Monday, September 24, 2012

To Celebrate a Simple Life

"I can't do this, Sam. "I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something." "What are we holding onto, Sam?" "That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers




How can you read these words and not love Tolkien?  I'm a bit of Tolkien geek. And I'm fortunate to have good friends who feel the same, and are happy to geek out in blessed fellowship. Did you know that, being the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, September 22nd has become Hobbit Day? (More importantly, it's our grandson Rembrandt's first birthday, which was celebrated on the other side of the country with his parents and those other grandparents...we're not jealous, are we precious...no, no...*cough*) So although our thoughts were with little Remy deep in the heart of Texas, we distracted ourselves with wonderful Hobbity pursuits.


"There was a buzzing and a whirring and a droning in the air. Bees were busy everywhere. And such bees! Bilbo had never seen anything like them. … They were bigger than hornets. The drones were bigger than your thumb, a good deal, and the band of yellow on their deep black bodies shone like fiery gold." --The Hobbit Friends brought some fifty pounds of honey from their hives which we worked together to extract (they also brought some Hobbit food to share). Extracting honey from the comb is an all-day affair, let me tell you. To keep up your strength...


...you have second breakfasts, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. The handsome lad wearing the bandanna is a genius. Eli has been raising honeybees since he was a young boy. he helped us inspect our hive. We learned more from him during a thirty-minute hive inspection than we have in all of our beekeeping studies. You're awesome, Eli. Thank you again. Now, on to the feast.


Gotta love that Tookish grin. "As I was saying, the mother of this hobbit - of Bilbo Baggins, that is - was the fabulous Belladonna Took, one of the three remarkable daughters of the Old Took, head of the hobbits who lived across The Water, the small river that ran at the foot of The Hill. It was often said (in other families) that long ago one of the Took ancestors must have taken a fairy wife. That was, of course, absurd, but certainly there was still something not entirely hobbit-like about them, - and once in a while members of the Took-clan would go and have adventures. They discreetly disappeared, and the family hushed it up; but the fact remained that the Tooks were not as respectable as the Bagginses, though they were undoubtedly richer." --The Hobbit


Coney soup. "Gollum withdrew grumbling, and crawled into the fern. Sam busied himself with his pans. 'What a Hobbit needs with coney,' he said to himself, 'is some herbs and roots, especially taters--not to mention bread. Herbs we can manage, seemingly." --The Two Towers


"You can drink your fancy ales, you can drink them by the flagon, but the only brew for the brave and true...comes from the Green Dragon!" --The Return of the King


Mushroom pie. "Hobbits have a passion for mushrooms, surpassing even the greediest likings of Big People. A fact which partly explains young Frodo's long expeditions to the renowned fields of the Marish, and the wrath of the injured Maggot. On this occasion there was plenty for all, even according to hobbit standards. There were also many other things to follow, and when they had finished even Fatty Bolger heaved a sigh of content. They pushed back the table, and drew chairs round the fire." --The Fellowship of the Ring


Lembas bread. "'I thought it was only a kind of cram, such as the Dale-men make for journeys in the wild,' said the Dwarf. 'So it is,' they answered. 'But we call it lembas or waybread and it is more strengthening than any food made by men, and is more pleasant than cram by all acounts.'" --The Fellowship of the Ring


More lembas bread. "Well, let me see. Oh yes, lovely. Lembas bread. And look! More lembas bread. I don't usually hold with foreign food, but this Elvish stuff is not bad." The Two Towers


Victoria sponge and seed cake to "fill up the corners", as Bilbo would say. "After the feast (more or less) came the Speech. Most of the company were, however, now in a tolerant mood, at that delightful stage which they called “filling up the corners”. They were sipping their favourite drinks, and nibbling at their favorite dainties, and their fears were forgotten. They were prepared to listen to anything, and to cheer at every full stop." The Fellowship of the Ring



Best of all, the cheer of good company. “It cannot be doubted that we witness the meeting of dear friends... The days are fated to be filled with marvels.” --The Two Towers

Happy birthday, Messrs. Frodo.

32 comments:

Bronwyn said...

Heh...a "bit" of a Tolkien geek. ;) Also, I have to point out how awesome it is that Remy has automatic bragging rights that he shares the birthday of two infamous characters from classic literature. Happy birthday to the three of them, and happy Hobbit day to everyone! Now, where is the rest of that Lembas bread...?

Val said...

We read the Hobbit each night on our Camping trip this year..it lasted the whole two weeks and was just right!
When we drove through the tunnel through the Mountain to get home the girls were most excited and gazed at the rock walls and ceiling and imagined they were under The Moutain like the adventurers :0)

Olivia said...

Oh, such happiness for the Tolkien geeks here! This is utterly delightful in its scrumptious hobbitishness. So glad for your happy honey-extraction and hobbit-feast, and thanks for posting so that we can enjoy it too!

Elisabeth said...

Awesome...simply awesome!

Nancy said...

You really aren't going to rest until I've read me some Tolkien, are you? Here you are, embedding his words into your post.

That opening quote, btw, was quite the doozy. And, happy birthday Master Remington. God has blessed you with quite the grandma--even if she is a bit Hobbit-ish :)

Jodi said...

Val, nothing short of perfect to read the Hobbit on a camping trip, especially around a crackling fire. And the Mountain, oh my!

Jodi said...

Olivia, my dear fellow Hobbit, xox

Jodi said...

Thank you, Elisabeth.

Jodi said...

Nancy, no I shall not rest. Muahahaha!

Julie said...

Ooh, that is quite a celebration! You've made me so hungry! Mushroom pie, mmmmmm! Happy birthday, Remy!

Nancy said...

Oh. Good. Heavens! I just realized I completely botched Rembrandt's name! Can you tell I'm married to a hunter? Sheesh!

Jodi said...

Nancy, hahaha! I thought it was the fact that he's a Texan that threw you.

Ron and Theresa said...

You were missed at the birthday celebration. It is only a short airplane ride.

Ron and Theresa said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Aqeela said...

I will admit that Lord of the Rings and anything similar is the last thing id want to watch, read or hear about but i still enjoyed the way you wrote this post and of course i had to look at your photos up close, i do so love your home, its so interesting.
Aqeela xx

tamarahillmurphy.com said...

what a perfect celebration!

Jodi said...

Ron and Theresa, haha. If only it were. From where we are, it's actually 3 short airplane rides. Glad you were there, though. We love seeing the photos. :)

Jodi said...

Aqeela, I love visiting your home, even if it's through the computer. xx

Jodi said...

Tamara, thank you, blog friend.

Unknown said...

basically the only thing i could think about while I read this was "I wonder if THIS will finally get Nancy to read the books"
OH my GRAVY is she ever missing out. It kills me.

Kit said...

Hi Jodi!! I haven't said hello in a while. I LOVE your Hobbit celebration. Of course, it's so you and so fun. Love,
Kit

Linda said...

Absolutely splendid! You made my day.

Melissa said...

Oh my goodness. Such a happy day! And what better way to celebrate and share it than finding a perfect quote to caption each picture! Thank you for making our day, friend. Hugs and kisses from the northern branch of geekdom.

amy said...

i love everything. everything. about this. happy birthday rembrandt!

Anonymous said...

Every caption does capture the photos perfectly!! How do you do that?
Somehow we came home with pockets fuller (50 pounds of liquid gold to split between the beekeepers), bellies fuller, and hearts lighter.

Amongst all the Hobbitish fare and wares, Fiona's twinkling Tookish grin is offset perfectly by her red dress that happens to match your mod-red chairs perfectly.
You are a master!!!

Thank you<3<3<3
Happy Birthday, Rembrandt!!
Bill, Joan, and childrennen

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

What a wonderful day....Did you have a hand operated extractor? The only time I was part of this activity was in a village in Hungary with my husband's cousin and her family. Sweet, but very attractive to wasps and bees, too....

It all looks wonderful, and now I think I will begin rereading The Hobbit this afternoon.

Jodi said...

Kristi, Yup, it was hand operated, which made for a long but fun process. We do the extracting indoors so we don't have any problems with wasps or other bees. You should see how many of the above come, though, when we put the equipment outside to let the bees clean it up. It looks like a bee/wasp convention.

monix said...

Jodi, I feel as if was there - you have captured the atmosphere perfectly with the photographs and quotations. I must say that your family parties look very much like ours. What larks we could have if that little ocean didn't come between us!

Jodi said...

Monix, What larks indeed! xox

Leslie said...

♥ love every bit of your hobbity ways.

Connie said...

Hi Jodi, I loved reading your post. My sweet husband has been after me to incorporate second breakfasts, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper, into your daily schedule, LOL.
Needless to say your honey looks so wonderful.
Thank you for following my Shabby French Market blog. I love making new friends. Connie :)

Rachel said...

You know how to do geek right! What a great party,with lots of great ideas. How special that your grandsons birthday would be shared with hobbits. :-)

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