Woo hoo! I managed to get tickets to see Butterstick the first Saturday he’s available to the general public in mid-December.

Sure, I understand that I will not have an intimate viewing of him, nor will I be able to pet him. But I think that if Rudi and I are tricky and devise a plan of distractions that one of us should be able to lure him home with us. What do you think?

And do you think the cats would appreciate sharing their home with a roly poly little fellow?

Y’know, it’s a rare feeling when you’re awakened at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, decide to stay up, and are a) still awake and b) feeling productive come 11 a.m.

I’ve sent emails, made tea, and been grocery shopping already.

True, I haven’t any cleaning. But I am rocking out to tunes and have danced around the living room. Isn’t that how houses get cleaned in all those ’80s teen movies?

And I still have six hours of daylight left. Anything is possible!

We just got back from seeing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and it was fantastic. I think I liked this one the best of the four. Far superior to the adaptation of the third book.

The trio of stars continue to have real chemistry. The new Dumbledore is less callous than he was in the last movie. And the Quidditch World Cup scenes were amazing!!

Don’t get me wrong. There were definitely things that had been changed from the book. And some of them I agreed with. And others, such as the diminshed role of the extended Weasley family, that I didn’t.

But the thing that bummed me out the most about the movie? No Dobby!

And I wore special rainbow-striped socks with cats on them just for him!

We (or should I say Rudi) made it through all the Harry Potter movies in time for tomorrow’s showing of The Goblet of Fire. I, on the other hand, slept through the majority of The Prisoner of Azkaban, missing everything from when Hagrid is introduced as a teacher to when Lupin enters the Shrieking Shack. Rudi does tell me that my eyes were open when Harry was practicing his Patronus spell, but i don’t remember any of that.

This movie still disappoints me when compared to the book, from which I cannot separate it. I’m sure I’d like it more if a) I didn’t like this segment of the story so much or b) I hadn’t read the book. The movie definitely is more artful with a magical realism filmmaking style to it that the first two lack. But the story isn’t as well put together and I keep finding myself going, “But, that’s not how it happened!” And I only saw a third of the movie this time around!

Three beautiful things from a beautiful November:

1. Today dawned clear and crisp after yesterday’s rain and temperature free fall. It was the perfect day for a nice heavy wool sweater over a t-shirt.

2. My college roommate and I hae stayed friends over the years, even if we are not always good at staying in touch. On Tuesday I managed to get her on the phone and we chatted away for nearly an hour, learning about what each other was up to as well as exchanging tidbits of information about friends and families.

3. I went to the doctor today for a three-month follow-up to a diagnostic appointment I had over the summer. The doctor reports no changes from my earlier test results, which everyone agrees is very good news.

Less than 48 hours until Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire…

We’ve had tickets to opening day at the Uptown for a month — and we’re eager to see how they adapt this film. I’ve tried to avoid reading reviews in depth, but generally the vibe I’m getting from what I have seen is positive.

Rudi and I are trying to squeeze a re-viewing of the first three movies into the week before this one comes out. We watched the first one last weekend and started the second one tonight. We’ll finish it and watch the third one tomorrow. Then we can rush up to Cleveland Park on Friday after work to queue up for the rush to the balcony.

Hooray! I can’t wait!