The Tolkien Coming of Age Club 2 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Samwise · 07-27-2006, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Samwise, my instinctive reaction is the same as yours. It was the energy conservation thing that got me thinking....

Huh...interesting.

Guess we Hobbits aren't the only 'simple folk...'

*If Samwise seems a bit incoherent, it is because she just got a $915 check from the EDD after being told that being accepted for disability on the first try was practically impossible....

*

Child of the 7th Age · 08-31-2006, 08:14 AM

A bit more on hobbit holes. This news video on a backyard hobbit hole brought a smile to my face, although I'm not sure if Tolkien would approve of the Sarumanesque equipment used in its construction!

Nogrod · 08-31-2006, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estelyn/The old thread

I know there are quite a few "I was reading Tolkien before the average Barrow-Downer was even born!" site members - this thread is for us! Since I don't know the average site age, I have just picked 18 as the legal coming of age. So how many of you have been reading LotR and other Tolkien books for at least 18 years? Please tell us how long ago you first read the book(s); if you like, your age at that time and what prompted you to read Tolkien.

Registering for the club!

My father started reading the LotR to me in -75 when I was 8-years old. It was never finished, but I read the books a year later by myself. So it makes this my 30th anniversary with Tolkien!

I tried to make better of my father and actually managed to read the LotR, Silm and the Unfinished Tales to my children when they were about 5-8 (Lommy may correct the actual years of them). Lommy sure has surpassed myself in times of reading Tolkien already many years ago as I have read the basic books only 2-5 times each. And there's some time I've read any one of them the last time (I'm having The Silmarillion on my table, waiting to be read again).

-----

But I agree with you "northern-pales", being one myself by attitude if not by skin (I'm not the pale-kind like my younger daughter is), that this summer was sometimes just unbearable. A hobbit-whole would have done fine.

And all the trees and grasses dying from the drought! In August the earth has looked like we would live in the Middle-East and not in the northern part of Scandinavia (=Finland). Nothing green, just faint yellows and browns around.

Maybe it's this northern kind of attitude, but I prefer -30 (Celsius) to +30. And anyhow, from -30 you can always get in to get warm, but from +30 you have no way of escaping...

-----

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharon

For those blessed with younger hobbits, let me tell you things are not so easy! (Poor Pio has already heard an earful of this.) Perhaps this state of affairs is only in the U.S. and other countries haven't gone beserk. But, in the U.S., if you have a student who loves academics and has his or her sights set on competitive schools, or is trying to win a merit scholarship, be prepared to fork out generous amounts of dollars on SATI's, SATII's, AP's, and applications and then get set for some large headaches.

Maybe you have a headstart in the U.S., but unfortunately we are following suit. I just hope my daughters will be old enough to duck the tide. As a teacher I really don't like the look of things.

Lommy (my daughter) made it to the Senior Secondary High School I'm teaching in, and that school only takes in about 150 from something like 400 applicants! Okay, it's an art-school and really hard to get in by Finnish standards, but anyhow: it's a question of principle too if you take in only a third to a school for 16-year olds! From European (North-European, Scandinavian, Finnish?) perspective it's pretty scary. The competition is heavy on those age-groups already.

(No, she didn't get in because I'm her father. She has a different surname than I have and the schoolboard didn't know she was my daughter as she applied.)

Where are the times when you were just a careless teenager trying to have fun and think about the future later, if you then would have time?

PS. Happily even the higher education is still "free" in Finland and even subsidiced by the state (on a very low rate, but still). But the future looks bad...

PS.2. Nice to see how one writes in the "old-timers" thread, just wailing and complaining about everything...

Estelyn Telcontar · 08-31-2006, 02:13 PM

How nice to see some activity here! Thanks for that link, Child - it was cute to see that homemade hobbit hole, though I must admit that I was more personally interested in another link on that page - to a newly organized sewing room!

Nogrod, welcome!! It's great to have another "member" with stories to tell. Maybe now that autumn is on its way, we'll put some logs in the fireplace, pull our rocking chairs closer, and enjoy the company.

Samwise · 08-31-2006, 03:14 PM

Welcome, Nogrod!
Ah, yes...Fall will soon be upon us.

My garden is still not doing too badly, though. My morning glories this year went NUTS !!! I am going to have to get another ladder for them to climb, if you follow me. Doubtless when they're done
they'll reseed themselves AGAIN, and I'll have MORE next year!

In other news, broke (well, cracked) my elbow a couple of weekends ago, proof that old bones do get brittle (LOL...). Well, it might have been better if my elbow had not come in contact with the asphalt. I was taking my Grip/Fangesque dog to see a little friend of his, and the pooch got over excited and ran, yanking me down before I could get a foothold. OWWWW....

My arm's still not quite right, but it's getting there.

Nogrod · 09-02-2006, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Maybe now that autumn is on its way, we'll put some logs in the fireplace, pull our rocking chairs closer, and enjoy the company.

That sounds absolutely charming indeed!

And really, why not? Maybe this could be the fireside around of which the stories are shared? And the company enjoyed.

Looking forwards to it, after the rush of the beginning of the semester goes by.

Mithalwen · 09-04-2006, 01:33 PM

Hooray Noggin has joined the ranks of the old fogeys

Well the UK system is not getting better... I feel increasingly privileged to have received 5 years of HE almost for free - having caught the end of Maintenance grants and started University in the year my father retired my parents didn't have to contribute much for me though they had to pay a lot for my sister ....

My cousin's son at least has got lower rate tuition fees but despite having got straight As in "serious" subjects, and getting to a good university to read a highly competitive subject he really isn't getting a lot out of university which is really sad. He has only about 4 hours of lectures and is really sticking it out just to get the piece of paper. It really seems so sad that someone who is so naturally academic and worked so hard at school is finding Uni a waste of time... and a great deal of money..

I still think he should have done PPE instead of Law but noone listens to the family harpy....

PS Am I the only one who feels bereaved by the summer ending? - I gave in and took down the gazebo on Saturday since it was about to take off and put the air cooler back in it's corner. Soon I shall have to start wearing proper shoes and eugh..tights... I already think I shall have to switch back to the autumn duvet. I got used to the cold when I lived on the edge of the Massif Central in France but it is the damp and dark that gets me....

Hilde Bracegirdle · 09-05-2006, 06:03 AM

The cooler air has been lurking about here also, and it has been a race to see whether my vegetables or the frost will arrive first. I'm banking on the vegies though, as they have finally started blooming (in abundance).

Sorry to hear about your elbow Samwise. That must put a damper on things for you. Was it the right or left?

A belated welcome to the gathering, Mr. Nogrod! Sorry I didn't speak up earlier, must have nodded off over the holiday weekend here.

I tell you, I am getting increasingly scared of the up coming price tag for sending my daughter off to school. I have a few years yet, and am hoping that she gets into a program where she can she attend college while in High School, at the County's expense. We live in a rural area with no AP classes, so it might just happen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping we could find a way to manage the commute as well!

Mithalwen, you got me curious now, what does PPE stand for, exactly? I'm getting a bit better at deciphering English educational terms, (I think), but that there one has me stumped!

08-31-2006, 08:14 AM	#2
Child of the 7th Age Spirit of the Lonely Star Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 5,133	A bit more on hobbit holes. This news video on a backyard hobbit hole brought a smile to my face, although I'm not sure if Tolkien would approve of the Sarumanesque equipment used in its construction! __________________ Multitasking women are never too busy to vote. Last edited by Child of the 7th Age; 08-31-2006 at 08:19 AM.

08-31-2006, 02:13 PM	#4
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	How nice to see some activity here! Thanks for that link, Child - it was cute to see that homemade hobbit hole, though I must admit that I was more personally interested in another link on that page - to a newly organized sewing room! Nogrod, welcome!! It's great to have another "member" with stories to tell. Maybe now that autumn is on its way, we'll put some logs in the fireplace, pull our rocking chairs closer, and enjoy the company. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

08-31-2006, 03:14 PM	#5
Samwise Faithful Spirit Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: #3 Bagshot Row, Petaluma, Ca Posts: 2,299	Welcome, Nogrod! Ah, yes...Fall will soon be upon us. My garden is still not doing too badly, though. My morning glories this year went NUTS !!! I am going to have to get another ladder for them to climb, if you follow me. Doubtless when they're done they'll reseed themselves AGAIN, and I'll have MORE next year! In other news, broke (well, cracked) my elbow a couple of weekends ago, proof that old bones do get brittle (LOL...). Well, it might have been better if my elbow had not come in contact with the asphalt. I was taking my Grip/Fangesque dog to see a little friend of his, and the pooch got over excited and ran, yanking me down before I could get a foothold. OWWWW.... My arm's still not quite right, but it's getting there. __________________ Giving thanks unto the Father...In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.~Colossians1:12a,14 * * * * * * * I am Samwise son of Hamfast, if by hoe or trowel I can get these weeds out of your garden, I will.You have my shears!;)

09-04-2006, 01:33 PM	#7
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,463	Hooray Noggin has joined the ranks of the old fogeys Well the UK system is not getting better... I feel increasingly privileged to have received 5 years of HE almost for free - having caught the end of Maintenance grants and started University in the year my father retired my parents didn't have to contribute much for me though they had to pay a lot for my sister .... My cousin's son at least has got lower rate tuition fees but despite having got straight As in "serious" subjects, and getting to a good university to read a highly competitive subject he really isn't getting a lot out of university which is really sad. He has only about 4 hours of lectures and is really sticking it out just to get the piece of paper. It really seems so sad that someone who is so naturally academic and worked so hard at school is finding Uni a waste of time... and a great deal of money.. I still think he should have done PPE instead of Law but noone listens to the family harpy.... PS Am I the only one who feels bereaved by the summer ending? - I gave in and took down the gazebo on Saturday since it was about to take off and put the air cooler back in it's corner. Soon I shall have to start wearing proper shoes and eugh..tights... I already think I shall have to switch back to the autumn duvet. I got used to the cold when I lived on the edge of the Massif Central in France but it is the damp and dark that gets me.... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace Last edited by Mithalwen; 09-05-2006 at 10:39 AM.

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09-05-2006, 06:03 AM	#8
Hilde Bracegirdle Relic of Wandering Days Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: You'll See Perpetual Change. Posts: 1,480	The cooler air has been lurking about here also, and it has been a race to see whether my vegetables or the frost will arrive first. I'm banking on the vegies though, as they have finally started blooming (in abundance). Sorry to hear about your elbow Samwise. That must put a damper on things for you. Was it the right or left? A belated welcome to the gathering, Mr. Nogrod! Sorry I didn't speak up earlier, must have nodded off over the holiday weekend here. I tell you, I am getting increasingly scared of the up coming price tag for sending my daughter off to school. I have a few years yet, and am hoping that she gets into a program where she can she attend college while in High School, at the County's expense. We live in a rural area with no AP classes, so it might just happen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping we could find a way to manage the commute as well! Mithalwen, you got me curious now, what does PPE stand for, exactly? I'm getting a bit better at deciphering English educational terms, (I think), but that there one has me stumped!