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| An Unexpected Adventure by KathyG | 1 Review(s) |
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| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 27 on 5/24/2025 |
| What fun to hear that Arwen was a handful as a child! Did she have any adventures, I wonder? I'd imagine that children began to learn handwork fairly early in a pre-industrial society. Gail's surprise at discovering Kaylee's expanded skill set reminds me of the time my dad visited a Montessori preschool where one of my cousins was a teacher. He came back enthusing about watching little ones use a sharp, child-sized knife to cut up fruit (and vegetables?) for snack time, as well as the various handicrafts and skills he saw them exploring and enjoying. And then I think of play kitchens scaled for preschoolers, and I think, why practice skills with plastic implements and fake toy foods when they could be learning the real thing? (I'm sad at thinking about Halbarad, and Kaylee's reaction if she hears he fell in battle. Now I'm wondering if this story might be AU... I don't remember if I read as far as the Pelennor before the hackers deleted the story, or even if it had reached that point yet?) By the way, the food sounds so delicious, it's making me hungry.... (later) Part-way through reading the chapter, I put some nicely-seasoned chicken in the oven, and now that I'm a bit more than halfway through the chapter (reading is rather slow today, but I've got time), delicious smells are wafting in the air. I imagine once I finish a chapter in another story on my reading list, dinner will be ready! Barrel! From Bilbo's stories! Precious. Free horseback-riding lessons. How wonderful! And suddenly I was reminded of a non-profit in our city that loaned free instruments (violins, violas, cellos, and maybe other orchestra instruments) and gave free lessons to children. Unfortunately, by the time my little ones were old enough, that non-profit was no longer operating. But I've always thought it a wonderful idea. Hurrah! No side-saddles in Middle-earth! At least, amongst the Elves of Rivendell. (Do Hobbits use side-saddles in your [meaning both KathyG and Dreamflower] other stories? I don't remember. And hoorah! I looked briefly at your [meaning KathyG] list of stories, and I was reminded that you have a Beregond story! I can't wait to read it again.) I lost track of what Gail's wearing in this chapter... I'd thought she was wearing a "fancy" dress, but maybe you mentioned something else and I missed it. (I have one hobbit character in a current story wearing breeches under her skirts for riding because she, too, finds side-saddles impractical.) When Kaylee assured her little sister that Merrylegs wouldn't let her fall, I remembered a very old pony I knew who would kind of "scoop" his back to catch a child that was losing its balance. He was such a sweetie. Ah yes, walking stiffly and smelling horsey after a riding lesson. Good times! (I think Elves don't use saddles or even bridles, but I may be wrong. Are the visitors riding bareback? Do they have bridles with bits and reins, or maybe hackamores?) I think I remember when we graduated to bareback riding, we still had to keep our heels down to help us keep our balance. It wasn't as easy without the reminder of stirrups! O yes, that "proper" way to make tea! I learned that as a teen from someone who prided himself as something of a tea connoisseur. But my oddest encounter with brewing tea occurred years later, driving on the NY turnpike with someone from the UK who was coming down with a tummy bug. We pulled into a service area because my companion thought a cuppa might help settle their stomach. The lady behind the counter put some lukewarm water in a teacup and added a generic Lipton-style tea bag! So my companion said something about taking tea with milk. Frowning, the lady took back the cup, dumped it out, added liquid coffee creamer to the cup, slopped another teabag in it (yes, in the cold creamer), and handed it over together with one of those little metal teapots (the kind you might see in a diner, I think?) filled with – you guessed it – lukewarm water! Glorifindel the drill sergeant always makes me smile. Muscle memory is amazing. If I don't let my mind think about what I'm doing, I can play quite complicated piano pieces I learned as a teen, guided by muscle memory. In my current Tolly story, though he doesn't remember anything about being an archer, he's able to shoot accurately using muscle memory. I was thinking that if I were in their shoes, I wouldn't want to go home to modern times; I'd want to live at Rivendell, I think. Except that most of the Elves will be sailing within a few years... what a sad notion. As to leaving the little girls in Rivendell, my first thought was, "But then they'd miss the wedding! That would be terrible!" "In the Shire, children begin to learn safety in the kitchen almost as soon as they learn to walk." That sounds eminently practical! I have troubling memories about reading pioneer accounts that mentioned small children who fell into a fire and died of their burns. Tea with Bilbo sounds like such a treat! And one good thing about my eyes not working well today is it took a long time to finish reading this lovely, long chapter, so long that my chicken is actually done baking and I can go and toss a salad and have a yummy dinner of my own! (My eyes are too tired to read over this review and look for typos. Hopefully the whole thing is readable. But I'm afraid I'll need to put Beregond on hold for another day. I need to look into getting a screen-reader for days like today! At least that gives me something to look forward to!) Author Reply: I reckon that children did have to learn skills and safety at an early age back in those days. Cooking, sewing, housework, etc. Yep, I wrote a Beregond story quite a while back. Nope, don't think the children would want to miss the wedding. And there wouldn't be much reason for anyone to remain in Rivendell without any Elves left in it, would there? You'll eventually learn what becomes of Halbarad. You'll have to ask Dreamflower whether hobbits used saddles or not. Hope you dinner was yummy! =) K.G. | |