So here's something interesting:

http://www.pabular.com/recipe/79012/lem ... h-waybread

I will have to give that a try - though I think beech nuts might be a better substitution than the seeds he used. Or maybe even almonds (or chia).

Reading some of the tales here have inspired me to give it a turn myself. I spent some time developing a background, but I did not go back and reference my ME books in all that much depth, so if I have a detail that's off, that's why. I'm very open to honest thoughts about it. If you comment, please...

Not that I'm aware of. The special edition soundtrack has a couple of extra tracks, and a couple of the others are extended/alternate to the OST. If you haven't heard the track "Erebor" from the extended AUJ soundtrack, it's worth looking up, for a simple reason: bagpipes in middle-earth!

I love the LOTR soundtracks, them having been ingrained in my my mind for 10 years, but usually now it's the Complete Recordings for me - all the music recorded for the extended editions. I also have the special editions for both hobbit soundtracks. Neither of them seem as good as LOTR, but AUJ is m...

I've experimented with this a little as well. What you do will depend a lot on what you're looking for. From my experiments, actually boiling isn't much good - the leather gets a wood-like consistency, and shrinks/curls up a great deal. Immersing it in hot water at lower temperatures can work, but i...

Didn't see it mentioned specifically, but there's a long bit of poetry in the Lays of Beleriand.... Talking about tunes to Tolkien poems, I immediately thought of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGMFHvxAn4g where Tolkien himself sings the troll song. The Tolkien Ensemble has made a point of try...

Thought you guys might appreciate this: the misty mountains song from the hobbit, sung with all the lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8ymgFyz ... k1R8iikNfF

Not bad for having been done by a guy with his dad and brother.

hmm, so I was reading this: http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Rangers_of_the_North And came across this quote: The Rangers usually wore grey or dark green cloaks with no identifying ornaments except a six-pointed cloak-clasp in the shape of a star. Another identifying feature was that all of them wore a gr...

If it stays cold for much longer, all the great lakes will greatly resemble the Helcaraxë!

http://blogs.woodtv.com/files/2014/02/m ... lakes1.jpg

As always with this kind of scenario, there are many variables not really covered: How close is the next nearest Rohan village? How far away are the men? Does the old man still have any of his weapons or gear? You are half-hour ahead of the orcs, but they will not move till it's dark - what time is ...

Re: Poly practice swords, has anyone else tried these? http://revival.us/spadadazoghosparringsword-2.aspx

I have one (the stiffer version) and I quite like the balance. On the other hand, I have not actually done much sparring at all with it, so I can't evaluate that aspect.

I'm near Chelsea - so Waterloo-Pinckney are a short drive, though I was trying to find other options as well. I have an aunt and uncle who have some undeveloped property (about 40 acres) in the Kalkaska area - except 40 acres is pretty small of an area when it comes to ranging. (Side note: near Kalk...

So I'm hoping to get out more often this year, doing some actual "ranging," and I'm wondering from those of you who do it on a fairly regular basis, where do you go? Is it just state parks as a rule? Or do you find other wilderness areas as well? Are you allowed to make a fire on the groun...

Yup, make sure you get the real stuff. I have the advantage of having someone locally I can buy it from at a pretty decent price, and I can know that there's nothing fake about it (it even has a stronger flavor that most of the stuff you get at the store). Re the video: That's actually not terribly ...

I would think that it would be the Elves, not the Dwarves, they got 7 rings and the Elves got three. :mrgreen: But the elves' rings did not come from Sauron, and he did not offer them friendship in exchange for "the least of rings" like he did to the dwarves. Remember, that is why they ca...