I can’t tell you what I’m reading because I’m sending it on to someone who reads this blog (so no spoilers,) but if you’ve paid attention to other days when I’ve been closed for reading you’ll know what it is. 

With all that has been going on, I give you permission to forget everything and read a good book too. Maybe it should become a holiday.

Don’t worry. I’ll be back tomorrow, as soon as I’m done reading.

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.”

That is the opening paragraph of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.* This book was published in 1997. I probably read it for the first time in early 1999. My friend, Arlene, loaned me the first two books, and I was mad that the third was wasn’t out. I’ve reread the entire series a couple of times, but it’s been at least ten years.

I was watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and decided I really wanted to reread all seven books. Most of the movies are okay (I have severe problems with the third one), but the books are more complete. So I’ve started a new streak.

I’m not going to stress about this streak. I’ll just read a little Harry Potter each day. Perhaps a chapter or perhaps a scene. What will probably happen is that I’ll start reading and not want to stop. Either way, I hope to read all seven books this year. I can’t wait.

When was the last time you read the Harry Potter series? Which book is your favorite? My favorite is book three,  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which is probably why I get so upset by everything they changed in the movie).

I’d love it if you reread (or read for the first time) the series with me. You can’t borrow my books, but I’m sure the library has them all. Accio The End.

*All links are Amazon affiliate links

I’m going to run at least one mile every day in 2020. The reason makes perfect sense to me. I have been planning this for more than a year.

Streaks are a lot of fun and easier than you think. When you’re doing a streak, all the excuses disappear. I’m going for a run each morning because I’m doing a streak. Not lacing up my shoes is not an option.

While running streaks are popular (the longest streak was for 52 years and 39 days), there are other streaks out there. You could journal every day, or take a photo of the same tree. Or you could read a book for fifteen minutes. Anything that you do every day of the year is a streak. It’s incredibly satisfying to see how much you did at the end of the year.

The most important thing to do, besides your challenge, is to record your daily efforts. A gold sticker on a calendar or a spreadsheet with Xs is all you need. If you want to do a running streak, I recommend recording it on  Smashrun. This website gives virtual badges for various runs and is why I’m running every day in 2020.

Join me in streaking. You don’t even have to take your clothes off.

I love trying new things. Setting up the Footle and Grok podcast has forced me to try a lot of new programs, and I haven’t mastered them yet. However, all the tech stuff I’m learning is more like work. It’s exciting but necessary.

I prefer to try new things that are fun. When I went to Disneyland by myself in September, I vowed to experiment. I’d been to Disneyland dozens of times but usually ate at the same restaurants and rode the same rides. This time I had lamb at Bengal Barbeque that was terrific and loaded fries at Galactic Grill that weren’t.  It didn’t matter, though. Both experiences were excellent because I’d never tried either of them before.

So, do something new today. Read a book that someone has recommended to you. Try a new exercise, either at the gym or with a video. Cook a new food. There are lots of weird root vegetables in the produce section right now. Thanks to the internet, you can find a recipe to help you figure out what to do with rutabaga or celeriac.

Or go to a Greek restaurant. I don’t know why I recommended that all those years ago. Maybe I was trying to tell myself something.

Kala Christougena!