And on the Ninth Day...

God said, finish the second Harry Potter book already!

So I did :) I swear, for as bored as I have been lately, it's amazing how much busier I am now that I am rereading this series, writing more blog updates, and planning all these knitting projects. As you can tell from the title, I am nine days into my Harry Potter series reread. It's the perfect day to read LOTS, since we're bunkered down for Tropical Storm Lee and it's FINALLY cold outside. YAY! The rain has been leaking from the sky all day and there is a lake in my front and back yards now, but I don't care. It's great to feel cool again when going outside. I actually broke out long pants- I haven't seen those since we left Portland on May 19th. That's almost 4 months. It definitely felt weird to be wearing long pants again.

So while I sit inside with my pajama pants, wrapped in a blanket, with some Thai-style tea (recipe to follow), I thought I would recap my reread of Harry Potter 2. I don't like it nearly as much as HP 1. I'm not sure why, but maybe it's because I can't stand Gilderoy Lockhart. I know his character is supposed to be annoying, and he's funny at the end, but seriously, I don't like him. And I don't the dialogue between characters or the one liners nearly as funny as the other books. That's not to say this book isn't funny, I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as the others. The quote I would like to share, though, is from my favorite part. The quote says it all (which is a narrative, nobody is speaking): "Ron opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, he gave an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth onto his lap." Firstly, that idea is genius, mostly because that would be included on my list of Top Ten Things That I Hope Never Happen To Me Because It's Gross. Also, I love her word choice. Hello, dribbled? Paints a great picture in your mind, plus that word is just absolutely ridiculous sounding.

Another part of this book that I do like is the introduction of the Weasley's Borrow. Rowling makes that house feel so homey and warm-fuzzy. There's always something going on in that house, and Mrs. Weasley is just so full of compassion, I secretly wish I lived there :) I love every scene that takes place at the Borrow in every book.

Let me pass on the Thai Sweet Tea recipe that I found in my Everything Thai cookbook. I was first introduced to Thai Iced Tea at a Thai restaurant in Portland and let me tell you, it's DELICOUS- and I don't like tea all that much! But this is too good to NOT like. Granted, it is SUPER sweet, so if you can't tap into your sweet tooth, pass on this recipe. Here goes:

1. Place 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk and 1 tbsp sugar in a glass. (If you want something less sweet, try lessened the amount of sugar- but don't mess with the condensed milk, that makes all the difference!)

2. Pour 1 cup boiling water into the glass and let 1 tbsp Thai leaves steep until desired strength. (I used Lipton tea bags since that's all I have- and it tastes great even with them! I'm actually not sure what the difference is between using Lipton vs. Thai leaves. Just make sure it's your basic tea, no weird flavored ones!)

3. When done steeping, stir with a spoon to dissolve the condensed milk. Throw in some ice cubes and finish with a splash of milk on top. YUMMY!

For variation, today I served the tea hot and instead of splashing with milk, I splashed with unwhipped heavy cream.

I think Pandora's box have been opened, I seriously don't need this much sugar in my daily intake...