I finally read Harry Potter...

Okay, so 10 years after the start of the Harry Potter phenomenon, I finally read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I was never interested in the books, probably the only person I know who wasn't. DH has read them, sister has, god-daughter has... but they've never sounded interesting to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE sci-fi & fantasy fan, I read Asimov and Heinlein from a young age and The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy around age 11, but Harry's adventures never interested me.

Until now... A friend is reading them with her son and recommended them saying it's a good story and an easy read.
So, on a recent business trip I grabbed the first book out of DH's library. I read it in a day, definitely an easy read and not a bad story.

I've told a couple people I didn't like Harry Potter. My sister's reaction was an incredulous, "You didn't like Harry Potter?!?!" Okay, maybe "didn't like" is a bit strong, but frankly I was underwhelmed. I expected something that would grab me and pull me into the story. That because I wasn't going to be home for two days after I finished the book, I'd go nuts waiting to get home to pick up book two. But none of that happened. I finished the book and came home and put it back in the library and picked up something else that isn't Harry Potter. (I've currently got my nose in four books, but will drop them all if I get Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille for Chanukah. I've been wanting to read it for over a year and wanted to pick it up in November when it came out in paperback, but I digress.)
My life will go on if I don't read the other six Potter books, but I'll be definitely disappointed if I don't get ahold of Wild Fire sometime soon.

Now, I've promised my niece that if she wants to read and discuss the books, I'm happy to continue, but I don't know if she's interested. If she's not, that's fine, I'll go on to the gazillion books sitting around here yearning to be read.

I honestly don't think I would have be crazy for Harry as a younger me. As I mentioned, I read Tolkien around age 11. I tried to get into the books around age 9, had a tough time and put them aside for two years. I just don't think Harry's adventures would have appealed to me then, either. Of course, by then I was reading my Dad's old Fantasy & Science Fiction magazines and books. Oh and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine which is detective fiction. (Dang! They both still exist!)

Harry Potter definitely has done good in getting kids interested in reading that possibly wouldn't have been before. He's just not for me.

She Lived Up to Her Name...Risa

Risa is gone. We had to put her to sleep on November 15. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. She told us on that Tuesday that it was time and we waited until Thursday so that her regular vet could be there. She was never in any discomfort, if she had been, we would have done it sooner. November 15 was 10 weeks to the day since her diagnosis. DH has more information on his blog.

Several people told us about the Rainbow Bridge. You can read it here. People told us about their beloved dogs who Risa will be playing with at Rainbow Bridge. I envision this as her new pack, at least until we can join her. Risa's new pack includes:
TK, Princess, Putt-Putt, and Kuma (my beautiful dogs when I was growing up)
Ting-Ling (DH's dog)
Schoep, Beschert, Trapper (Laurie)
Patch and Rusty (PastorDan)
Mooch, Wicket, Pepper, Simon, and Toby (SaraBeth)
Brillig (Brillig)
Dickens (Zoskie)
Erla, Ranger, and Scout (Sharon)

On my desk at work I have a picture of her and pictures of her in my screensaver slideshow. I can look at these pictures daily and smile when I think of her. However, at other times, I just lose it. I was organizing some papers one day and found a receipt from a vet visit earlier this year before this ordeal started... I burst into tears. The certificate from Bubbling Well (see aforementioned DH blog) came the other day. At first I thought I was okay and then I sat down and cried.

Risa sure lived up to her name, providing us with nearly 10 1/2 years of laughter and good times. After she went to sleep we sat and told stories about Risa and we still do, "Do you remember when Risa...?" And my line has been that we'll be vacuuming her fur from the carpet for years to come. <grin>

Bye baby dog, I'll miss you. Thank you for sharing your life and love with us.

"We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made." -M. Acklam