There and Back Again, A Years Pictorial Journey: Week 9

Last week I was away from home--this week I was mostly home, as my pictures will reflect

the girlies three came for a visit on Sunday, we had to open the treasure chest (my cedar chest)

so they could discover what was inside--soon the treasures were all over the living room!

(Feb. 21)

This is Sweetings modeling a sweater that my grandmother knitted  or crocheted for me when I was a little girl.  I remember wearing it.  My grandmother was a great needle woman.

Monday started out kind of quiet--I stayed in bed.

My son-in-law was home so he kept little bear.

later in the morning he dropped by with my little cub and let him stay.

oh such kisses and hugs and crying of "grandma I missed you" erupted from his sweet little person

I cried tears of joy when I gathered this happy little boy in my arms

you know . . . he is the reason I get up in the morning :)

(Feb. 22)

Sweetings joined us for the fun

this is a picture of little bear getting his hair cut by sweetings

she did ask me for a pair of scissors--but I told her no, she would have to pretend only.

an extra picture this week

(Feb. 22)

Six year old yummy has her first loose tooth!

now that's something to smile about!

Tuesday was Big Bear's Blue and Gold Banquet

did you know scouting is celebrating it's centenial this year!

(Feb. 23)

Big Bear made this place mat for the dinner--and had his leader hold it up for a picture

it says "Are you close to 100?"

He also said grandpa could sit there because he was close to 100!

I wanted to post this picture--

Big Bear and the cake he made--but Heidi beat me to it.

she also beat me to this picture--she has the front view so I'll post the back view

(Feb. 24)

Mr. J shaved had his head shaved at his school to help raise money for a young girl who has cancer

It  was a good cause

but he has lovely curly hair--and he has never shaved it before

I did not smile until much later :(

I've been reading "The Hobbit" on my Kindle this week

(Feb. 25)

Two things I love Tolkien and the Kindle (aaah!)

My mom had two doctor visits during the week

one on Wed. here in town and one in the big city today (2 hours away)

It was a long day, a long drive,

we had good news,

we had a good lunch

I saw lot's of cool things to take pictures of

but--

(Feb. 26)

nothing looked as nice to me as my own front door!

On Saturday I try to post something about myself

I didn't take this picture--Heidi did

(Feb. 27)

This is a picture of grandma sharing her treasures with her grandchildren

If any of you are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

you might remember "bandelo's"

the children were very interested in it--hmmmm maybe a photo story Friday . . .

see more of my project 365 here

Hosted by Chris

Thursday with Tolkien: The Hobbit

*warning spoilers*

The Hobbit
by
J.R.R. Tolkien

I began my journey with Bilbo, the 13 dwarves and Gandalf one week ago. I’m at the point where Bilbo has flushed Smaug from his Lair and Lake Town lies in peril. The group is huddled in the secret passage following Smaug’s smashing of the mountainside. There is no way out except through the lair. I suspect I’ll finish up today or tomorrow.

I have enjoyed reading the book very much. It feels very familiar and friendly; I anticipate my favorite passages and quote them out loud when I reach them. I love the songs and even though I don’t sing I read them never leaving out a word. I enjoy the songs as much as the text. Music is a way for living creatures to express themselves in a deeper fashion and I think it sets Tolkien apart that he took time to make music part of middle-earth. I especially love this excerpt about the music of the dwarves:

“As they sang the hobbit felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and a jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves. Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.”

In my mind I can feel the low rumble of their voices as the dwarves harmonize, see the dancing light of the fire on their faces, and the longing of home that writes itself in the deep lines that crease the face. This passage stirs me, just as it stirred Bilbo and makes me long for adventure.

I also love the beginning of this book; Tolkien takes the reader into his world with the first sentence, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” The reader is compelled to enter, to find out what a hobbit is.

. . and “what is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays . . . they are little people, about half our height, there is little or no magic about them, they are inclined to be fat in the stomach, dress in bright colors, wear no shoes because their feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly); have long clever brown fingers, and good-natured faces. And laugh deep fruity laughs.”

What a delightful personage that description conjures in the mind.  Tolkien introduces each of his characters in such a fashion, imparting information that endears them to the heart and makes them unforgettable.

“Gandalf! If you had heard only a quarter of what I have heard about him . . . you would be prepared for any sort of remarkable tale. Tales and adventures sprouted up all over the place wherever he went, in the most extraordinary fashion.”

His physical descriptions are detailed as well,

“Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.”

As the story progresses Bilbo finds himself right in the middle of an adventure, the kind that songs are written about. Not far outside of the shire the group encounters its first peril, a rainy night, no shelter and a run in with trolls. Bilbo tries his hand at being a burglar, things go awry and Gandalf saves the day.

At the end of the book and after many more perils, Mr. Baggins has found out that there is more about him than he knew. He gets lost in the goblin tunnels in the Misty Mountains, finds a magic ring, wins a riddling contest, and outsmarts the creature Gollum by following him to the exit.
At this point in the story after his experience in the tunnels and with Gollum, Bilbo has the opportunity to kill Gollum but has this thought,

“He [Gollum] was miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo’s heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second. He trembled”

I think this is the first moment we start to see growth in Bilbo’s character.

Bilbo once again finds himself separated from the dwarves in the forest of Mirkwood and using his intelligence and courage rescues the dwarves from giant spiders. Bilbo finds satisfaction that he was able to rescue them without assistance. The dwarves are captured once again by the wood elves and Bilbo comes to the rescue. From this point of the story the dwarves are quite dependent on Bilbo to lead the group at difficult times. I love this passage as Bilbo prepares to enter the dragon’s lair. It shows how Bilbo’s perception of himself has changed from the beginning of the story.

“Already he was a very different hobbit from the one that had run out without a pocket-handkerchief from Bag-End long ago. He loosened his dagger in its sheath, tightened his belt, and went on”.

Bilbo continues on down the tunnel until he reaches the point where he will no longer see the others.

“It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.”


. . . my next post will discuss those perils and I’m sure by then I’ll be introducing Frodo Baggins.






this part of the read-a-long hosted by "the striped arm chair" where you can read more thoughts about "The Hobbit"



images by artist Alan Lee, used without permission
visit his website here

Wednesday Wanderings: Southeastern Utah

this past weekend I traveled to Southeastern Utah

It was snowing, this is the red rock country near Moab, Utah

More WW here

I went to a wedding in the Monticello Temple

these beautiful buildings just lend themselves to sepia

sepia scenes hosted by Mary

photo's by

Tuesday Tales: Ringing Cowbells

Have you ever wondered why cowbells are rung at sporting events at the Winter Olympics?

In Europe, crowds of spectators ring bells to cheer on ski racers. Bell ringing motivates athletes and adds to spectator's fun while saving their voices. You might remember hearing the crowds ring bells during the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. Norwegians adopted the tradition from the Swiss who have been ringing bells at sporting events for generations. In Norway and many other European countries, farmers put bells on their livestock so that they can find animals in mountain pastures where they spend the summer. A farmer can often tell which animal is missing by the sound of the bell; individually crafted bells have slightly different sounds. Bells are worn by sheep, goats and cows. Some say that ringing bells at sporting events helps the European participant feel like they are at home in the mountains where bells are heard as often as birdsong.

read more about how bells are made

a picture of me at the 2002 winter olympics in Salt Lake City with my cowbell and olympic flag

Tuesday Teaser: The Hobbit

The Hobbit
by
J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit out on an adventure with a Wizard and 13 dwarves.  I'm not the adventuring type and wish I was comfortably seated in my hobbit hole back at Bag End in front of the fire with a spot of tea just finishing up second breakfast or some other warm meal.  Where in Middle Earth am I?  Currently I've become separated from my group.  I'm lost in a dark tunnel in the Misty Mountains.

"Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do!  On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.  (location 1132 e-book)


hosted by Miz B at Should be Reading

I'm reading this book as part of a Tolkien read-a-long group

Join me on Thursday's with Tolkien

Monday Minute: Visions of Spring

Today's prompt brought to you by the:

"Describe a perfect spring day and activities on that day"





Spring will be here in about 4 weeks--I can't wait and neither can the little ones. They are tired of the cold and the snow.  I hate the thaw because everything is gucky and yucky.

A perfect spring day would have a temperature of about 65* - 70*.  The sun would be shining, the birds would be singing and flitting here and there, gathering straw, grass, twigs, etc. to build their nests. Of course the starlings and the pigeons are here year round. The sparrows are also year round tenants and tend to fill the neighbors eaves with nests between the rafters of their roofline.  It's rather like a sparrow condominium.  They chatter incessantly as they go about their business, fighting and squabbling over bits of this and that.  I find it somewhat pleasant.  The robins would be gathering brush as well but they tend to like the berry trees better for nests, a single pair to a tree.  They are more of a solitary bird.  Also during the spring we have finches and warblers congregating in the honey locust eating the newly hatched aphids.  Grackle's also make an appearance as well as flickers.  Kingbirds are often seen at this time of year too.  We like to keep the binoculars handy and the bird book as the birds migrate through. Our favorite migratory species is the vulture.  They come through in huge groups of twenty or more birds swirling and spiraling and falling to the earth, all the time casting huge shadows that lure us out to watch the dance.  Everybody tries to get an accurate count of the group despite their constant shifting of positions.  I'd say the birds are definitely a big part of spring.

For spring to be perfect, the thaw would have to be complete.  No snow, no mud.  The grass would  take on it's green color and early flowers would be in bloom, along with blossoms on the trees.  Spring has a delicious smell that floats along on gentle breezes. 

I would find a comfortable lawn chair, place it in the sun, put my nose in a good book and then listen to and occassionally watch the children as they play;  basketball, trampoline, skateboards, and bicycles.  Once the warm weather hits kids are on the go--I love the sound of children happily playing.

But, where I live those kind of spring days are few and far between. We usually have lot's of days with cold winds, intermittent snow showers and occassional rain. Fall is the most pleasant season in these parts.

So here she comes--the most tempermental season of the year.

Monday Movies: Disappointment

I've had a hard time getting to this today.

I've been gone for four days and today I've been busy lovin' on my grandkids.

They are happily playing for a minute so I thought I'd see if I could get a post in

hosted by Molly at the Bumbles

Today's Topic is . . . about popular movies you hated
you know those movies that just didn't live up to all the hype that preceeded them.

Well I'm pretty selective about movies I go to, I make my choice based on talent, the producer, the director, or if the movie is based on a book I've read and really enjoyed.  So overall I've been pretty happy about the movies I've seen.

I will leave the Twilight Movies out of this discussion--I know theycouldn't possibly live up to the hype--but I wasn't disappointed.  Anytime I can have that much fun at a movie with my family it's not a disappointment.  And they pretty much were just like the books.

The most recent movie I've seen that I can say that I was truly disappointed in and wished I hadn't gone to was "The Seeker: The Dark is Rising". I loved the books and was very disappointed in the screen interpretation. I didn’t even like it as a stand alone story.


On second thought I might also include "The Wild Things".  I was very happy with the creatures but I was very dissappointed with Max and the family.  I've already talked about that movie here.



Over the weekend . . . my daughter and I watched a missed episode of Survivor.  What's up with those wimpy women on the heroes team.  Can't they see if they would unite they could have voted Rupert off who is totally doing nothing and is of no use because his toe won't heal for the whole episode.  Voting a man off would have shaken up the rest of them and given the women an advantage.  I hated it when Tom told Amanda something along the lines--you know it will be a woman.  Vote with us and we can guarantee you'll stay on a little longer!  All those women act like they are already beaten.

There and Back Again, A Year's Pictorial Journal: Week 8

Valentines Day fell on Sunday

The grandkids stopped by for their valentine treats

pez dispensers

ribbon twirlers for the girls

and oh balls for the boys

I forgot to take pictures, so

(Feb. 14)

enjoy this cute little valentine I took a picture of at the flower shop my daughter works at

Monday was President's Day

Mr. J was home from school

(Feb. 15)

His brother and the boy's came by and put the sheetrock up in the family room

My cedar chest or the treasure chest as the kids like to call it

has been sitting in the basement for all these years

they had to bring it up and I've been showing the treasures to the grandkids

(Feb. 16)

this is an oragami that my Japanese pen pal sent to me when I was about 15

Wednesday was my book club meeting

(Feb. 17)

the book wasn't mine so I had to hurry and do my book review before I returned the book

The book was excellent

Thursday my mother and I spent the day traveling to the Southeastern part of the state

(Feb. 18)

this is the view from the rest area at Crescent Junction--spectacular isn't it

We spent a couple of hours at the Monticello Temple on both Friday and Saturday

(Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

(Feb. 19)

Friday was for the wedding of my nephew

(Feb. 20)

at the reception

and I think I'll include an extra picture

this was the sky on the ride home

Sunday Scripture

For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.


Psalms 57:10-11


KJV, LDS Web Edition

photo's by

see more of my project 365 here

Hosted by Chris

Thursday with Tolkien: About Tolkien

I'm participating in a JRR Tolkien read-a-long this month so I thought on Thursday I would post about my journey through the books.

JRR Tolkien (1892-1973) was a major scholar of the English language, specializing in Old and Middle English, twice Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at the University of Oxford. (My Reading List)  “According to his own account, one day when he was . . . marking examination papers, he discovered that one candidate had left one page of an answer-book blank. On this page . . . he wrote ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.’  In typical Tolkien fashion, he then decided he needed to find out what a Hobbit was, what sort of a hole it lived in, why it lived in a hole, etc. From this investigation grew a tale that he told to his younger children, and even passed round. In 1936 an incomplete typescript of it came into the hands of Susan Dagnall, an employee of the publishing firm of George Allen and Unwin (merged in 1990 with HarperCollins).

She asked Tolkien to finish it, and presented the complete story to Stanley Unwin, the then Chairman of the firm. He tried it out on his 10-year old son Rayner, who wrote an approving report, and it was published as The Hobbit in 1937. It immediately scored a success, and has not been out of children's recommended reading lists ever since. It was so successful that Stanley Unwin asked if he had any more similar material available for publication.” (biography—The Tolkien Society)

I have always read this story from the paperback edition my parents purchased for me when I was in Jr. High School. I don’t like to mark books so I have never made notes or marks in my books. This time I purchased an e-book edition of the hobbit so I could mark and make notes as I read along with the reading group. This addition to my reading has been very enjoyable.

In the forward of the electronic edition it says, “For the 1995 British hardcover edition, published by Harper Collins, the text of the Hobbit was entered into word-processing files, and a number of further corrections of misprints and errors were made. Since then various editions of The Hobbit have been generated from that computerized text file. For the present text, that file has been compared again, line by line, with the earlier editions, and a number of further corrections have been made to present a text that, as closely as possible, represents Tolkien’s final intended form.” I found it interesting that after all these years his work is still being edited. The forward suggests that the reader can make comparisons of their own—but I think I’ll just read the updated version, so far it feels the same.

the cover of my e-book

title page

highlighting a favorite passage--"In a Hole in the ground there lived a hobbit . . . "

The Hobbit is a children’s tale. It feels and sounds like a story meant for the enjoyment of children. The plot is simple and straightforward. The adventures are uncomplicated. One can see the end at the beginning. I can picture the Tolkien children lying in bed as their father tells them stories that fed the fires of his imagination that created The Hobbit.  It was from this simple beginning that Tolkien’s greater work evolved The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), which are set in a pre-historic era in an invented version of the world which he called by the Middle English name of Middle-earth. This was peopled by Men, Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Orcs, Goblins and of course Hobbits.

And so begins my journey through Middle Earth, with The Hobbit, the proper place to begin.



Join me on Thursday's with Tolkien