Merry Meet and Merry Part, and Merry Meet again

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Gladsome Time

This past weekend was a much-needed, enervating family gathering. Delicious food was eaten, gifts exchanged and there was much laughter and merry mayhem.  Gladsome times!!

Of course, again I was remiss in my photo-taking! Terrible of me, as I would love to have gotten a nice group picture. I must have been having too good a time to think about my camera.

I do want to share something though, a picture taken after the fact.

My daughter gave me a special present. A book, of course. It represents a favorite subject shared by both her and me. Our love for Tolkien and all things Hobbit.

The Art of the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, written and edited by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull explores the complete artwork by Tolkien for his book, The Hobbit. It includes more than a hundred sketches, drawings, maps, paintings and plans. Some of the artwork has never been published before. The illustrations added an extra dimension to this amazing work.  I am thrilled to have this book and know I will spend a lot of time with it.

What I wanted to share, though, is the inscription my daughter wrote to me in the book. It is very moving and just makes me so happy. I don't think she will mind if I share it.

You can click on the picture to make it larger. She is referring to my old battered and much-read copies of the Tolkien books, the ones I very first read, and which she read too for the first time.

In other news, it is friggin' cold! Our temps have dropped down into ridiculous numbers, and we are getting a lot of snow. Yes, I know it is January and that it is winter.  And I live in a northern clime. But I would still like to complain, if you don't mind. Being Wiccan I rejoice in all Seasons, taking each day as a Gift from Nature and the Goddess. Thank you, Mother Earth for the gift. Perhaps a bit less gifting would be also gratitude-inducing.

All for now. Bright Blessings from Robin.






15 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

What a wonderful present! The book from your daughter, I mean. Not the frigid weather from the Goddess.

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

How lovely that you got to have that family gathering. Yay for one and all. And the book dedication is so dear. It is special to have a connection with you child other than mother and child things....the sharing of a special book. Shelley and I used to sing together for events and when we hear a song we did together there is this rush of shared connection. Joy.
I too am anxious for spring to move her crinolines in and rustle the snow woman along but it appears that we must endure the cold now so that the flowers can charm us deeply in the spring. Oma Linda

Jeanne said...

What a very special gift! Your daughter loves you very much! :0)
I'm sure the Family Get-together did wonders to boost everyone's spirits!
I know the snow and cold can be so very depressing this time of year. But be thankful for it! Here in Colorado we would gladly take some of that snow - we have had a fairly dry winter so far and that is going to translate into another dry and potentially fire-ridden summer if we don't get snow soon.

oldgreymare said...

I love the notes my kids leave for me through the years. I have snippets tucked in wallets and car visors and bulletin boards and every one warms my heart, as this one did for you. <3

Jess said...

Such a precious message and gift. :) It's very cold here in the UK too and my snowman is morphing as the snow settles on him!xx

mxtodis123 said...

What a lovely gift. Mother Nature has gifted us with some seriously cold weather as well. It was really difficult getting out of the house and coming to work today.
Mary

Anonymous said...

You really needed a family weekend after all that's happened!

I must keep my eyes open for that book!

Nasty cold here too now and it will drop even more during the night. Just complain, I will too :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.

AkasaWolfSong said...

Ooooh! What a nice gift and how special it was that your daughter wrote such a loving note to you...
I'm sure you'll treasure it always.

Sounds like you had so much fun gathering together Robin...I'm so happy for you!

Thank You for the Happy Birthday wishes...and yes, I'm going to love being 60! :)

You know it's colder than bejeezus here but warmer weather and snow it seems is on its way! I love winter so let it snow! He He He...

Hugs and Love Dear Lady!
xoxoxo

The Boston Lady said...

Robin,
What a wonderful gift! You will soon be well-versed and immersed in all things "Hobbit". I've heard about your extreme weather, stay warm and safe. Ann

Magic Love Crow said...

What a beautiful gift from your daughter! How precious! So happy you had a great weekend ;o) I have to admit, I love the cold ;o) We are having a deep freeze now too, and I think it's so refreshing ;o) We hardly have no snow? Weird! Big Hugs Robin and stay warm ;o)

The Cranky said...

What a loving and thoughtful gift from your daughter! My Dad would have loved the book. (I got him hooked on all things Tolkien.)

I'm with you on the weather; it's cold here as well and I hurt. Yuck!

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

Now that is one AWESOME prezzie! I love all things Tolkien too! Ever look at a Brian Froud book? Oooh! I get lost in those as well! Today and yesterday our temperature was -43 celcius (-45 farenheit). Its bloody cold!!! Tomorrow is going to be about the same!

Magaly Guerrero said...

What a perfect present with the movie just coming out. My Jacob is taking a painting class and I think he'll try to reproduce some of the art from Middle Earth--let's see how it goes.

And don't get me started about the cold. Last night, driving back home from town, the thermometer read 3 degrees. My fingernails were cold.

Elaine said...

What a beautiful sentiment from your daughter. I know it means the world to you! I love receiving books that have a special note from the giver.

I sometimes forget to take photos too and I ALWAYS have my camera with me.

I was out tonight and it is brutally cold out. I fed some squirrels today so they could stop foraging for food and go back into their little shed behind the neighbor's house.

Anonymous said...

Nice gift