Hey, there everyone. I got to Borders at just after midnoc, read 3 chapters in line, and finished the book at 0830.
It was damned good.
Took a nap and now I’m off to do yardwork and run some errands.
Got back from my ride to find my wife washing her car!?!?!?!
:eek:
And to find that my book is here. Of course, me being Mr. Don’t Mind Spoilers, I’ve been cruising that thread, but I’m going to hunker down now out in the sun and read.
In a way it’s better this way - I don’t feel a need to rush through it so I find out where it goes. I can take my time and enjoy.
See ya.
I’m back from Atlanta and a nap; of course since I had to get up at 5 this morning I couldn’t get to sleep last night. The trip up was uneventful; lots of road construction and traffic but we found the place with no problem. Amtrak was actually early (be still my heart!) so my friend’s cousin and cousin’s friend were already there waiting on their luggage. The next part of this tale is unbelievable and just goes to show what happens when the g’ment starts propping up a monopoly. There was an announcement that there would be a 20 minute delay before luggage could be claimed. The station proper is not on the same level as the boarding platform, the platform is down a honkin’ long flight of stairs from the station. There is one elevator. The luggage was brought up in the passenger elevator (took at least 4 trips) because the conveyor system was broken. One middle-aged lady was hauling the bags out of the elevator while two male ticket agents helped call out numbers. When a lady in the crowd said something about the guys going down and helping load the elevator, the tickets agents said “we can’t. Union rules.” :rolleyes: While the elevator was going down for another load I asked the ticket agent how long the conveyor had been broken. Answer: 6 months. It was too old to repair and they were going to tear out the whole thing and upgrade it, but that hadn’t happened yet and probably wouldn’t for a year. What a friggin’ joke. I love train travel but if this is any indication of the level of service from Amtrak I can understand why no one uses it.
So after an hour wait for the luggage, we were on our way home. Stopped for a nice feed at Cracker Barrel and came on back. We had just gotten on I-185 from I-85 and were clipping along at about 80mph when a white mustang convertable with the top down came by us doing at least 95-100mph. Of course, about 20 miles on down the road we got to wave at him again as he talked with his buddy who drives the car with the flashing blue lights. We all laughed.
Then I came home and took a badly needed nap.
And that was my exciting morning.
Two of my friends were camped outside Waterstone’s bookstore in Birmingham last night to collect their copies of HP at midnight. As far as I know, one is still reading hers and the other has packed hers away because she flies to Singapore on Monday and wants it for the flight.
One of my team for Run For Home on Sunday got his copy this morning and has spent the day reading it. I hope he finishes it by tonight because his outfit for tomorrow doesn’t have room for a book in it, and we have to be at Edgbaston Cricket Ground at 6am so he’d better be getting some sleep tonight!
I spent the day shopping with a friend - well, the sales have started and there are shoes to be drooled over…and then I pottered round the shops with 'im indoors after he’d managed to tear himself away from the new laptop that arrived this morning.
I’m just off to make dinner, then I need a bath and an early night myself. The alarm is set for 4.30am. shudder
I just got back from McDonald’s. I haven’t been there in ages (perhaps years?). They’ve renovated it and it looks really nice. The whole experience was fast, friendly, quiet and clean. :eek: Was that really McDonald’s?
So I had the egg mcmuffin meal substituting orange juice for coffee. I took out the canadian bacon and the egg yolk and scraped off the excess cheese. It tasted pretty good. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite me later.
I’m scheduled to go to tai chi class later, but I’m getting a little sleepy.
:Waves: Hi everybody! Anybody notice I as gone?
…
Well?
::crickets::
…well that went over well…
Vacation was all about lazing around the pool, for a change. Usually we’re extremely hyper-active on vacation, getting to all those interesting historical spots only tourists seem to visit.
This time we got off our asses exactly three times all vacation. Thursday evening – went to see HP-OotP movie (which only opened here that night, for some Og-only-known reason).
Friday evening – went to Jacko’s, which is probably the best affordable sea-food place in the middle-east (Bostonians, think Legal Seafood… only they take reservations:)). And Saturday morning – went to get our copies of HP 7, of course.
I’m up to page 170 or so, since RL has interfered with my reading – went out to celebrate my mother’s 69’th birthday this evening with the rest of the family.
Tomorrow morning is back to the rat race. I get to spend another day on Reserves’ Duty – which means I have to stay up tonight and finish a work assignment :rolleyes:, but such is life.
I’m not even trying to wade through the 5-or-so pages of stuff you people have managed to post in just over 48 hours! The little I’ve managed to skim, all I can remember is a :eek: for Posit’s story :eek::eek::eek:
:sigh: Back to work… (at least I’m connecting from home, in my sleeping attire!)
I don’t believe it, but amazon.com apparently really did work out a deal with UPS, because the HP book showed up today! laughs My daughter was on door duty; it’s hard to hear someone knocking on the door unless you’re in the living room, so I had to make sure someone was always in there. I started to get nervous when it hadn’t come by noon; I was also itching to take a nap, so was pleasantly surprised that the book was delivered around 1:15 pm.
I haven’t looked at it yet - I’m like MBG; I too have peeked at some of the spoilers (what can I say, I’m a spoiler 'ho!), but I’ll still probably be up all night reading the book.
Since Alice is waiting on her book from amazon.uk, and since it’s been a couple of years since I’ve read any Harry Potter (and I’ve only seen the first two movies, bad me!), I’m following behind Alice in rereading books 5 and 6 so I remember what the heck happened going into the finale. So I haven’t gotten myself a copy yet; I’ll probably wait till one day next week and pick it up once the crowds have thinned.
Sounds like a lovely vacation, SpecialOne. We enjoy doing touristy things, too, but sometimes it’s nice to just sit around and not do much of anything, too. And don’t worry, you haven’t missed much in your absence – the mundanity level of this thread has sunk to possibly new lows, if such a thing is possible. 
It’s a simply drop-dead gorgeous day here – sunny, really low humidity, nice light breeze, comfy temps. We’ve got the house open and the fresh air is just wonderful. We’ve also got two comatose doggies since we took them swimming up at the beach directly on the Bay, which has nice waves plus has a faster dropoff than the closer beach, which requires considerably more effort from them and thus wears them out that much faster. And all that fresh air has made me want to just take a nap!
I never should have mentioned that I’m finally learning to read lace patterns in my knitting; Murphy paid me a lengthy visit for my temerity. :rolleyes: I have spent much of the day tinking (tink = knit backwards – i.e. picking out one stitch and a time) my way back through 2-1/2 looooong rows to figure out just what on earth I did wrong. I think it is time to start putting in lifelines, where you carry a different-colored thread through your row every few rows, so that if you need to rip out, you don’t have to spend hours unpicking and sorting out all those teensy stitches but can just rip back to it. Because, frankly, tinking is not my idea of the best way to spend a day, although it is nicely mindless.
Is it bedtime yet?
Peace reigns again - the fambly has left and I’ve got mega-bunches of leftovers!! It was a nice day for a visit - cool enough that I could just leave the house open. Poor Brandy was not happy, especially when my overgrown brat nephew was chasing her, trying to catch her. I actually yelled at him - criminy - he’s 16 - you’d think he’d be smart enough to recognize that the cat was not interested in being held.
There was much poker playing and drinking and chatting. My youngest sis gave me an order for 6 coffee mugs and 2 dog dishes. I gave my brother and his SO a flowerpot, since he never got anything I made, plus my youngest sis finally got her candle plate. The food was good, the desserts were yummerrific, and it was just a nice day. And now the house is quiet and still mostly clean, so yay.
Tomorrow, one of my daughter’s middle school friends is coming over with her toddler. I look forward to seeing her again - she came when her baby was still a babe in arms, and now baby #2 is on the way. We still haven’t met her husband, tho - he’s in the Navy and he may be deployed. So that’ll be our Sunday.
I need a footrub - any volunteers? Please? I have desserts…
<whimper>
During the discussion with Librarian Friend on the way to Atlanta, I found out her branch of the library had ordered 80 copies of the new Harry Potter - and they had over 200 names on the waiting list. I asked what they will do with so many copies once the initial frenzy wears off and she said they will probably end up leasing 20-30 more copies depending on demand and that the books will be worn out and need to be replaced within 6 months. They won’t actually keep 80 copies forever, I think she said they have about 10 copies of each of the first 6 books. She also said our library system may have beaten out Atlanta and all of the other systems in the state for the children’s summer reading program; the numbers are coming in and it looks like they will have had around 25,000 (yes, twenty-five thousand) children complete the program this summer. I think that is awesome; and some of the credit goes to AFLAC for donating money to buy cool prizes such as a computer and bicycles. Anything that gets kids to read is good in my eyes. I shudder when I hear someone say “Oh, I don’t like to read” or even better “I haven’t picked up a book since high school/college.”. As if they are proud of it. shudder
Librarian Friend’s cousin is from Germany, and she told me to try to get the UK version of the books because the American version is “dumbed down”. Does Amazon carry the UK version?
My Harry Potter book just arrived at 5 p.m. grrr…mail usually comes aroundd 2 p.m., 3 at the latest. So I was just thinking that it wouldn’t get here until Monday. I got all excited and jumped up and down when I checked the mail and realized it had arrived. The mail man was across the street and I think he thinks I’m nuts now. Going to have supper and then start reading. 
SnakesCatLady, I’m an English major, and I’m that way. I’m not really a fan of reading, although I have picked up a couple books since college.
I’ll be playing the part of your nemesis from now on, it appears. bows
To really, truly play the part you must brag about it. And think “American Idol” is important to the future of the world.
Not just brag, but look down upon those who do read as second class citizens, social wallflowers who are lame for reading.
I’ve known a few of those.
I want to go back and reread it, but will have to wait until my kids are done with it.
Thank god there’s a movie out–if I need an HP fix, there’s always the matinee.
Hairspray was AWESOME! More than worth the price of the ticket (which is $10.25 in my neighborhood) So awesome, in fact, I will be plunking down the admission fee again next weekend to see it with a friend who couldn’t make it this evening
Good to know, rosie. I’ll have to put it on my list of movies to see.
I’m just driving by to say we had a MARVELOUS field trip. The garden we visited was amazing, we were treated like royalty, we went to the Zanesville Art Center, which has an extensive pottery collection (very nice - you have to see it if you’re ever in the neighborhood, FCM). The most impressive part about the pottery was that most of the collection is from the '20s, but there are pieces that seem incredibly modern.
On my way home, I stopped at Tar-jay for milk and HP7 (didn’t make it on the way out as I’d planned). Took a nap, then started into the book. I’m on page 102. I have quite a bit of stuff to do tomorrow, but I’m hoping to be able to finish before Monday morning. It’s great fun, by the way.
Hugs to all…
GT
My vacation thread - with pics!! It’s not my best writing, but it’s been a long day and I’m tired.
Still stuffed from all the goodies this afternoon. I think I may have overindulged a weensy bit. But it was gooooooood. The rest of the crew is watching DUNE on DVD. Scruffy is barking like an idiot. Life is good.
Cool thread, FCM.
Page 200.
Off to read for another hour, then sleepy-bye.
GT
Meant to ask you, FCM. Is this the exhibit that was at the museum where your baby works? (That’s where it was, right?) Hope I’m not confusing you with someone else on this point. 
I’ve got a couple of friends who kind of want to go (it’s in Columbus until the end of October) but are sort of scared. I think it was you who’d been there and liked it. Wasn’t there at least one other MMPer who’d seen it too? Tell me more…?
Thanks…
GT
Howdy Y’all! Miss me today? 
It’s been a busy Saturday. No not that you pervs! Well, some of that but other stuff mostly. I helped ol’ y’all know who put up a new ceiling fan/light fixture in his den since the old one up and died last week. Believe it or not, I can do stuff like that. Then we went and got burgers for lunch. After that we went to the grocery store cause both of us needed stuff. Then we put stuff away at both houses. Then a nap. Then we went to the good Eyetalian place and et til we were stuffed. We’ve both got leftover lasagna for lunch on Monday. Then we went to Wally*World cause I wanted to look at a bigger cooler tote bag to use for work and found one. I also bought a different kind of Bubba Keg with a better spout for drinkin’ out of to fill with ice and water at work. Then we went by the liquor sto’ cause somebody wanted to buy some Miller Chill cause he’s never tasted it. We came home, put two bottles in the freezer to get real cold and drank 'em once they were. Still tastes like sprite flavored beer. He agrees. It’s better to put some beer salt in it we discovered. Now, he’s abed and I’m wired for a while cause my brain says it’s work time for another 40 minutes, then I’ll need chill time (not the beer, downtime sillies!) before wanting to go to bed.
No Harry Potter for me.
Ok, off to read all about Moooooom’s vacation.
Later Y’all!