UTfrog
· 15 August 2014
· Chapter 71: Aftermath of the Spider's Bite
Scary! Good story, though. Frodo was way too stubborn for his own good. Kept him going long enough to save Middle Earth, but then he could not let go to save himself. He would have needed the Undying Lands in any case, but he could have been more comfortable while waiting had he let friends assist.
Author's reply
I know. Persistence can be a virtue but also a vice when it turns to old-fashioned stubbornness. I am certain that Frodo wished only to let life return to normal, but it was not to be. He said it himself--the Shire could not be the same for him because he himself had been so changed by what he'd been through. And he had no immediate family to draw him back into what life had been like and what it was developing to as children grow and spouses undergo experiences that haven't been shared by the one who'd gone abroad. Certainly he wouldn't want to share the horror he'd seen with those he truly loved and cared about.
You are right--he definitely needed the Undying Lands, and in refusing to allow Elrohir to seek to remove the source of the irritation he made things worse for himself in the interim.
Thanks so!
Antane
· 15 August 2014
· Chapter 71: Aftermath of the Spider's Bite
No, not attached at the hip but at the heart. :) Alas for Frodo and his pain. I wish too that Elrohir had been allowed to probe the wound but I certainly understand Frodo's fears. How terrible for him to feel something bit him again and again. Mosquito bites are bad enough for me and I have very attractive blood apparently. :(
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
I've tried to imagine what those in South America where certain species of spiders are known to lay their eggs under the skin of their victims experience while the spiderlings are developing under their epidermis, and felt that Frodo might well have known such experiences had Ungoliant indeed been injected into the wound as I've imagined possible. Certainly Frodo might have hoped from time to time to do something on his own without having to involve Sam in it, and if he had needed such assistance as he begged from Elrohir I do suspect he'd want to do it quietly so as not to possibly cause concern in Bilbo and his companions, at least.
I've only received a few bites this summer, for which I've been very grateful. But having grown up in a home surrounded by ponds and a big drainage ditch, I certainly appreciate how uncomfortable mosquitos can make one feel!
Thanks so, Antane!
Tari
· 15 August 2014
· Chapter 71: Aftermath of the Spider's Bite
Tell me you're not going to leave us hanging. I have to know what is in Frodo's neck. Surely someone can remove it.
Author's reply
What is in Frodo's neck is indicated in "Spider's Ambition," a short story in the Neath Anor, Ithil and Gil collection; "Judgment and Healing" in the Moments in Time collection, the longer AU novella "Go Out in Joy," and "Angainor," which is in the Might Have Beens collection. You will see three means in which the danger it foreshadowed might have been dealt with in those stories. Heh!
Andrea
· 7 May 2014
· Chapter 70: The Perils of Knowing One's Dinner
Well, I am not surprised that it is Frodo who has problems with "knowing one's dinner" ;-)
But I can understand him very well, especially when I imagine a crate full of fluffy little chicks.
Author's reply
Oh, yes. We raised chickens when I was a kid--lots of barred rocks, silver laced Wyandottes, and blue Andalusians primarily. No Aracaunas, though. No naturally colored Easter eggs for our flock. The thought of eating a chicken we'd known since it first hatched out of the egg--usually in my mother's electric frypan set to the R in WARM that we used as an incubator, by the way, was intolerable! And watching newly hatched chicks trying to stay awake is about the funniest thing imaginable--the only thing funnier was to see our Mother-to-Every-Baby-Creature Pomeranian trying to figure out how to potty a chick. She had no difficulties pottying other Pom's babies or even the newborn kittens we occasionally had. She certainly tried to steal the baby skunks born under the chicken house on more than one occasion, and would have been pleased to potty them, I'm sure, had she not been foiled each time by the so-possessive mama skunk. Ah, the joys of living surrounded by animals when we were growing up!
Sunny
· 7 May 2014
· Chapter 70: The Perils of Knowing One's Dinner
By this logic, the annual pig raised by some childhood friends ought to be called "Christmas dinner". :D
Author's reply
It does sound appropriate, doesn't it, Sunny! LOL!
Ainariel
· 6 May 2014
· Chapter 70: The Perils of Knowing One's Dinner
Oh, this made me giggle! I am a country gal and my neighbor raises black angus. Best beef you ever tasted, and I swear half of it is because he takes such good care of them...but he's a bit of a softy. He tracks his bloodlines to see which crosses put on good weight naturally, and which calve easier, etc. He told me he had to stop naming his cattle (he uses numbers now) for this very reason!
Author's reply
Glad it gave you a laugh, too. And I certainly understand the situation! See my answer to Lindelea for the inspiration for the names bestowed by Pippin and Sam! Heh!
Thanks so, Ainariel.
Lindelea
· 6 May 2014
· Chapter 70: The Perils of Knowing One's Dinner
LOL!
I remember two 4H families raising steers for meat. I think the names were T-Bone and Chuck, if I remember right. When the time came for the beef to go in the freezer, they swapped cows so that they weren't eating one they'd known personally...
Author's reply
Friends who were foster parents to several children at once as well as the four they'd adopted raised weaner pigs three years in a row. The third year we brought them two piglets and another family did the same. The four pigs were named Portia, Hamfast, Sausage, and either Bacon or Porkchops--can't remember for certain that last pig's name. That inspired the names chosen by Pippin and Sam, I find. Heh!
We raised and showed chickens, but didn't eat any of them, although we did eat a LOT of eggs! We rarely had to buy eggs during the years we were in 4-H. After she married my sister finally began eating some of the game cocks she and her family raised, and I was surprised to learn this. I certainly couldn't imagine her eating Murgetroyd or Champ, her champion blue Andalusians from our 4-H years! And Murgetroyd was the model for Sparky--you had to fend that ornery hen off with a rolled up newspaper or an empty feed pan to get feed into her pen! And dumb? Murgetroyd used to lay eggs from her perch rather than in the nesting box. Most chickens are anything but smart.
Glad this brought a laugh!
Dreamflower
· 6 May 2014
· Chapter 70: The Perils of Knowing One's Dinner
LOLOLOL! Ah, Frodo! *giggle*
Author's reply
Glad it gave you a giggle! Heh!
Teresa
· 18 April 2014
· Chapter 68: Last Conversation
I'm glad that Frodo and Dirna had that final conversation! It's not susprising that she had the last word though! She might have mellowed a bit, but not that much! I'm sure that Frodo did dance for her once he healed; and I'd like to think that that shared a few dances together once he and Sam reached the Feast! Many thanks for sharing this, and as always your writing enhances the mosaic of Middle Earth! :)
Author's reply
I hope she was able to dance for joy once she reached the feast, and to dance with Frodo would be a great pleasure, I suspect.
And thank you so, Teresa!
Lindelea
· 17 April 2014
· Chapter 69: Círdan’s Gift
Beautiful -- caring for present needs, and a future.
Author's reply
I'm so glad that you liked it, Lindelea. Thanks so!
Teresa
· 17 April 2014
· Chapter 67: Dealing with Dirna
Many thanks for this expansion on your earlier drabble! I hope that Celadine and Iberic got away from that evil minded hobbitess soon after this visit! She sounds like Lobelia's twin sister! Ah well, every family has one or more difficult members; all one can do is ignore them if possible. Did she learn from this, or did she justify her behavior once she left Bag End? Frodo certainly put her in her place, like the gentleman he was! :)
Author's reply
The following chapter called "Last Conversation" gives you an idea as to how Dirna responded in the end to being put into her place by Frodo. I'd not intended to write another chapter featuring the old biddy, but sometimes such people refuse to be ignored! Heh!
We know that there were rumors throughout the Shire that somehow Drogo and Primula managed to do one another in; I imagine that Dirna was one of those who loved to spread such tales. And considering some of the gossip the aunts in my family tended to spread, I know just how often such people turn up in many if not most families!
Thanks so!
UTfrog
· 17 April 2014
· Chapter 69: Círdan’s Gift
A lovely story. Thank you.
Author's reply
And thank YOU!
Andrea
· 28 March 2014
· Chapter 68: Last Conversation
So the old girl insisted on a last word? And it was a good decision of Frodo to come and see her.
It gave her the chance to apologize (in her own way) and it showed Frodo that she had really changed.
"I should have—should have danced—more often. Then maybe,” she paused and took a visible breath. “Maybe I wouldn’t—wouldn’t have been so quarrelsome."
There is much truth in that statement!
Author's reply
Oh, yes, she insisted on the last word. A most persistent Hobbitess she proved! Heh!
And I do think that had she embraced joy more, she would have left far less misery in her wake.
Thanks so, Andrea!
Tari
· 28 March 2014
· Chapter 68: Last Conversation
What a bittersweet chapter. Hopefully there will be a sense of peace between them.
Author's reply
I hope that, too, Tari. Thank you so!
Garnet Took
· 26 March 2014
· Chapter 68: Last Conversation
Aw, this was sad be sweet in a way too. I really like the way you make Frodo so real. He's not some sort of perfect saint, he has moods and a temper and likes and dislikes. So many people treat him like he could never raise his voice or argue or be wrong. The way you write him people can see that he is passionate and caring but could hold his own in a yelling match too. You make him "human" and in a good way.
Author's reply
Oh, I'm so glad you find Frodo as I write him a realistic individual whom you can appreciate and identify with. I obviously love him, but I suspect that if I had to live with or around him I'd find his inability to realize he's not responsible for everything would drive me crazy. Thanks so very much, Garnet!
UTfrog
· 26 March 2014
· Chapter 68: Last Conversation
Redemption can come to all. Lovely story.
Author's reply
Yes, I hope we can all redeem ourselves somehow, given the chance, the motivation, and a kick in the pants we need to know we need to change. Thanks so very much, UTfrog!
Theresa Greenfalcon
· 26 March 2014
· Chapter 68: Last Conversation
Lovely story as always, and goes to show sometimes even the thorniest people can change. Thanks again for the story.
Author's reply
I'm so very glad you like it, Theresa. Yes, given the right circumstances I think we can all at least improve ourselves even if we don't turn completely around. And thank you for the response to it!
Tari
· 26 March 2014
· Chapter 67: Dealing with Dirna
Double drabble or not, this was wonderful. The thought that Lobelia wasn't the only witch in the Shire is awful. She deserved what she got and more.
Author's reply
The original double drabble just cried to be finished, and I had to find out just how Dirna had gotten into such trouble with her nephew! We know that there were those who chose to whisper that Primula had pushed her husband overboard and he dragged her with him to her death; I imagine that Dirna was one who loved such stories that put probably good people in a far more lurid and exciting light. It was fun to write, I know that. Thanks, Tari!
6336
· 26 March 2014
· Chapter 68: Last Conversation
I should imagine that lying there, waiting for the end, not able to do much more than contemplate your life makes you think about all you have and haven't done and the way you did it. Being brought up short the way Frodo did had an impression on her to the good it seems. Still it does not excuse how unutterably rude she was to all and sundry, asking for Frodo forgiveness was her way of apologizing, at least for some of it.
She did still have to have the last word though!
More Huggs,
Lynda
Author's reply
Hopefully she's learned what she was meant to learn in this life, and I do believe she knew enough of a change of heart that she won't have to repeat too much the next go around--if there is next go around for her.
But, oh yes, she insisted on the last word! I couldn't believe she still wouldn't leave me alone!
Dreamflower
· 23 March 2014
· Chapter 67: Dealing with Dirna
Good for Frodo! A lot of unpleasantness and rudeness is sometimes excused to those who have reached a certain age--and sometimes some of it can be explained by physical changes to the psyche of the elderly, caused by a stroke or by dementia. Yet most often a person who has always been rude uses age to be even ruder.
I hope perhaps that against all odds, this particular "old female dog" has learned a new trick: to get all the facts before jumping to conclusions! But I won't hold my breath.
Author's reply
Having lived with a grandmother and stepgrandmother and aunts who used to gossip alarmingly and nastily about others, I know the truth of what you say. I, too, hope that Dirna has learned a positive lesson, but also doubt all the negative habits of 115 years are swept away all that swiftly.
Fiondil
· 23 March 2014
· Chapter 67: Dealing with Dirna
Ah, the relative one loves to hate. Miserable old biddy. Frodo was being too kind. He should've sent her packing to the inn that very instant and how could anyone enjoy any kind of breakfast with that harridan at the table? LOL! I love Lynda's description of getting her exercise by jumping to conclusions. That is so true. I feel sorriest for Ilberic and Celedine, though. They have to put up with her all the way back to Brandy Hall, the poor dears.
Author's reply
Well, Lobelia couldn't have been the only one who was a regular pain in the tail, after all. I'm not certain that she would even be allowed to eat with Frodo, Sam, Rosie, and her grandchildren, even--I suspect a tray will be brought to her in her room, that her luggage will be loaded without much in the way of communication, and she will be gone.
As for Ilberic and Celandine, yes, unfortunately they have to continue putting up with her not only on the way home but afterwards in Brandy Hall. But they have finally seen her put in her place, and are not likely to let her forget that fact. I don't think they'll be as readily browbeaten to her service from now on. Unfortunately, such people as Dirna all too often isolate themselves from those who usually would be most likely to support them. But then we must remember that even Lobelia knew a change of heart in the end.
Thanks so, Fiondil!
6336
· 23 March 2014
· Chapter 67: Dealing with Dirna
Well now we know how Aunt Dirna gets her exercise, jumping to conclusions!
What a miserable old biddy, age and infirmity are no excuse for bad manners and rudeness. A little crankiness is to be expected when the rhumatics kick up but it looks like Aunt Dirna has it down to a fine art!
I do enjoy it when Frodo puts people in their place, he does it with consummate skill and directness, another fine art!
Huggs,
Lynda
Author's reply
Oh, yes--jumping to conclusions as her one regularly practiced form of exercise indeed! Frodo himself tends to become cranky when his headaches and insomnia kick in, so I'm certain he could empathize with that kind of rudeness, but nothing excuses her behavior. Yes, he has his own skills he's honed lately. Thanks so, and thanks also for the hugs.
Andrea
· 23 March 2014
· Chapter 67: Dealing with Dirna
Something in his expression caused her to swallow several questions.
And that was the beginning of the end...
She was running headlong into disaster with eyes open! She only did not see the signs because she was solely interested in herself!
In the end she got what she deserved! Bravo, Frodo!
... so I decided to deal with her once and for all!
There you have something in common with Frodo ;-)
Author's reply
Now and then even Frodo Baggins gets pushed past his limits, and Dirna is the type of person likely to do so, I find. Yes, running into disaster with eyes open indeed. Love that description! And, yes, it's nice to find that in this Frodo and I agree. Heh! Thanks so very much!
Lindelea
· 23 March 2014
· Chapter 67: Dealing with Dirna
Started to read this but my eyes just won't cooperate at this point in the day, so I'm leaving it until tomorrow (I hope!) and will try and stop back by.
All I can say at this point (having read up to the description of the kitchen, with the vase of poppies and delphinium -- sounds lovely! -- is that I wouldn't mind at all being a guest at Bag End, and I wouldn't complain a whit.
Author's reply
There are time when my eyes don't want to cooperate, either. I, too, would have loved to stay in Bag End. But I did write that double drabble as part of a series some years back, and found I had to describe the whole visit by Dirna! Ever since she first appeared in "Second Mum" she has continued to nag at me!
I'm so glad that you are able to write and post again! I'm enjoying myself tremendously reading the continuation to so many stories!
Theresa Greenfalcon
· 22 March 2014
· Chapter 67: Dealing with Dirna
Hi, Larner - good to see this new story! I especially enjoyed the update on Ilberic and Celandine - and seeing Dirna put in her place! Thanks for the new story, and I hope things are going well for you! T
Author's reply
I started working with a new company in August, and since then I too often find myself tired at the end of the day and having difficulty concentrating on a single story line. It's rather frustrating, but at least I have more respect for those with whom I work.
I don't think I've written these of Merry and Frodo's younger cousins before, although Dirna has been in a couple of other stories. But I found that I just had to expand upon that double drabble I did a few years ago and explore just how Dirna managed to insult Rosie so and thus earn Frodo's wrath!