I live in California [the Bay Area], and I know a few people from the BD that live here too but I haven't met any of them [posts are on another thread]. It would be nice, but I can't right now because I'm 13 and I can't go anywhere to meet people online - yet.

Clueless me, I didn't even think of posting here...

Rae is a delight. Pleasant, cheerful, relaxed, honest, and good company; I felt like a hobbit comfortably among hobbits, or sometimes like an elf comfortably among elves. It was easy to enjoy her, and easy to enjoy what we did together. By the end of the day, we were watching Fellowship extended DVD, and it was the perfect end to a hobbitty, elvish day.

Earlier, Rae and I went shopping in lots of Norwegian-oriented artsy, craftsy stores. We saw many beautiful things, and I was amazed by a consistent pattern. Here's an example:

Rae spotted a scarf, with a gold pattern on it, very Norwegian (and hence rather elvish looking.) I thought it was stunning, and she said, "That would go with your outfit." I was reaching for my wallet, when she took a look at the price and gasped. "That's ridiculous!" she said. "You could make that for ..." and then she quoted a small fraction of the price.

"Really?" I said, impressed.

"Sure, " she laughed. "All you would have to do is..." and then she told me how they made it.

Store after store, this pattern was repeated, with Raefindel (which means "Red-Haired Elf") rattling off detailed instructions on how to make the whatever-we-were-looking-at. Raefindel, I began to believe, can make almost anything!

Now, she will modestly dissemble, but the fact remains that she has made three gorgeous cloaks, (including both the cloaks we are wearing in the picture) beautifully and reversably lined, warm, comfortable, and a delight to wear. She makes gorgeous cards; she does calligraphy... Celebrimbor should hire her. Maybe she should have been apprenticed to Feanor. Okay, okay, but this girl has Talent. "The Red-Haired Elf" can put out some beautiful workmanship. I don't know why she isn't in business. I urged her to apprentice herself to some artisan; you could tell she only half believed me. Don't be fooled. She's creative and clever with both her mind and her nimble hands.

Hmmm, I wonder if she should go into the cloak-making business? Making ropes out of hithlain perhaps? Or make Wizard-staffs and hobbit-walking-sticks? Whatever she chooses, I hope she lets her creativity and cleverness come into full flower.

You know, Rae, I've always wanted a changing-greenish-greyish-blue cloak but been quite puzzled how to go about it. I bet you could make me a reversable cloak with greyish-green fabric on one side and watery-grey-blue on the other.

How's the peach one coming?

Oh, don't let her fool you, guys, Helen is very talented, too. I would never have attempted making a box for my set of Tolkien books.

Hmmm.. I'm sure I've seen such fabric but usually around prom-time. That wouldn't be very warm, though, would it. But I'm sure we can figure it out.

Well now, I haven't bought the fabric yet, and I'll definately need some acorns to dangle from the ties.

When are you coming back Helen? I can't wait to show you Port Orchard and Gig Harbor!

Acorns... unfortunately, you'll have to wait, Rae! They're buried under a foot or so of solidly frozen snow!

When am I coming back? (sighs) I dunno... the Ferry & harbor sounds like lots of fun though!

The eagles decided to show up after you left, of course. I've seen them nearly every day since.

Oh, and the whales came back too.

Snow!? (Sighs, as in the part of California where she lives there is no such thing).

Oh Helen you are so going to have to come back, especially in the summer (Washington has some of the best summers, sunny, nice and not too hot, or humid. Another good thing is that we don't have a lot of thunderstorms) You should come and see a baseball game at Safeco (if you are a baseball fan, but it is pretty cool even if you are not)

Ignore this message, trying to make it so I stop getting messages from this thread.
#3 Bagshot Row

Er, what? Norwegian, elvish looking? What kind of pattern was that? The elvish part of Norway is something I've missed in my sixteen years of being stuck in this country [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Not that it seems to have to much to do with the current discussion [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] but...


...I had the great and good fortune to attend a ' private mini-subchapter meeting of the Bay-Area's Downers Club' last night [sections removed from post due to relevance, the scarcely changed original complete with more typos can be found in the Bay Area BD'ers thread]


As I was saying, I was most fortunate to meet my second BD'er last night, just scant minutes off of my usual Sat night Northward trek up Highway 101 and back home.

Tar-Elenion received me warmly into his apartment and we immendiately got down to 'business' [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] .

I had been away from a certain mutual project [not the Silm/TftE] for more hours than I like and whose size and scope seems equal only to my ego [on less watchful days], and T-E graciously suggested we peep in to see what had transpired overt eh course of the day, curious of course himself.

Tar-Elenion, reminded me much of myself, if I had been 'smart' enough to remain single, that is [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img], and if I had retained that soft-spoken demeanor which I once possessed for 10 minutes or so back in my tweens Thorondil may remember the moment when in 84 after hearing Dark Star an the AOR FM station [ a never to be repeated experience I can tell you - we sat in silence as the DJ very quietly and humbly recalled the days when 'we talked very softly and...'

Similar to my first meeting a BD'er [the now retired and northwardly moblie Saulotus/Bobwehadababyanditsaboy], Tar-Elenion is extremely knowledgeable well beyond my many years.

As we attempted to make a bizarrely instructioned scanner to do our bidding [the ostensible reason for my visit] I took surreptitious moments away from the marginally successful process to peer into volumes [all in their immaculate dust-jackets which seemed to be right off the shelf, despite some being 20 years old! and well read].

'Tolkien's Legendarium' was in particular finally seen by myself, the ultimate in HoM-E scholarship, and T-E was gracious enough to honour my request to copy the chapter which I have been desiring to read eversince I caught wind of it:On the Construction of "the Silmarillion" by one Charles Noad.

The meeting, as it went through it's phases reminded me much of my time with Saulotus;
timeless - stretching into the the late hours with me feeling as if only an hour or so had passsed.

Humbling for me, like the meeting with Saulotus, Tar-Elenion's scholarship runs deep [see his 'Aragorn's Anscestors' and 'Kings of the Noldor and Canon' in the TftE public forum if you wish for a taste in comparison with that most famous of internet Tolkien personalities], I learned many things in a short space, and came away inspired and ready for my long trek home to the hidden fastness, called by it's shirelike officials 'County of Lake'.

Interestingly enough we each left the encounter no wiser about each other's personal life than we started, excepting of course the volumes that seeing another person can tell you about them, and for us, recalling in a way perhaps that wise DJ of old, it was not only enough, but subtly and peacefully so.

When I arrived there hours later at 2am I was still warm at heart and eager to hopefully meet some day, not only my other fellow Bay Area BD'ers btu also the other 2 of the Downs 'top 4' scholars [imo at least] Jallanite and Aiwendil.

Oh and in addition, I learned that the Downs had hosted one of the great luminaries of the Elvish Language [and a published author to boot!] for over a year without me even noticing! And, no I won't say who it was [at least not in open forum [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]]... you will have to search it out yourself!

I wish I could go into more detail re: the many byways and 'snakeshands' of our conversations [when not about the poorly designed scanner software] but my time has expired, and I must rouse the family for Liturgy.

- lindil

'The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night, and awaken early before dawn- exchanging lore and wisdom such as they possessed , so that they should not fall back into the mean and low estate of those , who never knew or more sadly still, had indeed rebelled against the Light.'

BayArea BDers?? I had no clue there was such a thing! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

Samwise, there's a whole thread about them! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Please contact me if you live in Massachussetts or are palnning to come here anytime soon. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Sigh.....thank you, Miss Galadrie1. Leave it to me not to see it......

I haven't met any BDers except one, and she doesn't count, cause I've known her since I was 5 anyway [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] , but I am currently traveling in California and will be here in San Francisco for maybe 2 more days. Then traveling to LA. Anybody care to meet me here? [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
By the way, Im not sure you do, because I'm even more boring offline than online [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Yes, unfortunately, the only BDer who I know in person on this site was the one I knew since I was five. She was the one who showed me this site, the one who posted right before me.

It's kind of hard to believe that no one is coming to Massachussets, or is currently living there! Come on, there's gotta be someone here who is!

As GaladrieloftheO said about herself, I am, as it seems to some, more boring offline than I am online. And that really says a lot. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[ April 19, 2003: Message edited by: kittiewhirl1677 ]

Ah, in 10 days Maikadilwen will be here in the U.S. with me.....I'm more than slightly delirious!

Please, any Massachussetsers? This site can't be Massachussets-free, can it?

Make that 9 days now....I'd better go dig up that flight itinerary!

[img]smilies/frown.gif[/img] no fellow Downers on my list yet... I did get a PM from Alaklondewen speculating on whether we might know each other for real, since we're in the same general part of the world... but no. I'm still the only one of my kind around here, as far as I can tell [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

-Sophia

You people should stop being so sad. Look at me: I life in Holland. Who lifes in Holland these days? I might be going to Schotland this summer, but that is not shure. Many people live in the UK so they would be able to round up some I guess. But I am alone on my deserted Island. *snif snif*
________
Kawasaki El250E

Heh, heh...8 days....

Schotland? You mean Scotland? If so, have fun in my rainy part of the UK.

One week from today! Ok...roses....reservations.....bubbly....check! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

6 days and my palms are beginning to sweat...*looks around and notices that this is suddenly his thread*!!

If anybody is in Austin Texas and would like to meet a fellow BD'er, gimme a PM about it

To continue with what is
now my daily post...5 days....woohoo!

And with 4 days to go, I'm already being told to change my posts.... [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img] [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[ April 29, 2003: Message edited by: Cuthalion ]

3 days left....I'd better lay in a stock of Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper and what else? *racks brain* Ah, yes! Honey!

What are you planning to do together? Are you taking her anywhere special? will you meet her in costume?

Don't want to give it all away...but I plan to take her on a ghost-tour (she requested this), to a Renaissance Festival, and to the Biltmore House in North Carolina.

I have other things on my to-do list, but those I'll keep under my cloak. No, alas, no costume. My thanks for asking! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

You'd better post pictures for us or I'll never forgive you! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Yes ma'am! I know the "Mom-voice" when I here it!

Have a great time ... and behave yourself...NOT!

Ah! You seem to know me well! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

No, really, have a good time.

No worries on that count, my dear Rae! 2 days...I'm gonna go check out the Party! [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img]

I went to the US in the Summer of 2001 to visit friends from the internet. That was a great experience! I can highly recommend it [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Tomorrow I pick her up! YES!! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Well guess we won't be hearing form you two for a while. Have fun, take lots of pictures to post for us and check in once in a while and let us know what you are up to.