Harry Potter and a Midnight walk in the fog

This was the first Harry Potter film we hadn't seen in the theater ("The Half-Blood Prince"). Zoë had seen it twice and swore she didn't want to see it again-- too much omitted from the book, and "too much snogging." We were, um, a bit busy this summer, but having seen it I think it's just fine on DVD. I agree with our daughter-- too many dramatic pauses, artsy-fartsy lighting and snogging, not enough adherence to the book.

Speaking of which, Peg and I learned a new Zoë fact-- she's read all the Harry Potter books anywhere from 5 to 9 times, depending on the book. She can connect all the dots from anywhere in the series, referencing every hint and foreshadowing and how it resolved. No wonder the movies bug her. This one left out some key plot lines that are resolved in the last book. Doh!

The fog had rolled in while we were watching the movie, so we took a 12:30am stroll in the pea soup afterward. Really fun and beautiful. Reminded me of when we first moved to Sacramento in 1988 and would drive around in the fog for hours, listening to Patrick O'Hearn (atmospheric electronica) on the cassette player in our '85 Honda Accord.

My favorite part of the walk was coming back to our house. I'd left the Christmas lights on (yes, we have... um... plans... to take them down before next week). There's something magical about soft glows that reveal themselves the closer you get.