Hogwart's For The Weekend

Sorry for the long blogging absence. I didn't do that well with NaBloPloMo and then was overwhelmed with other stuff. I have lots of things to blog about, but I've been swamped with grading, my duties on a departmental hiring committee, and preparations for the holidays. Gotta love the end of the semester! Soon my parents will be here and I should have more time for reading blogs and posting.

A few weeks ago the whole family attended what can only be described as the most authentic and fun re-enactment of Hogwart's ever. Wherever possible, our lovely hosts did there best to make it feel like we were really there.

Saturday was the Quidditch World Cup, and my husband's team (Ravenclaw) made it to the final game, along with Hufflepuff, that was to be played on Sunday. Part of our admission to the World Cup got us a pouch of wizarding money, which we could use to buy spirit items (flags and pins), picnic lunch, and of course sweet snacks (licorice wands and chocolate covered newt's eyes, yum!).

Sunday we donned our school robes and waited admittance for the school year. I was a first year, so had to be sorted (Gryffindor, yay!). Next we had the usual beginning of the year feast. There was French onion soup, salad, shephard's pie, and trifle for dessert. Oh, and I can't forget butter beer! It was a fantastic meal. After our meal we went to our classes. I had potions, ancient runes, and charms. Here is my wand (from charms). Pretty fancy, huh?


Following classes, RJ and I rooted for the husband's team in the Quidditch Championship game. They won, leading to much celebration! Here they are, playing hard for the championship:


Finally, we had the awards ceremony at the end, in which Ravenclaw won the house cup. Gryffindor finished last this year, despite our resounding win at removing garden gnomes from the forbidden forest (we captured 50!). I think our poor performance at trivia was our real downfall, but we're not really known for our brains. Here we are at the awards ceremony, waving our Ravenclaw flag.