Whole buncha recs, books, games, travel plans, and an important date
One of those days where I'm sure I got something accomplished, but I'm not sure what that is, exactly, aside from taking Two to speech, running a short errand, going for a short run, baking a batch of cookies, debating the merits of signing up for an intro Library Tech Asst class at the community college, a bit of reading/playing with the girls and ... uh .... Yeah, that's about it. And I caught up on the last of hp_springsmut, which leads me to the following recs. All but one are pretty long, but very very worth your time.
With No Spine Intact - This is the short one. Angsty Sirius, Regulus, James and Remus, in various combinations, including Blackcest. Bitter and powerfully done, IMO.
Scorpius Malfoy's Very Bad Week - Scorpius/James Jr/Teddy Lupin, with minor H/D reference. This is the longest one. Really wonderful job addressing angsty "Gah, am I gay?" teenager without being heavy or maudlin. Much swearing and humor, as well as really hot smut. Also a hexed Ouiji board.
There are No Lions In England - MWPP+Lily on a youthful road trip. Various relationships/smut abounds, although no smut for Peter, poor boy. ;) REALLY nice characterizations, with no one taking guff from anyone else, and yet, despite various squabbles, a real sense of the strength of their relationships, platonic or otherwise. Liberally sprinkled with humor, too.
A Simple Misunderstanding - Downright hilarious at-Hogwarts Deamus, Dean's POV. Oh, and much smut, too.
Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit - Charlie/Tonks, canon-compliant except for Tonks' death. Follows their friendship/relationship from their Hogwarts years to post-DH, a really wonderful story of love found, lost, and found again, without being mushy.
So - yeah, that's a lot of fic to wade through, but I'm so glad I did. This fest had some real jewels, for pairings I never would have considered before. If you need something to read, please consider checking these out. I get the feeling that no one ever bothers checking out my recs, and yet I still want to help outstanding authors/artists get some well-deserved attention so ... I rec anyway.
Speaking of playing with the girls today (as I did, back before the massive rec list :P) - one of MiniPlu's current favorite games is Guess Who?, which she got for Christmas, I think. The suggested age is 6+ yrs, but MiniPlu quickly grasped the concept and does just fine, as I suspected she would. What stunned me even more is that, having watched us play a few million rounds, Two tried to play with MiniPlu this afternoon for the first time. She did astonishingly well, really understanding the whole "Does your person have a hat? No? Okay, so I put down all the hat pictures" concept. What was a bit harder for her was keeping straight mustaches and beards, and making sure she got ALL the pictures that had a certain feature. But for a just-turned-four kid, she did very well. Much better than at counting-your-steps board games, like Chutes & Ladders or Uncle Wiggly. And I was thrilled that, once again, she and MiniPlu found something to play (mostly) independently together. I only helped a little. Very proud of her.
ENGLAND FOLKS: My parents have generously offered to come out here together to babysit our angelic little monsters so Will and I can take a week's holiday alone. W00t! Although nothing is official yet, we are most seriously contemplating a trip to England (London, mostly, although we're open to other ideas) in late May, and are looking into renting a studio flat of some sort, so that I can have kitchen facilities. If you have any recommendations of which neighbourhoods to stay in (or stay far away from), lay it on me. If you know of a specific place to stay that is decent, tell me that, too. Walking distance to some sort of market or grocer would be invaluable.
To those of you who gave input on Italy, I thank you SO MUCH. I think for now we're going to postpone that venture, but right now I've got it on my wishlist for my 40th birthday in three years. Plenty of time to save up and figure out where to go. We were eyeing little villa rentals tonight before regretfully deciding "Now's not the time" - and my God, it looks so beautiful. *sighs dreamily*
I seem to be stuck on the two books I've been reading. I've got two fairy tales left for Black Thorn, White Rose but they've both been described as rather dark. The last one I read was so dark that it squicked me, so even though I've enjoyed most of the other tales just fine, I'm not sure I dare venture on to the end. Or at least, not for bedtime reading. I have been completely captured by Memoirs of a Geisha so far, but, not quite halfway through, it's starting to feel a bit repetitive. Hatsumomo is looking to crush Chiyo/Sayuri at every opportunity, and Mameha is helping her get around that. There's a lot of complicated Geisha protocol. Oh, and Sayuri longs for the Chairman. Repeat. I confess I flipped to the back last night, which I seriously NEVER do, and now I feel even less inclined to wade through the rest of the story, even though I simultaneously confess that I was up WAY too late last night, reading said story. It's so well written, and yet it feels like it's starting to drag a little, too.
I pulled out Sense and Sensibility this afternoon, although trying to read with a kindergartener repeatedly singing a song from music class, and a preschooler chatting your ear off, is rather tricky. :P I really enjoyed the Emma Thompson/Rickman/Winslet movie a few months ago, and since I just enjoyed P&P so much, perhaps I'll enjoy reading this one, too. I don't like leaving so many books unfinished, but maybe I just need a break.
On a final note - April Fool's Day 2003 was no joke for us. It's the day we finally got a phone call from the agency, informing us that we had a daughter. ♥
With No Spine Intact - This is the short one. Angsty Sirius, Regulus, James and Remus, in various combinations, including Blackcest. Bitter and powerfully done, IMO.
Scorpius Malfoy's Very Bad Week - Scorpius/James Jr/Teddy Lupin, with minor H/D reference. This is the longest one. Really wonderful job addressing angsty "Gah, am I gay?" teenager without being heavy or maudlin. Much swearing and humor, as well as really hot smut. Also a hexed Ouiji board.
There are No Lions In England - MWPP+Lily on a youthful road trip. Various relationships/smut abounds, although no smut for Peter, poor boy. ;) REALLY nice characterizations, with no one taking guff from anyone else, and yet, despite various squabbles, a real sense of the strength of their relationships, platonic or otherwise. Liberally sprinkled with humor, too.
A Simple Misunderstanding - Downright hilarious at-Hogwarts Deamus, Dean's POV. Oh, and much smut, too.
Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit - Charlie/Tonks, canon-compliant except for Tonks' death. Follows their friendship/relationship from their Hogwarts years to post-DH, a really wonderful story of love found, lost, and found again, without being mushy.
So - yeah, that's a lot of fic to wade through, but I'm so glad I did. This fest had some real jewels, for pairings I never would have considered before. If you need something to read, please consider checking these out. I get the feeling that no one ever bothers checking out my recs, and yet I still want to help outstanding authors/artists get some well-deserved attention so ... I rec anyway.
Speaking of playing with the girls today (as I did, back before the massive rec list :P) - one of MiniPlu's current favorite games is Guess Who?, which she got for Christmas, I think. The suggested age is 6+ yrs, but MiniPlu quickly grasped the concept and does just fine, as I suspected she would. What stunned me even more is that, having watched us play a few million rounds, Two tried to play with MiniPlu this afternoon for the first time. She did astonishingly well, really understanding the whole "Does your person have a hat? No? Okay, so I put down all the hat pictures" concept. What was a bit harder for her was keeping straight mustaches and beards, and making sure she got ALL the pictures that had a certain feature. But for a just-turned-four kid, she did very well. Much better than at counting-your-steps board games, like Chutes & Ladders or Uncle Wiggly. And I was thrilled that, once again, she and MiniPlu found something to play (mostly) independently together. I only helped a little. Very proud of her.
ENGLAND FOLKS: My parents have generously offered to come out here together to babysit our angelic little monsters so Will and I can take a week's holiday alone. W00t! Although nothing is official yet, we are most seriously contemplating a trip to England (London, mostly, although we're open to other ideas) in late May, and are looking into renting a studio flat of some sort, so that I can have kitchen facilities. If you have any recommendations of which neighbourhoods to stay in (or stay far away from), lay it on me. If you know of a specific place to stay that is decent, tell me that, too. Walking distance to some sort of market or grocer would be invaluable.
To those of you who gave input on Italy, I thank you SO MUCH. I think for now we're going to postpone that venture, but right now I've got it on my wishlist for my 40th birthday in three years. Plenty of time to save up and figure out where to go. We were eyeing little villa rentals tonight before regretfully deciding "Now's not the time" - and my God, it looks so beautiful. *sighs dreamily*
I seem to be stuck on the two books I've been reading. I've got two fairy tales left for Black Thorn, White Rose but they've both been described as rather dark. The last one I read was so dark that it squicked me, so even though I've enjoyed most of the other tales just fine, I'm not sure I dare venture on to the end. Or at least, not for bedtime reading. I have been completely captured by Memoirs of a Geisha so far, but, not quite halfway through, it's starting to feel a bit repetitive. Hatsumomo is looking to crush Chiyo/Sayuri at every opportunity, and Mameha is helping her get around that. There's a lot of complicated Geisha protocol. Oh, and Sayuri longs for the Chairman. Repeat. I confess I flipped to the back last night, which I seriously NEVER do, and now I feel even less inclined to wade through the rest of the story, even though I simultaneously confess that I was up WAY too late last night, reading said story. It's so well written, and yet it feels like it's starting to drag a little, too.
I pulled out Sense and Sensibility this afternoon, although trying to read with a kindergartener repeatedly singing a song from music class, and a preschooler chatting your ear off, is rather tricky. :P I really enjoyed the Emma Thompson/Rickman/Winslet movie a few months ago, and since I just enjoyed P&P so much, perhaps I'll enjoy reading this one, too. I don't like leaving so many books unfinished, but maybe I just need a break.
On a final note - April Fool's Day 2003 was no joke for us. It's the day we finally got a phone call from the agency, informing us that we had a daughter. ♥