in the thicket

Why did I wait so long?

I think that sometimes there are books or movies that are so popular that the rebellious side of my hesitates to jump onboard, so to speak. (Maybe it's a form of snobbery on my part?) Harry Potter fell into that category for me. Which is really too bad, for me! I could have been enjoying it along with everyone else!

I did read the first book, years ago, but for some reason it did not grab me. Maybe I was too loyal to the favorite authors of my youth (Madeline L'Engle in particular) that I didn't want to let myself get drawn in? Who knows! I remember when I was in graduate school, I was shocked when a classmate of mine spent a week or so heading over to Borders (the "flagship store" in downtown Ann Arbor) to read the entire series. She loved it and seemed surprised when I said I didn't find it that interesting. I should have listened to her!

We've been going through Harry Potter as a family for the past year. Our 7 year old was immediately a huge fan! I was amazed at how much she loved it. My husband or I (mostly my husband) read it out loud to her. Then I would sneak and read what I missed. I had also seen the movies through book 4 at my in-laws. Finally, I started reading them ahead of my daughter, so I could gauge when she'd be ready for the more intense later books. I read Book 5 over a couple of weeks, then read Book 6 over a week or so and then... I couldn't help it... started Book 7 two days ago and finished it up today! It's been a while since I've had a late-night reading marathon, but I really just could not stop reading. Love when that happens!

I'm pretty sure that everyone else I know has really read them. But just in case anyone stumbles across this who hasn't read them, then please, reconsider and start reading immediately! They really ARE as good as everyone says. Now I have that disappointing sense of let-down that happens when you finish a really wonderful story.

I think I'll still have to wait on the last two (three?) movies, though... I can't figure out a way to see them without my 7 year old knowing, and she would NOT like it if I saw the movies before her, but we have a family rule that you read the book before the movie. Oh well, something to look forward to!

Blowing the dust off and making some changes!

After considering what my blogging goals are, I've decided to make some changes! I have just created a blog where I will post specifically about homeschooling and family life, located at Dogwood Homeschool. Homeschooling is an important part of my life and certainly occupies a lot of my thoughts, time and energy. It is not my only interest, however, so I hope that this blog will become a place where I can write about my own personal interests... books, home arts (decorating, cooking, celebrations), Christianity, my quest to take better care of myself, parenting issues that don't specifically pertain to homeschooling, and maybe even some photography and digital scrapbooking again if I can fit that into my life!

So, if you are specifically interested in my homeschooling posts, you might want to follow my new blog. I'm writing for myself here, not any specific audience, and I anticipate that some months I might write a lot about books and other months I might blog about home decorating projects. Some days I might have the occassional deep thought or two that I want to get down in written form. Who knows! I just need a place where I can explore my own interests and passions that are not necessarily "child-centered" (though so much of my life really is, it's just the season!)

I will be "cleaning up" this blog shortly and I hope to update the header and overall look. I will leave all my posts here for the current time (including homeschooling posts) until I can figure out if it's possible to move them or not. Otherwise, I will just move forward with posts on this blog and hope that I will have a chance to write here regularly.