ADG have wireless (which is why I’ve been able to update so much). It’s so decadent to sit in bed and answer e-mail or websurf or whatnot. :-)

Ken was going to go to the National Motorcycle Museum today, but the exhibits are still closed because of a fire last year (can you say, no sprinkler system or alarms?). GodDAMmit!

This afternoon we collected Amanda and went to Middle Earth!

Our goal was Sarehole Mill. We’re not necessarily into old mills, but this one, and the surrounding area, was Tolkien’s inspiration for Hobbiton. He lived there from ages 4 to 8 and although he never said, “This is the Shire,” he often spoke about how the place affected him, and he donated money to have the Mill restored.

To make up for other things being closed, we hit Sarehole Mill on the one day a month it’s in operation—without even knowing. Go us.

The Mill was interesting, with a pretty (‘though much smaller now) millpond and old millstones out front. The miller (in his white lab coat) was very informative, and I learned more about milling than I expected. Books often characterize mills as quiet, idyllic places, and that’s not the case. (Note to all you fantasy writers out there.)

After the Mill, we drove by the house where Tolkien’s family had lived (now occupied by little old ladies), then went to Mosely Bog: aka The Old Forest. Wow. Even more impressive for me. A thick, tangled British wood—even having grown up in the Adirondacks, I have trouble describing how British forests feel different. They’re primeval. And alive, almost sentient.

I walked beneath an arbor of holly and oak, and got all tingly. Did I mention magickal?

I just wanted to ramble slowly, absorbing as much as I could, but Ken and Amanda were moving at a faster pace. I did get some good pictures, though, including one of another doorway into Faerie. I find those every so often.

We stopped briefly at The Ford, and I managed to get a picture that has almost nothing modern in it save the tarmac. Go me. Finally, we drove to a Victorian folly and an industrial tower, which were Tolkien’s inspiration for the Two Towers. It was hard to get a picture, but it was a nice way to round out our Tolkien Day.

That evening, Ed and Marian (SCA friends) came over for dinner. Amanda and Gordon had been marinating a hunk o’ pig for days, and cooked a veritable feast for us. Ed and Marian brought us two presents: a 16th century milk jug shaped like a penis (I have a postcard of it, in fact!) and the news that they’re visiting us next spring! We all decided that they should come out for Black Oak Lodge and stay for a while afterwards. I can get them on the registration list, given that I’m handling registration… We should be reasonably settled in the house by then. Fun!