué era mejor los libros o las peliculas, y de tanto explicarlo y después de discutir algunas situaciones en un foro dedicado a Harry Potter, hacer unas cuantas investiaciones y refinarme las primeras cinco peliculas de nuevo (la sexta obvio aún no la compro) me dije a mi mismo: Mi mismo, por qué rayos no escribes tus comentarios en el blog y te ahorras estar respondiendo preguntas… Así que después de ese arduo analisis me puse en marcha, abrí el blog y comencé a escribir estas lineas.

Si quieres conocer mi opinión sobre estos siete libros y ver si es bueno leerlos o no, o simplemente conocer algunas de mis  teorias de “Qué habría pasado si…” continua leyendo, pero si prefieres averiguarlo por ti mismo cosa ke siempre es mas recomendable no sigas leyendo, pero no te preocupes para que no sea todo una perdida de tiempo dejo unas imagenes de la septima pelicula. (Tomadas sin autorización del aporte de mi amiga angiie en potterforos.com, aunke tuve ke subirlas a youtube)

Harry Potter y La Piedra Filosofal: Ante este libro no tengo ninguna queja, el libro y la paelicula son practicamente lo mismo, exceptuando, lógicamente, algunos detalles que no tienen mucha relevancia en la historia, pero, a mi parecer las formas descriptivas dentro de la narrativa que maneja Rowling dentro del libro, así como las descripciones de personas y lugares, te hacen invlocurarte de una forma más profunda con el libro, si bien, la pelicula hace un muy buen trabajo mostrandonos el mundo dentro de  Hogwarts, hay cosas que obviamente sólo pueden ser apreciadas imaginandolas. En general no existe mucha diferencia entre uno y otro, si te gustó la pelicula es seguro que amarás este libro.

Harry Potter y la Cámara Secreta: Sin duda el libro más tranquilón de la saga, y uno de los que menos intriga tiene, pero aún con ello la pelicula comienza a dejar muchas cosas que deseear, aparece por fin en un papel “semiprotagónico” Ginny Weasley, y hay algunos detalles que influiran mucho en los libros 6 y 7, Rowling lográ una vez más atraparte en la lectura, de nuevo las descripciones de lugares y personajes es lo mejor, las situaciones continuan siendo adecuadas para un publico infantil, al igual que en el primer libro, sin embargo con este libro comienza a verse el rumbo que irá tomando la saga.

Harry Potter y el Prisionero de Azkaban: El mejor libro de todos, aunque es de los más cortitos, si no es ke realmente es el más corto, durante este libro comienzan a aparecer muchos detalles que afectan directamente el desarrollo de la historia posterior, como lo es el hecho de que Hermione tuviera un giratiempo, así como la aparición de Pettegrew en el mapa del merodeador. En comparación con la pelicula hay muchas cosas que se dejaron de lado, pero aún así la pelicula sigue remarcando los aspectos principales, sin duda Alfonso Cuarón realizó un estupendo trabajo, es la pelicula mejor adaptada y más fiel a la historia del libro. La aparición de Sirius Black, así como las sospechas de la traición a los padres de Harry, el encuentro con los dementores, entre otras muchas tantas cosas llevan a este libro dejar atrás la lectura fantástica infantil y se transforma en una narrativa más oscura y con mucha mayor intriga.

Harry Potter y el Prisionero de Azkaban

Harry Potter y el Calíz de Fuego: Después de leer sobre un mundo fantástico, un secreto oculto ante todos en el sitio “más seguro” del mundo mágico y conocer a las unicas personas que representan un vínculo cercano entre Harry y sus padres, llega, como lo hace siempre,  el peor enemigo de todo adolescente, pero a la vez el mejor aliado. EL AMOR. En este cuarto libro el amor entre los personajes y algunos nuevos personajes comienza a hacer estragos y esto se refleja en la extensión del mismo, y aunke en este libro las relaciones interpersonales son el tema central, así como el doloroso pasado de Harry, suceden hechos importantes que una vez más marcarán el curso de la historia, aunque estas, a diferencia de las del libro anterior son más notorias. La muerte de Cedric, así como el renacimiento de Voldemort marcan a Harry de una forma que las peliculas no lograron plasmar, además, respondiendo a una pregunta que me hicieron sobre si el libro relataba las batallas de los otros magos que paricipan en el torneo de los tres magos (Cedric, Fleur, Viktor) debo comentar que no lo hace abiertamente, sin embargo, continua dandonos más información que la misma pelicula. Continuan apareciendo nuevos personajes que serán sumamente importantes en los siguientes libros, y la lectura, aunque en momentos un poco cansada debido a tantas descripsiones sigue siendo atrapante.