Meneltarma on tour

UPDATE: photos are now posted here.

I must apologize for not covering the recent holidays very well. To be honest and forthright, it was a trial to be able to do so--for the same reason I haven't gotten much reading done since finishing Schaeffer's Escape from Reason. My next Schaeffer title would have been The God Who is There because I was given to understand that the book I just finished serves as a good jump into this next one. Unfortunately, that jump did not happen. Nor was I able to delve into the C.S. Lewis book Mom got me for Christmas, Till We Have Faces. To top it all off (not really), Nathan got a hardback of Tolkien's The Silmarillion which he accidentally left here...in my bedroom! What a frustration. That is the crucial book I would need to read in order to solidify my budding Tolkien scholarship and I don't have the time to grab it up.

And while I'm on the subject of Tolkien, I must now go on to describe the form an nature of our New Years celebration.

My good friend Jackie, who is a Tolkien scholar of the next-to-highest order, has in the past three years invited members of my family over for formal viewings of each DVD edition of the LOTR movie trilogy as they were released over the years. We also went to see each of the theater releases at various times together; in the case of The Return of the King, we all went on opening day, most of us in costume. It was a grand adventure and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

After this, "line party" theater opening of the ROTK, Jackie continued to plan. After all, there was still an extended edition to be released at the end of the year. She made sure we didn't throw those costumes away and made us promise we would continue working on them.

So the time drew near and costume making seemed to become part of the holiday festivities. My sister Anna worked for countless hours on my costume, her costume, Beka's costume, and, since he was going to be in town, Nathan's costume! I naturally became the ultimate critic of everything, predicting at regular intervals that this or that about my outfit was just not going work. I think I generally made myself a nuisance. My outfit changed from last year a little--for the better.

The most significant thing that we were going to do different was the purchase of wigs for Nathan and I. Yeah...ahem, it was originally an idea of mine.

Meanwhile, Jackie stayed hard at work. Taking her hostess tasks as seriously as ever, she planned the food to be an accurate reflection of her hobbit character. Her house was christened something very appropriate and proper invitations were issued to those she knew already would be making it anyway. The evening was set on New Years Eve so we were able to time things properly for the dual purpose of the evening.

And so, the evening was a hit. Those in attendance were treated to a sumptuous meal, a middle earth trivia game, a costume photo-op and of course, the extended edition of the Return of the King.

I do plan on posting some photos when I get them. I went as a Ranger. Aragorn being the only prototype for examination meant that I had to grease that wig something fierce. The heavy gel worked the best; I should have used it in the first place. Instead, I ended up with a weird mix of mousse, hairspray and hair gel--I had a very tough time with that mix of odors constantly falling around my face... *gag* Needless to say, the wig was saved for the photo-op; that's all. Biggest problem with the wig was that we cut it a little too short.

My thanks to all who made happen--especially Jackie and Anna.