Middle-Earth Essence

[turgon]

Darn right! I know what you mean. (I think) The smell of any good hearty old fashioned meal, does it for me. like say a TRUE home made beefstew, slow stewing. the fumes wafting thru the house on a windy autumn night as the tree branches slowly dance against the star struck heavens. And the blanket only a woodstove fire can make wraps about me. A wood pipe on the mantelpiece, hard cheese,crisp apples and finally an oil lamp throwing impish shadows about the walls.
Any road thru the woods.

[ninlaith]

I feel the same way everybody...

Making breakfast. And I mean BREAKFAST!! Making everything possibly you could have for breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs...just everything. It makes me feel like I'm a Hobbit making breakfast for Dwarves.

Eating more than three times a day. "But what about breakfast!?" "You've already had it." "We've had one yes..but what about Second breakfast!? "I don't think he knows about Second breakfast Pip." "But what about Eleventies...Luncheon..Afternoon tea..Dinner...Supper..he knows about them..doesn't he!!?? "I wouldn't count on it."

Bread and cheese..so simple it's hard to forget

[mark12_30]

Originally Posted by turgon

...on a windy autumn night as the tree branches slowly dance against the star struck heavens. And the blanket only a woodstove fire can make wraps about me. A wood pipe on the mantelpiece, hard cheese,crisp apples and finally an oil lamp throwing impish shadows about the walls.
Any road thru the woods.

Yes... they call, don't they?

Using a walking-stick.

Rocky outcroppings in the woods.

Falling leaves.

The next turn in the path.

Trails that go uphill. Or downhill. Any trail through the woods at all... from a deer-trail to an old logging trail... (looking for hints of Numenorean roadbuilding, just for fun.)

Stone walls in the middle of nowhere.

Old foundations in the middle of nowhere (My, how those Numenoreans got around!)

Lilacs or Forsythia or Lily of the Valley in the middle of nowhere.

[Farmira]

For me the world is a bitter-sweet reflection of Middle Earth...
- On one end of this world you have the destruction of so much for the gain of so little. Take for instance hundreds of acres of beautiful forest that used to be next to my neighborhood that was destroyed by the airport to make a new run way... such a waste... the airport isn't even doing well... There is also the other mile and a half of the most beautiful green meadow i had ever seen in my life laid out before my window to my house... yet it is now all gone and going up instead is a new subdivision...
- On the other hand there is the beauty that still rests in the things that man cannot destroy. Take for instance the Stars at night, or like someone else said the beauty of a planet on a clear night. What remains of the trees around my home i have come close to because i consider the trees and myself connected in a certain special way... like i should take care of them somehow, like we all should take care of this Earth which we so easily take for granted...

- im so glad this forum is here!!! Its nice to listen to what others have to say, and know exactly how they feel because we all see the beauty in Earth and are sad by those who do not

[Neferchoirwen]

I was in the middle of lightly cramming for the next day's lesson plan when I had to take a step back and take a picture of my desk .

My brother thought I was watching the FOTR EE on my laptop.

[Encaitare]

What a lovely little setup you've got there, Neferchoirwen! So hobbity.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I completely agree about the bread. Any bread, but especially warm, fresh-from-the-oven, apple bread, still steaming gently as you break it apart. Mmm... Or warm white bread, with soft butter spread across, drizzled lightly with new honey.

But I've got to say... there is nothing as connecting and soothing as a fresh cup of tea, lightly steeped so as not to be over-powering, with just a small amount of sugar and milk, to sip on a windy day.

Fea

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

I completely agree about the bread. Any bread, but especially warm, fresh-from-the-oven, apple bread, still steaming gently as you break it apart. Mmm... Or warm white bread, with soft butter spread across, drizzled lightly with new honey.


Fea

I think of Beorn every time I eat bread and honey.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I think of Beorn every time I eat bread and honey.

That, of course, being my inspiration for eating it in the first place. I thought, "Why not try it?" and then ended up attached to it. I rather like lembas as well (although I can't remember where I found the particular recipe anymore), but my mother doesn't much like when I use copius amounts of honey for it.

Fea

[Morai]

Some more Middle Earth-ish items or ideas that make me remember:
People with long hair, mostly down with a couple of braids. If they're tall enough, I think "Elf."

Tall Snowy mountains, always bring back thoughts of the Misty Mountains, and the journey to Mordor.

I'm deathly afraid to walk near a puddle in which I see lights, even if it's only the streetlight's reflection. One can never know if there's dead elves and men beneath the surface....

[turgon]

As a teenager october and september were always very special for me. In pennsylvania the fall weather is remarkable. the bright orange and golden hues of the maple trees can turn an entire mountain range into a kaleidoscope of colors. With a few clouds chasing each other across the sky I would grab a light coat and maybe an apple out the door I went. With no destination in mind but a path thru the forest which edged my smalltown. I really don't have the words to describe the beauty of those carefree days, and the lofty heights of imagination JRRT helped me find. except maybe to say on those walks thru the woods a cloud would break, or a shaft of sunlight would sneak thru the vault of treetops and suddenly I was in the fair gardens of lothlorien; or maybe creeping thru the gloaming of mirkwood.
Later in life I borrowed from Jrrt's literary skills to woo my onetime fiance. to great effect i might add.

[Meneltarmacil]

I happen to have naturally blond hair that's longer than average (although I don't think my avatar shows it very well) and bluish-gray eyes, so I do seem to resemble some of your ideas of what reminds you of Middle-Earth... I had no idea that I was this year's Mr. Middle-Earth or something.

My family often takes vacations out in the Blue Ridge mountains in western Virginia, and when I've gotten a bit ahead on a hike and nobody else is around, it's kind of like Middle-Earth, and for some reason I am reminded of Ithilien in particular. I don't know why, maybe it's because all the weathered rocks remind me of fallen statues.

Also when I am on a road trip or other long journey late at night I get that feeling of adventure..or something. It's kind of hard to describe. I'm usually half-asleep at that point while my parents are driving, so I just sometimes look out and see the landscape going by, then go back to sleep. It kind of reminds me of Gandalf and Pippin's journey to Minas Tirith in several ways.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Going outside on a clear evening or early morning and seeing the stars shining brightly is a very Elven experience for me - beautiful, moving and uplifting! I think what it must have been like for them to awaken to the stars, though I can't imagine living in continual darkness...

[mark12_30]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

I think what it must have been like for them to awaken to the stars, though I can't imagine living in continual darkness...

I'm hoping Eru would hvae been kind enough to design them without Seasonal Affective Disorder.

But (assuming he did) wouldn't it be cool to have such superb eyesight that you could see normally by starlight to live a normal life-- hunting, gathering, feasting, and whatever else a newly awakened elf does through the day-- er, endless twilight?