uncommon goods round up

valentine's is a time for indulgence and care of ourselves and our loved ones, is it not? it occurred to me how often i can be found hunting down interesting items that very few people know exist. i suppose i've become a bit of a connoisseur of the offbeat, interesting, and strange. i do a lot of DIYing so a lot of these hunts are for rare supplies or ingredients that non-crafty folk wouldn't have use for (bees wax pellets and e6000 glue, etc). i also frequent etsy, artisan indy stores, and markets for things i read about or that popped into my head and now i have to have them, hard to find or not. these often end up being among my favorite possessions, either for usefulness or beauty or both. i thought i'd share with you some little bits of affordable luxury. these are all things i either really want, am already waiting on my order, or have and use on a regular basis:



e-cigarettesthere's no long term studies on them yet and limited standardization for safety so be careful to do your research. these are becoming more and more popular either as an alternative to cigarettes or as a stop-smoking aid. it's a little metal cigarette that contains a rechargeable battery (usually usb charged), a little heating coil that atomizes the liquid, and a cartridge that holds your liquid and is your smoking tip. the liquid is a mix of glycerin, propylene glycol, nicotine, and flavourings (there's a whole world of recipes to mix your own blends too). i tried one of these the other night and it was really nice! not sure if it can replace smoking entirely for me but i'm sure it can reduce it quite a bit and more or less anything is healthier. since they only produce a water vapour you can "smoke" them anywhere and they're much cheaper and more eco-friendly than tobacco. the liquid also comes in tons of fun flavours. WANT



zomg smells
is this great little website i found via offbeathome where they make wonderfully geeky perfumes with names like "the melancholy death of nikola tesla" and "brontosaurus loves triceratops". i've heard great things. shipping is very reasonable and they have little 1ml samples called squees for about $3 each. a 10 pack of squees works out to about $30 after taxes and shipping. they seem to take quite some time to put your order together, i've been waiting almost a month already. if i like these ones i already have a list of at least 13 more i want to try, i'm super excited.



fake gauge earrings
oh i know, this is cheating and not very hardcore, especially by my usual go-hard-or-go-home standards, but it does give you the flexibility of big gauges when you want them and small ones when you don't. i think they look pretty good. i even found ones made with surgical steel posts so even my crazy sensitive skin can handle them. if you're not concerned about such things you have more options. etsy is a wonderful place. search "fake gauge earrings" for lots of options. most are made of wood, bone, or horn and most are hand carved.



metal or beaded bookmarks
i'm so sick of using scraps of trash in all my books. i love my books and i think they deserve nicer markers. i'm trying to amass a collection of ones i'm not ashamed of so there's always one around and i wont resort to gum wrappers and bus transfers. most of these are embarrassingly easy to make but if you really can't tell one end of a needle from another you can sometimes find these tucked in corners of bookshops and always on etsy. if all else fails a strip of pretty ribbon is better than trash



chameleon dresses
i had one of these made to my measurements and dyed to my preference for under $200 after tax and shipping but it looks like prices and fabrics have changed since then. this is still totally worth it. i love it to pieces. it's my go-to formal dress that i can tie in lots of different ways and it flatters any body type. best part is that it feels like pajamas! (hint-your prom dress looks like a prom dress. it's not appropriate for formal functions if you've been out of high school for more than a year or two. you're an adult now. attend adult parties looking like one)



handkerchiefs
kleanex is made of cottonwood trees. it also sheds dust and fibers like nobody's business. large amounts of people are allergic to cottonwood and dust. does this seem like a cruel joke to you? it does to me. i love handkerchiefs. i wish i had a ton more. i learned that if i have white ones and am not used to them yet, i often forget myself and toss them like you would a tissue. i was wondering where all of mine were going and then caught myself doing it one day. since then i get coloured ones. obviously it's insanely easy to make your own out of an old pillow slip or bed sheet, or even a thin t-shirt and then you don't even have to hem. i like mine about 12"-14" square but suit yourself. seriously tho, get some. so much nicer to your nose and you'll never run out of tissues again. just throw them in your regular laundry.



edible paper cake toppers
ok so these are totally indulgent but aren't they PRETTY!? they also come in flowers and leaves and dragonflies. they're made of rice paper, printed with food colouring. some of them are done on super thin sheets of frosting but those are made to be laid flat on your cake and they melt in. that's how they put photos on cakes in the bakery. i want to make a summer cake for beltane iced in green with a rainbow of flowers and butterflies. i also think an orange cake with autumn leaves and bats would be great. worth doing for a special occasion



stainless steel straws
i think this is a brilliant idea. you use steel forks and spoons, who says straws should be plastic and disposable? i expect a rinse in hot water would be fine if you've been drinking clear liquids. they're dishwasher safe if you've been sucking up milkshakes or similar. they come with a pipecleaner too. if you could find thin enough piping in a hardwear store you could just have them cut it to the lengths you want and file the edges smooth. also, hot liquids wont melt scary chemicals into your drink.



reusable sandwich bags
these come in zipper, fold-lock, and velcro closures, in all different colours and styles and sizes. obviously they wouldn't work for everything but you can still cut out a large chunk of disposibles with these. i fid that quality reusables are not just eco-friendly, but also much more pleasant to use, don't you? i often wonder how we were convinced to use throw-away items in the first place.



fire bowls
i'm currently putting one of these together but you can also buy them premade. it's a little personal fireplace! putting one on the balcony for chilly evenings and/or impromptu toasting of food on sticks. it's really just a nice heat-resistant bowl filled with sand or salt and rocks to somewhat hide the reservoir of chafing dish fuel. the bowl i bought was a touch too small for the standard cans of fuel but i do love it so i may just find a smaller reservoir. i was planning on refilling it from the bottles of liquid anyways. i'll try to put up a simple tutorial when mine's done.



hand knit clothes or accessories
this is a pretty broad category, i know. most of us have only experienced hand knit in the form of ugly gramma sweaters, stay with me here. first, if you have a gramma who wants to knit you things you should totally take her up on the offer! tell her the colours and styles you like, if you prefer bulky fluffy yarn or slinky smooth stuff. let her take measurements. leaf through her patterns. she has the skills and wants to make you something you'll like, just give her direction. if you do not know anyone who knits, and don't want to take up the addiction yourself, i suggest you get acquainted with etsy. hand crafted knits are nothing like storebought. you can feel the quality and care woven into every fiber. they're fully customized by shape, size, colour, style, material, and everything else about them. it's hard to explain just how lovely they are. buy a nice pair of hand knit socks or something and you'll see what i mean. it's like comparing home made foccacia with wonderbread. they're both labeled bread, and there the similarity ends. you can often find these things at farmer's markets.



custom made clothing
make friends with your local tailors and seamstresses! if you're involved with theatre people or performers of any kind they probably have contacts you can use. so do those lovely people at the farmer's market who are selling knits. ask around on facebook. chances are you know someone who knows someone who sews. being able to get things that fit perfectly for a reasonable price is a wonderful thing. you can also use etsy's alchemy feature and have one of their artists pick up your request. my experience with it has been a bit hit and miss, to be honest, and i'd rather support my friends if i can't do something myself. once you know one person who crafts they can usually point you to others who do jewelry, makeup and hair art, will make you a webpage, or whatever else your heart desires. believe me, you want to have creative people in your life and support their endeavors.



pretty serving dishes
i don't know if i'll ever be able to afford a full set of hand thrown, custom painted, wood-kiln fired dishes. if i had them i might be scared to use them. i can afford to add little pretty pieces here and there that work together and with the rest of my stuff. olive platter made from a melted wine bottle? yes please! sugar bowl with a little frog for a handle? absolutely! i think we need little touches of fun and beauty in our homes. and for the love of god do not put them in a glass cabinet and never use them, what on earth good is that? use the good dishes! they were designed to be handled and loved. buying them online will run you a pretty penny in shipping cause them things are heavy. small art galleries and farmer's markets are a better bet



nice journals and notebooks
do you keep a brain-in-a-book? i do. everything from to-do lists and budgets to drawings and journal entries. receipts and money and pamphlets get shoved in. i always have a nice pen. if it falls open it will explode. i try to buy or make nice ones. i should really invest more in them since i'm never seen without it. one of these days i'll learn to bind books myself and not worry about them being too pricey. in the mean time it's a nice indulgence. one of those little gifts to myself so that i can enjoy the things i handle and rely on daily. i've been meaning to get another cartridge fountain pen to go with a nice hand bound book. i love dip pens to pieces but they're not very portable.



cloaks
i've been trying to bring cloaks back into fashion for years. they're wonderfully multipurpose, as warm or cool as you like, go with everything, are super easy to make, what's not to like!? be careful not to get ripped off buying these. you should be mostly paying for fabric quality. it is a ton of fabric, but it only takes a few hours to put one together so don't let someone charge you $150 for labor or something (unless they hand-sewed the whole monster because fun fur wont fit in the machine, but i'm nuts like that). next one i make needs to have pockets on the inside. they're much more comfy with either several clasps or one big toggle-style one. the little pretty ones tend to slide backwards and choke you.



gladiator sandals
i'm still trying to break mine in but these are a great example of simple technology that needs no improvement. they last for ages, are really comfy once the leather is broken in, and can be tied many ways. unisex and functional, these go from hiking in the woods to a semi-formal wedding with no trouble. lets see your heels do that!



hair sticks and french combs
this is mostly for those with long hair. you can keep your bobby pins and elastics and claw clips. if you want a versatile hair accessory that is comfortable and simple, wont fall apart or wreck your hair, than look for really old school stuff. you need to get a feel for the physics involved. both use your hair's own resistance and you twist before pinning. here and here are good places to start. get the hang of it with cheepy ones from the dollar store and then invest in a few pretty pieces. the nice part about them being simple is they can be made of lots of different materials and be as ornate or simple as you like. i'm fond of pretty wood and/or copper.

btw, none of these people are paying me in any way. i just like their stuff. so what interesting and hard to find stuff are you in love with? i think we all need a little affordable indulgence in our lives.

spanikopita stuffed foccacia bread

difficulty rating: bottle short of a six pack
kinda greek-italian fusion food. this premise holds true for any kind of stuffed bun. it's based on my usual focaccia and usual spanikopita but without the egg

mix 1 cup warm water
1 rounded Tbs instant yeast
1 rounded Tbs sugar
let sit for 10 min or until foamy

in the mean time mix 2 cups flour with
3/4 tsp each of dill, oregano, basil, garlic, pepper, and salt

add the yeast mix to the flour along with 2-3 Tbs olive oil. stir until a soft dough forms. kneed until soft and elasticy but still slightly sticky. add more flour as needed. coat lightly in oil and cover. let rise in a warm place for 25 min or until doubled.

in the mean time sauté 1/4 of a diced onion in a bit of olive oil
mix with 1 1/4 cups chopped cooked spinach (frozen is fine, drain it well)
1/2 tsp each of dill, basil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2-3 Tbs lemon juice
1 cup low-fat crumbled feta cheese
adjust seasonings as you see fit

your dough should have risen by now, punch down and divide into 6 pieces. flatten each piece to about 1/2 an inch thick, put a blob of filling in the middle, bring all the sides together and squish to form a bun full of goodies. place them evenly on parchment paper on a baking sheet.

let rise till doubled in size again, bake at 325-350 for 20 min until golden brown on top. turn the heat down if they're getting too dark.

brush the tops with olive oil or butter, top with a bit of parmesan while still hot so it melts a bit.

let the damn thing cool a bit or you'll burn your face off! add a salad. call it dinner. bring leftovers to work tomorrow. tell the little old greek lady spinning in her grave to fuck off cause it's tasty.

done.

plans for the garden

so there's lots of other stuff i was going to write about "when i have more time" and right now i can't remember any of it right now. oh well. it's jan in vancouver and i'm heartily sick of the rain and fog and general gloominess. we've have about 2 days of partial sun here in the last 3 or 4 weeks. i'm desperate for some vitamin D. i know, can't really expect anything different living in van but i never chose to live here, damnit. i'm loooonging for spring. i want cherry blossoms and crocuses and sunshine and daffodils. most of all I WANT TO PLANT THE GARDEN!!! our new place has a nice sized balcony and i fully intend to make us an edible jungle out there. this is what i'm planning:

window boxes-all the way around the outside of the railing. this will give us lots of planting room without eating all the walking space. i'll try to find deep ones since the usual 6" depth is not ideal for veggies. it's fine for herbs and lettuce and edible flowers and i did grow tomatoes in them last year with limited success but i think everything would have done better with deeper roots. in these is going to go most of the herbs, lettuce, snow peas, cucumbers, zucchini, green onions, carrots, radishes, violets, and strawberries. anything that has to climb, has shallow roots, and/or needs lots of sun. our balcony faces north-east so we are going to have issues with not enough light, especially on the northern side. light hogs like tomatoes and eggplant have to go on the east side. i may also be getting cuttings of honeysuckle so i'll have to make room for a planter or two on the ground so they can wind their lovely smelling vines all around the balcony railings under the rest of the edible jungle.

self watering containers-at least a couple in the corners for stuff that really needs to never dry out. i'll be trying my hand at making these out of the 3 gallon buckets they have at my local dollar store. should make a nice weekend project while i'm waiting for the weather to warm up and the sun to come back. in these is going to be cherry tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and brussel sprouts. i'm trying not to use up too much floor space with these so we'll tuck them in corners. the water hogs are also light hogs so we'll see about staggering things in hight over on the north side.

compost-rule 1 of gardening, build your soil!!! first of all i'm determined to find a good source of ready-made compost to give my plants a nice head start. potting soil from a bag is sterile and dead. that's very bad for healthy plants. secondly, i'm determined to get a vermiculture bin to live on the balcony. we wont have anything finished from it for a few months but at least worms can eat our garbage rather than the landfill and we should have some great stuff by mid to late summer

hanging baskets-to make use of vertical space. while we're at it i'll be running fishing line to the roof as trellis for climbing things like the peas. i think i'll have to glue little strips of wood to the stucco to have an anchor point to attach things to. time to see if gorilla glue is all it's cracked up to be. i think i have 1"x1"s around here somewhere but i'll have to wait for a dry day. anything that trails can go in the hanging baskets so probably the oregano and thyme and whatever other herbs i can get to behave in them. maybe some nasturtiums tumbling over the edge for colour.

early and late crops-i wont really know if i have space problems until i have all the planters in place but since my plans are more ambitious than last year and my light isn't as good, there's a fair chance i'll be struggling to fit everything where it will do well. some of this issue i plan on managing by having a few crops that are happier with cooler weather and less light, such as snow peas, radishes, lettuce, and brussel sprouts; and others that either have long growing seasons or need the blazing heat of summer, such as carrots and peppers. the early crops can be pulled out when they're wrapping up and replaced with something that needs their space, than replanted later in the summer for a fall crop or just moved elsewhere.

other pretty and useful things-mirrors are going to go in on the building side to reflect back what light we do get. i'll have to watch carefully in the summer that they don't burn the plants if the light gets too intense. if so i'll have to screen them somewhat with a piece of sheer fabric or something. a little triangular shelf is going to go in one corner to hold an ashtray, a little fountain, and your drink. i'm hoping this can take the place of the little table out there right now and free up a bit of floor space. i love fountains and have been missing them since both of mine broke. if i can find a cheep one i'll get two and put one in my bedroom as well. i'm hoping this will help attract birds and bees. if i have room i'll put in a small bird feeder as well just to enjoy their company a little closer up. we'll have to watch the cats carefully :) since we'll be creating a lovely little garden with living curtains, i was going to make it a tad more habitable with a fast drying mat or carpet. i might crochet a rag rug or something. i'll probably put in a couple of hurricane oil lamps as well that can be filled with citronella for summer evenings. the neighbours have a little BBQ which means we can get away with this too if we can find a place to put it...

i just found out that there's a good garden store right by holdom skytrain, which means i can actually get at it! before the only one i knew of was over an hour by bus. initial setup will be a lot of stuff (planters, brackets, compost, soil) so i'm hoping to get a friend to drive me for that run and get everything set up by the end of feb at the latest. i want to start planting no later than early march, mid feb if i can manage it. last year i think i started too late. this year i'm so eager i'll be amazed if i can wait for the last frost to clear. i must go play in the plant store! and somehow avoid buying everything in sight. hmmm, maybe if i just price things out and buy some seeds to start with? wish me luck!

harry potter trivia game

the trivia game
ok, this is just for you geekiest of people out there. this is the trivia game i used for the harry potter party. fair warning it is HARD. i did that on purpose since most of the ones i found were pathetically too easy. this was printed out and pasted into the monster book of monsters. when people answered a question correctly they got a chocolate "galleon" as a prize and to keep track. the person with the most right answers per game got a weasley is our king badge. feel free to use this for your own party, please link back to here if you re-post it. i worked really hard on this. answers are mostly from the books, but some from the movies. if there's a difference it's stated. some answers are only found on hp lexicon and interviews from jk rowling. here we go!

quidditch
where was the first golden snitch made?
goddric’s hollow

storyline
kreacher gives harry a christmas present. what was it?
a box full of maggots

universe
why are red caps dangerous?
they like to kill humans to dye their hats red with their blood

universe
what is a puffskein?
a custard coloured furball that makes a pleasant purring sound. they have long tongues and are
often kept as pets. they eat anything from spiders to leftovers so they’re easy to care for. fred
and george breed miniature puffskeins in pink and purple called pygmy puffs.

universe
What is the make and model of Mr. Weasley's flying car?
Ford Anglia

hogwarts
Who was the headmaster of Hogwarts before Dumbledore?
Armando Dippet

characters
What is the full name of Nearly Headless Nick?
Sir Nicholas De Mimsy-Porpington

hogwarts
What is the Hogwarts school motto?
Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus, the Latin translation for "Never tickle a sleeping dragon"

characters
What is Albus Dumbledore’s mother’s name?
Kendra Dumbledore

characters
Who has a scar in the shape of a map of the London underground?
Albus dumbledore

universe
What type of cactus squirts stick sap as a defense? (also once used as a Griffendor password)
Mimbulus mimbletonia

universe
What sort of organism causes spattergroit?
Fungus (very contagious)

characters
Which character ends up with “sneak” written in pimples across their face?
Marietta Edgecombe

characters
What does molly weasley like arthur to call her when they are alone?
Molly wobbles

characters
Which Patil twin is a Ravenclaw?
Padma

characters
What is Dumbledore’s favorite flavor of jam?
Raspberry “but if i was a death eater, i’m sure i would have researched my own jam
preferences”

characters
What is Ron’s middle name?
Bilius, named after his uncle who use to be the life of the party at weddings. he used to drink a
whole bottle of firewhiskey, bend over, pull up his robes and pull bunches of flowers out of
his...never mind. never married, for some reason.

quidditch
What was used as the first snitch?
A tiny bird, but rules changed over the years to prevent animal cruelty

quidditch
In quidditch, what is bumphing?
a foul that applies to beaters only, it is when a Beater is hitting a Bludger towards the crowd,
necessitating a halt of the game as the officials rush to protect bystanders. Sometimes used by
unscrupulous players to prevent an opposing Chaser from scoring

quidditch
in quidditch, what is blagging?
a foul that applies to all players, it is when a player seizes opponent's broom tail to slow or
hinder

quidditch
in quidditch, what is blatching?
a foul that applies to all players, it is when a person is flying with the intent to collide

quidditch
what is the quaffle covered with?
Red leather

quidditch
Name a game besides quidditch that’s played on brooms:
-Aingingein (Ireland) - Played on broomsticks, using a ball called a Dom and a series of flaming
hoops.
-annual broom race of Sweden
-Creaothceann (Scotland) - Popular in the Middle Ages, probably the most dangerous of all
broom games. Involved trying to catch hundreds of falling rocks and bludgers in cauldrons
causing a huge number of fatalities, banned in 1762
-Quodpot (USA) - an American variant of Quidditch invented by Abraham Peasegood. Has
eleven players per side and an exploding ball called the Quod.
-Shuntbumps- popular in Devon, England. Similar to jousting, the goal to knock other players
from their brooms. (Survives only as a children's game)
-Stichstock (Germany) - Ancient game that used an inflated dragon's bladder atop a 20 foot high
pole.
-Swivenhodge - began in Herefordshire involves hitting an inflated pig's bladder backwards and
forwards across a hedge with brooms. Still played today.

characters
What house does moaning myrtle belong to?
Ravenclaw

characters
What house was Tonks in?
Hufflepuff

universe
Where are Acromantula native to?
Borneo, believed to be wizard-bred (an example of why there is a ban on experimental
breeding), they are considered a beast rather then a sentient creature (despite being capable of
speech and thought) due to their violent nature

universe
What is the proper breed name for madame maxime’s winged horses?
Abraxans, they drink only single malt whiskey

characters
What is Sirius Black's mother’s name?
Walburga black. Orion is not only her husband but also her cousin

characters
What is voldemort’s mother’s name?
Merope Gaunt

characters
Who is Dragomir Gorgovitch ?
A quidditch player, a Chaser for the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team. He is also the record
holder for the amount of times he has dropped a Quaffle during Quidditch matches

spells/potions
What does the spell “anapneo” do?
Clears target’s airway, if blocked

characters
What does professor Vector teach?
Arithmancy

quidditch
How many fouls are there in quidditch?
700

characters
What was lee jordon’s handle on potterwatch?
River

storyline
How many times was nearly headless nick struck in the neck?
45, for the crime of trying to straighten a lady’s teeth and accidentally giving her a tusk instead

storyline
Which 2 defense against the dark arts teachers were followers of voldemort?
Quirrell and snape

logic
Why don’t electronics work in Hogwarts?
All the magic creates too much interference

storyline
Who was teasing moaning mytle about her glasses just before she died?
Olive hornby

universe
What was hagrid’s dragon named?
Norbert

hogwarts
What fruit did you have to tickle on the painting in order to enter into the hogwarts kitchens?
Pear. it giggles and then turns into a handle for the door

characters
What school does dudley go to?
Smeltings

characters
Which professor was a dueling champion when he was young?
Flitwick

hogwarts
How many staircases are there at Hogwarts?
142 and they like to move

characters
Why doesn’t dumbledore like every flavor beans?
He came across a vomit flavored one and lost his liking for them. This is not restored by trying
one of Harry's as it is ear wax flavored

characters
What is the name of aunt marge’s favorite dog?
Ripper, she has 12 in total

storyline
What charm did Hermione miss learning when she slept through charms class?
Cheering charms. When harry performs one on Ron during their exams he overdoes it and Ron
has to be led away to a quiet room for an hour to calm down

storyline
Who was the first person to escape azkaban?
Bertemius crouch jr, but we don’t find that out until long after Sirius is hunted for doing so

wand lore
What type of wood is draco’s wand?
Hawthorn

characters
Who is Harry's oldest child?
James Potter jr

storyline
How old was sirius when he bought his first house?
17. he got the money from his uncle alphard. Walburga blasted Alphard off the family tree
tapestry for it but it doesn’t much matter since he was never dependant on the rest of the family

characters
Why didn’t dumbledore ever marry?
He’s gay. He was in love with grindelwald, which gives new meaning to their fateful duel

storyline
How much money did the wealseys win in the daily prophet grand prize galleon draw?
700 galleons, which they used to take a trip to egypt

universe
What number do you dial on the pay phone to enter the ministry of magic?
62442 (spells out “magic” on most phones)

universe
How do dementors multiply?
They grow like a fungus, they are not alive and cannot breed

universe
How many knuts are there to a sickle?
29. there are also 17 sickles to a galleon and a galleon is worth about 5 pounds in muggle
money

characters
Who is mr. Tibbles?
One of mrs figg’s cats, quite possibly a kneazle

characters
Who is tenebrus?
The first thestral to be born in the forbidden forest, hagrid’s favorite

characters
Who is mosag?
Aragog’s wife

storyline
When buckbeak became an outlaw, what was his name changed to?
Witherwings

storyline
What did ginny tell people ron had a tattoo of?
A pigmy puff, but she didn’t say where

universe
What are celestina warbeck’s backup singers?
A group of banshees

storyline
What lines were missing from the merpeople’s song in the movie?
Come and seek us where our voices sound.
We cannot sing above the ground.
**And while you're searching, ponder this:**
**We've taken what you'll sorely miss.**
An hour long you'll have to look,
To recover what we took.
**But past an hour - the prospect's black.**
**Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.**

spells/potions
What spell turns an object into a portkey?
“portus”

hogwarts
Where is the entrance to the room of requirement?
7th floor of hogwarts, across from a painting of barnabus the barmy trying to teach trolls ballet

storyline
*in the book* where did harry get gillyweed for the second task?
Dobby stole it from snape’s private storeroom (not Neville like in the movie)

spells/potions
There are 12 uses for dragon’s blood, which dumbledore discovered, we only know two of them
for sure. What are they?
An oven cleaner and a spot remover (hagrid uses a dragon meat steak for it’s healing properties
but it’s never specified that the blood is what alleviates stinging)

universe
What type of dragon is silvery blue and prized for it’s hide?
Swedish short snout

universe
what does the writing on the frame of the mirror of erised say?
‘Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi’ Reversing the inscription and rearranging the
spaces produces: I show not your face but your heart's desire

storyline
what specialized job does lupin do for the order of the phoenix?
spies on fenrir greyback and his gang of other werewolves, where he learns that far from being
unable to control himself, greyback purposely positions himself close to humans when he’s due
to transform in an effort to infect as many people as possible, particularly children.

storyline
who raises teddy lupin (remus and tonk’s son)?
tonk’s parents, although he spends a great deal of time at harry and ginny’s house

logic
what type of snake is nagini?
we’ve never been told but she is described as 15-20 feet long, green, with a diamond pattern at
least on her tail, with long poisonous fangs and a triangular head, making her most likely a very
large eastern green mamba. the only problem with this theory is that they are only found in
africa and voldemort is thought to have acquired her while hiding in albania. indeed, most fans
speculate that nagini was the last animal he possessed before wormtail helped him make the
rudimentary body he has during goblet of fire. it’s possible that jk rowling made up the breed or
that nagini has been altered by magic. this seems more likely since her venom is described as
preventing clotting, making it a hemotoxin. she may be a green pit viper or a common adder
that has been enlarged purposely or as a result of being possessed

logic
if a witch or wizard has a child with a muggle, are their children more likely to be muggle or
magic?
magic. it is a resilient and dominant gene, which is why muggle born witches and wizards are so
much more common then squibs.

storyline
who was the executioner who came for buckbeak?
the death eater macnair

wand lore
what is the core of the elder wand made of?
a hair from a thestral, very tricky and powerful and can be mastered only by someone willing to
face death (hence part of voldemort's problems with it)

universe
what type of owl is pigwidgeon?
scops

characters
what is molly weasley's maiden name?
Prewett. she lost several close relatives to death eaters

characters
what is fred and george's birthday?
april fool's day

universe
crookshanks is unusually intelligent because he's only half cat. what is he cross-bred with?
a kneazle

wand lore
what wood is hagrid's wand made of?
oak, which does not match his celtic tree month of birth but suits his personality better

characters
what event made ron afraid of spiders?
fred turning his teddy bear into a large spider when he was three

characters
what did dumbledore teach before he was headmaster?
transfiguration

universe
how is a basalisk born?
from a chicken egg, hatched under a toad

logic
which came first, the phoenix or the fire?
a circle has no beginning or ending

storyline
who sent the howler to Petunia and what did it say?
dumbledore. “remember my last, petunia!” reminding her that by taking in harry, she had agreed
to a binding magical contract of protection

storyline
when ron leaves harry and hermione during the search for horcruxes, where does he spend
christmas?
shell cottage with Bill and Fleur

storyline
how were the death eaters able to track harry, hermione, and ron to the cafe after they left the
wedding?
hermione says “voldemort”, which has been tabooed and makes people traceable as well as
breaking protective enchantments

logic
why and when does a bezoar make more sense then a properly made antidote?
antidotes take time to make, particularly if several poisons were used. if someone were already
poisoned you wouldn’t have time to brew one. on the other hand bezoars are not very common
so it would be a good idea to have one with you in any situation where you might be poisoned. if
you knew what poisons were likely to be used you could make the antidote ahead of time. alas,
bezoars do not work on everything

characters
what is harry’s birthday?
july 31st

storyline
what year did dumbledore defeat grindelwald?
1945, his rein of terror coincided with the second world war

characters
where is the malfoy’s secret chamber hidden?
under the drawing room floor, through a trapdoor

characters
what is dumbledore’s boggart?
the corpse of his sister ariana

storyline
which bank vault in gringotts contained the philosopher’s stone?
713, which belongs to dumbledore.

universe
what is the age requirement for an apparition license?
17

wand lore
what wood is voldemort’s first wand made of?
yew, which represents death and resurrection and is often considered an unlucky tree
hogwarts

what is the password to ravenclaw tower?
there isn’t one. you have to answer a question correctly or wait for someone else to come along
who can answer the question you couldn’t

storyline
ginny dates 3 boys that we know of, who are they?
dean thomas, micheal corner, and harry potter

spells/potions
what does the spell “colloportus” do?
seals a door, hermione uses it in the department of mysteries after a door melts harry’s knife

storyline
why does ginny break up with micheal corner?
he was a bad loser after griffendor beat ravenclaw at quidditch

characters
what is ginny’s pygmy puff named?
arnold

storyline
who won the world cup?
ireland, even though krum caught the snitch for bulgaria. the Weasley twins had bet all their
savings on this outcome but bagman paid them in leprechaun gold, which vanished after a few
hours. they needed the money to start their joke shop so they tried to blackmail him into paying
up but it didn’t work. after the horrors of the last task in the triwizard tournament, harry didn’t want his prize money so he gave it to the twins as start-up funds.

storyline
who cursed off george’s ear?
snape, with a sectumsempra curse during the battle of the 7 potters, but he was aiming at
another death eater’s hand

storyline
where does Hermione take them when they flee from the wedding?
tottenham court road where she used to go to the movies with her parents

hogwarts
why does the bloody baron wear chains?
to symbolize his repentance for killing helena ravenclaw in anger, the woman he loved who
spurned his advances. he killed himself when he saw what he’d done

characters
who became minister for magic after voldemort’s death?
kingsley shacklebolt

storyline
who kills bellatrix lestrange?
molly weasley, and it’s EPIC

universe
where is the snake in the zoo from?
bred in captivity in the UK, in the book he’s going to Brazil, in the movie he’s Burmese

storyline
who killed sirius black?
his cousin, bellatrix lestrange

characters
before he was freed, what did dobby wear?
a dirty pillowcase. house elves who are happy tend to care for their garments, like the hogwarts
elves and their tea towels, which were always perfectly clean. those who are unhappy, such as
kreatcher are often found wearing filthy rags.

characters
who was percy’s girlfriend?
penelope clearwater, a prefect from ravenclaw

characters
what was lily evans’ patronus?
a doe, just like snape’s because he was in love with her but was stuck in the friend zone and
then became a death eater, earning her enmity. he loved her anyways and turned spy for her
sake

storyline
what was the horcrux that voldemort made by accident?
harry himself. voldemort split his unstable soul by killing lily and james so when his curse
rebounded part of him latched onto the only living thing in that house. this is why harry is a
parselmouth and can see into voldemort’s thoughts

storyline
who destroys helga hufflepuff’s cup?
hermione, in the chamber of secrets with a basalisk fang.

spells/potions
what is the spell to make water pour out of your wand?
aguamenti

spells/potions
what is the spell to hoist someone upside down by their ankle? and it’s counterspell?
leviticorpus, and libericorpus, both nonverbal. invented by snape while he was in school and
went by the name ‘the half blood prince’

universe
who wrote ‘a history of magic’?
bathilda bagshot, noted magical historian, friend of the dumbledores and the potters, resident of
goddric’s hallow

storyline
when does harry meet alister moody?
june of his 4th year at hogwarts, at the bottom of his own enchanted trunk. the professor he met
at the beginning of that year was barty crouch jr disguised as madeye with polyjuice potion

storyline
who killed barty crouch sr?
his son, barty crouch jr, disguised as madeye moody. he transfigured his father’s body into a
bone and buried him in a patch of loose dirt close to hagrid’s cabin.

characters
who is hermes?
percy’s owl that he got as a reward for becoming a prefect

storyline
who was the secret keeper for the potter’s fidelius charm?
peter pettigrew. they were going to use sirius but switched at the last min since they thought he
would be too obvious of a choice and weren’t sure who was voldemort’s spy. unfortunately peter
was the spy and betrayed them.

characters
what did sirius tell harry, ron and hermione to call him while he was in hiding?
snuffles

storyline
who tells voldemort that harry is dead?
narcissa malfoy. she doesn’t care about winning anymore, she just wants to be able to rescue
her son so she lies and says he’s dead when she knows he isn’t. she knows she’ll only be
allowed to enter the castle as part of a victorious army.

storyline
who gave pigwidgeon to ron?
sirius. “because it’s my fault he no longer has a rat”

storyline
what happened to the rest of the time turners?
dumbledore’s army smashed them during the fight in the department of mysteries.

hogwarts
name at least 3 magical creatures that live in the forbidden forest
acromantula, unicorns, bowtruckles, mr weasley’s car, thestrals, centars, rumor has it
werewolves (but that might have just been lupin)

storyline
how was harry’s nimbus 2000 destroyed?
it blew into the whomping willow after harry fell off his broom

storyline
who does dobby rescue from the malfoys cellar?
harry, ron, hermione, luna, griphook, olivander, and in the book, dean. he dies in the process but
gets them all to shell cottage

storyline
who else was petrified at the same time as hermione?
penelope clearwater, percy’s girlfriend. this shakes him since he didn’t think anyone would dare
attack the prefects.

universe
what colour are unicorn foals?
gold, and they do not have horns yet. they are also not as biased against men when they’re
young

hogwarts
which ghost is very important in the books but never appears in the movies?
peeves. which is a shame since he would have been lots of fun!

hogwarts
how many secret exits are there from hogwarts?
seven. 4 filch knows about, one is caved in, one is under the whomping willow, and one is
through the one-eyed witch’s hump

characters
what are crabbe and goyle’s first names?
vincent and gregory


extras just for fun

the potion puzzle:
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

nearly headless nick's beheading song:
it was a mistake any wizard could make
who was tired and caught on the hop
one piffling error, and then, to my terror,
i found myself facing the chop.
alas for the eve when i met lady grieve
a-strolling the park in the dusk!
she was of the belief i could straighten her teeth
next moment she'd sprouted a tusk.
i cried through the night that i'd soon put her right
but the process of justice was lax;
they'd brought out the block, though they'd mislaid the rock
where they usually sharpened the axe.
next morning at dawn, with a face most forlorn,
the priest said try not to cry,
"you can come just like that, no, you won't need a hat,"
and i knew that my end must be nigh.
the man in the mask who would have the sad task
of cleaving my head from my neck,
said "nick, if you please, will you get to your knees,"
and i turned to a gibbering wreck.
"this may sting a bit" said the cack-handed twit
as he swung the axe up in the air,
but oh the blunt blade! no difference it made,
my head was still definitely there.
the axeman he hacked and he whacked and he thwacked,
"won't be too long," he assured me,
but quick it was not, and the bone-headed clot
took forty-five goes 'til he floored me.
and so i was dead, but my faithful old head
it never saw fit to desert me,
it still lingers on, that's the end of my song,
and now, please applaud, or you'll hurt me.

harry potter food

gotta have food! i knew there would be lots of sugar and booze about so i wanted to make sure there was real food as well, just to keep people from vomiting. we were going to start with full english brunch but the first day no one could come until the evening and the second day it was just me and sarah for the first few hours but we did make ourselves a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, hashbrowns, sausages, and fruit. now you guys know what you missed out on by not coming earlier :P


the first day dinner was cockaleekie soup with barley instead of rice (to ensure it didn't get too soggy), kept warm in the crock pot, with yorkshire puddings of course. this didn't go over as well as i'd expected. maybe because everyone was scared of the name and maybe because soup is crappy party food.

the yorkie puddings went down a treat though. wish i'd made a double batch.


the other day's dinner was cornish meat pies (made ahead and frozen raw). which i just sorta throw together so i have no real measurements i'm afraid. i have this great pie crust recipe that you can't screw up without trying really hard. the filling would have been veggie steak strips but i couldn't find them anywhere and had to use ground "beef" instead. i think i just sautéed some onions and mushrooms, in butter, added flour to make a roux, added broth to make a sauce (not too soupy now!), stirred in the veggie meat and some ketchup, Worcestershire, and dijon for flavor. add some dill and garlic, salt and pepper. taste and adjust as you see fit. let cool and add some cubed cheddar. roll out the pastry to 1/4"-1/8", cut into 4" rounds (i used a small plate as a template), put a few spoonfuls on one side, wet the whole edge and fold over. press well to seal. if you want them to look all authentic, stand them up with the seam running along the top. try not to overfill of they'll explode. i think i baked at about 375 until they were brown, maybe 25 min? you're just trying to cook the crust so no stress.


i also made these fun little parchment scrolls filled with spinach and feta, tied with green onion with tatziki to dip (so adorable! this pic isn't mine but kinda resembles them, add a green onion tied around) really though, make these. just make my spanikopita recipe in a different shape. i cut my phyllo sheets into 3, lengthwise and rolled double layers. i also pre-cooked my filling but i don't think that was a good idea. they would have held together better if i hadn't and probably been less dry but they were gobbled up anyways.


mini pumpkin pasties (made ahead and frozen raw) were done with the same amazing pie crust. you have to pre-bake the filling so it will hold it's shape when you're filling your little circles of dough. obviously they cook for mush less time than a normal pie or tart.


the candy/snacks included liquorice wands with white chocolate/sprinkles handles (melt chocolate, dip liquorice, roll in sprinkles, lay on wax paper), chocolate frogs (melt chocolate, pour into molds), peppermint toads (melt white chocolate, add a bit of peppermint extract, pour into molds), fizzing wizzbies (fizzy center candies), and every flavour beans in mini cauldrons, and chips and popcorn in big candy bowl cauldrons. the frog mold was the only thing i had to specially order and it took FOREVER to arrive so be sure to order it well in advance.


i had tons of fun collecting interesting bottles for this. most of them came from dollar stores and michael's but a few were reused wine and other liquor bottles. i was expecting to have to add food colouring to more things but the majority was already an interesting blend of colours. i gave everything fun names from the books and made sure it was possible to make a few popular drinks like broken down golf carts and tequila sunrises, blue mondays, rum and cokes, whathaveyou. amusing bits included grated cucumber (gillyweed) to go into mojitos, whole nutmeg (bezoars) to be grated into butterbeer, and poprocks to make your drink crackle and fizz. fun with layering and mystery drinks ensued until ilet out the secret that the real names were printed on the backs of the fun labels so you could read them through the glass from the back



butterbeer went quite well. i used my usual hard cider, spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in the fermentation stage, than warmed up and added butterscotch. we kept it simmering on the stove (and burned one batch, oops!) and ladled out, topping with whip cream and a cinnamon stick. the milk content from the butterscotch does curdle, unfortunately. next time i might use butter ripple schnapps to flavor it instead.

harry potter props and decorations

harry potter party props and decorations
quite late with these but yule, etc took over my life. these are some of the projects i put together for the party. info on activities and food to follow. no laughing at my messy house!

platform 9 3/4
this is fairly straightforward: take a brown(or tan, or grey, whatever colour you want your "mortar") twin size sheet, tape lines horizontally for the rows, than small pieces vertically to separate individual bricks. spray paint somewhat unevenly with dark red, than add a light, uneven dusting of dark brown for texture, remove tape, tack to ceiling/walls, slit up center with sharp scissors. you could also use a sponge or rag dipped in acrylic paints swirled together on a plate and dab it on instead of spraying. the sign is just painted posterboard safety pinned to the sheet





house banners
these are just simple painted posterboard but they're good for big impact


post owls
i made a little stuffy errol and pigwidgeon out of spare yarn i had kicking around, a couple of googly eyes, and some scrap felt. instructions can be found here but you don't have to be terribly exact. fair warning, cutting the pom poms makes a mess no matter how careful you are so be prepared to get fluff everywhere.



nimbus 2000
this one was really easy. i got a nice witch's broom from value village (although the handle could have been longer) and covered the wires that bound the tail twigs with wide ribbon, glued in place. i couldn't find nice gold ribbon, the closest i could get was yellow so i painted it with acrylic. i also painted "nimbus 2000" on the handle.


sorting hat
this turned out beautiful but really small! sorry about the pic. they all turned out either too light or too dark to see the shading properly for some reason. if i make another one i'll have to start with a really big hat since the process shrinks the inside and i forgot to try this hat on before starting >.< i took safety pins and bunched the front of the hat together to form eyebrows and a mouth, pinning in place on the inside as i went. it didn't look much like a face at that point. my hat started out all patchy already but very light brown so i spray painted it dark brown, purposely uneven. that stiffened the whole thing nicely but it still only sorta looked like a face so i took acrylics to it and painted the hollows of the eyes and mouth black and highlighted the lips, eyebrows and nose in a slightly lighter brown. now he looks like a cranky old man :) when people were sorted they were given a house badge made of painted posterboard with a pin glued to the back


monster book of monsters
this was fun and easy. i just cut out the shape from scrap fun fur i had around and glued it to a dollar store notebook along with some googly eyes and halloween monster teeth. instructions found here but i did a bit different shape and left off the lettering since i thought it was quite cute without. i printed out the trivia game and glued it into the book, along with fun little things like nearly headless nick's beheading song. the person who did best in the trivia game each day recieved a prize of a 'weasley is our king' badge made of crayola air-dry clay:



wands
these turned out beautiful if i do say so myself! i followed these instructions but i used a bamboo skewer as a core for stability and wrapped the whole thing in masking tape to shape/stabilize before painting. the hot glue takes a bit of practice. the key is to be confident and smooth. you can create really neat textures once you get used to playing with the melty plastic. the metallic accents on the raised parts are much easier to do with your finger. the 'dilute the paint and wipe off to antique' thing doesn't work at all. just work in layers and mix your colours, blending on the wand.


dragon eggs
i forgot to get a pic of mine before we tore them apart, sorry! these were made by covering inflated (not water filled) water balloons in paper mache done with layers of tissue paper to make them easy to tear apart. i added a bit of white glue and black paint to my simple flour/water paste for texture and colour. one of them was painted gold and we had a little dragon statue standing guard over the nest in a cauldron. the eggs were filled with candy, confetti, and toys as party favours. these have to be made a few days before the party since they're fragile and likely to get damaged if done too early. when letting the air out of your balloon, poke a little hole close to the knot to let them deflate slowly. if you just pop them you sometimes damage the delicate shell. widen the hole just enough to stuff and then cover carefully with more paper mache. it helps to insert a little loops of string or fishing line as a handle to start the ripping open process (unless you're like my friend sophie who squealed and smashed it on the wall immediately, i love you sophie!). i found when drying them, it's easiest to get a box, lay it on it's side, and poke holes in the top so you can hand your eggs in a protected space and have a drip-catcher all in one. be sure to tie string to your balloons before starting with the paste.


radish earrings
i had the clay out anyway so i couldn't resist making these. i just made quick eye head pins with scrap wire, than bent the tails of them into zig-zags to hold the clay better. i molded upside down tear drops over the pins, leaving the ring in the top free, attached two leaves to the top of each, let dry, and painted with acrylic. i just attached claw clasps to these to clip to my usual earrings but you could just as easily mold the wire into a hook to begin with or attach with a jump ring to a stud. i just have a metal allergy so i have to wear special earrings



paper bats and LED candles
these bats are just cut out from cardstock. i have about a hundred. they're part of our usual fall/halloween decor. we cut these out by hand and then strung them with fishing line and tacked to the ceiling. fair warning, it takes FOREVER. if you had one of those nifty expensive crafter cutting machines like the silhouette i'm sure it would be much less annoying. good part is that they store flat for reuse with much less hassle the next year. we have them in a trail from platform 9 3/4, snaking through the house and out the balcony door. i actually only put up about 65 since i was very tired of stapling things above my head while balanced on a chair. put up a single line of bats every few feet to start with to get the basic line you want, than fill in. it looks more realistic if your fishing lines are all different lengths and you have a few different shapes of bat. they look really cool when they flutter in the breeze/air currents. kinda like they're a real cloud of bats that were petrified as they went out to hunt for the night.the LED candles i picked up from the dollar store for a buck each and drilled little holes for the fishing line in the plastic holders


golden snitch
this is just a ping pong ball i painted gold and made little wings for out of wire and aluminum foil. after i finished it, it occurred to me i could have used real feathers painted silver. oh well.


chamber of secrets warning
this was just written in dry erase marker, cuz it's fun. and a clue to look for the entrance:


this was just a simple little clay sculpture with a magnet backing. just seeing if people are paying attention. the first person to find it got a potter stinks badge, also made of clay see pic with weasley is our king badges)

while we're having fun with dry erase markers, i also couldn't resist doing this:


which actually turned out to be one of the most popular of the decorations. funny considering i just threw it in last min.


pygmy puffs
i got the idea for these from making the owls, they're just a big pom pom with googly eyes and long felt tongues. the yarn was from the dollar store


dumbledore’s army sign up sheet
i aged a piece of paper by soaking in strong tea and rubbing with some coffee grounds. blotted dry with paper towel and rolled up while it was still damp. i had a nice dip pen and ink around anyway so i just looked up the list of DA members and wrote them out, leaving space for guests to sign up as well. if i had more time i might have made a common room bulletin board with quidditch practice schedules, weasley's wizard wheezes ads, and offers to trade chocolate frog cards

overall we had a lot of fun. i don't think anyone else was as hardcore of a geek as me and didn't get all the details and references but oh well. now on to the food and activities!

epic party plans in the works

i plan parties on a fairly regular basis. holidays are usually held at our place which means that i decorate and cook and organize stuff every few months. my birthday is usually low-key. we go out for dinner and then have drinks at our place. some years are rowdier than others. this year i was bored with that. also, this year the last harry potter movie comes out on dvd just in time and we've been looking for an excuse to do a movie marathon. i was initially thinking we'd watch all the movies and make some british food. easy, right? then i looked it up and discovered that even the non-extended movies add up to over 20 hours. ok, so we'll do it over 2 days and people can drop in and out as they like. then i made the mistake of looking up harry potter parties. oh dear. enter the mad crafter/chef/geek. i've been quickly carried away with all kinds of ideas for decorations and food and activities and... yeeeaahhh. i'm having a little too much fun geeking out. it's a good distraction from the stress of house hunting and such. i'm just hoping none of my projects get broken/lost in the move at the end of the month. the party's in november. most of the ideas i found catered to kids so i've adapted them to be more fun. so far we have handmade stuffy owls, a monster book of monsters, several wands, a trivia game with almost 100 really hard questions, a nimbus 2000, and several other half done props. i've got all kinds of food and a few activities planned. i'll do a bigger post as we go with photos and links and recipes and such. there's going to be butterbeer based on my homebrewed cider, a potions table filled with booze, a sorting ceremony, i hope you guys like geeking out :)