Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening!!!

As I type this, I imagine that I am walking up the steps to Bag End to greet you, pipe in hand, so that we can share a friendly visit (and a toke if we’re feeling it 😉 ).

I realize I might be finding you in a Bilbo “no admittance” mood but I’m really hoping you’ll greet me with a giant embrace, a la Frodo’s Shire energy.

Yes friends, my third content consumption theme of the year was, appropriately, Middle Earth.

***some of the things might be spoiler-ish

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

The easiest place to start this one is actually to gush about the fact that I’ve hit the prime of my Auntie Life status with my niece and nephews (ages 11-14) having now entered their fandom ages. Thankfully and proudly, we share this one!! This theme has come up multiple times in gift giving/receiving over the past few years and each time I tear up a little at how my relationship with my kiddos has fellowship at it’s heart ❤

I still get much more emotional than they do about it all but I know that vulnerability is an important part of our bond and that’s a part of myself I am never changing 😉

All of that being said, I have been rewatching Rings of Power S2 with the eldest and it’s been a lot of fun to see his reactions to each development it brings.

If you happened to read my thoughts on S1 going in to S2, you already know that I adore the show and this season only deepened that affection.

Bear McCreary brought another spectacular and moving score to each episode and I gladly drifted between full body chills and tears, as the situation called for it.

My favorite aspect of this season was the enhancement of the contrast between the Light and the Darkness. You can feel the weight and often heartbreak of each choice these characters make, the tensions that sit at the point of a needle and the consequences that lie therein. There is so much to consider, and we see it from every angle. Trust and loyalty are tested…the threads of friendship are thinned.

Then, we finally meet Tom Bombadil (just thinking about his theme song makes me tear up) and can’t help but well up with HOPE 🙂 I know, he can’t get directly involved but perhaps a grand elf can 😉

Nori and Poppy meet a group of distant kin, the Stoores, who live in little caves and again, I felt cheerful as that can only bring us a little closer to how the Shire comes to be…I can see it now.

The forging of the ring(s)…I could talk in length about how brilliantly heartbreaking Annatar’s manipulation of Celebrimbor was and how that manipulation spilled into all other rings that were made under that union. “Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.”

It’s only a small glimpse for now BUT we got Ents and an Entwife at that (where is the heart eye emoji when you need it).

Everything that happened in Númenor made me call certain people names, audibly…but we have to really dislike the dislikable people to have a better payoff when they get what’s coming to them, don’t we!?

Sacrificial love shows up over and over again…and Míriel has her moment!! It was a beautiful scene!

We get to see the crescendo of light versus darkness as Gil-galad/Elrond lead their army to face Adar’s army. It’s one of the most visually stunning shots of the season, with costs heavy in the air.

Durin sent his friend reinforcements but couldn’t come himself (for tragic reasons) and I am left wondering if Elrond ever got to hear the explanation…or if he went the rest of his days thinking less of his friend…(If you know that answer, please tell me).

Needless to say, I am very ready for another season of Rings of Power!

While I do support my local library system via Libby, I really enjoy all the perks of my membership with Audible. In fact, when I re-established my membership a couple of years ago, I made sure that the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, narrated by Andy Serkis, was at the top of my Wishlist and acquired all three!

What started as a book I chose to listen to for long road trips through the mountains of North Carolina, quickly became the accompaniment on my long walks through the pine trees at a nearby park. It’s a story that I always take comfort in and my enjoyment of it was deeply enhanced by the talents of Andy Serkis. I could never count how many characters he portrays in FOTR but he’s absolutely brilliant at bringing each one of them to life in the unique ways they deserve.

If anything could deepen my affection for this fandom, it’s adding these to my yearly audiobook rotation. I enjoyed Fellowship so much, I felt I could trust AS with The Silmarillion also and have added it to my listening (reading) library.

If you haven’t read the LOTR books, I know they can be intimidating and so I highly recommend you give them a try audibly. Andy Serkis will absolutely spoil you as a narrator though!!

You’ve been warned 😉

Many years ago, my friends Chris & Dave invited me to join them in playing Lord of the Rings Online. We spent countless hours playing through almost every expansion they had (at the time). I learned how to build a character, how to improve said character and how to successfully game on a PC.

My first, and dearest, character is a hobbit of the hunter class, named Bergamotsa. I didn’t know at the time that I’d become an Aromatherapist and be able to tell you the therapeutic benefits of Bergamot, but I like to think I chose the name intuitively all the same.

I had the time of my life starting the game in the Shire, combing through every hollow, hill and pub it had to offer. When I could purchase housing, decorating my very own hobbit hole was something I’d often log in just to spend time doing.

Becoming a part of a fellowship, alongside my friends found us sharing many a late-nights, questing together and laughing until our stomachs hurt. I lived with them at the time and that made it easy to do often.

When I moved into a place of my own, I sadly put gaming on a back burner and Bergamotsa retired. I’ve missed her.

Thankfully, earlier in the year, I got word from Chris & Dave that the game was making server updates and that I MUST log in and make the move or lose her forever. So, I DID!!!

Full disclosure, when I logged in, I found myself very nearly forgetting all I had learned but the important part is that SHE is still there, waiting for me to get reacquainted, whenever I am ready!

And you know what, it might just be time for another adventure 😉

In the last post, I shared with you the updates in my office, so I thought it only fair to let you all see the vast improvement I (should say “we” as my parents were of great help) made in my bedroom. Aside from a few more pieces of art to hang, it’s practically perfect, to me anyways.

My favorite pieces have been shared above.

Nick Comparone did the prints for Gandalf, Frodo and Bilbo. He has a very unique, layered style, that includes text from the books. For more on his style, it would be best to visit his website and let him show you what it is he does. I adore those pieces and acted quickly when he went live with them.

And, of course, Robert Bruno is making another appearance because I love his artistic style and when he announced earlier in 2025 that he was making a Legolas/Gimli pairing for an upcoming convention, I had it bookmarked! Those still need to be hung but I know they’ll look fantastic alongside a print I have of the Fellowship scaling the mountain.

As I am sure you can feel, this theme is the GOAT for me. You could pick a random day of the week and find me talking about it and/or, without a doubt, thinking about it.

In closing, I am going to link a post from my personal blog that will tell you all about the above shared hobbit hole 🙂

In a Hole in the Ground

Until next time,

Namárië