Before I head off to the shore, three beautiful things from the last week:

1. Shelley’s MCAT scores come through and she has kicked serious ass. Shell’s been very studious between classwork and test prep for the last several years, so I’m terribly proud of her achievement.

2. Rudi points out the moon to me as we sit at Starbucks reading HP6. It’s the barest of slivers, the Cheshire Cat just about to disappear.

3. The house is mostly dark as I sit at the computer catching up on old emails. A loud thud comes from the bathroom, followed by caterwauling. Jeremiah is enjoying the acoustics and invites the girls and me to come play with him in the tub.

and a bonus beautiful thing this week:

4. John, who has been a “code monkey” in the tech business for a number of years now, has a new job he starts next week. He’s moving into the project management end of things and is excited about the prospects opening up before him (as well as the ridiculously shortened commute to work).

Since we know I’m on tenterhooks, I thought I’d take part in Booking Through Thursday this week:

1. Okay, love him or loathe him, you’d have to live under a rock not to know that J.K. Rowling’s final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, comes out on Saturday… Are you going to read it?
2. If so, right away? Or just, you know, eventually, when you get around to it? Are you attending any of the midnight parties?
3. If you’re not going to read it, why not?
4. And, for the record… what do you think? Will Harry survive the series? What are you most looking forward to?

Rudi and I have reserved and paid for our copies of HP7 and will be up at Politics and Prose for their Friday night party. I’ve not yet decided if I’ll dress up; it will probably depend on a couple of things (like whether I can find a hat to go with my grad school robe) before Friday at 10 p.m.

Because Politics and Prose isn’t in the easiest section of town to reach, we’ll probably drive up there, which means we will miss out on great commuter reading time. (By the time we metro’d home after picking up our copies in Bethesda the last time, we were already through the first two chapters!) Rudi’s going out on a bike ride Saturday, but I see no reason why I shouldn’t just be able to plow through reading during his absence.

And as for my guesses as to what happens, I’ll save that for Friday’s post. But let’s just say that I’m an eternal optimist when it comes to my book characters. My experience with fantasy novels led me to correctly guess who would not make it through the last book. This time around, I’m less able to say whom I think will die, but quite confident about who will survive to live happily ever after (what I’m looking forward to most). Tune in Friday to find out my thoughts. (And for those who want the guess-free reading experience, yes, I’ll put it past a jump.)

I’m off to the Eastern Shore in the morning for a day with my best friend, Karen, whose down from Rhode Island with her family for their annual summer rental.

I have never been to the beaches of Maryland and I’m looking forward to seeing both them and Karen. I miss her tremendously and am delighted we’ll get to spend the afternoon together. Far too short a visit, as always, but so much better than nothing!

(Oh, and Rudi and I finished Half-Blood Prince tonight. All set for Friday night!)