Reading books runs in my family. My grandmother and uncles have read the classics like The Grapes of Wrath and To Kill A Mockingbird. Gram has also read the Harry Potter series up to Order of the Phoenix as have her grandchildren and great grandchildren (whom Iām sure have all read the entire series.
Recently, my niece has been reading the Harry Potter books and is almost finished with Goblet of Fire. Iām at the beginning and I pick up on the fourth book once we turn the calendar towards 2024. However, this is not my first rodeo when it comes to the iconic book series.
In the Fall of 2018, I was working at WIS doing a series of special projects for Target that were pretty mindless and my partner and I were feeling bored. To pass the time, I downloaded the Harry Potter books on my Kindle app and read them starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The best part was I didn’t have to pay extra through my Kindle Unlimited membership. I actually did read the first three books in the series and was ready to start Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that December but quit before I began. Perhaps I was focused on my new job at Giant Eagle. Like that job, my love of Harry Potter would be short-lived. But, like working at Giant Eagle, it would make a comeback.
Inspired by a few of my team leaders and my store leader, as well as my niece Annabelle, I began reading Harry Potter once again this summer. To be fair to myself, I went back to square one and re-read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as well as the other two before starting the fourth book. It didn’t take me long to read the first book and start the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. By Thanksgiving, I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Soon after, I started the book I’m on now. I’ve been too busy to consistently read it and maybe history would repeat itself. However, I will definitely be picking it up once the holidays end and we turn the calendar to January. If I get an Amazon gift card for Christmas, I will be using it on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I think that Gramma Gaffron would be proud of me for reading the series. When I finish Harry Potter, I’d like to try my hand at Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings.
This past October, we had Annabelle’s birthday party at Mammoth Park. As expected, the party had a Harry Potter theme. From the decorations to the cupcakes and even the glasses for all the kids to wear, it looked like a mini-Hogwarts. It reminded me of the Harry Potter event that Masterspieces held three years earlier. I bought my Wizard Weather sweatshirt that I wore to Annabelle’s party at that event. All of her classmates and friends from karate were three as well as her cousins and my cousins. They (the Gaffron cousins and their little ones) were camping at Laurel Hill State Park that weekend so they had the luxury of being close. Mommy, Gigi, and Pappy put together a nice spread for the party and her and Matt were spot on with how many pizzas were ordered.
Instead of opening all of the gifts at the party, we took everything back to the house and Annabelle opened them there. One of the best gifts that she got were the Harry Potter funko pops passed down to her from her aunt. She also got protective cases for them. Annabelle got other nice gifts, including a camera and some money. I gave her art supplies for her birthday from Michaels as well as a gift card. I think she cleaned up nicely.
The way it’s going, I think her birthday next year will have a Taylor Swift theme. She’s become a bandwagon fan of the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift romance, and saw the Taylor Swift concert movie this Fall. She even wore an Eras t-shirt to our family reunion.
First half of a great weekend is in the books and the next day would be our family reunion.
Stylish š 