MovieThoughts: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

So HP7.

I liked it and I wish I could somehow swing it to see it again but I doubt I'll get a chance in theaters.

Beware! Spoilers after the jump

BookThoughts: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games knocked me off my feet.

I bought it on Saturday and had decided to just read a few chapters, but circumstances allowed me to finish it on Sunday afternoon.

Such an amazing story and so exciting.

I had the sequel, Catching Fire, in my hand at the bookstore on Saturday but decided not to get it in case I didn't like the first book.

I regretted that last night.

So tonight when we go to town to see Deathly Hallows I'm swinging by the bookstore to pick up books 2 and 3 (Mockingjay) as well.

There's something I noticed about good literature that make me want to try it out myself, wishing, hoping I can make something as good myself.
And then there's bad literature - the kind you read and cringe and just want to hide in a hole and abandon books all together.

Thoughts on Glee (2x07)

Ok, so I watch Glee. And I'm wondering where they plan to take this plot twist with the Neanderthal jock who suddenly out of the blue kisses Kurt.

I mean, how do they plan to resolve it? Because by all things Holy - I will strangle someone if they somehow end up together, or even if they just have Kurt feel attracted to the guy.

This guy has abused Kurt and to pair them up after that is just this typical plot where A meets B who is inexplicably rude and abusive and yet stalkery and sending off "I'm sort of attracted to you, but I can't come to terms with my sexual persuasion/lust for you so instead I will be rude and abusive and treat you like shit and hope you will understand anyway"-vibes towards A (you know like the three year old boy who pulls a girls' pigtails and everyone says "Aww, he likes you!" Way to go to indoctrinate your girl to interpret abuse=love) and then A can't help but be "intrigued" and "flattered" by this attention and so of course they fall for B.

Wait, that sounds like ... Twilight.

*shudder*

And in this week's episode they added death threats to the mix.

Oh, joy.

In other news - I quite liked this weeks' episode. Sue was deliciously vicious. Gwyneth actually worked (and was that her singing? I liked it. A bit nasal at times, but good) and I loved the mash up at the end of Umbrella and Singing in the Rain.
Oh and the Glee mini-mes? So adorable!

Sewing related

A few weeks ago I finished Isabel's Music Class Blouse and a Birthday Party Dress for Sofia and all I had left to do were the buttonholes.

Only, my machine would not cooperate. No matter what I tried I could not make it tick-tick-tick like it has to in order to make buttonholes. I guess I could make them manually, but I didn't want to mess up the garments cause they were really nice.

So they've just hung there on hangers in my sewing room. Blocking what little natural light I get in a north-east facing window in November in Sweden. (That is pretty much nothing between 9 am and midnight. And since the sun rises at 8:30 am .. well, you do the math.)

Anyway. Today I finally sucked it up and just put snaps in them. The dress will hold up nicely. The fabric was rather heavy and with the interfacing it will work out well. The blouse though, it might not fare as well. It's made from a fairly sheer seersucker and I worry Isabel will tear the fabric when she takes the blouse off.
I tried adding extra interfacing on the snaps, but I'm not sure how well it will work.

It's nice to be done though.

Tomorrow I hope to get started on the Christmas/holiday curtains I plan to make for our lunch nook and kitchen.
I have a Fruitcake by someone for Moda jelly roll that I'm pairing up with sheer brown linen and a red linen fabric with printed white stars. It will be so pretty (I hope).

And since I like to include at least one picture in a post ..

Here's my little swashbuckler Pirate girl showing off the foam sword she got last weekend.

Wordless Monday

Ready for a Playdate

There - one dress, ready to wear.

It needs to be washed. There are still some trace lines on the inside of the sleeves. Sofia asked to wear it tomorrow though and I agreed.

I'll definitely make one more - I had a thought on how to bind the neckline and add the piping in one go that I want to try.

I also loved the construction of the yoke. Almost like a puzzle - and no hand stitching!

Halloween and turkeys

Isabel went to a Halloween party on Saturday. Some of the kids thought she looked mighty scary.

Halloween's gotten more and more popular in Sweden the past few years but for some reason no one can agree on when to come trick or treating.
This year we had trick or treaters on Saturday night and Sunday night.

At least they had dressed up in costumes.

I'm preparing a turkey dinner for our parents this Saturday. I'm not sure how long we've done this, but it might be the 10th year.
We've been doing it since before Isabel was born. But we skipped that year I remember because she was little and I didn't have the energy, what with PND and everything.

We're serving a curried sweet potato soup with goat's cheese biscuits for starters. Turkey with roast potatoes, gravy, carrots and sprouts for the main course. Cinnamon apples with vanilla and cardamom pannacotta for dessert and then I'll make a lemon and poppy seed cake if someone wants cake with coffee.

It's a lot of work, not just on the day but the whole week. I'm buying the turkey today and I'll leave it to thaw in the fridge. Then I'll put it into a brine on Thursday and leave it there until Saturday. Thursday I'll boil the stock for the gravy after the turkey is in the brine.

Cake is done on Friday, along with the pannacotta and the little puff pastry cookies I'm serving with it. I'll also pre-fry the bacon to be mixed with the Brussels sprouts.
I'll also make the soup then and I'll have to check but maybe I can pre-mix the biscuits too.

Isabel is on November holidays this week so there is no school. She's still in school but with the after-school staff all week.
I have taken the day off on Thursday and Friday to be with her and Sofia. I hope I can manage to let them help out.