Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

Happy late October, dear reader!  I hope that your autumn has been a bright and gentle one so far.   source Hannah over at Inkling Corner has very kindly tagged me for a fall-themed tag; the perfect way to get a quick post in before the month is quite over.  (I've lapsed in my once-monthly posting schedule this year, and I'm honestly fine with that, but I think I'd still like to keep up with at least semi-regular posting.  We'll see what the rest of this year and then 2026 bring.)  Thanks, Hannah! ♥ The Rules 1. Download the cover photo and use it for your post (below!) 2. Acknowledge the person who tagged you (above!) 3. Tag others and comment on their blog to let them know! (will do!) 4. Slip into autumn vibes (have done!) The Questions 1. If autumn isn't your favourite season, what is? And if autumn is your favourite season, why? My favorite season is spring.  Youngest and oldest, gentlest and wildest, green like you wouldn't believe.  I love ...

The last day of this year's Legends of Western Cinema Week is upon us!  Accordingly, I had to scramble to get my tag answers written up and posted this morning.  Here, then, they are. ⸻ 2025 Tag Share one or more stories for each prompt: Cliff — a tense cliffhanger I can't remember for sure, but I assume that virtually every episode of The English (2022) ended in a stomach-clenching cliffhanger.  There's a lot going on in that show.  A little too much, actually. Gulch — a cool ambush scene In Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969), McCullough manages to ride some of his would-be assassins out of town by booby-trapping the main drag instead of participating in shootouts with them, which could be considered an ambush and which I certainly consider very cool of him. Canyon — a big gunfight Following along in that lighthearted vein, the hostage situation/brief shootout at the bank in The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) is fun.  It always tickles me pink to see the townswomen...

God rest ye, merry gentlemen, and God send you a happy new year!  My friend Rachel  tagged me last month with a festive film questionnaire, and while I 100% squandered several golden opportunities to finalize and publish this post on one of the actual twelve days of Christmas, I've decided to fly in the face of convention and share my answers anyway.  Yes, even though Epiphany has passed.  I'm rebellious that way. The Rules Fill out the prompts (expound as much or as little as you like) Tag some friends (however many or few you feel like)* Have fun (this is mandatory) * I would have done this, but since I'm publishing this post after the season is technically over, I've decided not to.  Abject 'pologies, etc., etc. The Questions 1. A favorite funny Christmas movie: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) is low-key hilarious. "She has four fatal diseases!"  "And it only takes one." *terrific crash from overhead*  "Now I remember where I left my other s...

I am once again asking for your  financial support  enthusiasm in celebrating Rachel's annual  Tolkien Blog Party , which began yesterday and which always brightens my September considerably.  This year, I have a couple of additional posts drafted for the party and am very much hoping to get them polished and published before the festivities conclude on Saturday. For now, here are my answers to this year's tag questions, accompanied by our beloved aesthetics, courtesy of an insanely talented Tumblr creator !  (There's one "outsider" among all of these, actually, and I don't know for sure who made that one, but I'm running out of the original series, so we're making do.) ⸻ Which of each pair do you prefer, and why? 1. Rohan or Gondor? Hmm.  Starting out with a tricky one, for me.  Neither are among my favorite Middle-earth locations, so it's hard to say.  But I suppose it'd be Rohan, because it's more rural as a first impression (as opposed ...

Let's have a good round of bookish Q&A, shall we?  I'm borrowing this tag from Rachel over at The Edge of the Precipice .  The idea is to give your vote on various bookish tropes and design elements; it's jolly good fun.  There are no rules and no tagging protocols, so, let's just dive in! Reading the Last Page First | IN and OUT .  It really depends.  I used to do it a lot when I was younger, actually.  Now it's rarer, but I'm not opposed to it on principle. Enemies to Lovers | IN .  Love a good "sparks flying" couple. Dream Sequences | OUT , I guess.  I mean, they can be cool every now and then, but for the most part . . . eh.  Just don't care for 'em. Love Triangles | IN .  They don't bother me.  As long as they make sense for the story, I'm down. Cracked Spines | IN .  I prefer paperbacks to hardcovers on the whole, and I often need to crack the spine of a paperback at some point in order to make the book easier to hol...

*scurries into the room distributing sweaters and acorns and fantasy novels*  Hello, hello, hello, and a happy Hobbit Day to you all!  In a shocking and delightful turn of events, the weather where I am actually cooperated and gave us a deliciously crisp first day of fall.  I can taste the metaphorical hibernation coming on the autumn wind, and I am thrilled and enthused about it. In other news, we are in the thick of one of my very favorite weeks of each year:  Rachel's Tolkien Blog Party , which is celebrating its TENTH anniversary! (*emotes quietly*)  Alas, I don't think I'll be able to contribute anything other than my tag answers this time around, but that's okay.  There's always next year, Lord willing — a great comfort for many reasons. 😉 ⸻ 1.  Who first introduced you to Middle-earth? My family.  I don't really remember a time when The Lord of the Rings paraphernalia wasn't scattered about our house.  It was A Big Thing every time on...