Day 22?-24

rode to see king finarfin.  bilbo absurdly cheerful, he pestered me into singing songs.  asked me if i’d learned any new ones.  i remembered merry and pip repeating some of treebeard’s song about the entwives, but could only manage 2 verses.  he was pleased.  the elves were shocked about the ents.  i suppose they’d forgotten all about them here in valinor.  they begged me for the tale. my entish was horrible.  i sounded like i was asleep. merry was great at it…i miss him in the mornings “rumba-rumba-rooom, ggeeetttt uppppp ppiiiipppppppiiinnnnnnnn, (long pause)  itttt isssssh morrrrrnnnnnnnnnninggg annnnnndddddddd(long pause) theeeeeeeee sunnnnn issssssssh shinnnnningggg”  and pippin throwing a pillow at him.  legolas used to laugh every time.  

anyway, i managed to pass an hour or two on the road answering questions.  that night we slept in what i guess passes for an inn.  not really innish--ha,ha—but comfortable enough.  got a bed to myself.  i could have lived quite comfortably in it, seriously thought i would never find the edge.  had to climb up.  have to climb up to everything here.  these elves are unprepared for hobbits.  didn’t think they could see the future anyway.

next day we came to the palace? castle? what?  oversized, pretentious elves, what? i don’t know.  walked forever to the throne room.  finarfin gave a speech.  you know, these people could be more considerate, over fifty years of second breakfasts and eleveses, and you need something to eat at some point.  eerie, i think he could read my mind like galadriel.  well, he thought something was funny and i got to eat.  so, mind-reading good.

that night    

saw some beautiful murals and incredible maps.  bilbo and i poured over them for hours-maps of arda as it was before the seas were bent.  interesting.

Day 33?

leaving finarfin.  was actually sad to go, though i missed the little cottage by the sea.  have some translations as gift. gandalf and i searched the hills around finarfin’s home for any signs of pipe-weed growing or had ever been there. running low.  didn’t think to bring seeds.  could be bad.

Day 39? 

home again. studying elvish, and reading some stories but its hard.  makes me remember sam before he was in his tweens, all wide-eyes and open-mouth as he listened to the tales of adventure and doomed love.  and pippin, who was always too impatient to hear the end…probably to this day has no idea how the tale of beren and lúthien turned out. 

things i must never forget: 

pippin 3 days old, all wrinkly and screaming.

merry choking on his first pipe

little sam covered in dirt, grinning as he toddled around the garden

doing dishes with sam and getting water everywhere while rosie scolded us, her feet propped up on a cushion

merry and pippin’s faces lighting up when they first saw me at cornmallen

the first time bilbo took me on one of his trips around the shire

minas tirith, rohan, rivendell, lothlórien, and everywhere in between.