Have I mentioned how much I hate mornings? Even mornings when I am leaving on vacation? I tend to go to sleep way too late and then still have way too many things to do and so get up way too early. I mean, when else would I actually set the alarm for 6:30 a.m.? Yes, yes. I know some of you (Di) actually believe that that’s a reasonable time to get up. But I’m not in that crowd. My body yearns for a 9-9:30 a.m. waking hour. And tomorrow (on the first day of being on vacation as opposed to the first day of leaving for vacation), I’m not going to set any alarm clock. I’m just going to wait for my body to feel rested. Because, after all, that’s the whole point of a vacation.

I have some posts that should appear while I’m gone, so keep checking in. And I’ll see you next week!

I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince early this evening. I cried.

I went two-for-five. Not terrible odds, if we were playing baseball. But not great for literature. But still a good read. Jo Rowling says she won’t start writing book seven until 2006, so I will have a while to come up with some new predictions for the final volume.

Last I left you, I was having trifle troubles and was terribly late to our friend Shawn’s party. So it went.

Rudi went out and bought another quart of milk and I made a second batch of custard — refrigerating the first lot for our own use later in the week.

We managed to get to the party while there was still food, but not early enough to have our dishes eaten. But we did get to sample our own dishes (firsts for us on all three), and they were decent. The trifle is not quite like Gramma’s — but it wouldn’t be, would it? — but it’s tasty, and it benefits from a night in the fridge — something I will try to remember next time I want to serve it somewhere. As for the other dishes, Shawn’s red velvet cake finally gave me an insight into why so many people cite it as a favorite.

This morning, I slept in while Rudi dozed in the living room, reading the Tour de France coverage as it happened. After the first riders crossed the finish line, we headed to the farmers’ market to pick up peaches, milk, blueberries, corn on the cob, raspberries, lettuce, scones, and marscapone.

We spent the afternoon at the movies with John and Phillip watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. John and I agreed it and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory were sufficiently different so as to judge them separately, but my recollections from the last time I saw the Gene Wilder version (about 10 years ago) make me believe the original is a little creepier. I definitely liked the Oompa Loompas in the original better. I have liked Johnny Depp since he starred in 21 Jump Street (back when Fox was a fledgling network with national programming only on one night), so it was definitely two worthwhile hours spent with friends.

This evening, we’ve spent reading Harry Potter. I have stopped for the night, wanting to savor it a little longer and realizing that if I went past where I paused, I would have to finish it tonight. Rudi has opted to finish it and to refrain from dropping hints until I finish tomorrow evening.

On tap for the remainder of week: a lot of work before I pack it in Tuesday to head out for a few days of well-earned vacation. Then, Spamalot on Broadway Wednesday and camping at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival through the weekend. I hope to come back Monday rested, tanned (that book on healthy skin I’m currently writing be damned), a little sore from a good amount of bike riding, and with a long list of musicians worth listening to.

So, I apologize in advance if posting here is a little light this week. I’ll be thinking about you (even if I’m not leaving you notes here), and will post long tributes to my new (and old) favorite bands next week.

Today started out with such promise: I woke up, read more Harry Potter, and headed up to Friendship Heights to buy ingredients for the trifle I was going to make for a party we’re going to tonight.

Of course, I couldn’t find one of the ingredients. Not at Rodmans, Safeway, Whole Foods, or two Giants (including the new one at Columbia Heights). So I called Gramma and got a substitute (she mentioned on the phone she has difficulty finding this ingredient, too — that would have been more helpful when I talked to her earlier in the week than two hours beforehand, but she might have been under the impression I actually had my shopping done before the day 0f). And instructions for the ingredient she left out of the recipe.

So the first thing I did when I got home was to make the custard. It’s powder from a tin mixed with sugar and milk and microwaved until it’s firm. It’s been two hours. It’s still not firm. Ack!

I broke a bottle putting the bowl in the fridge.

I snapped at Rudi.

I’m on the verge of tears.

The party started an hour ago.

Why?!

Y’know, it never struck me until right now, that both one of my favorite books and one of my favorite movies feature wizards. How odd.

Of course, Dumbledore is a very good wizard, and the Wizard of Oz was “a bad wizard,” although bad in another way.

Heading up to Bethesda now…

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince arrives at midnight tomorrow night. I have just completed my re-read of the first five books and thought I’d share my thoughts in anticipation of my weekend readathon. But in deference to anyone who has not caught up on the series yet, I’ll do it on the other side of a jump. (more…)