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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 9, 7:03pm
Post #1 of 20
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It's Friday, let's have Fiesta!
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Greetings, all and sundry! As you've noticed, the Boards have been incredibly sloooow these days. Altaira has been working hard behind the scenes to get things fixed, but alas, it's looking like we'll have to migrate to a new type of Forum sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, if you're here, then welcome to Fiesta!
We're having a "January thaw" in New England, the snow is becoming a slushy mess. But it's still cold enough for hot cocoa and warm cookies on the buffet! What is your favorite kind of cookie? Or do you prefer cake or pie?
Let us know how your first full week of the New Year has been!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Greenwood Hobbit
Doriath
Jan 9, 10:42pm
Post #2 of 20
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It's taken quite a while to get on here, but hot chocolate is a powerful temptation! We had snow last night - but it had turned to rain by midnight, so my grandsons were very disappointed when they woke up to find no sign of it. We'd had an hour's drive to the theatre last night, to see a very imaginative adaptation of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', written by Tolkien's contemporary C S Lewis. Very ingenious scenery , lighting, snow and smoke effects, music and dancing; excellent entertainment. That was the last part of my Christmas present from my daughter. Aslan was a puppet operated along the War Horse principles, but distinctly lacking in the back-end department, so he looked a bit like a very furry velociraptor! Apart from that, it really drew you in. We felt like Narnia was following us home, as it was snowing all the way. Fortunately the roads were fine. I'll try to get on the boards again - it's a long process at present but, as aragorn said, 'There is always hope'! Cheers!
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 10, 12:49am
Post #3 of 20
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What a fun way to end the season!
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There is something compelling about seeing a well-known story presented "live".
And you had some snow - but not too much, just enough to envelope you travelled homeward. I'm sorry it couldn't stick!
Let's see if I can get some hot cocoa to appear:
Hope you don't mind a few marshmallows!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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cats16
Gondolin
Jan 10, 1:09am
Post #4 of 20
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Many thanks to Altaira - I'm sure it takes a lot of work to deal with it all.
Enjoy the thaw! I'm not picky when it comes to cookies, although lately I've had random cravings for cake, which is very unusual.
Wishing everyone a belated happy holidays again. I was playing host with my parents for a week, which was great fun. We had a wonderful time at Disneyland in between rainy days. I also celebrated a birthday, which we kept low-key with a small dinner.
Now it's the end of the first work week post-holiday (woo!). But oof, that first week is a doozy and it never feels like the weekend will come.
SoCal has been very, very wet the last month or so. One of the rainiest winters in recent memory in fact, although like everywhere else in the West (other than the Sierra Nevadas, I suppose), the snowpack is very alarmingly low. So I'll be doing a snowdance instead of a rain dance, for the remainder of winter. Thankfully the weather here will be beautiful next week, so I'm planning to catch up on the missed sunshine.
No huge plans this weekend. I've been watching the show Deadwood for the first time and am hoping to finish the series in the next day or two, so that's been a nice diversion from real life. Otherwise I'll be outdoors getting lots of steps in to make up for lost walking time during the storms.
Wishing everyone a happy weekend, and many thanks again to Altaira and the PTB for the behind the scenes work to get all of this sorted out!
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 10, 2:40am
Post #5 of 20
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Glad you got here! And that you had a great time with your family, after all these years Disneyland is still "THE Place" to take visitors.
I hope your area hasn't been hit too hard with flooding!
Let's see, what do I have on hand for cake - ah, here's a lovely one (might take a minute to load in), I wonder what the filling is!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Altaira
Superuser
Jan 10, 4:47am
Post #6 of 20
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Thanks for opening the bar, dernwyn!
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I was also having problems getting in, so appreciate you taking the bar! 
Yes, migrating to new software is in the works. It will be sad to say good-bye, but all our posting history from this forum iteration will be migrating with us! It's likely to happen around the end of February, and things are also in the works to help this forum go faster until then.
It's a tough one, but I'd have to say my favorite type of cookie is soft, oatmeal raisin. However, chocolate chip and peanut butter are close!
Hope your 'thaw' continues through the weekend!
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 10, 5:17pm
Post #7 of 20
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Yes, it's been taking a lot of pressing "reload" to get in here. 
But the best news is: these Boards will be able to be preserved.  You've done hours of research into this, Altaira, and we cannot thank you enough!
Oatmeal raisin? Ooh, I haven't made those in a long time, I think it's time to get out the mixer and warm up the oven! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 10, 9:35pm
Post #8 of 20
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I'm so glad to hear that the migration is happening soon.
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It's just been near-impossible to get the boards to load, let alone open any posts. I'm jumping into this window of access to say thank you for the work you're doing to keep this community going - I'd have been sad to walk away from it all just because the drawbridge was always up.
**crosses fingers that this post loads**
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo
My LOTR fan-fiction
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Jan 11, 12:57am
Post #9 of 20
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My absolute favourite is ICE CREAM! Ben & Jerry's Americone *slaver slurp* Fav cookie is warm fresh-baked chocolate chip with a glass of cold milk *twitch* Fav pie is a tie between apple crisp or cherry both a la mode! My favourite cake is a well-built, robust carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. *sigh* I'm worn out! *twitching, but smiling* :)
Yeah... I figured our poor site was under a massive bot attack. We're so lucky to have Altaira, Corvar and so many others that will do all they can to fix it or divert us to a healthy replacement. *sigh* Hopefully we won't lose our post histories like before.
We just had that same thaw here in Michigan on Thurs and Friday. Snow returned today. I was grateful to have the last couple of days of moving stuff be so pleasant. I took it as a sign :D
Thanks taking such good care of us, dernwyn AND Altaira! Have a great weekend :D
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Jan 11, 1:54am
Post #10 of 20
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And that you got to share it with your g'sons is perfect!
I saw our town's Community Performers put on an adaptation of The Hobbit YEARS ago! The Gandalf and Bilbo were brilliant, and their use of trolls masquerading at witches we a genius and funny way to get around trying to make giant troll costumes. I still have the program for it around here somewhere.
Stay Warm! And have a great weekend :D
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Jan 11, 2:10am
Post #11 of 20
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Hanging out with parents! :D Excellent!
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There's nothing like a Disneyland visit when the kids get to take their parents out for the day ;) I'm so glad you had a great visit. And I really do hope you have some great weather. I've been watching coverage on the rain and worried about mudslides on this one-year anniversary of the fires in that area.
Hang in there and have a great weekend!
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Jan 11, 2:20am
Post #12 of 20
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Well Done, Altaira! It is faster right now :D
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Thanks for the huge effort to save our sweet home. What is it with February and our migrating? Wasn't it February the last time? We've been lucky to have it hold together this long :D
I hope you have a great weekend and can now spend a little quiet time now that the TORn engine is running again! *massive hug* Thanks Again! :D
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Jan 11, 2:30am)
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 13, 2:34am
Post #14 of 20
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And apple crisp is sooo easy to make, it's our fall go-to dessert.
Have you finally had a chance to relax? Is everything all set at your daughter's new place now? And she has a garage for when it snows!
*Hugs* to you and your family!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Jan 13, 5:05pm
Post #15 of 20
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Nothing more to move and they're organizing local medical needs... so there will still be a few of those trips over the next month or 2.
Came home last night after getting them settled up north to Pickle being hurt. He's 10yo now and is still VERY active not slowing down a bit! Once in a while he jumps down off the couch at speed from looking out the window and lands wrong. He was shivering with pain in his hips and gingerly walked as little as possible with his head down. So I gave him half an aspirin, carried him outside for potty call, then we spent the night in the recliner with him on my lap under the blanket (usual spot ;) so I could make sure he didn't jump down or move around. He was much better this morning :) But I'm still keeping him close. He's great about letting me help. I'm starting him on doggy joint meds (I take some myself) to give him some relief.
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 13, 8:13pm
Post #16 of 20
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The poor pup, it is hard to slow down as we all get older! I hope it was simple muscle strains and nothing more, but joint meds will help.
Stay warm!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Lissuin
Doriath
Jan 14, 1:17am
Post #17 of 20
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Happy 2026, all! Snickerdoodles please!
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It's been years since I've had one. Our family could not have been the only Christmas snickerdoodle cookie family among friends of hobbits. I do remember a discussion here years ago about whether or not hobbits even had cinnamon. I came down on the "Yes, indeed, they would have gotten it through trade somehow or other" side. And I was somewhat vindicated in 2012 when I was delighted to discover a jar of cinnamon sticks on the windowsill of a house in Laketown, so it obviously did get around. If something delicious was to be had in Middle-earth, hobbits would have found it, maybe traded it for pipe weed? I'm now waiting for my sister to email me a copy of the recipe in Mom's 1950 edition Betty Crocker Cookbook. I'll be happy to share it if anyone is interested, but you'll also find numerous examples on Google.
As you've heard from other New Zealand members, our holiday weather has been varied and unpredictable. In Wellington we've had howling wind accompanied by buckets or sprinklings of rain, with delightful days of calm, sunny, blue skies every now and then. We spent two weeks over the mountains in Wairarapa, where Lothlorien and the Paths of the Dead will not generally be found on local maps, but WE know they're there, eh?
Thank you to our diehard, dedicated department of IT trying to ensure TORn's continued existence in some form or other. I am determined to adapt to whatever technological fix is required. TORn is what is keeping my brain technically pliable (is that a thing?) more than anything else I do online. And when new films and tv series begin to appear once again, we will need this fun place to hang out and bang away at them together yet again. There is always hope!
A very very good new year to everyone!
Liss
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 14, 7:00pm
Post #18 of 20
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in Laketown? Now that was a set decorator who knew what was necessary for proper baking!
I've got that same recipe, if you need it sent to you sooner!
You have had quite the weather, haven't you! Did you have enough good sunshine days for excursions in Wairarapa?
Amazing how the once-reliable software can become obsolete. I remember well when we had to change over from the Old Boards. *nostalgic sigh*
A very happy New Year to you and yours, Lissuin!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Lissuin
Doriath
Jan 15, 1:53am
Post #19 of 20
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Yep, that picture is the cookie I remember! Thanks for the offer, dernwyn, but Sister came through. I have the Betty Crocker recipe and the means for making a batch of snickerdoodles now. I was surprised that the recipe calls for shortening rather than butter. Shortening was the thing in 1950's California kitchens, but I might just swap it out for BUTTER this time so I can start immediately.  If the vibes don't match, then I'll see if I can find shortening somewhere for the next batch.
And yes, the Set Decorators Supreme of Wellington, led by Ra Vincent, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1308151/ took great care with the details. I itched to have a camera but am glad we have the wonderful photo books of LOTR and The Hobbit to remind us of their hard work.
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Jan 16, 5:44pm
Post #20 of 20
(117 views)
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snickerdoodle cookies!?! YES PLEASE! :D
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I don't know why I ask since I have to start some serious dieting very soon (after all the driving around is done), but I can always save it as an incentive :D
I'm so glad you were able to spend some time on a great adventure over the holidays! *sigh* It sounds wonderful!
Have the BEST NEW YEAR EVER! :D
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
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