It’s been fun for the last year but, after Friday I will be finished with the Harry Potter series. I’m proud of myself for accomplishing the difficult task of having read all seven books. I might say I even say I would have made Gramma Gaffron (R.I.P. 🪦) proud too. I believe she only made it to the fourth or fifth book. While I enjoyed Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix was a tough one to get through.
I am now down to the last hundred pages in Deathly Hallows. That’s four chapters plus the Epilogue. These next two Sundays I will watch parts one and two of the last Harry Potter movie. Look for a blog post from me in a few weeks which will be a six pack of what I liked about the series.
As someone who is for the LGBTQ 🏳️🌈 community, I am aware of J.K. Rowling’s views on trans people. I wasn’t going to quit reading the books because of that. I may be finished with the series after Friday, but I may still watch Sorcerer’s Stone at Christmas and, down the road I may pick up Fantastic Beasts or Quidditch Through the Ages. Therefore, her views don’t phase me. Only when people get vocal about it, and when people force it on me, is when I take action.
My next few books will be political as we near the election. I’m going to reread Kamala Harris‘s book and I’m also going to finally put a dent in Barack Obama’s memoir which came out in 2020. I want to finish that before he writes about his next four years. I never even looked at his portrait book that I got for Christmas in 2018. I’ll get to work on that as well.
I am saying farewell to Hogwarts, and we are saying farewell to Summer as the calendar turns to September. After our taste of Fall last week, summer weather returns as we near 90. This week coming up might be the last week to enjoy the pool. Looking ahead to the first week of September, temperatures will fall back to the low 70s. It’s only a matter of time before we close the pool for the year. However, September may surprise us with a heat wave.
It was farewell to summer vacation as well as my niece started her first day of sixth grade on Thursday at West Hempfield Middle School. We got pictures with her before her mom took her to school. For my dad, it was back to driving the bus Thursday morning. I watched him pass by our house Friday morning. He starts his day early and then goes back in the afternoon. Both of my parents have been retired since 2021.
As for the first day of middle school, AB didn’t like it. SHE LOVED IT!!! We all were concerned how she would adjust and so far, so good. There will be good days and bad days but we will be there for her when she vents about those not so good, very bad days.
Mr. Clougherty’s school year began Thursday as well. It’s another year for him of teaching AP Government and sharing articles with students. This may be a historic year as it might very well be the one where we have our first Female President of the United States. He’ll be able to share it with his students and get their input on it. I’ve enjoyed his evolvement from teaching Special Education to teaching Advanced Placement. This year feels like 2008, when we elected the first African-American president.
Let’s just hope for me it’s not a repeat of 2008 or 2012, and this time just walk away from conflict before I’m belittled (2008) or reduced to tears (2012).
Stylish 🍒 