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.