Light, Reflection, Shadow

Some might think it rather strange to post photos of Richard Armitage as my response to today's Joy Dare gratitude prompt of light, reflection, and shadow.  

But I truly am thankful for him.  

20. Brilliant light

21. Beautiful reflection

22. Blissful shadow

What and/or whom are you thankful for?

One Thing

As I said in today's earlier post, I planned on seeing "The Hobbit" for the twelfth time.  I did and enjoyed it immensely!  I notice something new each time I see it.  Today's viewing discovery was in the scene where Balin is recounting why Thorin hates orcs (the beheading of his grandfather, the disappearance of his father).  He finishes with a stirring line: "There is one I could call King."  As Thorin turns I noticed the trace of a tear, barely visible, on the right side.  Whether Mr. Armitage intended for it to be there, I do not know, but it makes that scene even more endearing to me.

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield in "The Hobbit"

Today's Joy Dare

One thing in my bag, my fridge, my heart...

17. In my bag:  my camera.  Yes, I always have my smart phone with me, but sometimes you just need to haul out the "real" thing.  I find I do reach for the phone first to grab that shot instantly and the camera in it does take good pics, but nothing like the real thing.  It's only the point and shoot variety, a Canon something or other.  To most photographers it wouldn't be considered "real", but it is to me.

I realized today looking back through the past months of pictures on this blog, I miss taking a photo a day.  I participated in it for 8 months and the need to capture a moment each day really took hold.  So expect more pictures!

18. In my fridge:  skim milk.  You can't grow up on a farm in Iowa and not love milk.

19. In my heart:  My baby sister and I had a conversation yesterday about God giving us the desires of our heart.

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."   Psalm 37:4

There is something I am asking God for, that one thing in my heart, that if granted, would be truly and wonderfully miraculous.

Reading, Making, Seeing

So I'm already a day behind in counting my 1000 gifts.  I was Manager on Duty at my place of employment until 11 PM last night and was just too tired to write a post.  So, there will be 2 posts today.

Joy Dare prompts:  Something I'm reading, making, and seeing (14, 15, 16).

I usually have 3-4 books that I am reading at one time and it's much easier since I got a Kindle.  The book I have been spending the most time in lately has been (and this should come as no surprise to you if you know me):  The Hobbit (the link is to Kindle version on Amazon).

I am very thankful for all of Tolkien's writings, as referenced to in earlier posts. I'm now reading it with new eyes and it's just so much fun to enter back into a book from my childhood but to also look at it in a totally new way as an adult.  Thank you Professor Tolkien!

Something I'm making...  I am just starting to learn how to work with video and audio files and am in the process of putting something together using the song Judy Garland recorded years ago entitled, "Dear Mr. Gable."  Watch this space!

How can I not be thankful for Sir Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" movie!  In fact, I am going to go see it again this afternoon, which will make, yes, admitting it to the world -- one dozen times.

My favorite character is Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, son of Thror, last King under the Mountain (played by Richard Armitage).

If you have not seen this movie, 

you really must go while it is in the theater.  

It is meant to be seen on the big screen! 

It is such a visual treat with such timeless truths.

Old, New, and Blue

Today's Joy Dare prompt is a a gift old, new, and  blue (gifts 11, 12, and 13).  My sister Cheryl, who is only 18 months younger than me, knows me very, very well.  She is aware that I've been struggling with a certain issue the past few weeks.

She also knows how much The Lord of the Rings books and movies mean to me and how much I love them.  Today I received the following card from her with my all time favorite LOTR quote in it:

"I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. 

A day may come when the courage of men fails, 

when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, 

but it is not this day. 

An hour of woes and shattered shields, 

when the age of men comes crashing down! 

But it is not this day! 

This day we fight! 

By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, 

I bid you stand, Men of the West!”

She also included a personal note, which will stay...personal.

The card is new and blue and expresses an age old sentiment.  What a precious gift this is to me.  

Cheryl, nothing you could have sent spoke to me more profoundly than this gift.  I love you sister!

Happy 121st birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien

JRR Tolkien

JRR Tolkien is one of my favorite authors whose words have had a deep impact on my life.  My baby sister just posted some of her favorite Tolkien quotes on her Facebook page, and lo and behold, they are some of my favorites too!  

So in honor of Professor Tolkien's birthday:

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

"Not all those who wander are lost."

"Never laugh at live dragons."

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

“I will not say, do not weep, for not all tears are an evil.”

“Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.
Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.”

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”

“Hold your ground, hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!” 

"And why not? Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies just because you helped them come about. You don't really suppose do you that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck? Just for your sole benefit? You're a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I'm quite fond of you. But you are really just a little fellow, in a wide world after all."

Today's Joy Dare: three graces I overheard

8.   Praise for one of my staff from a guest at the hotel
9.   This same staff member giving condolences to one of our colleagues on the loss of her pet
10. This same member of my staff thanking me as I left work this evening.  Okay, so that last one wasn't overheard, but I am thankful for it all the same.

Gifts Outside, Inside, On a Plate

When I was participating in the photo a day challenge last year, my daughter was always reminding me to not take the photo prompts so literally.  She said I needed to think outside the box.  The main reason I joined that challenge was to make myself more aware of my surroundings and hopefully, a bit more creative.

So here I sit tonight with my three gratitude prompts and I'm thinking literally, yet again.

5. Outside -- it's 1 degree.  I'm thankful that I live in a climate that is always changing.

6. Inside -- I'm thankful for my warm apartment!

7. On a plate -- pizza.  I love pizza!

I discovered a new interview with Richard Armitage today.

Richard Armitage in Nylon Guys, January 2013

Honor, loyalty, nobility, corruption.  True when Tolkien wrote the book, and true today, 76 years later.

I found this article interesting:  The Hobbit: an essentially Christian story?
As well as this news from today:  JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis joint work discovered  If only they had finished that book...

Changes for 2013

I have decided to take a new direction with my blog this year.  I will still incorporate photos, but I am no longer participating in the photo a day challenge.

I am participating in Ann Voskamp's Joy Dare -- to thank God for 1000 gifts in 2013.  These expressions of gratitude will be incorporated somewhere within each post.

You may see an emphasis on the actor, Richard Armitage.  He plays Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit."  I was totally blown away by his performance which led me to investigate what other things he has done.  I am still on that discovery path and may share what I find from time to time.

Today's Joy Dare is Three Gifts Heard and I am adding a fourth:

1. my grandchildren's laughter
2. the purrs of my cats
3. Howard Shore's gorgeous scores in all three Lord of the Rings movies, and now in "The Hobbit"
4. Richard Armitage's beautiful voice, whether speaking or singing:

I may post a few times a day using this as sort of a collecting place for what I might be researching on a particular day.  Or I may not post at all!  That's the great thing about a blog -- it's yours so you can do as you see fit.

Here's to what lies ahead in the new year!