(no subject)

Well, the renovations to the dining room are finally (mostly) finished. And in spite of my teasing my DH* about moving a wall only eighteen inches, it actually does make a difference. The whole area looks more open now -- it helps that he cut half the wall down as well as moving it back -- and best of all, I now have a broom closet! That was something that was sadly missing from the original builder's layout -- no place to put brooms, mops, cleaning supplies or the vacuum. I had to store everything downstairs.

The only unfortunate thing about all this diligence on my husband's part is that there is white plaster dust everywhere. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday sweeping and dusting the dining room, and I know I'm going to have to do it all again in another day or two when the dust settles again. Plus I haven't even got to doing the living room and kitchen, or mopping the floors... sigh.

And on another note, thanks to Erin and Greg for your comments on yesterday's post. I was beginning to wonder if anybody was reading this blog any more, or whether I'd scared the pants off all of you, or both. :)
--
* DH = Dear Husband.

(no subject)

Just checked my recent search engine referrals to this page and came up with this...

"I LOVE DANIEL RADCLIFFE VERY,VERY MUCH.WHAT SHOULD I DO"

Waiter, can I have my reality check now, please? Or better yet, give this person theirs.

HP Fic Recs

Since good new fics these days seem so hard to find...

The Buried Life by Kalina (Complete)
Believable Snape/Hermione -- who woulda thunk it? Plus a portrayal of Harry which is neither bland nor OOC, which is even rarer. Beautifully written, solidly characterized and tightly plotted, with plenty of action and suspense, this is an engrossing fic.

Brave New World by Amy Brinkley (WIP, updates weekly, almost complete)
This could so easily have fallen into cliche -- a new teacher at Hogwarts, clashes with Snape, yeah, we've all seen that before. But Amy puts an original twist on the idea that's quite unlike any other HP fic I've read. The focus is on character drama rather than adventure, but it's neither long-winded nor boring.

Slytherin Study Group by rabbit and -v-Jinx-v (ongoing series)
Considering how funny JKR's books are, it's a wonder there aren't more comedy fics out there in HP fandom. Unfortunately, most of those that are out there either depend on pop-culture references that have no place in JKR's world, and/or take the characters wildly OOC. These stories, however, are a shining exception to the rule and they're very, very entertaining. One look at "Stuck", the first, short entry in the series, should be enough to get you hooked on the rest.

Yet Another Snape Meets the Dursleys Story by rabbit (WIP)
Why does such a beautifully written, heart-rending (but never sappy), wryly witty, solidly characterized, wholly engaging gen fic have such a lousy title? It's like the author was trying to put readers off... but don't be fooled, this is a terrific story, and Harry, Snape and the Dursleys are all spot-on. Highly recommended.