Just beginning to open. The lilac bush has more flowers than ever and I’m thrilled. I can’t remember how many years ago I planted it; it’s a modest size and it’s full of buds, which, after an 80 degree day today, should be opening pretty quickly.
I bought a lot of plants at the nursery yesterday. My preferred hanging plants aren’t in yet, and I want to add some perennials to the garden beds, but I got most of the plants for the porch and secret garden pots. While I was gone, Don mowed the front lawn. I wasn’t gone all that long, but he challenged himself to get it all done while I was away and surprise me.
Needless to say, he was pretty darned tired last night.
I’ll start potting some of the flowers after I finish this post and have a second cup of coffee with Don.
I just finished The Glass Hotel. Such a satisfying read by a truly excellent writer! I think I’ll start The Paris Library later today. We were reading a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien yesterday, the one with the line “Not all who wander are lost,” and we started talking about The Hobbit, etc. and the fact that neither of us have read anything by Tolkien. I was never all that into fantasy of the kind that he wrote. My best friend in high school was very into Tolkien and I remember her devouring the books. Anyway, this leads me to wonder if I should try reading The Hobbit. Is it one of those books that everyone should read? Am I missing out on a modern day classic? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Okay. Time to make that cup of coffee and get cracking.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
Hello–I read ‘The Hobbit’ with my son and we really enjoyed it many years ago. I don’t know if I could go further with any more of Tolkien’s novels. Maybe I should give them a try!
All the best,
Marion
Shaw
Thank you, Marion!
Stay safe!
Why not? It’s an easy, simple and fairly brief introduction to Tolkien. If it doesn’t touch you, you can let the rest go.
Thanks, Petra!
Stay safe!
I’m an avid reader but had a hard time with “The Hobbit” ~ however, I was a teen then and have never gone back. Loved the movie series though.
Have fun planting today!
X Chy
I had no interest in it as a teen, either!
Thanks, Chy.
Stay safe!
I’m not a fantasy lover either but I read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in high school and college and enjoyed them.
JRR Tolkien and C. S. Lewis were friends, with war time horrors and life experiences in common. They also had some rivalry going on with Chronicles of Narnia vs Lord of the Rings.
Yes C.S. Lewis and he were friends
I am a huge fan of Lewis
I’ve done a lot of coaching on Lewis related plays.
Yes, I know they were friends. I’ve done a fair amount of coaching on plays about C.S. Lewis and also plays based on his writings.
Stay safe, Betsy!
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
― C.S. Lewis
Exactly, Anne. Perfect!
Stay safe.
In college I needed an English course my junior year (back in the days when you took your registration slip from table to table in the basketball arena, and stood in line for hours hoping the class and section you needed would still be open when you got to the front of the line). By the time I finally made it to the front the ONLY class left was The Warrior in Literature. I was so unhappy and disgruntled and couldn’t believe I was stuck with what would be the most boring class ever in my student life. Of course, it turned out to be one of the most riveting and interesting classes I ever took and I loved every book we read. Our final book was the Hobbit – my introduction to Tolkien. I was captured by the story of simple folk loving their homes and their families but brave enough to venture outside their comfort zones when situations demanded it of them. I think at heart I’m a hobbit – I love my home, my garden, and the simple things of life. I suggest you give Bilbo and his band of adventurers a try and see what you think, Claudia.
Oh, Martha, your vivid description of registering for classes back in the day was perfect. Standing in those lines for hours only to get to the front and find out the class you wanted was gone, which messed up all the other ones you had already pulled, and you had to make changes, made up some horrid days. Thank you for that reminder. After about 47 years, I can finally chuckle about the absurdity of it!!
Endless days of frustration! I remember them well!
First of all, what a memory you brought back! Standing in line for registration – oh my heavens, it was a pain!
I love your story about the class, as well, that you found it fascinating.
You description of being at heart a hobbit sounds very much like me, as well.
Thank you, Martha.
Stay safe.
I went to a very small college where we registered at the end of one semester for the next semester’s classes, all done on paper with only the occasional dash to the Academic Dean’s office when things got tricky. My husband, an English professor for 45 years, put in a lot of time at his university’s marathon registration sessions before everything went online, a duty he and his colleagues hated.
Oh…that was such a horrid way to register for classes wasn’t it? I tried explaining that to my sons…and they thought it was so medieval. Well…I’m not that old. Thanks for the unpleasant memory I can now laugh about! ;)
hej, martha …
what a perfect description of something that was both exciting and dreadful and now sounds completely archaic … standing in line trying to get the classes you needed and wanted. thanks for bringing up some memories. and i am so glad I don’t have to do that ever again! :)
hope you are well and stay safe.
kathy in iowa
The Hobbit was required reading for my English class in my senior year of high school. I really enjoyed it and finished the trilogy after that. It was “cool” to read them back then. Couldn’t put them down as I recall (altho, it was a LONG time ago). :)
It was very cool to read them then, Ellen!
Thank you.
Stay safe!
When I was an English major in the early Sixties, the head of the English department was an enormous Tolkien fan who had come upon the books in England as they were still not published in the US. They became available soon afterwards, starting with The Hobbit, and proved well worth reading. I read the Narnia books at about the same time and somehow stumbled upon Charles Williams, another member of the Inklings, whose work was much darker than Tolkien or Lewis.
You’ve all talked me into it! I’ll give them a try.
Stay safe, Margaret.
Gorgeous lilac. Glad you got your plants. Sounds like your Full Spring Ahead.
I’ve never read anything by Tolkien. I also was never into fantasy/science fiction/outer space stuff. I missed out on a lot of contemporary American fiction because I had an English teacher for an entire year in high school who was completely obsessed with Ray Bradbury (she had met him; I think she had a fan-crush on him) and I didn’t like having him pushed down my throat when I was a teen, so that kinda ruined me on science fiction forever. When my brother would watch Star Trek on TV in the 60s, I’d want to put in earplugs. I did enjoy the first Star Wars movie back in the day.
In my recorded archive, I have the Lord of The Rings movies and I should watch them one of these days (I have a kind of ‘thing’ for Viggo Mortensen). I’ve watched a couple of Twilight Zones over the years and they usually freak me out. I don’t find any of this ‘genre’ very pleasant in terms of reading or watching. I bought the Harry Potter books and then never got to reading them. I also really like the performances of actor Mark Ruffalo and he did a cute movie when he was younger, with Reese Witherspoon, called Just Like Heaven. I’ve actually never seen the movie “Ghost” with Demi Moore and I guess that’s a fantasy-themed film.
But we’re speaking of books, not movies; can’t offer anything; sorry! (Then there’s Wizard of Oz; didn’t you collect some of those special-artwork/cover novels, like when you were in New Orleans? I have a vague memory of it. Your purchases prompted me to buy a few for myself [nice collectibles] but I’ve never really READ Frank Baum and the books of his didn’t appeal to me in childhood either although of course what kid didn’t watch the movie from the 30s; anyway, always the situation with me, my not-yet-read stack spills over into many stacks.)
As is usual so many times, Claudia, your post and the reader comments have led me to do a little research to see what I’ve missed (in my life!), in this case never having read The Hobbit. It got me to wondering more and more of exactly what IS a hobbit, in terms of personality traits or beliefs, etc. There’s a lot of info online of course. Caught this off of a piece in Forbes and I liked what it said: “One constant among the Hobbits of the Shire is their love for good things. They loved finely-crafted objects and well-made food. They enjoyed nature, a good smoke, and the world around them. Bilbo, Frodo and Sam were all writers, readers, and poets. Sam often reminded himself of his life in the Shire to keep him going throughout his trials and tribulations. All of the Hobbits loved the world, and so they understood what it was that they were fighting for as they made their way through the far lands of Middle Earth. It’s easy, especially in a world where we’re connected 24-7, to let our careers dominate our lives. That’s why it’s so important to switch that phone off and develop an appreciation for the world around us, whether its enjoying the company of family and friends, a good glass of wine, or a vacation to a place you’ve never been. Its important to cultivate an appreciation for the wonderful things around you. Otherwise, you’ll forget what it is that you’re working for in the first place.”
Thanks for this, Vicki! Very interesting!
xo
I don’t place Ghost in the same category. It’s not at all like fantasy or science fiction. And I loved – and still love – The Twilight Zone. I don’t collect those books, but you’re right, I bought a beautiful edition of The Wizard of Oz from Faulkner House Books in New Orleans. It’s really lovely!
Stay safe, Vicki.
I can’t wait to see your flowers! I’m holding off just a bit longer on the summer blooms–our high desert springs are unpredictable. Just ask my poor baby zucchini that experienced a recent night outdoors!
Tolkien, yes!!!! The Hobbit and the Trilogy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve reread them, but the covers are tattered and the pages well-worn. His characters are wonderful and the challenges they face are universal. That’s just me though. (I think of him as a wordsmith, not just a fantasy writer.)
Enjoy your springtime bursts!
Thanks for your thoughts, Roxie!
Stay safe.
Your yard will be so beautiful! And what a wonderful surprise, Don having mowed. What a guy!
I read the Hobbit in high school. Meh. But — and it’s a big but — I’m not a big fantasy fan and I’m older now so who knows? I believe life is too short to read books just to read them (there are so many choices you WANT to read). BUT, if it’s something that intrigues you, go for it!
I’ll only let Don get away with it once, because I LOVE to mow!
I’m intrigued, so I’ll probably grab a copy soon. I tried with Harry Potter several years ago and just couldn’t get into it.
Stay safe, Jeanie!
I did read Lord of the Rings in high school…but nothing like that since. I say go for it. If not now…when??
Did you get your flowers planted? Enjoy your day! ;)
I have so many books on my TBR pile. When do I think I’m going to get around to Tolkien? Yikes.
I got several of the flowers potted yesterday morning. More to go.
Stay safe, Donna.
your photos always have such incredible depth of field and composition and this one makes me want to grab some cash and scissors and go looking for someone with a lilac bush who’s willing to sell me a couple vases full! :)
if you were planting and potting new flowers as planned today and came home to a huge lawn freshly mown by your sweetheart, i know today’s been a good one for you … hooray!
i have read zero tolkien, harry potter or other fantasy or sci-fi kind of books so i have no recommendation either way. sorry; just not my thing.
looks like rain here, but think the wind is going to blow it past us … or else i will conk out and miss it that way. it would be nice to get rain (and be able to enjoy it) but whatever, if i can’t be with my family, i am just glad to be home. :)
hope you are having a nice night and stay safe!
kathy in iowa
We have rain today, thunderstorms in the afternoon, and high winds tomorrow. But I’m enjoying this morning’s gentle rain!
Stay safe, Kathy.
I have some thing better than a Tolkien book. I have a piano that was built by the Tolkien Piano
Company in London in apprx. 1853. His father and grandfather were in the piano business for a time prior to moving to Australia. It has been difficult to get much information on it. I found it in a thrift store and it is beautiful, lots of fret work and ivory keys. I have had the keys restored and tuned. I love it and feel so lucky to have found it. It was stored for years in some mans garage. I keep thinking that I need to have the antiques roadshow take a look at it.
How wonderful! I wonder if a piano tuner might have some information on it? You should get someone to appraise it, Judy.
My piano had ivory keys, but many hands and many years took their toll and they deteriorated, so I had them replaced.
Stay safe, Judy!